42: What does it mean to reverse the Tiangang?

In Guangdong Province, Kang Hong, thirty-five years old this year, was playing on his phone.

As a native, Kang Hong lived a monotonous and dull life, earning a living by collecting rent every day.

Then, when Zhu Qionghua and Zhou Yun were on a call, he started paying attention, and then he found that he had found a treasure.

To be honest, there are too many lawyers livestreaming these days, and many of them are competent, but lawyers who are both competent and as ingenious as Zhou Yun are rare.

Every one of his methods of handling things surprised him, yet you couldn't say anything, because his approach truly solved the problem.

More importantly, this Lawyer Zhou also has his own set of theories, like the “Find-a-Dad Theory,” which is simply outrageous…

Kang Hong was about to get up after scrolling through a video when he saw an update notification.

“Lawyer Zhou updated his video? That was quick this time!”

Without any hesitation, Kang Hong clicked directly into it.

No need to mention anything else, the video title alone looked very interesting.

The video started, and Kang Hong hadn't watched for long before he noticed a problem: this seemed to be the case brought up by the young man who wanted to commit suicide during a livestream call a while ago!

Suddenly, Kang Hong became even more interested.

Because at that time, he was very curious about the follow-up to this case, and he didn't expect this Lawyer Zhou to be so understanding!

But as he watched, Kang Hong was stunned.

The woman was fine; she fit general perceptions, but some of Zhou Yun's actions and statements were too abstract!

Everything he said was about “attitude.” “What I want is not money, but your attitude!”

Watching further, this Zhou Lawyer actually blocked both sides during the trial, and even made the other party admit to fraud themselves!

“Awesome, that’s exactly how it should be done. That woman still has the nerve to talk; she’s married and still doing this, and she even has the audacity to say she didn't intend to defraud!”

However, that wasn't the end. When Kang Hong saw the end, when this Lawyer Zhou brought up the attitude issue again while communicating with the other lawyer, he was stunned.

He finally understood why this video had such a title.

So this Lawyer Zhou wants to kill and punish the heart!

Looking at the bullet comments, they were already filled with “666.”

“God, he doesn’t want compensation, he wants attitude, hahahaha, I’m dying of laughter. It’s truly an inversion of heaven and earth!”

“Only magic can defeat magic. This move is simply incredible. No, I need to laugh a bit longer.”

“It's just a bit of a shame; I wonder what that woman’s reaction was when she heard that. What’s sending her in? Punishing the heart is the most satisfying!”

“I said this lawyer’s brain isn’t quite right, didn’t I? Look at which proper lawyer could pull off such a scummy move…”

Netizens were all complaining, truly because this action, while very satisfying, was also too abstract.

The outrageous statements, coupled with Zhou Yun’s particularly serious tone when speaking, made people want to laugh when they saw it.

Coupled with Wang Shenggang’s multiple silences, it made netizens even more unbearable.

One netizen directly said, “I guess this brother also found it outrageous, right? The most outrageous thing is that Lawyer Zhou even comforted him, saying that he achieved the accomplishment of sending his ex-girlfriend in.”

“And this brother couldn't refute it, because Lawyer Zhou helped him get back over a hundred thousand yuan!”

Netizens were all going wild. In the Magic City, Zhou Xinyao was laughing so hard she was almost out of breath.

She had a premonition that this video would create many memes, such as “If you don’t even dare to sue, how can you say you love her?” and “What I want is not compensation, but your attitude.”

These memes were too dark…

Sure enough, the nickname “Ingenious Lawyer” was spot on.

For a moment, Zhou Xinyao even wanted to go directly to Jinghai, but considering his situation, she held back.

She also wondered what was going on between this Lawyer Zhou and his ex-girlfriend.

The video’s popularity skyrocketed, and Zhou Xinyao no longer needed to invest in Dou+, however, the harmonious comment section also contained some discordant remarks.

“Linlinlin”: I’m truly surprised by you people. This lawyer went to great lengths to send that girl in, and he actually received so much praise from so many of you?

“What’s wrong with that girl? She just concealed her marriage. Didn’t that man voluntarily give all that money later? How is that fraud? I really don’t understand. Are men these days really so petty?”

This type of comment was immediately rebutted by netizens as soon as it was posted.

Even Zhou Xinyao rushed to the front line to blast them.

“Night Raid on Widow Village”: Was he her father that he voluntarily gave it? If it wasn’t a romantic relationship, if he wasn’t aiming for marriage, why would he give it? Just because she’s a woman?

“If you don't understand the law, I suggest you learn more, lest you end up in there yourself one day.”

Although she was also a woman, Zhou Xinyao never tolerated such people.

These people are like they’re possessed; no matter what the matter, they only look at the gender of the parties, and they always generalize about the entire group of the other gender.

In a word, they are “unreasonable,” only talking about gender and opposition.

This even included some legal professionals, or rather, some legal professionals’ stances were inherently biased.

The online commotion continued. At Tianhe Law Firm, Kang Xiaoyu’s face was flushed red.

She didn’t expect Zhou Yun’s video to explode in popularity again!

The first and second times, you could say it was luck, but for three consecutive cases to be particularly classic and explode in popularity, no one could say it was luck anymore.

But how could Zhou Yun have such ability!

If he was really that good, why didn’t he show it when he was with her before? Why!

Next to Kang Xiaoyu, two salaried lawyers were chatting animatedly.

Old Tian laughed, “I said there’s nothing wrong with Zhou Yun, that ingenious lawyer. With this operation, anyone who sees it finds it outrageous.”

Lao Wu replied from the side, “Among the young people in our firm now, Zhou Yun should be number one, right? With this popularity, he’ll definitely have no shortage of cases.”

“If only he could share some with us…”

As the two were talking excitedly, Kang Xiaoyu suddenly yelled from the side, “Are you two done or not?! Huh? Are you here to work or to chat? Do you want me to tell the Director?!”

Old Tian and Lao Wu were stunned, seemingly not expecting the usually good-tempered Kang Xiaoyu to say such words.

But after all, chatting at work wasn't a good thing, so they still shut up.

Kang Xiaoyu felt something was wrong after yelling, but she didn’t want to admit her mistake, and the atmosphere immediately became tense.

And in the office, Jiang Qiming’s brows furrowed. Something was a bit off, or rather, that young man was rising a bit too quickly.

One great advantage of the internet era is that those old-timers who used to dominate the industry no longer have such strong suppressive power over young people.

Especially those young people who have become famous online.

Previously, it could basically be said that a law firm’s director could bring in sixty to seventy percent of the firm’s cases.

Because the law firm director was well-known, many people would come to him. Basically, it could be said that the young lawyers below had to flatter him, hoping he would leak some resources.

But now it’s different. The internet has given young lawyers a bigger platform, especially those internet-famous lawyers.

Although their skill level might not be particularly high, they have fame! Their name represents case sources!

You might be a Lawyers Association leader, but no matter how powerful you are, you can only obstruct their annual review. They can just change places and be a lawyer there.

Lawyers with case sources are kings wherever they go, the kind who are revered!

It’s like being a sales champion in a company; the end of a lawyer is sales, after all.

At his workstation, Zhou Yun was leisurely scrolling through videos. He thought this video would be popular, but he didn't expect it to be this popular.

After three videos, his total platform followers had exceeded one million.

By now, all Jiang Qiming could do was tamper with the annual review, but there were still a few months until the annual review, so Zhou Yun wasn't worried at all.

Just like that, under the envious gazes of other lawyers, Zhou Yun played on his phone until he went home.

After eating dinner at home, Zhou Yun still started his livestream as usual.

Due to the video’s popularity, there were even more people in tonight’s livestream, and the bullet comments were flying by quickly.

By now, the nickname “Ingenious Lawyer” had been completely cemented.

However, after a night of livestreaming, there were still no suitable cases, but Zhou Yun was not discouraged. He had no pressure now and didn't need to rush at all.

Time flew by to the next day. Zhou Yun came to the law firm as usual, and soon after he sat down, Xia Nianqin from the first floor brought a client up.

Zhou Yun was very surprised to hear this and said, “Looking for me? My appointment today is in the afternoon!”

Xia Nianqin said helplessly, “But the client is already here, Lawyer Zhou, what do you think…?”

Zhou Yun thought for a moment and then said, “Since you’re already here, bring her in.”

This fame would also bring other problems, namely, an increase in clients who come to him daily without an appointment.

Just as he was thinking, Xia Nianqin had already brought the client over. It was a girl who looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

Upon seeing Zhou Yun, the girl quickly said, “Are you Lawyer Zhou? Hello, my name is Cheng Jingshu.”

Zhou Yun stood up and smiled, “Ms. Cheng, please have a seat, please have a seat. Have a glass of water first.”

After pouring a glass of water, Cheng Jingshu took a sip and then said, “Lawyer Zhou, I apologize for coming so abruptly. It’s mainly because I really have no other option.”

“I watched your video yesterday, so I thought I’d come over.”

Zhou Yun waved his hand and said, “It’s fine. I only have appointments in the afternoon. You can just tell me what’s going on.”

Cheng Jingshu then began, “My situation is like this: a gym opened near my home, I think it was last year.”

“I usually like to work out, and it was close to home, so I got a membership. Everything was fine until about five months ago this year, when that gym started a promotion.”

“I thought the promotion was a good deal, so I bought a two-year membership and a few classes. But then, about three months ago, a notice was suddenly posted saying that due to poor management, their capital chain had broken, and they were closing down.”

Zhou Yun interjected, “So the gym ran away, right?”

Cheng Jingshu shook her head and said, “Well, they didn’t exactly run away. They posted a QR code for a group on the door, saying that those who had paid money before could join the group to communicate.”

“But they don’t seem to be communicating at all. They keep pushing things off, from today to tomorrow, and tomorrow to the day after…”

As she spoke, Cheng Jingshu took out her phone and handed it to Zhou Yun: “Lawyer Zhou, take a look.”

Zhou Yun took it and looked at the chat history. A man in the group named “Manager Ma” kept saying he would provide a solution, but he never actually did.

Cheng Jingshu said, “Lawyer Zhou, I’m really fed up. I’ve talked to them so many times, and they just keep stalling. I told them I was going to sue, and they told me to go ahead and sue.”

“The money isn’t a lot, around eight or nine thousand, so I didn’t originally plan to sue. But I really can’t stand their attitude. I’d rather lose money now than not sue!”

Cheng Jingshu spoke very clearly; she wasn't backing down. She might spend a lot on lawyer fees and Court costs, but she just wanted to sue; she wanted to stand her ground!

Zhou Yun smiled and handed the phone back: “Ms. Cheng, let’s not talk about suing for now. I can tell you very clearly that you’ve encountered a professional closure agent.”

“Huh?” Cheng Jingshu was stunned. “Professional closure agent? What does that mean?”

Zhou Yun explained, “It’s simple. It’s someone who specializes in helping bosses run away, taking money to cover up for those absconding bosses.”

This is considered a grey area. People who have experienced it are very familiar with this group, while those who haven’t encountered it find it very strange.

This evolved from the previous “professional debt bearers” and is also a product of the “discredit system” being exploited.

Zhou Yun had encountered this situation in his previous life.

Seeing that Cheng Jingshu still didn’t quite understand, Zhou Yun continued to explain, “Let me put it this way: suppose you are the boss of that gym that ran away.”

“You’ve now collected a lot of prepayments, a considerable sum, perhaps millions or even more.”

“But you don’t plan to continue operating. You want to take this money and run, but you can’t just run directly, because you registered a company before, and there’s industrial and commercial information, so you can’t escape easily.”

“At this point, professional closure agents will find you. They will take a portion of your money and then be responsible for handling all the follow-up matters for you.”

Hearing this, Cheng Jingshu asked, very confused, “Can a professional closure agent really handle all these follow-up matters?”

Zhou Yun nodded: “Of course they can! You need to know that a professional closure agent isn’t just one person, but a team, an industry chain.”

Since he had nothing else to do, Zhou Yun thoroughly explained what a professional closure agent was.

Professional closure agents are called “closing dogs” in industry slang, while those who specifically contact bosses to drum up business are called “bottom dogs.”

The bottom dog will contact businesses that are poorly managed or whose owners want to run away, negotiate prices, review materials, and complete the preliminary work.

Once this work is done, the bottom dog will look for debt bearers.

This is also a mature industry chain, with a considerable number of intermediaries. It’s easy to contact elderly people, terminally ill cancer patients, etc., and then these people will be brought in to serve as legal representatives or major shareholders.

The industry slang for this step is “getting a dog license.”

At this point, the bottom dog’s front-end work is finished, and the subsequent work will be handed over to the back-end “watchdogs.”

The watchdogs will be responsible for operating the store for a period, which could be three months or even half a year, just to ensure you can’t find any issues.

The watchdog is also a team. Some people in this team are responsible for store operations, management, and deregistration; there are professional legal personnel responsible for playing legal disputes with consumers; and there are specialists for dealing with regulators…

Because they don’t just do one project, but multiple projects simultaneously.

Why are they called professional closure agents? Because they have a deep understanding of the law in this area and can ensure that consumers, no matter how much they complain, won't get a single penny, even if they sue.

In short, it’s all about one word: stalling.

After closing, they definitely won’t just run away. Instead, they will actively communicate and offer you various solutions.

For example, installment refunds. Zhou Yun saw this in his previous life: refund in installments over thirty years. Would you accept that?

Of course not! It’s only a few thousand yuan, refunded over thirty years—that’s a joke.

Or they might transfer your membership to another store. But you need to know that they operate on multiple fronts, so there’s a high probability that the transfer will be to another store they operate.

It’s easy to drag things out for a year with this back-and-forth. By then, many people will lose the will to defend their rights, and at that point, it means the professional closure agent has completed their work.

Cheng Jingshu was dumbfounded listening to this: “This… this kind of situation exists now?”

Zhou Yun nodded: “Yes, in this situation, if you report it, the Public Security Bureau will tell you it’s an economic dispute and advise you to sue in Court.”

“But if you really go to Court and sue, winning is definitely not a problem, but it’s 100% impossible to enforce the judgment. That’s their expertise.”

Cheng Jingshu opened her mouth. She suddenly felt that her previous words about “standing her ground” were ridiculous.

The other party was so professional; it was impossible for them to fear her lawsuit.

“Then, Lawyer Zhou, does that mean I can only accept my bad luck?”

Zhou Yun was silent for a moment, then said, “Not necessarily. We can try other methods.”

Zhou Yun ultimately took on the case, and he planned to use this case to complete a task, because this case was big enough.

Cheng Jingshu had already said that there were about a hundred people defending their rights, but many of them weren’t serious about it; only a few people were truly committed.

As for Zhou Yun himself, he planned to use a feint while making a surprise attack!

His method was to open a gym himself, then pretend to run away, and use that to collect evidence!

This could be said to be the most foolish method, with no technical content, relying purely on brute force.

But this is the most effective method right now!

There are so many lawyers on the internet providing legal education, but if you look closely, they don’t actually offer any good solutions.

They talk about using criminal means, saying it involves “contract fraud” or “obstruction of liquidation,” but in such cases, if you report it, the Public Security Bureau will not file a case!

What do you do? You tell the Public Security Bureau what the lawyer said, and see if they listen to you.

If the Public Security Bureau doesn’t get involved, what else can an ordinary person do besides suing?

This is a very realistic problem; a lot of legal theories are useless.

So, how can you ensure the Public Security Bureau will definitely file a case? That is to thoroughly investigate the case and gather all the evidence. At that point, the Public Security Bureau has no reason to refuse.

Because this easily translates into KPI!

As for the biggest problem here, which is money, it’s easy to handle.

Because the better he completes this task, the more money he gets, plus the exchange points, there’s no way he could lose money.

However, the first thing to do now is to communicate with the “watchdog” side. The other party wants to stall him, but he wants to stall them even more!