BXBX NOVEL Chapter 24: Chapter 24: This Neighborhood is Right!
Even putting aside the facts, just tell me if that apology didn\'t seem sincere!
Tang Fangjing didn\'t bother with the matter anymore because his mission was completed, and, without a hitch, he directly secured an extra year of life, which almost made him ecstatic enough to reach for the heavens.
Ever since he had arrived in this world, he had been on tenterhooks; cancer is just too unreasonable—it might seem like you have a good month left today, but by tomorrow, it could be down to just two weeks.
Now, with a bit over a year\'s life expectancy under his belt, he could finally relax for a few days.
And today, he was officially moving out of that dingy rental apartment and into his own place at Yuefu Residential Complex.
Apartment 1601 in Building 15, just over eighty-nine square meters, but with shared areas deducted, it whittled down to just over sixty. A modest two-bedroom, one-living-room flat.
It was worlds apart from where he used to live, but there was an inexplicable sense of peace living here.
I suppose, like blood infused into one\'s veins, living in a rented place never feels quite stable.
It\'s like the unexplained obsession civil servants have with the land of Qilu...
This complex was on the older side too, having been built over ten years ago, and it was very quiet.
After wandering around the complex a few times, Tang Fangjing more or less took everything in; it seemed harmonious, and maybe because it was an older complex, or perhaps because it was during working hours, there were mostly older people taking walks.
Well, let\'s head to the law firm first and see if there\'s any work.
The bar exam results were out, and, unsurprisingly, I had passed with flying colors. Now all that was left was to wait for my license to be issued, then I could start my formal internship.
Strolling hands behind my back, I arrived at the law firm where everyone was busy. Two young people who had interviewed with me had also joined and were already in the thick of it as interns.
This isn\'t an exaggeration at all; interns at a law firm generally are worked like beasts of burden...
So when Li Weilong saw Tang Fangjing casually sauntering into the law firm around ten or just before eleven, everyone was dumbfounded.
Hang on, we\'re all interns here, without licenses yet; why is there such a huge gap between us? Just because he has his own case sources? Does having case sources really make you that badass?
While he was mulling it over, his mentor called out, "Li, what are you spacing out for? Finish binding those photocopied files and bring them here, hurry up, and once you\'re done, help me pick up a package!"
Looking at the thick stack of files in his hands and then at the thermos in the other\'s, Li Weilong was suddenly not so keen on his job...
Tang Fangjing didn\'t care about this; he went straight to Old Tang\'s desk and found him huffing and puffing away at some files.
Why is it that some interns are so carefree while others bear the heavy load? Because someone is bearing it for them...
Old Tang was a commission-based lawyer, so naturally, Tang Fangjing was pretty free – as long as Old Tang allowed it, he could spend each day at the firm watching Ultraman and no one would bat an eyelid...
"Old Tang, busy?" asked Tang Fangjing, sipping water from his thermos.
Old Tang looked up and said, "Obviously, can\'t you see? How come I feel like I\'m the one interning for you now?"
"Hey, hey, you can\'t put it that way. We had an arrangement; I wouldn\'t lift a finger in my cases, name-only will do and I\'ll collect the cash. For your cases, I won\'t help at all, right?"
Old Tang looked dubious. That was the deal, but something didn\'t sit right...
"Just tell me about that public interest lawsuit; you got the money, right? There you go then. Anyway, a former coworker called me yesterday about suing my previous company. I\'ve asked them to come over this afternoon. You handle it.
"Charge the standard fees; you stay busy, I\'m off."
Old Tang nodded instinctively, continuing to work on his current task, and five minutes later...
Shit, who\'s the lawyer here, and who\'s the intern?
But then again, after pondering for a bit and thinking about the obscene amount of overtime pay, the legal fees for this case wouldn\'t be insignificant... So he reluctantly agreed to handle it but resolved to refuse anything beyond that!
Tang Fangjing, of course, had an important matter, he went straight to buy an electric bicycle because though a four-wheeler was out of reach, a two-wheeler was a must-have.
Only after he arrived back home and looked around did he realize that he had miscalculated a bit.
Old neighborhoods have their perks, but naturally they come with drawbacks, such as the imperfect electric bike shed.
It\'s a tiny space crammed full of bikes, and from time to time someone would come wanting to charge their bike, cursing at the sight.
Oh well, he decided to park it on the side for now. It could be used without charging for the time being.
As he strolled around, he came upon the gathering of elders. And you know what, listening to them gossip was quite interesting, from national affairs to which husband had taken a mistress or which girl had brought home a blonde, everything was clear as day.
In this respect, the old neighborhood was similar to a village; a decade-old community where almost everyone knew each other.
Thanks to his outgoing nature, it didn\'t take long for Tang Fangjing to join in the conversation with the elders. One of the ladies heard he had just moved in and even offered to set him up with someone...
They were too hospitable, and Old Tang was overwhelmed, so he made the excuse of needing to use the toilet to escape.
As afternoon approached, he naturally wouldn\'t go to the law firm, since he had bought some new electrical appliances that were to be delivered to his home, and he needed to wait for them.
He was idly scrolling through videos when his phone rang.
"Hello, ah, the delivery, right? I\'m at home, just bring it up... What? You can\'t get into the complex? What\'s going on?"
The delivery guy on the phone sounded helpless: "Someone\'s blocked the gate to the complex; not sure what\'s happening. Looks like the property management won\'t let him in... What should we do? Could you come down?"
"We\'ve got other people\'s orders in the car. Can\'t wait too long over at your place."
After hanging up, Tang Fangjing quickly went downstairs. He remembered Secretary Tian from the community mentioning something before about a small conflict between some residents and the property management...
But now, it seemed like it was no small conflict at all; they had blocked the gate!
He hurriedly got dressed and went downstairs, arriving at the entrance where the elders he had spoken with earlier were watching the commotion.
"Hey, Tang, you\'ve come too. Take a look; they\'re arguing again!" said Old Wang from Building 14.
"What\'s the reason for this? Why is the gate blocked?" Tang Fangjing asked as he examined the entrance.
To the naked eye, the entrance was obstructed by a white sedan, with three or four other cars waiting behind it.
"Isn\'t it all because of the fee dispute..."
After listening to Old Wang\'s explanation, Tang Fangjing finally understood that the white car\'s owner had purchased a parking space and was supposed to pay the management fee for it.
However, even after paying, the daily cleaning of trash and debris on the parking spot was neglected, adding to other ongoing issues. As a result, some car owners stopped paying the parking management fee.
Others went further, outright refusing to pay the property fee as a form of protest.
Well, the consequence was that the property management simply barred their cars from entering the complex...
It\'s no use saying that national regulations state property managers don\'t have this power, any schoolkid knows that it\'s usually the teachers, not the principal, who oversee them.
And today, they were being defiant.
After some thought, Tang Fangjing asked the delivery guy to go ahead with other deliveries and then walked to the entrance, where he heard a chorus of shouts.
"I own a parking spot; why won\'t you let me in? I\'ll stay right here today; go on, call the police. I don\'t believe there\'s no justice!" shouted a woman, seemingly in her thirties.
"So by blocking everyone else\'s way with your car, you think you\'re in the right? We\'ve called the police already, and like we\'ve told you, if you don\'t pay the parking management fee, your license plate gets on the blacklist. We can\'t lift the barrier, ma\'am. How can you be so unreasonable..."
Tang Fangjing was taken aback for a moment. It felt like fighting magic with magic...
Seems like he really picked the right complex to move into!