0031 Moon Boat
Qu Zhong was named one of Shanghai's top ten criminal defense lawyers of the year, which means that she will rise step by step in her legal career. In addition to new cases coming to her by name, clients who have worked with her before will also come back to her.
When Qu Zhong was still an intern lawyer, Su Rongqin taught her that to become an excellent lawyer, one must always maintain a cautious and meticulous attitude towards work. Only in this way will clients feel comfortable entrusting their cases to you, and you will not be eliminated from this profession.
Qu Zhong always kept this in mind and dared not be careless or negligent in the slightest. Even without the honor of being one of the top ten criminal defense lawyers, she would still have many repeat clients. Because she treats every case with the same seriousness, responsibility, and dedication as a guardian would for their ward.
Early that morning, Qu Zhong had just sat down at her workstation when Su Rongqin opened the office door and called her over. There were only a few people in the law firm yet.
Su Rongqin was already a senior colleague at Guanzheng Law Firm, but he still arrived very early every day. He was the most capable person in the entire firm, and Qu Zhong was ashamed to admit that he was not as good as him.
Qu Zhong straightened her clothes and walked into his office as instructed. Su Rongqin gestured for her to sit down so that she could face him.
Just like three years ago, Qu Zhong always sat opposite him. She listened to him explain the case, waited for him to review the archived materials, and held video conferences with him.
Su Rongqin accompanied her through her long year-long internship. During that time, Qu Zhong remembered every case she assisted him with and every document she handled perfectly.
Su Rongqin asked, "Do you still remember the agreement we drafted three years ago?"
"What agreement?"
Su Rongqin succinctly stated a key word, knowing that Qu Zhong would definitely remember it: "Moon Boat Kindergarten."
Sure enough, Qu Zhong nodded: "I remember, it's an agreement to change the organizer."
That was a task Su Rongqin assigned her after the National Day holiday that year. She was to learn about the relevant regulations for private non-enterprise entities, and then draft an agreement for the organizer and asset transfer; the target kindergarten would be named Moon Boat.
Qu Zhong stayed up all night, personally drafting this agreement word by word. In order to clarify what legal responsibility would be borne for failing to cooperate in handling relevant approval and permit procedures, which would prevent the changes from being made, she painstakingly searched through all the relevant laws and regulations, and after a long time, she finally found the accurate legal basis in the "Nine Civil Cases Summary". Only then did she feel confident enough to type the words "liability for breach of contract".
The next morning, Qu Zhong sent the agreement to Su Rongqin. Su Rongqin didn't say anything, just told her to get ready and that she would go with him to meet the client later.
When the paper copy of the agreement was handed to the client, the person praised it for being very professional and well-written. Su Rongqin didn't take credit, and said in a calm tone that the clauses were all designed and drafted by Qu Zhong, and he only made slight modifications based on her work.
Qu Zhong was overjoyed and felt a great sense of accomplishment, thinking that the night had not been in vain.
When she heard the words "Moon Boat Kindergarten" again after three years, she couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong?"
"The organizer is in trouble."
The organizer that Su Rongqin mentioned is the client who praised the agreement she drafted, and is also the person who took over Moon Boat Kindergarten and is now the kindergarten's principal.
"Duan Ningqi?" Qu Zhong announced his name.
"Yes, the news is still being blocked, but it should break soon."
Qu Zhong asked, "What is it?"
Su Rongqin gave her an unexpected charge: "Child molestation."
That wasn't all; he added two more words: "Many people."
Child molestation, multiple victims. The circumstances were heinous and utterly depraved.
Qu Zhong couldn't believe that Duan Ningqi, who was always smiling and polite and had given her great encouragement when she was just starting out, would do such a thing.
She took a deep breath, trying to appear as if she weren't making a fuss: "You mean you came to me because..."
Su Rongqin handed her the signed authorization documents: "You and I will handle this case together."
After obtaining her lawyer's license, Qu Zhong had always hoped that one day she could sit side by side with Su Rongqin in the lawyer's seat. She had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.
So without hesitation, she readily accepted the authorization documents, glanced through them briefly, and casually asked, "Is Duan Ningqi currently in the detention center?"
He's committed such a serious crime, there's no way he could be released on bail.
However, Su Rongqin gave the opposite answer: "Outside."
Qu Zhong looked up at him, wanting to ask how could that be, but Su Rongqin had already seen through her expression and spoke first, admonishing her like a mentor: "Didn't you know there was a meeting recently?"
The word "meeting" was a revelation to Qu Zhong. She remembered that some time ago, she had written a speech for her nominal mentor, Xu Tianlin, the director of Guanzheng and also a representative of the People's Congress of District C, about the principles of leniency in arrest, prosecution, and detention.
The main content of the article is to further deepen the implementation of the criminal policy of combining leniency with severity. In short, bail will become the norm in the future, but the final court judgment will not necessarily apply probation.
“I remember now…” Qu Zhong lowered her head, not daring to speak loudly, appearing humble as if she was waiting for punishment for not thinking things through. She only showed this attitude in front of Su Rongqin.
Su Rongqin didn't argue with her anymore. He returned to the case itself: "First, contact the prosecutor in charge. You have his contact information in the materials you have. I don't need to tell you what to do next."
Qu Zhong nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would definitely complete the task efficiently.
"Alright, go get to work."
Qu Zhong returned to her workstation and sat there for a long time before gradually relaxing.
What's going on? This is only her second year practicing law. Including her one-year internship, she's been in the legal profession for three years. What kind of criminals hasn't she seen? She still has a calm and collected heart when things happen.
But just now, Su Rongqin neither scolded her nor did anything else; he was just talking to her about work. Qu Zhong was still extremely nervous.
Upon careful consideration, this might be a natural form of control exerted by the master over the apprentice in a master-apprentice relationship.
Qu Zhong patted her cheeks to calm herself down, and then, as Su Rongqin had instructed, opened the pile of case files. Inside was a blank sheet of paper with Su Rongqin's handwriting on it, containing a long analysis of the case.
Qu Zhong quickly found an eight-digit number inside, along with the name of the prosecutor handling Duan Ningqi's child molestation case.
She was stunned when she saw it, because it was too familiar and too dramatic.
Without a hint of anger, she turned on her computer, logged into WeChat on her computer, and opened the chat interface with a clear purpose, typing: "Prosecutor Zhai, what new cases are you working on lately?"
After typing, her finger hovered over the "Enter" key. After thinking for a moment, she decided to delete the last interjection that seemed to be trying to act cute.
It's... weird flirting... that won't do.
Not long after she sent it, Zhai Shi replied, frankly admitting without any hesitation: "Child molestation."
Qu Zhong laughed immediately, and was about to send "How come I run into you again?" when his next message jumped into her eyes: "Attorney Qu, you're not doing this too, are you?"
He guessed correctly, and to match her title "Prosecutor Zhai," he deliberately called her Lawyer Qu. Qu Zhong's smile deepened unconsciously, and she sent a shrug emoji: "Tell me honestly, is the C District Procuratorate run by you alone?"
Zhai Shi: "..."
He quickly offered an explanation, though it might not have been very convincing: "Would you believe me if I said our department specializes in handling these kinds of cases?"
Qu Zhong pressed on, asking, "What case?"
He replied: "Crimes that disrupt social order, plus some crimes that infringe on personal rights, mainly sexual crimes."
That sounds reasonable, but it still doesn't explain why they always seem to run into each other in the same case, as if there's some kind of human intervention. Qu Zhong wonders, "Don't the other people in your department do any work?"
Zhai said, "The others are handling other cases."
Qu Zhong exclaimed "Oh dear!" in an exaggerated tone, followed by two words: "What a pity."
A question mark appeared on the other end.
Qu Zhong pursed her lips: "I'm getting tired of running into you all the time. I want to find someone else."
Whether Zhai was angry, amused, or both, he didn't reply for a long time.
Just as Qu Zhong was about to close the chat window and start working, the latest message popped up.
He unusually replied with an emoji, a picture of a golden shaded cat "humming," its dissatisfaction and grievance almost overflowing the screen.
How long did it take to find this post...?
Qu Zhong slightly parted her lips, then right-clicked the emoji and clicked "add".
It's nothing, I just think cats are cute, um.
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