Chapter 1 The Last Night

A week later, both Xu Qinglang's noodle shop and Zhou Ze's bookstore were scheduled to move the next day. However, Xu Qinglang opened his noodle shop tonight, saying he planned to do business here for one last day.

It was hard to leave this place. The noodle shop carried a long period of Xu Qinglang's life, even the last moments he spent with his parents.

If it hadn't been for the little loli's intervention, perhaps Xu Qinglang could still "dine" with his parents every night, enjoying the warmth of a family together.

Zhou Ze's bookstore was already closed. All the books in the bookstore were packed into boxes, waiting for the truck to come and transport them away tomorrow.

With Bai Yingying, who was as strong as an ox, plus Tang Shi, a "telekinesis" user, the efficiency of packing things was indeed very fast. The boss Zhou, whose injuries were more than half healed but not completely, only needed to sit in the neighboring noodle shop with a teapot, drinking tea, in the style of a landlord from the old society.

The old Taoist and the monkey were playing in the empty shopping mall behind. The monkey and the old Taoist were very close, and the two could play together.

There was no forest here, but the empty commercial center behind was enough for the monkey to gallop and frolic.

Drinking tea and watching the sun gradually set outside, Xu Qinglang sat there looking at his phone, showing not much sadness, and of course, not much joy either.

Fortunately, at this time, a customer finally came in.

This was the first customer today.

And, unsurprisingly,

This would also be the last customer today.

After the last time Zhou Ze took a taxi and asked the driver to find him a haunted place, and the driver drove him here, the little bit of popularity that originally existed here had long since disappeared.

People who used to pass by here on their way to or from work also chose to detour.

This was also the reason why Zhou Ze decided to move.

The person who came was wearing a suit, but his hair was messy, and the suit was a bit dirty. He didn't look like an office worker, more like an unemployed vagrant, but the suit itself was quite expensive.

"What would you like to eat?" Xu Qinglang asked, getting up.

"Stir-fry a few of your specialties, and a bottle of Snow brand beer, ice-cold."

"Okay."

Xu Qinglang first brought him the beer and then went to the kitchen to stir-fry the dishes.

The man sat across from Zhou Ze, with an aisle in between.

The man glanced at the noodle shop and said:

"You're moving, right?"

"You can tell?" Zhou Ze was a little surprised.

"Of course, I can tell. You just cleaned, and who would bother to clean so meticulously in a place like this? It's obvious you're about to move."

The man took out a cigarette, lit it, and then shook the ashes directly onto the table.

Soon, Xu Qinglang brought over the first dish. The man looked at the dish, shook his head, and said:

"Boss, your cooking is not as good-looking as you are."

"Eat your food," Xu Qinglang replied flatly.

This was the kind of temper a man with twenty-odd properties had when doing business.

The man picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and then spat it out, "This dish is not made with heart, it's not authentic."

Xu Qinglang had already returned to the kitchen to stir-fry the next dish, so he didn't hear the man's muttering.

"I think his cooking is pretty good," Zhou Ze said.

"Pretty good?" The man reached out and gently tapped the table. "Flipping a spatula and cooking a meal as a hobby, can that be called pretty good?"

After speaking, the man bit open the beer cap, took a big gulp, and said, "I can taste it, he's obviously not short of money, he's just experiencing life by cooking. This dish has no sincerity at all."

"It's hard to find a restaurant with sincerity these days."

"Oh, what's your relationship? Why are you suddenly targeting me when I say his cooking isn't good?"

The man pointed at Zhou Ze, then pointed at the kitchen, and smiled silently,

"Oh, there's something fishy going on, something fishy."

Zhou Ze was too lazy to pay attention to this guy. The reason he chatted with him before was because the guy looked a bit familiar, like he had seen him somewhere before.

Of course, it should have been in his previous life.

"Disgusting? Do you think I'm disgusting? Disgusting people have a more comfortable life. I think your life must not be so comfortable, sitting there with a cup of tea looking all calm and collected, but you're also the type who likes to meddle in other people's business.

People, as long as they like to meddle in other people's business, they won't have a comfortable life."

The man took another sip of wine, looking at Zhou Ze with a smile.

"By the way, the bookstore next door, that should be yours, right? Is it closing too?" The man pointed to the next door. "When I came over just now, I saw that everything inside the glass door was packed up."

"Yes, we're moving."

"Did you sue?" The man asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Sue for what?"

"Sue the developers here, sue the management here. I heard that accidents happen here one after another, it's obviously the management's fault.

There was a fire in the cinema,

And someone jumped off a building and committed suicide,

That's why your business couldn't continue. Sue them, let them compensate you for your losses."

"Sue for what? The business wasn't good before," Xu Qinglang said, bringing out the last dish and putting the rice on the table. He said to the man, "Eighty yuan."

"Tch, eighty yuan you're asking me for, I'm telling you about a big deal. That cinema fire, you can sue the cinema, let them compensate you for your losses."

"That was arson, and the arsonist is a pauper, he can't afford to pay anything," Xu Qinglang retorted.

"So what? Is the cinema responsible for the fire in their cinema?

Is the management here responsible?

Sue, sue them for your losses. And those two who jumped off the building, I heard their families are quite wealthy, sue, they jumped off the building here, affecting your normal business operations, let them compensate you for the losses!"

"Your theory is quite novel," Zhou Ze said, finding it both funny and absurd.

Not to mention that he and Xu Qinglang, due to their special identities, had no intention of seeking any compensation from here, even if they were ordinary people, it would be difficult to think of seeking compensation from here.

"What's so novel about it? If there's a law to rely on, then rely on it. Chinese people just don't like to file lawsuits, but I'm telling you, this lawsuit can be fought, you can get compensation.

Even if you pluck a hair from that cinema company, it's thicker than our waists.

I can help you fight this lawsuit. I happen to be short of money. I won't charge you lawyer fees. We'll split the compensation fifty-fifty. Don't worry, you won't get less. I wouldn't take this case if you would."

"Go, go, who has the time to fight this lawsuit with you? Besides, people have died, and we're going to ask them for compensation, is that appropriate?"

Xu Qinglang was a little annoyed by this guy.

"Does being appropriate put money in your pocket? Does being appropriate change the fact that your business is failing and you're preparing to move?"

The man took another sip of beer. The bottle was already empty.

"Why wouldn't you want money if you can get it? Are you stupid!"

"Is your surname Du?" Zhou Ze suddenly asked.

The man was stunned, then looked at Zhou Ze, "Oh, you actually recognize me."

"Lao Zhou, you know him?" Xu Qinglang asked Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze nodded, "A big lawyer."

"Him, a big lawyer?" Xu Qinglang laughed so hard that tears were about to come out of his eyes. "He's clearly a shyster."

"He really is a big lawyer," Zhou Ze repeated.

Zhou Ze remembered that the hospital where he used to work had two medical accidents caused by new drugs. The patients sued the hospital, and the hospital hired this big lawyer Du to win the case perfectly.

He was from Tongcheng, but he used to have his own law firm in Shanghai. He was a well-known professional lawyer in the industry, with a very high success rate.

However, his price was also very high at the time. Ordinary people couldn't afford his lawyer fees, except for the super-rich and big companies.

"Since you recognize me, you should know how good I am at fighting lawsuits. Come on, hire me to fight this lawsuit, you'll have money to open a new store, and I'm short of money too."

Lawyer Du looked at Zhou Ze with an expression that said, "Hurry up and beg me."

"Sorry, we're not interested," Zhou Ze still refused.

"Not interested in RMB? Are you interested in ghost money?"

Lawyer Du laughed, clutching his stomach,

Then stood up,

Pointed his finger at Zhou Ze and Xu Qinglang,

"Not wanting money, you're both idiots."

After speaking, he felt in his pocket, took out a hundred yuan bill, and put it on the table,

"The food was terrible, keep the change."

After speaking, he took the remaining half bottle of beer, staggered, and walked out of the shop.

"Is this guy crazy?" Xu Qinglang said while cleaning the table, "Forget it, let's close. From now on, we'll just make coffee and pastries."

"He used to be very good," Zhou Ze said.

"You're praising him so much?"

"I'm not praising him. In any industry, being able to reach the top level in a region, and especially in a place like Shanghai, is definitely a capable person.

Do you know what his most famous case was?"

"Tell me."

"A case of a minor breaking into a house and committing murder. With the prosecution having a lot of evidence, because the suspect's family spent a lot of money to hire him as the defense lawyer,

In the end, he really managed to win the case and the suspect was acquitted."

"So, did that child kill someone or not?" Xu Qinglang asked.

Zhou Ze hesitated, then nodded, "He probably did."

"How can someone who's so money-grubbing survive in the industry?"

"He'll only do better, because what the tycoons and big companies need is a lawyer who can help them win lawsuits and protect their own interests, not a lawyer who only talks about conscience."

"I understand that principle," Xu Qinglang stretched, then pointed curiously at the figure outside who was drinking and ranting while staggering away:

"Then how did this guy end up like this, and even came to our door to instigate us to hire him to fight a lawsuit?"

Zhou Ze took a sip of tea,

And slowly said:

"Later, the minor who was acquitted broke into a house again and committed murder.

By a twist of fate,

It was,

Lawyer Du's house.

His wife and daughter, on that day,

Were killed."