Network New Liao Zhai

Jiangcheng
Chutian Building.

It is located in the heart of the old town and used to be one of the iconic landmarks in the area.

It has now been overshadowed by those newly built, high-end buildings, but in the old town, it remains the most famous office building.

On the ninth floor of the Chutian Building lies the renowned Cao Jinghua Law Firm. It boasts a large number of outstanding legal professionals, known for their professionalism, rigor, and efficiency, providing clients with comprehensive legal services.

It was still early, and there was still some time before the official start of the workday, but Cao Jinghua had already arrived at the law firm. She carried a sleek briefcase and walked confidently through the door. Although she was fifty years old, time seemed to have left few marks on her. She had short, neatly styled hair, and wore an elegant gray suit, which further accentuated her graceful figure and extraordinary气质 (qi zhi - a combination of temperament, bearing, and style).

Upon seeing Cao Jinghua, the receptionist standing at the door immediately stepped forward, smiled, gave her a warm greeting, and said, "Good morning, Attorney Cao!"

Faced with his subordinates' respectful attitude, Cao Jinghua responded with a friendly nod, then hurriedly walked into the office.

Stepping inside, one is greeted by a long and deep corridor. The walls on both sides are covered with all kinds of exquisitely bound certificates and photos of the law firm's lawyers. The first thing that catches the eye is Cao Jinghua's confident, smiling face, followed by portraits of the other partners and senior practicing lawyers in the firm.

Walking down the corridor, the space suddenly opens up—a spacious and bright large office comes into view. It resembles a bustling beehive, meticulously designed and divided into countless work areas of varying sizes. In each cubicle, people are immersed in their tasks: some face computer screens, their hands moving nimbly like butterflies, rapidly typing; others hold thick stacks of documents, brows furrowed, intently reading and studying; still others are speaking in hushed tones on the phone, their expressions serious, occasionally jotting down important information in their notebooks. These scenes intertwine to create a vivid and dynamic picture of the workplace.

Cao Jinghua stood quietly, her gaze slowly sweeping across each cubicle, watching her colleagues diligently working. Looking at these partners who had fought side-by-side for so many years, a smile of satisfaction crept onto her face. Reflecting on the law firm's journey, from a small team of just a few people to its current size and scale, she realized how much hard work and dedication everyone had put in. Thinking of this, Cao Jinghua's heart overflowed with joy and emotion.

Passing through the main office, there was a row of individual offices, each with a clearly visible sign on the door bearing the name of the lawyer in gold lettering, standing out prominently under the lights. Cao Jinghua's office was at the very back.

As soon as Cao Jinghua reached the door of her office, her assistant in the cubicle next door stood up and pushed the door open for her.

"Lawyer Cao, you've arrived."

Cao Jinghua nodded and sat down behind his desk.

“Lawyer Cao, this is today’s schedule.”

The assistant handed over the schedule and then quickly made a cup of tea.

Although the schedule had been reviewed yesterday, the assistant still presented it to her every day without fail as the first thing she did.

Cao Jinghua glanced at the schedule.

Today's schedule wasn't too busy.

There was an internal meeting at the law firm at 10:00 AM.

I'm going to a meeting of a charity this afternoon.

There was a private party that evening. Her old friends had come to Jiangcheng and had arranged to meet at the Bie Lai Wu Yang Tea Restaurant.

To be honest, she was starting to miss the "Nothing to Happen" private kitchen, and those two girls, Qiqi and Zhuzhu. Looking at the schedule, nothing had changed.

Cao Jinghua nodded to his assistant and said, "Alright, you can go out now. We'll go to the conference room at 10 o'clock."

“Okay, Lawyer Cao.”

After his assistant left, Cao Jinghua turned on his computer and started working.

After a while, a pleasant ringtone broke the silence of the room. Cao Jinghua picked up the phone on the table and saw the words "Lawyer Jiang Muyang" flashing on the screen.

Jiang Muyang was Cao Jinghua's college classmate and is now the head of another large law firm in Jiangcheng, enjoying great success and a comfortable life. However, although both are lawyers, their areas of practice differ. Attorney Jiang focuses on the high-end market, providing legal services to major corporations and conglomerates in Jiangcheng; while Cao Jinghua's law firm emphasizes providing assistance and support to small and medium-sized enterprises, ordinary citizens, and even charitable organizations and foundations—the more vulnerable groups.

Upon seeing the caller's identity, Cao Jinghua's lips curled into a slight smile, and he answered the phone with a somewhat teasing tone: "Hey, Attorney Jiang, did the sun rise in the west today? A busy man like you actually called me! Perhaps you wanted to catch up? Haha..."

However, Jiang Muyang on the other end of the phone seemed to have no interest in chatting or joking with her, and directly stated the purpose of his call: "Jinghua, I have a case here that I want to entrust to your law firm to handle."

"You're handing over the business to our law firm? Are you kidding me?" Cao Jinghua asked with a look of suspicion.

“I’m not joking with you!” Jiang Muyang replied decisively. “How about this, you come over right away, and we’ll discuss it with the client face-to-face, okay?”

"So who exactly is this client?" Cao Jinghua couldn't help but ask curiously.

“Old Master Lu of the Lu Group,” Jiang Muyang said casually.

"What? Lu Group? Lu Qitai? Chairman Lu?" Upon hearing this name, Cao Jinghua couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief.

“That’s him.” Jiang Muyang nodded affirmatively.

"Attorney Jiang, you are the personal legal advisor of the prestigious Lu Corporation. Even your firm couldn't handle this, yet you let someone as insignificant as me get involved? Hehehe. Don't make fun of me!" Cao Jinghua chuckled twice, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.

In fact, Cao Jinghua knew very well that the law firm where Jiang Muyang worked and Jiang Muyang himself had always been the exclusive legal think tank of the Lu Group. So why would he suddenly approach him?
"Jinghua, as the saying goes, everyone has their own area of ​​expertise! Although our law firm is quite large, there are still some areas that are difficult for us to reach. Take finding people, for example, you are very well-known in the industry!"

Hearing this, Cao Jinghua smiled slightly and replied firmly, "Of course!" She has always been confident and unashamed about her abilities in this area.

In fact, Cao Jinghua's confidence stemmed from her exceptional abilities and experience. She also ran a professional information investigation agency, specializing in finding missing persons.

Seeing that Cao Jinghua remained silent, Jiang Muyang urged on the other end of the phone, "Are you going to take this job or not? If not, I'll find someone else. Don't say your old classmate didn't think of you later."

Cao Jinghua: "Yes, of course I'll answer. When and where?"

"Come over now, I'll send the address to your phone." (End of Chapter)