"But I went to the factory, and the people there told me directly that none of our batch had any money deducted. When I went to the middleman, guess what, he told me to buzz off."
Old Tang just shook his head upon hearing this, of course, such matters could be arbitrated, but first, the evidence was insufficient; second, it was not worth the time to quarrel over arbitration for a mere hundred yuan.
They don't deduct much, just enough to make you feel disgusted yet not enough to make you want to stand up for your rights.
Forget about lawyers, every province has a guideline for attorneys' fees, and lawyers cannot charge below this guideline. If they charge too low, the local bar association can directly punish you because you're engaging in unfair competition.
So, understand this, the bar association does handle matters, but it's a self-regulatory association for lawyers meant to safeguard the collective interests of lawyers.
In any region, no one can start engaging in low fees due to internal strife... That's also why it's hard for ordinary lawyers to find cases.
Spend a thousand yuan on legal fees to recover two hundred, only a fool would do that.
The younger man's words also stirred the noodle shop owner to join the conversation, opening up as well.
Many people look at those tiny intermediary storefronts and think they don't make any money, but those in the know understand how lucrative these employment intermediaries are!
Because of the presence of old pros like Old Tang, a group of people in the noodle shop began to speak their minds, while Old Tang listened and watched on the side.
Having never really been exposed to a lawyer's rhetoric, they were easily coaxed into voicing their complaints.
Just then, Old Tang suddenly looked to the side. He felt that the elder brother beside him had muttered something about "intermediaries are all...", but the voice was too low to catch clearly.
He wanted to ask a couple of questions, but the other party had already stood up, paid, and left.
Watching the middle-aged man's retreating figure, Old Tang curiously asked the noodle shop owner, "Boss, was that big brother also working around here?"
The owner nodded, not looking too pleased as he said, "Yes, he previously also looked for work in this labor market. I heard he bumped into a shady middleman too. They deducted his wages after the job was done and didn't pay him. When he went to them, they simply ignored him and even cursed at him. I heard there was a scuffle."
Old Tang was shocked upon hearing this. If a fight broke out, the police would likely respond with a mutual assault charge. Logically, such cases should be mediated by the grassroots level, and he wondered why no mediation took place.
But nothing's new under the sun, and it's very likely that he previously signed some agreement. The middleman probably had a legally savvy person draft an agreement, lured him into signing it, and no laborer would outplay them in such matters.
Mediation would suggest taking the legal route since the middleman had an agreement and he felt secure. Old Tang had seen a lot of such cases; they were just exploiting his ignorance of the law.
He was about to ask a few more questions when his phone rang. Picking it up, he saw an unfamiliar local call from Dongfang City.
Stepping outside the noodle shop to answer: "Hello, Tang Fangjing from Tengda Law Firm."
"Hello, Lawyer Tang, this is Lu Jianhua from Guanning Sub-bureau's Criminal Police Team. You came to file a report at the police station last time, right? I am notifying you that we have initiated a case."
"We can mail you the related case filing notification, or you can come directly to the police station to pick it up..."
It was mainly due to concerns about the other party's identity, fearing that they might be backed by powerful forces.
"It's okay, I can get it myself, thank you all then."
With the case filed, that was good news. Old Tang didn't comment on potential crimes involving organizations. The police have their own rules in investigating cases, and he, as a lawyer, didn't need to say anything.
He, Old Tang, was receiving all kinds of preferential treatment now, and that was because of the dump truck sent by Boss Wang, but if he kept exploiting this advantage to act arrogantly, he'd better stay cool and out of the way.
Nobody likes that kind of person.
So, when he filed a report, it was just that, with no superfluous words spoken.
Now that a case was on file, Old Lu first planned to issue criminal summons to a few resident teachers at the electronics factory.
The physical evidence was now very clear, and if there could be supplemental testimony, that would be even better.
Although it's always said that convictions can't rely solely on testimony, testimonies still hold an extremely important place in criminal evidence.
For an average person, the moment you sit in that chair, it's basically "I deeply regret".
Don't think about getting through with lies; the police questioning and recording statements aren't done just once or twice. If your stories don't match up, it's no good.
It was already Thursday evening, and several resident teachers were persuading students one by one in their dormitories.
"You all see now, some of those who ran off before have come back ready to continue working, and for those who don't return, their diplomas are definitely gone." Follow current novels on NoveIꜰire.net
"You all know Cheng Nanyan from Class 3, she even complained to relevant departments. Look at that, has it helped? The internships arranged by the school are all legal!"
"It's not like causing a stir will get you anything, you know? Just finish your internship work obediently, don't give us daily headaches!"
After Resident Teacher Liu finished speaking, he pushed the door open and moved on to the next dormitory.
As soon as he left, the students in the dormitory started venting.
"Damn it, these bastards, they don't have to do anything every day, and we're almost being worked to death!"
"Right, our team leader is such a jerk. No matter what I do, he says it's wrong. Also, that Li Tingting from the next class, her team leader is always hanging around her."
"Even when we told our teachers, they didn't care."
The few of them kept talking, but Jin Xintian still didn't say a word, his expression just as gloomy.
It had been several days since Lawyer Tang said he had handed in all the documents and that results would come soon, but so far, nothing had happened.