Chapter 174

Chapter 174: It Bears My Wife's Personal Signature "Sure, of course." Chu Tang put on a fake smile. "There's no reason to turn down money." Chu Tang sat down on the single sofa next to Jiang Shixu. The assistant poured tea for the two of them, then quietly left, closing the door behind her. Chu Tang curled her lips, picked up her teacup, and took a sip. "How does President Jiang want to cooperate?" Jiang Shixu took out two document folders. "These are the cases that currently need representation." He handed the folders to Ruan Chutang. Chu Tang took the folders. "Jiangshi Group is such a large corporation, and you, as its president, must be swamped with work. Do you really bother with trivial matters like litigation?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her words. But Jiang Shixu didn't seem to mind. He smiled, and said in a good-natured tone, "Cooperating with Lawyer Ruan is no trivial matter." Chu Tang pretended not to hear him. Expressionless, she opened the folders and began flipping through them. For a large enterprise like Jiangshi Group, even a single sales contract involved subject amounts in the tens of millions or hundreds of millions. The printed evidence would range from at least a thousand pages to several large boxes. There was no way Jiang Shixu could have brought all that evidence with him. The folders contained some consolidated case materials, listing the cases and evidence that Jiangshi Group intended to entrust for representation. Chu Tang skimmed through them. Jiangshi Group had many subsidiaries, spanning high-tech industries, hotel and catering, and fashion and jewelry. The materials concisely outlined the types of cases requiring representation, the claims, and the key evidence. At a glance, everything was clear and organized—clearly, they had already been preliminarily sorted. Each case had complete evidence: various contracts, bank statements of corporate account payments, chat records between company staff and the opposing party's staff, and all kinds of receipts were all preserved in full. Cases with such complete evidence carried low litigation risk and a high probability of winning. Any lawyer would love to take on cases like these. After reviewing the materials, Chu Tang smiled with an unreadable expression. "Thanks, President Jiang." Jiang Shixu's gaze rested on Chu Tang, a faint smile hidden in his eyes. "You're welcome, Lawyer Ruan." Ruan Chutang nodded. "I'll go have my assistant print out the representation agreement. Please wait here a moment." "Alright." Chu Tang stood up, opened the door, and walked out. The moment she stepped out of the conference room, she saw everyone gathered around the table in the main hall. Xiao Xiao spotted her and said excitedly, "Lawyer Ruan, today Lawyer Lu is treating the whole firm to coffee! Lawyer Lu is so generous—he even ordered Starbucks!" Chu Tang smiled and said half-jokingly, "Looks like we picked the right partner." Yu Jiaojiao sidled over and whispered to Ruan Chutang, "Sister Chu Tang, I think I just saw President Jiang come in. Did I see wrong? Is that him in the conference room?" The first time Yu Jiaojiao had laid eyes on Jiang Shixu, she'd been utterly awestruck. After witnessing the sweet interaction between Jiang Shixu and Ruan Chutang at the bar with her own eyes, she'd become the head of their CP fan club. Later, when Jiang Shixu helped find a matching bone marrow donor and saved Liu Yue's life, Yu Jiaojiao felt deeply grateful to him. In short, she firmly shipped Jiang Shixu and Ruan Chutang as a couple. Chu Tang hummed in acknowledgment. Yu Jiaojiao craned her neck to peer at the conference room behind Chu Tang. "Did President Jiang come to get back together with you?" Chu Tang shot her a look and lightly flicked her on the forehead. "What are you thinking? President Jiang is here to discuss cooperation." "What kind of cooperation requires President Jiang himself to come in person? Does our firm really have that much clout?" Yu Jiaojiao gave Chu Tang a meaningful smile. "Those who know, know." "Go drink your coffee." Chu Tang pretended to glare at her as she walked past. After printing out the contract, she re-entered the conference room and saw a cup of Starbucks coffee sitting in front of Jiang Shixu. It looked like one of the ones Lu Shuci had bought for everyone. Seeing her glance at the coffee, Jiang Shixu said with a half-smile, "One of your firm's young associates just brought it over. Said Lawyer Lu was treating everyone to coffee." The man looked at Chu Tang, a playful smile curling at his lips. "There's even one for me. Lawyer Lu really is generous." "President Jiang probably hasn't had this kind of coffee before," Chu Tang said casually. "If it doesn't suit your taste, don't drink it. Leave it for someone who'd appreciate it. Don't waste it." Jiang Shixu smiled but said nothing. "The contract is printed. Take a look—if there are no issues, shall we sign now?" Chu Tang handed the thick stack of A4 paper to Jiang Shixu. "Alright." Jiang Shixu took the contract, then pulled out his phone and made a call. "Come up now." "Yes, President Jiang." Five minutes later, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, wearing glasses, appeared at the firm. Jiang Shixu introduced him. "The legal representative, Cheng Ming." Chu Tang nodded and greeted him politely. "Hello, President Cheng." "Hello, Lawyer Ruan." Cheng Ming sat down, took out a company seal and a pen from his briefcase, and began signing the contract with practiced ease. The law firm required two copies of the contract for each entrusted agency case, one for each party. Jiang Shixu had entrusted many cases, and just signing the contracts alone was enough to tire his hand out. Chu Tang curled the corner of her mouth. Wow, so Jiang Shixu had actually brought someone along just to sign contracts. Cheng Ming didn't even glance at the contracts before signing them, scribbling his signature rapidly. Chu Tang asked, "President Cheng, don't you want to take another look before signing?" "Our President Jiang has already reviewed them, so there's definitely no problem." Cheng Ming didn't even lift his head, signing away like a signing robot. "..." Chu Tang paused for a moment. "Your President Jiang didn't review them either." Cheng Ming suddenly froze, looking up at Jiang Shixu with a stiff expression. "President Jiang, this..." "It's fine." Jiang Shixu smiled. "It's our own law firm. Just sign casually." Chu Tang: "..." Since when am I one of your own people? Cheng Ming's stiff expression suddenly became lively again, nodding and bowing with a smile. "Alright, alright." After signing and stamping the contracts, Cheng Ming handed them to Jiang Shixu. "President Jiang, I've signed them. Please take a look." "Give them to Lawyer Ruan." The man instructed in a calm tone. "Okay." Chu Tang looked them over. "No problem. I'll sign my side and give you a copy." Jiang Shixu handed the Starbucks cup to Cheng Ming, a smile curling at his lips. "Good work. Let me buy you a coffee." Cheng Ming was flattered and hurriedly took the coffee, thanking him repeatedly. "Thank you, President Jiang. Thank you, President Jiang." Jiang Shixu seemed to be in a great mood, his brow slightly raised. "You're welcome." Chu Tang: "..." You really know how to be generous with other people's things. Chu Tang stamped and signed the contract, then placed it in a kraft paper document envelope and handed it to Cheng Ming. Cheng Ming reached out to take it, but Jiang Shixu snatched it away. Jiang Shixu said with a smile, "Pleasure working with you, Lawyer Ruan." Chu Tang's face was expressionless. "Pleasure working with you." After leaving the law firm and stepping into the elevator, Cheng Ming walked up to Jiang Shixu and said, "President Jiang, let me hold the contract." Jiang Shixu's beautiful long eyes shimmered with a smile, his mood cheerful. "It has my wife's personal signature on it. What would you want to hold it for?" Cheng Ming: "..." The clown really was me all along.