Chapter 783: Chapter 279: Outrageous! Personally sending a teammate in!
Moreover, Qin Mu hadn’t shown any signs of panic at the pre-trial meeting just now. He had spoken confidently and fluently, first challenging the judge, then George. When facing George, he didn’t flinch at all. He didn’t resemble an intern lawyer at all.
Could what Lao Liu said... actually be true? Chen Tiankuo swallowed hard and couldn’t help but glance at Qin Mu beside him.
This time, he had volunteered to help at the request of a good friend. When his friend called him, his friend had plainly told him to just be a figurehead. Everything else should be left to Qin Mu; he didn’t need to worry about a thing.
Originally, he had thought his friend was joking and hadn’t taken it seriously. Who knew... Qin Mu would be so formidable, actually teaching him a lesson at the pre-trial conference.
"Let’s go, it’s time to head back."
At the lawyers’ table, Qin Mu saw that others had begun to leave and also stood up. Taking Zhang Qingyuan and Feng Cuihua with him, he prepared to leave the pre-trial courtroom.
Seeing this, Chen Tiankuo hurried to follow. The group returned to their hotel.
As soon as they arrived, the elderly tourists from the tour group rushed to surround them, asking about the situation at today’s pre-trial meeting.
"How did it go? Did the court come up with any settlement proposals?"
"Did the other party propose any excessive demands? To think they even have pre-trial meetings abroad—it’s so troublesome."
"Did we win today? Do we still have to pay the money?"
"While you were at the pre-trial meeting, people from the tour group came again. They said they were preparing to go to the next stop and asked each of us to pay an additional thousand yuan for travel expenses."
"This scamming tour! I should never have chosen it just because it was cheap!"
"..."
While asking about the progress, they started cursing the tour group staff.
Unlike Zhang Qingyuan, they had already succumbed to pressure and paid the twenty thousand yuan. They had hoped to appease the tour group, thinking that yielding an inch would be enough. But unexpectedly, the tour group had no intention of letting them off and kept trying to fleece them.
This time, influenced by Zhang Qingyuan, they hadn’t given a single cent. The tour group staff, presumably not expecting this solidarity, had cursed and left.
"Well, today—" Zhang Qingyuan looked at the elderly people traveling with him and deliberately drew out his words, keeping everyone in suspense. Only then did he casually announce, "Today, we achieved a total victory!"
Then, under everyone’s expectant gazes, he recounted an embellished version of what had happened in the pre-trial courtroom. "Honestly, the opposing lawyer was quite skilled, but unfortunately for them, they ran into me... COUGH, COUGH, and Xiao Qin!"
He bobbed his head, looking incredibly pleased, as if the victory was entirely his achievement!
In his telling, the opposing lawyer had performed exceptionally well, but he hadn’t relented in the slightest, arguing his points forcefully. Combined with Qin Mu... the two of them had completely crushed the opposition.
"Old Zhang, you... you’re that formidable?"
After Zhang Qingyuan finished, the elderly tourists looked at him, their faces filled with surprise and amazement, as they curiously examined him.
"I never would have guessed! You’re usually so quiet. Who knew you were also well-versed in law? And foreign law, at that?"
"Amazing, truly amazing! Old Zhang, you really keep your talents hidden."
"I knew it all along! You’re not just anybody. In our whole group, apart from me, you’re the most impressive!"
"By the way, Old Zhang, what’s the situation now? Can we get our money back?"
"..."
Everyone showered Zhang Qingyuan with praise. Once the compliments died down, they began to inquire about the subsequent developments in the case. The reason they hadn’t left yet was their unwillingness to give up. They wanted to reclaim the money this tour group had conned them out of. This money... was their life savings; every penny lost pained them.
"At this..." Zhang Qingyuan’s old face flushed red, and he didn’t dare continue his act. He quickly stepped behind Qin Mu, letting him explain the current status of the case.
Qin Mu stepped forward and said to the crowd, "Currently, we only have a temporary advantage. Nothing is settled yet. The other party... still has many ways to respond."
He didn’t make any overly optimistic promises.
He had indeed caught the opposition off guard in the pre-trial courtroom today. But in reality, it wasn’t enough to force them to concede immediately. These fraudulent tour operators were the type to never give up until they hit a dead end; they were unlikely to return the money so easily.
"We still have to continue with the lawsuit? Doesn’t that mean getting our money back is a distant dream?"
"If it really doesn’t work out, I might as well give up and buy a plane ticket home."
"Twenty thousand yuan! I must have been blind to trust this tour group."
"There are too many scams these days. Society is too complex, and people are too fickle."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the elderly tourists all showed expressions of disappointment. They didn’t hold out much hope for the outcome.
Over the past few days, they had also called their children and learned about some relevant laws, which only deepened their regret. Contracts or agreements should never be signed carelessly. Once signed, one would be subject to many legal responsibilities. It wasn’t something that could be resolved simply by claiming they were scammed.
They currently couldn’t provide any evidence that the tour group had tricked them into signing; at the time, they hadn’t made any video or audio recordings. It was just their word against the tour group’s. Going to court like this made it very easy to lose the case.
"Mr. Qin, this case... will likely become even more challenging later on," Chen Tiankuo, having calmed down from his earlier excitement, remarked earnestly. "They were caught off guard today, which is why they lost their composure. Once they recover, they will definitely have a counter-strategy."
