Chapter 160: The Essence of Law (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Guo Hongtu turned around, looked at Zhou Yi, pointed at him, and stammered for a long time without being able to say a single word.

Because these were the very words he had told Zhou Yi in the beginning.

His son had told him that it was unusual for one person to oppose it now; if two-thirds of the area and two-thirds of the population voted, and three-quarters of the voting population agreed, it could be built.

But... but on what grounds!

"Xiaowei, you tell me, what is going on, why is the law always favoring others!" Guo Hongtu shouted at his son.

Guo Xiaowei was also a bit helpless; he had checked the Civil Code before, and it seemed that was indeed how it was stipulated.

"What is going on, Xiaowei, aren't you a law student too!"

Seeing that his son couldn't say anything, Guo Hongtu turned and left without saying another word.

He didn't know what to do now either; whether to build it or not, in his heart, he certainly wanted to build it.

But to build it like this, he felt he couldn't swallow this frustration; on what grounds, on what grounds were they always right no matter what they said.

Only Guo Xiaowei remained standing there, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over to Lawyer Fang.

"Teacher Fang, I am from Handong University of Political Science and Law. I want to ask you, if it really follows this regulation, then it feels... it feels unfair to the residents on the lower floors..."

This seemed a bit different from the law he had imagined.

Shouldn't the law be established for fairness and justice? Why... why does it feel like this now?

It is obvious that the first floor will suffer a loss, but the sixth floor, like his father's, doesn't want to give much compensation; if they really file a Lawsuit, they can win.

And after winning, it seems the people on the first and second floors have no particularly legal way to oppose it.

Lawyer Fang did not expect the other party to ask him this question, thought for a moment, and said: "Since you are studying law, you should have studied jurisprudence."

"And since you have studied jurisprudence, you should know what the essence of law is. You must understand it well and master it thoroughly, rather than just thinking about picking apart the legal articles."

The essence of law... Guo Xiaowei felt like he understood, but also felt like he didn't.

On the other hand, Zhou Yi next to him nodded; he had heard Lawyer Fang talk about this topic before. This society is very complex, and even the law cannot take care of everyone!

To put it bluntly, the law is composed of legal articles, but for big shots like Lawyer Fang, the law they understand is not just the articles.

So why is there a chain of contempt between those with law degrees and those without? It is not just because those with law degrees study law for a longer time.

Four years of legal study covers a lot of content, very broad, and some people even forget it as soon as they learn it.

It seems far inferior to graduate students, but this learning process will subtly allow you to understand the law...

Lawyer Fang took Zhou Xinran and left the conference room. He had already notified Liu Dayou that they would find a place to have a "private chat" later.

Liu Dayou naturally noticed this and hurriedly followed them out.

But it was obvious that his reputation was already ruined, his persona had collapsed, and the backlash was coming very quickly now.

There were more trolls in the live stream than normal people.

With everyone gone, Director Yin looked at the conference room; what kind of meeting was there left to hold.

"What is wrong with old Guo? Wasn't he the one who said he wanted to install the Elevator at the beginning? Why is he saying we can't install it now?" Wang Daye asked, feeling a bit strange.

"Exactly, at the beginning he chased people every day to sign the consent form, saying he was the one who wanted to install it, and now he says he doesn't want to install it. Why is he so full of excuses?"

Qiu Mingjun next to him gave a wry smile; his family really wanted to install the Elevator as soon as possible.

It's just that now... such a matter, shouldn't it be discussed harmoniously? How did it turn into this situation?

Director Yin hesitated for a moment, looked at Zhou Yi and said: "Little Zhou, look at this now..."

Zhou Yi shook his head and said: "Director Yin, there is no rush now. You can rest assured, my previous promise is still valid."

"The Elevator will definitely be installed, but Guo Hongtu absolutely cannot just get away with this."

To be honest, not installing the Elevator targets the other party's elderly, which makes people feel not so good.

After all, it wasn't the elderly who provoked him.

But this frustration hasn't been vented, and the other party is still acting like that, which is particularly annoying!

So Zhou Yi's idea is very simple: my promise is still valid, and since you, Guo Hongtu, are being stubborn, let's see how long you can stay stubborn.

Although Zhou Yi has better methods, such as ignoring him for now, focusing on getting others to sign the consent form, and installing the Elevator first.

Then issue the Elevator Card to the whole building, but not to Guo Hongtu.

But that would be even worse, because after all, the elderly at home still need to use the Elevator.

At least for today, that's it, and everyone went back to their own homes.

Zhou Yi also went home and met Lawyer Fang, who had brought Zhou Xinran back.

"So, the talk is over?"

Lawyer Fang nodded and said: "It's over. This Lawyer Liu, actually, he isn't a bad person. Although he took money for the programs he did before, he did indeed help those people."

After all, having been a Lawyer, plus the popularity of live streaming, he could still help with some small matters.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi laughed; Lawyer Fang was indeed still that same Lawyer Fang.

If that Liu Dayou were like Ling Jie, only knowing how to deceive people, then Lawyer Fang would absolutely not let him off like this.

Using the name Lawyer Liu and dressing like Lawyer Fang, while Lawyer Fang had already registered the trademark—that alone would be enough to cause him trouble.

But since the other party is not a bad person, then forget it. Even if he is leeching off the popularity, the one losing popularity is Lawyer Fang.

This is Lawyer Fang's way of doing things: my generosity is based on my own interests, and it has nothing to do with others.

He would absolutely never be generous at someone else's expense.

"Alright Lawyer Fang, let's not talk about law today. Let's go to my house. My mom asked yesterday why you guys don't come over to sit and have a meal."

The three of them laughed all the way back home.

"Mom, I'm back, and I have two friends with me!"

Mother Zhou came out of the kitchen and took a look; immediately, her eyes couldn't move away from Zhou Xinran.

"Oh my, Little Yi's friends, hurry and sit, hurry and sit."

"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and wash some fruit and pour some tea."

Zhou Yi had no choice but to follow her into the kitchen, and then he saw his mother looking spirited as she said, "Xiao Yi, how old is that young lady, where is she from, and what does she do now?"

After saying this, without waiting for Zhou Yi to reply, she smiled and said, "She really looks quite nice. You've grown up so much, and this is the first time you've brought a girl home."

What? The person he brought back was two people? And there was a man who was on the verge of going bald?

Was there?

That wasn't important; in Mother Zhou's eyes right now, there was only Zhou Xinran!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi immediately realized his mother had misunderstood something and hurriedly said, "Mom, that's not... that's Lawyer Fang's assistant, it has nothing to do with me."

Mother Zhou replied, "If it has nothing to do with you, can't you create a relationship? Which couple in the world knew each other from the very beginning?"

"Mom, she has a partner, stop talking nonsense."

Regardless of whether she had one or not, for now, she was considered to have a partner; otherwise, Mother Zhou would definitely have kept pestering Zhou Xinran with questions later.

After all, she was a guest and not familiar with them, so it was better to let it go.

"Ah, she has a partner? Why are you so useless? Forget it, take advantage of these two days and go on a blind date; that nurse girl is quite nice."

Zhou Yi: "..."

Those who have never been pressured to get married probably really cannot understand this feeling.

Back in the day, when you were in school, if you were even slightly flirtatious with another girl, you would be directly reported to your parents, followed by a beating with a belt.

Now, they are pressuring you to find a partner...

Zhou Yi even heard last time that a friend of his, because he kept delaying finding a partner, had his parents curiously ask him if he liked men.

It was just absurd.

Walking out of the kitchen, with tea and fruit prepared, Zhou Yi and Fang Dazhuang continued their soul-to-soul exchange.

"The eight simplest ways to send someone to prison are like this!"

"Can this lead to a perfect crime?"

"Oh, this kind of twenty-three stabs that doesn't even count as a Slight Injury is hard to handle; it involves medical knowledge..."

Listening to these inexplicable exchanges, Zhou Xinran quietly sat a little further away.

Even though she had been hanging out with the two of them for so long, Zhou Xinran still felt out of place with them.

Like a husky mixed in among two wolves...

This lunch was naturally enjoyed by both host and guest; although it was noon, Zhou Yi and Fang Dazhuang still drank alcohol.

Not for any other reason, but because they felt that no matter what the problem was, they could talk about it together.

Fang Dazhuang had drunk too much and had already started speaking without any filter.

He talked about the place where he used to work, saying those people were all good-for-nothings who only knew how to make money, and that studying law had caused them to lose their humanity.

"The happiest time in my life was when I handled small cases; I just love handling those small cases that others look down upon. I have never liked big cases, I have no interest in big cases..."

Consequently, Zhou Mouren's alcohol-induced haze instantly cleared; he felt like he had heard this line somewhere before.

After lunch, Zhou Yi wanted to let Fang Dazhuang rest at his home, but he was politely declined; he would rather return to the hotel.

Generally speaking, many people don't want to rest in someone else's bed when they go out, so a hotel is more convenient.

So Zhou Xinran took Fang Dazhuang back to rest.

As for Zhou Yi, he planned to start editing videos after taking a nap.

On the other side, Guo Hongtu's days were not going well.

Because from the moment he returned home, people kept telling him, "Just agree to it, you won't suffer a loss."

"Really, Lao Guo, think about it, it only blocks a tiny bit of light, and there's almost no noise."

"Besides, with the mother's ears, even if there were a train outside, she wouldn't hear it, let alone the slight noise of an Elevator."

"Really, you should just agree."

The household on the fifth floor with the elderly, the fourth floor, and Qiu Mingjun had already formed a group to come and persuade him.

"Lao Guo, even if you don't consider us, you have to consider your own elderly mother. She lives on the first floor and can go out anytime; she doesn't even need to take the Elevator, just a few steps and she's out, how simple is that!"

"That's right, Lao Guo, look, we all have elderly people in our homes; you can't just let your own affairs prevent our elderly from going downstairs."

"One shouldn't be too selfish, right?"

These words made people feel uncomfortable. Just as Guo Hongtu was about to shout, Qiu Mingjun had already said, "Eh, don't say that, how could Lao Guo be selfish?"

Lao Guo sat there feeling extremely stifled; these people were throwing his own words back at him.

The person who had just called him selfish said, "What's wrong? When he was persuading me earlier, I just said let's discuss it first, and he said I was too selfish."

"So he can say it, but I can't?"

This was a resident from the third floor.

Come to think of it, the third floor wasn't actually very willing either, because truthfully, the third floor of an old Small Residential District is actually the golden floor.

As a result, he was told by Lao Guo last time that one shouldn't be too selfish, and now, they were specifically here to get even.

You ask why they didn't say it before?

Well, before it was just one person, so they didn't dare to say it.

Lao Guo wanted to lose his temper, but he had no way to vent; he had already lost enough temper today.

Everyone persuaded him for a long time without result and could only leave, but they told Lao Guo to think it over carefully.

After leaving the Small Residential District where Lao Guo lived, Qiu Mingjun hesitated for a moment and then said, "Let's go, let's go persuade the old man and the old lady."

They don't have to spend their own money, and they can go out at any time; with such good conditions, what else could they want?

Zhou Yi already said that his money for the Elevator would be ready at any time, so the rest of the matters would be handled by everyone.

Not long after the group of neighbors left, Guo Xiaowei came over.

He was also quite conflicted, but he still spoke up: "Dad, how about we just agree to it."

"What did you say? Agree? On what grounds? He spoke like that, why should I agree!"

"And look at these neighbors, just for a little money, they've all become like this. Make me agree? No way!"

"But Dad, even if our family doesn't agree, they can still install it. When the time comes and they don't let us use it, what will you do? Are you just going to watch Grandpa and Grandma suffer?"

Guo Hongtu was speechless.

"Really, if we swap houses, we won't lose anything..."

"Lose nothing, my foot! If that Elevator gets installed, it's obvious the first-floor property value will drop significantly, while the sixth floor will rise. With this up and down, think about how much we'd lose!"

Because there were no outsiders, Guo Hongtu relaxed a bit, but as soon as he finished speaking, he felt it was wrong, because Guo Xiaowei already looked a bit awkward.

So, Dad, you knew all along...

"Dad, suffering a loss is a blessing. Let's really stop making trouble. That Zhou Yi is already prepared to donate an Elevator, and it's not like we're using our house to sell it anyway."

Guo Hongtu fell silent again. The Community Office and the street office were calling him to persuade him, and the neighbors were all urging him too. Needless to say, his parents at home would probably try to persuade him as well.

His wife hadn't spoken to him since they argued, and now his son was starting to persuade him too, making Guo Hongtu feel a bit like a lone wolf.

He knew he was in the wrong; just like many people who make mistakes, he was perfectly clear in his heart about whether he was wrong or not.

But he didn't want to admit his mistake because he felt it would make him lose face.

It's just that now, it seems he really can't get away with not admitting it...

After Guo Hongtu's stubborn, rigid bone had been hammered from all sides countless times, it finally shattered.

"Then let's agree to it, so your grandpa and grandma can be a bit more comfortable."

Now, he could only agree.

Guo Xiaowei intended to contact that Zhou Yi, but he had been too excited seeing his idol during the day and hadn't thought much about it.

Now, it suddenly occurred to him: why did Fang Dazhuang suddenly appear here, and why did he seem to have such a good relationship with the masked Zhou Yi beside him?

Wait, Zhou Yi, isn't this A Yi!

…………

Zhou Yi found out the news very quickly; Guo Hongtu had caved in quite fast!

It seems he won't be able to stay in Lincheng for much longer and needs to head back soon. Firstly, the pressure to get married is tight, and secondly, there are some packages that should be arriving in Jingzhou soon.

Making up for the missed update, currently at chapter forty-one.

(End of chapter)