Shu Tinglan was exhausted. She had gotten up early to dress and bathe the two little “emperors,” as they were known in the family. People who hadn’t raised children wouldn’t understand, even something as simple as dressing them could turn into a world war.
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Then she had to attend to another little ancestor. This one was dressed very simply: a white shirt, jeans, and white sneakers. But this little ancestor was very particular about stationery. Everything in his schoolbag had to be perfectly organized, the art supplies had to be complete, and they had to be arranged by color in order. Every time Shu Tinglan helped him organize these brushes, she felt like she was going crazy. How could she possibly remember the color order? You can’t test your mother like that!
Luckily, the little ancestor remembered it herself, so she simply ignored it.
After a few days of figuring things out, she now just gives orders. She’s set a clear rule: 7:30 am sharp at the front door for departure. She turns a blind eye to any chaos that happens in between. After a few days, she managed to train the two little ones. They can now do things themselves, though they often wear their shoes and pants backwards and cry like there’s no tomorrow. But it’s all part of the process. It’s tough, but you have to keep going.
After making sure they were asleep, she quietly got up and went to the living room to handle work matters. Her current job in litigation was different from her previous role in mergers and acquisitions. A single M&A project used to sustain her performance for half a year. In litigation, it took a constant stream of cases, either one after another or several simultaneously, to provide a sense of security.
Her clients come from a few different sources. One is word-of-mouth referrals from existing customers, and the other is that she offers free consultations online. This allows her to filter out some valuable clients and gradually build trust with them before taking on projects.
She had a client from last night’s online consultation on her mind. The client owned an outdoor adventure experience center. He got into a physical fight with the owner of the renovation company because the design style didn’t meet his requirements.
She only listened to the other party’s narration online last night and hadn’t had a detailed conversation yet, but her professional sensitivity made her feel that this was definitely a potential big client, so she specially waited for the other party to come online tonight.
I skimmed through yesterday’s consultation chat, and it seems like the other person just came to vent to her, treating her like an emotional trash can. They went on a rant about the construction company, and the chat ended with that.
Yimu’er sheng: Lawyer Shu, actually I have a good friend who is a famous lawyer, but I don’t hire him. That guy is too black. The consultation fee is calculated by the minute, and it’s still calculated in dollars. His soul is corrupted by capitalism. I don’t associate with him. It’s Lawyer Shu you, with your noble character, dedicating yourself to the law, sincerely serving the people, not taking a single penny from the masses.
Yi Mu Er Sheng: Lawyer Shu, when my Limit Experience Museum opens, I’ll invite you to play. I guarantee you, it will be the top experience museum in China.
Shutinglan flipped through yesterday’s consultation, there was no further text, thankfully, the other party didn’t shy away during the consultation and gave her the address of their experience hall, as well as many photos from the construction site. The theme was to criticize how tacky the decoration was and how it didn’t match his flamboyant, free-spirited and fashionable soul.
So she decided that if he wasn’t online tonight, she would go to the experience center in person tomorrow to find someone and verify if the boss of this extreme experience center was indeed “Yi Mu Er Sheng”. If it was, she could try to become the legal advisor for the experience center.
You need to know that, even with advanced equipment and comprehensive safety measures, extreme experience venues are bound to encounter incidents where customers get bumps and bruises. When there are customer disputes, legal counsel is required, making it a very promising client.
Until the middle of the night, she answered a few other inquiries. “Yi Mu Er Sheng” never went online. She closed her computer and went to sleep.
The next day, after sending both her ancestors to kindergarten, she rushed to the law firm for a meeting. A client from one of her cases had an appointment to meet at the office.
Her law firm was small, renting a space in a mixed-use office building. The office was less than 200 square meters and divided into three separate work areas: her office, Mr. Sun’s (the boss) office, and a meeting room that also served as a reception area. The outer hall had several desks for the assistants, and the nearby shelves were piled high with files. The entire environment was cramped and cluttered. However, strangely, it gave off a sense of scholarly nobility, probably due to the various banners hanging on the walls and the scent of old books emanating from the files.
When she arrived, the intern Xiao Xin was already entertaining Ms. Chen, a client. It was a rental case. Ms. Chen had rented a house through a certain platform, signed a contract with the platform after which she immediately paid a year’s rent. However, the platform is now deserted, the landlord hasn’t received the rent and is demanding that Ms. Chen move out.
But Ms. Chen felt that since I had signed the contract and paid a year’s rent, there was no reason for me to move out.
And the landlord also felt that your money was given to the platform, not to me. Since I didn’t receive the money from the platform, I have the right to take back my house.
Both parties had their own reasons, so Ms. Chen came to seek help.
As a fresh graduate also renting outside, Xiaoxin could deeply empathize with Ms. Chen and constantly comforted her.
“Our lawyer Shu will definitely fight for your justice.”
“The worst are the platforms that facilitate wrongdoing, both landlords and tenants suffer as a result.”
Shu Tinglan frowned at the door, listening intently. It’s a huge faux pas for an intermediary to empathize too much with the involved parties and make rash promises. And while it’s understandable to sympathize with your client, you also sympathize with the landlord, thinking of him as a victim? Where do you stand in all this?
As expected, Ms. Chen, whose emotions had been soothed earlier, once again became upset when she heard the words “You and the landlord are both victims.”
“Have your lawyer call me. I don’t want to speak with you.”
Shu Tinglan just pushed the door open. She was dressed in black, with black hair and black glasses, her expression cold but professional, which gave people a sense of trust. People tend to bully the weak, so when Mrs. Chen saw her, she didn’t dare to lose her temper like she did to Xiao Xin before.
Shu Tinglan had encountered quite a few such cases. In fact, both tenants and landlords were victims in this situation. The platform operators had absconded with the funds, leaving both sides at a loss. But as Chen’s lawyer, she naturally had to stand on her client’s side.
“I checked, the landlord signed an agency agreement with the platform at that time, meaning the landlord entrusted the platform to handle rental matters for the house. Therefore, your contract with the platform can be considered as a direct contract with the landlord. According to the contract provisions, the landlord is not entitled to ask you to move out.”