Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 432 - 428: Dual Insurance? Summoning Chef Wang Again

Chapter 432: Chapter 428: Dual Insurance? Summoning Chef Wang Again

Zhang Wei’s question was a surprise to many.

Why ask about Chef Wang’s relationship with Old Tan, of all things?

Many in the courtroom found it incredible.

You can see for yourself whether they’re on good terms or not, can’t you?

Didn’t you notice that even after Chef Wang had finished testifying, he was still here to support Old Tan?

Didn’t you hear what Chef Wang said when he testified yesterday?

Old Tan and he have been friends for over a decade, learning to cook together, starting a restaurant together, both putting in some of their savings, and striving for their careers together.

How could two such people not be on good terms?

"Madame Liu, please answer my question, are Chef Wang and Old Tan on good terms or not?"

"I believe that as Old Tan’s most senior employee at his sauerkraut fish restaurant, having followed them for 11 years, you should be the most qualified to speak on this matter, right?"

Zhang Wei didn’t care what others thought; he was only interested in the answer to his question.

"This... "

Madame Liu thought carefully and then said, "The Boss and Chef Wang used to be as close as real brothers when they first started the business!"

"Oh, at the beginning?"

Zhang Wei quickly picked up on something and looked doubtful.

Madame Liu, looking embarrassed but still speaking up after glancing around the courtroom, admitted, "Well, you know, conflicts tend to arise when people work together for a long time."

Conflicts!

This word wasn’t a good sign.

Many in the courtroom, from those in the witness stand to the jury, frowned upon hearing this word.

Was there something they didn’t know?

"Madame Liu, please think carefully, recall the details, and tell us what the conflict between Old Tan and Chef Wang really was about?"

"It’s about some restaurant operation issues, as well as the Boss’s focus on his work. Over the years, Chef Wang has been increasingly dissatisfied with the Boss’s performance, and even..."

"Even what?" Zhang Wei quickly pressed on.

Madame Liu glanced at Chef Wang and, with a hesitant look, lowered her head, "They would sometimes argue, and the arguments could get very loud!"

Upon hearing this, quite a few people in the courtroom were surprised.

"Oh, arguing, but it’s common for business partners to have disagreements and argue about business matters, isn’t it?"

Zhang Wei chuckled, seemingly unaffected, and then asked, "Madame Liu, did they argue frequently?"

"At first, they’d argue occasionally, but later on..."

Madame Liu stopped speaking.

"What happened later?"

Seeing Zhang Wei’s persistent questioning, Madame Liu felt compelled to speak the truth, "To be honest, the arguments between Chef Wang and the Boss became more frequent after the Boss’s wife started coming to the restaurant regularly."

"Oh, so it had something to do with the Boss’s wife as well?"

Zhang Wei looked meaningfully at Chen Xiaoyu.

"Yes, it had a lot to do with the Boss’s wife," sighed Madame Liu. "You see, the problem isn’t really with the Boss or Chef Wang; it’s mainly because the Boss’s wife is too wealthy."

"Just think about it, the Boss and Chef Wang worked themselves to the bone, and after taking out necessary expenses, they only made a few tens of thousands of yuan a year."

"We’ve all heard that the Boss’s wife’s ex-husband is extremely wealthy, and although they divorced, she still gets millions in dividends from him every year."

After hearing this, Zhang Wei nodded and asked, "Does everyone know about this?"

"Yes, any employee who has been working here for a while knows about it, so we always say that the Boss is under a lot of pressure."

"Not only is the Boss’s wife beautiful, but she also gets so much money every year; the Boss wants to prove himself, so, of course, it must be difficult for them to get along..." Madame Liu said, with a look of helplessness.

Anybody in his place would feel the same, wouldn’t they? With a wife earning millions a year, and you’re not making much yourself, wouldn’t you feel upset?

"Now I’m curious, what does the rift between Old Tan and Madam Chen have to do with Chef Wang?"

With a complex expression, Madame Liu shook her head, "Perhaps, it’s jealousy."

"Jealousy?"

"Yes, jealousy!"

Seeing Zhang Wei’s inquiry, Madame Liu confidently replied, "We long-term employees can all tell that Chef Wang is actually jealous that the Boss has found such a wealthy and beautiful woman like the Boss’s wife."

By this point, Madame Liu had no reservations; after all, she might as well spill all the beans now, what more could happen?

"Actually, everyone kind of says it behind the scenes: Whenever Chef Wang sees the Boss and his wife, there’s something a little off in his eyes. It’s obvious that he’s jealous."

"Can the old employees really tell?"

"Yes, they can tell. A few of us veterans gossip in private, debating whether the Boss getting with Madame Liu was good luck or bad."

"So Chef Wang is jealous of Old Tan, and that’s why they often argue?"

"Exactly, a lot of times it’s over trivial matters, but suddenly they’d start fighting for no apparent reason."

Madame Liu said in a lowered voice, "In my view, it’s jealousy. Chef Wang is just jealous!"

"Jealous, huh?"

Zhang Wei looked meaningfully towards the front row of the hearing.

After Madame Liu let loose and spilled the restaurant’s gossip, Chef Wang’s expression immediately soured.

Feeling the scrutinizing eyes around him, he clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

"Objection, hearsay evidence!"

But at that moment, a voice from the prosecution interrupted, drawing everyone’s attention.

"What is the defense doing, summoning a witness and then starting to chat about gossip?"

Hou Liangliang pointed at Zhang Wei, turning to the bench with contempt: "Judge Liu, are you going to let the defense attorney ramble about irrelevant matters, discussing purely fictitious things in court?"

"This..." For a moment, even Judge Liu had little to rebut.

"Judge Liu, the questions I ask are far from irrelevant, and Madame Liu’s answers are not fictitious. In fact, as she said, many old employees at the restaurant know about these things, so if I were to summon other employees to testify, it could be proven that these are not rumors, nor so-called hearsay evidence!"

Zhang Wei had his arguments ready and even gave Hou Liangliang a provocative glance.

"Lawyer Zhang is correct, objection overruled."

Judge Liu decided to support Zhang Wei, after all, his explanation made sense.

Hou Liangliang, clearly annoyed, immediately questioned Zhang Wei: "But what’s the point of having the witness discuss these things?"

Madame Liu’s testimony was all about restaurant gossip.

This case was about an arson, a restaurant fire and explosion, which even resulted in the death of an employee.

And yet, you’re here discussing gossip in court?

Hou Liangliang silently cursed himself for not having brought the deceased employee’s family, the victims, to the hearing to perform a "genuine show" of emotion.

If he had known Zhang Wei would pull such stunts, he would have made it absolute, bringing the victim’s family to court, wailing with their children in tow, to exert pressure on the court!

"What’s the significance?"

When Zhang Wei heard Hou Liangliang’s question, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

"These questions are very significant!"

"Impossible, what significance could gossip have?"

"The significance of this gossip is that it can prove something!"

Zhang Wei said, raising a finger and suddenly intensifying his tone: "The one who likely set the restaurant on fire might not be my client, Old Tan, but Chef Wang!"

At these words, the room was in an uproar.

Many looked up in astonishment at Zhang Wei in the courtroom.

Others turned to gaze at Chef Wang.

"Impossible, you’re making baseless speculations!"

"Wrong, my assertions are all founded!"

Faced with Hou Liangliang’s denial, Zhang Wei let out a cold laugh and pulled a USB drive out of his pocket.

The moment they saw the USB drive, everyone in the court instinctively looked at Tan Yingying in the plaintiff’s seats.

You’re the professional!

Tan Yingying, feeling utterly forlorn, lowered her head, muttering "you don’t see me, you don’t see me, you don’t see me..."

"Xiao Tan, you brought your laptop, right?"

Tan Yingying was close to tears. Does it even matter if I brought my laptop?

Wailing internally, I’m just a tool forever doomed to repetition.

Tan Yingying, with a face of despair, could only take the USB drive from Zhang Wei’s hand, then opened her own laptop, connected the projector, and did it all in one smooth motion.

In less than ten seconds, an image appeared on the projection screen.

"Ahem, Judge Liu, to facilitate the evidence I am about to present, I would like to ask the court to summon Chef Wang again to testify, would that be possible?"

"This..."

Judge Liu hesitated because your current witness had not yet been cross-examined.

"Prosecution, if you have any objections, this court..."

"Hmph, it’s fine!"

Hou Liangliang did not object, even looking at Zhang Wei with disdain.

The current witness was Madame Liu, just an old restaurant employee, and her testimony was filled with irrelevant gossip, which he saw as unnecessary to cross-examine.

Since Zhang Wei wanted to prove something, he could proceed, and then Hou Liangliang could find a flaw to refute.

"Very well, Madame Liu, you may step down now. Please call the witness, Chef Wang, to stand for questioning again!"

With Judge Liu’s announcement, Madame Liu left her seat and Chef Wang took his place on the witness stand once more.

"Cough cough, hello Chef Wang!"

Zhang Wei smiled and greeted the person in front of him.

"Hello, Lawyer."

After Chef Wang responded, he suddenly said, "Although I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, I am absolutely innocent!"

"Really, innocent?"

Zhang Wei chuckled with a trace of mockery on his face.

Once you’re on the witness stand, there’s no escape!

As for whether you’re innocent or not?

That’s not for you to say, but for the evidence to reveal!

The evidence began to play on the projection screen.

"Everyone, please look at the big screen. Here we have an insurance contract signed between my client, Tan Zhiqi, and the insurance company. The coverage amount is 3 million, with both he and Chef Wang as beneficiaries."

"However, due to the different amounts of insurance premiums paid, the beneficiaries would receive different sums of money. Let me put it this way, if my client is found not guilty in this case and the fire was an accident, then he would benefit from over 2.7 million, and Chef Wang would receive a compensation of 300,000."

On the screen, some key figures were circled for all to see clearly.

The terms of the insurance contract were actually known to everyone because they had been mentioned by the prosecution before.

The insurance contract was quickly passed over.

"I’m sure everyone has read the contract by now, but I have a question here, and I believe everyone may be wondering—what if Old Tan is found to have committed arson on purpose in the end? Would the insurance company pay out?"

In the courtroom, many people rolled their eyes. Would they still pay out?

Do you think the insurance company is foolish?

If it was due to an accident, they might pay out, but they might also not.

After all, who can really say what an insurance company will do?

But if there is even a hint of intent, they definitely won’t pay out.

"Right, I believe many of you already have the answer in your minds—the insurance company definitely won’t pay!"

Zhang Wei said, smiling, "So, not only would Old Tan miss out on 2.7 million, but Chef Wang wouldn’t be able to receive the 300,000 insurance compensation either, right?"

"What’s the point of this?" Hou Liangliang stood up from the prosecution’s side.

"Don’t be in a hurry, the good part is coming!"

Zhang Wei asked him to be patient.

"Xiao Tan, open up the next contract!"

Tan Yingying immediately complied, opening the second folder, which contained another insurance contract.

"Everyone, take a look. Here is another insurance contract, and you can all see clearly who the policyholder is, right?"

Zhang Wei circled a line of text in red on the contract, making sure it was unmistakable.

"Chef Wang!"

There were exclamations in the courtroom, coming from the defendant’s side—it was Old Tan.

Many people were surprised as well, wondering why there was another insurance contract, with Chef Wang himself as the policyholder.

"Are you all curious why there’s another contract?"

"And did you notice that the terms of this contract differ from the previous one?"

"Let me explain what this contract is all about!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, he signaled Tan Yingying to continue, and certain terms on the projection screen were highlighted with red lines.

"Look at this point indicated on the contract—if the restaurant encounters a natural disaster, human calamity, or even if someone intentionally commits arson, as long as the person responsible for the accident is not the policyholder themselves, they can obtain compensation."

"Now, look at the coverage amount and compensation—this states that the compensation is a full 4 million."

Zhang Wei pointed at Chef Wang, "This means, even if the prosecution wins this case and Old Tan’s arson charge stands, and the restaurant fire is found to be Old Tan’s fault, rendering the first insurance contract null and void, this second insurance contract would still be valid."

"Because as long as the responsibility does not lie with Chef Wang himself, the insurance terms would be met, allowing Chef Wang to obtain a full 4 million in compensation!"

All eyes were shocked at these words.

No one had expected that Chef Wang would have taken out such an insurance policy.

"Chef Wang, the contract I’m showing, is it real? Please answer me,"

Zhang Wei approached the witness stand again, asking with a smile.

"I insured my own business—what’s the problem with that?"

"So that means you admit it?"

Chef Wang didn’t deny it and didn’t even bother to answer anymore.

"Xiao Tan, the next photo!"

Upon Zhang Wei’s command, Tan Yingying immediately switched to the next photo.

This time it was something that resembled an X-ray image, with a background that could faintly be made out as a restaurant kitchen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please look. This is a test photo provided by a fire expert I consulted. In fact, after visiting the scene that day, I had a suspicion."

"At the fire scene, I smelled a pungent odor, part of which was like gasoline, which puzzled me. Gasoline is not a common cleaning product in the kitchen, so to be more thorough, I asked an expert from the fire department to help me analyze it."

"This expert is very professional. He used chromatography and spectroscopy to re-examine the chemical residues at the fire scene, and guess what?"

Zhang Wei paused here, deliberately arousing the interest of everyone in the courtroom.

"He actually found residues from gasoline combustion!"

Gasoline!

The jurors looked at each other, there was whispering in the spectator seats, and even Xiao Liu on the judge’s bench was startled.

Gasoline in the kitchen?

What did this imply? It was ironclad evidence of deliberate arson!

"Gasoline, how is that possible!" Hou Liangliang stood up in surprise.

"Why isn’t it possible? This expert is a consultant for the fire department. If you don’t believe his report, there’s nothing much I can say!"

After retorting, Zhang Wei looked back at the witness stand.

"Chef Wang, let me ask you, is it possible for gasoline to be present in a restaurant kitchen?"

"This..."

Chef Wang was at a loss for words for a moment.

"Never mind. You don’t have to answer; we all know that kitchens have open flames and gasoline is flammable. Even Xiao Zhi knows not to keep gasoline in a kitchen!"

Zhang Wei pointed at Tan Xiaozhi in the spectator seats and chuckled.

Many people in the courtroom laughed as well.

Even children know to keep gasoline away from open flames, let alone in a kitchen.

"Chef Wang, one last question: the fire broke out around midnight on the weekend. Where were you at that time?"

"I...I was drinking at a bar!"

Chef Wang hastily explained as Zhang Wei questioned him: "I was really busy with work on the weekend. After work, I went to a bar for a drink and didn’t go home until late. There’s a record of my spending at the bar!"

"Yes, you went to the bar, but you also lied!"

Zhang Wei looked at Chef Wang’s hand and said with a smile, "You were busy until around 10 p.m. that night, then went to the bar for a drink and left the bar at 11 p.m., but then you returned to the restaurant, right?"

"How is that possible, why would I go back there?"

"To set the fire, of course!"

"What evidence do you have!"

"Oh, so you’re not denying it now, directly asking me for evidence?"

"This..."

Chef Wang’s face changed upon hearing Zhang Wei’s teasing.

Before he could respond, Zhang Wei had already approached him with a cold smile, "You know, you lead a pretty healthy lifestyle, at least you know to exercise. Wearing a smartwatch every day, monitoring your heart rate data—you really go to trouble!"

Chef Wang looked down at the smartwatch on his wrist.

"Do you think this is just an ordinary watch?"

"Let me tell you, this watch is far from ordinary. It even has GPS tracking."

"Let me tell you one more thing; this watch was developed by Blacksmith Technology, and I just happen to know the Chief Research Officer there. Do you think if I asked him to help locate a user’s weekend travel route, he would help me?"

By this point, Zhang Wei was all smiles.

However, upon hearing this revelation, Chef Wang’s face turned exceedingly grim.

Could his smartwatch actually reveal everything he had done?