"Teacher Tang, I heard you recently took on a wage dispute case? Is it quite troublesome?"
Inside Tengda Law Firm, Old Tang found the message from "Little Yan" a bit surprising. Had the news really spread that far?
Although he didn't know where this Yan brother was from, he could feel from their daily exchanges that he must be quite distant.
To Tang Fangjing, this Yan brother truly felt like a kindred spirit.
The two short videos from him had really resonated with Old Tang's thoughts. It was that feeling of "damn, that's exactly what I think," but not knowing it could be done that way.
It's just a pity that while they have been understanding each other on a spiritual level for so long, they have never met in person; now it feels like a bit of both a teacher and a friend relationship is forming.
"It indeed is a bit troublesome, but it's manageable. Remember, for special cases, we can't be constrained by norms. We have to unravel the situation step by step. Taking a cautious approach may be safe, but our clients may not be able to wait that long."
It's only because Tang Fangjing is committed to completing his mission that he's dealing with risk representation and legal assistance. Otherwise, with such cases, one can only wait patiently.
On the other side, Miss Xiao Yan in the office was staring intently at the message on her phone, thinking hard. Finally, she made up her mind, stood up, and walked towards the Director's office at Feixiang Law Firm.
"Director, I want to apply for a transfer, to move to Tengda."
The recent conversations with Teacher Tang made her feel that his understanding of the law was completely different from that of Feixiang Law Firm.
So, rather than biding time here, it was better to go to Tengda, where at the very least she could learn much more.
In Jingzhou City's Xihong District, within an urban village, Yi Ruian, who had just stayed up all night playing cards, was walking towards his rental.
Thirty-eight-year-old Yi Ruian also liked to gamble and had accumulated a mountain of online loans due to his gambling debts. Creditors chased him to his home, which left him with no choice but to divorce.
After the divorce, he continued down a path of self-destruction, so when Lei Peng said he would withhold that money, Yi Ruian immediately agreed. It was just about evading debts, something he was familiar with.
As for the lawsuit... he already had countless others on his back. Anyway, the more lice you have, the less you itch; the more debts, the less worry. Just take it one day at a time.
What did it matter to him if the migrant workers lived miserably? If you have the ability, you eat meat; if you don't, you go hungry.
Gambling, visiting prostitutes, Yi Ruian lived his days freely and carelessly.
Just as he was about to open the door to his apartment, several people suddenly approached from the side, all dressed in police uniforms.
"Yi Ruian, right? ID number... You are now legally detained by Guangming Sub-bureau of the police. This is your detention notice. Please sign here and come with us."
What? Yi Ruian was stunned. What was going on? Why were the police at his door again, talking about criminal detention? Was it just because he owed some money?
After snapping back to reality, he quickly responded, "Wait, wait a minute, what do you mean by criminal detention? What crime have I committed?"
The leading police officer said, "You know who Luo Duancheng is, right? You're suspected of the crime of refusing to pay labor remuneration. Understand?"
Ah... What? Yi Ruian's face was a mask of bewilderment. Was there even such a crime?
He genuinely didn't know. In fact, when it came to criminal law, many people only knew about things like murder. As for charges , he had never even heard of them before.
Seeing that the police were about to take him away, Yi Ruian suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute, I wasn't the only one who took the money. Why me? No, Lei Peng took it too..."
Meanwhile, President Lei, in another villa, was feeling anxious. Logically, there shouldn't be any issues. Yi Ruian had gone into hiding, and he didn't think anyone could find him.
After all, no one could find him previously when he was dodging debts.
Moreover, he had known Yi Ruian for many years. There was no need to worry about anything.
People were calling him to play cards again. Maybe he should just enjoy a few rounds.
Half an hour later, inside an apartment building, Lei Peng was fully engaged in his card game. This was a residential room turned into a mahjong parlor, to avoid the police.
"President Lei, you're on a winning streak today! You've been dealer for several rounds now!" someone said.
Lei Peng laughed heartily, "It's all luck... good luck."
While he was speaking, the owner of the mahjong parlor suddenly came over, "President Lei, your company's President Yi is looking for you. He'll be up here soon."
In these so-called underground gambling dens, there's usually someone on lookout duty.
If you notice some stalls by the roadside in secluded areas, they never seem to have much business, yet they're open all year round.
Of course, these practices are child's play now. As the saying goes, for every measure, there's a countermeasure.
Generally, you need a special person to guide you up; you can't find the place on your own. The same is true for certain teahouses; they operate in the same manner.
Upon hearing this, Lei Peng was taken aback, but he was having such a good time he didn't think too much about it. "Okay, I got it... Blank tile!"
He realized something was off after he made his move. Wasn't Old Yi supposed to be in hiding? Why was he coming back to find him now?
Then a thunderous shout erupted at the door, "Police, nobody move!"
All at once, everyone in the room froze as if under a spell. Lei Peng turned to the door and immediately saw Yi Ruian standing there.
After a moment of shock, Lei Peng suddenly roared, "Fuck your mother, Yi Ruian..."
Yi Ruian looked awkward, but he shouted back, "What are you yelling for, damn it; you're gonna get us jailed!"
I agreed to take the fall for you, but going to jail is definitely not okay. You haven't given me enough money.
Lei Peng was taken away, but further investigation was needed on his case. Yi Ruian's testimony alone was clearly not sufficient as evidence.
The wait was still long, and seeing his life ticking down to just over ten months made it feel like being scorched by fire.
And one morning, Tang Fangjing finally received the news from Old Ge.
Unsurprisingly, once they were seated in that magical chair, they became very docile and cooperative, spilling the beans as easily as if pouring them from a bamboo tube. Content originally comes from novel※fire.net
They had lost all their money and couldn't resist the funds they saw in the company accounts.
They thought that since the company was theirs, spending a bit of money didn't matter, and they could just win it back later...
Yes, these two seasoned gamblers even thought about winning it back.
In the past, they had always done the same, spending the company's money freely. Accountants usually quit after just a couple of months.
This time, however, the more they lost, the less they were able to pay salaries. Yi Ruian fled after taking the blame, while Lei Peng thought he would escape unscathed.
Of course, most importantly, those funds were nearly squandered away by the two men.
Sigh, but now the evidence was sufficient. Tang Fangjing headed straight for the Guangming District Court to file for a declaratory judgment, confirming the financial commingling between Lei Peng and the company and holding him jointly liable for the company's debts.
Moreover, considering Lei Peng's serious gambling issues and the multiple litigation cases involved, who knew how much of his assets were left. There was uncertainty whether his house was mortgaged or not, thus a property preservation application was necessary.
Guangming District Court was no longer surprised by Old Tang's maneuvers. After initiating the forensic assessment, they contacted the public security organs directly to obtain the relevant evidence.
Even Tang Fangjing didn't expect that President Lei only had a few thousand yuan to his name, with just that villa remaining.
That's just too tragic... But the freeze must still be enforced; tragic as it may be, he indeed deliberately defaulted on wages.
That's right, it was deliberate wage default. Even if the emperor himself came, it wouldn't change a thing. Wage claims have malice involved, so why can't wage default be punishable?
At the Bright District Detention Center, Lei Peng walked out. The prosecution had not approved his arrest. On one hand, because there was insufficient evidence of his involvement in the crime—since the transactions were in cash, they couldn't be traced through accounts and mere testimonies weren't enough.
On the other hand, his cooperation was good, so the prosecution did not approve the arrest.
He only found out his villa had been sealed off when he got home.
Of course, as the only place of residence, even if it was sealed off for asset preservation, it wouldn't affect living there; it simply couldn't be mortgaged or sold anymore.
Even the law has a sense of humanity; it's not reasonable to kick you out just because there's nothing left but your house after it's been preserved.
Even if it's auctioned off after the ordeal, there'd need to be a good talk and enough money for you to afford a rental.
He called the court to inquire about the situation and learned that the opposing counsel had already filed for a declaratory judgment, and it was now in the property preservation phase.
Having already had a bad impression of Tang Fangjing, and now with his only house being sealed off, Lei Peng, who had lived the first half of his life in the limelight, couldn't help himself anymore. To him, being taken away from the mahjong parlor was already a loss of face, not to mention having his house sealed off now.
This was the only thing left that could give him some respect!
He wanted to have a "chat" with the other party. He wanted to ask if they really had to drive him to his death.
In the Tengda Law Firm, Miss Xiao Yan entered carrying a stack of documents, with her transfer procedures about to be completed.
"Morning, Brother Tang!"
She had originally called him Lawyer Tang, but that Li Wanting in the office, always calling him Brother Tang, she just couldn't take it anymore, so she also started calling him Brother Tang.
Tang Fangjing glanced back and saw the professionally dressed girl looking pretty good, but he had no such thoughts at the moment, with terminal illness as an impenetrable shield.
She had worked on a few cases with that Zhang Wei before. Tang Fangjing was about to say something encouraging when a voice from the door interrupted.
"Tang Fangjing, it was you who had my house sealed, wasn't it? Over just a few months of unpaid salaries, do you really have to drive me to death? Huh?"