Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 296 - 294: The Card of Rationality, The Card of Emotion?

Chapter 296: Chapter 294: The Card of Rationality, The Card of Emotion?

Tuesday, a weekday.

Jincheng Law Firm, Criminal Department Office.

The newcomers gathered in the criminal department workspace, but occasionally, they would glance up at a certain office, before quickly ducking back down to continue pretending to be busy.

However, for the interns, their so-called work consisted only of tedious and monotonous tasks such as copying notes, drafting complaints, abstracts, and reports.

Inside the office they were watching, a woman was in the middle of an outburst.

And that office belonged to Zhang Wei.

In Zhang Wei’s private office.

"Lawyer Zhang, are you just going to let me be ejected like that?"

"In front of so many people in the court, to be escorted out, and you didn’t say a word?"

"You’re my lawyer, I hired you to help me, not to let me be treated like a criminal and be manhandled out of the court by its people!"

"And that Doctor Pang, her accusations against me are all biased, just because I took their hospital’s business, she targets me at every turn!"

"The He family is even worse, the reason why I prevented his wife from going to the hospital was because he failed to pick the right time, to arrange for his wife to go to the hospital to give birth in advance. He wanted to save on the hospital bills, thinking to go only when she’s about to give birth. But he didn’t realize that because of her previous two deliveries, his wife couldn’t withstand the toil of travel and missed the best time for natural birth."

"I stopped him, it was to save his wife’s life!"

Gao Xiaoping was berating Zhang Wei, her voice filled with fury and her decibels extremely high.

So much so that the newcomers outside couldn’t help but stand up, wanting to peek into the office.

But the fear of Zhang Wei’s formidable reputation and some workplace rules made them shrink back into their seats, pretending to be "working hard."

However, the ears of those newcomers were all pricked up.

How about inside?

Zhang Wei leaned his head into one hand with a somewhat helpless expression.

"Madam Gao, telling me these things, actually, is pointless, because persuading me is useless."

Gao Xiaoping needed to convince the jury, of course.

Persuading the defense lawyer is of no use, you have to convince 12 jurors to believe you.

"Another thing!"

Zhang Wei then raised a finger, emphasizing, "I am your defense lawyer, but our relationship is only one of cooperation. If you cannot control your temper in the courtroom, and then return to yell at me, I will indeed terminate our employment relationship by force!"

"Madam Gao, don’t think I wouldn’t dare. I have recordings of you yelling at me, and there are videos of you losing control in the court. Even if you complain to the Lawyer’s Association, I have reasons to convince the investigators at the Lawyer’s Association!"

"If it really comes to that, our cooperative relationship is over, but I will still require you to settle the legal fees, and I will also sue you for additional compensation for my emotional distress!"

Zhang Wei said these words, slowly standing up with a suddenly cold expression: "Madam Gao, you are facing criminal charges now. If you continue to scream at me, I will have no choice but to let you find someone more capable!"

His words, devoid of any extremism, carried a force mightier than Gao Xiaoping’s rage.

At least Gao Xiaoping herself felt the pressure, causing her angry expression to somewhat subside.

After a moment of silence, she revealed a bitter smile, "Do you think I haven’t tried?"

"Before I came to Dongfang Capital, I asked local lawyers on Bei Chong Island. They said this case can’t be won!"

"I didn’t believe them and even insulted them, before I came to Dongfang Capital. After wandering around the court for half a day, asking quite a few people, they told me the same thing — there’s no hope for this case."

"In fact, after you went to attend the motion, I privately contacted a few lawyers..."

Gao Xiaoping continued, somewhat embarrassedly lowering her head, "They all said, this case can’t be won, I might as well plead guilty. Maybe the prosecution would acknowledge my admission and let me serve fewer years in prison..."

Such matters were, after all, a bit embarrassing to mention.

You have a contract with a lawyer, and then you go behind their back to find another lawyer; isn’t that a clear sign of distrust?

"Madam Gao, I’m glad that you’ve brought this up on your own!"

Hearing Gao Xiaoping’s words, Zhang Wei slightly smiled and sat back down in his seat.

He took a document envelope out of his desk drawer, opened it, and pulled out a stack of photos.

He laid the photos out on the desk, one by one.

In these photos, unmistakably, was Gao Xiaoping secretly visiting various law firms to meet with lawyers.

"You’re spying on me?!" Gao Xiaoping was both shocked and furious.

What shocked her was that she thought she had been very secretive about certain things, not realizing the young lawyer before her had already seen through everything.

What angered her was that she had been under surveillance without noticing it at all.

"You are my client, and until the case is over, I absolutely will not tolerate any form of betrayal!" Zhang Wei said coldly.

"These photos were originally meant to be kept as a precaution, in case you really filed a complaint with the Lawyer’s Association. Then, these photos would be my trump card, enough to protect me from any investigation and to claim compensation from you!"

"But now that you’ve come clean, I don’t think these photos matter anymore!"

After saying that, he picked up the photos and tore them up right in front of Gao Xiaoping.

After tearing up the photos and throwing them in the trash, Zhang Wei then looked at Gao Xiaoping.

"Madam Gao, I understand your feelings. When a person is used to a certain way of life and suddenly, due to changes in circumstances not of their own making, the once tranquil days become elusive, with even the threat of prison looming, anyone would be furious!"

"Some people have been turning screws all their lives, and then one day someone tells you that turning screws is now illegal. Our factory has merged with a major one, and they have decided that workers can no longer turn screws; it’s all to be done by machines and you’re all out of a job. Even if you keep turning screws, you’ll go to jail. What would you think then?"

"A perfectly normal life suddenly replaced, not only losing your job but also cutting off your income, and possibly even facing prison time. I believe if it were me, if I lost the job I love and had to be sent to a prison for reeducation through labor, I too would go mad."

"So, Madam Gao, I can understand how you feel, but this is not an excuse for you to act recklessly in court. You can be angry, but please vent your anger in the right place, not at the risk of being sentenced in court to satisfy your own petulance!"

"I’m warning you here, if you still can’t control your emotions the next time court is in session, then I’ll really have to bid you farewell and hope you enjoy your stay at Iron Island Prison!"

"Oh, and by the way, I’ve heard the women’s ward at Iron Island Prison takes ’special care’ of the newcomers. I wonder if you’d be busy every day after you get there?"

The last sentence, though said in jest, caused Gao Xiaoping’s movements to pause, and her hands shook slightly.

The notoriety of Iron Island Prison was well-known, even to her living on Bei Chong Island.

"Madam Gao, now please go home and think carefully. I will handle the matters to come."

"But I can’t just go back either..."

"It’s mainly because seeing you irritates me, and you’ll disrupt my thought process!"

Zhang Wei chuckled, bluntly showing his disregard for her.

Gao Xiaoping nearly lost control again. Are you saying you’re annoyed with me, your client?

Alright, she admitted her temper was a bit bad, but it was all because she was afraid of going to jail!

But Zhang Wei wouldn’t indulge Gao Xiaoping, nor would he compromise his own interests for the sake of understanding her, especially since having Gao Xiaoping in the office really would disrupt his thought process.

"So, please, Madam Gao!"

Zhang Wei waved his hand, sending her off directly.

With no choice, she had to get up and leave.

Now, Zhang Wei was left alone in the office.

"Finally, she’s gone!"

It wasn’t until he was alone that he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and start thinking about his strategy.

...

Meanwhile, in the office next door.

The newcomers were discussing amongst themselves.

However, many of them didn’t think Zhang Wei stood a chance of winning.

Among them, the most dramatic reaction obviously came from his apprentice.

"Ah, my thousand bucks, a thousand bucks!"

Every time Lin Yumeng thought about the thousand yuan bet she placed, she felt very unhappy.

Every time she considered having to skimp and save, eating scraps to make ends meet this month, she became even more disgruntled.

Wait, she could mooch off Zhang Wei’s meals...

"It’s all Master’s fault. If he doesn’t lose the case, I wouldn’t have lost a thousand bucks. So, he needs to take responsibility for me, for my money, for my lunches this month... Yes, that’s right..."

Once she had come to this realization, the apprentice gradually settled down...

Zhang Wei had no idea that his adorable apprentice was scheming behind his back.

He spent the whole morning and noon in his own office, only to finally come out in the afternoon.

Once he emerged in the Criminal Department’s lobby, he felt a pair of resentful eyes upon him.

"Strange, why is Xiao Meng looking at me with that eye expression? Where have I seen this look before? I remember, after a few times I didn’t share my lunch with her, she used this same look on me..."

Zhang Wei shifted his gaze from his adorable junior apprentice and then looked towards the newcomers in the office area.

"Wow, what have you guys been discussing all morning?"

"Uh..."

Hearing Zhang Wei’s question, the newcomers collectively fell silent.

They certainly couldn’t say, "We were discussing how you could have lost so badly to the Procuratorate Headquarters," could they?

In the end, it was the most vivacious newcomer, Su Xiaoqian, who stood up first.

"Lawyer Zhang, we were discussing all morning what you’re going to do next in this case."

"Oh, and what did you come up with?" His interest piqued when he saw the lady stand up.

"We thought of a lot, but in the end, we summarized it into two moves..."

The girl walked over to the whiteboard and swiftly wrote down two terms with a water pen.

"The Rational Card" and "The Emotional Card".

"Lawyer Zhang, we unanimously think that you will use these two moves to deal with the prosecution."

"Oh, continue..."

Zhang Wei crossed his arms, his body leaning on a partition of the office desk, signaling the girl to go on.

Su Xiaoqian was instantly invigorated, could this be the leader giving her a chance to shine?

Despite the excitement, she forced herself to calm down, telling herself not to be nervous and to perform well.

"The Rational Card is easy to understand. It involves comparing the services provided by our defendant, Gao Xiaoping, with those of the local hospitals on Bei Chong Island from various aspects, and then letting everyone in court know that the islanders have no choice but to opt for Gao Xiaoping as the midwife."

As she spoke, the girl brought up an example, "We discovered that the charges at the local hospital on Bei Chong Island are about 10-15% higher than the average charges at some maternal and child health hospitals in Dongfang Capital, which, naturally, is a significant amount for the fishermen on the island."

"They choose Gao Xiaoping because her fees are definitely lower than the hospital’s, and moreover, Gao Xiaoping lives on Bei Chong Island, which makes her a neighbor to all. Once someone decides to get treated at the Bei Chong Island hospital, they have to consider inpatient care for the pregnant woman, which is a substantial expense for the fishermen."

"In contrast, if they choose Gao Xiaoping, the pregnant woman can give birth at home, without the additional inpatient costs, as well as other miscellaneous fees like food, manual care, cleaning fees, and so forth."

Su Xiaoqian then wrote down many more numbers on the whiteboard, all representing the hospital’s various charges.

"Not bad, you’re right. The islanders chose my client as the midwife to save money and for convenience. They didn’t want to spend that unreasonable amount at the hospital themselves, yet they want my client to take the blame for their stinginess. This is indeed a good line of argument for the court."

Su Xiaoqian’s expression lit up with excitement at Zhang Wei’s praise; she almost felt like she was floating.

But she knew there was still a chance to showcase herself, she had not finished yet; she had to contain her excitement.

"Next is the Emotional Card, which primarily targets the prosecution’s witnesses."

"In yesterday’s session, the prosecution played a dirty trick. They had a witness leave the court halfway on the pretext of caring for his frail wife, ultimately denying us the opportunity for cross-examination."

"So I think, if there’s a next court session, we could also summon residents from Bei Chong Island as well as have those families who had successful childbirths because of my client come to testify. Let them share the experiences of hope that the client brought to their families."

"Moreover, the witnesses should not be just one couple; there need to be many. Have them go to court and tell these warm stories so that we can touch the jury’s hearts, leading them to believe that our client is actually a dedicated and responsible healthcare worker who brought joy to many families."

Having finished, the girl looked at Zhang Wei, her face filled with a "seeking praise" excitement.

"Lawyer Zhang, what do you think of what I’ve said? This is what we came up with after discussing the whole morning."

Su Xiaoqian felt sure that Zhang Wei would use these two strategies in tomorrow’s court session.

Being placed in his shoes, indeed, any lawyer would have only these two tactics at their disposal.

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Zhang Wei stood still, involuntarily starting to applaud.

"Your ideas are good, I believe that any lawyer in my position would find nothing but these two cards up their sleeve!"

On hearing Zhang Wei’s compliment, the newcomers couldn’t help but lift their heads proudly, their faces alight with excitement.

Indeed, even "Homicide Lawyer" Zhang Wei had only such strategies left.

Round it to the nearest whole number, weren’t they practically on the same level as Zhang Wei?

"So, Lawyer Zhang, will you use these two cards, and do we need to go prepare the materials for you, like the islanders’ opinions about the local hospital, the reasons why they are reluctant to go to the hospital? Or perhaps we can go to Bei Chong Island and find a few households willing to take the stand, to come and testify for you in court tomorrow?"

"You..."

Zhang Wei had wanted to dismiss the offer, but, seeing the hopeful looks of the newcomers, he found it difficult to say no.

"Do you really want to take a day trip to Bei Chong Island?"

"Of course!" The newcomers all stood up.

Isn’t this obvious?

Who would want to stay in the office and bury themselves in paperwork when they could go out and about?

"Alright, then, it’s a deal!"

After some thought, Zhang Wei actually agreed.

"I’ll go speak to Old Tie in a bit, and let him know you guys are willing to help me out. I’m definitely happy about that!"

"However!"

Zhang Wei stopped the eager newcomers and, changing his tone, warned, "But you all need to understand something, everyone is lazy and greedy, and never treat your opposition as foolish!"

"Lawyer Zhang, we understand!"

Su Xiaoqian immediately nodded in agreement.

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but crack a smile.

You say you understand, but do you really?

However, he didn’t want to dampen the enthusiasm of the newcomers, so he promptly went to Tie Ruyun’s office to discuss the matter.

Old Tie, hearing that the newcomers were willing to contribute to the case, readily approved the request.

The newcomers were thrilled and set off in groups to Bei Chong Island.

As for Zhang Wei, he watched them leave, his smile quickly fading.

"The youngsters have good ideas, but unfortunately, they are still lacking in thought.

Do they really think the prosecutors are so foolish as to not even consider such basic empathy?"

Zhang Wei naturally disagreed with the speculation and thoughts of the newcomers.

The rational card and the emotional card, if we can think of them, wouldn’t Guo Wufeng and Zhao Chunming think of them too?

Going to Bei Chong Island to find witnesses, Zhang Wei had considered this move long ago.

But what about the results? Are people willing to traverse mountains and rivers just to come and speak a few words at a trial?

Moreover, at this critical moment of the case, would the prosecution simply sit back and let the defense team do as they please, pulling any random person from Bei Chong Island?

Don’t forget that Xiao Chen, Guo Wufeng’s assistant, is the local assistant procurator of Bei Chong Island. For him, Bei Chong Island is home ground.

For Jincheng’s newcomers going to Bei Chong Island, it would naturally mean playing an away game.

Although the newcomers really wanted to prove themselves, and it did have a positive effect on the office’s atmosphere,

Zhang Wei had never intended to use the rational card or the emotional card, because the effects of these two cards are actually not significant, and the prosecution would have ways to handle them.

At the end of the day, a lawsuit is a game of wits and struggle between the hidden cards of both sides.

Only by unleashing a truly killer move, one that catches the opponent by surprise and delivers a knockout blow, can one achieve the ultimate victory.

Therefore, Zhang Wei had another pair of "trump cards" ready to play in court tomorrow.

As he thought this, the phone rang, it was a call from Xia Qianyue.

"Has it arrived?"

A cold smile crept onto the corner of Zhang Wei’s mouth as he answered the phone.

"Hello, is this Silly? Have you found all the birth information?"

"Oh, you have? That’s good. Send me the information, I’ll liaise with the other side shortly."

"You’re asking what I need them for? Of course, it’s for them to testify in court! Only they can have a deterrent effect, especially against Old Guo and Old Zhao. Only they can catch them completely off guard!"

After hanging up the phone, the smile on the corner of Zhang Wei’s mouth turned cruel.