In a soundproof lounge with the door closed, Zheng Zhongshi's face was ashen and he said nothing.
"Mr. Zheng, you've gotten into big trouble with the crimes of kidnapping and sabotage. You may not realize the seriousness of it..." Manila advised earnestly.
He hoped to get two bottom lines from Zheng Zhongshi. In the case of kidnapping, the compensation amount would be up to 80,000 yuan. As for the owner of the racehorse that was abused, the compensation amount could be up to 30,000 yuan. As for the other party's third condition, he would try his best to refuse it, and it should be possible to refuse it.
"In this case, I would rather go to jail!" Zheng Zhongshi snorted.
An assistant from Manila said helplessly, "Mr. Zheng, if the kidnapping charge is established, and it is highly likely to be established, then the other party will most likely submit materials and ask the prosecutor to file a lawsuit against you for sabotage. You know, the other party's lawyer Lu Qianxing is an advisor to the Supreme Prosecutor's Office. It seems that he has been authorized and has his own official office..."
"What? He is both a prosecutor and a lawyer? Doesn't that mean he is both a player and a referee? Is this reasonable?! Is this judicial corruption?" Zheng Zhongshi rolled his eyes.
The assistant was a senior defense lawyer of the third stage, and was also a well-known name outside. At this time, he could only smile bitterly and patiently explain to him: "In the court, the referee is the judge. If we use your example, at most he can play the red side or the blue side. And he seems to rarely take criminal defense cases now. Maybe he has some private agreement with the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, so he can get the authorization of the independent official office..."
He added, "But Mr. Zheng, this is not the point. What I mean is that, with his relationship with the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, it should be easy to entrust a prosecutor to prosecute you for the crime of sabotage. At that time, you already have a criminal record, and the crime of sabotage is likely to be severely sentenced. Both of your charges are felonies in themselves. If the final cumulative sentence is increased to 15 years or more, it is not impossible..."
"You sentenced me to 15 years for what I did? What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I killed a few horses? I raped that slutty officer? Is that enough to sentence me to 15 years? Are you fucking ok?" Zheng Zhongshi's pent-up anger finally exploded. He was a little afraid of Manila, and he just wanted to vent his anger on the young lawyer in front of him: "I've seen you flirting with each other for a long time! You are threatening me together with that Lu guy, right?! Do you think I'm stupid?!"
Sanduanlu could only smile bitterly.
Manila frowned, "Mr. Zheng, the flirting you mentioned should be the last few polite words between me and lawyer Lu Qianxing, or an appointment for tea, right? Although this is just a very common greeting, if I lose your trust, I think you should fire me and my team."
"Well, that's it!" Zheng Zhong said sincerely, "You said it yourself. I just didn't know what to say. The young master introduced you, and I was going to fire you directly, as if I didn't know what was good for me. It's good that you said it yourself."
Manila nodded and said, "Okay, Mr. Zheng, after the expenses for the past few days are settled, I will send the bill to your house in the country."
Zheng Zhongshi rolled his eyes and thought to himself, why are you staying in a country house? You are really out of your mind.
The lawyer who had been smiling apologetically just now also frowned. "Mr. Zheng, if you don't deposit the payable fees into our company's account within three days of receiving the bill, we will send a lawyer's letter immediately. At that time, a late payment fee will be incurred for each day that passes. According to legal obligations, we will inform you verbally now."
"Get lost!" Zheng Zhongshi looked at this guy who was respectful at first but arrogant later. "Let me tell you guys, are you human? You change your attitude faster than turning the pages of a book!"
Several lawyers have picked up their briefcases and followed Manila out.
…
"What? They all left? Zheng Zhongshi fired them?" Lu Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Tie Xiaojia stuck out her tongue and said, "Yes!" She was the smartest one. After asking a lawyer from the Manila team who walked out with a gloomy face, she immediately ran to tell her master.
“Master Fifteen…” Tie Xiaojia stood properly. Although Master Fifteen was several years younger than him, the rules must not be broken.
But it was Jennifer who came into the study room, holding a rag doll, looking sleepy.
Jennifer was stunned when she saw a outsider.
There are two doors in the study, one of which leads directly to the inner suite. She came out from the inner room. She was a little dazed in her sleep and thought she had just fallen asleep. Her husband was still busy in the study, so she came to see him.
With a slight cry of surprise, Jennifer turned around and ran back. In her panic, one of her white fluffy slippers fell by the door.
Tie Xiaojia was shocked, and suddenly an idea popped up in her head. Did the master imprison this little girl as a concubine? He didn't allow her to contact outsiders? Many perverted cases have this kind of thing
But then he hurriedly shook his head. What was he thinking? Didn't Master Fifteen go to see her horses every day? But today, it seemed like she slept in
Lu Ming waved his hand: "Okay, go ahead."
Although I don't know if the disciple had ever thought of himself as a perverted sex maniac, but in the disciple's eyes, his legitimate concubine, when he looked at her today, was obviously a young and innocent child who was shy, which made him somewhat embarrassed. He could only keep a straight face. It really made sense that he was not embarrassed, but others were embarrassed.
…
In Jennifer's bedroom, she was lying on the bed, hugging a soft white pillow and crying. She seemed to hear footsteps. She secretly looked and saw that it was her husband. She buried her little face in the pillow and cried even louder out of shame.
"What's wrong?" Lu Ming walked over and sat on the bed, feeling helpless. His young wife was fine in other aspects except that she had a childish mentality. It was difficult for adults to understand why she was sad. She might have thought that candy was sweet, but turned out to be sour, so she might cry.
"I promise you that I won't let them come to this room anymore. I won't let them enter the study room with a door facing the outside, okay?" As he spoke, Lu Ming rubbed his nose. Wasn't he too unprincipled? What was going on
"No... No..." Jennifer buried her little face in the pillow and shook it hard, choking, "I, I didn't know it was already ten o'clock, I, I didn't change my clothes, and they saw it... I'm not a good girl, not a good wife..."
Lu Ming was stunned. Oh, it turned out that it was because her appearance was not tidy, which was not in line with the education and upbringing she had received.
However, hearing her crying sadly and saying that she "is not a good wife..." and she was very serious about it, I inexplicably felt like laughing.
“I, I don’t know what happened… I’ve been sleeping until now…” Jennifer buried her head in the pillow, as if she was too ashamed to face anyone.
Lu Ming coughed and said, "It's my fault. I told Xiao Bi to turn off the alarm." He also found that the little girl was a good person. Although it was because the alarm did not ring, she would not use this as an excuse.
Actually, I've been living here these few days, and I see the little girl really getting up at five in the morning and going to bed at eight in the evening. She also has to take care of the horse every day. Moreover, she must have been under mental stress since the horse was injured. It's been almost half a month, and I'm afraid she must be exhausted. It happened that I had an appointment with the equine veterinarian to come and give the horse a physical examination today, so I asked someone to turn off her alarm clock because I wanted her to have a good rest today.
"No, no..." Jennifer shook her head.
"I ordered someone to do it. Also, I saw that you were too tired these days. Little Jenny was taken to the hospital for examination today. Someone will take good care of her. It will be useless for you to go. So, I wanted you to sleep in. Why, I ordered you to sleep in, and you can't do it?"
Little Jennifer raised her head, her face tearful, sobbing, "Really?"
"Yes." Lu Ming nodded seriously.
"But, but..." Little Jennifer burst into tears again, "I, I just..."
Lu Ming smiled bitterly in his heart and started to talk nonsense: "That's my apprentice. What are apprentices? They are my own children. What's wrong with my own daughter seeing her mother in pajamas? And she didn't dare to look at you. Besides, your pajamas can be worn outside anyway. It doesn't matter if my own daughter looked at you twice."
"Really?" Jennifer's face was full of tears. Her beautiful and charming deep blue eyes were filled with tears. Her pitiful look made her even more lovable, but she gradually stopped crying.
"But, but I'm barefoot..." Jennifer lowered her head again.
"It's okay, she didn't see it!" As he said that, Lu Ming couldn't help but look over there. At the leg of her lace pajama pants, there was Jennifer's pair of small and cute snow-white feet. There was no nail polish on them, and no decorations, but they were carefully maintained every day, so they were clean without a single flaw. Her extremely tender snow-white feet had faintly visible blood vessels, and they looked especially delicate and pure.
"Huh?" It seemed that Jennifer had lost her shoes. The soles of her snow-white feet were slightly dusty. In fact, the carpet floor of the suite was spotlessly cleaned by the waiter every day, but the little girl's snow-white feet were so pure that even a little bit of dust was very glaring.
Lu Ming reached out his hand, wiped off the dust with his fingers, and said with a smile: "Is it cold?" If there is dust on the little girl's feet, don't cry again.
But when he held these delicate little feet, Lu Ming's heart couldn't help but pound.
Jennifer giggled and moved her little body upwards. Suddenly, her eyes turned red again. She hugged Lu Ming's thighs, buried her little head in Lu Ming's legs, and sobbed softly.
Lu Ming quickly loosened his grip on her feet, hugged her gently, and said with a smile, "Okay, don't cry, it's all my fault. I should have told you in advance!"
Jennifer shook her head and choked up as she whispered, "The master loves Jennifer. Jennifer knows that. I, I think of my father. He treats me as well as the master does..."
Lu Ming gently stroked her extremely smooth chocolate-colored hair, sighed softly in his heart, and said softly: "In the future, if you have any grievances, just tell me, and just treat me as your father."
Nodding, Jennifer hugged Lu Ming's thighs tightly, her little face pressed tightly against his legs, and whispered softly, "Daddy, my dear father..."
Lu Ming was stunned for a moment, then he understood that the Graifani language Jennifer spoke was just similar in pronunciation to the two Chinese words.
The pronunciation of "dad" is indeed an intimate name for father in the Griffinni language. It is probably because the words spoken by children are similar when they are born and just learn to speak. In the previous life, in many places around the world, the pronunciation of "dad" has a similar meaning. It is also the same in this different world or parallel world today.
As for "Baofu", the accurate pronunciation is "baofu", which is closer. It is a nickname and endearing name for husband in the Graefani language, similar to the "husband" in my previous life.
Dad, husband? Lu Ming laughed dumbly, but he felt even more strange in his heart.
Look at this little girl hugging her legs even tighter. Although it is a rare time for her to enjoy the moment of acting coquettishly in her husband's arms, she can't help herself.
He patted her shoulder gently and coughed: "Okay, get up, it's time for breakfast!"
"Oh..." Jennifer quickly let go of Lu Ming's legs and was very obedient. However, she saw that her husband's posture as he walked out seemed a little strange. She shook her head, not knowing why.
…
In the afternoon, in the small conference room on the third floor of the City Hall, Lu Ming came to attend the biweekly regular meeting of the municipal committee. This was Lu Ming's second visit to the City Hall since the establishment of the parliament and the municipal committee.
Municipal council meetings are usually held once every two weeks, and local council meetings are held once a month at the end of the month.
In addition, you may also encounter ad hoc meetings scheduled for urgent matters.
The clerk sitting next to Lu Ming was Li Zhongliang again. Usually, he stayed on duty in the municipal councilor's office here.
There was nothing special to discuss. The main topic of discussion was some proposals that might be put forward by the new parliament at the end of the month.
The chief commissioner and the four municipal commissioners can be said to be the spokespersons of various political groups. They naturally have to be aware of the proposals of their own groups. Especially if they may involve sensitive proposals, the bigwigs should discuss them at the roundtable meeting and try to avoid forced confrontation and voting in the parliament.
Lu Ming talked about his hope that Beiguan would pass an animal protection law. He said that he would communicate closely with the parliament's parliamentary committee and the city hall's legal office to draft a draft bill, and then solicit opinions from all sectors of society. He would use questionnaires, video and telephone feedback, etc. to try to allow all Beiguan citizens to speak freely on this bill, and strive to obtain a unanimous vote in parliament to support the bill's passage after three months.
In the past, the first truly complete "Imperial Animal Protection Law" appeared in ** Germany in 1933. This is also a kind of irony.
As for today, there are actually many regions in the empire that have similar laws.
Therefore, several municipal commissioners, including Bucklo, had no objection.
After all, this is a law that reflects human superiority and is a symbol that increases the pride of local citizens, believing that we are more civilized than other areas that do not have such laws.
"Recently, I was chatting with an old friend from the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing..." The speaker was Dong Wenquan, who took a sip of tea. "I have a personal experience. Our 'rental freeze bill' was a bit too hasty! It has dealt a heavy blow to the real estate market, especially to small investors. I heard that some investors and property owners have united and are about to hire a lawyer to sue the city hall. Do we need to re-examine this bill?"
As he spoke, Dong Wenquan shook his head and sighed, looking worried.
The "rental freeze bill" he mentioned is called the "Temporary Freeze Bill on Ordinary Residential Housing Rental Prices". Its main content is to temporarily freeze the rental price of residential housing, and no landlord is allowed to raise the price for a period of three years.
The bill was passed in the middle of last year. At that time, it was the time for legislators to fulfill their promises and please voters, because the election was about to be held, and at this time, they had to leave a good impression on the voters.
The number of voters who support that rent should not increase any more is definitely greater than the number of voters who hope that rent will continue to skyrocket.
Because in Beiguan and even Donghai, many people rent houses for their entire lives. If we use a lifetime to estimate the cost, judging from Donghai's consumption level and living habits, it may indeed be more cost-effective for the middle and lower classes to rent a house.
Now that the dust has settled, a law that was originally due to last for three years will be repealed after being implemented for more than half a year.
This is the biggest flaw of parliamentary politics. Sometimes, some temporary bills are just a joke. Everything is closely related to votes.
Lu Ming looked at Dong Wenquan and knew that he had a business partner who was also his biggest political sponsor, a large landlord who owned an entire twelve-story apartment building.
The economic structure of East China Sea today is similar to that of New York during the same period. About half of all apartment buildings are owned by companies and families; another 20% are owned by the government, and the remaining 30% are privately owned by higher-income groups.
Apartment buildings that are rented out basically belong to the first two categories.
Regardless of whether they are municipal commissioners or ordinary councilors, they naturally have close ties with these real estate tycoons.
After hearing what Dong Wenquan said, Sherlock nodded first: "Yes, the temporary freeze bill was indeed passed too hastily. It was just a short-sighted and radical act by the congressmen for votes."
Gao Wangshi spread her hands: "I have no opinion."
Bucklo smiled and looked at Lu Ming: "Qianxing, what do you think?"
Lu Ming smiled. In fact, he was currently investing in real estate and was even preparing to take over the Renault Building project.
Although Beiguan is only a small satellite town in Donghai, the abolition of the freezing law is definitely good news for the entire Donghai real estate market.
Lu Ming thought for a moment and said, "Indeed, this bill has no practical significance and is a gross interference in the market. Some property owners are going to unite and sue us. We will probably lose."
Bucklo laughed and said, "Since you say so, it seems we are doomed to fail."
Everyone laughed happily.
It seems like everyone is happy when the city hall loses the lawsuit.
Lu Ming took a sip of water, pondered and continued: "However, I feel that our policies still need to have a certain degree of continuity. We can't treat it like a three-year-old child playing house. Since it is a temporary bill, it has a time limit, so three years is three years, and we will wait for it to be automatically repealed. If the other party's case goes to the High Court and the justices rule that our bill is unconstitutional, then we are forced to repeal it, which is another matter. In the final analysis, I would rather the High Court rule to repeal our bill than to repeal the bill of the previous parliament just after the new parliament is formed, which will weaken the authority of our parliament. Besides, our members have not changed much, and many of them have voted in favor of it?"
The smile on Dong Wenquan's face gradually faded.
Bucklo still smiled and glanced deeply at Dong Wenquan.
"In addition, speaking of real estate, I have another idea." Lu Ming pondered and said, "We can encourage the public to unite and borrow money from banks to build apartment buildings. This kind of apartment building can be called a cooperative apartment. The investor does not have property rights, but shares with the bank. If they cannot repay the mortgage, the shares will be automatically given up. Without property rights, they cannot be traded temporarily, and can only be used for self-occupation and cannot be rented out. The cost will be very low, and it will not be used by real estate tycoons to build buildings with low investment to make a profit."
What Lu Ming said were also some policies of Western megacities at about the same time, which were very effective in curbing rent increases.
The smile on Bucklo's face disappeared.
He oversees the Department of Commerce, which includes the Department of Urban Development and Housing.
After all, he wants to take control of the policies and affairs that truly concern the development of Beiguan.
Gao Wang was watching with amusement and smiled slightly, "Commissioner Lu's random little ideas are always thought-provoking. The concept of cooperative apartments is really good. If we promote it, it will probably become the headlines of newspapers. Our new policy of Beiguan may become popular in the whole region! When that happens, we will all benefit from Commissioner Lu's contribution."
Lu Ming glared at her. This guy was obviously enjoying the fun.
Mrs. Gao Wang still had a smile on her face and even winked at Lu Ming.
Bucklo nodded at this time, "Well, Qianxing's idea is good. We can ask relevant experts to discuss the feasibility. As for Commissioner Dong's idea of abolishing the 'freeze bill', I agree in principle. Several commissioners, you still need to explain more to your colleagues in the party and communicate well. I hope that this bill can be abolished by the end of the month. Qianxing also said that even if we don't abolish it, we will lose in court. Why waste public funds on such a lawsuit?"
After saying this, he was ready to adjourn the meeting.
Lu Ming shook his head and said, "I still stick to my opinion and disagree with the direct repeal of the bill. If the parliament forcibly puts the repeal of the bill on the agenda this month, I will lobby all the members who support me to vote against the repeal of the bill."
His expression was calm, but he looked into Bucklo's eyes and did not avoid his gaze.
The atmosphere in the conference room immediately froze.
Li Zhongliang looked at Lu Ming in front of him in surprise. Is this how the municipal committee meeting is fought? Originally, the atmosphere was harmonious and full of laughter, but suddenly sparks flew everywhere. And our boss is really amazing!
I thought that becoming a city councilor at the age of nineteen was naturally the result of nepotism and coincidence. I should also know that I am not qualified to sit here, so I just want to gain seniority and muddle through everything. After a few terms, I will become a senior politician. It will be amazing if I can make an effort at that time. I am only around thirty years old, but I have more than ten years of experience as a municipal councilor. I am also the most senior municipal councilor in Beiguan, and I have truly become an influential figure in Beiguan.
I heard other office officials say the same thing, but I didn't expect that my boss was completely different from what they expected.
This is almost the first formal municipal meeting. The last one was just a meeting at most.
At this first meeting where the topic and the law were mentioned, the boss suddenly blew the horn and announced the start of war.
Although he was sitting quietly at this moment, he was representing a political group that was gradually forming behind him.
The challenge is to Baklo, the behemoth that has ruled Beiguan for twenty years.
"Lu Qianxing..." Dong Wenquan wanted to speak, but Bucklo suddenly smiled and waved his hand, "How about this, we'll discuss it next time. During this period, we should consult more experts. We politicians must not know a little bit about everything and know nothing at the same time. Teamwork is very important. Qianxing, I heard that there are very few economic experts in your team? We can't act rashly. Every decision we make may affect the well-being of more than 600,000 citizens in Donghai!"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "The economic experts in my company all have five-figure annual salaries. They whisper in my ear every day, giving me all kinds of professional advice. But do you think he is thinking about the development of my company? Or is he concerned about the well-being of the 600,000 Beiguan citizens? Oh, Mr. Bucklo, an expert you often consult is a member of my advisory group. He gets some spare money from me every month. From a professional perspective, he is actually a waste. I support him because he is good at fooling the general public. I don't want him to promote things I don't like to hear in newspapers every day. As for who he is, I won't mention it!"
Bucklo's face turned pale, really pale.
Li Zhongliang was so frightened that his heart was pounding. He lowered his head, his heart almost jumping out of his throat. If these people started fighting in the next moment, he would not be surprised at all.
However, Mr. Bucklo is quite funny. He secretly insults his boss with veiled words. But in terms of eloquence, is there anyone here who is qualified to go over a round with his boss
"Ah, I'm hungry!" Gao Wangshi suddenly yawned, "I'm sleepy too, let's go!" She laughed again, "Qianxing, I'll treat you to a meal?"
Lu Ming was too lazy to pay attention to her and just stood up and walked out. However, Gao Wangshi followed him in small steps, smiling and saying something apologetically.
However, he was scolded by Lu Ming, but he still followed behind in disappointment.
Bucklo and the others frowned as they watched this scene. What were these two doing? Were they crazy? What did they think this place was