Chapter 560: Question: What if you receive a subpoena and a criminal summons at the same time?

Reasonably speaking, as the boss of the Company, Zhou Yi did not need to show his face personally, but he showed up anyway.

For no reason other than that he was the only idle person in the Company, so he could participate in whatever he wanted to.

"Let's go, next one. Let me see, it's that young man, he's also in this Small Residential District."

After the horseplay ended, Zhou Yi straightened his clothes before saying this.

Zhou Xinran shook her head, very dissatisfied: "Is this person just being sued for money? I think even if we win the Lawsuit, it won't make her realize her mistake. Look at what she said!"

Although these words might have been spoken in a fit of anger, just like those things exposed on the internet, when someone casually says things like "I'll spend however much money it takes to buy your life," what kind of person do you think they are?

Zhou Yi shrugged: "But there's no other way now. Lawyer Fang has already been consulted, and this case is just a civil dispute; there's no way to turn it into a Criminal Case."

There's nothing to be done about that. A Lawyer is, after all, a Lawyer and not a sorcerer. If you dare to frame someone when no crime has been committed, just wait to go in and start Treading the Sewing Machine yourself.

Forget it. Carrying a belly full of dissatisfaction, the two began to look for the next household.

The young man is named Yue Zongwei, twenty-five years old this year, and he can be considered quite a strange one, because normally, this kind of behavior of liking to take petty advantages is not often seen in young people.

After all, by comparison, young people are always more concerned about saving face.

The two chatted like this and found their way to the other party's door.

This is what it means to have compatible personalities; these two freaks treated the process of Legal Aid as a date, and were even flirting. Anyway, it's just these two; if it were anyone else, they would have broken up in minutes!

Forget not watching movies or eating, but Legal Aid and fighting a Lawsuit...

Bang, bang, bang. The door was knocked open, and a middle-aged woman opened the door, looking strange: "May I ask who you are looking for?"

Zhou Yi stepped forward and smiled: "Hello, Auntie, is Yue Zongwei at home? We have something to discuss with him."

"Looking for Zongwei, are you? Zongwei, come out for a second, someone is looking for you!"

The middle-aged woman shouted, and a young man walked out. Looking at his appearance, he was quite talented, but who would have thought that such a young man would do that kind of thing.

There is no help for it. Although we say all day that one cannot judge a person by their appearance, it is very common for one's values to follow one's facial features.

Yue Zongwei swept a glance at Zhou Xinran and couldn't look away for a moment, but he still pretended to be serious: "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

Zhou Yi began: "Yue Zongwei, right? Previously, about ten days ago, right at the entrance of this Small Residential District, you took someone else's tofu, didn't you?"

Hearing this, Yue Zongwei was stunned, and the middle-aged woman beside him asked strangely: "No, what are you saying? My son took someone else's tofu?"

"Yes, Auntie. We are the lawyers entrusted by the old lady who sells the tofu. We have already checked the Monitoring, and your son did indeed take it."

As he spoke, Zhou Xinran took out a tablet and pulled up the video.

Before the middle-aged woman could say anything, she saw her son's very conspicuous figure in the video, going up with a group of people to scramble for other people's tofu.

"Zongwei, what are you, what are you doing? Is our family short of this little bit of money? You just took it like that?"

Yue Zongwei lowered his head and said nothing. He was also very curious now why he had been so possessed that day that he had to take that tofu.

After the middle-aged woman finished speaking, she looked at Zhou Yi and the other and said: "I am really sorry for causing you so much trouble. My son didn't do it on purpose; he is usually very kind."

"How about this, how much is the tofu? I'll pay you double, is that okay?"

Zhou Yi shook his head and said: "Auntie, it's not about the money for the tofu now. The current situation is that the old lady who sells the tofu has been in poor mental health because of the tofu being snatched. We are currently conducting an assessment, so it's not just the money for the tofu, but also Mental Damage Compensation, as well as medical expenses..."

They hadn't even mentioned these things to that Cheng Dama earlier; she clearly didn't even want to pay for the tofu.

But here, Zhou Yi stated the situation.

It was also yesterday that news came from Wan Hai's side; his grandmother's condition is now quite serious. After all, she is getting on in years and has worked hard all her life; who knows when she might suddenly collapse.

Therefore, after the assessment, the medical expenses will not be cheap, let alone the Mental Damage Compensation.

Looking at the documents Zhou Yi took out, the middle-aged woman's expression changed.

If Cheng Dama simply felt they were making a mountain out of a molehill, Yue Zongwei's mother felt these people were extorting them!

"Still have to pay other money? No, are you extorting us? How much is that tofu worth? My son only brought back two bags that day, and one of them was dirty on the outside!"

Zhou Xinran tried hard to explain: "Auntie, this isn't us extorting you, but that old lady did indeed suffer severe mental trauma because of your son's actions, so the Mental Damage Compensation plus subsequent medical expenses all require money. This has been calculated..."

The middle-aged woman wouldn't listen at all; she just felt this was extortion!

"Then go find whoever you want. It's definitely impossible on my end. Why? Just took two blocks of tofu, is this tofu made of gold?"

"Besides, who knows what kind of illness that old lady has? You can't blame everything on us!"

Zhou Yi heard this and said: "Auntie, please wait a moment. I can understand that you don't agree to this... My meaning is, we can have a good talk. You see, these medical expenses here have all been assessed by professional institutions... the Mental Damage Compensation is all negotiable..."

"I don't care about that, and don't give it to me, I'm not looking at it. If you want to sue, then go sue. Anyway, I'll say this once: the tofu can be paid for, but the rest has nothing to do with me!"

Just at this moment, the neighbor next door opened the door and walked out. The middle-aged woman hurriedly said: "Ping Jie, come and judge this. Ah, these two claim to be lawyers, saying my son took someone else's tofu for free a while ago, and now that person says they are sick and wants money from us. Do you think there is any such logic?"

The neighbor woman next door heard this and also began to say: "These are lawyers? This is pure extortion. Let me tell you, don't you dare pay. This has nothing to do with you."

Zhou Yi and Zhou Xinran looked at each other. Well, there's no way. Generally speaking, when encountering this kind of problem, it is rarely resolved through negotiation.

The two turned around, prepared to take the Elevator downstairs, and could still hear a burst of discussion behind them.

"Let me tell you, these lawyers all have black hearts. Don't listen to a word they say, really. My son said before that these lawyers are not good things..."

Once inside the Elevator, Zhou Xinran gave a bitter smile and said: "Sigh, the reputation of lawyers seems to have never been good."

"I wonder how that old man is doing."

Zhou Yi shook his head: "Basically impossible. Wang Daye, who sells sunflower seeds outside, said that this Liu Laotou loves face and loves to brag; he's not a very good person."

But no matter how bad he is, they still have to go find him.

Twenty minutes later, at the door, Zhou Yi and Zhou Xinran were both helpless. It was no different from what they had imagined; after the old man heard what they had to say, he also started throwing a tantrum.

He said they made him lose face, and said how could his son, who is so rich, go and take any tofu.

He also said there were clearly so many people there, why only look for him? Even though Zhou Yi said they had looked for everyone, the man didn't believe it, just feeling that they were lying and wanted to cheat his son's money.

It almost made Zhou Mouren want to say, how much money does your son have? Let's compare...

After running to seven households one by one, Zhou Yi decided not to run anymore. According to his experience, it is simply impossible for these people to bear any compensation costs.

One by one, they either said to go ahead and sue, or were willing to pay for the tofu, but as soon as they heard about paying medical expenses or whatever, they immediately changed their faces.

They just said it was extortion and even wanted to call the police.

Forget it, too lazy to run. Let's just go through the procedure.

Zhou Yi called Secretary Jiang.

"Hello, Secretary Jiang, yes, it's me, Zhou Yi. Sigh, it won't work; as for those others who followed along... Oh, you and the Community Office are going to step in? Then you need to hurry, we have already filed a Lawsuit here."

After hanging up, Zhou Yi looked at Zhou Xinran and said, "No need to worry about it anymore. Secretary Jiang said the rest will all be called to the Community Office tomorrow for a meeting to explain the situation to them."

This whole affair was annoying and put one in a very bad mood.

Seeing that it was still early, the two discussed whether they should go somewhere to look around.

But then they felt that other places were all quite boring.

"Watch a movie? What's the point of that? A movie has countless bugs, and you can't even talk about them. As soon as you do, you get attacked by brain-dead fans telling you 'if you can do better, you go do it,' or 'if you're so capable, go film one yourself'... It's really boring," Zhou Xinran said there.

"Script murder mysteries, werewolf games, those aren't interesting either..."

Zhou Yi also felt these were boring, but as a modern person, there aren't many places for entertainment, and some entertainment venues aren't suitable to visit.

After all, have you ever seen anyone take their girlfriend to those rowdy entertainment venues? That would be purely brain-damaged.

Just as they were chatting, Zhou Yi's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw it was Wang Daoren.

Wasn't this guy sent to the hospital to collect evidence? Why is he calling at this time?

Zhou Yi answered the phone, and soon Wang Daoren's voice rang out: "Hello, Boss Zhou, are you busy? Something happened on my end; Wan Hai's grandmother just tried to commit suicide..."

What?

Zhou Yi hurriedly asked: "What's going on? Was she saved? Didn't a psychologist already intervene?"

"Sigh, Boss Zhou, I don't know why either, but the old lady's mental state is really not right. The psychologist said she was quite severely triggered..."

"Alright, wait for me, I'm coming over to take a look right now!"

Forget about where to go for fun; serious business is more important.

Especially since Zhou Xinran's eyes seemed a bit strange right now.

"What's wrong with you? Someone's grandmother is committing suicide, why do you look so excited..." Zhou Yi said there.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xinran said with an excited face: "You don't know, Zhou Yi, what is called a 'Serious Consequences' situation? This is it... But I'm not entirely sure either. Forget it, why don't you call Lawyer Fang and ask!"

Serious consequences?

Zhou Yi took out his phone and started calling Lawyer Fang.

Not long after, Lawyer Fang's hearty voice rang out: "Zhou Yi, is there something up again? Don't you have a great Lawyer by your side? Why are you asking me again? Haha..."

Zhou Yi looked at the embarrassed Zhou Xinran, shook his head, and said: "Isn't it because you, Lawyer Fang, are the professional one? Alright, no more jokes. Lawyer Fang, there's a sudden situation!"

"Just like I told you before, the grandmother of my Company Employee—I don't know what happened to the old lady today, but she suddenly tried to commit suicide in the hospital..."

Zhou Yi hadn't even finished speaking when he heard Lawyer Fang's voice on the phone seem to go up an octave!

"Is the person still alive? Was the suicide process recorded?"

Hmm... hmm?

Zhou Yi was completely dumbfounded. Someone is trying to commit suicide, Lawyer Fang, what are you talking about!

"... Eh, no, no, I mean, is there any Monitoring or other evidence?" Lawyer Fang hurriedly added.

He had slipped up in his excitement.

"There is Monitoring and everything else, it's right at the hospital. Many people saw it. If Wang Daoren and the others hadn't discovered it early, the old lady might have been gone."

"That's great!"

Zhou Yi: "???"

When I have this expression, it's not that I'm abnormal, it's that you are!

Although Lawyer Fang has always been a bit perverted, he wasn't this perverted before!

"Zhou Yi, listen to me, the situation is much easier to handle now. Remember, you must secure all the evidence of the old lady's suicide..."

"Forget it, I'll come over in a bit. Send me the hospital address. You have to know, one of the aggravating factors for the crime of Gathering and Looting is causing Serious Consequences like suicide!"

"I won't say anything more; just wait for me."

Beep beep beep! A busy signal came from the phone, and Zhou Yi finally came back to his senses.

No wonder Lawyer Fang was so excited; it turns out he saw an opportunity to turn a civil case into a Criminal Case.

But there was no need to be this excited, right? Could it be that this case is also in Lawyer Fang's notebook?

That is the only explanation; otherwise, there's no way to explain Lawyer Fang's inexplicable words.

However, if it really could become a Criminal Case, then this matter would indeed be much easier to handle. He truly detests the faces of those people today!

Even if only the primary culprits and the active participants go in, that's enough. I don't believe the rest of them can still say things like "it has nothing to do with me."

Connecting this to the meeting organized by Secretary Jiang tomorrow afternoon, Zhou Yi suddenly became interested...

He turned his head to look at Zhou Xinran and said: "Xinran, do you think the Court Summons can be delivered tomorrow? Can we call ahead to make an appointment..."

What? This time it was Zhou Xinran's turn to be dumbfounded. Although both of us are a bit perverted, you are a bit too perverted.

——

At the law firm, Lawyer Fang packed his things with extreme speed, humming to himself involuntarily.

"I am a recluse from Wolonggang..."

While singing, he drove straight to the hospital Zhou Yi had sent, and twenty minutes later, he parked in the parking lot.

After one phone call, Wang Daoren came out to greet him eagerly.

"Hello, Teacher Fang!"

Old Wang wasn't excited right now; he was afraid. The psychological shadow Lawyer Fang had given him was simply too deep.

So much so that he would be afraid every time he saw him, and he probably wouldn't be able to change that for the rest of his life.

"Eh, Lawyer Wang, hello, hello. Where is the person? Have you contacted the hospital? Have you called the police?"

"The hospital is cooperating fully. We just called the police, and they are on their way."

"Alright, I know. You lead the way, let's go up quickly."

Not long after Fang Dazhuang went up, the police officers from the police station near the hospital also rushed over.

The purpose of reporting to the police was not to have the local police station handle it, but to preserve evidence!

Remember one thing above all else: the records made by the police after reporting are the best evidence, evidence that can be taken directly into court.

It is like this for domestic violence, and it is the same for other matters.

Inside the hospital ward, Wan Hai's entire family had arrived and were there, continuously trying to persuade the old woman.

Today's incident had truly terrified the whole family; for no reason at all, the old woman had prepared to commit suicide.

Originally, Wan Hai's parents had felt that any psychological problems were fake, that there was no hurdle a person couldn't overcome, and that psychological treatment and psychological intervention were all scams.

This is also the mindset of many people in society; originally, depression had a bit of a reputation, and because of some cases, many people came to know that this is truly an illness, not just a simple psychological problem.

However, by now, depression has been ruined...

Not to mention that among ten celebrities or internet influencers, eleven of them have depression, but those who commit crimes also frequently bring up issues like depression or mental illness.

To the point that now, depression is something everyone shouts to beat.

As a result, the old woman's suicide attempt today made Wan Hai's parents realize all at once that this problem is truly very serious!

"Really, Comrade Police, my mother has made tofu for her whole life; you could say she has suffered for a lifetime. What kind of hardship hasn't she experienced? Something like suicide has never happened, even during the most difficult days."

"But now, it has happened..."

Wan Hai's father was speaking with the police, while Fang Dazhuang was also listening quietly on the side, occasionally saying a word or two.

Just at this moment, Zhou Yi and Zhou Xinran also arrived.

Several people came outside.

"Fang Dazhuang, you're quite fast!" Zhou Yi laughed from afar.

Upon hearing this, Fang Dazhuang laughed and said, "This has to be fast; otherwise, if the perfectly good evidence gets messed up by them, it might be hard to prove."

Criminal cases place great importance on causal relationships; if one wants to turn this case from a civil one into a criminal one, one must prove that there is a causal relationship between the old woman's suicide attempt and the previous act of gathering and looting.

Therefore, when Fang Dazhuang said that this case might lead to a prison sentence, Wan Hai's family couldn't have been more excited.

They were the ones who felt it most deeply, so when Fang Dazhuang asked them to collect evidence, they went to find it immediately.

After spending about two hours, Fang Dazhuang finally had results.

Actually, under normal circumstances, it would certainly take longer than this, but because they were previously going to conduct a Civil Litigation, the evidence for the act of gathering and looting was already very sufficient.

Now, they only needed to supplement it with the "Particularly Serious Consequences"—that is, the evidence of the old woman's suicide attempt—to form a complete Evidence Chain.

After handing the pair of evidence to Zhou Yi, Fang Dazhuang said, "Time is tight, and there is some evidence that is hard for us to collect, so the evidence isn't particularly complete, but there is definitely no problem with the Case Filing."

"If we go now, we should still be able to make it."

Zhou Yi checked the time; it was indeed so, so he hurriedly pulled Zhou Xinran downstairs and headed straight for the Dongjie Police Station.

Inside the Dongjie Police Station, the police officer Xiao Lin was on the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Zhao, you all do indeed have responsibility in this matter. Yes, try to come tomorrow; let's have a good Mediation..."

As Xiao Lin spoke, he also felt very helpless; it seems like the police don't manage much, but in reality, they have to manage everything. For matters like Mediation, it's fine if you don't encounter them, but if you do, you must step in.

The Mr. Zhao on the other end of the phone was one of the people from the previous looting incident, but not a primary perpetrator.

He said there: "Comrade, the main thing is that they want too much money. It can't be that whatever they say goes, right? It's not like I'm saying I won't compensate..."

After talking for a long time, he finally got the other party to agree to attend the Mediation tomorrow.

Putting down the phone, Xiao Lin took a sip of water, and just at this moment, he saw two familiar figures.

Watching these two enter, even Xiao Lin had to sigh that these two are truly persistent.

He himself felt this matter was very difficult to handle; he didn't expect them to have actually found the people.

That was why he had made his previous phone call.

Therefore, he laughed and said, "Mr. Zhou, is it? And Lawyer Zhou, is there something else again?"

Zhou Yi stepped forward and put down the bag in his hand, and while taking out the evidence, he said, "Officer Lin, there is indeed a matter today; we are here to report a case."

"Report a case? What case are you reporting?"

"The previous case of gathering and looting."

Xiao Lin said with some surprise, "Weren't you all preparing to go through with a Civil Litigation for that case, asking for compensation and such? We've already talked about the criminal aspect; it didn't reach the standard for Case Filing, the amount was too small."

Zhou Yi shook his head and said, "Officer Lin, it's not about the amount. Something happened today; the old woman whose tofu was looted previously attempted suicide."

What?

Xiao Lin stood up all at once, his expression extremely serious as he said, "Are you sure? When did it happen? Was it reported to the police?"

"Well, Officer Lin, there was an act of suicide, but she was saved by her relatives. However, she does indeed have very strong suicidal thoughts. Here is the evidence; please take a look."

Xiao Lin looked at Zhou Yi with a helpless expression; don't pause so long when speaking—suicide and being saved halfway through are two completely different concepts.

He took the evidence and began to look through it one by one; evidence organized by a Lawyer is indeed different—professional!

He arranged the evidence in order; it was pleasing to look at, and most importantly, it was link after link with no loopholes.

Xiao Lin's expression remained very serious; if it had truly reached the point of suicide, then this was different.

Even if the amount is very small, for the crime of gathering and looting, the standard for Case Filing uses the word "or" between the amount, suicide, and mental derangement.

In other words, even if the amount didn't reach the standard, if the consequences caused are very serious, then it must likewise be filed for investigation of Criminal Case responsibility!

Suicide belongs to the category of Particularly Serious Consequences!

After browsing through the evidence, Xiao Lin said, "Mr. Zhou, you will have to wait a moment; I need to report the situation upward. This case is a bit special and must be carefully reviewed."

"No problem!" Zhou Yi laughed, "Review is necessary. I only have one suggestion: if the case is filed, those people are supposed to have a meeting at the Community Office tomorrow; I wonder if you could summon them in person?"

He, Zhou Mouren, is not some pervert; he just simply wants to see those people's reactions.

Receiving a Court Summons and a Criminal Summons Document together is quite lucky; even if one ends up Treading the Sewing Machine, one can still brag about it...

First update, six thousand words. Thanks to Qiu Zhi Baizang, Wuyuan Wuhui, You Yige Xinshou, Wen Chi, Feimao Wuyu, and thanks to the brothers for the tips, thank you.

(End of chapter)