Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 194 - 193 Actually, it’s really not hard to own a car and a house

Chapter 194: Chapter 193 Actually, it’s really not hard to own a car and a house

Xia Qianyue was actually quite happy today.

Because it was rare for her to get off work early, and rest early.

She could joyfully go home and have dinner with her parents.

But the moment she opened the door to her home, her face changed.

Wow, a house full of people!

Whom did she see?

Apart from her parents, she also saw Zhang Wei, saw Li Qinghe and Li Feifei, plus a stranger.

She said her home had never had so many visitors before.

"Xiao Yue Yue is back, come on in, we were just talking about you!"

It was Li Qinghe who first reacted, hastily inviting Xia Qianyue inside.

However, truth be told, she didn’t know that her niece actually didn’t want to go inside, and was even thinking about going back to the serious crime unit to work overtime.

In the end, Xia Qianyue had no choice but to enter the house.

After greeting Li Qinghe and the others, she obediently sat next to Zhang Wei.

"Zhang Wei!"

"Silly!"

They whispered a greeting to each other and then sat quietly.

Zhang Wei was actually curious as to why Li Qinghe came today.

It turned out she had come to boast about her son-in-law at Li Qinghua’s house.

"Come on, Xiao Yue Yue, let me introduce you, this is Feifei’s boyfriend, Xiao Zhan, Zhan Qingze, in the future he’ll be your cousin-in-law!"

"Mom, nothing’s settled yet!"

Li Feifei, who had been looking down at her phone, finally couldn’t help but lift her head and spoke for the first time since entering the house.

"What are you talking about, girl? Xiao Zhan is pretty good, isn’t he?"

Li Qinghe, after glancing at Zhang Wei, started to brag, "Look at Xiao Zhan, young and talented, earning over 800,000 a year, and he has bought a place in Central Ring, a large three-bedroom apartment of over a hundred square meters, worth over ten million!"

Although Li Qinghe was also a senior partner at Qingmu Law Firm, her annual bonus was just about a few million.

For her to buy an apartment worth over ten million, she would have to save up for a few years.

It might be a harsh reality, but nowadays, being able to afford a house is the most important standard for assessing a young person’s capabilities.

"Aunt Li, you flatter me, the house was supported by my family, my parents knew that Feifei and I were getting married, so they also contributed some money!"

"As for work, that’s because the bosses appreciate me, and in our line of work, an annual salary of 800,000 is actually not high, my performance ability in the company is just a bit above the average."

Seeing Li Qinghe praising him, Zhan Qingze of course responded politely.

However, as he spoke, he still gave Zhang Wei a provoking little eyebrow raise. The gesture was subtle, but it carried a hint of challenge.

"By the way, Aunt Li, our boss even praised me yesterday for being steady and is planning to promote me to supervisor next quarter. My total annual income could increase by more than a hundred thousand, maybe over a million who knows!"

After Zhan Qingze finished speaking, he turned his head to look at Zhang Wei, "I wonder how Lawyer Zhang is doing in Jincheng. Since you were able to join Jincheng, your annual income can’t be lower than this number, right?"

As he spoke, he also raised five fingers.

The implication was already very clear, your annual income must not be less than 500,000, right?

Of course, this 500,000 was still a bit short for him.

A blatant provocation!

Zhang Wei would generally not respond to such "childish" behavior since it seemed beneath him.

Unfortunately, although he didn’t rise to the bait, someone else did.

"What do you mean by that? Zhang Wei has only joined the law firm for a short while, and he is a criminal defense lawyer, how much could he earn from a single case?" Xia Qianyue couldn’t stand it and immediately retorted.

"Exactly, exactly!"

Li Qinghe also suddenly changed her stance, openly pretending to be supportive, "The legal field is all about seniority dining, Xiao Zhang has just joined the firm, and is still in his probation period, Xiao Zhan, let’s stop here, isn’t this discouraging Zhang Wei?"

In the end, she also looked at her sister Li Qinghua, "Sister, you shouldn’t set your expectations too high for Xiao Zhang. Give him three to five years to build up his experience, and his annual income will certainly go up."

"Certainly, his income isn’t high at the moment. The judicial field cannot be compared with industries like finance. You just need to be more open-minded about it."

Wow!

Zhang Wei stared dumbfounded at Li Qinghe. Was this aunt using him as a lesson for her mother-in-law and also using Zhan Qingze to teach him a lesson?

Since when did I, Zhang Wei, become a stepping stone?

Li Qinghua also didn’t expect Li Qinghe to actually bring her son-in-law to provoke.

Her gaze towards Zhang Wei suddenly turned unfriendly.

"So what if you won the case? It’s not like you made any money."

Last Monday, I saw you blabbering away in the courtroom, beating the high prosecutor from the Procuratorate Headquarters, but look at you now, getting an earful right here."

It’s one thing for you to get chewed out, but I get caught in the crossfire too."

It’s infuriating!

The mother-in-law’s face changed color; there was no way Zhang Wei could tolerate it.

"Ah, Auntie is right. Being a lawyer is all about gaining experience. As an intern just starting out at the law firm, I can’t make much in a month. Last month, I made less than three million... sigh..."

"Yeah, you’re right. But Zhang, don’t get discouraged. Making three million a month is actually..."

Li Qinghe nodded, thinking Zhang Wei was quite modest.

But it didn’t take long for her to realize something was off.

What? Three million?

Are you sure it’s not thirty thousand? Did you add two extra zeros or what?

Zhang Wei pulled out his phone, entered his account password, and displayed his balance in front of Li Qinghe.

Seeing the balance of over 2.9 million, Li Qinghe’s face instantly became a kaleidoscope of expressions.

"Hey, although I’m a criminal defense lawyer, the leaders at the law firm say I’m not focusing on my main business. I fought civil lawsuits for insurance and beverage companies, secured over ten million in business, and this is the commission of over three million. I don’t even know how to spend it?"

Zhang Wei sighed, looking utterly helpless.

That helpless look, those eyes, and gestures... It was as if he truly believed three million wasn’t a lot of money.

Li Qinghe witnessed this scene, and her face was twitching.

"By the way, Auntie, how much does that car you always drive cost? 500,000 or 600,000? It must be a luxury car, right? Maybe I’ll buy one for Xiao Yue Yue too. I don’t need much; spending about a million on a decent car to get around in is not really an issue!"

Zhang Wei wasn’t about to let it go and took another jab at them.

You think you have a nice car?

Look how smug you are; I’m going to buy Silly a car and it’s going to be twice as expensive as yours, just to disgust you to death.

After saying this, Li Feifei, who had been looking down all this time, couldn’t help herself, and along with Zhan Qingze standing next to her, they stared at Zhang Wei.

But Zhang Wei didn’t care how they looked at him; a one million car wasn’t something he couldn’t afford—it was just like splashing water.

"Zhang Wei, since when did you get so rich?" Xia Qianyue didn’t care either; instead, she was surprised that Zhang Wei had made money.

She remembered that Zhang Wei used to take on pro bono cases, and what he earned was just subsidies.

A single case, if I recall, was only a few hundred yuan.

When did he... He’s already worth millions.

"Hehe, the client was generous... I had no choice..."

Zhang Wei waved his hand with a "modest" attitude, then sneakily slipped his hand onto Xia Qianyue’s shoulder, and their movements became a lot more intimate.

Li Qinghua saw this happen, and under normal circumstances, she would never allow someone to take such liberties with her daughter.

But since Zhang Wei had just put her sister in her place, she surprisingly didn’t feel as repulsed by Zhang Wei as before.

Maybe it was the presence of a common enemy that made two people who were formerly hostile to each other unknowingly stand on the same side.

Li Qinghe was stunned for a long while but quickly snapped back to reality.

She glanced at "her own son-in-law," Zhan Qingze, then with subtle intent, "Hmmm, Zhang did pretty well for himself, earning a substantial lawyer’s fee so quickly. I suppose you’re planning on getting serious with Xiao Yue Yue. It’s just that I wonder how your preparations for marriage are coming along, especially regarding housing..."

"Mom, what are you talking about? Although three million isn’t a small amount, it’s not enough to buy a nice place in Dongfang Capital. Apartments within the Central Ring sell for several tens of thousands per square meter!" Li Feifei immediately added.

This time, it was clear praise laced with a hint of sarcasm, and the mother and daughter were in sync.

Obviously, their message was clear: so what if you, Zhang Wei, earned three million in legal fees? To truly settle down in Dongfang Capital, you still need to buy a house.

Though Zhan Qingze’s salary isn’t as high as yours, he at least owns a house—inside the Central Ring worth more than ten million at that.

If you want to buy a house, you’d probably have to save for a long time, and you still might not get a good location.

All in all, my son-in-law can still slightly outdo Zhang Wei.

"Oh, a house!"

Upon hearing Li Qinghe bring up houses, Zhang Wei could help but click his tongue.

Why do you have to be like this? I really don’t want to show off!

"Auntie, that’s a bit much, isn’t it? Zhang Wei has only been working for so long, how can you expect him to buy a house so soon?" protested Xia Qianyue, clearly dissatisfied.

Li Qinghua also interjected, "Exactly, sister. Little Zhan has been working for how long now? Isn’t it also with the help of his family that he bought a house? You know very well the situation with Zhang Wei’s family. Aren’t you making it hard for him?"

"Sister-in-law, Zhang is a good guy. If he and Xiao Yue Yue do end up together, we’ll certainly help out with the housing issue!"

This time, even the father-in-law, Xia Donghai, spoke up.

Mainly because Li Qinghe had been giving her own people a hard time, and as a man, Xia Donghai couldn’t stand it anymore.

"I know what you’re saying, but sister and brother-in-law, aren’t you guys a bit old to not have considered getting a new place?"

"The family building of the Martial Association may be well-located, but this house must be over a decade old now, right? I see the bathroom is leaking, and the kitchen exhaust isn’t clearing out the smoke properly. It’s about time to put buying a house on the agenda!"

"Besides, although many young people have to work, even more are buying houses and preparing to marry right after graduating from university. If you wait to save up money from work to buy a house, when would that be?"

Although Li Qinghe’s comments seemed to be a blow to Zhang Wei, they were indeed realistic.

Zhang Wei could clearly hear the subtext; after all, his aunt wasn’t a senior partner at Qingmu Law Firm for nothing. Her ability to appear reasonable on the surface while suppressing others in secret was quite slick.

Xia Qianyue, Li Qinghua, and Xia Donghai were about to speak up again, but Zhang Wei beat them to it.

"Auntie, and my in-laws, to tell you the truth, I’ve already sorted out the housing issue!"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Eh?"

As soon as Zhang Wei finished speaking, several different exclamations rang out.

Li Qinghua and Li Qinghe simultaneously opened their mouths in surprise, expressions astonishingly similar.

True to their nature as siblings, even though they married different people, some things were still very alike.

Then there were Xia Donghai and Xia Qianyue, who were both staring at Zhang Wei in astonishment.

When did you get a house, and how come we didn’t know about it?

If you had sorted the house, why didn’t you mention it the day we went to court, so we could have been prepared and avoided this awkward situation?

"You bought a house? Where is it located, what kind of neighborhood?"

Li Qinghe immediately snapped back to reality and fired off three questions.

"Auntie, it’s not in any famous neighborhood, just by the Dongjiang River, that somewhat renowned Dongjiang Number One. I viewed the house yesterday, it’s a 500 square meter flat with luxurious decoration, comes with a full set of brand-name furniture and appliances, and it’s also a river-view property, reasonably spacious I’d say!"

"By the Dongjiang River, Dongjiang Number One, this..."

Li Qinghe’s face twitched once again.

"Impossible!"

But Zhang Wei’s statement had made Zhan Qingze restless.

He looked at Zhang Wei and directly challenged him, "It’s impossible, the units in Dongjiang Number One go for over 200,000 per square meter, and a large flat like that would cost at least a billion. Even if you earned 3 million a month, it would take around four years, but you’re just an intern lawyer, and you’ve been with Jincheng for less than half a year!"

"Moreover, you can’t just buy a place in Dongjiang Number One whenever you wish. Even our company’s chairman would need to be vetted by the developer of Dongjiang Number One. How could a junior lawyer like you possibly afford it?"

This was, in fact, true—after all, every worker bee in Dongfang Capital dreams of living in the most lavish homes. They might not afford it, but that doesn’t stop them from fantasizing.

Therefore, they all knew about Dongjiang Number One’s rules as if they were their own.

It is said that families who live in Dongjiang Number One can shake Dongfang Capital to its core with a single stomp of their foot.

And Zhang Wei was clearly not one of those people.

"Anyway, I’m not lying—the house is at Dongjiang Number One. If my in-laws don’t mind, you can move in; consider it a gesture of my filial piety!"

Zhang Wei spread his hands. What I’m saying is the truth; if you don’t believe me, there is nothing I can do.

"It can’t be, absolutely impossible!" Zhan Qingze denied again, not buying the explanation.

"Young Zhang, I didn’t expect you to learn how to boast at such a young age. That’s not a good trait," Li Qinghe said, also full of disbelief.

It wasn’t just her—Li Qinghua and Xia Donghai didn’t believe him either.

Having lived in Dongfang Capital for decades, they were well aware of Dongjiang Number One and knew that kind of property was beyond their reach for not just one lifetime...

Wrong, maybe not even in several lifetimes.

They were close to saying, even if you’re bragging, could you keep it plausible?

Couldn’t you have chosen a more believable neighborhood in Dongfang Capital?

"So, no one believes me?"

Zhang Wei was frustrated. Does telling the truth amount to nothing these days?

Li Qinghe thought for a moment and realized this was an opportunity to strike at Zhang Wei.

Her niece’s case had left her smarting from Zhang Wei’s rebuttal; wasn’t this a chance to even the score?

"Young Zhang, it’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that we’d like to broaden our horizons and see what Dongfang Capital’s most famous residence looks like. Since you claim the house is already booked and you visited yesterday, why not we pay it a visit today?"

"Yes, I, too, want to see how Lawyer Zhang managed to own a house that normal people won’t be able to afford in their lifetime at such a young age!"

Zhan Qingze also chimed in, his gaze at Zhang Wei filled with mockery.

You’ve overstated your boast, now my mother-in-law is going to expose you, and I certainly have to stand with my mother-in-law!

"This..." Xia Donghai and Li Qinghua were at a loss for words this time.

Zhang Wei’s boasts had all gone out, and it seemed like they couldn’t wriggle out of it.

Xia Qianyue was quick on her feet this time and hurriedly said, "Auntie, actually, I don’t want to look at any houses..."

"Alright, then shall we all go together?"

But Zhang Wei had already made plans and even took out a magnetic card from his pocket, flipping it in his hand, "Perfect, I have the key with me too, it’ll be good to take a look inside the house!"

"Zhang Wei, what are you doing, that house you..."

"Silly, don’t you believe me?"

Xia Qianyue was about to pull Zhang Wei aside to talk, but the expression on his face suddenly made her pause.

Zhang Wei, he didn’t seem to be lying...

She might not be very bright, but after so many days in the serious crime unit, she could barely tell whether someone was lying.

Zhang Wei didn’t care about any of that and instead rallied everyone, "What are you waiting for, everyone’s here today, let’s go!"

"Father-in-law, drive us four, and auntie, your three follow in your car!"

As he spoke, he took the lead in opening the door and walking out.

Li Qinghua and Xia Donghai exchanged looks while Li Qinghe and Li Feifei also glanced at each other.

Ultimately, it was Zhan Qingze who took the initiative and followed Zhang Wei out.

Both families drove off towards the location of Dongjiang Number One.

In the car.

Zhang Wei was brimming with confidence, but Xia Donghai and Li Qinghua, who were driving, appeared somewhat nervous.

In the other car.

Li Qinghe and Li Feifei were also contemplating.

"Is that kid lying to us?"

"I don’t know, but he doesn’t seem to be joking, does he?"

"Could he really have bought a house at Dongjiang Number One, that’s impossible... he must be lying, let’s see how he explains himself when we get there!"

As both families were lost in varied thoughts, they arrived at Dongjiang Number One.

The subdivision gate stopped both cars, and Zhang Wei leaned out the car window, nodding at the security guard by the entrance.

"It’s Mr. Zhang, hello!"

The security guard saluted, and the gate slowly opened.

The two families entered Dongjiang Number One amidst disbelief.

Then, taking the elevator directly from the underground parking garage, Zhang Wei took out the magnetic card, swiped it, and went straight to the apartment’s floor.

Ding!

The elevator opened.

"Mr. Zhang Wei, welcome home!"

As the elevator doors opened, a pleasant female voice rang out at the doorway.

This was a digital voice, pre-set in the community system, but it also proved that the owner of this floor was indeed Zhang Wei.

"Come on, here’s the house!"

Since there was only one residence per floor, stepping out of the private elevator led directly to the foyer.

And it was a foyer over 30 square meters in size.

This foyer alone was almost as big as Xia Qianyue’s living room at home.

"Welcome Mr. Zhang!"

At the entrance, Zhang Wei used face recognition again to open the door automatically.

A luxurious, large, flat apartment with a river view unfolded in front of Li Qinghua and Li Qinghe, the sisters.

The luxurious and exquisite decoration, the precious and shiny furniture, and that unobstructed, breathtaking river view all refreshed their understanding.

"Fuck!"

"Fuck!!!"

"Fuck, you actually bought a house, kid!"

A series of astonished cries came from the mouths of Zhan Qingze, Li Feifei, Xia Qianyue, and Xia Donghai.

They had never imagined that Zhang Wei wasn’t just talking big; he actually had a house at Dongjiang Number One.

This matter directly reset the worldview of both families.

This is too fucking terrifying!