novel bin Chapter 19 The Chief Supervisor
Chapter 19 The Chief Supervisor
"Wei Ling," Gu Lezhi answered the phone, "what's the situation with Yu Xingge?"
"When did you start caring about other teams?" Wei Ling teased. "What's wrong? Worried that your intern will be mistreated here? You weren't happy when I suggested she work on cases with you last time."
It's two different things.
Yu Xingge had previously asked Gu Lezhi to mentor her on cases, and coincidentally, she also had a criminal self-prosecution case on her hands. Gu Lezhi wasn't exactly a saint, but he faced a very practical problem: intern lawyers had to obtain an internship certificate before they could work on cases. Whether it was the Hongjiang Law Firm's policy or a customary practice within the legal profession, there was no room for leniency on this point. Want to work on cases – first get your certificate – certificate = find a mentor. Director Shen was extremely busy and probably couldn't mentor her. Everyone else in the real estate team had to go through a six-month evaluation process. Although Gu Lezhi had assigned Zhou Yuxuan to mentor her, he was also observing her closely. Since she was a promising talent, he figured he'd bring her under his wing sooner or later, so he might as well do her a favor; it was just a matter of saying a word to Director Shen.
However, taking her on cases is another matter. She's not qualified yet.
"This is just my personal suggestion. If being late becomes the subject of gossip for everyone in the institute, wouldn't it be embarrassing if it got out of the institute?"
Wei Ling pursed her lips. What personal suggestion? She leaned back in her office chair, lightly tapping the armrest with her left hand: "Today's matter was decided by the director; there's nothing I can do about it."
"Director Shen, you're bothering with such a trivial matter? Aren't you the team's head?"
"Oh, you really think highly of me, making me the director's head supervisor? I don't have that kind of guts." She still felt a pang of guilt thinking about how she'd seen him helping that girl down the stairs that morning. "Anyway, it was the director's decision. If you really have any objections, go talk to her. But let me warn you, she's been troubled lately because of the Wanxiang Group; anyone who tries to talk to her gets a scolding."
"The issue with Wanxiang Group hasn't been resolved yet? Those migrant workers have all withdrawn their lawsuits."
"That's the outside; of course, harmony brings wealth. If things are a mess inside, how can we justify it?"
After hanging up the phone, Gu Lezhi pondered: Although he felt a pang of pity when he recalled her words about growing up in an orphanage, going to see Director Shen about this matter... Since it was her decision, he, a staunch supporter of Director Shen, had already set the tone.
On the other end of the phone, Wei Ling scoffed: "So what if it's fake? I don't believe he dares to confront the director." The injured finger was indeed pitiful, but she felt a strange dislike for Yu Xingge. She had always thought the saying was very true: "Every pitiful person has something hateful about them."
This intuition helped her a lot.
Yu Xingge was completely unaware of any of this; at that moment, she was also on the phone.
"I heard you became a lawyer? Congratulations!"
At 1 p.m., the benches outside the Golden Gate Building, intended for pedestrians, were scorching hot. Yu Xingge sat under the shade of a tree, holding an umbrella in her left hand and her phone in her right. The air was so stifling that there wasn't a breath of cool air. Ya Jie used a band-aid from the front desk to quickly bandage her ring finger. At that moment, sweat seeped into the wound, causing waves of sharp, stabbing pain.
"Thanks."
"Don't rush to thank me. I'm not congratulating you, I'm congratulating myself. Of course, congratulations to you too. You've really got your wings now. I heard from Teacher Gu that you can handle cases independently now. That's truly something to celebrate." A shrill female voice, accompanied by static, pierced the eardrums. "Then I'll trouble you to settle all the fees from these past years. If we hadn't taken you in back then, hehe..."
The ten fingers are connected to the heart, and the torn nail doesn't grow back so easily. Fresh blood seeped into a red flower on the tip of her ring finger. Yu Xingge stared at her right hand, the scar on her little finger reminding her of that rainy night in her second year of junior high school when she huddled under the porch of the orphanage, clutching her soaked textbooks.
"It cost me a whopping 86,000 yuan to raise you for two years. Now that you're a top lawyer, it's time to pay me back, isn't it?" A shrill female voice came through the receiver. "Your accommodation is 1200 yuan per month, meals are 30 yuan per day, and then there are your tuition and other fees..."
Yu Xingge stared at the blood-red flower. "I'm curious, Aunt. What are your calculation methods and standards?"
Xing Sanchang said confidently, "Listen carefully. Accommodation is 1200 yuan per month, for 24 months, which is 28800 yuan. Assuming you eat little, let's say 30 yuan per day for meals, that's 21900 yuan for 730 days. Tuition and miscellaneous fees are 20000 yuan, and we also bought you brand-name children's clothing, which cost 5000 yuan. And most importantly, there's the compensation for emotional distress—at least 20000 yuan for the emotional strain during the guardianship period, totaling 86700 yuan!"
what!
"Auntie," she couldn't help but laugh, "You know I'm a lawyer. First, the actual period is from September 6, 2010 to July 2, 2012, which is 22 months. Also, the market rent for the storage room doesn't exceed 400 yuan per month. Furthermore, a minor's basic right to housing shouldn't be monetized. Second, the food expenses, based on your and your uncle's income at the time, would have been 15 yuan per day for the whole family. If I ate all of it, that would be 10950 yuan. I also need to inform you that this is a legal obligation of the guardian. Third, you might have mistakenly included my cousin's private middle school tuition fees, but I attended the public Xingfu Middle School, where tuition was 380 yuan per semester. Fourth, if you mean that branded children's clothing…"
She paused for a moment: "If you mean those so-called community charity secondhand clothing donations, please cross that out. If there are other expenses, please provide the transaction records as well; finally, compensation for emotional distress."
"If I countersue for abuse, can I claim compensation for emotional distress? Oh, right, you forgot to mention medical expenses." She touched the cinnabar birthmark behind her ear, a scab from when she was hit with a clothes hanger. "In my second year of junior high, my physical exam showed malnutrition. Do I need to get the school doctor from that year to testify?"
Yu Xingge twirled the parasol, the gleaming steel handle reflecting her coral-colored lips. She still remembered the look in her aunt's eyes that year, as if she were looking at a greasy rag. That was the same tone her aunt had used to cry to the orphanage: "We provide her with food and clothing, yet she's so alluring with her red lips and white teeth, how could I dare keep her!"
In the dead silence, Yu Xingge spoke: "I suggest you consult a lawyer. If you have any further questions, please feel free to call me again."
After hanging up the phone, the sunlight cast a long, thin shadow behind her, much like the tiny moss in the storage room that never sees the sun.
Yu Xingge sat for a while longer, then called Fu Congnan: "Can you do me a favor?"
"Go ahead and say it."
"Investigate Gu Lezhi's father-in-law, Ming Anguo, or his father, Gu Zhicai, to see which company has any legal dealings with him. You can start by looking at the recent embezzlement case that occurred at his company."
"Okay, no problem."
"Thank you, I'll hang up now."
"Wait a minute." Fu Congnan stood in the open space, watching his busy colleagues patrolling left and right, and stammered for a long time.
"What's up?"
He finally mustered the courage to speak and asked, "Did my mom just call you?"
"Um."
Fu Congnan was anxious and said in a hurried tone, "Did she ask you for money again? I told Xingge, I've already talked to her. I told her not to..."
"Fu Congnan," Yu Xingge said coldly, "this is between us. Please don't interfere, don't say a word, and just pretend you're deaf and mute, okay?"
"I just feel sorry for you..."
"No need, I'll take care of myself." Yu Xingge hung up the phone. A moment later, the phone rang again. Stomach acid churned, and after a long pause, she finally pressed the answer button: "What else is it?"
"It's Auntie. The police have already started the arrest. I'll take you there as soon as I have good news."
Yu Xingge jumped up: "Really?"