MWC – Chapter 134 Your Rules, My Waste Paper

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

Li Dagui looked helplessly at the well-dressed young man standing on a stone, giving a speech in front of the dilapidated residential building.

The area was crowded with people, who occasionally erupted in cheers and applause, while reporters around them snapped pictures.

Next to him was a short, chubby, balding middle-aged man named Zhang Zhenbang, the Deputy Director of the Health Committee under the North Gate City Management Committee.

Li Dagui felt even more helpless.

The Health Committee had originally contracted a fixed law firm, Liu Hanming Law Firm, for its legal business. However, in this dispute, Liu Hanming Law Firm replied that it was in merger talks with the firm where Lu Qianxing, the lawyer, worked, presenting a conflict of interest. Therefore, they could not represent the committee.

Furthermore, the letter implied that terminating the long-term agency contract with the Health Committee would be acceptable.

Thus, the Health Committee approached Tang-Li Law Firm, which then assigned the case to him.

The reason given was that he had dealt with Lu Qianxing’s law firm multiple times, faced off against Lu Qianxing’s apprentices, and had once been the legal aid lawyer for Silov, a key witness in Lu Qianxing’s prosecution of Little Renault.

Ultimately, Silov was pardoned, and the work was commendable.

Therefore, with his rich experience in dealing with Lu Qianxing, he was deemed the best candidate for this case.

Thinking back on his boss’s serious talk and the various reasons why he was the only suitable candidate for the case, Li Dagui felt like crying.

If they were scared, they should just admit it. Why did they have to push him as the scapegoat?

Lu Qianxing was currently very prominent, and no one wanted to oppose him. That was understandable. But why make him the outstanding scapegoat?

Cheers erupted again from that side.

Under the scorching sun, the Deputy Director Zhang Zhenbang wiped sweat from his bald head with a handkerchief, disdainfully remarking, “Such a show, too much!”

Li Dagui was startled. Zhang was not from the legal field and naturally did not know how formidable Lu Qianxing was. Moreover, Zhang Zhenbang was a high-ranking official in an administrative body, inherently bureaucratic and indifferent to this meeting, feeling especially indignant about being kept waiting.

But such words shouldn’t be spoken carelessly. If Lu Qianxing heard them, it would be disastrous.

However, he couldn’t just tell his client to shut up either.

Li Dagui discreetly distanced himself from Zhang Zhenbang, so that Lu Qianxing’s people wouldn’t think he was joining in the complaints.

But truthfully, Lu Qianxing was indeed putting on a show.

A large poster was already hanging outside the New Era Mall building, clearly visible from afar, proclaiming Lu Qianxing’s vision of a fair society and community, starting with the lemonade girl!

The large poster contrasted the little girl holding a bottle of lemonade against a backdrop of skyscrapers, highlighting the disparity.

Behind the girl was a blurry image of poorly dressed people, seemingly representing the working class.

“Let her and them become part of our fair society!” read the poster.

Moreover, although the little girl’s grandmother had been sent to the hospital by Lu Qianxing and was reportedly well cared for, Lu Ming still brought a large group to the girl’s house, doing all sorts of things. Wasn’t this just for show?

Li Dagui shook his head, trying to forget these thoughts. If he slipped during negotiations, it would be disastrous.

“Gentlemen, please follow me!” A beautiful woman in a red suit dress gestured for them to follow.

Applause grew louder, signaling that Lu Qianxing’s speech was concluding.

…

In the glass-walled conference room, they could see the busy men and women outside. Their attire and demeanor clearly marked them as professionals.

Zhang Zhenbang’s previous arrogance had slightly receded, but after waiting too long, he grew impatient, turning to Li Dagui, “Go hurry them up!”

Next to Zhang Zhenbang sat a nervous middle-aged man in a black uniform with a pen in his shirt pocket, the health supervisor, Chen Rongchang, who was called in because Lu Qianxing’s side refused to meet without him.

At Li Dagui’s persuasion, Zhang Zhenbang made a call and summoned him.

“Oh, they’re here!” Zhang Zhenbang had asked Li Dagui to hurry them several times, but now he saw figures approaching the glass wall, and the doors slid open.

Lu Qianxing entered, holding the little girl’s hand. The beautiful woman in red lifted the girl into a large leather chair.

The girl, now more neatly dressed but still in simple floral clothes, immediately lowered her head upon seeing Chen Rongchang, clearly still afraid of the man who had once aggressively kicked her stall.

“My time is very valuable,” Lu Ming said, taking out a piece of paper, looking at Li Dagui, and crossing out a number before writing another.

“Our time…” Zhang Zhenbang started angrily, feeling his time was more valuable.

Li Dagui quietly told him, “The lawyer across charges 1000 yuan per minute.”

After sending Little Renault to the gallows, the consulting fee of Wang-Lu Law Firm for Lu Qianxing skyrocketed from 100 yuan per minute to 1000 yuan.

Zhang Zhenbang was stunned, his mouth agape, unable to speak as he realized a minute equaled his annual salary.

Lu Ming pushed the paper forward, which slid across the smooth table.

“So decide quickly, or I’ll raise the price.”

Li Dagui picked up the paper and gasped at the 70,000 yuan figure.

“Are you crazy?!” Zhang Zhenbang stood up abruptly, “This is insane!” He turned to Li Dagui, “Let’s go!”

Lu Ming smiled, “Go ahead. Originally, I was going to charge 100,000, but seeing it’s you, Li Dagui, I dropped it to 70,000. I’ve faced off against you before…”

Li Dagui almost stood up to deny but kept his composure for his client’s sake.

“Li Dagui is an excellent lawyer, so I thought even if it went to court, I’d get around this amount, so I gave a 30% discount. Our time is precious; let’s not waste it in court.”

Li Dagui saw the original 100,000 crossed out to 70,000.

“Mr. Zhang, let’s hear them out first,” Li whispered to Zhang Zhenbang.

Zhang Zhenbang snorted, sitting down. He thought this could be resolved without going to court and paying too much compensation.

Li Dagui said, “Mr. Lu, your client operating without a health permit is illegal. Out of humanitarian concern, we’re willing to offer some compensation to Miss Xiuxiu, but your figure is impossible.”

Looking at the seemingly invincible giant opposite him, Li Dagui calmed down instead. As a lawyer, it was his duty to do his best, no matter the circumstances.

Lu Ming smiled: “Why must there be a health permit to set up a stall?”

Everyone present was taken aback. Initially, they thought Lu Ming was simply seeking compensation for the rough enforcement, but now he was questioning the necessity of a health permit?

Lu Ming continued: “What is a health permit? Isn’t it just humans testing the hygiene of products? What’s the difference between that and the vendor testing it themselves?”

“Note, we are talking about homemade beverages here, not expired products or those with additives.”

“In fact, when a society relies on specific institutions to test the quality of every product, that society has already failed.”

“It means the moral baseline of the society has become the law, which is sad.”

“Of course, I do believe testing institutions are necessary, and the more diverse, the better.”

“But such testing and certification should not go against human nature.”

“Take Xiuxiu for example. She and her grandmother have been selling lemonade for years at the same spot near the New Era Mall. The security there never drove them away because they knew their plight and that their lemonade was always clean and hygienic. Not once in all these years did anyone have an issue drinking it. So why do they need your approval or your certificate? Are products with your certificates any less problematic?”

“Half a century ago, when our health management institutions were established, was it to drive out honest vendors?”

“Why should they give you part of their hard-earned money?”

“But the law…” Li Dagui began to argue but was cut off by Lu Ming’s wave of his hand. “Laws are made by people, especially the regulations of certain institutions, targeting specific groups. Are they necessarily reasonable? In my eyes, the health committee’s rules are worthless.”

“You!” Director Zhang, who had been fuming from Lu Ming’s arguments, turned red and stood up angrily. “How dare you be so disrespectful!”

Lu Ming looked at him calmly, “Do you believe that if this goes to court, your rules won’t be quickly amended? Many of them will become worthless!”

“You, you…” Zhang Zhenbang pointed at Lu Ming, too angry to speak.

Ignoring him, Lu Ming turned to Li Dagui, “Fine, let’s not talk about the health permit. Let’s discuss Xiuxiu’s losses.”

“Even without the health permit, you damaged many of her belongings during enforcement…”

Li Dagui nodded, “These losses can be discussed.”

“And the harm done to the little girl…”

Li Dagui considered, “That too can be discussed.”

“More importantly, the public defamation of her products, declaring her lemonade unsanitary and destroying it on the spot, which caused significant loss.”

“You must understand that Xiuxiu’s carefully made lemonade was seen as affordable but high-quality, with a reputation for good taste and hygiene, akin to an old brand. Even people from afar came to buy it. Your declaration that it was unsanitary and your public destruction mixed it with sewage. Who would buy it now? Do you understand consumer psychology?”

Li Dagui was momentarily stunned but had done his homework, “For a long time, Xiuxiu might struggle to sell her lemonade. The health committee is willing to issue a special health permit to Xiuxiu, waiving management fees for ten years to compensate for her loss.”

Xiuxiu, who didn’t understand much of the conversation, lit up at this point, looking at her Uncle Qianxing. A free health permit was beyond her wildest dreams.

Previously, her grandmother had avoided paying fees because the health committee demanded an inspection and fee for each sale of homemade beverages. This often made her grandmother cry, forcing them to play hide and seek with inspectors.

Lu Ming shook his head and smiled at Li Dagui, “You still don’t understand, do you?”

“Let me show you a document!” Lu Ming extended his hand, and the elegant woman in red beside him quickly took out a few pages from her briefcase, sliding them to Li Dagui.

Li Dagui picked up the papers and was stunned. It was a letter of intent from Huaxia Beverage Company to purchase Xiuxiu’s exclusive recipe for 50,000 yuan, plus annual dividends from lemonade sales.

The signing date was ten days ago.

Lu Ming shook his head, “Now, the reputation of the grandmother-granddaughter lemonade has been completely ruined by you. Mixing it with sewage and declaring it unsanitary is an indelible black mark. Huaxia Beverage has withdrawn their offer. This unforeseen disaster would cause the grandmother and granddaughter long-term losses worth hundreds of thousands. Demanding 70,000 yuan in compensation is already a concession because of you, Li Dagui.”

Zhang Zhenbang’s expression turned cold as he looked at the letter of intent, “Nonsense, who would believe such a fabricated document?”

Lu Ming frowned slightly, “Director Zhang, I’ll let it go this time. If you defame me again, I will formally sue you for damaging my reputation. Then, 70,000 yuan won’t suffice.”

“Whether this document is valid, we’ll see in court!”

Li Dagui whispered a few words to Zhang Zhenbang, who slowly sat down.

Lu Ming continued, “This 70,000 yuan compensation will establish a fund, overseen by my law firm, to cover the grandmother and granddaughter’s expenses, including medical needs for the grandmother and Xiuxiu’s future education and living expenses. It will also provide a generous dowry when she marries.” Lu Ming smiled at Xiuxiu, pinching her cheek, “Little one, you’ll have a dowry. Study hard and thank the uncles and aunts from the health committee.”

Director Zhang gritted his teeth, “This is impossible!”

“Okay…” Lu Ming pointed to Chen Rongchang, the middle-aged man who destroyed Xiuxiu’s stall, “The settlement agreement includes a clause that he must be dismissed.”

Chen Rongchang turned pale.

Zhang Zhenbang suggested, “Rongchang, apologize sincerely to Xiuxiu to show our goodwill.”

“Okay, okay…” Facing his superior, Chen Rongchang quickly bowed deeply to Xiuxiu, “Miss Xiuxiu, I was wrong. Please forgive me!”

Xiuxiu, seeing the once fierce uncle now looking pitiful, felt scared by the situation but noticed he seemed even more frightened.

She didn’t dare to say much and hid behind Lu Ming.

Zhang Zhenbang added, “Chen Rongchang will be dismissed. As for compensation, 500 yuan. Plus, free health permits for Xiuxiu and her grandmother.”

Accustomed to being in charge, Zhang Zhenbang decided to take control, feeling his lawyer was ineffective.

Li Dagui shook his head helplessly.

Chen Rongchang collapsed into his chair, horrified by being dismissed so publicly.

To his superiors, subordinates were expendable, their feelings irrelevant.

Lu Ming looked at Zhang Zhenbang, “Director Zhang, this isn’t a marketplace. 500 yuan? You can consider my offer. If there’s no clear response in three days, I’ll officially sue on behalf of my client.”

Zhang Zhenbang realized he was making a joke. This wasn’t a place for bargaining; the other side was serious about the astronomical compensation.

Furious, he turned to Li Dagui, “Let’s go!”

Lu Ming smiled, “Director Zhang, actually, your fees and taxes are meant to redistribute wealth in society. Instead of letting people like me easily take it, wouldn’t it be better to genuinely help those in need, like Xiuxiu and her grandmother? Isn’t that more meaningful?”

Zhang Zhenbang, with a dark expression, strode out, followed by Li Dagui.

Lu Ming smiled at Li Dagui, “Dagui, do you think my arguments would be accepted by the judge and jury in court?”

Li Dagui, feeling a chill, forced a smile and hurried after Zhang Zhenbang.

…

In the conference room, Lu Ming looked at Xiuxiu, “Let’s go for the newspaper interview. Xiuxiu, you need to put on a good show and cooperate. You are called Xiuxiu, so you need to perform well!”

Xiuxiu, head down, was too scared to speak.

The elegant woman in red beside them felt a bit helpless. Unless one knew Lu Ming for many years, they might think he was doing all this just for a political campaign.

Many believed Lu Ming’s pursuit of Little Renault was due to his grudge against the Renault family, but Little Renault deserved his fate.

Now, though Lu Ming genuinely helped the grandmother and granddaughter, it seemed like he was just showboating for his campaign.

Initially, she too thought Lu Ming was hypocritical and frightening, until President Pan explained his actions, asking her to help with the campaign.

Now, she understood Lu Ming a bit better. Deep down, he was kind and gentle but didn’t want his vulnerabilities exposed, hence the façade.

Outsiders and common people were moved by his declarations and supported his ideals.

Insiders, knowing more details, saw him as hypocritical and ruthless.

But those who truly knew him realized he was a unique individual.