CHAPTER 325: CHAPTER 173: THE MYSTERIOUS FIGURE 【GREAT CHAPTER BALLOT】

Pan, Dou, Zhang, along with the Four Sheep Group and two newcomers, gathered in the Western-style private room Han Lie had booked.

Though Han Lie had organized the gathering, Uncle Pan eagerly took on the responsibility of hosting.

By the time Han Lie arrived, the private room was already full.

"Come, come, Little Lie, let me introduce you to two good friends!"

Uncle Pan was very enthusiastic, his face flushed and beaming, and his way of addressing Han Lie had changed yet again.

From Teacher Han to Little Han, and now to Little Lie, the shift in address reflected a change in attitude: from respect, to cordiality, and finally, to showing off.

Respect was self-explanatory; cordiality implied an internal acceptance. Calling him Little Lie, however, was purely to send a signal to outsiders—This is my son-in-law; we’re super close!

Actually, customs in Magic Capital didn’t include addressing someone as ’Little’ followed by their first name.

When addressing a daughter-in-law or son-in-law, people typically used ’Little’ followed by the surname.

Therefore, ’Little Han’ was a proper form of address, while ’Little Lie’ was not—it was simply Uncle Pan freestyling in his high spirits.

Han Lie understood but still found it somewhat awkward.

Do we really need to go through these motions? Calling me ’brother’ would be much better...

At that moment, everyone in the room stood up.

The meeting was scheduled for 6:00 PM sharp, but it was currently only 5:45 PM, and Han Lie was surprisingly the last to arrive.

Although it wasn’t his fault, Brother Lie still felt a bit uneasy. So, he quickened his pace, offered an apologetic smile to everyone, and extended his hands from a distance.

"Sorry for being late, everyone... Uncle Pan, thank you for going to so much trouble!"

"AH!" Panzi waved his hand. "Hardly! My efforts are nothing compared to all the trouble you go to."

Dou quickly chimed in to smooth things over, "Not late at all, not at all! We just arrived early."

Little Zhang even moved aside, allowing Han Lie to walk to the front.

Uncle Pan pulled the two middle-aged men over and began the introductions.

"Little Lie, this is my old friend, Sun Changzhe, the president of Fuweifeng Group. This Western-style hotpot restaurant is Old Sun’s property. You certainly have a knack for picking places..."

Han Lie glanced at Sun Changzhe. His appearance and demeanor were unremarkable, the only memorable thing being his extremely affable smile.

"President Sun, a pleasure to meet you!"

"Teacher Han, likewise."

Sun Changzhe clasped Han Lie’s outstretched hands with both of his own and shook them firmly.

"Uncle Pan is right; it’s better to be opportune than early. I’ve long admired you, and it just so happens you took a liking to my humble establishment—it must be fate. I’ve heard you’re very restrained with alcoholic beverages, so I’ll brew a pot of fine tea later. We can sit and savor it while we discuss investments. I hope you’ll enlighten me."

Sun Changzhe’s demeanor was extremely humble. He praised Han Lie highly without appearing obsequious or fawning—clearly a sharp operator who had made his way in the service industry.

Han Lie was well aware they were showing deference due to his father-in-law and his wealth.

Therefore, he didn’t put on airs and exchanged a few more polite pleasantries.

"Little Lie, this is your Uncle Liu."

Uncle Pan adeptly took back the lead and introduced the next person.

"Your Uncle Liu is a senior partner at Fangda Law Firm, an old friend of mine and a long-time collaborator. If you ever have any legal matters, feel free to reach out to him!"

"Liu Minghao," Old Liu said, extending his hand with a modest, self-deprecating air.

"My litigation skills are so-so, but I excel at handling all sorts of miscellaneous minor matters. Teacher Han, I ask for your kind consideration in the future!"

Fangda’s?

Having navigated Magic Capital’s financial circles for so many years, Han Lie had some understanding of Fangda.

It was a top-tier law firm specializing in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, cross-border disputes, and other commercial cases, with very close ties to Magic Capital’s financial world.

In Magic Capital alone, its comprehensive ranking was at least in the top three, second only to King & Wood Mallesons, and fiercely competitive with firms like JunHe, Global, and Jingtian & Gongcheng.

Nationwide, it was still firmly in the top eight—after all, it was one of only eight Red Circle Firms.

Coincidentally, the ’Red Circle Firm’ concept seemed to have been introduced by ALB just this year.

In any case, every senior partner at Fangda was an immensely capable, well-connected individual with a vast fortune.

Han Lie’s mind began to work, mulling over Liu Minghao’s ’self-deprecation.’

’My litigation skills are so-so’? That’s nonsense. A senior partner at a Red Circle Firm couldn’t possibly be incompetent.

So, how should he correctly interpret what Liu meant by ’excel at handling all sorts of miscellaneous minor matters’?

Thanks to his Intelligence, which had just increased to 79 points, Han Lie quickly grasped the true meaning Liu Minghao intended to convey with those two sentences:

’Compared to my connections, my professional skills are somewhat lacking.’

A deeper interpretation would be:

’I rarely go to court; I mostly use my connections to solve problems.’

Han Lie then mulled over Uncle Pan’s deliberate emphasis on the words ’old friend’...

Yep, that was it. No doubt about it.

This was another local, very likely from a family with deep roots in the public security, procuratorate, or judiciary. His parents and their close associates must be incredibly influential, which explained why this Lawyer Liu seldom handled litigation.

Is that hard to understand?

Actually, within the country’s legal environment, the most formidable skill for a business lawyer isn’t winning every case, but solving problems! Going to court is merely a means to an end; winning or losing often doesn’t matter. The key is to resolve the core issue, to get things done.

Can you grasp that?

Say those two words aloud—National Conditions!

Liu Minghao, on the surface, appeared modest and self-mocking, but in reality, he exuded an extremely strong sense of self-confidence. It was just that most people wouldn’t be able to discern it.

TSK TSK TSK. Now that’s a true sharp one in society...

Han Lie’s smile grew even warmer as he shook Liu Minghao’s hand firmly.

"Mr. Liu, a pleasure! I hope we’ll have opportunities to learn from each other and make progress together in the future."