MWC – Chapter 74 Recruiting a Disciple

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

In the car, Lu Ming changed out of his student uniform. Suddenly, he noticed in the rearview mirror that Pu Xiuna seemed to be stifling a laugh. Perhaps he was too depressed, having muttered about being assigned to middle school when he got into the car. Pu Xiuna and Uncle Sun naturally didn’t dare to respond.

“Is it very funny, Nana?” 

Pu Xiuna’s face immediately turned pale. “I… no, I didn’t…” she stammered, her hands and feet flustered. She even forgot to avoid a bicycle in front, and Uncle Sun quickly grabbed the steering wheel. With a screech, the black sedan stopped at the curb. Thankfully, she hadn’t forgotten to press the brakes.

Tears welled up in Pu Xiuna’s eyes. In her world, this was akin to a catastrophe, having made the most terrible mistake.

Lu Ming was taken aback. Were the people around him already this afraid of him? From now on, he couldn’t casually joke with them, as it would put too much pressure on them.

“Don’t worry, Nana. I was joking with you. Alright, continue driving. Let’s go to the office.” Lu Ming tried to sound as gentle as possible.

Come to think of it, this little girl was always so afraid of him. When she heard him muttering about middle school, she probably thought her boss was quite cute and thus stifled a laugh. The next second, did he turn into a fierce demon again?

“Yes, sir…” Pu Xiuna pulled herself together and started the car.

The black sedan following them also slowly moved. Naturally, it carried Sha Dahai and his men.

…

At the Jibird Building, Wang-Lu Law Firm, the benches outside were full of people. Lu Ming was momentarily stunned.

Inside the office, it was equally chaotic. It seemed many of these people were clients who had come to entrust their cases, and some were interns notified by Wang Da’an for interviews.

The place was as chaotic as a vegetable market. Jiji and Chen Qinghua were busy dealing with them and hadn’t even noticed the boss’s arrival.

Through the glass wall, Lu Ming saw that Wang Da’an seemed to have a guest in his office. He walked over and knocked on the door. When Wang Da’an saw Lu Ming, he excitedly stood up and waved. “Come in, come in!”

They had expected the boss, who usually left everything to others, to visit the office today. They thought he would come late in the evening for a quick round but were pleasantly surprised he came in the morning.

“Am I disturbing you?” Lu Ming asked with a smile as he entered.

“We were just waiting for you!” Wang Da’an pointed to his guest. “Let me introduce you, Lawyer Charlie Tang!”

The man sitting at Wang Da’an’s desk, dressed in a suit and tie, stood up and smiled. “No introduction needed. I was once defeated by Lawyer Lu!”

He was none other than Charlie Tang, the legal representative for Fengshun Trading in Pamela’s compensation case.

Lu Ming smiled and shook his hand, wondering if this guy was in some legal trouble.

Wang Da’an smiled and said, “Lawyer Charlie Tang wants to bring his clients over. I can’t make that decision; you should talk to him.”

Charlie Tang looked pleased.

Lu Ming shrugged. “You can talk.”

Charlie Tang, a skilled lawyer from Tang-Li Law Firm, likely had some connections with the Tang family. While switching firms with clients wasn’t unethical, it meant he could also take clients away in the future. So, there wasn’t much to discuss with him beyond terms and conditions.

Besides, as someone who left everything to others, Lu Ming needed to establish Wang Da’an’s authority, so he could manage the office even when Lu Ming wasn’t around.

Charlie Tang looked a bit awkward. Lu Ming smiled at him. “Sorry, Lawyer Tang. I came back to find some documents for a bank case. It’s urgent! You know about the Baoyin Bank case, right?”

Charlie Tang was stunned. Baoyin Bank was a big case, but he had heard it was always represented by a top Western law firm.

Could they have poached such a case?

“A major case, Lawyer Lu. Please, go ahead with your work!” Charlie Tang felt much better.

Thinking back to the small thousands-yuan compensation case he had treated as a big deal when he faced this young lawyer, he now felt quite embarrassed.

Lu Ming returned to his office, with Wang Da’an following.

“I’ve scheduled a meeting with the judge presiding over the Baoyin Bank case tomorrow. Today, I don’t have much to do, so I’ll switch my focus. If we have interns, I’ll interview a few! It’s better to cultivate our own talents.”

Wang Da’an smiled wryly. “You have a point, but what about Charlie Tang? What terms should we offer him?”

Previously, a lawyer of Charlie Tang’s level wouldn’t have given him a second glance. Now, he was switching firms to theirs, and Wang Da’an was in a position to set the terms. It felt surreal.

“Junior partner, with a 30-70 split in the firm’s favor. For the clients he brings, we can do a 70-30 split in his favor.”

Wang Da’an was stunned. Charlie Tang could probably negotiate similar terms at a bigger firm. Besides Lu Ming’s rising fame, Charlie Tang might have thought a smaller firm would offer better terms.

“Is this okay? Won’t it fall apart immediately?” Wang Da’an hesitated.

“Don’t worry. He’s not in a strong position. Generally, such a switch is pre-arranged with another firm, bringing clients directly over.”

“If he’s coming to us like a headless chicken, it means his departure from Tang-Li Law Firm was sudden and unavoidable.”

“In Beiguan, there are only a few law firms. If Liu Hanming hasn’t taken him in, it means the clients he can bring aren’t attractive enough for a bigger firm to risk conflict with Tang-Li Law Firm. And smaller firms wouldn’t dare cross Tang-Li. So, only we don’t play by those rules.”

Wang Da’an smiled bitterly. You don’t play by the rules; you’re the best.

“So, these terms are actually favorable to him. After all, he’s the first well-known lawyer to bring clients and switch to our firm. If it works out, it would be historic, wouldn’t it?”

“Discuss it with him. You’re a named partner, equal to me. You’re one of the two bosses. What are you afraid of? With my support, go ahead and talk!”

“Alright…” Wang Da’an’s spirits lifted after these words. He turned and left with a bit of a boss’s demeanor.

Lu Ming picked up the phone, dialed the outside line, and asked Jiji to start sending the intern lawyers to his office for interviews.

An intern lawyer was a law school graduate who had passed the Empire’s unified law graduate exam. Passing it earned them an intern lawyer’s license.

The law graduate unified exam was easier than the real bar exam.

However, intern lawyers needed to join a law firm, find a qualified mentor, and after two years, they could be recognized by their mentor and officially receive their lawyer’s license.

This mentorship was significant, representing legal industry factions and future networking depth.

In his firm, excluding Charlie Tang, only he was qualified to take on apprentices. Wang Da’an, being a junior lawyer, was not.

Even though Lu Ming had gained some fame, he was still a newcomer in the legal field. Apprenticing with him offered little advantage to these intern lawyers once they became full lawyers. They would be isolated, without senior colleagues or mentors who were prominent figures, judges, etc.

So, those willing to intern at his firm were graduates without strong foundations or those not outstanding in college. Outstanding graduates had long been referred to firms by their mentors.

The interview results were as expected. Even those selected by Wang Da’an for interviews were not impressive.

They were likely not as good as Chen Qinghua. Chen Qinghua had test anxiety, went to a poor university, and failed the law graduate exam and the bar exam, so he could only work as a paralegal.

The last one wasn’t satisfactory either. Shaking his head, Lu Ming saw it was already past eleven, feeling like he had wasted the whole morning.

The phone suddenly rang. Jiji’s clear voice said, “Boss, Lawyer Liu Hanming is on the phone!”

“Hmm, put him through,” Lu Ming said, taking a sip of tea. Liu Hanming had recently been calling occasionally to check in, but he hadn’t mentioned switching firms.

“Brother Qianxing, are you interviewing intern lawyers?” Liu Hanming’s cheerful voice came through.

Being in the Jibird Building, news traveled fast between the floors.

“Yes, but there aren’t any promising candidates,” Lu Ming admitted.

“How about this? I have a niece with decent qualifications who admires you greatly. Could you do me a favor and take her in? I assure you, she’s not just filling the numbers. I really like her too, but she wants to learn from you, Lawyer Lu.”

Lu Ming was taken aback and thought for a moment. “Alright, let me meet her first. Can she come over this afternoon?”

“No problem at all. Whenever suits you!” Liu Hanming replied joyfully, pausing for a moment. “As for Charlie Tang, he’s the adopted son of the Tang family. Now that old Tang has a biological son born in his later years, he’s doting on him excessively. Charlie Tang said something behind his back, which old Tang found out about, and that’s why he’s being kicked out. You can take him in, but be cautious. Old Tang doesn’t want to completely sever ties, considering their thirty-plus years of relationship, but his temper is very volatile.”

“Thanks for the heads-up, Liu.”

Lu Ming had just hung up when another call came in, this time from Wen Liangyu.

“Qianxing, are you taking on apprentices?” Wen Liangyu’s first words caught Lu Ming off guard.

Clearing his throat, Lu Ming replied, “I just finished the interviews, but didn’t find anyone suitable.”

“That’s great! I have someone in mind, a good young man whom I’ve supported through his studies. He just got his intern lawyer license. How about he learns from you?”

Lu Ming was speechless. Was this a request to train a gangster lawyer? He wondered if there were any undercover agents in the police force placed by Wen.

“Fourth Brother, I can meet him. Have him come over this afternoon.”

“Great, thank you!”

After hanging up, Lu Ming felt a bit uneasy.

Suddenly, he realized that whether or not he accepted these apprentices, they represented upper-middle-class social networks and future elite connections.

But he preferred grassroots lawyers who could rise to prominence in the industry, like Han Anne from his past life.

After some thought, Lu Ming pressed the intercom. “Jiji, ask Qinghua to come in.”

Soon, Chen Qinghua knocked and entered, his forehead dotted with sweat. It had been a busy day.

There were many clients outside, but most had trivial matters, making it more exhausting to handle.

“Qinghua, would you like to be my apprentice?” Lu Ming asked with a smile.

Chen Qinghua was stunned. “But I don’t have the qualifications…”

Lu Ming smiled. “The bar exam isn’t that hard. I believe you can pass with proper preparation, unless you feel you can’t learn anything here.” After a pause, he added, “So, I’ll ask you again. Do you want to be my apprentice?”

Chen Qinghua felt a sudden warmth in his heart and nodded. “Yes, I do. I would love to…”

The boss—no, the mentor—was giving him an opportunity, one not everyone had.

From the day he arrived in this city, he knew how indifferent people could be. As an unknown graduate from a nondescript school who hadn’t even passed the law graduate exam, who in the legal field would give him a second glance?

Even Jiji, with her lazy boyfriend, made him feel inferior. He never dared to say anything to her.

“Alright, you can go now. Thanks for your hard work today,” Lu Ming said, gesturing.

Chen Qinghua bowed his head and slowly retreated, his hand trembling slightly as he closed the door.

Lu Ming sighed softly. The greater the hope, the greater the expectations.

Was his decision right? He had given Chen Qinghua a lot of hope.

But ultimately, it depended on his own efforts.

As a paralegal, he would score 80-90%, but as a qualified lawyer, something still seemed lacking.

Hopefully, he would work twice as hard.

Taking another sip of tea, Lu Ming felt good about his three apprentices.

One was a gangster lawyer, one from a prestigious family, and one with poor qualifications from the grassroots.

Yes, this was his style.

According to the Bar Association’s rules, a lawyer could only mentor up to two apprentices simultaneously.

So, he would take two interns, while Chen Qinghua would participate as a paralegal.

Having spent enough time at the firm, Chen Qinghua should have no problem passing the bar exam, but whether he could become a competent lawyer would depend on himself.