"How are ordinary people like us supposed to survive in this world?"

The middle-aged man lowered his head to wipe his face, and when he looked up again, he had a smile on his face: "But that's life! We're born, and we live on."

"So how does he make a living now?" Zhou Chunhua couldn't help but ask.

After all, the uncle just said that his son's legs below the knees had been amputated.

The uncle sighed, "It's all thanks to our kind daughter-in-law. She does odd jobs, collects garbage, and takes care of Xiaojun and their child."

At this point, the uncle lowered his head.

You can't see the uncle's expression, but you can hear his voice, which has a heavy nasal tone.

“We called them and told Xiaojun to get a divorce and come back so that we, the old couple, can support him. We also told her to take advantage of her youth and marry into a good family.”

After all, we didn't give her life or raise her, so why should we burden her for the rest of her life? But she refused! She said that no matter how hard or tiring it was, she would never abandon Xiaojun and his father.

At this point, the uncle raised his hand and wiped his face.

Only the sleeves were stained with tears.

"I don't know what my family did in our past life to be able to marry such a good daughter-in-law." When the uncle looked up, he still had the same smiling face as before.

But this smile carries with it a sense of helplessness about life and the sorrow of being human.

He looked at Gu Yao, his expression complex.

After a long pause, the uncle finally asked, "Attorney Gu, you're a professional. Tell me honestly, is there any hope for Xiao Jun's case? Is it even worth continuing?"

Don't be afraid to discourage me. I just want to hear the truth: if there's no need to insist, my wife and I will bring them back no matter what.

We can't let Yanzi bear such a heavy burden alone anymore! My wife and I have discussed it and decided that when they come back, they can live in this house.

Then we'll clean up the shack next door where we used to store firewood and make it a place for my wife and me to live. Anyway, we won't be living here for many more years. As long as we're still alive, we can't let the three of them go hungry.

Whenever she wants to remarry, we will do our best to give her a grand and respectable wedding. She's such a wonderful person; even if we divorce, we, her husband and I, will still treat her like our own daughter…”

At this point, the man's voice choked with emotion and he could no longer continue.

He kept his head down and remained motionless.

After a long while, he shakily reached for his tobacco pouch and pipe at his waist.

After searching for a long time, he still couldn't untie the tobacco pouch tied around his waist.

He tried to pull it off with all his might, but the more he pulled, the tighter the knot became. The tighter the knot, the harder it was to untie.

Suddenly, he let out a whoosh and smashed the pipe in his hand on the ground.

"Why? We've toiled our whole lives, and we've never done anything immoral or unethical, so why is God targeting us like this!"

After the trembling voice subsided, the uncle covered his face and burst into loud sobs.

Zhou Chunhua was heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do to help the uncle.

It is said that there is no hell in this world, because the place we live in is hell.

As people from the same lower class, each of them has their own hardships.

The older man was like that, and so was she.

Aside from feeling the pain as if she could empathize, there was nothing she could do.

"Uncle, call this number for your son and daughter-in-law."

Zhou Chunhua looked over and saw Gu Yao hand a piece of paper to the uncle.

"This..." When the uncle raised his head, his sunken eyes were terribly swollen.

Gu Yao folded the paper, took the uncle's hand, and placed the paper in the uncle's palm.

"Let them make this call, someone will help them."

"Attorney Gu... thank you! I... I thank you on behalf of Xiaojun, no, on behalf of my whole family." As he spoke, the man was about to kneel down on the ground.

Gu Yao acted quickly and pulled the person back into the chair.

He didn't say anything polite like "don't be so polite." Instead, Gu Yao said with a serious expression, "Don't thank me. He's a lawyer. You're paying for his services."

Even Zhou Chunhua was stunned, let alone the older man.

It's important to understand that lawyer fees aren't paid only if you win; they have to be paid regardless of whether you win or lose.

Sure enough, the uncle still had tears on his face, and he was completely stunned.

After moving his mouth for a while, he finally said, "I...we...didn't..."

“I know you don’t have money.” Gu Yao nodded. “That’s why I introduced you to a lawyer who only charges fees after the case is concluded. And don’t worry, he charges a percentage of the compensation.”

In other words, the cost is slightly higher if you win. Of course, if you lose, you don't have to spend much money.

The middle-aged man stared wide-eyed, his mouth agape, whether he hadn't understood or, like her, simply didn't believe there could be a lawyer who didn't charge a fee.

Zhou Chunhua frowned and looked at Gu Yao with raised eyes.

She had worked at the law firm for two months and had never heard of a lawyer who only charged after the case was concluded, let alone one who didn't charge if they lost the case.

It's important to know that hiring a lawyer always involves paying in advance.

Moreover, regardless of winning or losing, the lawyer's fees will only increase; I've never heard of them decreasing.

She looked at Gu Yao.

Gu Yao dared not meet her gaze.

It's obvious that Gu Yao was lying.

"Really?" The uncle's eyes lit up immediately.

It is the kind of light that is full of hope for life.

At that moment, Zhou Chunhua suddenly understood why Gu Yao had lied earlier.

Because for people who are kind and righteous, they value human relationships much more than money.

Once you owe someone a favor, if you can repay it, you might find peace again for a while.

If they can't repay the debt, they'll probably be thinking about it even as they take their last breath.

Gu Yao is right. Someone like her, an older man, will obviously never be able to repay Gu Yao's favor in this lifetime.

He simply didn't want an old man, whose neck was practically buried in the earth, to not find peace at the very end of his life.

"Really." Gu Yao nodded.

"Okay! Okay! Thank you, Attorney Gu!" The uncle held the paper as if it were a treasure, carefully tucking it into his pocket. Then, feeling uneasy, he took it out to look at it again before putting it back into his inner pocket.

Less than a minute later, it was taken out again, and the person looked hesitant, unsure of where to put it.

Finally, he stood up, walked to the shrine, first copied the phone number directly onto the wall, then carefully folded it and placed it under the incense burner.

After finishing, they put their palms together and bowed repeatedly.

He kept saying, "Thank you, Bodhisattva, for your protection... Thank you, Bodhisattva, for your protection..."

"What are you standing there for?" Gu Yao's voice pulled her back to reality.

Looking down, she saw Gu Yao putting food into her bowl.

"Eat more. We might have to drive for most of the day tomorrow before we can eat our next meal."

Zhou Chunhua nodded, then she should eat even more.

After all, she might not have any food to eat tomorrow.