Chapter 80: Chapter 68: Promote one for me too, huh?
If it were just news about a lawyer being stabbed, the comment section would basically be unreadable.
Thanks to various deeds of former lawyers, the reputation of this profession had long been compromised.
But this time, there was a video.
Not only that, in the video Old Tang didn't back down after the other party brandished a knife; the words he hurled felt so satisfying to the workers who heard them!
Nowadays, to be honest, the thing workers hate the most is wage arrears.
In this respect, it doesn't matter if they're migrant workers or white-collar and gold-collar workers, they all share the same sentiment.
I provided my labor, so I should receive my compensation; this is a natural right!
Not only that, Lawyer Tang in the video still didn't cower after being stabbed, which made many people suddenly remember him.
"These words really hit home for me, and that guy with the knife even had the audacity to say his life was ruined, what bullsh*t!"
"And this Lawyer Tang, it seems he's some kind of internet celebrity, but to be honest, for doing this kind of thing, he really deserves to be famous!"
A profession really doesn't prove anything; noble professions also have lousy people.
This big V by the name of "Fast and Furious" was a well-known ranter online, always ready to spew on anything with remarkable combat power.
But this time, instead of ranting, he was complimenting while starting to share widely to increase the video's popularity.
The video was shared in all sorts of places, and even on the famously foul-mouthed forums, there were no odd comments this time; Tang Fangjing in the video was just too manly!
Besides, other lawyers had started helping to share the video, as this kind of direct physical attack sent chills down many lawyers' spines.
No matter how strong your professional skills, they were useless in the face of such an incident.
In Magic City, lawyer Old Zheng didn't know what to do; he didn't want to share, feeling that this Tang fellow was just fishing for fame.
He even thought the whole incident was fake, after all... how could it be possible for a lawyer to behave like that!
How much could that legal fee possibly be? Was it worth risking his life?
But there was no choice; many people were mentioning him, asking him to step out. As an internet celebrity lawyer, he had to ride on this wave of popularity.
After some thought, Old Zheng shared the video with his main account and attached the message: Get well soon.
At the same time, he posted a comment using his alt account.
"I see everyone praising Tang Fangjing for being brave and ready to face death, but what I'm curious about is, why did he say those things? Weren't those words just meant to provoke the other party?"
"To be honest, this smacks a bit of a publicity stunt..."
Within five minutes of posting, the comment garnered hundreds of replies, all denouncing it.
"You think of it as a shady lane": A publicity stunt? So you're stunting with your own life, guaranteeing you'll survive? F*ck, there are such morons too, huh.
"I like to paint": Publicity stunt, huh? Dear netizen, you too can perform such a stunt, and I'm sure you'd become an overnight sensation, but the question is, do you dare?
A gentleman judges the deed, not the intention; there's no perfect soul in this world.
We only look at what he did, not at what he was thinking.
If someone does good deeds for fame, helps many people, can we negate those deeds because they sought fame?
Moreover, when someone "stunts" with their own life, isn't that price just a tad too steep?
Old Zheng's alt account was so blasted he didn't dare show his face, but obviously, the world would never be short of detractors.
"Leisure Clouds and Wild Cranes": I admit the guy's got guts, but who knows how much money he took behind the scenes? If I were given enough money, I could disregard my life too. Any problem with that?
These days, attacks are mostly like this, either low blows or about money.
In Jingzhou Province, inside an electronic factory, Jin Xintian, who had just finished resting from his stint on the assembly line, was arguing with netizens online.
He couldn't believe anyone could be so noble without a reason; it must be either for money or something else.
"Look, no one can provide solid evidence right now; all the rumors are vague, which means nobody really knows the truth. How can you assert that Tang Fangjing didn't make enough money?"
"Migrant workers claiming their wages, sounds good, but who knows what's really going on!"
After typing away frantically and seeing his break time was over, Jin Xintian had no choice but to put down his phone and prepare to head back to the assembly line.
He was not old, only sixteen, a student from a vocational school in Jingzhou, sent by the school to work in this electronics factory under the guise of an internship; without hard work, there would be no diploma.
The high intensity of work, with wages less than half of what social workers received, left Jin Xintian feeling pressured all day.
He wanted to run, but he worried about not receiving a diploma if he did, so he went online and ranted about everything, not caring if he was wrong or right. It was purely out of the desire to vent.
Jingzhou City's First Hospital, Miss Xiao Yan outside the hospital room was fuming with anger. She was using her secondary account to counter the arguments, but to no avail—people kept saying she had no evidence.
And she didn't dare to reveal her real identity.
Just then, as Miss Xiao Yan looked up, she spotted Old Song approaching from not far away.
"Teacher Song, how serious is Brother Tang's problem?"
Being called Teacher Song by herself and Brother Tang by Old Tang, the difference was just too big.
Old Song murmured to himself, but still said, "It's nothing serious, the doctors have already operated on him, and he should wake up soon."
"What about Brother Tang's family? Has no one been notified?" Miss Xiao Yan asked again.
"His parents passed away when he was in school, and he doesn't have any close relatives, so Director Wang signed for him."
Of course, a signature was needed for surgery, but in the absence of relatives, a unit leader could sign off too. Normally, no leader would want to take on this responsibility.
However, Tang Fangjing's case was special, and Old Wang had no issues with this matter.
Hearing this, Miss Xiao Yan closed her mouth.
Old Song continued, "The news on the internet is too chaotic, with people spreading rumors. We need to quash them. You wait here for now; I'm going to the bar association."
Apparently, the tax department was about to release their findings, and the bar association was electing a new president—it was utter chaos, but at such a time, they wouldn't refuse such good news.
And, Old Song needed to show up personally. He had made an appearance in the video, his mop drenched in an unidentified liquid, as powerful as a deity descending, with one sweep ending Lei Peng.
Miss Xiao Yan nodded, although she didn't understand why Old Song had arranged for her to stay.
On the other side, Old Song who had reached the door looked back, feeling a little guilty, as it seemed somewhat underhanded of him, considering that Old Tang didn't have many years left to live.
But... ah, forget it, let nature take its course. After all, how shocking it is for someone close to death to live so spectacularly—a complete swindler!
On the hospital bed, Tang Fangjing slowly opened his eyes. Even though his consciousness was still not very clear, his first instinct was to look at the panel.
Seeing that the three close-death protections were still there, he let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment, he could have pulled out the knife and struck back at Lei Peng, but, after watching some medical videos, he knew better. Pulling out the knife could have caused him even greater harm.
With Pain Shielding, he could move freely, but the damage was still there.
To avoid wasting the close-death protections, he chose not to and instead trusted modern medicine. Now it seemed, he had bet correctly.
After checking the panel, he looked around the hospital room. Eh, where did Old Song go?
"Brother Tang, you're awake?"
Old Tang turned his head and saw it was the girl who had just been admitted to the police station. What was Old Song thinking? He hardly knew her, how was this supposed to look?
"Yeah, I'm awake."
That was it? Miss Xiao Yan was equally lost for words, but after thinking it over, she said, "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll go back first, Brother Tang."
"Mhm."
Miss Xiao Yan walked out of the hospital room, went downstairs, and started typing deftly on her phone.
"Lawyer Tang, I saw online that you were stabbed, are you okay now?"
The response came quickly from the other side: "I'm fine, let me tell you, my body is super resilient, what's a stab wound...."
Jingzhou Bar Association, Old Cheng looked at Old Song and said, "Old Song, you really want me to handle this? Okay, no problem, I guarantee it'll be done perfectly!"
This was a critical time, and unlike before, this rumor had to be squelched with absolute truth!
"I've brought all the relevant materials, here is the legal aid contract, here are the records of the litigation fees fronted by Old Tang, here are the records of the advanced conservatory fees, all with original vouchers...."
......
At a construction site in Jingzhou, Lao Er Li was working when his phone suddenly rang.
"Hey, Lao Er, it's Luo Duancheng. I've got news for you. That Lawyer Tang who's been fighting our case got stabbed by some construction company's boss, yeah, he's in the hospital now!"
"Let's hurry to the hospital!"
Lao Er Li immediately asked his foreman for leave and started calling home as he left.
"Old lady, how much money do we have left?"
He didn't understand those profound principles, but he knew that Lawyer Tang was a good person, and he was stabbed because of their case—they absolutely couldn't just stand by and watch.
It was that simple.