There were four people sitting in a private room of a small restaurant: Wei Baozeng, Lu Ming, Bi Hanting and Smith.
But in the row of cars outside the restaurant, there were naturally many followers, including Smith's affairs officer.
I heard from Wei Baozeng that if Bi Hanting was willing to reconcile, Baoyin Bank was willing to invest in Nadu Pictures and start up Nadu Pictures together with his second uncle.
Bi Hanting sneered, "I spent more than 1.8 million to buy Nadu, but who would have thought that the copyrights of all his previous movies had been sold at a low price? There is not a penny left in the bank account, and he also sold the two best filming locations, leaving only the most broken one. Most of the good machines have also been sold, so what can we do? Baozeng, when it comes to doing business, you still have to learn more from your father. Don't rush into anything!"
"Lawyer Smith, what do you say?" Lu Ming saw that Smith was hesitant to speak.
Smith nodded: "As for the photographic equipment, we signed the contract first and the equipment is in our hands, so it won't be snatched away by others."
Bi Hanting frowned immediately and glared at Smith with dissatisfaction. This Westerner was so stubborn and honest. He followed the rules in everything he did, including exchanging information with the other party's lawyer. He never hid anything. He was different from the lawyers he had met before.
Smith continued, "So, what Mr. Wei said is very right. This film company still has a chance to be run well. In addition to having complete photographic equipment and a pretty good studio, the staff of Nadu Pictures are still within the contract period. There are also more than 50 contracted artists, including several big stars with good box office appeal. So, if we run it well, there is still a lot of room for success."
After a pause, he said, "However, my client, Mr. Bi Hanting, is exhausted physically and mentally because of this transaction, and has completely lost his enthusiasm for this film company. Therefore, if Baoyin Bank is willing to pay 2 million yuan to buy Nadu Pictures, my client is willing to settle!"
Lu Ming smiled and knew that he was no simple man and would not disclose Nadu's information without purpose.
Looking at Smith, "Lawyer Smith, what do you think are your chances of winning this lawsuit?"
"Eighty percent!" Smith said without hesitation. "Lawyer Lu, the three principles you proposed to interpret the neighbor principle are very interesting. However, economic disputes are different from criminal cases. The local court will not rashly accept new rules that go against the precedents of the High Court. Moreover, I think Judge Christine does not have a very good impression of you. Of course, this will not affect Judge Christine's fair judgment of this case. It's just that Judge Christine will not be biased towards you just because you recently punished the evildoer."
In fact, his meaning was very clear. Judge Christine would side with us, but of course he couldn't say this directly, otherwise the defendant might have reason to apply for an invalid trial.
Lu Ming shook his head. "Lawyer Smith, it seems that you have no confidence in winning this case. You are an honest person and should stick to your good reputation. Bluffing does not suit you. I heard that in cases where you are particularly confident, you always say that you have a 50% chance of winning. Now, you say without hesitation that you have an 80% chance of winning. You think your chances of winning are very low, right?"
Smith frowned slightly, turned to Bi Hanting and said, "Mr. Bi, he is shaking your confidence. I think there is nothing to talk about. Let's go!"
Lu Ming looked at Bi Hanting, "Mr. Bi, the foreigners still don't understand the thinking of us Zhongzhou people!"
"Protest!" Smith was stunned and immediately widened his yellow eyes.
"This is not a court, what are you protesting about? Later, you can go to the Bar Association to complain about my racial discrimination!"
Lu Ming spread his hands.
Smith never dreamed that the lawyer who was qualified to sit down and negotiate with him could be so shameless. He had never dealt with such a thing before and stood there in a daze, not knowing how to react.
Seeing Smith being humiliated, Bi Hanting suddenly found it very funny. This stern foreigner, yes, the word foreigner is a good one.
This stern foreigner is no different from his Western partners in the business world. They all look serious and professional, but in fact, deep down, they will keep you at a distance. No matter how outstanding you are, you will never be able to enter their circle.
In Western Coal, I came into contact with large companies, many of which were Western companies, but the more I came into contact with, the more depressed I felt.
"Mr. Bi, we are the only ones who understand our business ideas. You and Chairman Wei have been good friends for many years. He is now in bed and it is difficult for him to get up because of this lawsuit. The day before yesterday, he was given a cardiac stimulant to come here. You can also see that he wanted to save his own business, so he was willing to make his condition worse to rush here. You may still be very angry. Why was he able to put on a show the day before yesterday but not before? Because he was really in poor health and felt guilty towards you. Yes, the day before yesterday was a show, but his apology to you was also serious. He dragged his sick body to do this show in the hope that he could save his own business. In this way, he also has the ability to do something for you."
Bi Hanting was drinking tea from the cup, with a changeable expression on his face.
Lu Ming continued, "Lawyer Smith should know that we have a 60% chance of winning this lawsuit. Yes, Judge Christine has a problem with me and thinks I am pursuing her daughter..."
Wei Baozeng, Bi Hanting and Smith all looked over in surprise.
"Her daughter is quite pretty?" Bi Hanting suddenly became interested.
Lu Ming was helpless. My focus is not here, okay? "Maybe, Li Guan wants to bring us together... Li Guan is Judge Christine's master." Bi Hanting's career focus is in the west, and he is often in the west. He should not be very clear about the situation in Beiguan.
Bi Hanting nodded and looked at Lu Ming: "The judge doesn't like you? I think you're pretty good! Not long ago, you forced a Japanese pervert to commit suicide out of fear of crime, right? You're young and promising!"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Mr. Bi, you are too kind, but this is not a matter of personal liking. Besides, I don't want to meet her daughter."
Bi Hanting nodded: "Yes, we don't even think highly of her! What's so great about that?!" Somehow, he felt as if he had felt the same way and shared the same hatred with Lu Ming.
Lu Ming shook his head. "Mr. Bi, that's not what I want to say. I mean, because Judge Christine is actually biased against me, our new legal motion is well-founded, but I can only say that we have a 60% chance of winning. However, if Judge Christine really rules against us, I will appeal on the grounds that she is biased against me, and this ground is bound to be valid."
Bi Hanting then realized that he and the young lawyer opposite him were not on the same side. He coughed and picked up the teacup to drink water.
Lu Ming continued, "If we enter the appeal period, the lawsuit will drag on even longer. In the end, Baoyin will be insolvent. Even if you win in the end, you, Mr. Bi, will not get anything. You and Chairman Wei will both lose. Why bother?"
"Also, although two million is not a small sum, it is not a sum that will break your bones, Mr. Bi. Of course, we all understand that this money is not invested by you alone, Mr. Bi, but also by the people who eat with you."
"Now, Bao Zeng is sincere in coming to reconcile with you. He has a plan. Would you like to take a look?"
Wei Baozeng took out a document with several pages and handed it over, "Second Uncle, please take a look."
Bi Hanting hesitated for a moment, and Smith beside him whispered, "Mr. Bi, you can take a look."
Bi Hanting took it and looked through it, and was immediately stunned.
The settlement agreement that Wei Baozeng presented was very sincere. The condition was that if Bi Hanting agreed to the settlement now, Baoyin Bank would be willing to invest 2 million to buy Nadu Pictures. 500,000 would be paid immediately, and the other 1.5 million would be paid in ten years. The interest rate would be one percentage point higher than the interest rate of the same bank loan.
This is almost the same compensation condition that Bi Hanting originally proposed, except that most of the money cannot be received immediately, so it can be paid in installments with interest. Although cash flow is the most important thing for businessmen, this condition can fully reflect the other party's sincerity.
"This..." Bi Hanting hesitated.
"Mr. Bi, it looks like they are doomed to fail. There must be some weakness that we don't know about yet. I will investigate it carefully. We will definitely win this lawsuit. Moreover, I believe that the court may impose a large punitive fine on the other party!"
Smith also saw the settlement agreement and immediately whispered it in Bi Hanting's ear.
"Mr. Smith, don't give any rash advice. Be careful not to be too clever!" Lu Ming reminded slowly. Everyone could imagine what Smith was saying.
In fact, I had a very good impression of Smith. This guy is principled and smart. If all lawyers were like this, the judicial system would be much cleaner.
However, he still didn't understand the people of Central China.
In fact, he did not quite agree with the settlement agreement proposed by Wei Baozeng, but he insisted.
It seems that the traditional Chinese thinking is quite different from that of my own modern thinking.
When Smith saw such a generous settlement agreement, he immediately thought reflexively that his side was at a great disadvantage and must have hidden some key evidence, and might even be sentenced to an astronomical fine by the court.
For example, Chairman Wei may have deliberately set up a trap to deceive this old friend.
From a certain perspective, Smith's reaction is not surprising, he was just doing his job.
"Second Uncle..." Wei Baozeng looked at Bi Hanting eagerly.
Bi Hanting listened to Smith's whispers, hesitated, and finally stood up suddenly, "Baozeng, I can't sign this agreement, let's meet in court!"
Smith immediately stood up and followed Bi Hanting out.
Bi Hanting didn't know if he felt a little ashamed, and he never looked back at Wei Baozeng.
Lu Ming sighed softly in his heart. After so many years of friendship, he was ultimately no match for the naked interests in reality.
Looking at Wei Baozeng who was standing beside him with a look of disappointment, Lu Ming patted him on the shoulder.
Wei Baozeng turned around and smiled bitterly, "I should have listened to you."
Lu Ming suggested that even if the bottom line of the final settlement agreement was such generous conditions, it should not be offered all at once, but should be increased gradually.
But Wei Baozeng did not agree, hoping to impress his father's old friend with his sincerity.
"It may not be a bad thing!" Lu Ming smiled.
At this time, Park Soo-na hurried in: "Sir, the court called the firm and asked you to meet Judge Christine this afternoon!"
Outside, it was heard that Smith's officer ran in and informed Smith that he would meet Judge Christine in the afternoon. It seemed that the officer also called the law office, and the law office hurriedly sent someone to notify him.