Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 159 - 158: Is the Product Safe? The President Goes to Court Personally

Chapter 159: Chapter 158: Is the Product Safe? The President Goes to Court Personally

All in the courtroom had not expected that Zhang Wei would call the opposition’s people as witnesses.

The witness he summoned was actually the Director of Operations from Super Energy Drink Company.

Everyone present admired Zhang Wei’s audacity.

Wow, that move was completely unexpected by everyone.

If you dare to summon the opponent like that, what wouldn’t you dare to do in court?

However, for Zhang Wei, such tactics were child’s play.

Summoning the opposition? It wasn’t his first time doing it!

All in all, as the testimony of the Director of Operations came to an end, the court’s momentum shifted once again towards Zhang Wei’s side.

The previous evidence from the defense was the health condition of the deceased, Feng Xinxue.

His death wasn’t caused by the products from Super Energy Drink Company, but due to his own negligence in taking care of his health.

But after Zhang Wei examined the Director of Operations, the tide changed.

Based on the Operations Director’s "confession", Zhang Wei proved that Super Energy Drink Company had a product named "Absolute Zero", which was marketed as sugar-free and low-calorie, boasting remarkable effects for weight loss.

So the question arises, was the health condition of the deceased Feng Xinxue due to consuming this product?

If so...

Then, the deterioration of Feng Xinxue’s health condition would be absolutely linked to Super Energy Drink Company.

They had an undeniable responsibility!

Not only the plaintiffs and defendants but also everyone in the courtroom and the gallery sensed the shift in the wind.

The jurors exchanged glances, each looking for teammates who shared their opinion.

Their gazes towards Zhang Wei were tinted with confusion, but when looking at Lin Yufeng, they were filled with naked suspicion.

Clearly, they were half convinced by Zhang’s words, but overall, they tended to agree.

As for Lin Yufeng and the Super Energy Drink Company he represented, they were viewed with a hint of hostility.

"Your Honor, my opening statement is officially concluded, and now it’s the defense’s turn!"

At this moment, Zhang Wei declared the end of his opening statement.

When he sat back down, he could feel Lin Yufeng’s gloomy face right beside him.

"You’d better think hard about how to counter me, but I guess you’ve got no more moves!"

He sneered inwardly, then calmly awaited the opponent’s move.

Indeed, Lin Yufeng was exactly as Zhang Wei predicted, wanting to counter but at a loss for how to do so.

He had been to court before, but he had never encountered an adversary like Zhang Wei.

An opponent who doesn’t play by the book!

The current situation was extremely unfavorable for him.

"He summoned Supervisor Sun, something I hadn’t anticipated, and Supervisor Sun’s testimony has made the safety of our product uncertain. If this continues..."

Lin Yufeng’s expression darkened, his eyes flickering with resentment towards Zhang Wei and helplessness about the situation.

"In that case, we will have to call a senior executive from the Super Energy Drink Company to testify!"

In an instant, Lin Yufeng thought of a countermeasure.

If your target is product safety, then I will call...

"Your Honor, the defense is prepared to begin, and now we call our first witness to the stand!"

"Hmm, go ahead, Lawyer Lin!"

Seeing Lin Yufeng had regained his composure, Judge Mi naturally nodded in approval.

"The defense calls the Safety Director of the Super Energy Drink Company to testify!"

Following Lin Yufeng’s summoning, someone indeed came out from backstage.

"Hello, Director Zhu!"

Lin Yufeng and the witness clearly knew each other and greeted him directly.

Director Zhu nodded in response and then took his place on the witness stand.

The defense’s own testimony began.

"Director Zhu, as the Safety Advisor of Super Energy Drink Company, is it necessary for you to personally oversee the product from production to market entry?"

"Yes, I am responsible for the safety issues at all stages."

"Very well, could you tell the court how many levels of scrutiny a product has to go through before it can be launched into the market?"

Director Zhu nodded, organizing his thoughts, "The products of our company are absolutely safe, because from research and development to production, each process has strict safety standards, and all our standards are set strictly according to our national food safety standards, even with some criteria being more than twice as stringent."

Director Zhu continued, looking at the jury, "I want to reveal to everyone here that, from production to market entry, our company’s products undergo over ten months of food safety scrutiny. All inspection criteria are tested by experts from the Food Safety Administration, and these experts adhere to the highest level of safety standards."

"So I can clearly tell everyone that both ’Bull’ and ’Absolute Zero’ are absolutely safe and controllable, with no issues whatsoever in the product itself!"

The last sentence, Director Zhu said it loudly, as if to emphasize this point to the jury.

Indeed, the jury heard him, and three or four jury members nodded in agreement.

Since the Food Safety Administration and the highest standards had been mentioned, the product obviously had no issues.

Seeing the courtroom’s tide turning in his favor, Lin Yufeng nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you, Director Zhu, for your answers. I have no further questions!"

He returned to his seat, while also showing a smug smile to Zhang Wei at the plaintiff’s bench.

"Showing off?"

Zhang Wei snorted coldly and slowly stood up after Lin Yufeng sat down.

"Director Zhu, hello, thank you for coming to testify. I believe your presence will also clear the doubts in my heart."

Zhang didn’t respond, since it wasn’t a question; Director Zhu just looked at Zhang Wei without answering.

"Just now, you mentioned the Food Safety Administration’s highest review standards. Are you sure that your company’s products are all reviewed according to the highest food safety standards?"

"Of course. Is there a problem with that?"

Facing Director Zhu’s counter-question, Zhang Wei slightly smiled, walked back to his position, and picked up a document.

"This is strange. Why do I see in the Food Safety Administration’s documents that in the last two years, your company declared for food safety inspection twice, and the product tested was the same one?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Isn’t there a problem, if a product has passed the first inspection, why would it need a second one? Does the product differ between the two inspections?"

Saying this, Zhang Wei lifted the document in his hand and then walked in front of the witness stand.

"Director Zhu, I have another question. Why is the same product classified as ’food’ in the first inspection report, but changed to ’dietary supplement’ in the second inspection?"

Director Zhu’s expression changed slightly upon hearing Zhang Wei’s question.

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"I’m just curious, as the Food Safety Supervisor, you need to answer my question!"

Confronted with Zhang Wei’s pressing questions, Director Zhu looked towards Lin Yufeng and then Judge Mi.

"Lawyer Zhang, what do you mean by your question?"

Even Judge Mi didn’t understand how these questions were relevant to the case.

Zhang Wei raised a finger and declared to the crowd, "Of course it’s related, because this question will reveal the nature of the Super Energy Drink Company’s products!"

"But your question involves our company’s business decisions. These documents and their contents are..."

"Director Zhu, these documents are backed up at the Food Safety Administration. I found all this through Qian Degree and the Food Safety Administration’s official website. If I can find them, the actual plaintiff’s lawyer can surely find them too!"

"This..."

Zhang Wei’s words left Director Zhu speechless.

Mi Haiyang and Lin Yufeng wanted to interrupt, but after hearing Zhang Wei’s words, they also had no response.

What can they do when the client’s requirement is to seek truth?

In the end, Mi Haiyang nodded to Director Zhu, signaling him to answer the question.

Director Zhu hesitated, then said with difficulty, "Why was my company’s product tested as food the first time and as a dietary supplement the second time? This is actually...actually because..."

"Because you exploited a loophole in the food safety law, am I right?"

Zhang Wei saw Director Zhu hesitating and quickly interjected.

"Objection!"

Lin Yufeng naturally wouldn’t let Zhang Wei mislead the jury and immediately stood up to interrupt.

But Zhang Wei glanced at the jury and then pressed closer to Director Zhu, firing questions:

"If your company’s products were tested according to the food safety law, they definitely wouldn’t pass. But by adding vitamin extracts to the ingredients, your products were able to avoid the rigorous food inspections and instead pass the relatively lenient dietary supplement tests before entering the market, right?"

"I’ve read the Food Safety Administration’s documents. All your products later passed as dietary supplements, yet none have passed the food safety inspections in recent years. What is your objective? Do you really think the public are fools?"

"To cope with inspections, you changed the nature of all your products. So I want to ask you here and now, if ’Bull’ and ’Absolute Zero’ were sent for inspection under the food safety standards, would they pass?"

"You can’t answer that, can you? Because you know the answer yourself, Director Zhu. Do you dare to answer my questions now, dare to answer in front of everyone present?"

Faced with Zhang Wei’s barrage of questions, Director Zhu’s face became extremely unsightly.

Backstage.

"This kid... his questions... and these documents, where did they all come from!"

Director Zheng’s face also changed, becoming extremely shocked and equally unsightly.

His trusted subordinates also rose from their seats.

"Director Zheng, this..."

Beside him, Ren Xingzhou took a handkerchief and began to wipe his sweat.

Shen Zhengyi was also sweating profusely, his eyes fiercely glaring at the screen showing Zhang Wei.

"Kid, stop asking already, can’t you see what’s happening backstage? Director Zheng is about to explode!"

"Once he explodes, what am I supposed to do?"

"Where’s my teammate, come and save me now!"

"I need help on this side..."

At the scene.

"Objection, objection, I object!"

"Security, security, take him away!"

Lin Yufeng rose from his seat, roaring like a madman.

"I believe the members of the jury are clear on the purpose of my questioning by now, it’s just unfortunate that Director Zhu couldn’t answer, so I have nothing more to say!"

Zhang Wei didn’t give Lin Yufeng and Mi Haiyang a chance, "I take back all my previous questions, and regarding Director Zhu’s inability to answer, I will not express any opinion. Please, Your Honor, forgive my overstepping behavior earlier, I’m really very—very—very sorry..."

Zhang Wei repeated ’very’ three times to emphasize the point of his questioning before returning to his seat.

The cross-examination of Director Zhu had ended, but its impact was significant.

The jurors’ gazes towards Director Zhu had changed.

You must be hiding something.

Why would your company’s products, which are clearly beverages belonging to the food category, have to be tested as dietary supplements?

Could it be that your products could not possibly pass video inspection standards?

If "Bull" and "Absolute Zero" were sent for food safety tests, maybe they truly wouldn’t pass?

Then, what about Feng Xinxue who drank these two products—

"Your Honor!"

Seeing the situation turning against him in court, Lin Yufeng had no choice but to stand up and seek help from the judge.

Judge Mi nodded, "Given the current situation, this court decides to recess for 10 minutes!"

Zhang Wei sneered; he watched the two singing in tune and offered no objection.

The key was that objecting would be pointless; the mock trial was biased towards Lin Yufeng, and everyone could see it.

In fact, the more outrageous their actions, the more favorable it was for Zhang Wei.

After all, weren’t all these jurors experienced in attending trials? Could they really all be fools?

No way, no way, nobody really thinks that the jury is composed of 12 idiots, right?

If you think that, you’re truly delusional.

The moment Lin Yufeng called for a break, he headed straight backstage.

Backstage.

"Director Zheng, rest assured, the twelve dummies sitting on the jury bench will surely be convinced by our evidence to come!"

Lin Yufeng already admitted that his previous remarks had been unfavorable, so they desperately needed a significant witness to testify in court.

"Young Master Lin, I didn’t think it would come to this!"

Director Zheng looked displeased, his gaze towards Lin Yufeng filled with distrust.

"A rookie lawyer, and he can suppress you like this? What level of expertise does your advisory department really have?"

"Director Zheng, Zhang Wei is just an anomaly. This kid’s courtroom level..."

"I don’t want to hear your explanations; this makes me doubt Jincheng’s professional standards!"

Shen Zhengyi hurriedly tried to explain, but Director Zheng cut him off directly.

Then, he turned to the screen and said, "Honestly, I don’t consider myself a fool either, and I can see what the situation is now!"

"So what you’re saying is..." Lin Yufeng looked puzzled.

"I’m giving you one last chance. If my testimony doesn’t change the situation, then I’ll have to reconsider my cooperation with you, Young Master Lin!"

"Director Zheng, I will definitely defeat that Zhang Wei next and give you a proper explanation!"

Faced with Director Zheng’s ultimatum, Lin Yufeng could only respond with a troubled expression.

Director Zheng nodded, but he was still thinking: what’s the use of defeating that kid? He’s not the actual plaintiff’s attorney.

But he also wondered: on a real courtroom floor, would the plaintiff’s attorney be better than Zhang Wei?

Could the opposing side also find so much evidence, even going to the Food Safety Administration to dig up so many documents, just to find the test disclosure reports for his company’s products?

Would the plaintiff’s attorney’s questioning and cross-examining tactics be as sharp and incisive as Zhang Wei’s?

But these questions had no answers for the moment.

The 10-minute recess was up.

The mock trial resumed!

"Your Honor, the defense requests to summon the CEO of Super Energy Drink Company, Director Zheng, to testify in court!"

"The court grants the permission!"

At Lin Yufeng’s summons, Director Zheng came to the stand to give his testimony.

The self-defense of this CEO had begun.

Lin Yufeng asked a series of questions, to which Director Zheng replied smoothly.

Zhang Wei could tell that the two had already coordinated their stories in advance; these questions had been either discussed or rehearsed.

However, these questions were not designed to guard against him but rather as a strategy to counter the plaintiff during the actual trial.

He also knew that such tactics would not normally be used in a mock trial, but it was his relentless pressure that forced Lin Yufeng to reveal Director Zheng as his trump card.

"Lin Yufeng has been preparing for this case for more than two months; it’s impossible that he has no preparation at all. So, if I ask some routine questions, they might not have an effect!"

Zhang Wei sneered inwardly. If regular questions wouldn’t work, then he just needed to ask some irregular questions.

And he was very good at that!

"My family, my parents, and my grandparents were all outstanding entrepreneurs. They developed and expanded the company; they lived up to their own conscience..."

"I am deeply sympathetic to the victim’s plight and feel great sorrow for what happened to her family. If there is anything I can do for them, I won’t shirk my responsibility!"

Director Zheng finally finished speaking. Lin Yufeng’s questions nearly made Director Zheng recount the entire history of Super Energy Drink Company, including the struggles his grandfather faced in starting up the business, as if the trial was simply a platform for advertising.

And surprisingly, Zhang Wei did not interrupt their statements. Or more accurately, he knew interrupting would be useless because the judge would not be biased towards him.

On the contrary, interrupting frequently might irritate the jury that was enjoying the story, a situation any adept lawyer would avoid so as not to offend the jury.

"Thank you for your testimony, Director Zheng. As the CEO, you’ve made a personal appearance to testify, and we have fully felt your company’s sincerity," Lin Yufeng concluded the questioning in a very polite manner, and Director Zheng was about to stand up and leave.

"Director Zheng, our side still has some cross-examination questions!"

Zhang Wei quickly raised his hand to indicate, "How can you leave? The show hasn’t even started yet."

"Oh, sorry, I almost forgot, we’re striving for the truth, right?"

Director Zheng hastily sat back down. Although his expression was calm, the look he gave Zhang Wei carried a subtle warning.

His gaze seemed to say, "Just go through the motions, kid, don’t overdo it."

Zhang Wei, however, smiled and walked forward to meet the other man’s gaze.

What did Director Zheng and Jincheng Law Firm’s interests have to do with him?

His goal today was to win!

"Director Zheng, I don’t have any other questions for you. I believe even if I were to ask about your company’s situation, or your products, you would handle my offensive perfectly, wouldn’t you?"

Director Zheng did not respond but appeared utterly composed.

Clearly, Zhang Wei had guessed correctly.

"So I’ll just ask a simple question, a very, very simple one that you couldn’t possibly fail to answer..."

Zhang Wei said as he raised a finger, "Director Zheng, you have children, right? How old are they?"

"I have a son, 13 years old, and a daughter, 11 years old."

"Well then, we all understand that your company and its safety department are doing everything possible to ensure the products meet safety standards. So, I want to ask, would you let your own children drink your company’s beverage products?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes in the courtroom were on Director Zheng.

"This..."

Faced with this question, Director Zheng showed a moment of hesitation.

"This..."

Lin Yufeng in the defendant’s seat had not anticipated Zhang Wei would ask such a question.

The jury, the observers, and the lawyers from Jincheng Law Firm, the leaders...

Everyone was puzzled; it seemed like an easy question to answer.

Why then did Director Zheng hesitate?

Seeing Director Zheng’s reaction, Zhang Wei was also stunned.

Could this be the knockout blow? He had just asked casually, but could the impact really be this surprisingly effective?

Could he be winning?

He quickly suppressed the astonishment in his heart and pressed on, "Director Zheng, if you assert that your company’s products are absolutely, absolutely safe, then why wouldn’t you let your own children drink them?"

"Or could it be that your company’s products do indeed have issues?"

Seeing the direction of the court’s sentiment shifting, he naturally did not miss the opportunity to twist the knife.

This blow was both harsh and accurate, and moreover...

It struck right at the heart!