Chew Slowly Chapter 1

“The case from the Legal Aid Center isn’t particularly bizarre, it’s just like all difficult cases.” It’s always about the clients being uncooperative.

Chen Zongqian was listening to the woman’s voice on the other end of the phone complain. She paused for a moment, followed by a burst of noise. Chen Zongqian frowned slightly. The person opposite him remained silent during this time.

Only after the noise subsided did she say, “I need you to run an errand pro bono… I’ve run into some trouble.”

It takes an hour to drive from the Law Firm to the Fenghe Town Industrial Zone. If Chen Zongqian left now without eating lunch, he would arrive at two in the afternoon, the hottest time of the day. No one wanted to run errands at this hour.

“My scope of work doesn’t include marital disputes.” Chen Zongqian specialized in civil and commercial litigation. He glanced toward the door. He was the only one in the Law Firm at this time.

The woman’s voice on the phone sounded urgent, as if she was walking quickly: “I know, but you’re the only one in the entire Law Firm who’s free…”

Chen Zongqian heard the dial tone; the call had ended. Soon, a message from “Yao Can” appeared on WeChat.

“Hurry up, I saw something you might be interested in.”

Yao Can was not without an assistant, but coincidentally, her assistant had called in sick today. She had originally thought that the legal aid case only required a quick look, but she hadn’t expected things to escalate like this.

Chen Zongqian was free, but he certainly wasn’t short on cases and didn’t need to exhaust himself running errands to drum up business. It would cost a lot of money to hire him, but Yao Can only needed one phone call.

When she was just squeezed out of the cramped factory dormitory, she saw a photo scattered among the album pages on the floor.

The people from the Community Women’s Federation and the Police Officers from the Police Station gathered in front. Yao Can couldn’t push her way back in, so she quietly retreated downstairs to wait. The woman’s crying was incessant. The Women’s Federation Director was comforting her gently. Yao Can remained silent, thinking about the child in that photograph.

Chen Zongqian’s phone screensaver was also a child, one he hadn’t changed for many years. But she had only glanced at it quickly then, and now, recalling it carefully, the face had become blurry. However, Yao Can remembered her first reaction, and she trusted a woman’s intuition.

At two in the afternoon, the female workers from the Garment Factory who had been watching the excitement dispersed to start work, and the area in front of the Old Dormitory Building instantly became much emptier. A woman’s intuition made Yao Can look up again, and she saw Chen Zongqian approaching with a shopping bag. His hair was meticulously neat, and his suit was well-tailored and fitted, complementing his tall, slender figure. He looked radiant, truly worthy of being called the star of Shengda Law Firm.

After sighing with admiration, Yao Can wanted to laugh. He handed her the paper bag containing casual shoes, and couldn’t help but frown when he saw the scrape on Yao Can’s ankle.

“It’s nothing. You’ll come in with me later. Her husband… uh.” Yao Can suddenly stopped. The scruffy man and the police walked past her.

She couldn’t connect him with the child in the photo; if she thought about it any longer, she wouldn’t be able to speak. Yao Can dismissed the distracting thoughts and briefly summarized the situation for Chen Zongqian.

This was a case received from the Legal Aid Center. She had initially thought it was a typical family dispute case and planned to have a simple conversation with the client today, so she had followed the Women’s Federation staff over.

“An unhappy marriage. Her husband is a compulsive gambler who owes Usury / Loan Shark Debt. He just caused a scene here with the debt collectors. They have been living separately for many years, and they have a child in Vocational School.” Yao Can took a wet wipe to clean the scrape on her leg. “In the past, sending some money could keep people from bothering her, but her husband didn’t repay the Usury / Loan Shark Debt he borrowed before the New Year, so when he couldn’t get money, he came here to cause trouble.”

Yao Can arrived at an unfortunate time, running right into the debt collectors gambling. She smiled helplessly. What kind of bizarre things hadn’t a marriage lawyer seen?

The woman was still crying, heartbroken that her husband was exploiting her and ashamed that she had completely lost face. When the female workers from the Garment Factory gathered around, she almost jumped off the building.

Yao Can’s face was expressionless as she spoke; these human affairs were simply her job. The Women’s Federation needed to protect women’s rights and had contacted Yao Can through legal aid.

“A divorce lawsuit shouldn’t be difficult for you,” Chen Zongqian said.

“But neither party wants a divorce. Their demands aren’t clear. They asked me to come for mediation.” Yao Can was Shengda’s star marriage lawyer. Not only did she make a trip for nothing, but now she had dragged Chen Zongqian along too. “Are you feeling wronged, just coming here to deliver shoes?”

Chen Zongqian didn’t speak. Yao Can chuckled softly and then said, “I have something to tell you, but don’t get your hopes up too high.”

The debt collectors who caused the disturbance were taken away by the Police Officers for ideological education. The upstairs area was empty, and Yao Can and Chen Zongqian could finally go up. This building was the oldest and most dilapidated in the Garment Factory. As they ascended, they were warned, “Walk close to the wall, and don’t lean on the railing.”

Chen Zongqian saw the rusty steel railing. Several poorly welded sections had broken off, leaving large gaps. He thought it would be difficult not to walk close to the wall.

The paint was peeling off the walls, exposing the cement and red bricks underneath. Yao Can said, “This place should be torn down soon.”

The client, Lu Xiaoyun, lived on the fourth floor. The building wasn’t very tall, and when Chen Zongqian looked out, the surroundings seemed very close. Clothes were hanging outside the corridor, and tall people were constantly “brushed” by them as they walked past.

Lu Xiaoyun had just been crying, her eyes were red and swollen, so she smoothed two strands of hair to cover her temples. She smiled apologetically at Yao Can, but when she saw Chen Zongqian, she suddenly froze, her gaze flickering and evasive. Chen Zongqian keenly sensed that the woman’s emotions were off, so he suggested waiting outside while Yao Can went in alone to talk to her.

“Okay…” Lu Xiaoyun didn’t look at him, answering in a low voice.

Yao Can glanced at Chen Zongqian but said nothing. The Women’s Federation Director had introduced Lu Xiaoyun to Yao Can beforehand. Although the woman didn’t talk much, she was gentle and polite. Being a poor host would be very embarrassing for her.

She must have been frightened by the man just now. Chen Zongqian was tall, and standing against the light made Lu Xiaoyun feel pressured. Working in this profession required reading people’s expressions. If a client chose to avoid or conceal information, it was not a good sign for them.

Chen Zongqian stood outside. The door wasn’t locked, and he could clearly hear Yao Can talking to the client. From where he stood, he could see most of Lu Xiaoyun’s dormitory. The place was small but piled high with things, indicating Lu Xiaoyun had lived there for a long time.

No matter how neatly things were arranged, too many items made the space look cluttered, especially since her husband had just come in to search, flip things over, and smash them. Even after a hasty cleanup, it was still a mess. Chen Zongqian moved a few steps to the side. Changing his angle, he saw the desk, and the photo album Yao Can mentioned was on it.

Inside, Yao Can asked, “Where is your child?”

Lu Xiaoyun replied, “He’s studying. He’ll be able to start working soon. His school has a contract with the hardware and mold factory. He’ll start as an apprentice and also live in the dormitory.”

Yao Can asked his age. Lu Xiaoyun lowered her head and smiled, “He’ll be eighteen during the New Year. He’s all grown up.”

The noise from the Garment Factory workshop was constant, but it was a rhythmic sound, repeating every day, seemingly never-ending. Chen Zongqian glanced at the factory building. He opened his phone. The screensaver was not a default image; it was a child.

It wasn’t a carefully staged, saccharine photo. Chen Zongqian had taken a picture of an old photograph. Because it was taken so long ago, the original photo was already blurry, and the image was a hastily captured moment.

The child was playing in a ball pit, with big eyes and long eyelashes, smiling happily. In the upper right corner, a line was written in blue ballpoint pen—Xiao Ran five years old at Seaside Park.

Chen Zongqian entered his password to unlock the phone. Yao Can had sent a message: “I’m looking at the photo album.”

When the child was mentioned, Lu Xiaoyun’s smile grew. Although her marriage was painful, her child was obedient and sensible. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t gotten into high school or university; Lu Xiaoyun was satisfied as long as he could earn money and support himself in the future.

Yao Can flipped through the album. There weren’t many photos of the child when he was young. Lu Xiaoyun remembered the year, time, and location of every picture. But there were no photos at ages five and six. They gradually became more frequent later, usually one or two per year. Yao Can flipped to the end. Although the child was growing taller, he looked consistently thin and weak and didn’t smile much.

“How is his relationship with his father?” Yao Can asked casually. The later photos almost only showed the mother and son. She suddenly recalled when she first came in to mediate, and the man suddenly erupted and fought with Lu Xiaoyun.

When Lu Xiaoyun refused to give him money, the man cursed her to die: “You and that bastard can go die together…”

“Not good. He’s at school, not at home.” Lu Xiaoyun’s expression was somewhat numb. When her peripheral vision caught sight of Chen Zongqian outside, her body instantly stiffened.

Yao Can flipped the album back. Lu Xiaoyun reached out, but finally just said, “Director, can you give it back to me? There’s nothing interesting to see.”

“I’m not the Director, just call me Lawyer Yao.” Yao Can smiled and returned the album. “Let’s stop here for today. If you have any questions, you can call me.”

Yao Can glanced at Chen Zongqian standing outside and checked the time on her phone. She thought to herself how much consultation fee Senior Lawyer Chen had lost in this short time.

She sighed. Chen Zongqian was playing mute, but Yao Can couldn’t hold back. She spilled everything: “He really looks like the child on your phone. I saw what he looks like grown up; his eyes and nose are similar to yours too.”

Chen Zongqian nodded and smiled, “Alright. The Police Station has a legal outreach event at the school tomorrow. I’ll go and take a look.”

Yao Can agreed, but quickly felt something was wrong. How did he find out about the school so quickly? She considered her words carefully: “I took the case. I should be the one to go see him.”

“I’m an intern. I’m the one running the errands.” Chen Zongqian crossed out his schedule for tomorrow and changed it to the legal lecture at the Vocational School. Their Law Firm always had legal outreach collaborations, so it wouldn’t be difficult for Chen Zongqian to tag along.

He was definitely going. Yao Can sighed, feeling guilty about wasting two days of Senior Lawyer Chen’s time. Yao Can felt the situation was uncertain and worried that Chen Zongqian might ultimately be disappointed.

“By the way, how old is your younger brother this year?”

Chen Zongqian turned off his screen and said, “He’s twenty this year.”