Grassroots lawyers also have their day

"Tch! You make it sound so dramatic! Don't worry, I won't borrow money from you. Your Fatty brother here has a job, why would I take advantage of you?" Fatty's voice was very smug on the phone.

"Come on, give me a break! ...A job? ...It's just a water deliveryman! You're a proper law school graduate, how did you end up doing this?" Wang Chuan mocked.

At that time, people's ideas were still relatively traditional. College students (whether they were self-taught or enrolled through the national college entrance examination) had diplomas and should have a decent job. That was what Wang Chuan thought.

But more than ten years later, not to mention self-taught undergraduates, there are many people who deliver food. It's free, pays well, and you don't have to be driven around like a donkey all day. It's practically the ideal job! But only those who know the hardship know that nothing is easy.

"Brother, things aren't like they used to be. These past two years, law has been the hardest major to find employment, bar none, you know that! Besides, I haven't even passed the bar exam. What else should I bring if not water?"

"Don't talk about me, how's your job search going?" the fat man asked.

Da Pang and Wang Chuan met while studying for their self-taught degree at Peking University. Since they were both from rural areas and had no connections, they got along very well and became good friends after several years of self-study.

Actually, when he first graduated, Da Pang also struggled with this decision, but later he figured it out: So what if he's a water deliveryman! As long as he can make money, he's fine with setting up a street stall. He'll walk his own path and let others talk! People laugh at poverty but not prostitution; that's always been the way of society.

"The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades must continue to work hard!" Wang Chuan sighed and said lazily.

"Yesterday afternoon I delivered bottled water to a law firm. We chatted for a bit when I had some free time. They're hiring right now. Although the firm isn't big, I noticed they have quite a few cases coming and going. It's not too far from where you live, and they offer a monthly internship stipend. Do you want to give it a try?" Fatty Zheng said smugly.

"Great! Where is it? What's the name of the law firm?" Wang Chuan immediately sat up excitedly from the bed.

From initially aiming for top-tier law firms, to later seeking large firms with hundreds of employees, and now accepting any law firm that can provide internships, Wang Chuan has lowered his expectations again and again, to the point where he's practically penniless.

His old classmate, Da Pang, has introduced him to a law firm that sounds pretty good, and he's already getting impatient.

The next morning, Wang Chuan excitedly took two bus stops, then transferred to two subway lines, and walked more than a kilometer after exiting the subway. It took him about an hour and a half in total to finally arrive at the law firm that Da Pang had mentioned.

Looking at the office building in front of him and the Shijingshan Wanda Plaza not far away, Wang Chuan was speechless. Is this what you call not too far?

Geographically speaking, Da Pang is right. Shijingshan and Haidian districts are adjacent, but the problem is that Shijingshan is not big, while Haidian is very large. The straight-line distance from the basement of the apartment near Peking University to Wanda Plaza in Shijingshan is not far, but the key is that Wang Chuan can't fly. He can only take buses and subways back and forth, so the actual distance is not short at all.

"Fatty, you thorny liar, you call this not far? It's all the way to Wanda Plaza in Shijingshan! It took me an hour and a half to get to the law firm building," Wang Chuan yelled after answering his constantly vibrating phone.

"Dude, just make do. Commuting to work in Beijing takes about an hour and a half, which is normal. I drive around delivering water, and I drive two or three hundred kilometers every day, almost like a taxi. What's that compared to that?" Big Fatty complained.

"Okay, you win. I'm going upstairs to recommend myself! I won't chat with you anymore, buy some food and drinks and wait for my victory news!" Before Da Pang could speak, Wang Chuan had already hung up the phone.

Wang Chuan knew that life in the capital was not easy, but since he was already there, he might as well go up and take a look, just in case he stumbled upon something unexpected.

There's a small desk at the entrance of the law firm, which serves as the reception desk. There's no one at the reception desk, but the law firm's name, Zhengyang Law Firm, is posted on the back wall.

Just as Wang Chuan was searching around, a man in his thirties came out. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and fairly regular features. He was wearing a V-neck sweater over a shirt and dress pants. He was holding a few sheets of A4 paper and looking at them as he walked.

"Who are you looking for?" the other person asked after seeing Wang Chuan at the door. Although he spoke Mandarin, it was clearly accented with the accent of a southern province.

"Hello, I heard you're recruiting intern lawyers, so I'm here to apply," Wang Chuan said with a smile.

"Oh, come with me!" The other person sized Wang Chuan up and down before leading him into the office. "Did you bring your resume?"

"Here you go!" Wang Chuan handed over the resume, which he had spent a lot of money printing on campus, with both hands.

"Wait a moment, I'll go find the director." With that, the other person took the resume and left.

Later, Wang Chuan learned that the person who led him in was one of the law firm's partners, surnamed Mu, named Mu Huaijin, from Jiangsu Province. Despite his young age, he had already been practicing law for five years.

The office was only about ten square meters, and the desks and chairs were all new. They had a pungent smell, and the windows were open even though it was a cold day, obviously to air out the smell.

About five minutes later, the door opened and a man in his fifties walked in. He wore thick glasses, had some balding hair that was messy, a square face, and a fairly decent appearance. He was wearing a wool vest, with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, dark trousers, and casual leather shoes, giving him an academic air.

If someone like that walks around a university campus with a book under his arm, 99.9% of people would assume he's a professor in one of the colleges.

He glanced at the resume in his hand: "Wang Chuan, right? Come on, let's go next door, this room smells a bit strong."

Wang Chuan agreed and obediently followed the person to the next office. This office... well... there weren't even any desks or chairs, just four white walls, and sure enough, there was no pungent odor.

Looking at the small kang table and two low plastic stools on the ground, if it weren't for the law firm sign hanging at the entrance, and if his old classmate Da Pang had said that this was a law firm, Wang Chuan would have genuinely thought that the man in front of him, who was over fifty years old, and the person who had brought him in were swindlers.

"My surname is Niu, and I'm the director of this law firm. You can call me Attorney Niu." With that, Attorney Niu hooked a plastic stool over with his foot, gesturing for Wang Chuan to sit down. He then casually pulled up a plastic stool himself and sat down opposite him.

Then, as was his habit, he pushed up his thick glasses and said, "Why don't you introduce yourself first?"

"My name is Wang Chuan. I'm from Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. I studied English in college and law through self-study at Peking University. I passed the bar exam the year before last and received my certificate early last year. I used to work as a legal counsel at a company in my hometown. I only came to Beijing after the Spring Festival this year..."