Chew Slowly Chapter 9

Chen Zongqian naturally didn’t know that there was a wound in his heart that could not be easily touched, and he was furious, speaking with the utmost malice and harshness. The colder Chen Zongqian’s expression became, the more delighted Xu Jian felt.

But Chen Zongqian didn’t trade insults with him. Finding it boring to just stare, Xu Jian turned his venom toward Yao Can.

He was truly a mad dog; there was no reasoning with him. Yao Can was so angry she laughed. Being a lawyer meant facing countless bizarre individuals.

“Since you are here to discuss the distribution of the inheritance, let’s talk about that today.” Chen Zongqian put his glasses back on and glanced at Yao Can. The latter immediately understood and took out a voice recorder and a tablet. The Police Officer naturally hoped they could resolve the issue through negotiation and lent them a corner table for their discussion.

Xu Jian knew that these lawyers were all sharp operators; one sentence could have eight hundred meanings, and he might inadvertently fall into a trap. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, but Chen Zongqian offered a few explanations that made Xu Jian waver.

In the past few days, Lu Xiaoyun was buried, and he had taken a look. That bastard child was diligently handling everything, which only irritated him further. When Xu Jian sought out people to drink with, they teased him, saying Lu Xiaoyun hated and despised him, and had hired a lawyer to ensure he wouldn’t get a single cent.

At the time, Xu Jian drank until he blacked out and couldn’t think straight. In his haze, he felt his body floating lightly. When he opened his eyes, a few debt collectors had grabbed him, punching him in the head and face, accompanied by angry shouts in his ear.

Money, money, money. Xu Jian had no money at all. He was beaten half to death and thought he absolutely had to get Lu Xiaoyun’s money.

He couldn’t distinguish the pros and cons, but the lawyers could. Those shrewd people’s words were effective. Xu Jian found out about the female lawyer Lu Xiaoyun had hired. As long as she said Lu Xiaoyun’s words didn’t count, he could get the money.

Chen Zongqian looked at the documents Yao Can had pulled up on the tablet, then raised his eyes to Xu Jian. This man was wary and defensive, but at the same time, he remained excited, anticipating a satisfactory outcome.

“Although the relationship between Lu Xiaoyun and you had long broken down, and you lived separately, she never filed for divorce. Your marital relationship remained in effect until her death. The creation of community property began when you legally obtained the status of husband and wife.” Chen Zongqian spoke methodically, but Xu Jian reacted unusually.

Xu Jian slammed the table hard: “I don’t understand. Are you trying to trick me?”

Chen Zongqian shook his head and said concisely: “It means that as long as you weren’t divorced, the marital relationship existed. The income you earned during this period—wages, bonuses—all belong to community property. After Lu Xiaoyun’s death, your marriage automatically dissolved, and inheritance began. Since she did not leave a will beforehand, according to the law, half of the community property should be allocated to the husband, and the other half divided among children, parents, and so on.”

This time, Xu Jian understood. He could still get Lu Xiaoyun’s money, and the surprise on his face was undisguised. But it was quickly replaced by gloom; he could only get half the money, and the other half had to go to that bastard child.

“Why should he get a share?” Xu Jian was indignant. He was greedy; half was not enough, and he wanted to seize all of Lu Xiaoyun’s inheritance.

Chen Zongqian looked at Xu Jian’s face, flushed and contorted with anger. Whenever Xu Qiaochuan, who was going to split the money with him, was mentioned, he displayed this venomous expression. He only used terms like “bastard” and “cheap goods” for Xu Qiaochuan, completely failing to treat him as his own biological son.

His relationship with Xu Qiaochuan was beyond merely distant; Xu Jian harbored resentment toward him.

Chen Zongqian recalled the meeting he had with Lu Xiaoyun. Although they didn’t interact much, he learned from Yao Can that Lu Xiaoyun had deep affection for her son, which seemed genuine.

The couple’s attitudes were vastly different, and Xu Qiaochuan showed resistance and disgust toward both of them, which was too strange.

“The law stipulates this. Your names are on the same household registration book, proving your identities and the relationship between family members. He is your son.”

“He is not!” Xu Jian clenched his fist and pounded the table.

Chen Zongqian lightly tapped the table with his finger, following up: “Was Xu Qiaochuan adopted by you?”

He didn’t want to delve into this question and vaguely glossed over it: “No, and he won’t have anything to do with my family in the future. All the money belongs to me.”

Seeing the other party shake his head, Xu Jian suddenly paused. He irritably shifted his gaze, exhaling two puffs of stale air from his lungs. Yao Can, sitting next to Chen Zongqian, pulled up a photo on her tablet. Xu Jian glanced at it and was stunned.

Yao Can said: “When Lu Xiaoyun left home, she made an agreement with you, right here on this paper. She said she would never ask you for a cent again, and likewise, you were not allowed to ask her for money either.”

The photo showed a white piece of paper with text stating that after leaving home, they would use their own money, and property would belong only to themselves. Two names were signed on that white paper. When Lu Xiaoyun made this agreement, she was very serious, specifically borrowing red ink paste to press her fingerprints.

Xu Jian didn’t know she had kept this thing, and he realized he had been set up so early on.

“This commitment letter is legally binding, including the money you later demanded from Lu Xiaoyun under the guise of ‘borrowing debt.’ These…” Yao Can lightly tapped the screen. The subsequent images were IOUs of varying sizes that Xu Jian had written over the years, which Lu Xiaoyun had kept. Lu Xiaoyun was extremely serious about financial transactions. “These IOUs are also legally binding. Your failure to repay on time is a breach of contract.”

Xu Jian had asked Lu Xiaoyun for money under various pretexts. After squandering it all, he completely forgot about the matter. Lu Xiaoyun’s attempts to reclaim the money were fruitless, forcing her to treat the money as if she had thrown it to the dogs. After Yao Can’s investigation and statistics, she found that Xu Jian owed her tens of thousands over the years.

“The assets you and your wife agreed to allocate separately do not belong to community property. Lu Xiaoyun’s personal property should be distributed according to her wishes before her death. I have recordings of my conversations with her, and not just me, the assistant lawyer was also present. Her explicit wish was to distribute it to…”

Xu Jian didn’t want to listen anymore.

It was late into the night when they left the Police Station. Chen Zongqian drove Yao Can back. All the way, she was dialing an international number that wouldn’t connect. It still hadn’t connected when the car stopped. But she didn’t care, as if she was used to the busy signal. She calmly hung up, calmly got out of the car, and calmly bid farewell to Chen Zongqian.

Chen Zongqian was even calmer than her. Yao Can noticed a hint of fatigue he inadvertently revealed and recalled the rebellious, unruly brat from high school. She asked, “You look tired. Want a cigarette?”

He shook his head: “I quit. They don’t like the smell of smoke.”

Yao Can knew he was referring to Teacher Du, but at this moment, she inexplicably thought of the chain-smoking, heavy-drinking Xu Jian. If indulgence leads to such an outcome, then quitting smoking was good. How could the difficulties of the world be resolved by a single cigarette or a few ounces of alcohol?

Besides, if that child really was Xiao Ran, he definitely wouldn’t like the smell of smoke even more.

Due to this incident, Yao Can took half a day off from the Law Firm. When she started work the next day, she found that Chen Zongqian, who was usually in the office, was gone. She asked around and learned he had arrived very early to pick up a letter of introduction from the Law Firm.

“Where is he going to use it?” Yao Can’s head was foggy. She distinctly remembered Chen Zongqian didn’t have any cases on hand.

The intern lawyer said: “He said he was going to a rural Police Station to check population information.”

Before going to Guantang Village, Chen Zongqian first went to the Garment Factory in the Fenghe Town Industrial Zone. The Old Dormitory Building where someone had died was quiet. The people who originally lived there had moved out, leaving an empty building that would soon be demolished.

Chen Zongqian was a materialist and didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits. Moreover, he had no grievances with Lu Xiaoyun; even if there were vengeful ghosts, they wouldn’t seek revenge on him.

There were still a few dark brown stains on the stairwell, still obvious even after more than half a month. Chen Zongqian quickly climbed the stairs and found Lu Xiaoyun’s dormitory based on memory. The door was locked and wouldn’t open, so he could only look inside through the glass window.

Unlike the cramped and crowded state when he first saw it, the room was now very clean, with nothing left inside. Xu Jian only wanted money and wouldn’t bother with cleaning. Chen Zongqian thought of the thin figure of Xu Qiaochuan that night.

He drove to Guantang Village. After passing several lotus fields and winding mountain ridges, the navigation finally indicated entry into Guantang Village territory. Chen Zongqian drove along the road. The address of the Xu family’s old house was in the documents, but it was hard to find in the mountain village.

This was a place completely different from the city, sparsely populated. It was only thanks to the policy of connecting every village with roads that cars could reach here.

Chen Zongqian was patient. He stopped and started, asking for directions all the way until he found the specific address of the Xu family’s old house.

The house was built on a hillside, an ancient place, built decades ago with red mud bricks, without external tiles. It stood out clearly against the green mountains. The road up was difficult for cars. Chen Zongqian parked and walked straight up.

Several clumps of wild plantains grew by the roadside, and the azaleas covering half the wall bloomed brilliantly. Walking up, free-range chickens and ducks were happy and free. Seeing Chen Zongqian approach, they spontaneously formed a circle to observe the strange visitor.

The homeowner heard the dog barking suddenly grow louder and realized something was happening outside. She came out holding a water-soaked green vegetable. This was a white-haired Granny. Seeing the person, she thought he was some kind of cadre or leader, and fearing the dog might offend him, she immediately called the mutt into the yard.

“Hello.” Chen Zongqian was gentle and polite, and his handsome, upright appearance easily garnered goodwill. “I wanted to ask if Xu Qiaochuan is here?”

Xu Qiaochuan? Granny rarely called the younger generation by their full names. It took her a moment to realize that was Xu Jian’s eldest son.

She said: “He is here, yes. He’s a wooden one, cold-hearted and quiet, that boy.”