Suite 302, Husky Lodge.
Lu Ming was looking through the thick stack of court documents on the coffee table.
Chen Qinghua sat at the desk, copying down some key points according to Lu Ming's instructions.
Wang Da'an looked through the list of witnesses for the prosecution and, according to what Lu Ming said, summarized the personality traits of several main witnesses.
It seems that everyone is very busy.
In fact, Lu Ming just wanted to find something for them to do so that they would have a sense of participation. From a certain perspective, it was also a kind of training for them and broadened their thinking in court.
The door of the inner room was closed. Li Mingxuan and Xiao Cui were inside. I don’t know what they were talking about. It was Li Mingxuan who wanted to talk to her.
"Haha, Lawyer Lu, I heard that you did a great job today!" Liu Laocai laughed loudly. The laughter arrived before he even came in.
Big Head, who was sitting by the door, couldn't help but frown.
"How about I'll treat you today, let's celebrate?" Liu Laocai patted his shiny bald head.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Forget it. We have just started. It is too early to celebrate now. Besides, we are still at a great disadvantage in the entire lawsuit."
Liu Laocai shook his head and wanted to say something, but he saw the expressions of Wang Daan and Chen Qinghua, and then looked at the thick documents on the coffee table in front of Lu Ming.
"Okay, okay, you guys go ahead and do your work first." Liu Laocai winked at Lu Ming again, "At seven o'clock, at the Wendebao Club, I'll introduce you to a friend."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "I'll see. I'll try my best."
He stood up and sent Liu Laocai to the corridor outside.
After all, he is the financial sponsor and he voluntarily sponsored my lawsuit. It would be very disrespectful if I didn't do anything about it.
When he returned to the house, the phone rang. Lu Ming walked over to pick it up. It was Pamela's uniquely charming Central Plains dialect, "Is Mr. Lu there?"
"It's me." Lu Ming smiled.
"Boss, I have good news. The patent for nylon Velcro has been approved through a simplified procedure and should be approved soon." Pamela was a little excited. After all, this was the first time she had accomplished something very important since she was born, and it was also the first project in her career.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "This is indeed good news. Thank you for your hard work."
Today, the empire is in a period of rapid technological development, with various small inventions emerging in an endless stream. Therefore, the empire is very tolerant of patent applications, and those who are allowed to enter the simplified examination procedure will basically pass smoothly.
"You won again in court today, right?" Pamela asked with a chuckle, her voice softening.
"It's not a matter of winning or losing yet. Oh, you and Bis should spend more time with Hanzhu. I still can't go back tonight."
From being kissed by Pamela, to Bizhu appearing, to having an erotic dream, I didn't know whether that day was erotic or terrible.
But now I am really busy, so I basically live in the Husky Hotel.
Those messy reasons that I don’t know how to deal with can only be put aside for the time being.
"Okay, boss, don't worry!" Pamela hesitated for a while, "I, I'll go see you? Buy you some delicious midnight snacks?"
"No, I have an appointment tonight."
Lu Ming looked at his watch and it was almost seven o'clock. Hearing the good news about Velcro, he had an idea that he wanted to talk to Liu Laocai about.
…
There are three premium member rooms on the third floor of the Windebao Club, No. 8, No. 88 and No. 888.
In this world, the pronunciation of the number 8 is also auspicious. I wonder if this is another coincidence.
All three private rooms were extremely spacious and magnificent. Lu Ming came to room 888.
Lu Ming was the last one to arrive. There were quite a few people in the suite, but if you didn't count his entourage, mistresses, and the like, it seemed that Liu Laocai had only invited three friends, who should be his closest friends or business partners. Including Lu Ming, there were five main characters in total.
Liu Laocai introduced them to Lu Ming one by one. The first one was a fat white man in his fifties, a member of the Beiguan council, named Meng Dezhu. He was also the principal of the Beiguan Women's Normal School and the leader of a small party in Beiguan called the "Educators Alliance".
He seemed a little arrogant when shaking hands with Lu Ming, and it seemed that he was a little dissatisfied with Liu Laocai's idea of inviting Lu Ming to participate in this small circle gathering.
However, although Liu Laocai looks rough, he always has a sharp eye for people. It’s just that his sons didn’t judge him clearly, probably because they were in Mount Lu.
Therefore, in the end, the few people listened to Liu Laocai and decided to meet Liu Laocai's personal lawyer first.
The second person Liu Laocai introduced was an old man who was in good spirits, but looked a little worried, as if he had encountered some troubles. He was an industrialist named Zhao Xingwang, who ran a business that produced auto parts. As soon as you heard the name "Xingwang" Industrial Company, you could tell that this was not a family business passed down from generation to generation, but that Zhao Xingwang, as the first generation, started from scratch.
It was obvious that his mind was not here, and he was a bit perfunctory when shaking hands with Lu Ming.
"Come on, Qianxing, this is the owner of the Wendebao Club! He is also the executive chairman of the local construction workers' union, Chairman Wen Liangyu!" When introducing the third person, Liu Laocai raised his voice.
Lu Ming's eyes also focused, looking at the gentle middle-aged man in front of him, who was dressed in a black suit and looked elegant.
Judging from his appearance, no one would associate him with the largest gang organization in Beiguan.
In the Empire, not only in the East China Sea, many gang leaders manipulate and use trade unions to make profits, which is similar to the Western society of the same period in his previous life.
As for Beiguan, I knew about the Wen family after just a few days of arriving here.
Wen Liangyu's father was a godfather-like figure in Beiguan, but he has passed away.
His five sons, who were once his right-hand men and left-hand men, the Five Tigers of the Wen Family, each took control of a portion of the power of the organization after his death. The Five Tigers also gradually split up. Of course, if they encountered foreign enemies, they would still unite to fight against them.
Wen Liangyu is the fourth child, but he controls the most important trade union organization in the family, is the largest shareholder of the Wendebao Club, and is the nominal leader of the Five Tigers of the Wen Family.
It can be seen that among the five brothers, he is the most intelligent and resourceful.
The Wen family's gang is different from the Shuanglong Society of his hometown Lord Long. There was even an incident in which more than a dozen militants of the Wen family ambushed and attacked the enemy with submachine guns, resulting in a tragic case in which several passers-by were beaten to death. In the end, Wen Liangyu's father was imprisoned and died of illness in prison a few years later.
As a result, the Wen family declined from prosperity, and their power and influence were no longer as great as they used to be, but in Beiguan, they were still a powerful beast, and even some members of parliament were unwilling to provoke them. Of course, there might also be many members of parliament who used them to do dirty work in private.
For example, when constructing high-rise buildings, contractors often need the cooperation of the construction union. If they do not get in touch with some key figures in the Beiguan political circles, even if the contractor wins the bid for the land, they may not be able to start construction.
At this moment, he shook hands gently with Wen Liangyu and felt the slight weight in his hand, as if this person was also very weak.
Perhaps, this is what a real ruthless character is like.
Wen Liangyu looked at Lu Ming and smiled, "Lawyer Lu, I may have to trouble you in the future."
Of course, this was a polite statement. Lu Ming knew that Liu Laocai might try to sell himself to him, but how could the Wen family not have a royal lawyer? For a family that has been dealing with the law for several lifetimes, the most important thing is probably the judicial aspect, to ensure that they are safer in the gray area.
Liu Laocai laughed at this time, "Liangyu, you promised that if Qianxing wins this lawsuit, your union's legal advisor will be him. He is the only lawyer in Beiguan who can beat Liu Hanming. You should quickly offer him up, right?"
It seemed that the two of them had made a bet. Wen Liangyu smiled without saying anything.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "A lawsuit doesn't mean anything. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Attorney Liu Hanming is my goal."
Wen Liangyu looked at him and smiled, "Brother Qianxing, it seems that you are determined to win this lawsuit!"
They are all smart people, and of course they can keenly hear the meaning behind unintentional words.
Liu Laocai raised his eyes to Wen Liangyu and said with a smile: "I told you, brother Qianxing, there are a lot of things in your belly. How do you say that? There is Jinxiu in your belly, right?"
The fat councillor Meng Dezhu looked at him helplessly, "Old Liu, I see you have a lot of brilliance! You are really good at showing off!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Come, come, let's sit down!" Liu Laocai motioned for everyone to sit down, and said to Wen Liangyu with a smile: "Liangyu, I called this place today, so I will take the initiative!"
Wen Liangyu smiled, "You are the convener, so of course you have the final say."
Everyone sat down, and the beautiful waitress in cheongsam brought a huge cigar and helped to trim and light it, and everyone started chatting about all sorts of things.
Lu Ming sat in the most secluded position of the sofa circle, just listening to their conversation. As for the cigar, he also took a few puffs, which was quite refreshing.
From their conversation, one can quickly identify the primary and secondary. It seems that Liu Laocai, Zhao Xingwang and Wen Liangyu are actually the financial backers of Councillor Meng Dezhu and the small political party he leads.
Now, Meng Dezhuo mentioned implicitly that the Beiguan Town Council election will be held in the middle of next year. He hopes to continue to get financial support from the three people. More importantly, he hopes to go a step further next year and enter the Beiguan Municipal Management Committee, which will require even larger amounts of funds.
More than 50 councilors of Beiguan elect seven members of the Municipal Management Committee. These seven members ultimately decide the candidates for the heads of all administrative agencies in Beiguan and decide the local laws and regulations of Beiguan. They are the real seven giants of Beiguan.
In fact, it sounds like Meng Dezhu has little hope. His qualifications and reputation among the parliamentarians are not enough to enter the ranks of the Big Seven.
But Liu Laocai and Wen Liangyu both patted their chests and guaranteed that they would give their full support. It was just a verbal promise, and they agreed to it like playing house. Who isn't a baby
Zhao Xingwang looked worried. "As for me, we'll have to wait and see. It's uncertain whether my factory can survive."
Liu Laocai sighed, "Old Zhao, I really have no power. You know, my capital chain has always been tight. Where can I get 200,000 yuan?"
Wen Liangyu smoked his cigar slowly without saying a word.
It sounds like Zhao Xingwang's factory is in a very bad situation. Regardless of whether Liu Laocai and Wen Liangyu have the ability or not, they probably don't want to get involved.
Moreover, two hundred thousand yuan is really not a small sum. Lu Ming feels that if converted to the same era, the research and development funds for the first electronic computer in the previous life were only about three hundred thousand yuan.
In this world, the investment of a small film and television company is only a few hundred thousand yuan.
Not to mention, what Zhao Xingwang needed was 200,000 yuan in funds, not any property or anything like that.
Zhao Xingwang looked at Liu Laocai, then at Wen Liangyu, and sighed, "It's all my fault. I offended Mr. Zhu Er, which caused a large amount of my goods to be piled up, and the bank also blocked me. But I don't think I was on the wrong track. The three-point seat belts I developed are inherently safer. Mr. Zhu Er ridiculed me, and my peers laughed at me, but I still think that the three-point seat belts, although a little troublesome, can still be made..."
In fact, he seemed to have lost his confidence as he spoke. These words seemed more like an excuse and a way to save face for his failed business decision.
When Lu Ming heard the word "three-point seat belt", he looked suddenly towards Zhao Xingwang.
By the way, when I registered the technology company, I also thought about whether I could come up with some patents in this world. After all, patented technology is not a basic industry, and some small changes may lead to patented technology that affects future generations.
In fact, after thinking about it, the only option is the "three-point seat belt". I had also wanted to make friends with people in this field when I had enough time and develop this kind of seat belt for future generations.
Seat belts in today's cars are all two-point or multi-point types. No one has yet come up with the clever way to fix them with three-point belts.
Moreover, from the perspective of safety, there is probably no evidence that three-point seat belts are safer.
Therefore, just like in his previous life, the three-point seat belt should have been rather clumsy when it first appeared, and would have been considered anti-human, unrecognized, and inevitably ridiculed.
"Mr. Zhao, does your company mainly produce car seat belts?" Lu Ming asked.
Zhao Xingwang glanced at him and nodded casually.
"So, what brand of cars do you mainly supply? Who is the Second Master Zhu you are talking about?"
Zhao Xingwang was feeling upset when he met a rookie lawyer who asked him all kinds of questions. He was too lazy to pay attention to him, so he pretended not to hear and picked up his cigar.
Liu Laocai smiled and tried to smooth things over. "Old Zhao is mainly responsible for supplying Lingwei brand cars. The second son of the Zhu family is called Zhu Guodong. He is the second son of the Zhu family of Lingwei Automobile Industry and is in charge of the purchasing department of Lingwei Group."
Lu Ming nodded.
The Lingwei sedan is considered mid-range and has good sales. It can be considered one of the top ten automobile groups in the empire and its headquarters is in Donghai.
The annual sales volume is hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
Compared with these real tycoons, Zhao Xingwang's company is indeed just a small factory that makes a little money by doing downstream business.
Lu Ming originally wanted to ask Zhao Xingwang how he had offended the second son of the Zhu family, but seeing that he didn't even bother to pay attention to him, he swallowed his words.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Mr. Zhao, can you show me your company's financial statements, sales reports and other related information over the years? Actually, I can still come up with 200,000 yuan. For the time being, I have no other investment intentions."
Everyone was stunned and looked at Lu Ming with different eyes.
Who would have thought that such a young man could come up with a huge sum of 200,000 yuan in cash
Even Liu Laocai was extremely surprised.
Zhao Xingwang opened his mouth in surprise and looked at Liu Laocai. But no matter what, the young man in front of him was a lawyer and was introduced to this circle by Liu Laocai. It was impossible for him to talk nonsense when they met for the first time.
I wanted to say something, but suddenly I felt ashamed.
Lu Ming smiled again and said, "Director Zhao, let's be mean first and gentlemen later. You'd better write a plan, the future development direction of the enterprise, some ideas, etc., so that I can make an evaluation. If I feel that my investment can save your factory, we can discuss the conditions of cooperation. If I feel that there is no hope, I am not afraid that you will not like what I say. I am also a person who will not release the eagle until I see the rabbit."
"That's right, it should be, it should be!" If Zhao Xingwang had doubts in his heart before, now he suddenly felt that this young man was more trustworthy and there was hope ahead.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Let's talk about the details after I have a better understanding of your company!"
"Okay, okay!" Zhao Xingwang sat up straight and said with a little shame: "Mr. Lu, I was absent-minded today. Please forgive me if I neglected you."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "I am just a young boy, a junior to begin with, Mr. Zhao is too kind."
From beginning to end, the three-point seat belts, which are of most concern, were not mentioned. When doing business, it is important to hide your true intentions.
"Lawyer Lu, what time will your court session start tomorrow? I want to go and listen." Wen Liangyu said with a smile.
He suddenly became interested in the confrontation between Lu Ming and the Liu family's lawyer.
His Wendebao Club was originally the strongest competitor of Liu's Mingjia Entertainment Hotel.
Lu Ming laughed, "Director Wen, why don't you just forget about it? I don't want Liu Hanming to think of this lawsuit as a matter between you and his family. That would cause a lot of unnecessary complications."
"Well, you are right!" Looking at Lu Ming, Wen Liangyu's eyes were filled with much more appreciation. He was willing to go to the court to watch Lu Ming fight the lawsuit. This was a very high gesture and would also add a lot of face to Lu Ming. However, the young man did not care about these, but was very aware that in this way, the nature of the lawsuit might indeed change.
"Haha, I also wanted to see Lu Bian's skills. Well, let's do it another day!" Councillor Meng Dezhu laughed.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Yes." The change in attitude of this fat white congressman was the most obvious. In the political circle, changing one's face according to the situation is a basic skill.
The few of them started talking about other things, but Zhao Xingwang couldn't sit still anymore, so he quickly stood up and said goodbye, naturally to prepare the materials that Lu Ming wanted to see.
"By the way, Brother Liu, do you know anyone in a garment factory or a shoe factory? Preferably a shoe factory whose clients are young people?" Lu Ming asked Liu Laocai. Among the several people, he called Liu Laocai "Brother Liu", making it seem that they had the closest relationship.
"Oh? Do you know a few? I'll help you make some appointments." Liu Laocai was very pleasantly surprised. He had long felt that this young man was no ordinary person, but he didn't expect that he would surprise him again. It turned out that he was a hidden rich man. I'm afraid his family background must be very unusual.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Sorry to bother you, Brother Liu." He came here just for the Velcro matter.
Liu Laocai runs a department store, so he should be very familiar with the clothing, shoe and hat manufacturers.
"Brother, you'd better be cautious about investing in Lao Zhao. If he can really revive his business, wouldn't I help him by selling everything I have?"
While chatting privately with Lu Ming, Liu Laocai whispered in Lu Ming's ear.
Lu Ming nodded: "I understand."
Liu Laocai laughed and said, "Of course, you must know the answer. I am just worrying about nothing. Haha!"
Lu Ming smiled but said nothing.