Chapter 40: We

Facing Lao Li's questioning, Xu Yufeng was very dissatisfied and said, "This comrade, you can't just listen to him, right? It's just a mobile phone screen, and isn't it just that the child was a little loud? Is it really worth going to Court?"

Even though Lao Li had been a community police officer for many years and his temper had long since become incredibly easygoing, he found it a bit hard to bear now.

"Worth going to Court? Xu Yufeng, I was present at the time, and I remember the scene at your place clearly. You broke someone else's phone screen, and they asked you to pay for it. Did you pay? No!"

"And you were disturbing the neighbors at night. Did I tell you that you couldn't do that? Did you listen to me?"

"In the end, I was the one who suggested this young brother take the legal route to resolve it. Besides, didn't you say it yourself? You told them to go ahead and file a Lawsuit if they had the ability. Why are you starting to talk about whether it's worth it or not now?"

"So, you're always in the right no matter what, is that it?"

There were many unreasonable people in his jurisdiction, but it was truly rare to see someone this unreasonable!

Lao Li was a police officer after all; he usually mingled with the masses, but once he put on a stern face, he still carried quite a bit of authority.

The entire Xu Yufeng family was suddenly at a loss for words.

On the other hand, bystanders like Liu Nainai were a bit surprised. They finally understood now: so this young Zhou had actually gone to file a Lawsuit!

"But... but comrade, for such a small matter, if he wants money, we can just pay it..." The daughter still wanted to say something; if they could avoid going to Court, they should.

Unfortunately, Lao Li didn't buy it at all: "Since the legal process has started, everything must follow legal regulations. I cannot intervene now."

"Also, you kicked someone's door like this; no matter what, you have to pay for it."

This time, Lao Li had learned his lesson. Regardless of anything else, he would state the facts first; he was certain that Zhou Yi would definitely bring this up again.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhou Yi immediately said: "Right, this police uncle is correct. You kicked my door and caused damage, you have to pay!"

Having said that, it was a thick anti-theft door after all; if it could be damaged by just a few kicks, one should go directly to the seller.

So, after checking and finding no real issues, Lao Li said that Xu Yufeng's family should either clean the footprints off the door or pay some money for someone else to do it.

After paying a little money, the family went back upstairs. Xu Yufeng sat there sulking and didn't even want to cook dinner.

They had originally gone to pick a fight, but not only did they fail to win, they became a spectacle for the neighbors and ended up paying money out of pocket.

The most critical thing was that the problem wasn't solved, and the Lawsuit was still pending.

After a long while, Zhao Xun spoke up: "There are still two Lawsuits. Mom, why don't we ask a Lawyer too?"

"Whoever wants to ask can go ask, I'm not going!" Xu Yufeng shouted. "I'd have to pay the Lawyer money; that kid downstairs is doing this on purpose."

Hearing this, the son-in-law spoke up: "Alright Mom, it's fine. A friend I know is a Lawyer. This shouldn't be too difficult; I'll ask for you."

Xu Yufeng didn't speak, but she had already tacitly agreed.

It was just "asking," and since it was between friends, it surely wouldn't cost any money.

The son-in-law took out his phone and dialed: "Hello, is this Lawyer Zhou Xinran? It's me, Kang Feng. By the way, are you busy right now? I have a small matter I'd like to ask you about..."

On the other end of the line, Zhou Xinran, who had just walked out of the Court, felt a flash of impatience, but upon hearing the title "Lawyer Zhou," she still said: "I happen to have a moment right now. Tell me what the matter is."

She was just a newcomer in the legal profession, having graduated from university only a little over a year ago, and was currently at the very bottom of the industry.

In fact, anyone with even a slight understanding of the legal industry would know how exhausting and miserable it is for newcomers at the start.

Exhaustion is inevitable; you have endless chores and endless explanations to do. You encounter all sorts of bizarre clients, and some are simply unreasonable—you cannot explain things clearly using your legal wisdom.

As for being miserable, that goes without saying. The salary is pitifully low, and people often say, "You Lawyers are high-income earners..." Every time she heard such words, Zhou Xinran would politely nod.

And then... if I were a high-income earner, would I be in this state right now?

For instance, right now, she had just finished running procedures at the Court when she received the call.

Kang Feng on the other end was someone she had met while dealing with a certain Company; they weren't particularly close.

Moreover, Zhou Xinran also detested these so-called "just asking" requests.

But she wasn't a veteran in the industry yet, and sometimes she couldn't bring herself to refuse others.

This is the current situation for many young people entering the workplace: they want to be on good terms with everyone, don't know how to refuse, and help whoever asks. In the end, they find that everyone else is free, and only they are busy to death...

And if something goes wrong, it's all your fault, because you were the one who did those things...

"Lawyer Zhou, my wife's brother and my mother-in-law have been sued by the neighbor downstairs over some things. The situation is like this..."

Then, the son-in-law Kang Feng explained the general situation and immediately asked: "So Lawyer Zhou, how do you think we should handle this? He has already filed a complaint with the Court, and the Court has sent an Indictment."

Even though the son-in-law had beautified the story in his account, Zhou Xinran could still tell: this family was disturbing the neighbors and breaking people's phone screens—they were definitely being excessive!

Otherwise, people wouldn't have nothing better to do than file a Lawsuit over such a small matter.

But she still said: "Oh, these two cases? It's fine, these are small matters. Once they reach the Court, there's a high probability of Mediation. You pay to repair the phone screen, and as for the neighbor not being able to sleep and having neurasthenia, paying a little money will suffice."

"However, collecting evidence for a noise disturbance case isn't that easy. You'll have to see how things go."

"Ah? So it's hard to collect evidence for a noise disturbance case..."

Zhou Xinran heard Kang Feng on the other end ask a few questions, then he said to her: "The other party only has a recorded video, which is just some sounds from my house recorded after twelve at night. Does that count?"

"Is it just recorded with a mobile phone? Then that shouldn't count as evidence. To determine if living noise exceeds the standard, you need to use professional equipment to measure it. Most people don't have that stuff at home, and it's not cheap to buy."

"Really? That's good. But if we have to go to Court, do you have any suggestions, Lawyer Zhou?"

Suggestions... Zhou Xinran thought to herself, of course I can take the case for you. These are just small cases; the procedures are simple and the evidence is even simpler. They won't even take long to hear.

And for small cases, it's highly likely the other side hasn't hired a Lawyer. Even if they have, it's probably a newcomer, because fixing evidence for these cases is difficult, and no matter how low a Lawyer's fee is, there's a limit. It would really be a case of the cost outweighing the benefits.

It was most suitable for a newcomer like her.

"Ah, I have no other suggestions. If you have to go to Court, then go. Alright, Mr. Kang, I have things to do, I'm hanging up."

It was also a bit of a clever tactic; generally speaking, if someone really wants to go to Court, they will basically hire the Lawyer they consulted.

Beep, beep, beep! Kang Feng listened to the dial tone on the phone, said "hello" twice, and could only put his phone away.

He relayed the suggestions Zhou Xinran gave and then said: "So it's nothing, Mom. For the phone screen, just let the eldest brother pay to have it repaired; it's not much money. But for the noise disturbance, the Lawyer said it's not easy to define."

"And the video the other party has can't be used as evidence. You need some kind of professional measuring device, which is quite expensive. The Lawsuit will be a long one. What do you think we should..."

Xu Yufeng still didn't want to talk. She was very good at yelling in daily life, but when she encountered such things, she didn't know what to do, especially knowing that it would cost money—that made her even less inclined to speak.

Zhao Xun spoke up from the side: "Then let's fight it. We can't let people bully us, right? That Lawyer Zhou just now was pretty good. Why don't we hire her?"

"No problem, I'll call her right now!"

…………

Downstairs, Zhou Yi had already finished editing the first video; just like the first one, he edited it up to the point of filing his Lawsuit, then filmed the Indictment.

The title read: Neighbor causing a disturbance, even said if I have the ability then go sue, backhanded them with a direct Lawsuit!

He then uploaded the video.

It was time to eat again, so Zhou Yi went downstairs, preparing to grab some pork trotter rice.

Then, for some reason, it was such a coincidence that he ran straight into the eldest son of that family upstairs.

"Zhou Yi, right? Still filing a Lawsuit, isn't it just because you're hoping for Mediation? Let me tell you, we've hired a Lawyer too, let's just fight this court case!"

Hmm... hmm?

Watching the other person's confident expression, Zhou Yi was a bit dumbfounded; it's just hiring a Lawyer, why do you look like you've already won?

But after thinking about it, he still took out his phone and called Fang Dazhuang.

The first update is here, good morning everyone, thanks to book friends 2019, Liu Mengxiang, Cat and Lao Xu, Little Grape, Leopard's Shadow Trace, Shredded Chicken Is Delicious, Ze Your Supporter, and Add Money Neighborhood Committee Director for the tips, thank you.

Jiu Jian does two updates of five thousand words every day, everyone please rest assured, once it's officially published, my burst of updates will be huge, you won't be able to resist!

(End of this chapter)