Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 170 - 168: Another Bombshell, More Than One Problem?

Chapter 170: Chapter 168: Another Bombshell, More Than One Problem?

(Today there is only one update because I need to join the committee ladies to tour the neighborhood. We in Xishan District are conducting the second and third rounds of nucleic acid testing, and the number of people in each household has to be tallied. Your busy Author Germ hopes that the epidemic in Wu Xi and neighboring Suzhou will pass quickly!)

...

In the courtroom.

The atmosphere shifted.

With Su Bancheng dropping bombshells, several families from Tonghu Town felt the pressure.

"Damn, we should never have trusted any ’expert.’ That guy never looked trustworthy. If you had listened to me and checked his background more thoroughly, we wouldn’t be in this mess!"

Among these families, Wang Qiang immediately cursed, displaying a hindsight akin to that of Zhuge Liang.

"Exactly, exactly!" His son, Wang Xiaowei, also chimed in, echoing his father.

The faces of the other families present also looked grim.

And Su Mei, sitting in the front row, had trembling hands and a pallid complexion, devoid of color.

"Aunt Mei, don’t be afraid! Zhang Wei is here!"

Jessica grasped Su Mei’s hands, quickly offering comfort.

Only then did Su Mei turn her anxious gaze towards her daughter in the courtroom.

She knew Zhang Wei was present, but she also knew that Zhang Wei was not the one to speak out. The key was still her own daughter!

Amidst the expectations of several families, Susan finally stood up.

"Objection, hearsay evidence!"

Although Su Bancheng had claimed that their own expert witness was unreliable and even accused him of plagiarism.

But that was just talk, as these were all things he had heard from the researchers of Haofangzi Group. That was hearsay evidence.

Zhang Wei gave Susan an encouraging look, and she immediately understood, turning towards the judge.

"Your Honor, our expert witness holds master’s and doctoral degrees in environmental science, materials science, and other relevant fields, and has worked on environmental science projects for many years. He is fully qualified to serve as an expert witness in this case. And the accusations from Lawyer Su of the defense are based on testimonies from laboratory researchers under Haofangzi Group. We consider these accusations to be slanderous and purely hearsay!"

"We also believe that researchers from Haofangzi Group cannot be truly impartial, given that their laboratory, research funding, and even their salaries are closely related to the defendant. We consider their testimony biased and not to be taken into account!"

Susan quickly organized her rebuttal.

The message was clear on two fronts: our witness is qualified to be called an expert. When he came, they had all reviewed the opponent’s research history and academic degrees, and that was enough.

As for whether he has plagiarized or done other things, we deny it all.

After all, it’s your employees who are speaking; who knows if they’ve been instructed by you to say such things?

"This..."

As expected, when Susan presented her well-reasoned argument, the judge faced a dilemma.

Seeing Su Bancheng frown, the judge reluctantly had to agree, "The objection is valid!"

"Please disregard the remarks recently made by Lawyer Su, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. This court provisionally regards them as hearsay evidence, and they are not to be believed!"

With the judge speaking so, some members of the jury also nodded their heads.

Once again, the momentum swung back to Susan’s side.

The woman who Zhang Wei referred to as the leading juror had maintained a poker face throughout, apparently never believing a word Su Bancheng said.

And just as she anticipated, Su Bancheng’s words indeed lacked credibility.

"Hmph, to counterattack like that!"

Su Bancheng thought to himself "Well played, young man," as he looked at Zhang Wei.

The problem was on your side with your expert witness, and now you’re attacking our lab’s staff, accusing them of slandering others for money.

It must be said, this move was indeed powerful; the jury at least believed Susan’s words.

Even if Su Bancheng later called up their lab personnel to testify as rebuttal witnesses, he could use this argument to challenge them.

After all, your salaries and your research funding all come from Haofangzi Group, so isn’t it normal for you to speak on their behalf?

Then the jury will have their doubts, and the rebuttal witness will no longer be effective.

Su Bancheng intended to target the pain points of the opposing expert witness, but Zhang Wei had blocked his next move instead.

He could see that Susan wasn’t very capable, but Zhang Wei definitely had some tricks up his sleeve.

"But what of it? Your expert witness has major issues. Do you really think any run-of-the-mill expert from Jinnan City would bother coming to a small place like Tonghu Town? There are plenty of problems waiting to be found with that expert!"

With that in mind, Su Bancheng prepared to continue his attack on Susan’s expert witness.

But just at that moment, Susan, following Zhang Wei’s instructions, spoke up first.

"Your Honor, since Lawyer Su has accused our expert witness, and since our witness cannot be present to refute these accusations, please allow me to clarify some facts on his behalf, may I?"

The judge glanced at Su Bancheng.

"Your Honor, we will not delve into the veracity of Lawyer Su’s accusations, but please allow us and Lawyer Su, to give us a chance to speak for ourselves!"

Susan spoke again, her tone revealing a hint of vulnerability.

Su Bancheng was inclined to refuse, but his gaze swept over to a woman in the jury box.

"If I become too aggressive and deny them the opportunity, wouldn’t I be seen as bullying the weak?"

"That cunning kid, playing games with me!"

Su Bancheng weighed the pros and cons, eventually opting for compromise.

"Alright, I’ll give you the chance to clarify."

Under normal circumstances, he would not have given the opposition this chance!

But this time, there was a woman in the jury box who had been watching the entire time, and under the special circumstances, he had to concede.

Seeing that the right to speak had come her way, Susan hurriedly approached the witness stand.

"Auntie Chu, when you first met our expert witness, what impression did he make on you?"

"That young man seemed to be in his thirties and didn’t look very old, but his attitude was initially very poor—arrogant and disdainful of everyone. All of our families could tell that he came from the big city and probably looked down on us small-town folks."

"So afterwards, did his attitude change?"

"After spending a few days in our town and going out with you guys to collect samples from the polluted water sources, his attitude really did change."

"Oh, in what way?"

"I’m not quite sure how to describe it, but he became more polite. At first, he was very direct when calling us by name, but after a few days, he started calling me Auntie and others Uncle or Elder, his demeanor towards others seemed to become more amiable as well..."

In the back and forth between the woman and Susan, the expert witness transformed from cold and arrogant to generous and kindhearted—truly an incredible turn.

But Zhang Wei knew the reason.

According to Susan, during that period, the expert witness made a deliberate effort to be nice and even tried to pursue her privately.

Of course, Susan had rejected him in the end, as she thought he was unreliable.

Frustrated by Susan’s indifference, the expert eventually left in a huff.

But while she knew the true reason, the other villagers were unaware.

They thought the young man had been touched by their experiences, which is why he had become so polite.

"So you’re saying that our expert witness changed his attitude because he was moved by the experiences of our families, prompting him to feel compassion?"

"Definitely! All of our families have been through so much hardship—it’s only natural that he’d be affected!"

"Thank you for your answer, Auntie Chu. I believe that the members of the jury now have a better understanding of our expert witness!"

Seizing the opportunity, Susan explained to the court, "I believe that the expert witness we’ve brought forward may not be the most excellent, and he indeed has many issues and imperfections in his past."

"But I believe more in the fundamental goodness of people. After witnessing the simplicity of our Tonghu Town Villagers and the situation in our town, his conscience was stirred, and that’s why he did so much for us."

She said, looking towards Su Bancheng, "I also believe that the defense will find many pieces of evidence to attack him, making you think he is not a reliable person."

"But I still want to stress that what he may have done in the past doesn’t matter unless it was something like murder or arson. It’s okay if he’s made some mistakes because people can change. I believe that after experiencing so much in our Tonghu Town, he has changed, and I’m confident that upon his return to Jinnan City, he will become even kinder!"

"My clarification ends here, thank you everyone!"

After finishing, Susan bowed to the jury and then returned to the plaintiff’s bench.

"Not a bad story, too bad you didn’t put any emotion into it. A few tears would have made it even better!"

Zhang Wei leaned over to Susan and teased her.

Susan was speechless. Was I not aware of what kind of person that expert witness was? Would that guy have come to Tonghu Town to help them if there wasn’t money involved?

Fortunately, her statements were empty words—whether the expert would become kind-hearted was not something the court would investigate, so it wasn’t perjury.

Just after Susan had finished, Su Bancheng’s face showed a trace of surprise.

"Was this that kid’s idea, blocking my subsequent moves?"

He knew that presenting evidence to attack the expert witness would be futile now because Susan’s story had already blocked all his future tactics.

The expert witness, in Susan’s portrayal, had become someone who had strayed but found his way back; attacking his past experiences would be pointless and might even make the jury dislike your tactics.

"Lawyer Su?" at that moment, the judge spoke up.

Now it was time for cross-examination. Although Susan was given the opportunity to speak, it was still the defense’s turn to ask questions, and Su Bancheng could continue to inquire.

Unfortunately, Su Bancheng could tell that the jury didn’t want to hear him continue to attack the expert witness.

"Your Honor, regarding the plaintiff’s expert witness report and this witness, we have no further questions!"

He glanced at Susan and thought to himself that this woman was quite the storyteller, so he might as well let them have their way.

Su Bancheng wasn’t concerned about this because he had more than one move up his sleeve!

Since Su Bancheng had concluded the cross-examination, it was Susan’s turn again.

"Plaintiff, do you have any other witnesses?"

"Of course, Your Honor, our side now calls the second witness!"

Susan stood up and gestured towards the witness stand.

If time allowed, she would even summon representatives from six families to speak in court.

After all, if the jury saw the plight of six families at once, their impression of Haofangzi Group would become extremely negative.

Although Zhang Wei knew there were bound to be issues among the six families, he wanted to take a chance on the odds.

Even if one family has issues, aren’t there still five more?

As long as one family’s story touched the jurors, that would be enough.

Following Susan’s announcement, the representative of the second family took the stand.

And this time, the person who took the stand was Wang Qiang!

Zhang Wei was naturally extremely suspicious of this person and even thought that this round might hit a snag.

Of course, his suspicion was simply because he couldn’t stand the sight of Wang Qiang.

Why would Wang Qiang treat Zhang Wei with such an attitude?

Setting aside Zhang Wei’s thoughts for a moment, upon seeing Wang Qiang take the stand, Su Bancheng’s right hand unconsciously clenched a little, and the corners of his mouth seemed to curve up even more.

However, he was making great efforts to control himself, to keep his expression natural, not letting Zhang Wei notice these changes.

Meanwhile, in the courtroom, Susan had already begun questioning.

"Uncle Wang, how are you, has your health improved recently?"

"Susan, as you know, my body has been having issues lately, it hurts here, it hurts there."

"Yes, I know. So, please tell us, what exactly have you experienced because of the defendant’s factory pollution?"

"Alright!"

At this moment, Wang Qiang was no longer displaying the same attitude he had when confronting Zhang Wei; tears were actually welling up in his eyes.

"It was one morning, I went to the supermarket in the district to buy some things, I picked out quite a few items, and while I was browsing the dessert section, an accident happened!"

"I didn’t know what was going on, my head felt the trembling of the ground, I thought it was an earthquake, but I remember that Jinying City is on a plain, not in an earthquake zone, so how could there be an earthquake?"

"Later I realized that it wasn’t an earthquake, it was me, my body was shaking, my legs were wobbling, and just as I was about to sit down and rest for a bit, everything went black before my eyes, and I toppled over, my head making intimate contact with the ground..."

Wang Qiang’s story was indeed very vivid, and even Zhang Wei couldn’t help but admit that though this guy had a bad attitude, his storytelling ability was better than Susan’s.

This simply didn’t seem like a story that Wang Qiang could tell, but rather like a little essay paid for and written by someone else.

Even the jury was captivated by this story crafted in the little essay.

Juror number one even leaned forward slightly, in a posture of listening intently.

"This story should be able to change the direction of the wind a bit!"

Thinking this, Zhang Wei looked towards the defendant’s bench.

He saw that Su Bancheng’s face hadn’t changed, and even the arch of his smile was gradually rising.

Seeing this, Zhang Wei’s heart skipped a beat.

Such a moving story, and Su Bancheng didn’t interrupt, instead he let Wang Qiang play it out freely?

What did this imply, that he was confident in refuting Wang Qiang!

"Could it be, the pitfall lies with Wang Qiang!"

Zhang Wei realized this in an instant.

He wanted to signal Susan, but at this moment Susan was in conversation with Wang Qiang and not looking this way.

"Uncle Wang, what did the doctor say about the changes in your body?"

"The doctor showed me the test report and clearly told me that it was the water pollution near the factory grounds that caused my health to deteriorate. You also know that the villagers of Tonghu Town grew up drinking well water since we were children, and the pollution from the factory has caused problems with the well water, which indirectly threatens our entire town!"

This testimony slightly moved the jury.

It must be said that Wang Qiang’s story was quite relatable.

"No, that’s not right, Wang Qiang couldn’t possibly have told such a story, the story is..."

But sitting at the plaintiff’s bench, Zhang Wei was no longer composed.

"Defense, it’s your turn!"

After Susan finished speaking, she nodded towards Su Bancheng and then returned to her seat.

"Your Honor, we request a recess!"

But just as Su Bancheng got up calmly, Zhang Wei suddenly interrupted.

This move surprised everyone.

The story just now was so exciting, why call for a recess now?

Isn’t that just wasting the witness’s statement?

The judge glanced at Zhang Wei, knowing that he was the plaintiff’s junior counsel, but the young man hadn’t said a word from start to finish; he thought the other party wouldn’t speak.

The judge then looked towards Su Bancheng and saw the latter slightly shaking his head.

The judge understood, but he could not show obvious bias towards Su Bancheng.

"Plaintiff’s junior counsel, what is your reason for wanting a recess? It’s your witness’s turn to speak; you have no reason to request a recess, do you?"

"Yeah, why a recess?" Susan also asked urgently.

"This..." Zhang Wei couldn’t explain; after all, he couldn’t say that he suspected something was wrong with Wang Qiang.

He had no factual basis, it was all his conjecture.

Seeing that Zhang Wei couldn’t articulate a reason, the judge announced, "Request denied. The defense may begin cross-examining the witness!"

"Thank you, Your Honor. Su has quite a few questions to ask this witness indeed!"

After thanking the judge, Su Bancheng got up and walked over to Wang Qiang with a smile.

In front of Su Bancheng, Wang Qiang’s expression noticeably changed, and he seemed a bit unnatural.

"Mr. Wang Qiang, I deeply sympathize with your tragic experience. However, I have a few questions about your attending physician that I hope you can answer."

As Su Bancheng spoke, he picked up a document and asked, "As far as I know, nearly all cases in Tonghu Town were diagnosed by Taoyuan District Public Hospital. Why then does your medical case come from a private doctor?"

"Oh, right, this private doctor also happened to be your classmate in elementary and junior high school, but then you dropped out of high school while he graduated with excellent grades and went to medical school, and your contact was lost."

Su Bancheng continued, suddenly smiling, "Yet recently, you’ve reconnected. After decades, quite a surprise that you got in touch, isn’t it?"

"A medical school graduate, actually reaching out to you, an unemployed drifter from a small town—what could he possibly want from you?"

Wang Qiang’s face twitched, but he still explained, "What does this have to do with the case?"

Su Bancheng appeared to anticipate Wang Qiang’s response and sneered, "Of course, it does, because according to our investigation, your doctor agreed to become your physician only after the pollution report of Tonghu Town made headlines in our city!"

"We have reason to suspect that you, Wang Qiang, and that doctor saw the pollution reports and decided to collude in fabricating a medical case, aiming to gain illegal benefits from this lawsuit!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the courtroom.

Facing Su Bancheng’s accusation, Wang Qiang instantly changed color, and there were many people in the jury shaking their heads, and disturbances arose in the audience.

Well done, you made up such a vivid story just now, turns out it was all fiction!

"Objection!" This time, Susan stood up without waiting for Zhang Wei’s reminder.

"Plaintiff’s attorney, I know you’ll object, but I have good reason to suspect Mr. Wang Qiang’s motives and, likewise, I will also provide concrete evidence!"

Su Bancheng countered with a smile.

Precisely on cue from the bench came, "Objection overruled!"

In the courtroom, Su Bancheng looked at Wang Qiang.

"Mr. Wang Qiang, my client is more than willing to take you to Taoyuan District’s Public Hospital for another full-body examination, even offering to pay for all the examination fees, so you don’t have to cover any costs. Are you agreeable to this?"

Now, the pressure was on Wang Qiang, and he was completely unable to speak.

"Indeed, the focal point is you, Wang Qiang!"

Seeing this scene, Zhang Wei knew that the direction of the trial had completely shifted.