Bending down to enter the chess game

Chapter 42 The Iron Rooster

Grandpa didn't say a word.

Xing Ge huddled in the corner, listening to her aunt's sobs, and suddenly felt that the pain from the blows on her back was nothing. She saw her grandfather's white hair fluttering in the wind, his legs trembling as he leaned against the doorframe. She remembered the day her father was buried, her grandfather had stood like this before the grave, only then he was still healthy; growing old was just a matter of a moment.

"No!" Xing Ge tried to explain, but Fu Wen suddenly raised his voice: "Enough!" He picked up the shirt on the ground, his glasses sliding down to the tip of his nose. "Cong Nan, help your grandfather back to the house. Xing Ge, go sweep up the broken pieces of the teapot." His tone was authoritative and left no room for doubt, but Fu Cong Nan could hear the undisguised trembling in his voice.

My aunt didn't dare say another word.

When she's being unreasonable, she usually goes on a rampage, but when she's in the right, she surrenders first.

The moon was bright and the stars were few. Xing Sanchang sat at the sewing machine, pedaling faster than usual. Xing Ge squatted in the main room, hearing a low argument coming from the side room: "Do you think I wanted this? That child wants to go to high school, she... she insists..." Fu Wen's voice was very low, "Besides, Xing Ge, a little brat, I'm his uncle, what could I possibly want! Don't be unreasonable." Fu Congnan stood under the grape trellis, clutching a half-finished composition book, the title of which was "My Ideal." The ink had spread across the word "police," like an indelible stain. The night wind rustled the grape leaves, letting in a few starlight rays. Xing Ge groped her way to the well, the red welts on her knees already swollen, and she bent down to wash them with the cold well water. Footsteps sounded behind her.

Fu Congnan handed over a clean handkerchief.

"Don't be afraid." The boy's face was flushed. "Once I get into the police academy, I'll take you away from here." Xing Ge saw his deliberately straight back, but in her mind, she thought of her father's perpetually sticky hands.

She remained silent and didn't take the handkerchief. Taking advantage of the bright moonlight, she crept to the stove. After all the commotion, dinner was naturally out of the question. The remaining half-eaten flatbread had long since dried up; taking a bite, the coarse texture of wheat brushed against her tongue, mingled with a faint aroma of sesame. Tears welled up again, dripping onto the flatbread, the salty taste spreading in her mouth. The cicadas outside the window began chirping again, one after another, never tiring.

Bathed in the warm glow of an orange lamp, Yu Xingge sat up. The clock on the wall was stuck between three and four, so she lay back down. Unable to sleep, she tossed and turned, her fingertips touching the pillow. The cool leather felt warm to the touch, and she pulled out a black notebook. This notebook, bought for her by her grandfather in the first year of junior high, had been with her for many years. A third of the pages had yellowed from handling, and since she started working at the law firm, it had accumulated countless new black ink marks.

Zhou Yuxuan: Gu Lezhi's capable assistant. They were the first intern lawyers recruited by Gu Lezhi after he independently became the head of the criminal team in 2015, just before Gu Lezhi graduated with his doctorate. Over seven years of close collaboration have nurtured Zhou Yuxuan into a capable criminal lawyer. She is also a pillar of the criminal team at Hongjiang Law Firm.

Single, unmarried, lives alone, averse to women and men, his only pleasure is making money. He takes on any case, big or small, and accepts any amount of money. He is reliable and steady in his work, and generally keeps his promises. He is the perfect intern for a criminal investigation team looking to develop skills.

Weakness: He doesn't like to share money and was once described by an intern lawyer at Hongjiang Law Firm as a miser who would never be able to keep more than 3000 yuan.

Yu Xingge gathered the papers in her hands, leaned against the wall, and felt the cool wall surface. Unlike the soft headboard of the bed, it made her sleepy head more alert. Could it be... that she hadn't paid enough?

Zhou Yuxuan, who was being talked about, hadn't gone home yet.

He was sitting on the sofa with Gu Lezhi, both waiting for a phone call. "Director Gu, why don't you go and rest for a while? I'll keep an eye on things." Zhou Yuxuan yawned repeatedly, but still drank a cup of strong tea.

Gu Lezhi, dressed in a dark blue suit, shook his head: "I'm not sleeping. The court hearing starts in four hours." He glanced at his watch. "You should take a nap."

Zhou Yuxuan really wanted to agree, but then he glanced at the bed. The hotel in Xiaohanshan was much worse than in Dongjiang City, and being in the mountains, the sheets were so damp they were practically dripping wet. He decided to just wait and see.

"It's past four o'clock, is it still possible to get a message? That person must be asleep by now, right?"

The man leaning back on the sofa stood up: "That one is definitely asleep. The middleman probably still has some drinking parties to deal with. It'll probably be over soon."

"Who would agree? After all, it's a risky business."

"There are risks in sticking to the original verdict; judges are held accountable for life. We can't compare the weight of each side of the scale now." He crossed his arms and looked at the undulating mountains in the dark night, like a huge, indescribable dark beast: "Money has always been a powerful motivator; everyone wants to grab some and retire early. Let's add some weight to the other side. Confidence isn't given by others; it's earned by yourself."

"But we don't make money from this case either."

Gu Lezhi turned around and stared at him: "Don't be so short-sighted."

Although Zhou Yuxuan didn't refute, he was inwardly unconvinced: In this godforsaken place, who would come for a second trial? Poor and desolate places breed unscrupulous people; he was certain there wasn't another one who could produce such a tempting sum for the higher-ups. Keeping that much money for himself was better than anything else; it was a one-off deal anyway.

"Buzzing, buzzing." The vibration echoed throughout the room from the glass coffee table. Zhou Yuxuan stood up excitedly: "Call Director Gu."

Gu Lezhi strode over. "Feed?"

A moment later, he put down the phone, revealing a rather wolfish smile: "Today's court hearing is a sure thing."

Zhou Yuxuan beamed with joy. He also stood up and started packing his things to go back to his room. No, he didn't have that much energy. Even if it was just a short nap, he needed to doze off for a while. But just as he was about to step out the door, he suddenly remembered something.

"Director Gu, are you going to personally handle that case in Sanmen County, Fanshan Reservoir area, next week?"

The man standing in front of the sofa tidied up the scattered case files: "Hmm, a relative's case, just going through the motions."

Zhou Yuxuan hesitated for once, "Um..."

"Hmm?" Gu Lezhi didn't even look up. "Just say what you have to say."

"Could you take Yu Xingge with you?"

His long, slender fingers paused, and he straightened up: "You took her money."

This is not a question.

"Yes." Zhou Yuxuan put her right hand in her pocket, her heart tightening slightly, and honestly replied, "It wasn't like she was taking it for free. She shared some with me from the cases we worked on together before."

Gu Lezhi simply sat down again: "I think you're probably not talking about the case where she worked hard to facilitate the client's transaction, but you took 23 and gave her 3000."

"no."

Zhou Yuxuan was even more embarrassed.

"That was a divorce case where you didn't contribute a single inch, yet she got 70% of the divorce settlement? Her condition was that you plead with me to let her stay?"

Zhou Yuxuan gave a thumbs up: "Director Gu, you are truly a prophet."

"Ha." He sneered, "You sold me for a few tens of thousands of dollars?"