Chapter 29: Let Me Tell You a Case

As Lu Fan spoke, the woman’s expression shifted from initial frailty to a growing ferocity. She clenched her fists tightly and shrilled, "What do you know? I have two younger brothers in school and an elderly parent paralyzed at home; I need money. If it were just me, I would have fought them to the death long ago."

Lu Fan was not surprised by this, but he could not help but regard her with a bit more respect. However, he remained merciless. "Then you are even more of a fool. This factory used to be profitable. You were the accountant and the boss’s mistress; if you didn’t think to secure your own family’s welfare then, how much longer do you think the factory can last now that it’s failing? Do you really think Old Ding will still have money for you when the time comes?"

The woman’s expression turned vacant again, and she fell silent.

"If I’m not mistaken, there’s no money left in the company accounts, is there?"

"There’s sixty thousand left—it’s the money for this month’s raw materials—but Old Ding is dragging his feet and won't let me pay it out."

Lu Fan sneered, "A measly sixty thousand? That’s not even enough for your emotional distress. How long have you been with Old Ding, sleeping with him every day? Do you think your investment has yielded any return?"

"It’s not enough! I do the work of several people—I’m the accountant, the procurement officer, the statistician, and the shipping clerk. Those were all separate positions, but eventually, they all became my job. On top of that, I have to serve him every few days. That bastard Old Ding only pays me fifteen hundred a month," the woman said, grinding her teeth.

"Old Ding is truly scum. Count them up yourself: that’s five positions, and you’re only getting fifteen hundred. Not to mention, you have a high-income ‘position’ in there that’s usually paid by the session. Just now, as I passed the workshop, I heard the workers whispering. They’ve heard the rumors that the factory has a huge backlog of stock and is about to go under. They’re already planning how to demand their wages. When that happens, forget about the sixty thousand—there won't be a cent left. If you don't have money to bring home, what will happen to your parents and your brothers?"

"You're right... what should I do?"

Lu Fan shook his head. "How would I know? That’s your own business." He paused, then added, "However, seeing your situation reminds me of a case. My father was a police officer, and he used to tell me cases like stories. It was a labor dispute at a company, much like yours—one person holding multiple positions."

Lu Fan’s eyes flashed with reminiscence. "After he fell out with the company, he demanded compensation based on every position he held. He calculated his wages based on the social average for each role and his own working hours, listing several different jobs."

"First he asked the company, and when they refused, he filed for labor arbitration. Labor law has a standard: equal pay for equal work. If you perform a job, you are entitled to the corresponding wage. He won the arbitration, but the Labor Bureau doesn't have much enforcement power. Since the company wasn't doing well, they just kept dragging it out. So he sued them, won in court, and eventually, the court enforced the judgment."

"My father said he won so quickly because he had the employment contracts for each position, which specified the salary for each role, plus an appointment letter that clearly stated his duties and confirmed he held all those positions. The court relied on these documents for the judgment—they were the key evidence! It’s a good thing those documents were stamped with the official seal, otherwise, it would have been difficult."

The woman’s eyes began to flicker with a frantic light.

Lu Fan continued, "After the court ruling, when the company paid the employees, every transaction note explicitly stated which position and what time period the payment was for. Even though the company was in financial trouble and facing liquidation, employee wages have priority among all creditors. So, even if nothing else gets paid, the staff get paid first."

Just as Lu Fan was about to add more, a commotion broke out outside the office. A group of middle-aged women pushed aside Old Huang, the warehouse keeper, and surged toward the storage area.

"Once they finish checking the warehouse, the next place they’ll come to blockade is accounting," Lu Fan remarked, pointing outside.

The woman scrambled to her feet, pulled the official seal, the finance seal, the legal representative seal, and a stack of blank checks from her drawer, and stuffed them into her bag.

Lu Fan pulled two thousand yuan from his pocket and held it in his hand. "This two thousand is for the goods I picked up yesterday. Write me a receipt, stamp it with the official seal, and I won't give this money to Old Ding."

Without a second thought, the woman scribbled "Received two thousand yuan for goods" on a receipt slip. She took the seal, breathed on it, and stamped it firmly. Then, she shoved the entire receipt book into Lu Fan's hands.

Lu Fan tore off the receipt and tucked it into his pocket. He then pulled a sheet of paper from under the glass on the desk—it had two lists of phone numbers, one for suppliers and one for distributors. He wrapped the two thousand yuan in this paper and handed it to the woman, muttering to himself, "If you're going to do something, you might as well do it thoroughly."

The woman looked at him deeply, took the money and the list, stuffed them haphazardly into her bag, and hurried out.

When Lu Fan and Bai Lu stepped outside, they could only see her riding away on a small motorbike. Bai Lu looked at her retreating figure with a complex expression. "Are we being too harsh?"

"Last night, I heard my aunt say that when she came to pick up goods, this man surnamed Ding harassed her. I’ve been looking for a chance to get back at him for her, and today, the opportunity finally arrived." Lu Fan watched her reaction before continuing. "Bai Lu, do you think I’m a bad person?"

Bai Lu shook her head. "I can't really say."

Lu Fan said, "You’re almost an adult; you should know that the world is complex. There are no strictly good or bad people—only 'our people' and 'outsiders.' You can never be too kind to your own, and you can never be too ruthless to outsiders."

"This is just normal business competition. The Thirty-Six Stratagems include sowing discord, borrowing a knife to kill, and looting a burning house. These are the wisdom of our ancestors; I’m just putting them to use."

"Hmm! These are hard to learn," Bai Lu said, looking conflicted.

Lu Fan replied, "If you can't learn them, that's fine. In business, sometimes sincerity is the ultimate trump card. These are just minor tactics; don't force yourself if you can't master them."

"Then I’ll stick to sincerity! That’s the easiest to learn." A smile reappeared on Bai Lu’s face, and it looked very genuine.

At that moment, the group of middle-aged women who had finished inspecting the warehouse hurried over. "Hey, you two haven't left yet? Is Zhu Xiaoman around? Has Old Ding returned?"

Lu Fan shook his head. "I don't know. What happened? Did you check?"

"We checked. That dog Old Ding has a warehouse full of stock, at least tens of thousands of items. With so many clothes, it must be worth hundreds of thousands. No wonder the factory hasn't been paying us on time—last month we only got a base salary, and they didn't even calculate our commissions."

"Big sister, I’m in the clothing business, so I know what’s valuable in a factory. With so many new clothes sitting in the warehouse, what are you worried about? But let me be clear: you can't just loot them, that’s against the law. You just need to assign people to guard the stock. If the factory really can't pay your wages, you can take the clothes as payment."

The women nodded, thinking Lu Fan’s advice made sense. These clothes were worth hundreds of thousands; as long as they kept watch and didn't let Old Ding sneak them away, their wages were secured.

"However, that’s a last resort. You should still demand your wages first. Maybe there’s money in the accounts. If not, you can report it to the Labor Bureau, or hang a black-and-white banner at the factory gate. Surely you’ve seen how people go about collecting unpaid wages before?"