Chapter 34: Like a Family of Three

"Go ahead and buy it, just remember to get an invoice."

Lu Liang sighed, feeling that choosing Tang Caidie had indeed been the right decision. An experienced hand in the office is like a treasure; had he hired an inexperienced fresh graduate, he would likely have had to handle these trivial matters himself.

Zhang Qian, holding her daughter, sat nearby and accidentally caught a glimpse of their chat history. "You started a company?"

"It’s easier to get things done with a company," Lu Liang replied without elaborating. He watched Ye Wei engage in a battle of wits, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

A lawyer with a five-thousand-yuan appearance fee, who also charged extra based on the complexity of the case, was someone most people would hesitate to hire. But looking at it now, you get what you pay for; Lu Liang didn't have to say a word, and Ye Wei handled everything perfectly.

The woman had initially been unrelenting—after all, she had never been treated this way in her life and had even threatened to sue Lu Liang for intentional assault. But then her husband arrived, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a sharp suit, looking every bit like a government official. After a brief exchange with Ye Wei to understand the situation, the husband decided to settle privately, with no compensation required.

Zhao Qiangmin glanced at the bruise on Zhang Yun’s face, his expression filled with guilt. "Little one, I’m sorry. Uncle apologizes to you on behalf of Auntie and Jiaqi. Please, can you forgive them?"

Public officials dread being entangled in lawsuits. While they could accuse Lu Liang of assault, Lu Liang could just as easily counter-accuse them. The fact that he was able to secure a professional lawyer at a moment’s notice proved he had the strength to fight them to the bitter end. A physical altercation between an adult and a primary school student carried a completely different weight than one between two adults. In the end, they would be the ones to suffer.

The little girl, at a loss, instinctively looked at Lu Liang. Ever since he stood up for her, the vague, blurry figure in her mind began to take on a clear shape.

"Qianqian, what do you think?" Lu Liang asked, puzzled. Could such a shrill woman really have such a reasonable husband? He suddenly recalled the teachers' bias toward the woman earlier, vaguely guessing the man’s profession and understanding why he had backed down.

"I’ll listen to you." Zhang Qian swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. In truth, she didn't want to dwell on it anymore, but she wasn't sure of Lu Liang’s stance, so she decided it was better to let him handle it.

Lu Liang pondered for a moment and didn't make things too difficult. "Have your wife apologize, and have your son write an essay of self-criticism. They need to properly make amends to our child."

"That’s only right." Zhao Qiangmin breathed a sigh of relief; Lu Liang was more reasonable than he had expected.

The woman lowered her head, her earlier shrillness gone, her face swollen and drooping. "Little one, I’m sorry. I was just a bit emotional earlier."

Beside her, Zhao Jiaqi threw a tantrum, crying, "I don't want to apologize to her! Dad, aren't you a director at the Education Bureau? Just have her expelled!"

As soon as these words were out, everyone froze. In such situations, the greatest taboo is using one's official position to suppress civilians. Once caught in such a scandal, it is incredibly easy to lose one's position.

Lu Liang smiled. "So, you’re Director Zhao. No wonder Young Master Zhao is so imposing; you certainly have a way of 'teaching' your children."

Zhao Qiangmin’s face darkened. Sensing Lu Liang’s mockery, he slapped Zhao Jiaqi across the face in front of everyone. "Shut up! It’s all because your mother spoiled you." He had no choice but to lower his posture even further. "Mr. Lu, Ms. Zhang, I apologize for my negligence in my child’s upbringing due to my work over these years."

Zhang Qian quietly tugged at Lu Liang’s sleeve, wary of the director's status, signaling him to let it go and not push things too far.

"Director Zhao is so devoted to his public duties that he neglected his family education—that is truly something we admire," Lu Liang remarked with a smile, capping off his jab. He crouched down to look at Zhang Yun. "Little darling, shall we forgive Uncle Zhao and the little boy?"

"Okay~" The little girl didn't fully grasp the meaning, but her anger had long since faded.

"Little one, thank you." Zhao Qiangmin took a deep look at Lu Liang, fully understanding his subtext. As a leader in the education department, neglecting family education while his son boasted of using power to suppress others was a case of knowing the law and breaking it, a double offense. Lu Liang was giving him a warning: it was best to let this end here. If there were any further issues, he wouldn't mind fighting to the end.

At 7:00 PM, both parties walked out of the police station.

Zhao Qiangmin said with a sincere tone, "Mr. Lu, please rest assured. I will personally supervise his self-criticism tonight and have him apologize to classmate Zhang Yun in front of the entire school tomorrow."

"Director Zhao, you are a reasonable man. We trust you." Lu Liang smiled as he watched them leave.

At this moment, Ye Wei walked up to Lu Liang and whispered, "Mr. Lu, I recorded the entire conversation." It was his professional habit. If Lu Liang wanted to pursue it further and stir up some public heat, Zhao Qiangmin’s career would be finished for good. Although the saying goes that commoners shouldn't fight officials, there were levels to it; Zhao Qiangmin was 39 and a section-level official—he was doing alright, but not untouchable.

"There are no backups, right?" Lu Liang asked.

Ye Wei shook his head. "This is the only copy."

"Attorney Ye, let’s leave it at this for now. Send me an invoice later." Lu Liang took the digital recorder.

"Mr. Lu, here is our firm’s business card. If you need anything in the future, feel free to contact us." Ye Wei took his leave.

"You don't really plan on digging deeper, do you?" Zhang Qian asked, worried.

"Better safe than sorry; having it is better than not." Lu Liang didn't intend to pursue it further, but if the other party tried to settle scores later, he wouldn't mind pulling out his list of evidence.

"Little darling, are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Uncle Lu will take you." He crouched down and brushed back Zhang Yun’s bangs. After applying the medicinal oil, the redness and swelling had subsided, though a bruise remained.

The little girl’s moods came and went quickly. She stole a glance at her mother. "Then I want to eat McDonald's."

Zhang Qian sighed helplessly and stroked the girl’s hair. "Alright then, let’s go eat."

"Yay!"

The little girl skipped along happily, holding Lu Liang’s hand with her left and Zhang Qian’s with her right. Zhang Qian secretly glanced at Lu Liang, a feeling hard to describe welling up inside her—it felt just like a family of three. She owed a lot to Lu Liang today, and it even gave her the thought that perhaps, staying like this wouldn't be so bad. It didn't matter what happened to her, as long as Lu Liang was good to her daughter.

McDonald's was just at the intersection ahead. Lu Liang hadn't driven, so the three of them walked over.

"How have things been lately?" After ordering, he carried the tray back to their table and asked about Zhang Qian’s recent situation and her mother’s health.

"My mom is getting on in years, so she probably needs a lot of rest. I’ve hired two caregivers to look after her in shifts." Zhang Qian paused, then began to talk about her market scouting that afternoon, mentioning a medium-sized beauty salon that was up for transfer.

"Tell me about it." Lu Liang rested his chin on one hand, carefully tending to the little girl. "Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you."

A flicker of tenderness crossed Zhang Qian’s eyes as she spoke softly, "That salon has three and a half years left on its lease. The interior decor is about eighty percent new, all equipment is complete, and the technicians are all there. The total transfer fee is 1.3 million."

"Can it break even?" Lu Liang asked.

"Don't look down on me, okay? I’ve done my research. That salon has a net profit of at least 80,000 a month." Zhang Qian glared at him. She used to be a client there; the environment was great, and many wealthy ladies held membership cards.

Lu Liang was puzzled. "If the net profit is really 80,000 a month, that’s 1.6 million in two years. Why would they want to transfer it?"

"Rumor has it the owner embezzled public funds to play the stock market and got his capital tied up, to the point where he can’t even pay the staff’s wages." As she said this, Zhang Qian couldn't help but look at Lu Liang. Thankfully, she had listened to him last week and cleared her positions early. Although she missed out on two limit-ups, she had successfully avoided the stock market crash. Furthermore, to invest in the salon, she had withdrawn all her money, not even buying any funds.

In the last few days, her social media feed had been filled with complaints—stocks had plummeted, and funds had crashed even worse.