Hearing Tang Qiu’s words, Chen Mo gave an awkward chuckle, then tentatively suggested,
“How about… another legal awareness campaign?”
Tang Qiu responded quickly,
“The Clothing Factory’s campaign was done yesterday. Boring Short Video and Cangxue Games had theirs the day before that. Nanhe Coffee’s was three days ago, done via video conference.”
“I’ve been doing at least two legal awareness sessions per month for each company.”
She spoke swiftly, clearly a little exasperated. In her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder—was this what President Chen hired her for at a million-yuan annual salary? Just to run legal awareness campaigns?
At this rate, in a few years, the employees of these companies would probably all be qualified lawyers. At the very least, they’d be more than capable of working as paralegals.
Ugh.
Chen Mo listened to her and found himself at a loss for what to assign next.
He thought to himself, reassigning her again just didn’t feel right either.
Tang Qiu really was something. Couldn’t she just enjoy some downtime? Sit in the office, scroll through videos, watch a few dramas—what’s wrong with that?
Why insist on finding work to do? Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?
Chen Mo truly couldn’t understand it. Employees at other companies were always looking for ways to slack off and do the bare minimum.
But his company? Forget slacking off. In all this time, he’d only ever caught one employee watching anime during work hours.
A massive corporation, and only one person slacking off?
Absurd.
And paid bathroom breaks—wasn’t that supposed to be normal?
Yet his employees would actually hold it in until break time, lining up to use the restroom, never even considering going during work hours.
Unbelievable!
“President Chen!”
Tang Qiu called out, seeing that he’d been silent for a while.
“Mm!”
Chen Mo snapped out of his thoughts. Looking at Tang Qiu sitting across from him, he thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with a good idea and spoke slowly.
“Tang Qiu, the company’s been running steadily, and there really isn’t much that needs your constant attention.”
“If you’re really feeling too idle, I’ll grant you a special privilege. While you’re employed with the group, you can take on other legal cases outside the company.”
“Of course, you’re free to take on side work, but it must not interfere with your responsibilities here.”
Since Tang Qiu couldn’t sit still, he might as well let her take on external cases—as long as she didn’t come bothering him, that was fine.
She always had work on her mind. But where was he supposed to find work for her every day?
Tang Qiu was touched by President Chen’s offer. She hadn’t expected him to give her such a privilege. In other companies, something like this would never be allowed.
But soon, a bitter smile appeared on her face.
“President Chen, you know my history. My reputation in the legal field isn’t exactly stellar right now. Even if I wanted to take on cases, I doubt anyone would hire me.”
After leaving Tiandi Law Firm, her name had been thoroughly tarnished, thanks to their smear campaign.
Even if a client initially considered hiring her, once they learned about her background, they’d quickly back out.
She had thought about revealing the full truth of what had happened.
But she lacked solid evidence. And deliberately losing a case was, without a doubt, a violation of a lawyer’s professional duty.
As a lawyer, one is supposed to defend their client, even if they’re guilty.
But her conscience wouldn’t allow her to defend criminals.
After much reflection, she realized she might not be suited to be a lawyer anymore. So she gave up on fighting Tiandi Law Firm and accepted her current role as a legal director.
Not a bad choice, all things considered.
Hmm!
Chen Mo’s eyes lit up as he studied Tang Qiu carefully.
Where else could he find a money-losing venture? Wasn’t she the perfect candidate, right in front of him?
If no one was willing to hire Tang Qiu as a lawyer, then if she started her own law firm, it was almost guaranteed she wouldn’t have any clients.
No clients meant no income.
And no income meant a loss-making business.
What a perfect company! And it would also solve the problem of Tang Qiu constantly asking him for work.
Perfect!
That settles it.
Chen Mo looked up and smiled at Tang Qiu.
“Tang Qiu, you’ve been with the company for over half a year now. Having you handle legal awareness campaigns and some company paperwork every day really doesn’t do your talents justice.”
“I’ve thought it over carefully. If this continues, we’d just be wasting your potential.”
“So, after much deliberation, I’ve decided to establish a law firm—and you’ll be its head.”
Tang Qiu’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth slightly agape.
Start a law firm? And make her the head?
But she quickly came back to her senses and shook her head.
“President Chen, I can’t. With my current reputation, if I become the head of a law firm, I doubt any clients would be willing to work with us.”
Being in charge of a law firm was certainly tempting.
But she knew her situation all too well. Putting her in charge would only drag the firm down.
“No problem.”
Chen Mo smiled and shook his head. No clients? That was exactly what he wanted.
“Reputation doesn’t matter to me. I believe in your ability. And you’re so dedicated and responsible—only with you at the helm would I feel at ease.”
“………”
“So, this law firm position is yours and yours alone. And setting up the firm doesn’t mean you’re leaving the group. You’ll still retain your role as the company’s legal director. If any internal legal issues arise, you’ll still be the one to handle them.”
After thoroughly brainwashing her, Chen Mo didn’t give Tang Qiu a chance to argue and finalized the plan on the spot.
Judging from President Chen’s tone, Tang Qiu knew there was no escaping the role of head of the law firm. But this could really affect the firm’s reputation. After thinking it over, she spoke up.
“President Chen, I’ll take the position of head, but I won’t make any public appearances at the firm. We can bring in a few highly competent lawyers to hold down the fort and minimize my influence. That way, we might still attract clients with real legal needs.”
“No way!”
Chen Mo rejected the idea without hesitation. Hiring a bunch of capable lawyers? That would just make things harder for him.
Still, Tang Qiu’s words gave him an idea.
The firm couldn’t rely on Tang Qiu alone. They definitely needed to hire more lawyers.
In that case, they had to be extra careful during recruitment. They couldn’t bring in anyone too skilled.
Yes!
The focus should be on interns. After all, law is a profession that requires time and experience to mature. Even if someone was top of their class during school, as a fresh intern, it would still take a long time before they could become a competent lawyer.
Exactly.
Chen Mo nodded to himself, then turned to Tang Qiu.
“Not only are we not hiring highly capable lawyers, we’re specifically looking for those with weak skills and little experience.”
“So, our recruitment target will be law graduates who are just starting their internships.”
