Grassroots lawyers also have their day

"Hello, how can I help you?" After a robotic voice, a woman's voice came through the phone, speaking very professionally.

"I was on the phone just now when the signal suddenly dropped. I want to ask what happened?" Wang Chuan said, suppressing his anger.

"Uh... sir, it may be a communication malfunction in your area, or it could be due to other sources of interference causing your cell phone signal to be interrupted. We're sorry about this situation!" the operator said patiently.

"Sorry? I was on a very important call when it suddenly dropped and I lost signal! And you're apologizing to me? When you were charging me, why didn't you ever think of apologizing?"

My phone suddenly lost signal, causing me huge losses, do you know that? I paid for your service, is this how you serve your customers? ..."

Wang Chuan vented all the anger he had just felt from Li Changjiang on the customer service representative. The representative repeatedly apologized over the phone; the call was being recorded, and she dared not argue with the customer unless she wanted her wages docked and her job taken the next day.

"I don't have a problem with you, but I have a problem with your company's communication services. You collect so much money every year, can't you do something worthwhile?!"

"Alright, call your manager over, I'm going to file a complaint against him." After venting his anger and calming down a bit, Wang Chuan continued. He then sat down in the chair next to him.

"..." The customer service representative paused for a moment, then uttered a phrase often used by customer service representatives in China: "Um... our manager is not here; he's on a business trip!"

"Uh..." Wang Chuan was met with a rebuff and almost plopped down on the floor next to the chair.

Seeing that Wang Chuan remained silent, the customer service representative politely asked, "Hello, is there anything else I can help you with?"

"...That's it!" Wang Chuan blurted out after a long pause, then hung up the phone.

After calming himself down in the meeting room, Wang Chuan picked up the phone again and dialed. After repeated negotiations, Li Changjiang, the employee of General Manager Hu's company who had taken six months of sick leave, finally agreed to meet with Wang Chuan and Attorney Mu. The meeting time was tomorrow afternoon, and the location was a coffee shop.

The next day, after lunch, Wang Chuan went to the agreed-upon coffee shop in Mu Huaijin's car.

Wang Chuan had assumed that Li Changjiang, who had provided a false sick leave certificate and was now raging on the phone, would be a tyrannical and cunning fellow.

But he was wrong. Sitting opposite Mu Huaijin and Wang Chuan was Li Changjiang, who wore glasses, was somewhat thin, had fair skin, and looked gentle and somewhat dull, with a stubborn look in his eyes.

"What do you want to talk about?" Li Changjiang leaned back in his chair, his eyes darting around, and asked impatiently.

"Mr. Hu told us about your situation, and we also went to the hospital to verify the 'diagnosis certificate' and other documents you provided..." Wang Chuan paused after speaking, wanting to see Li Changjiang's reaction. But he was disappointed; Li Changjiang on the other end looked completely indifferent.

"We'd like to talk to you about... sick leave! The hospital has checked the 'diagnosis certificate' you submitted to the company, and as for the conclusion... I think you should know it better than we do," Wang Chuan continued.

"I don't understand! What's wrong with me taking sick leave? What do you mean? How can something from a hospital be wrong?"

Seeing that Li Changjiang was about to lose his temper, Wang Chuan glanced at Mu Huaijin and said calmly, "Let's be frank, there's a problem with the 'Medical Certificate' you provided. Your actions may involve criminal activity, and we're only looking out for you..."

"Stop telling me this. You keep saying you're thinking of me. If the company really cared about me, they should have granted me sick leave so I could stay home and recover."

He's also suspected of committing a crime! Don't give me that crap, who are you trying to scare? I'm not easily intimidated. Do you think the court is your private court? You think you can just declare something a crime? Don't give me that kind of nonsense!

"Is there anything else? If it's just about sick leave, we can call it a day. Go back and tell that guy surnamed Hu that I've worked for him for so many years, and even if I haven't done anything great, I've still put in a lot of hard work. Don't always send your lackeys (lawyers) to talk back to me. Let him come here himself if he dares!" After saying that, Li Changjiang got up, picked up his bag, and walked towards the coffee shop door.

Wang Chuan's face changed several times with anger, and he was about to explode when Mu Huaijin stopped him with his large hand. Mu Huaijin frowned, but remained calm and composed. He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and then steadily placed the cup on the table. It seemed that he had encountered this kind of situation many times before, and his ability to control his temper was quite good.

"Attorney Mu, he's too arrogant..." Wang Chuan said angrily, pointing towards the door.

"Sigh! There's an old saying: 'Good advice is hard to persuade a damned ghost.' Don't worry about so much. Have you done everything I asked you to do before?" Mu Huaijin said unhurriedly.

"Don't worry, it's all recorded." Wang Chuan took out the voice recorder and handed it to Attorney Mu.

"Sometimes, don't take things too seriously. We're just insignificant lawyers, not magicians. There are many things we can't change, so... just be able to act with a clear conscience! Don't let your clients' issues affect your mood," Mu Huaijin said with a smile.

"But...this guy......he's biting the hand that feeds him!" Wang Chuan said in a low voice.

"You've done a great job. Don't be angry. His bluster just proves he's guilty. We've done everything we were supposed to do, and we've received the money. Okay, you don't need to worry about the rest. Let's go back to the office after we finish our coffee!" Mu Huaijin said with a faint smile.

Wang Chuan picked up his coffee and took a big gulp, then frowned!

To be honest, Wang Chuan couldn't get used to this expensive and bitter stuff. He watched as everyone in the coffee shop held their coffee cups, knowing full well how bitter it was, yet still drinking it. And even then, they didn't dare drink it plain, insisting on adding lots of sugar and milk to mask the bitterness. He couldn't understand why so many people loved this bitter stuff.

Some people may be able to taste the aroma of coffee, but Wang Chuan firmly believes that most people, like him, cannot taste any aroma at all; they are just following the trend and showing off!

In litigation, things are unpredictable; there are always days when you have nothing to do, especially for a newly established small firm like Zhengyang Law Firm.

But Old Niu wouldn't let the five intern lawyers just sit in the law firm reading books and cases, chatting and joking. He would always find something to keep them busy; only then would he feel that the 500 yuan monthly living allowance was worthwhile!

"Wang Chuan, arrange your work these next two days. You and Pan Yuanyuan will go to the checkpoint we set up at the entrance of the Shijingshan Court tomorrow. We have a case-interpreting expert there; you two should learn from him. Also, have Zheng Shuang and Hao Renyuan come back to the office."

After finishing his sentence, Lao Niu turned to Wei Ping, who was busy at her workstation: "Xiao Wei, come with me to the consulting firm this afternoon. By the way, how's the contract I gave you yesterday coming along?"

"Director, the contract has been reviewed and I will send it to your email in a bit." Wei Ping looked up at Lao Niu.