His face turned red with anger, already on the verge of an outburst. Scenes like this had happened no less than ten times in the past three years.
"Calm down first," the man on the other end of the phone said. He also didnāt dare to push too hard, so he continued, "Actually, we donāt want to occupy your house forever. Look, since youāre going to sell the house, why donāt you just give us half of the sale money? Once we get the money, weāll definitely move out."
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Taoās eyes bulged, and he felt as if his lungs would explode with rage on the spot.
"Give you half?"
From the phone, the middle-aged manās voice continued as if it were a matter of course, "Of course. Weāve lived in the house for three years; weāve grown attached to it."
"Besides, we paid for the renovations. Youāre selling the house and not even notifying us. At the very least, you should give us half of the sale money..."
"Shameless!" Zhang Tao was so angry he laughed, cursing, "Iāve really seen it all now! To think there are people as shameless as you in the world!"
"Iām telling you, you wonāt get a single dime! Iām going to the court to sue you first thing tomorrow!"
After he finished speaking, he slammed the phone down.
He was afraid that if he listened any longer, he would truly die of anger.
BEEP BEEP BEEPā
Listening to the busy tone after the call ended, he took ten deep breaths before he barely managed to calm his skyrocketing blood pressure.
I can only try going to court tomorrow; itās like a drowning man clutching at straws...
He sighed deeply, then silently lit another cigarette.
ćMeanwhileć
In Lijing Garden, Building 18, Apartment 1501.
BEEP BEEP BEEPā
Jia Zuoying listened to the busy tone on the phone, his brows furrowing in dissatisfaction.
"He doesnāt want to split the money?" From the kitchen, the middle-aged woman Wang Fenlan walked out, asking with a sneer.
Jia Zuoying replied, "Itās more than just not wanting to split it. He also said heās going to sue us in court tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Wang Fenlan couldnāt help but laugh scornfully. "Didnāt they sue us two years ago? Are they trying to pull the same trick again?"
"Last time they took us to court, I tore up the court summons. We didnāt even show up, and nothing happened, right? Whatās the big deal if we lose the case?"
Her words were filled with complete disdain for the court.
Jia Zuoying nodded and analyzed seriously, "Thatās right. This is a society ruled by law now. If they try to use force, weāll threaten to jump off the building, just like last time."
"If someone dies, they canāt bear the responsibility."
"Anyway, letās get the money from the sale of the house first. Weāve lived here for three years, so we definitely deserve a share."
"Itās just in time for our sonās college tuition..."
Two years ago, they had already lost a case once.
The bailiffs from the enforcement court even came, but they still couldnāt do anything to them.
These so-called lawsuits were just to scare timid people. There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of.
ćThe next day.ć
Jin City Court.
Qin Mu, Zhang Qingyuan, and Zhang Tao had agreed to meet at the entrance.
"Son, let me introduce you. This is Xiao Qin. Heās a good friend of mine from the nursing home, someone I connect with despite our age difference. The last time I got a scam call, he was the one who helped..." Zhang Qingyuan introduced Qin Mu and then said, "Come on, call him Uncle Qin."
Zhang Tao, who was over fifty years old, swallowed hard. Looking at Qin Mu, who was only in his twenties, Zhang Tao found it a bit difficult to utter the word.
Qin Mu quickly interjected, "No need for all this āuncleā business. We can just address each other as we see fit. Iāll call you Old Zhang, and itās fine for you to call him [Zhang Qingyuan] Uncle Zhang."
But Zhang Qingyuan frowned and said unhappily, "How can we do that? Seniority canāt be messed up!"
"You and I are peers. If my son calls you āUncleā, and we just throw seniority out the window as you suggest, then wouldnāt I end up having to call my own son āUncleā too?"
After saying this, he glared at Zhang Tao. "Arenāt you going to greet him?"
Zhang Tao swallowed again and hurriedly greeted Qin Mu, "Hello, Uncle Qin."
Qin Muās mouth twitched slightly, a sense of helplessness washing over him.
Many elders really liked to get caught up in the details of seniority. Before even entering the court, he had already gained an undeserved nephew.
Zhang Qingyuan smiled with satisfaction and patted Zhang Taoās shoulder, speaking earnestly, "Let me tell you, Xiao Qin is seriously impressive. You wonāt lose out by calling him āUncleā. If you have any enemies in the future, you can tell your Uncle Qin about it."
Zhang Tao blinked, looking at Qin Mu with even more curiosity.
Actually, he knew who Qin Mu was.
Two months ago, his father had been the victim of a phone scam, and it was Qin Mu who had helped prevent a significant loss. Otherwise, they surely would have been cheated out of several hundred thousand.
The most absurd part was that the scammer, after the call, got so frightened he actually turned himself in to the police.
"Did you bring all the identification documents? Iāve already written the complaint for you. You just need to go straight to the case-filing center," Qin Mu spoke up, interrupting Zhang Taoās train of thought.
He led the way into the courthouse. Zhang Qingyuan and Zhang Tao hurried to follow, walking into the courthouseās Public Service Hall.
Zhang Tao soon realized that Qin Mu seemed quite familiar with this place. He didnāt even need to look for directions, heading straight toward a specific spot.
A few minutes later, the three of them arrived at the case-filing center.
"You again?" The staff member, Zhou Lin, looked up. Seeing Qin Mu, she blurted out involuntarily.
In the past two months, she had dealt with Qin Mu no fewer than five times.
The key point was that this was the courtās case-filing center, not just any other office.
Every time Qin Mu came, he had a variety of different cases. What made her remember him so vividly was one occasion when Qin Mu brought sixty complaints, suing sixty internet trolls. For this, he had even paid litigation fees of 870,000 yuan!
"Donāt be nervous," Qin Mu said with a slight smile and in a soothing voice. "Iām not the plaintiff this time; Iām just showing the way."