Han Xiaorui smiled. She knew Wu Cuicui meant well. Living here, you really couldn’t just act on impulse.
"If I actually sue Zhang Xiufang, it’ll lose its deterrent effect, and we’ll become true enemies. I don’t really care about Yang Jianming, but I have to consider Pingping and An’an’s grandfather. When I was at my lowest, it was Uncle Yang who supported me and gave me the courage to keep living here."
"I’m going to call a lawyer in a bit to communicate with the police station. I want Zhang Xiufang to know that I have the means to deal with her. I’m not the kind of person she can just insult and bully whenever she pleases."
Hearing this, Wu Cuicui let out a long sigh of relief and patted her chest. "Xiao Rui, it’s truly smart of you to think that way. My second aunt is the type who gets carried away in front of a crowd. If she actually went to jail, she’d be capable of even worse things when she got out."
"Now you can use this to keep her in check. My second uncle probably won’t have the face to come and beg you to let my second aunt go. But Yang Jianming is a university lecturer. If his mom’s in jail, how can he continue being a teacher? How could he ever get promoted to professor? He must be panicking."
"My second aunt’s biggest concern is her precious son, Yang Jianming. You’ve hit her Achilles’ heel. When the time comes, she’ll rein herself in and won’t dare to act so recklessly, all to avoid affecting her son."
This was exactly Han Xiaorui’s plan. "Right, that’s what I want to do. My goal isn’t to send her to jail. It’s to make her back off so she won’t dare to provoke me again, and to make the villagers not dare to look down on me."
Wu Cuicui nodded and smiled in relief. "Xiao Rui, you know what you’re doing, so I can rest easy. If you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to find me. It’ll keep people from gossiping."
"Sister Cuicui, I was thinking the same thing. Thank you for helping me like this." Han Xiaorui was grateful. Even though Wu Cuicui wanted to plead for Zhang Xiufang, it came from a good place.
Han Xiaorui could see through the complexities of social etiquette. This wasn’t the apocalypse, a lawless world where might makes right.
Here, there were laws, rules, moral constraints, and social norms. They constrained Zhang Xiufang, they constrained Han Xiaorui, and they constrained everyone else, too.
Of course, Han Xiaorui was willing to use these rules to solve her problems, using her own mind to navigate her life and actions.
After Wu Cuicui left, Han Xiaorui found a business card from someone who had opened a law firm.
When Nanyang Law Firm learned of Han Xiaorui’s situation, and after Han Xiaorui expressed her willingness to pay one thousand yuan, they immediately guaranteed she would be satisfied.
Chen Nanyang had opened his law firm a year ago, but business had been slow.
Now, a potential client had come to him on her own initiative. After understanding the situation, he felt it was a piece of cake—basically free money. He immediately hopped on his motorcycle and went to see her.
At Han Xiaorui’s house, they signed the retainer agreement, and she paid him a three-hundred-yuan deposit. The final payment would be made upon completion.
Chen Nanyang was a local with considerable connections, and he understood Han Xiaorui’s difficulties. "Ms. Han, rest assured. I can handle this matter properly and guarantee that Zhang Xiufang won’t dare to act so brazenly in front of you again."
Hearing this, Han Xiaorui smiled. "Do a good job, and I’ll come to you for all my legal needs when I buy a house and start a business in the future!"
Chen Nanyang’s eyes lit up. Of course he wanted to develop Han Xiaorui into a long-term client and secure a stable source of income. "Excellent. I look forward to more opportunities to work together in the future."
Full of confidence, Chen Nanyang took a copy of the tape recording as evidence and went to the police station where Zhang Xiufang was being held to negotiate.
Only then did the police station believe that Han Xiaorui wasn’t just making empty threats; she had actually hired a lawyer.
With the testimony of Ye Feng and other villagers, they could prove that the Big Yellow Fish all belonged to Han Xiaorui, and that Zhang Xiufang’s claims were slander.
Insulting Han Xiaorui and Yang Zhigang was defamation of character and spreading rumors; banging on and kicking the door was intimidation; demanding money was extortion.
They had both witness testimony and physical evidence.
If they pressed the matter, Zhang Xiufang could really be locked up for a few years.
This time, Zhang Xiufang was dumbfounded. "Since when... is throwing a tantrum, cursing people out, and hitting them in the village against the law?"
The police officer was inwardly roasting people like Zhang Xiufang, but on the surface, he patiently explained, "If no one files a complaint, the police don’t pursue it. But now someone has, and there’s witness testimony and physical evidence. Slander, intimidation, and extortion—those three charges are enough to land you in prison for several years."
Zhang Xiufang had been defiant before, but she did not want to go to jail!
She’d heard you had to do labor inside, working on endless sewing machines!
"Please, I’m begging you, let me go! I’ll never dare to curse Han Xiaorui again. I’ll stay far, far away from her whenever I see her."
Officer Li sighed. "If you’d known it would come to this, you wouldn’t have acted that way, would you? No matter what, she’s your granddaughters’ mother. You insulted her, bullied her, and treated her like a pushover."
"The person you bullied, Han Xiaorui, got into the best university around here. Do you think she’s an idiot? Now she’s dealing with you, and she has you right where she wants you. Instead of begging me, you’d be better off having your family hurry up and seek the victim’s forgiveness. Maybe then you won’t have to go to jail."
Terrified, Zhang Xiufang trembled and wept, so full of regret it felt like her insides were turning green. "Please, notify my family! I’ll have them beg Han Xiaorui."
After leaving the police station, Chen Nanyang rode his motorcycle straight to the university where Yang Jianming worked and found his office.
In front of a dozen or so teachers and professors in the office, he played the recording of Zhang Xiufang insulting Han Xiaorui. Vicious, harsh, and filthy words poured out of the device.
Yang Jianming immediately recognized his mother’s voice and shot to his feet. "Don’t play that."
Chen Nanyang was tall and powerfully built. He blocked Yang Jianming’s hand as he tried to turn off the recorder. "Lecturer Yang, I am Han Xiaorui’s legal counsel. I have been retained by Ms. Han Xiaorui to formally file a lawsuit against your mother."
"You cheated on Han Xiaorui during your marriage. And although you are now divorced, your mother came to my client’s home to insult, slander, intimidate, and extort her. She has already been detained by the police."
The office erupted in an uproar.
University teachers, who are supposed to educate and nurture students, value respectability and their reputation above all else.
First, Yang Jianming married one of his students. Then he cheated on her and they divorced. And now his family was insulting her like this. It was no wonder she had hired a lawyer to sue Yang Jianming’s mom.
’With a mother in jail, Yang Jianming wants a promotion? Heh, in his dreams. He’ll never pass the review!’
Chen Nanyang had come here on purpose. He wanted to put pressure on Yang Jianming, forcing him to pressure Zhang Xiufang for the sake of his respectable career.
Now that the battle of public opinion had begun, Chen Nanyang picked up his tape recorder and left.
"I never would have thought the refined Lecturer Yang had such a vicious mother!"
"He knocked up his student back in the day, so they got married. It’s only been a few years, and now they’re divorced. I heard he cheated, and the other woman is pregnant, too."
"A wolf in sheep’s clothing, that’s what they call people like him, right?"
...
The selection for associate professor in the office was already competitive. Yang Jianming had been a shoo-in for the position this year, but with this incident, that was no longer certain.
If this blew up, Yang Jianming was done for.
’That means the others in the office now have a chance!’
’They have evidence and a recording, so it’s not like it’s just a rumor!’
’What are we waiting for? Let’s spread this like wildfire behind his back!’