MWC – Chapter 13 A Trial Test (2)

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

The meeting room at this law firm was quite large, featuring a brown oval conference table surrounded by tinted glass walls on all sides, giving it a modern feel.

However, in such a spacious room, with only two people sitting alone, it was also easy to feel a sense of pressure. Perhaps this was one of the firm’s strategies.

At the oval conference table, Bess was seated with a middle-aged Chinese woman.

From Lu Ming’s perspective, she appeared to be of Chinese descent.

“Why are you dressed like this?! I send you to school every day, and you sneak off to do lowly work as a laborer?!” Pamela walked up to Bess and scolded loudly.

Bess was wearing a yellow uniform similar to those worn by fast-food workers, which did not suit her demeanor at all.

“Madam, please, don’t be angry. Bess is wearing her part-time work clothes. She only comes occasionally and works for a short while. I wouldn’t dare violate the law by making her work full-time…” The middle-aged Chinese woman stood up awkwardly and explained in a low voice.

Bess kept her head down, looking very afraid of her mother, with tears welling up in her eyes.

“Pamela, let me handle this…” Lu Ming gestured and then pulled out a chair to sit down next to Bess and the woman.

Pamela bit her lip. This guy was different from other Central Continent people; he could naturally command her without being annoying. 

Perhaps it was because of the confidence he exuded, showing that race didn’t matter to him. Everyone was equal in his eyes.

He was unlike the hypocritical members of her own race, the humble Central Continent people, or those Central Continent people who flaunted their power before her.

He genuinely looked at everyone with a calm and equal gaze.

“I am Pamela’s representative lawyer, and now, I am also Bess’s agent. My surname is Lu, and my full name is Lu Qianxing. May I ask what your relationship with Bess is? What exactly is going on? Please, explain it to me,” Lu Ming said, looking at the middle-aged woman.

The woman, who must have been a beauty in her youth, still retained some charm in her older age. She was wearing a light blue cheongsam, a popular and favored attire among Chinese women in Donghai.

“My name is Jin, Jin Taohua…” She looked at Lu Ming suspiciously. “You look very young… Are you really a lawyer?”

Lu Ming smiled, “Yes!” This version of himself in this world was only nineteen and had a youthful appearance.

He added, “Miss Pamela wouldn’t lie, would she? Please, tell me what’s going on!”

Jin Taohua sighed and said, “Oh, oh, here’s the situation: Yesterday, a customer at my restaurant slipped and got injured because Bess didn’t clean up the water on the floor in time. Now, he’s demanding that Bess pay for his medical expenses. He even hired a lawyer from here, and today we are here to discuss compensation. Bess didn’t want to tell her family, but I thought that if I didn’t inform Madam Pamela and something happened, I couldn’t bear the responsibility, right? Lawyer Lu?”

Lu Ming frowned. According to the laws from his previous world, such responsibility would fall on the establishment, not on an individual employee.

However, in the past few months, he had spent time reading the legal books from this world. According to some precedents, employees could indeed be held personally liable.

The laws in this world sometimes favored employers and the wealthy. Child labor was even permitted, though there were regulations on the intensity of the work and it couldn’t be full-time, which was better than the child labor conditions in the United States before Roosevelt’s New Deal.

“Bess, is what Manager Jin said true?” Lu Ming asked Bess.

Jin Taohua immediately interjected, “Why would I lie to you and Madam Pamela?” She was quick to speak, clearly a shrewd businesswoman.

Bess nodded timidly.

Pamela frowned but, after glancing at Lu Ming, remained silent.

Lu Ming pondered for a moment. “Why didn’t you clean up the water? Is there a rule in the employee handbook requiring you to promptly clean up spills?”

“Hey, hey, Lawyer Lu, what do you mean by that?” Jin Taohua immediately became anxious.

“There is…” Bess said softly. “Uncle, it’s all my fault…”

Obviously, despite her young age, she was quite intelligent—probably having had to grow up quickly in a poor family. She understood the implications of Lu Ming’s questions. Judging by Jin Taohua’s reaction, the employee handbook likely wasn’t that detailed. This little girl was trying to be loyal by claiming such a rule existed.

Lu Ming smiled and asked, “Then why didn’t you clean up the water? Were you slacking off?”

Bess quickly shook her head. “No, at that time, I was the only one in the restaurant. A batch of flour arrived in the kitchen, and all the other waitstaff were called away by Auntie Jin to help unload it.”

Lu Ming nodded and looked at Jin Taohua, frowning. “Manager Jin, given her age, while the Empire’s laws do not explicitly prohibit helping out, they require employers to have an adult present and prohibit them from engaging in strenuous labor. Leaving her alone to take care of the entire restaurant is your oversight and has nothing to do with my client.”

Jin Taohua wanted to say something, but Lu Ming waved his hand. “I understand, you thought since she is a Westerner, nothing serious would happen, so you put all the blame on her. But she is only eight years old. Can you imagine the psychological pressure she’s been under these past few days? We’ve all been children once; you can understand that, right?”

Jin Taohua, who had been about to argue, fell silent, a look of guilt appearing on her face.

“Now, tell me in detail what exactly happened. I don’t want to just push the blame onto you and leave. If I can help, I will do my best to assist you.”

Bess suddenly started sobbing. It was clear she understood what Lu Ming was saying. This stranger she had met just a few mornings ago seemed to sweep away the nightmares of the past few days.

So, this uncle was a great lawyer, a very capable person.

Moreover, this uncle seemed to understand her very well. While helping her, he didn’t make things difficult for Auntie Jin and even wanted to help her fight the case.

Auntie Jin, who had helped her a lot in the past, had been unrecognizable these past two days, now wanting her to bear such a huge responsibility.

Why had Auntie Jin become like this?

Her little mind was in utter turmoil, filled with countless grievances and complex emotions.

But now, everything was resolved.

She didn’t know why, but she started crying loudly, as if all her grievances were being released through her tears.

“Why are you crying? So useless!” Pamela scolded.

Lu Ming frowned, “If the child wants to cry, let her cry! This kid is more sensible than you. You just care about your pride, even when the laundry shop couldn’t stay open, you wouldn’t find a new job and just lived off your savings. She started working at such a young age to help ease your burden! Let me tell you, don’t scold her when you get home. You actually feel sorry for her, don’t you?”

Pamela was stunned, biting her red lips and glaring at Lu Ming. Finally, she held back her anger, snorted, and raised her fair neck like a proud swan, “I won’t argue with a barbarian.”

Bess, hearing Lu Ming scold her mother without getting reprimanded by her, stopped crying for a moment. She looked up through her tear-blurred eyes and saw Lu Ming offering her a handkerchief. Unable to hold back any longer, she suddenly threw herself into Lu Ming’s arms, hugging him tightly and sobbing.

Lu Ming was momentarily stunned. Despite the smell of food on her work clothes and his usual aversion to such odors, he didn’t push her away.

“It’s okay now,” Lu Ming gently patted her trembling shoulder.

Then he turned to Jin Taohua, “Tell me everything, all the details.”