Chapter 324: This Handsome Guy Is Back Again and Again and Again!

"Property Right and Creditor's Right?" Wang Wucheng looked at this uninvited Lawyer Fang with a hint of confusion, feeling a bit strange.

Zhou Xinran, sitting nearby, had the same thought in her heart, but she didn't express it; she was also curious why Lawyer Fang was so invested in a divorce case.

However, since Lawyer Fang had already begun the consultation, it was naturally not her place to say anything.

And beside them, Lawyer Fang had already begun to hold forth.

"That's right, Property Right and Creditor's Right. Only by understanding the difference between these two things can you know what your act of adding a name to the Real Estate Ownership Certificate implies."

Of course, even a man as fanatical as Lawyer Fang wouldn't actually hold a lecture at this moment; he was just using very simple language to roughly describe Property Right and Creditor's Right.

To put it simply, the object of a Property Right is a thing; in other words, this thing is yours, and the realization of a Property Right regarding real estate generally comes from registration.

Just like when we buy a house, the question we ask the most is, has the title transfer been completed?

Wang Wucheng was already confused upon hearing this, because Property Right and Creditor's Right are two of the most fundamental rights in Civil Law; of course, for legal studies, being the most fundamental also means being the most important.

Even though Lawyer Fang had tried his best to explain it simply, Wang Wucheng was still a bit muddled.

"Lawyer Fang, do you mean that if I add the other party's name to the Real Estate Ownership Certificate, it's equivalent to a Gift, directly giving away half of the property rights to the other party? But... Baidu says that adding the name is useless."

Hearing this, Zhou Xinran couldn't help but say: "Big brother, if you mention Baidu again, you should just go to Baidu yourself; why bother coming to us and spending money?"

Wang Wucheng hurriedly shut his mouth upon hearing this, signaling for Lawyer Fang to continue.

Legal principles are just that, and the simplest way to make a person understand the law is through Case Interpretation.

And Lawyer Fang started off with the most common example!

"Now, Zhang San sold his house to Li Si. Ah, Li Si is a rich person, not short on money, and said directly, 'I'll pay the full amount,' but the title transfer was never completed."

"Li Si was careless, thinking that a day or two wouldn't matter, but then Zhang San turned around and sold the house to Wang Wu. This time, he again said they would transfer the title later, but allowed him to move in first."

"Wang Wu was happy, thinking, 'I've already moved in, what can you do? What do I have to fear?' So he wasn't in a hurry for the transfer. But then, Zhang San sold the house to Chen Liu, and this time, they followed legal procedures to complete the transfer and Notarization. So, tell me, who does this house belong to? Who has the Property Right and who has the Creditor's Right?"

Zhou Xinran didn't speak. What Lawyer Fang was saying was actually very basic knowledge, but in reality, many people ignore it, either thinking the other party won't lie to them or thinking that as long as they move in, it will be fine.

Seeing that Wang Wucheng seemed to understand, Lawyer Fang smiled and said: "That's why I'm telling you, the act of adding a name to a Real Estate Ownership Certificate is actually a very significant legal act; it implies the transfer of partial ownership!"

"Returning to your previous question, even if you don't add a name, if it's a mortgaged house, it will still be repaid using Joint Property, and you'll have to split the money. But you must note that this portion of money is a Creditor's Right, not a Property Right!"

If Wang Wucheng didn't quite understand when Lawyer Fang said this before, he now had a profound realization after the previous case.

A Creditor's Right: I have it, I can give it to you; if I don't, you just wait. The one who owes the debt is the boss.

But Property Right is different; Property Right is mandatory and exclusive!

In fact, title transfer is of course important, but legal possession is equally important in terms of Property Right.

If Li Si, Wang Wu, and Chen Liu all failed to complete the title transfer, then according to relevant legal provisions, it is generally considered that the party who has already legally occupied the house should be prioritized; in other words, the house belongs to Wang Wu, who occupied it first.

As for the two of you left, go ahead and ask the other party for your money. Selling one house to two or three people is the most typical and direct case of Property Right outweighing Creditor's Right.

"Then, Lawyer Fang, is my house easy to handle now? It definitely belongs to me, right?" Wang Wucheng asked eagerly.

He remembered that this lawyer surnamed Fang had previously said that with the Civil Code, things would be slightly better.

However, Lawyer Fang's words left him completely stunned.

"It certainly doesn't belong to you. What are you thinking? I've been talking to you about the difference between Creditor's Right and Property Right for half a day. Not to mention that you added her name after marriage; even if you hadn't, according to the current Civil Code, if parents of one party contribute to the purchase of a house after marriage, if there is an agreement, follow the agreement; if there is no agreement, it is presumed to be Joint Property given by the parents to you as a couple."

This is a new provision in the Civil Code and the relevant effective Judicial Interpretation. In the past, if parents bought a house for their children after marriage and it was only registered in their own child's name, it could be regarded as a Gift to that child.

It would belong to that party's personal property.

But the new Civil Code has changed this clause; unless there is a clear agreement, it will be presumed to be Joint Property of the couple.

This is telling you: either you make an agreement beforehand, don't let face stop you from doing this or that, and don't just count on the other party being kind.

Or you just don't get a divorce easily...

Wang Wucheng was dumbfounded. Before he came, he had thought it all through: as long as he found a lawyer, he would definitely be able to keep his house and get back his Bride Price.

As a result, he now discovered that the other party's scheming was truly effective!

Zhou Xinran was not surprised by this result. When a calculating person targets someone who isn't, this situation is all too normal.

She was also feeling a bit troubled now, because truthfully speaking, this case had too few points of contention.

If she were to handle this case, it would be particularly difficult; just thinking about it made her feel worried.

"Then, Lawyer Fang, didn't you say that under this new Civil Code, there's still a possibility of keeping my house? Then tell me, how do I keep it..."

Wang Wucheng asked anxiously.

"Why do you think I asked about your emotional state earlier? Because from your description, in your previous married life, your wife clearly had a tendency toward Domestic Violence."

"Or rather, she might not have clearly felt it herself, but in reality, she was exerting Mental Control over you in your daily life, making you listen to her words involuntarily..."

Lawyer Fang was clearly on a roll, or perhaps Wang Wucheng's experience had triggered some kind of resonance; who knows.

What he wanted to make clear was that Domestic Violence doesn't just mean one spouse beating the other until they are bloody. Why are there specific regulations on domestic violence? Because in a family, long-term mental control also counts as domestic violence!

And domestic violence is a type of marital fault. The Civil Code has relevant provisions for the party at fault in a marriage, and the non-fault party can claim damages from the party at fault.

Of course, it must be clarified that this belongs to Creditor's Right. Regarding the actions of Wang Wucheng and his parents, Lawyer Fang didn't have a particularly good solution, because regulations are regulations, and evidence is evidence!

And whether one can prove the existence of domestic violence also requires providing evidence. The evidence is in Wang Wucheng's phone: a series of recordings and chat logs from when Xia Ziyan called Wang Wucheng.

There was no helping it; in her interactions with Wang Wucheng, Miss Xia had long been accustomed to the status of being a cut above him, acting and speaking in an imperious manner.

Anyway, as long as Wang Wucheng didn't listen, she would say he didn't love her anymore.

Lawyer Fang was teaching Wang Wucheng how to collect and secure evidence. Wang Wucheng listened very carefully, and at the end, he asked: "Then, Lawyer Fang, what about the Bride Price? This... how much can I get back?"

"The Bride Price is actually not too bad. If you were in another province, it would be hard to say how much you could get back, since you have already registered the marriage and lived together for almost a year."

"But in Handong Province, we issued a new regulation this year specifically to curb exorbitant Bride Prices, and the threshold is 100,000 yuan!"

"If the Bride Price exceeds 100,000 yuan, and you have registered the marriage and lived together for more than six months but less than a year, you need to return 30% to 50%, and the portion exceeding 100,000 yuan can be fully returned."

"In any case, you have been married for almost a year, so it's definitely impossible for you to get it all back. If you still want to get married, my advice is to keep your eyes open. If you can't tell, remember to be a bit more cautious!"

Marriage is a major life event; Bride Price, houses, cars—none of these will be missing. By rights, we should treat others with sincerity, but the most frightening thing is that you treat them with sincerity, while the other party is keeping a secret agenda.

This is a messy account, because the Civil Code now strictly forbids demanding property for the purpose of marriage; in other words, the Bride Price itself is an act prohibited by law.

Wang Wucheng went home. He was still considering what to do—whether to file for a divorce by agreement or to file a Lawsuit.

However, he knew that half of his house had indeed been given to Xia Ziyan, and all he could do was make up for it in other ways; this was a case of calculated intent against the unsuspecting.

Even if Baidu is unreliable, the act of adding a name definitely has its legal effects.

Inside the law firm office, Zhou Xinran and Fang Dazhuang sat in silence. Suddenly, Fang Dazhuang raised his head, a keen expression on his face, and said, "Xinran, tell me, if one day you and Zhou Yi were to divorce, whose schemes would be deeper?"

"Look, you are a Lawyer, and Zhou Yi could ask me for help..."

Hearing these words, Zhou Xinran was stunned. Big shot, what are you saying? Me and Zhou Yi, divorce?

We aren't even married yet... ah no, we are just ordinary friends right now, why are you thinking so deeply!

Zhou Yi did not pay any more attention to the matter of Wang Wucheng; in any case, he had already recommended a Lawyer to the other party. Since the two sides were neither relatives nor friends, as a neighbor, he had already done his utmost.

What he was concerned about now was still that agent!

It was just a bit strange; for three consecutive days after installing the Camera, the other party had made no moves. Was he planning to stop?

Of course not. Ge Jingli had been a bit busy these past three days; after all, as an agent, he still had to prioritize his work.

After finishing his work, he chatted with his colleagues and directly spoke about his actions.

This kind of thing is very normal among these less-than-reputable agents; if a client engages in Skipping the Agent, then you must make things difficult for them.

In fact, blocking keyholes is not something only shady agents do; debt collectors and other people in the gray areas often do this too.

It doesn't have much impact, it's just meant to disgust you.

"What's the point of you only blocking it once? The person still isn't willing to pay you, right? I'm telling you, you have to keep blocking it. It's impossible they won't pay at all; even paying a portion is fine. Otherwise, for such a big deal, running around busy for half a day and ending up with not a single cent, that's definitely not right," a colleague next to him said.

Ge Jingli nodded; that was indeed correct. No matter what, you have to give me some money.

"Go block it a few more times, I'll go with you. We agents must stand firm when we encounter Skipping the Agent, otherwise, we'll just be bullied."

Needless to say, with his colleague's persuasion, Ge Jingli felt that he absolutely had to continue blocking it. As for whether this matter would cause any consequences...

What could possibly happen? There are plenty of seniors in the Company. It is said that one person spent a long time repeatedly blocking keyholes and picking locks, and nothing happened at all.

Thus, an hour later, Zhou Yi received a call from Chu Lan.

"The other party came again, right? Fine, no problem. Make sure you keep the Monitoring video. Don't worry about him, just prepare to change the lock," Zhou Mouren said casually while sitting on the sofa of the large flat at Guangming Peak Residential Quarter.

"However, just to be safe, to prevent the other party from being driven to desperation, you should move into that apartment of mine first."

It's better to be safe than sorry. After all, they are working for him; if something really happened, it would be too late even if the other party were executed.

Sigh, why do some people always want to go inside to experience life? Originally, Chu Lan had also found a place and was just waiting for the loan approval to get the keys and move in.

By then, he definitely wouldn't care about this side anymore.

As it turned out, this person really did come. Since he's here, he might as well go inside.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Mouren began to admire his new house. Most of the furniture was newly bought; what he had moved over were just his clothes and daily necessities.

After all, when his parents arrive, the house at Yuefu Residential Quarter will still need to be given to his parents to live in.

I have to say, when the money is there, the house is great!

For the remaining necessary items, Zhou Yi planned to buy them online. In a few days, it would be Double Eleven, and the major merchants had already started their pre-promotions.

However, Zhou Yi still didn't plan to participate. He just wanted to buy things before Double Eleven to avoid doing all kinds of math problems, and he could also receive the items sooner.

After all, everyone knows about the logistics and shipping speeds during Double Eleven and Double Twelve...

After looking carefully for a long time, he placed orders for all the items he wanted to buy.

There were many types of items, from daily necessities like electric toothbrushes to digital products like graphics cards. There were many; it's a new home, so it must have a new atmosphere.

After all, it is a harmonious society, and everything is so harmonious. A few days later, in the Chairman's office, Chu Lan placed a USB drive in front of Zhou Yi.

"General Manager Zhou, inside here is the evidence of that real estate agent coming to my house to block the keyhole three times. What should we do now?"

So it's all collected? Zhou Yi immediately smiled: "Easy, let's go, we'll go report the case."

"Go report the case?" Chu Lan was a bit puzzled: "General Manager Zhou, is it that simple?"

"What did you think? The hard part is securing the evidence, okay? Everyone says reporting to the police is useless, so we found the evidence of others' crimes and their locations. Let's see if they will handle it."

After speaking, he took Chu Lan downstairs to drive, and in just ten minutes, they arrived at the familiar Zhonglou Police Station.

Thus, Chu Lan saw this General Manager Zhou get out of the car and walk into the Police Station as if he were very familiar with the place.

He pushed the door open, went in, saw the people, and started greeting them directly.

"Hey, Brother Wang, morning. Those dark circles are huge, did you stay up late again yesterday?"

"Morning, Chief Liu. What do you mean 'again'? I have always been law-abiding!"

"Uncle Zhou, over here, over here! I've come to report a case again!"

Chu Lan watched from behind, completely dumbfounded. How come coming to the Police Station feels like coming home!

Is the General Manager so well-connected in Jingzhou?

Little did he know, Lao Zhou on the other side started to have an accelerated heartbeat the moment he saw Zhou Yi. There was no help for it; it was a stress response.

It had happened several times in a row. Because of this guy's reports, their Guangming District Public Security Bureau had to work overtime from top to bottom, running everywhere to catch people, often crossing provinces.

Heaven knows, such cross-provincial arrest operations are extremely strict, and such large-scale ones are even rarer.

And yet, as soon as this guy came, he changed the entire situation.

According to the higher-ups, in today's world where cybercrime is increasingly serious, it must be severely cracked down upon. We cannot let those online criminals have any侥幸 (wishful) thinking; those who should be caught must be caught!

Not to mention that Zhou Yi actually brought all the evidence to report the case. How many such reporters have you seen?

"Speak, what's the situation this time?" Lao Zhou said with a yawn.

"Hey, the matter is like this..."

Zhou Yi began to explain the matter, and Chu Lan saw the people nearby all gathering around to listen, even the leader of the station was listening from the side.

But thinking about it carefully, it was normal; the boss had too many wild operations.

Zhou Yi roughly explained the situation with the agent, then said: "Here is the evidence. Actually, he should have come to block the keyhole four times, but the first time there was no evidence left, but the last three times all have it."

After listening, Lao Zhou began to open the video to look at the evidence. He was truly speechless. This guy was so thoughtful that he marked the specific situation of each time very clearly, as if he regarded him, a veteran police officer, as a legal idiot. He didn't know who he learned it from.

It just so happened that the leaders were all there, so everyone reviewed it together. Not long after, there was a result; the case was simple, and it could be filed directly.

"Are we filing for Case Filing now? When can we make an arrest?" Zhou Yi asked curiously before leaving.

"Why would such a simple case need to wait? Do we have to pick an auspicious day for it?" Lao Zhou said with annoyance.

After getting familiar with Zhou Yi, Lao Zhou was also able to joke around.

"Understood."

Zhou Yi greeted Chu Lan beside him and said, "Let's go, Little Chu, let's go over and watch the excitement now!"

On the other side, in the agency shop, the store manager had just finished a meeting, and Manager Ge was chatting and bragging with his colleagues nearby.

"I plan to give her another call tonight. I don't believe she can change the lock every single time," Manager Ge laughed.

"Well done, Little Ge, that's exactly how you should deal with them. Is it easy for us agents to earn some money? And they even try Skipping the Agent! They should all be posted online to make them famous!"

Several colleagues echoed from the side.

Just then, someone walked in through the door, and a client manager hurriedly stood up and said, "Hello, may I ask what your needs are?"

The ones who walked in were exactly Zhou Yi and Chu Lan.

Manager Ge saw Chu Lan at a glance and immediately said, "She's the one who tried Skipping the Agent!"

Hearing this, several colleagues nearby also walked over, looking at Zhou Yi and the other person with expressions of disdain on their faces.

Someone even said, "They look like decent people, how can they have such thick skin!"

Zhou Yi looked at Manager Ge and said, "Are you the one who blocked her door lock with glue several times?"

Manager Ge laughed, "What are you talking about? I have no idea what you're talking about. Who blocked her door lock?"

He paused and looked at Chu Lan again, saying, "What, you found a man to help? Let me tell you, it won't work no matter who you find. If you skipped the agent, just pay the agency fee obediently. That saying is really not wrong: the richer people are, the stingier they are!"

Chu Lan was angered again, but Zhou Yi signaled for her not to lose her temper, and just looked at Manager Ge and said, "It won't work no matter who we find? Are you sure? Then let's try it."

As he was speaking, a police car stopped outside, and several police officers walked straight into the shop.

"Who is Ge Tian?" Lao Zhou stepped forward and shouted.

As for Zhou Yi and the other person nearby, he acted as if he didn't see them at all.

"I, I am." Manager Ge's complexion changed instantly, and his colleagues nearby also looked very grim.

Who is that person? How could he actually call the police?

But Lao Zhou ignored all this, and after verifying his identity, he said directly:

"Ge Tian, because you are suspected of the crime of intentionally damaging others' property, you are now under Criminal Summons. This is my police badge, come with us now!"

What? Manager Ge was stunned. The expression of "it won't work no matter who you call" from just a moment ago was completely reversed, and his teeth were chattering against each other.

"No, comrade, comrade, what is going on? What crime did Little Ge commit?" A middle-aged man ran over and kept saying.

Seeing that Lao Zhou was confused, the middle-aged man hurriedly said, "Comrade, I am the store manager here."

"Oh, the store manager. This Manager Ge of yours, he went to someone's house and put glue in their door lock, and he did it several times in a row," Lao Zhou said casually.

"But comrade, is putting glue in a door lock a crime? That, that's just a door lock... and comrade, there is a reason for this. They bought a house through us and didn't pay the agency fee, Skipping the Agent. Little Ge felt indignant..."

However, before the store manager could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Lao Zhou, whose voice was very serious:

"Once or twice is of course fine, but three times or more is not certain. Furthermore, I want to correct your thinking: whether it's a door lock or anything else, no matter how small the value, as long as it is someone else's property, you cannot intentionally damage it!"

"And after glue gets into a door lock, it cannot be used, so it also belongs to destruction. As for whether they skipped the agent or not, that belongs to a civil dispute and can be resolved through legal channels, not through such methods!"

After finishing, Lao Zhou took his people and left directly, leaving only the store manager and several colleagues stunned there.

I had meetings all day today and have to go on a business trip tomorrow, so here is a big chapter of six thousand words first.

Thanks to Brother Wfei, Chuanliubuxi, Book Friend 2021, Emergency Food Paimon, Wenchidage, Brother Daosen, Another Newbie Brother, Hidden, Author Has Entered the Palace, and Feimaowuyu. Thank you, brothers, for the tips. Thank you.

The new Civil Code does indeed have some changes regarding marriage and family, but the core is not here. Personally, I think there is really no need to calculate too much before marriage. If you calculate too much, what kind of marriage is that?

As for some specific provisions in this book, such as the sky-high Bride Price, they are not currently implemented nationwide, but are trial provisions of a certain local Court. So the book also explains that this is only done in the fictional province of Handong Province. Please do not try to map it to reality. Those who are interested can go and find out more.

(End of chapter)