Grassroots lawyers also have their day

"Ugh! All day long, besides people trying to get free consultations, they just come over to chat. It's so annoying!" As it was almost time to leave work, only Zhang Da Huyou and his two companions remained in the legal services office. Pan Jinlian took a sip of water and muttered to herself.

"This is already pretty good. It's better than sitting around all day, getting restless and anxious!" Zhang the conman said with a smile.

After spending more time with Zhang the Conman, Wang Chuan discovered that aside from being unreliable when discussing cases, she was otherwise quite decent. She had a knack for dealing with people, especially difficult clients.

Just as the three were chatting, Wang Chuan's phone rang. It was Gong Yi, the new receptionist and administrator at the firm, calling to inform him that his intern lawyer's certificate had been issued and that he should go to the Municipal Bar Association to pick it up.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Chuan was overjoyed. When Pan Jinlian found out, she jokingly said, "Great job, Senior Brother! You're a certified person now, you have to treat us!"

Inviting someone to a party? Wang Chuan, who's practically penniless these days, dreads gatherings and hosting parties the most. Last week, his old classmates from college invited him to a reunion, but he didn't dare go. As a result, his classmates said he'd made a fortune in Beijing and was arrogant and looked down on everyone.

Only Wang Chuan himself knew that he had been spending a lot of money lately. He had used up a lot of his savings in his bank account to buy a new outfit for work, and he really didn't dare to spend money recklessly anymore.

For Wang Chuan, the ancient proverb, "When you are poor, don't join the crowd; when your words carry little weight, don't advise others," is simply a golden rule. His family was poor when he was young, and his father often told him this.

Wang Chuan appears successful on the surface, but he is actually very poor. The only thing he can do is to work harder, study more, and get his lawyer's license as soon as possible to earn money.

So-called old classmate reunions are nothing more than eating and drinking, comparing each other, chatting about who got promoted, who earns an extra two hundred yuan a month, and whose family has a huge debt from buying a new house. In short, they are all incredibly boring topics.

None of my old classmates have made a name for themselves or achieved anything significant. The best one I've done is just a contract clerk at the local finance bureau, thanks to family connections.

It's not that Wang Chuan is materialistic, but if he really goes back to his hometown to attend his old classmates' reunion, what awaits him when he returns to the capital will be a life of frugality. He won't starve, but he'll inevitably have to eat nothing but plain noodles for half a month.

What's the point of such a gathering? So, faced with the harsh reality and the beautiful friendship between classmates, Wang Chuan chose to bow to reality.

When Pan Jinlian asked to treat everyone, Wang Chuan simply smiled and casually said, "Maybe next time." He was neither in the mood nor able to afford to treat anyone right now. After all, even a hero can be brought down by a lack of funds!

The next morning, after retrieving his intern lawyer's certificate from the Municipal Bar Association, Wang Chuan looked at it no less than ten times on the way back to the office. It was already noon when he returned.

"Xiao Wang, I heard you got your intern lawyer's certificate! There's a divorce case going to court soon, come with me!" Wang Chuan ran into Director Niu as soon as he entered the room. Director Niu waved his hand and gave Wang Chuan a chance to participate in the court hearing.

"Thank you, Director! I just picked up my intern lawyer certificate from the Bar Association this morning," Wang Chuan said excitedly.

As soon as Director Niu entered the office, Zheng Pengzi and Wei Ping surrounded him.

"Senior brother, let us see it too!" Zheng Pengzi said, then took the intern lawyer's certificate from Wang Chuan with an envious look on his face.

The three of them walked to their workstations, chatting and laughing.

"The day before yesterday, just before we were about to leave work, did Sister Zhang bring over a client? Someone who was involved in a property division lawsuit?" Wang Chuan asked in a low voice, seeing that there were no outsiders in the office.

"Yes! Wei Ping was the one who received them, along with Director Niu." Zheng Pengzi looked at Wang Chuan and asked, "What happened? Did you take on the case?"

"It wasn't me, it was Sister Zhang who received it... Did she sign it?" Wang Chuan continued in a low voice.

"How do we sign the case?"

The client... is that guy with the mustache. His wife's house was being demolished, and his father-in-law passed away right after the demolition. He's trying to get his wife to go home and fight for the property.

Logically, all children in a family, regardless of gender, have inheritance rights, so there's no problem with his wife returning home to participate in the division of family property. However, his father-in-law's family had already signed a family division agreement several years ago, dividing all their assets among their two sons. They also gave the woman with the mustache 100,000 yuan. Everyone signed the family division agreement at the time.

Later, the elderly couple secretly went to the notary office to make a will, leaving their only remaining old house to their grandson.

The man with the mustache watched enviously as his two brothers-in-law received huge sums of compensation for their demolished homes, while he received nothing. Feeling resentful, and further emboldened by the unscrupulous lawyer he had previously spoken to, he took his wife to court. The outcome was predictable.

Director Niu talked to the other party for more than twenty minutes, and after clarifying the matter, he gave the man with the mustache a few words of advice and then sent him away. "This case is simply impossible to handle!" Wei Ping complained in a low voice.

"Oh!" Wang Chuan looked enlightened. It seemed that the nickname Pan Jinlian gave Sister Zhang was quite accurate... "Big liar!"

Just as Wang Chuan and the other two were talking, his Nokia 3210 rang.

"Hello..." Wang Chuan answered the phone, and as soon as he spoke, he heard the other party say urgently, "Attorney Wang, this is Li Changjiang! You have to help me..."

"Li Changjiang?" The name sounded familiar to Wang Chuan. Suddenly, he remembered the employee of General Manager Hu's company who had taken six months of sick leave.

"Mr. Li, what is it?" Wang Chuan's voice turned cold as he thought of this.

"Mr. Hu sent someone to the police station to report me for fraud, and now the police want me to come over."

"Could you please make an exception for me? It's just a few sick leave certificates, it's not a big deal. We can sit down and talk it over, why do you have to get so worked up?" Li Changjiang said anxiously on the other end of the phone.

Heh, now you're scared! Too late! You wouldn't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences. You were so arrogant when you came to talk to me, now you regret it... Heh! Wang Chuan's face was as cold as ice.

"Mr. Li, there's nothing I can do. We can't control Mr. Hu. Besides, we're just here to negotiate with you. After that, it's over for us. I suggest you go talk to Mr. Hu, or..." Wang Chuan paused.

"...or what?" Li Changjiang asked hurriedly.

"Or you can turn yourself in! Try to get leniency." Wang Chuan's heart softened and he said it anyway. He heard a loud crash on the phone, like something had fallen, and then the call ended.

Wang Chuan checked his phone; it had a signal, meaning the other party had hung up.

Shaking his head, Wang Chuan sighed inwardly: Alas! Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable!

At this moment, Li Changjiang was sitting on the ground, his face filled with panic and fear. Next to him was an overturned folding chair, a puddle of tea, and a broken purple clay teapot.

"Dad, what's wrong with you!" Li Changjiang's wife heard the noise inside and rushed in to help Li Changjiang up from the ground.

After being helped up, Li Changjiang suddenly swung his hand and slapped his wife across the face: "It's all your fault! You made me greedily try to get something for nothing and buy a fake certificate. Now look what's happened, the company has called the police..."