CH 5.2

Chapter 5 (part 2)

As they made their way back to the community lawyer's offices with the chicken and Liu Guizhen in tow, Ning Wan gave Fu Zheng a sidelong glance. This delicate young master had a dead, ash-like visage, and had not said a word. He was a living illustration of the sentence-- To be alive in body, but dead inside...

Although she didn't care for his snobbish young master manner, and indeed hated the sort of people who used relationships to boost their resumes, she did feel a little bad for him when she looked at his ravaged appearance. Once Liu Guizhen and the new eunuch were dropped off, Ning Wan's conscience prompted her to say something.

"Officially, the duties of a community lawyer are to stay on duty, to provide telephone and face-to-face legal advice to neighbourhood residents, to mediate legal disputes arising in the community, to guide residents to resolve their disputes in a legal and harmonious manner, and to regularly hold a few lectures in order to publicize the rule of law."

Fu Zheng glanced over, poker-faced. Perhaps she was playing tricks on him again.

Ning Wan didn't care. "Does this description sound fine to you? Honestly, as you can see, many of our cases are small and trivial. Although we must use the law to deal with them, oftentimes it's impossible to solve them by simply relying rigidly  on law. Theory and practice here are completely different things. Although the law is the yardstick by which we practice and our bottom line, many legal disputes at the grassroots rely solely on mediation."

"Most importantly, community legal disputes differ the most from regular ones in that afterward, neighbors must still continue living together in a shared space. They're all merely a stone's throw away from each other and part of the same community. In commercial legal disputes, you can afford to be by-the-book, but in these, you must consider if you're not making more issues for yourself down the road."

She glanced his way. "If one chooses the wrong manner of handling things, prosecution merely intensifies the conflicts between neighbors. For example, in this case, if you had exhausted our legal channels you might have been able to force Liu Guizhen into getting rid of her chicken. But what about afterward? A new problem might arise, and in the future these two neighbours would never again peacefully coexist. The rift between them would only widen."

"Grassroots cases require that we pay close attention to communication and to look past the veneer of the case to understand the true needs of our clients. Shi Xiaofang's wish is in reality very simple. She merely wants to live a smooth and undisturbed life. Meanwhile, if you speak to Liu Guizhen, and investigate her background, you'll find that she isn't actually unreasonable at all."

"That's why," she said sincerely, "community lawyers don't have the same elite images as those in your imagination. You won't like this at all, but grassroots work really is a bit like being the auntie of the neighborhood committee." Having said all that, Ning Wan looked Fu Zheng up and down. "Even if you're not badly off, can you afford to throw away a suit every day?"

"This suit is dirty," Fu Zheng replied coldly.

"Don't you mean that you're dirty?"

“……”

"Community lawyer work is complicated and stressful. The people we need the most are those who are competent and grounded. This isn't some playground for a little prince to experience life. We should all be aware of the jobs best suited to us - after all, if you mess up, not only will you suffer, but won't other people be affected too?"

Ning Wan felt like her remarks had hit the heart of the matter. If Fu Zheng had not squeezed out hard-working Chen Shuo by relying on nepotism, Ning Wan would actually have not been biased against him. She didn't hate the wealthy, and at worst she would simply have been indifferent toward a rich young master. After all, everyone was born into a different place in life, and that didn't mean that they could rule out each other.

But what a pity! Her words had not only failed to bring Fu Zheng enlightenment, but instead had roused a zombie back to life...

"There is no wrong position for me. I can perform any job."

Fu Zheng had never in his life not been able to accomplish whatever he set his mind to. Though he had not liked the work, and had indeed underestimated the enemy, Ning Wan's remarks made him uncomfortable. For her to actually say that he couldn't do it! For her to imply that he might roll over and give up!

The word 'impossible' wasn't in his dictionary.

Regaining his usual calm, Fu Zheng pressed his lips together and glanced at Ning Wan. "This case was unforeseen. It will not happen again in the future."

Ning Wan was quite stunned by this development. For a minute she could no longer couch her words in tactful euphemisms. "Young master, I don't think it was an accident that you weren't able to handle this case. The clients we deal with are often older and less educated. They care more about common-sense than the letter of the law. But you went to Liu Guizhen's home empty-handed and offered her money to fix the problem. Even if the noise disturbance was a serious problem for which she might have borne tort liability, do you think anyone would talk seriously to someone who gave them a lesson in Law 101 as soon as they opened the door?

"People here won't understand if you recite legal provisions to them. You must explain it in a simple manner that touches on the idea behind the law, just like speaking from the perspective of square dance music allowed Liu Guizhen to put herself in the other person's shoes. In that manner, she understands the problem and becomes much more receptive."

"To be a community lawyer, you must humble yourself to listen to both parties, rather than considering yourself above them. If you were at headquarters, so long as you were competent and competitive enough to be named elite, you could have your pick of clients. But you're here in the community. Community law is more like volunteer work. " Ning Wan blinked. "This is why I don't think that this is a job young masters can do. Every case would require you to bend your noble waist."

"I am not a young master."

"The first step to treating a mental illness is to admit that you have one."

“……”

Ning Wan continued to twist the knife. "Do you perhaps think that you're a pretty great person as you are? A pure-hearted fairy who is above the smoke and flame of the human world? Do I need to remind you what happens to fairies who come down to earth? When the Seventh Fairy came down to take a bath in a spring, she was threatened into marriage by a peeking rogue who snuck in and stole her clothes. If you think about it carefully, isn't that a forced marriage? "

"I'm a man," Fu Zheng frowned, correcting her.

"Do you think men are safe in modern society? There are plenty of female thugs in this world!"1

“……”

Fu Zheng choked down his exploding temper and said coldly, "You needn't say more. I'm just inexperienced with this particular aspect of the business. I'll be quick on the uptake."

Oh my, listen to that tone. Ning Wan wanted to record it. He was talking like he had a wealth of experience in the business, yet from his resume, he was a chick2 with no work experience! A chick should at least know that he was one!

"Alright then. You've experienced your first community case." Ning Wan smiled. "Just like crowing was a noise disturbance, so is the square dance music. What do you think?"

Fu Zheng paused. "You can first communicate and educate. Loud broadcasts over speakers in the vicinity of a suburb violate the Law on Prevention and Control of Environmental Noise Pollution. If repeated communication is ineffective and the noise truly interferes with the lives of residents, then a fine between 200 and 500 yuan can be imposed."

He watched Ning Wan, his words beginning to come easier. "This time it's no longer like the issue of having to cull a chicken. There is no difficulty implementing fines, and a fine itself will be a deterrent, since the main culprits in square dancing are old aunties. They will certainly be wary of such fines and will not repeat the mistake."

Likely feeling that his solution this time had been praise-worthy, Fu Zheng looked at Ning Wan and waited for the expression of unexpected affirmation on her face. Unfortunately, it never came.

"Putting in place a punishment for noise pollution requires one to go through the technical appraisal to provide proof. This is very troublesome. If you have such time and energy, you might as well have the square dance group change locations. Do you know that west of Yuelan there is an excellent space available? It's surrounded by entertainment areas and parking lots. No matter how loud they blast music there, the residents wouldn't be disturbed. But why does the square dance group shun such an excellent location and instead squeeze into the downstairs area of their apartment complex?" Ning Wan smiled. "I used to mix in and go square dancing with the group. An old auntie told me that in that open space, there was insufficient lighting. How could they dance in the dark?"

"Therefore, I coordinated with the neighbourhood and the property owners, and the Committee has agreed to install street lamps to provide lighting for square dance group activities. Doesn't this solve the issue to the satisfaction of all?"

"But you didn't use the law at all. You didn't litigate or use the law to mediate..."

Ning Wan gave him a leisurely stare. "Although we are lawyers, not all disputes must be solved by law. There are better ways to deal with many disputes, and like this one, they can often be handed over to other relevant departments. Since it can be solved by the property owners, why waste legal resources? Although community legal work involves all sorts of trivial matters, you should not misunderstand and believe them to be trivial. Isn't that the weakness of a typical academic mindset? For we, who study law, to believe that the law is omnipotent, and set fines for aunties... Do you happen to know how powerful old neighbourhood aunties are? What nonsense were you spouting? Are you tired of living?"

“……”

"This is just the beginning. I'm not kidding around. You silly naive child3,  you're such a noob that if we were in a historical palace drama your tragic death would occur off-screen. If you stay on as a community lawyer, you'll be doubting life in a few days." Ning Wan looked at Fu Zheng in pity. "But if you insist on it, young master, let me give you a bit of advice. Before then, you should buy yourself insurance."

“……”