0051 Change of Circumstances

Qu Zhong pulled out the lease agreement and found the landlord Lu Wei's contact information at the end, where the signature and seal were affixed. The contract was signed in 2014, and she wasn't sure if Lu Wei's phone number had changed, so she decided to try calling her first.

When the other party answered and Qu Zhong heard a standard Shanghai dialect, she was already certain that it was Lu Wei.

"Hello Ms. Lu, I am an agent for Haitian Catering..."

Before she could finish speaking, the other party hung up the phone, which was extremely impolite.

Qu Zhong realized that private mediation was not an easy path, and might even be a dead end.

But she has no other choice at the moment and can only try her best to communicate with Lu Wei.

Fortunately, she was a criminal defense lawyer, and she had done many cases of helping defendants seek forgiveness from victims, so this small difficulty was not a problem for her.

Hanging up was fine; she could keep calling. After several unanswered calls, she texted Lu Wei directly:

"Ms. Lu, I am the agent for Haitian Catering and Mr. Cheng Quan. You and my client have been working together for so many years, you must know what kind of person he is. You also know why he can't pay the rent. I hope you can spare some time to communicate with you in person. We can resolve any issues privately so that we don't have to go to court. This is better for both of us. I look forward to your reply."

After editing several drafts and reading them aloud several times to make sure there were no problems, Qu Zhong pressed send.

After waiting anxiously for most of the day, Lu Wei finally called back:

Come to East City Cafe at 2 PM today.

Qu Zhong traveled across districts to the location Lu Wei had given her, arriving earlier than the time she and Lu Wei had agreed upon.

This was her first time visiting a café like this. The interior was decorated with brown wood and played retro jazz music, evoking memories of old Shanghai, a bustling metropolis that never slept.

Unexpectedly, Lu Wei arrived even earlier than her, and her appearance was somewhat different from what Qu Zhong had imagined.

Despite her advanced age and several years of experience, Ms. Lu exudes elegance and grace in every gesture, suggesting she has received a good family and school education.

She was leaning back in her armchair, sipping her coffee. On the table sat a plate of leftover pork knuckle rice and a barely touched bowl of borscht.

Qu Zhong sat down opposite her and ordered a cup of handcrafted black coffee. She always preferred sweet drinks, and she ordered this to appear mature and experienced in front of this seemingly unapproachable older woman—it was her negotiation strategy.

“Ms. Lu, I’m here today hoping you can reduce some of the rent and not pursue my client’s liability for breach of contract.”

She didn't want to beat around the bush and directly stated her client's demands.

Lu Wei raised her delicate eyebrows and looked at her: "Why should I ask for a reduction? The amount stipulated in the contract should be the amount."

She spoke in the Shanghai dialect, which Qu Zhong could understand, but she couldn't speak it and could only respond in Mandarin: "The premise of the contract's performance is that my client can operate normally according to the agreed lease purpose, but Haitian Catering has not been able to operate normally since the year before last."

Lu Wei put down her cup, her still arrogant dialect grating on Qu Zhong's ears: "Is it my fault that it can't operate normally?"

Hai Tian has her difficulties, and Lu Wei has her own logic; clearly, she doesn't want to pay the price for other people's mistakes.

The silence between the two made the atmosphere at the table gradually tense. Fortunately, it wasn't long before the waiter brought over the tray with the coffee that Qu Zhong had ordered.

Qu Zhong smiled faintly and thanked him.

She didn't rush to taste it, but instead swirled the coffee cup around to examine it. Like the cup in Lu Wei's hand, it had a raised embossed design around the body, featuring famous landmarks of Shanghai, and it felt very high-quality to the touch.

After recognizing that the cup in her hand was printed with the street name Jiangning East Road, Qu Zhong seemed to have thought of something. She stopped talking about the rent and smiled, saying, "Ms. Lu, you come to this shop often."

One affirmative statement, one conclusion.

Lu glanced at her, then continued drinking his coffee without replying.

Qu Zhong continued, "This shop used to be located on Jiangning East Road, but it moved here in recent years. It was closed for 12 years, from 2007 to 2019. Do you know why?"

Background checks are a very important and useful activity. They can help negotiators obtain more valuable information and minimize the disadvantages caused by information asymmetry.

Before coming, Qu Zhong had thoroughly researched this store.

Dongcheng Coffee Shop, which opened in the 1950s, is one of the earliest coffee shops in modern Shanghai.

In those days, coffee, imported from the West, represented a trendy and tasteful lifestyle for Chinese people. Many young people would go to Dongcheng Coffee Shop to date and chat.

Those young people have become old people, and Lu Wei is one of them.

Qu Zhong was betting that Lu Wei wouldn't remain unmoved by these words. Sure enough, Lu Wei gave Qu Zhong the reaction she wanted: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

I don't want to say anything. Qu Zhong was just testing whether she was a sentimental person. If so, then there's still a possibility of talking.

It seems so at the moment. So she returned to the original topic, first playing the emotional card: "Ms. Lu, these past two years have been difficult for everyone. Please put yourself in my client's shoes..."

Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, Lu Wei interrupted her, just as impatiently as when she hung up the phone that morning: "You want me to put myself in his shoes? Who puts themselves in my shoes? If you're here to morally blackmail this old man, then I advise you not to waste your energy. Goodbye."

Her cold, unsmiling attitude plunged Qu Zhong's emotions to rock bottom.

Qu Zhong then realized that her refined tastes, her compassion, and her nostalgia were all reserved for internal use only, not for external audiences. She could please herself, but she would never tolerate others.

Looking at her expensive clothes, the food she took a few bites of and then tossed aside, and the way she sipped her drink slowly without any regard for time, Qu Zhong felt a surge of hatred and anger rising in his heart.

And when she thought that her client might be struggling financially and overwhelmed with problems, this anger intensified.

Qu Zhong stared at Lu Wei for a few seconds, then suddenly picked up the untouched creamer beside her and poured it all into the black coffee that Lu Wei didn't like, as if she had thrown out all her cards, going all in.

"The current situation is caused by a disaster that has harmed the entire society. Neither you nor Cheng Quan are at fault, so the losses should be shared fairly and reasonably. Even in court, I believe the judge will rule in the same way."

Her words and actions made every wrinkle on Lu Wei's face smile: "Then we'll wait and see. In any case, I won't get a penny less than I'm owed."

...and returned empty-handed.

Having handled criminal defense cases for so long, Qu Zhong never expected that the plaintiff in a civil or commercial dispute could be so tough, even more difficult to deal with than the prosecutor.

Lu Wei has plenty of time and energy to fight this lawsuit, but Hai Tian doesn't, and neither does Cheng Quan. The protracted litigation will only crush him and won't bring any turning point.

Qu Zhong rushed back to the law firm before Su Rongqin got off work to report on the progress of the case: "Attorney Su, I met with Lu Wei this afternoon. She doesn't agree to reduce the rent for the time being. I will continue to work on her mindset in the next few days."

Su Rongqin was packing his things without looking up: "Don't worry about her, she'll agree to mediation soon."

His tone was as light as a feather, yet the content was as weighty as Mount Tai. Qu Zhong's eyes widened in surprise: "You mean, there's already a solution?"

Su Rongqin nodded: "Dissolve the company."

Qu Zhong's eyes widened even more: "What?"

"I have asked Cheng Quan to convene a shareholders' meeting in the next two days to resolve the dissolution of Haitian Catering and the establishment of a liquidation team."

He not only had a countermeasure, but his plan was also meticulous and flawless.

"Afterwards, we will publish a dissolution announcement in the Shanghai Legal Daily, then send a letter to Lu Wei to terminate the contract, hand over the work on-site, and have her declare her claims to the liquidation team."

I didn't expect him to come up with a solution in such a short time. His reaction speed is so fast; Su Rongqin truly deserves to be called one of Shanghai's top lawyers.

Qu Zhong, who wasn't particularly knowledgeable about company law, only had a vague understanding of it, but she was certainly familiar with the concept of dissolving a company.

A company is actually quite similar to a person. Its registration is its birth, and its liquidation and dissolution are its demise. Its lifespan can be very long or very short, depending on the company's articles of association.

If it were the expiration of the operating period stipulated in the articles of association, it would be like a person dying of natural causes, but now Su Rongqin says he wants to pull the plug early.

How is this different from intentional homicide? Although, under criminal law, intentional homicide cannot kill a legal entity.

But Qu Zhong still couldn't accept it and asked Su Rongqin, "Have you communicated with the person involved? Did he agree?"

Su Rongqin zipped up his backpack and stood up to leave: "I told him this is the optimal solution."

Whether this is the optimal solution remains to be seen, but it is undeniably a brilliant move.

Once liquidation proceedings begin, the liquidation team will clear the company's assets and liabilities, repaying each creditor individually. If the company is insolvent, they will directly file for bankruptcy with the court. At that point, Lu Wei won't get even 300 yuan, let alone 300,000. With a little thought, she knew what to do.

Unexpectedly, Lu Wei was ruthless, but Su Rongqin was even more ruthless. To kill a thousand enemies, he was willing to sacrifice eight hundred of his own.

But Qu Zhong felt it wasn't worth it: "Is it really worth dissolving the company just to pay a little less rent?"

Her words were like a gentle rain that kept guests from leaving, delaying Su Rongqin's departure time.

He sat back down, frowning as he repeated her words: "A little rent?" It's easy for her to say that when she's not in his shoes. "Three hundred thousand, plus interest, late fees, and penalties, it'll probably be more than that. Qu Zhong, you're telling me this is a little?"

This is enough for an ordinary person to struggle for most of their life.

Qu Zhong realized she had spoken carelessly in her haste and quickly corrected her tone, asking Su Rongqin, who was also asking herself, "Isn't there any other way?"

Su Rongqin didn't want to waste any more words with her, so he threw the question back at her: "It's because my years of practice are too short. Attorney Qu, please feel free to share your insights."

Qu Zhong fell into a long silence.

She couldn't think of any other way.

The only thing she can do now is to persuade Lu Wei, without using any obscure or profound legal language, but in the simplest way, to reason with her and appeal to her emotions, hoping that she can have some empathy for her long-time partner and her compatriots.

However, this move seems to have had little effect so far, and it remains to be seen whether Lu Wei will eventually change her mind.

Su Rongqin didn't want to leave everything to an unknown; he needed a definite result.

After Su Rongqin left, Qu Zhong kept admonishing herself at her workstation not to get stuck on things anymore, and to just do as he said.

However, she found the rental agreement again and saw a clause that stated: "The lease term is twenty years, and it will be automatically extended upon expiration."

It's important to know that the maximum lease term stipulated by law is twenty years.

How could a tenant who signed a 20-year lease with automatic renewal upon expiration so easily agree to dissolve the company?

Qu Zhong didn't believe it and wanted to find Cheng Quan to get to the bottom of it.