Chapter 53: Four Hundred Thousand, Terminating the Contract! |
Director Han heard the hidden meaning.
The other party's words carried an unmistakable implication, pointing directly at something specific.
"What exactly are you dissatisfied with at the firm?" Director Han asked immediately, his tone tinged with anxiety.
He was highly satisfied with Xu De—the young man was capable, upright, and had excellent character. If he really wanted to sever ties with the firm over some issues, then the problem must have originated from within!
Thinking of this.
Director Han frowned. He looked up and scanned the surrounding lobby, his eyes sweeping across everyone present.
Finally, he looked back at Xu De.
"Dissatisfied..."
Xu De paused.
That might be considered a good income for a migrant worker, but he was a lawyer—a lawyer with no family backing, relying entirely on his own efforts!
After deducting rent, utilities, and commuting expenses... if Lin Yue had not reimbursed his expenses for the Lijia Village case at the time, he would have been forced to move out and find a roommate to split the rent!
A moment later.
A smile appeared on Xu De's face, and he said in a teasing tone, "I am sorry, Director Han. As you know, I have no parents and no relatives. I simply don't have the money to keep working here."
"Out of options, I can only leave the firm and find a place to make a living. Otherwise... I'm afraid I'll starve to death."
No money to keep working?
What did that mean?!
The unexpected phrasing left Director Han stunned for a moment.
However, he was a smart man and instantly grasped the underlying meaning.
Immediately, Director Han frowned and said in a deep voice, "Impossible!"
"Although our firm is a boutique law firm, we never bully our own. The contract revenue share we offer our lawyers is higher than the general market rate. As long as someone takes cases, the payout for four cases here equals what others make from five!"
"Little Xu, did the finance department withhold your commission fees?"
The only boutique law firm in Greenwood City was Jinmao Law Firm.
But that did not mean there were no other large law firms. Those competitors were constantly looking to poach their star lawyers. If Director Han had not relied on the advantages of shares and revenue-sharing contracts, those people would have left long ago...
"Director Han, my money has already been settled."
Xu De maintained his faint smile as he pulled out a ledger from his bag.
"This is the ledger of all my financial transactions during my three months at the firm. You can cross-check it with the company accounts. If there are no issues, I do not plan to renew my contract."
Financial transactions?
Director Han frowned. He reached out to take it and opened it. The moment he flipped it open...
He was slightly taken aback at first, but then a look of astonishment washed over his face. He looked up at Xu De in shock.
Was the ledger recorded with too much complexity? No, quite the opposite.
It was recorded far too cleanly. There were only a few short lines, readable at a single glance!
"Three thousand seven?!"
Director Han was deeply shocked. He jerked his head up, eyes filled with disbelief, and exclaimed, "This... Lawyer Xu, how did you only take four cases in three months? And three of them were just consultations? The only actual court case was the Lijia Village case!"
An income of three thousand seven hundred was not considered low, but...
Lawyers had to invest their own money into lawsuits!
Especially for the Lijia Village case, Xu De's commission fee was only two hundred, provided by an institution. Yet the money he poured into it... the transportation costs alone exceeded two hundred!
This did not even account for rent and food. Looking at it this way, his claim of having no money to keep working was no exaggeration!
"This... what is going on here?"
"What about the two thousand in bonuses?!"
Amidst his shock, Director Han also felt a wave of suspicion.
Xu De paused slightly. "What bonuses?"
"Every month, I provided you with an extra seven hundred yuan in support benefits," Director Han stated.
This money did not go through the company's books. It was from his personal funds, handed over to Sun Hao to pass on.
Xu De laughed. He shook his head and replied, "At the very least, I have never seen this seven hundred yuan."
"Director Han, it seems your esteemed firm is indeed not quite suitable for me. If there are no other objections... then I will unilaterally terminate the contract on my end."
Hearing this, Director Han's face flushed slightly red. He opened his mouth, hesitating to speak for a long while.
It was obvious that the law firm could no longer retain him, and someone within the firm... had been targeting Xu De without his knowledge.
After a long time.
He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger towards the firm, and shifted his focus back to the young man.
"Lawyer Xu, after you leave... are you planning to start your own business?"
The other party was young and highly capable; it made no sense for him to work under someone else after leaving the firm.
Xu De knew he could not hide it, so he simply nodded.
Director Han pondered for a moment before speaking, "How about this: Lawyer Xu, you are young and might not have much savings on hand."
"I will personally invest two hundred thousand in cash into your venture. At the same time, you can pick any star lawyer from the firm to take with you, and I will also share some case sources with you in the future..."
Two hundred thousand, a star lawyer, case sources.
Any one of these three alone was extremely tempting!
Especially a star lawyer; they were essentially walking wallets. No one knew just how many resources they held, and their sheer capability was enough to revitalize an entire law firm.
Director Han felt that since he could not retain Xu De, showing goodwill and investing in him was an acceptable alternative.
Making many friends was far better than forcing him to stay and causing a mutually destructive fallout.
Unfortunately...
"Director Han, you do not need to trouble yourself over this."
Xu De chuckled. Then, before the other man could say anything else, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Ring... ring..."
"Hello? Is this Boss Zhang Hu..."
...
"Haha, it is me, it is me! Rest assured, Lawyer Xu, my case has all been settled, and now..."
"Hm... hm? You terminated your contract with the law firm? Then do you want to come to my company... Alright, so you opened your own personal law firm."
"Are you short on money, Lawyer Xu? I can invest four hundred thousand on my end. If you lack case sources, I... You don't lack them? Good, good, good, I will pay you a visit another day!"
Greenwood City.
At a construction site where a factory shed was being erected.
Wearing a white hard hat, Zhang Hu stood out in the open air and hung up the phone in his hand.
Seeing this, a dark-skinned man nearby—about one point seven meters tall and a head shorter than him—leaned in.
"What four hundred thousand? Old Zhang, did you get another order?" Sun Zhigang asked.
"No, it is that lawyer I met previously. Let me tell you, my assessment of this man is... a golden scale is definitely not meant to stay in a mere pond!" Zhang Hu declared.
"Heh, four hundred thousand, and you didn't even blink?!" Sun Zhigang marveled suspiciously.
"Four hundred thousand is nothing!"
Zhang Hu sighed with emotion. He was willing to build a good relationship with Xu De, even if it meant spending a ton of money.
Because that money would be absolutely worth it!
It was just a pity that the man did not want it... He refused free money, so Zhang Hu could only build rapport through commissions.
Thinking of this, he turned his head and looked at Sun Zhigang beside him.
"Old Sun, how about I introduce this lawyer to you?"
Hearing this.
Sun Zhigang simply let out a rough laugh.
"Give it a rest. I work on construction sites. We only need a lawyer when something goes wrong on the site."
"You brat, you really don't wish me well, do you!"
He and Zhang Hu were childhood friends, but with his family's help, Zhang Hu had started a company right out of college, while Sun Zhigang had chosen to work on construction sites after finishing junior high.
Standing at one point seven meters and weighing over one hundred kilograms, he had a bloated figure and dark, rough skin. He was an absolute boor of a middle-aged man, and not exactly easy on the eyes either.
After working hard for so many years, he had truly managed to establish himself in Greenwood City. He even had his own company, and it was larger in scale than Zhang Hu's!
However, this also gave him the distinct aura of a nouveau riche landlord.
"Heh, treating my good intentions like dirt."
The two of them joked around.
And right at that moment...
"Clang!"
Suddenly, a loud noise jolted them.
Sun Zhigang frowned and looked around before striding toward the source of the sound, where a few figures had gathered.
"Make way, make way!"
Sun Zhigang pushed through the crowd aggressively.
There, he saw a plump woman collapsed on the ground, gasping heavily for breath. Beside her lay a three-wheeled wheelbarrow, and the mixed cement it originally held was spilled all over the dirt.
The woman was in her forties, with an ordinary appearance and greying hair. Standing at one point five-seven meters tall, her bloated frame exuded the distinct aura of a peasant woman. She wore a worker's camouflage uniform, her body covered in cement residue, and her hands were thick with calluses.
If one looked closely, the posture of one of her legs was somewhat odd—she was clearly walking with a limp.
Looking at this scene, Sun Zhigang's face instantly filled with anger.
"Cripple, how many times has this happened this month?!"
"How can you not even push a cart to deliver materials properly? Are you intentionally trying to give me a hard time?!"
He showed absolutely no mercy, reprimanding her angrily in front of everyone.
"Is your back acting up again? What the hell would happen if you took half a month off to get it treated?! If you delay my project, are you going to pay for it?"
Hearing this.
Zhao Li's deeply tanned, peeling face was fraught with panic. After struggling to her feet, she forced a cautious, constrained smile and said, "Foreman, my child is in her final year of high school and has exams next year. I want to buy an air conditioner for her, so she won't be cold doing homework in the winter, and she won't be hot in the summer..."
An air conditioner?
Upon hearing this, Sun Zhigang's anger flared even hotter as he pointed right at her nose and cursed, "Air conditioner my ass!"
"Needing an air conditioner just to do homework? Bullshit! Just burn some coal..."
Zhao Li drew her shoulders in. She was a middle-aged woman in her forties, yet here she was, surrounded by a crowd and being scolded with a finger pointed in her face.
After a long moment.
Sun Zhigang finally turned to the onlookers and yelled, "Get lost! What are you all looking at? Is the work done?!"
"A bunch of lazy slackers!"
The crowd dispersed, leaving only Zhao Li behind.
"You get lost too! Are you standing here waiting to die?!"
Sun Zhigang glared at Zhao Li, spit flying everywhere.
Zhao Li opened her mouth but could not say a word. She merely lowered her head and limped awkwardly toward the exit of the construction site.
However, before she had taken more than two steps, a voice rang out from behind her again.
"Is your fucking brain stuffed with shit?!"
Looking back.
She saw Sun Zhigang, his face looking even more furious, his chest heaving violently as he cursed at her, "Where do you think you're going? Go find Engineer Liu and have him arrange for you to do site cleaning. You'll still get paid your normal wages."
"Damn it, you are truly stupid."
Hearing this.
Zhao Li was slightly taken aback, but hope surged in her heart once more. The wrinkles on her face squeezed together into an awkward yet cautious smile, and she hurriedly replied, "Oh, oh, I will do it, I will go..."
Saying this, she prepared to hobble off to find the engineer.
But...
"Did I tell you to go right fucking now?!"
Sun Zhigang roared in anger again.
Then, wearing an extremely reluctant expression, he pulled a wallet out from his coat.
"Zip!"
The zipper of the wallet was pulled open, revealing some cash inside.
Sun Zhigang glanced at her, reluctantly drew out a few large bills, and threw them at her.
"Today's wages are paid to you as a full shift."
"The rest of the money is just my rotten luck. I must have owed you in my past life. Take it and go get your damn back checked! Don't blame my construction site when something goes wrong!"
"If something happens again next time... I will fucking string you up on the crane and parade you through the streets!"
Zhao Li flashed an embarrassed smile. With corrosive cement splattered across her dark, coarse face, she looked remarkably timid.
She was not good with words. Squatting down to pick up the money, she looked at Sun Zhigang, softly murmured a thank you, and hobbled away, leaving behind a bulky, one-point-five-seven-meter silhouette.
Sun Zhigang exhaled deeply and looked over his shoulder.
He saw Zhang Hu sitting in the shadows, looking at him with a half-smile.
Seeing this.
Sun Zhigang cursed under his breath as he walked over, grumbling as he went, "Damn these sick-in-the-head idiots. If you don't cuss them out, they can't get a single thing right..."
As for Zhao Li...
Zhao Li did not take the money straight to the hospital. After hesitating briefly and calculating the costs in her mind, she went to a roadside clinic instead, where she bought some medicinal patches and applied them to her lower back.
Then, she went to the market to buy some beef ribs. Returning to her doorway, she reached out, and the door creaked open.
"Creak—"
The door opened, revealing a simple two-bedroom, one-living-room rental apartment. The interior was a bit cluttered.
In the cramped living room stood a frail-looking girl, roughly one point six meters tall, wearing a school uniform.
The girl had delicate features but gave off an aura of intense isolation. With her head bowed and short hair obscuring her face, she appeared exceptionally taciturn.
Noticing the noise, she looked up and was just about to say something.
But the next second...
"Jiale, isn't it a coincidence? The foreman paid Mom a little extra today, and you just happen to be home from school."
Zhao Li's usually stiff face unconsciously softened with a trace of tenderness.
Her bulky body limped step by step as she carried the plastic bags toward the kitchen, talking as she walked, "You and your brother get to eat ribs today. Eat plenty so you can grow strong. Mom will buy you an air conditioner soon, so after the college entrance exams, you won't end up like me..."
Looking at her mother's back.
Yang Jiale, who had been about to speak, twitched her lips for a moment before lowering her head back into silence.
Meanwhile.
...
...
Torch Road, Jinmao Law Firm.
"Ring... ring... ring..."
Xu De ended the call. He looked up at Director Han standing before him and smiled.
"You see, Director, you do not need to worry about my startup capital. You have been overthinking things..."
"My funds are quite abundant."