Hanzhou, the capital of Hanzhou, is a transportation hub in the central region. The main railway lines from the east, west, south and north intersect here. Commerce is very developed and it is the third largest city in the empire. Its ethnic groups are relatively complex. There is also a new mixed-race ethnic group that has been formed over the past thousand years. This mixed-race ethnic group is rich in handsome men and beautiful women. They are called Bron people. The original Western meaning of this word is derogatory, similar to the meaning of bastard in the Middle-earth language, but now this ancient word has lost its original derogatory meaning and is merely a special word for this ethnic group.
The gathering place of the Brun people is in the southernmost part of Hanzhou, called Brun City. Because they feel excluded from the main ethnic groups of the empire, they have a sense of being abandoned. In recent years, the Brun people have been thinking about independence, and their calls for an independent country and to become the sixth federation of the empire have never stopped. The Brun City Council has similar proposals for holding a referendum on independence submitted to the parliament and passed almost every few years, but in the end they are always ruled invalid by the Hanzhou High Court for violating the "Grefini Kingdom Peace Act" and prohibited from holding a referendum.
Lu Ming’s lawsuit in Hanzhou is in the city of Bron.
The defendants are dozens of families in a natural village in the westernmost part of Buluon City. This village was formed in recent years. Originally, it was inhabited by farmers from neighboring cities. More than ten years ago, when they discovered that there were barren hills here, they came here to reclaim land. Friends and relatives told each other, and dozens of families moved here one after another. When several nearby barren hills and abandoned lands were almost reclaimed, the owner of this land suddenly came.
He is a Brunn man whose family moved to the city a long time ago. His ancestors once had titles, but now they have lost their noble status. The family member who came to claim sovereignty is called Hamilson, a down-and-out middle-aged man who has just lost his job.
Now, Lu Ming was wandering in a barren mountain full of fruits and vegetables, accompanied by several villagers. Leading the way was an energetic old man named Luo, who was also the most senior person in the village. The people who came here to reclaim the wasteland were all relatives and friends, and almost all of them had the surname Luo. They called this village Luojia Village.
"Mr. Lu, look, originally this was a barren slope. We shed blood and sweat to plant all kinds of fruit here and dug canals to divert water for irrigation. I was still able to work at that time, right?" Luo Laozhu sighed deeply and asked the people behind him.
"Yes, Second Uncle's health was ruined by working day and night!" a middle-aged man said angrily, "Now, that guy shows up and wants our land and compensation for the losses. It's too much! What a bastard!"
"Don't say angry words and swear at others to make Mr. Lu laugh at you!" Luo Laozhu glared at the middle-aged man.
Lu Ming did not say anything. If it were an era of large-scale reclamation, it would be inevitable that these lands would belong to the villagers of Luojia Village.
But the era of great reclamation was equivalent to redefining the social order, equalizing the rich and the poor, breaking up many aristocratic families, and defusing serious social crises. Afterwards, the sanctity and inviolability of private property once again became the main theme.
Although some legal spirits of the Great Reclamation Era have been retained, such as turning barren fields into land that can create value and resources in order to avoid unnecessary waste, in the laws of some states, there is a legal principle that if a property or land is occupied for a certain number of years, it will belong to the occupier, which is the principle summarized by themselves as adverse possession.
But such states are still a minority, and the city of Bron is an even more obviously exclusive area. It would be extremely difficult for outsiders to sue Bron people for land occupation.
Not to mention, the land that has been cultivated in Luojia Village for more than ten years is only a small part of the land. More than half of the land has been cultivated within the past ten years. Generally speaking, the current adverse occupation of land in states with legislation only takes about ten years.
Even if similar lawsuits are filed in those states, more than half of the land will have to be returned to the owner, as well as part of the income from the land over the past decade.
But as a result, dozens of families in Luojia Village, who have just entered the harvest season, will have their hard work over the years go down the drain. Many families will even be evicted, which will be a fatal blow to these poor families and they will not be able to survive.
"Lawyer Lu, the fruits here are especially delicious. Luoshan fruit has become more and more famous in the past two years. It's because of its fame that Mr. Hamilton was attracted here!" Luo Laozhu sighed and shouted, "Where is Luo Dong's family?"
Following his shout, a graceful figure quickly walked out from the nearby orchard. A pretty young woman in flowered clothes was holding a few bright red fruits with crystal water droplets on them. She whispered, "I'm going to wash the fruits..."
She took two steps forward and handed the fruits to Lu Ming and Jin Meiyan beside him, "Sir, Miss, these are freshly picked fruits. Please have a taste." She then said to Lu Ming, "I washed them many times, and my hands are very clean." After all, she was holding the fruits in her hands to serve these distinguished guests. Moreover, the distinguished guests came from the paradise-like city of Donghai. They seemed to be very famous people. It was Uncle Luo who begged a judge from Donghai. The judge took pity on Uncle Luo and asked his friends to help. Even Donghai people don't usually see such big shots, let alone here in the countryside? If she handed the fruits directly to others with her hands, she was afraid that they would dislike them. Therefore, she washed her hands and fruits over and over again.
Lu Ming picked up a fruit and nodded to Jin Mi Yan. Jin Mi Yan then took one and took a small bite.
She came to Hanzhou to see her sister, so she brought her along. But on the plane, Lu Ming almost didn't see her at all because of Pamela, the person Kim Mi-yeon feared the most, so no one knew where she was hiding.
However, after getting off the plane, Lu Ming did not scold her along the way. She is also a little sports star. Maybe she can bring glory to Donghai next year.
What's more, she is a contracted sports star under Mrs. 15. Little Jennifer likes her very much. She is also Kim Mi-jeong's sister, so she should give her some consideration.
It seems that she has grown a lot compared to before. She is wearing a snow-white sportswear and hiking shoes, looking very youthful and beautiful. Even the small nose stud is not so glaring.
"Well, it tastes really good!" Lu Ming took a bite and nodded repeatedly. It was sour and sweet and juicy. He had never seen this kind of mountain fruit in his previous life. It looked like a sand apple, but it tasted like a pomegranate.
After thinking about it, he said to Luo Laozhu: "I need to study this case carefully. After changing lawyers, I will apply for an extension."
The lawyers hired by Luojia Village had done a terrible job in the case. If the current situation continues, the families in Luojia Village may be evicted and burdened with huge debts.
"Mr. Lu, I'm sorry to trouble you with everything!" Luo Laozhui sighed deeply. It can be seen that he is still very uneasy and anxious.
…
Administratively speaking, Luojia Village belongs to a small town called Kuisi. The town has a magistrate's court, but it only hears minor criminal cases or economic disputes with an amount below 2,000 yuan.
Therefore, the case in Luojia Village was heard by the Blong District Court.
The population of Bron city is not large, about 200,000 to 300,000 people, which is far smaller than that of Beiguan.
Lu Ming took a look around the best hotel and decided to stay in Hanzhou.
Fortunately, there is a private airport in Bron, and it only takes an hour to fly to Hanzhou.
Regarding the lawsuit in Luojia Village, Portram has applied for a ten-day extension. As for the lawsuit involving the Douglas farmer in Milton State, Douglas intends to sue the state's beef association. The litigation process will be initiated after the lawsuit is settled.
Luo Xiaozhu, the village representative and son of Luo Laozhu, who had been dazzled by the splendor of the Bulong Hotel, was even more stunned when he saw that Mr. Lu was not satisfied with the accommodation conditions here.
As soon as he got on the private plane, Luo Xiaozhu felt like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden and was completely stunned.
In fact, the so-called village representatives did not have to follow Lu Ming before the court session, but the life and death of the entire village was at stake, so it was obviously too much torture for the villagers to wait for Mr. Lu to come back in ten days.
In the eyes of the villagers, lawyers also need villagers to consult about the case at all times, right? This is common sense.
Lu Ming understood their thoughts, so he brought along the village representative Luo Xiaozhu. In addition, there was also Luo Laozhu's niece-in-law Luo Shufen, the pretty young woman who had picked fruits for Lu Ming and Jin Meiyan. Originally, the village entrusted her to serve Mr. Lu, serving tea and water. She was beautiful and had some knowledge. It was her idea to ask Uncle Luo from Donghai for help. Now, following Mr. Lu to serve him might give her extra points, and she could also help the tongue-tied Luo Xiaozhu to smooth things over. She also knew the situation in the village better.
But when I arrived in Bron with Lu Ming and got on the plane, I realized that Mr. Lu didn't need outsiders to serve him. There were a bunch of young, beautiful and well-trained maids, and each of them was indescribably exquisite from clothing to temperament, the kind that could be a big star.
Compared with these girls, the village beauty Luo Shufen immediately looked like a country bumpkin.
When the plane landed at Hanzhou Airport, a long convoy met us in front of the apron, and then we went to the Times Building and took the VIP elevator to the top floor.
Mr. Lu lived in a two-story luxurious penthouse apartment. Everything inside made the two representatives of the Luo family feel like they had entered a paradise in a dream. The world had been turned upside down and reality no longer existed.
Times Building is not far from Hanzhou University, separated by Hanzhou’s famous Central Park.
The penthouse apartment in the Times Building offers stunning views of downtown Hanzhou and Central Park. The two-story apartment is nearly 1,000 square meters, with a spacious outdoor terrace that is luxuriously decorated. It has a swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, garden, and even a pool table and bar.
The apartment's interior is brightly decorated in white tones, with hardwood and marble floors and a beautiful marble spiral staircase.
This was also the first time that Lu Ming came to the penthouse apartment he bought in Hanzhou.
Hanzhou is the third largest city in the empire, and many groups controlled by Lu Ming have business development here, so it is inevitable that they have a foothold here.
Lu Ming feels more and more uncomfortable staying in hotels nowadays. It’s not because the conditions are good enough, but he feels comfortable living in his own place, such as the 60-square-meter small apartment on Changning Road, Donghai. Living in it is also comfortable and safe, and down-to-earth.
As for the penthouse apartment in Hanzhou Times Building, I have only seen photos of the interior and photos of the outside scenery viewed from the inside.
Today, the refreshing feeling of being there and overlooking the magnificent scenery of Central Park is far beyond what photos can bring.
"The day after tomorrow is Sunday, right? Let's go see your sister together then." Standing next to the floor-to-ceiling glass window, Lu Ming smiled as he glanced at Jin Mi-yeon who was walking up timidly.
I don't know why, but I felt an indescribable feeling in my heart, maybe even stage fright.
Although the other person is just a young girl, after "breaking up" with me, I always think of the scenes when I watched open-air movies with her, and the happiness and innocence when I transformed into a teenager.
In fact, I had hesitated whether to come to Hanzhou to see her, until I asked Kim Mi-yeon about her sister's recent situation. Kim Mi-yeon told me that little Mi-jeong is studying hard and has excellent grades now, and it seems that nothing is wrong with her. When talking about herself with Kim Mi-yeon, she also said that she would buy herself some gifts and bring them over during the summer vacation.
This is good news. It means she is really relieved, which is good.
Looking at Jin Meiyan, Lu Ming said again: "You didn't tell her that I was coming, right?"
Jin Mi Yan was startled and quickly shook her head, thinking to herself, how dare I say anything about things you didn't tell me, aren't I afraid of being scolded by you
Lu Ming thought for a moment and said, "Call her tomorrow and tell her I'm here."
Jin Mi-yeon nodded quickly.
Lu Ming stretched and said, "Let's get down to business!"
I turned around and entered the study, which also had floor-to-ceiling windows through which I could see Central Park. Looking down from the sky, the green trees and lawns of Central Park formed beautiful square patterns, and the artificial lake in the middle was like a round blue mirror, with a dreamy beauty.
Lu Ming picked up the books on the table and started reading. There were local laws and history books of the Bron people, etc. Lu Ming gradually became absorbed in reading.