novel bin Chapter 48 Help Me
Chapter 48 Help Me
"Look!"
A bright red Apple computer was playing last week's surveillance footage, and the chubby lawyer, Wang, was working overtime alone in the common office area.
Well, it's the very same dramatic table I just mentioned.
"No lawyer in our firm can say they didn't know this was a common office area, but he can't. Have you forgotten? This table in the common office area is only there because of him."
"Oh~" Pan Xi's voice trailed off in a long arc.
"So, you mean the workstation fee?"
"right!"
Jiang Jiao looked completely bewildered: "What are you talking about?"
Like other law firms, Hongjiang Law Firm is essentially in it for the money. Driven by a business mindset, they charge lawyers for using individual workstations within a shared office space. This payment represents their right to use basic office facilities, which in turn helps offset the firm's rent and other service costs. It's a very basic operation. It's similar to the case management fees deducted by the firm, perhaps sounding a little better than "management fee"?
Strictly speaking, the desk fees at Hongjiang Law Firm are by no means high. In the prime location of a commercial district where every inch of land is precious, 10,000 yuan per person per year is truly considered very reasonable. But the hardworking lawyers don't think so.
Since it's called a workstation fee, I won't sit there anymore, I don't want that assigned seat anymore, is that not allowed? Why should I still be charged?
This is lawyer Wang Jiahao's linear thinking.
The original common areas of Hongjiang Law Firm didn't have large tables; one booth per lawyer was enough. Lawyers who wanted larger tables went to the reception room or meeting rooms. Adding a workspace next to the common office area for lawyers without booths, euphemistically called "sharing," was the remarkable achievement proposed and implemented by Attorney Wang.
So, before Attorney Wang decided to pay the rent for this office, he had been working at that shared desk since his first year of practice, when he started collecting workstation fees. That is, the same desk he moved into his own workstation.
Pan Xi: "Okay, so he doesn't want an office, he wants a shared desk. If he wants an office, then he doesn't need a shared desk. He claims that nobody needs it. So it's all up to him. No wonder he's a lawyer specializing in intellectual property rights."
"So what do we do now?" Jiang Jiao asked. "We can only let him be."
"Yeah, Sister Pan." Bai Xuanjiao stamped her foot. "That table is listed in the fixed asset system, right? Last week, the audit department said that our asset ledger and physical assets didn't match. Now, the table on the 32nd floor has disappeared from the system, and there's an unclaimed asset in his office."
"That's for sure! Take last month, for example. Lawyer Liu Qi from the 32nd floor moved the shredder from the common area to his own room. When I went to register it, they said, 'Young lady, don't be so rigid. It doesn't matter where you put the shredder.' As a result, at the end of the month, the system showed that three shredders were missing. The administration searched the whole building and finally found two in three lawyers' offices. The other one was thrown into the storage room to collect dust..."
Bai Xuanjiao pulled up the asset transfer records in the system and showed them to the two of them. The records were densely packed with unapproved relocation records: "Sister Pan, that's nothing. What infuriates me most is that they still think we in administration have nothing better to do. Last time, Attorney Liu took the projector from the conference room home to use, and when I called to ask him to register it, he said, 'I'm saving the firm electricity by using the projector at home while working overtime, why are you nitpicking?' So, in their eyes, our asset management system is just a piece of waste paper? When I went to put up new asset labels, Attorney Wang saw it and said, 'Xiao Bai, your job has no technical content. College students shouldn't be doing these useless chores.' I was so angry I wanted to retort: 'Why don't you stop moving our desks? Why don't you follow the procedures?' So, lawyers are supposed to sit in offices and litigate cases, and administration is supposed to clean up your messes?"
"They're not even partners yet! All they ever tell us is one thing: save money!" Bai Xuanjiao muttered. "They should really try saving this money."
Pan Xi looked around, then suddenly lowered her head and said in a low voice, "At last year's annual meeting, the partners said they wanted to 'reduce non-essential expenses,' so we cut the administrative office budget again and again. But then, all the partners changed their office chairs, buying eleven of those 8,800 yuan ergonomic chairs without batting an eye."
"Hehe, that's right. Let me tell you, not a single lawyer is good!" Bai Xuanjiao concluded indignantly.
Pan Xi tidied up the ledger: "Forget it, it's not worth arguing with them. Take Attorney Wang's table for example, I'll make a note in the ledger saying 'abnormal wear and tear'. Anyway, if the audit finds out, our administrative team will be the ones to take the blame." She walked to the door and then turned back to add, "By the way, Xuan Jiao, be careful when you check the surveillance footage. Don't let them see us chatting here, or they'll say the administration is slacking off at work."
"I understand, Sister Pan." Bai Xuanjiao gave an OK sign. "Don't worry."
After Pan Xi left, the lights in the risk control room seemed to lose their warmth instantly, appearing particularly pale in the twilight. Bai Xuanjiao obediently watched the surveillance footage; the system still flashed red text warnings about abnormal assets requiring urgent verification. Jiao Jiao remained silent, staring at Bai Xuanjiao's tightly furrowed brows.
There's always a tangled web between the administration department and the lawyers. Just when things seem to be sorting out one thing, some big-name lawyer pulls on the other end, making things even more chaotic. These administrative staff are like people who are always chasing a kite; they run themselves ragged, and the other party still complains that they're in the way.
Take this incident, for example; who could have predicted it?
She told herself again that she could not trust any lawyer.
"You can't trust any lawyer," Yu Xingge lamented.
As soon as Gu Lezhi returned to the office, she rushed over and knocked on the door. The door opened, but before she could even ask a question, Gu Lezhi dropped a bombshell: "You gave Zhou Yuxuan money in vain just so I would take you under my wing?"
He returned travel-worn but showed no signs of fatigue. Today, he was dressed in a pure black suit, his broad shoulders and narrow waist striking a strange contrast. On a lawyer, it would probably look like he was selling insurance, but he somehow managed to exude the air of a successful, wealthy, upper-class individual. However, his very first words revealed the true nature of capitalism: "Shouldn't you be paying me to mentor you? Your logic is certainly novel."
This Zhou Yuxuan!
Not only did they fail to get the job done, but they also sold her out.
"Senior Brother Gu, you're joking." Yu Xingge looked embarrassed. "I gave Attorney Zhou money to thank him for mentoring me, and also because he did mentor me..." A layer of melancholy appeared on her brow. "In the marriage and family law team, Director Wei said he wanted to win me over. He cornered me at the dinner table once, and again today. He didn't discuss salary or anything, but he clearly said he wanted to work with me on cases. Why do I feel a chill down my spine?" She sighed. "You have no idea how embarrassed I was today. Nobody notified me about the real estate team's performance review. Linlin said there would be a dinner party tonight, and when I checked, I wasn't even in the real estate group chat."
She tilted her head and stared at Gu Lezhi: "Senior Brother Gu, you're still not going to help me?"