Chapter 60 - 52: Arresting Li Youcai and Liu Cui

"An IOU?"

He was worldly and experienced. Even without reading the text, he could guess what it was.

"What are you giving me this for?"

Hu Guang stuffed a large mouthful of food from his lunchbox into his mouth, then set it on the ground. Unfolding the paper with both hands, he began to read aloud, his words muffled:

"’We, Li Youcai and Liu Cui of Li Family Village in Lusen City...’"

As he read on, he trailed off.

As if in a daze.

Hu Guang suddenly froze. The chewing motion of his mouth stopped, and he fell into a long silence.

Wang Wei, still devouring his food beside him, saw this and leaned over curiously.

"What are you looking at?"

Wang Wei craned his neck to look over Hu Guang’s shoulder. A single glance was all it took. His pupils contracted instantly. Written clearly on the page was...

We, Li Youcai and Liu Cui of Li Family Village, Lusen City, borrow one thousand yuan from Li Jianguo to buy a daughter-in-law, with the agreement to repay the debt within three years.

This was...

Li Youcai’s IOU.

The IOU for the one thousand yuan used to buy Wang Mei ten years ago. It even had their crooked signatures and fingerprints at the bottom!

With a sharp hiss of breath, Hu Guang and Wang Wei snapped their heads up. Their expressions were grim, and their breathing grew heavy as they stared fixedly at Xu De.

This was... irrefutable proof that Li Youcai and Liu Cui had broken the law!

The prosecutor’s office had believed Li Youcai and Liu Cui were guilty of a crime. After all, ten years ago, five thousand yuan to buy Wang Mei was no small sum.

But... Li Erniu was already dead.

There were no witnesses to question!

Aside from Wang Mei’s uncorroborated testimony, there was no other evidence to prove their guilt from a decade ago!

But now...

GULP.

Hu Guang swallowed hard. When he spoke again, his voice was surprisingly hoarse.

"Where did you get this?"

"Found it in Li Family Village."

A placid smile touched Xu De’s lips. He casually lit a cigarette as he spoke, taking a deep drag that filled his lungs with nicotine.

As he exhaled, his breathing seemed to steady. He looked at Hu Guang and said,

"There are two IOUs in total, and one eyewitness."

"You just need to find the witness, Li Li..."

In an instant, a complete chain of evidence formed in their minds. It was no exaggeration to say that this... could land Li Youcai and Liu Cui in prison for the rest of their lives!

"You found it in Li Family Village?"

Hu Guang froze. "How long did it take?"

"Half an hour," Xu De said casually.

Half an hour...

Hu Guang and Wang Wei opened their mouths, but no words came out. For a long moment, they were utterly speechless, finally lapsing into silence.

’Something like this... could be found in just half an hour!?’

’If a villager hid this, and then just denied it, you’d be completely stuck. The prosecutors and police investigated Li Family Village for nearly two months and came up with nothing!’

’And now you show up, saying you found two IOUs and an eyewitness—all from three separate, unrelated parties—in half an hour...’

Hu Guang wanted to say something.

But after mulling it over, he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. In the end, he just took a deep breath.

"Alright."

At that thought, Hu Guang stood up. His face had become extremely grim, his eyes filled with rage.

He had never wanted to prosecute Wang Qiang, but a prosecutor’s duty is to bring public charges. It couldn’t be helped. The only reason things had gotten so tense with Xu De in court was because Xu De had insisted on pushing for a ’not guilty’ verdict.

If Xu De had argued for something like excessive self-defense, resulting in a verdict of ’exempt from criminal punishment,’ neither Hu Guang nor Wang Wei would have had much to say. But no, he had to push for ’not guilty’—and in 2002, of all times, when the national judicial environment was cautious to an extreme...

And he had even won the case!

When he returned to the prosecutor’s office, his year-end performance review would most likely be a disaster.

And all of this...

It was all caused by Li Youcai and Liu Cui!

Whether it was them committing the initial crime of buying a person, committing perjury, or even getting away with it... those two were the source of the entire conflict!

"Lawyer Xu, I owe you a personal favor," Hu Guang said seriously, his left hand clenched into a fist. It was clear he could no longer suppress his anger.

Xu De just smiled.

’See? I beat the guy in court, interrupted his lunch, and he still has to thank me!’

"No need for that. Just save the role of civil representative for me," Xu De said casually.

’By my calculations, Li Youcai and Liu Cui’s trial should be right around the day my firm opens. I’ll use their case as a grand opening gift to myself. It’ll be the perfect case for the firm’s staff to handle to start building our reputation.’

With that, Xu De turned and walked away without a hint of hesitation, rejoining Wang Chao and Lin Yue in just a few steps.

"Director, why did you go looking for the prosecutors?" Wang Chao asked suspiciously, his gaze flickering between them.

"It was nothing."

Xu De replied dismissively, then paused and turned to Lin Yue.

"Lawyer Lin, how are the preparations for the firm coming along?"

Lin Yue paused briefly at his question before pulling some prepared documents from her bag.

"I resigned from my firm last night and had my professional file transferred. Lawyer Wang here has always been a freelancer, so he’s not affiliated with any firm."

"Now all we’re waiting on is you. Once you get your file transferred, we can go register the new firm tomorrow."

She was the one with the capital and connections.

The registration capital of several hundred thousand yuan, the office location—she had handled it all overnight. She even found a turnkey office, so there was no need to wait for renovations.

All that remained... was for Xu De to resign from his current firm.

Hearing this, Xu De nodded and turned to get into the car.

"Good. I’ll go back to the firm today and terminate my employment contract."

He had signed a short-term, three-month contract with the firm. It just so happened to expire today, so taking care of his employment file would be a simple matter.

With the decision made, the group left the courthouse with Wang Qiang and his family.

As for the three prosecutors,

Hu Guang stared at the group’s retreating figures until they vanished from sight. He then took a deep breath.

"Let’s get to work!"

The words had barely left his mouth. The three of them abandoned the lunchboxes they had just bought and walked off, their faces grim, already making calls on their phones.

...

「4:30 PM」

「Lusen Municipal People’s Procuratorate」

Inside an interrogation room.

"What’s the meaning of this? You said we were just comin’ back to do some paperwork! What right do you have to drag us in here!?"

"We’re in a hurry to get home to our grandson! What’re you makin’ us just sit here for!"

...

A clamor of angry curses filled the air.

Li Youcai and Liu Cui were seated in the suspects’ chairs, shouting and cursing at everything around them, their eyes blazing with fury.

They were anxious.

The verdict had been announced, which meant Xu De had to honor his agreement and give them the child!

But now these officials had dragged them here...

Weren’t they just getting in the way!

CREAK!

The door to the interrogation room was suddenly pushed open.

Hu Guang strode in with an imposing gait. His face was so dark it looked like it might drip ink. In two steps, he reached the interrogation table and sat down three meters from Li Youcai.

"What do you people want!?" Li Youcai shouted, his furious, slanted eyes sweeping across the room.

Liu Cui also muttered under her breath, "I’m still waiting to go home and hold my grandson..."

Grandson?

Hearing this, Hu Guang laughed.

It was a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

His eyes were cold. Without another word, he tossed a photocopy of a document onto the table in front of them.

"Recognize this!?"

This was...

Confused, Li Youcai and Liu Cui looked down, picked up the paper, and glanced over it.

"’We, Li Youcai and Liu Cui of Li Family Village in Lusen City...’"

This was...

As if in a trance, a memory seemed to surface in their minds. Their pupils shrank to pinpoints as they began to tremble uncontrollably.

’This is... the IOU from all those years ago!?’

’Where did they get this!?’

Panic surged through Li Youcai. He was just about to deny it, but unfortunately for him...

"Where did you people find this!?" Liu Cui suddenly shrieked, her eyes wide with terror.

At her words, Li Youcai’s heart plummeted. His face instantly turned deathly pale, completely drained of color.

"Hah. So you admit it’s yours, do you? That makes things simple," Hu Guang sneered. His expression suddenly hardened, his face turning terrifyingly grim as he stared them down. Word by word, he said:

"Are you going to start talking, or... should we make you talk?"

...

...

「Meanwhile.」

「Torch Road, Jinmao Law Firm」

CREAK~

The main door of the law firm creaked open.

Director Han, who was getting coffee from the machine, glanced over his shoulder and saw Xu De walking in. His eyes immediately lit up.

He straightened up, a beaming smile on his face, his voice full of delight.

Director Han spoke first.

"Lawyer Xu, you’re back!"

"How did the trial go!?"

He had high hopes for Xu De, but the difficulty of the case was plain to see. Forget an acquittal; as long as Xu De could get the defendant a sentence of five years or less, it would be considered a win!

If he managed to get it down to three years, or even probation... that would be an absolute triumph!

The thought of having such a capable subordinate on his team in the future... It made Director Han’s heart swell with anticipation.

Unfortunately for him...

"Director."

Looking at the director, Xu De offered a polite smile and said,

"I came to the firm today to talk about... terminating my contract."

"I don’t plan on renewing with the firm."

Terminating his contract...

Director Han’s expression froze. A second later, confusion spread across his face, his voice tinged with anxiety. "Xu, is it about your compensation? The short-term contract was just a trial period for you at the firm. The benefits aren’t final. If you’re not satisfied, we can bring it up. We can negotiate!"

Xu De shook his head.

’The man wasn’t half-bad, aside from his inability to manage people and his complete lack of an eye for talent. But then again...’

’At the end of the day, he just couldn’t recognize talent.’

Xu De shook his head. "There’s no need. The contract has expired. I’m just here to inform you."

"Director Han, your firm... isn’t a good fit for me."

Director Han faltered.

’There was... a hidden meaning in those words!’

Director Han’s brow furrowed. His expression grew solemn, and a serious glint appeared in his eyes. "Not a good fit?" he said sternly.

"Lawyer Xu, what is it about the firm... that you’re dissatisfied with!?"

...