Chapter 42: Chapter 21 (part 3)

Fu Zheng frowned. "Poaching clients? What do you mean?"

"Normally, when we take a client, we charge them according to the prices the firm has put in place, and the firm takes a cut, right? Shen Yuting takes commissions in private, and charges a fee set between the firm's usual fee and the cut she gets from going through the firm. So for a customer, they would pay less than they normally would through the firm, and Shen Yuting gets a bigger percentage than what she would normally get on commission. It's a win-win situation for them both. On top of that, for things like reviewing and issuing contracts, if she takes the job under the table then she doesn't have to pay taxes... "

"But that's illegal. Yes, the firm charges a very high rate from a client's point of view, but it comes along with a thorough contract that protects them in case any disputes crop up. If it's an under the table job and a problem crops up, they'd stand no chance against a professional lawyer."

"Clients like that are only looking at the money," Ning Wan sighed. "Under the table contracts cost less. They don't think about the possibility of disputes coming up later. Well, but maybe Shen Yuting does good work. I don't know if disputes have occurred previously."

She had brought up the topic casually, but unexpectedly, Fu Zheng seemed quite concerned about the topic. "Have you reported this?"

"Report?" Ning Wan glanced at him. "I say, Fu Zheng, did you eat too much rice in the United States or what? Do you seriously think that unfair things get handled if you report them? Come on, Shen Yuting is a junior partner. She has her own team and her own salary. To shake her you would need at least two senior partners investigating, while I'm just a little lawyer hanging out in the community. What's more, though I know that she's doing these things, I don't have any evidence. What do you expect me to do? If I report it, I'll be wiped before I know it. Even if I went straight to the higher-ups, they would probably turn a blind eye after weighing the pros and cons..."

She sighed. "The workplace isn't as black and white as you think."

Ning Wan gave this advice to Fu Zheng with full sincerity. He seemed to have a simple and straightforward view of justice, and felt like 'those who do something wrong should be punished'. How silly and sweet he was. Where could you find a workplace like that? She felt like if she didn't advise him carefully on this point, sooner or later he would hit a wall at work and begin doubting his purpose in life.

However, Silly Sweet Fu Zheng wasn't taking any advice from Ning Wan. Pursing his lips, he said, "You haven't tried reporting, so how do you know that the senior partners will overlook it? Aren't you giving up before you even begin?"

"Do you think I haven't given feedback on injustices I've seen before?"

"Then why not try again?" Fu Zheng looked at her. "You'll absolutely succeed this time. I guarantee it."

Oh, come on now. 'Guarantee it'? Life wasn't about believing that hard work pays off in the end, as if you could go on living just by drinking chicken soup for the soulChicken Soup for the Soul is a book series. Each book is a collection of feel-good inspirational short stories about ordinary people. It's quite a best-seller and is pretty popular overseas, which is why Ning Wan is using it as an idiom here. I used to read it as a little girl and it was definitely pretty wholesome, if a bit junk-foodish upon reflection. I liked how they were all (ostensibly) real stories. where truth, goodness and beauty always win out. Ning Wan was tired and jaded of this topic.

Seeing that Fu Zheng still wanted to pursue the topic, she quickly interrupted him. "Alright, alright, let's stop here. I've told you the names of these two and Shen Yuting in the hope that if you go back to headquarters in the future, you'll be a bit more cautious around them. Don't make friends with them, it won't work out for you. They're both only average at their job, but they're very good at fooling people, and extremely good at sucking up. Don't enter Shen Yuting's team, either. She isn't very professional, and the  way she handles things is quite unbridled. There are more employees in her team who are good at flattery than there are who are useful... Anyway, less gossip, more work. We've got things to do, business to focus on. Let's talk about investigating for Lu Feng."

Fu Zheng bit his lower lip, as if he had jotted down the names of these people. Finally brought back to the present by Ning Wan's words, he frowned, "But Lu Feng and Wang Liying each have their own story, and there aren't any witnesses. What else can we investigate?"

"Of course we wouldn't confront either of them face to face!" Ning Wan smiled. "At the moment, I personally believe Lu Feng's version, but why would the old lady lie? It will be ineffective for us to confront the old lady directly, but since she has chosen this road, she must have her own reasons. So let's start with her."

"She doesn't even want to see her own children."

Ning Wan snapped her fingers. "That's why we should approach her best friend!"

"Guo Jianhong said that before she underwent chemotherapy, Auntie Wang liked to square dance. She was pretty close to Auntie Xiao, the square dance organizer. Honestly, many parents are embarrassed to confess their personal thoughts to their children, but everyone needs someone to talk to. If you can't talk to your children, then perhaps you'll talk to your girlfriends?"

 

Without delay, Ning Wan and Fu Zheng split up and asked around before meeting to exchange information. Together, they managed to piece together Auntie Xiao's general situation.

Auntie Xiao's full name was Xiao Mei. She was a dance teacher before she retired, and she had maintained herself very well, retaining much of her grace and elegance. Her husband had died a few years ago, leaving her a widow, and she lived alone. Though her only son had settled in the United States, Auntie Xiao was not at all lonely. She was the soul of the community square dance group, the fantasy of widowed old men in the community, and a well-known socialite and social activist in the elderly social circle.

All this information came in higgledy-piggledy, in bits and pieces, but then new problems surfaced...

Aunt Xiao was lively, outgoing and sociable, on the go the whole year round and never at home. Her neighbors didn't know where she would be during the day, only that she would definitely be there to lead the square dance at 7:30pm.

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Therefore, overtime work ensued.

Ning Wei looked at Fu Zheng. "You go ahead and head home after work. I'll take care of this tonight. I'm already familiar with the old ladies at the square dance, and I'm a woman, so it's more suitable for me to go." Embarrassed, she paused. "I'm sorry, I was hoping to invite you over to my place for dinner tonight, but I'll have to let you take care of dinner yourself today. Time is a bit tight, so I won't be able to go home, cook, and then come back. "

When Fu Zheng heard Ning Wan say that she was going to invite him to dinner, his heart froze. Then when she continued on to say that he would have to take care of himself, it relaxed back into its proper position.

He smiled obediently. "That's fine. You're busy tonight, I can take care of dinner by myself."

Last night, he had accompanied Ning Wan to the birthday party. The seafood there hadn't been fresh enough for his tastes, so he had only had a few nibbles. Afterward, he had been dragged to a roadside stall, where he hadn't eaten much either. Fu Zheng felt relieved - finally, he could have a good meal tonight.

Completely unaware of his secret thoughts, Ning Wan's face was full of guilt. "Don't worry. You can come over for dinner tomorrow night."

“……”

She smiled at him. "I've decided to pay you back in food for helping me out at that birthday party. I was only going to take care of your dinner for a week, but now I'll do it for half a year!"

“……”

“…………”

“………………”

Fu Zheng felt as though he might suffocate any second. "You're too polite... Half a year is too long, really, it's far too troublesome for you to have to work that hard..."

Ning Wan's cooking really wasn't that great... He would really rather eat Western food at his hotel...

Alas, Ning Wan didn't understand the cry of Fu Zheng's heart. She said expansively, "It's all right! I'm not buying anything too pricey, a little home cooking is no big deal. Work hard and consider it my six-month investment in you. You can fly to the top in half a year!" She winked mischievously at him. "And if in the future you come across a lucrative case, think of me!"

“……”

Seeing Fu Zheng fall silent, Ning Wan joked, "What, are you going to say no to that?"

Fu Zheng struggled for a moment, finally gave up resisting, and drily spit out, "Alright."

Having obtained a satisfactory answer, Ning Wan left, waving at him happily. Fu Zheng stood alone in her wake, doubting life.

The unimaginable day had come when someone could be assigned to his cases just from a half-year's dinner.

Fu Zheng wondered when he had become so cheap...