Chapter 270: Chapter 194: Strange Forensic Appraisal! (Extended Chapter – 4,000 Words)_2

"Screech~!"

The door opened.

A man and two women, normally dressed, appeared before them.

"Hello, may I ask which one is Qi Tao?"

Xu Liang spoke, quickly scanning the room’s environment as he did so.

The environment wasn’t harsh, but certainly could not be considered good!

There was no TV in the room, only a radio, a simple wardrobe and dining table, and a bed.

The wobbly ceiling fan was covered in dust and grime.

The three people inside paused.

This person... who is he?

Zhao Hailong frowned, feeling that Xu Liang seemed very familiar.

"I am Qi Tao." Qi Tao spoke up.

He then hesitated.

"You are..."

"I’m the lawyer arranged for you by the Lawyers’ Association, here to understand the situation in advance. If everything’s fine, I will sign a contract with the association."

Xu Liang spoke, gently introducing himself.

Lawyer...

A lawyer arranged by the association!?

In an instant, Zhao Hailong furrowed his brows.

There aren’t many law firms in Jiang City, only four, and they are all small firms!

Those firms only care about making money, how could they possibly spare anyone to represent Qi Tao?

That could only mean... out-of-town?

An out-of-town lawyer, who seems familiar, young...

Zhao Hailong’s pupils suddenly contracted, a serious expression showed in his eyes, and his face looked stern, sizing up the other person.

A name flashed in his mind.

A...

Name he did not want to encounter!

Qi Tao, however, wasn’t thinking so much; upon hearing that the person was his lawyer, a glint of light appeared in his cloudy eyes.

"I..."

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn’t know where to start.

Xu Liang interrupted him first, turning his head to look at Zhao Hailong and the other woman inside the room.

"You are...."

He feigned probing, with hesitation on his face.

Zhao Hailong glanced at the woman beside him, then spoke: "We are the defendant’s lawyers."

"We represent the Jiang City Disabled Shelter Center to discuss the case with Mr. Qi."

"Oh, defendants."

Xu Liang showed a look of realization, then smiled:

"What have you discussed?"

Zhao Hailong’s face darkened.

They did discuss.

But were interrupted!

Seeing him not speaking, Xu Liang asked again:

"I seemed to hear at the door just now that the forensic report is out. Could you leave a copy?"

Zhao Hailong: ?

Leave a copy...

Is this a hint for them to leave?

And also to leave behind a copy of the information?!

Zhao Hailong’s face darkened as he internally cursed this audacious behavior.

Immediately.

He didn’t want to waste any more time there, stood up, dropped a file, and left with his people.

"Mr. Qi, what I said is all true and valid."

"I have some matters to attend to, so I won’t stay long, I’ll be leaving now."

With that.

Zhao Hailong didn’t care about the other’s mood, left with his people.

After leaving.

He turned back to glance at the shed, his face expressionless, but his breathing gradually increased.

"Why is he here!?"

The female lawyer’s face showed seriousness, sidestepping to whisper to Zhao Hailong.

"I don’t know."

Zhao Hailong was somewhat vexed.

He recalled the forgiveness letter he almost obtained earlier, and his expression turned grim.

Things were supposed to be settled, but now...

Suddenly, a Cheng Yaojin emerged blocking the way!

"Go back first."

Zhao Hailong took a deep breath, strategizing in his mind.

"Explain the situation to the boss!"

Having said this.

They decided and then turned to leave.

Inside the shed.

Xu Liang glanced behind him, then focused his gaze back on Qi Tao in front.

"You...."

Qi Tao felt a bit anxious, wanting to pour some water for the person, only to realize there wasn’t even a cup at home, and drinking water was done with a metal basin.

This was the first time since he applied for legal aid half a month ago that a lawyer visited...

He wondered whether he was being rude to the guest.

"Don’t be nervous, this visit is primarily to understand your situation."

Xu Liang casually said, "Since the commission hasn’t been signed yet... I’m not officially your lawyer; just take it easy."

"By the way, let me introduce myself. My name is Xu Liang, a lawyer from Hongfu District in Hanhai City. These two are Su Yu and Yang Ruoxi."

"You can just address us as lawyers."

Upon hearing this.

Qi Tao’s tense heart gradually relaxed.

Seeing this, Xu Liang knew his comforting words had taken effect and immediately asked:

"Who were those two just now?"

Qi Tao was silent for a moment, then replied:

"The defense lawyers for the Jiang City Disabled Shelter Center..."

"Jiang City Disabled Shelter Center?"

The three of Xu Liang were astonished.

"How could this thing be related to a murder case?" Yang Ruoxi furrowed her brows, somewhat confused.

Su Yu was also at a loss.

What is a shelter center?

Literally!

An organization, whether official or private, set up for some disabled people where anyone with a disability can go to find suitable work for themselves.

Most of the work is manual, tedious, and no one wants to do it.

But for these people, it’s enough to support themselves!

And Qi Yu....

"Work injury?"

Xu Liang suddenly frowned, recalling Zhang Wei’s words.

A case caused by a work injury?

How is it related to disabled people?

"Hmm."

Qi Tao silently responded with a hum.

At this moment, he felt complicated and didn’t know what to say.

Xu Liang said, "Mr. Qi... could you provide more details on the specific case?"

Qi Tao took a deep breath and spoke heavily.

Then.

Xu Liang also understood the entire story.

The case resulted in a fatality; the victim was Qi Yu, 18 years old, and he was Qi Tao’s son.

This was a single-parent family.

Fifteen years ago, the mother sneaked off to play mahjong with friends. Unexpectedly, while she was away, Qi Yu developed a high fever, and by the time he was taken to the hospital, he was already brain-damaged.

The mother, knowing she was at fault, took all the money from home and eloped with a man from another village.

Only Qi Tao was left to care for his intellectually disabled son.

"Although this child is mentally impaired, he has the determination to improve. He doesn’t want me to support him for life..."

"So, he often sneaks out to find work for himself."

In Qi Tao’s eyes, a complex expression showed, unsure if it was gratification or regret.

"I am fifty this year."

"In another twenty years, I’ll be too old to move, and by then the child will only be thirty-eight."

"I can’t take care of him forever; I thought I would wait a couple more years until his mind matured, and then help him find a stable job. Who would’ve thought..."

Saying this.

Qi Tao fell silent, lost in his recollections. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Xu Liang didn’t rush him, just quietly waited.

After a long time, the other party finally spoke:

"Who would have thought, this child... on March 2nd, while I was working, sneaked out."

"While wandering the streets, he was attracted by the Jiang City Disabled Shelter Center and went there."

"He didn’t come home that night, and I was worried, so I called the police."

"The police found surveillance of the child. I thought I could bring him back from the shelter, but when the police brought him back, he..."

Was already dead.

The cause was accidental death by falling!

"Something strange..."

Su Yu whispered.

Death by falling from a height?

Were they assigning high-altitude work?

Something’s not right. When has high-altitude work ever been given to someone with an intellectual disability issue?

Which employer is so bold?

Or do they just have too much money, thinking they can’t spend it all, and decide to throw it away as compensation instead!?

"I want to ask, which factory did Qi Yu go to?"

Xu Liang suddenly asked.

He touched his chin.

Qi Tao paused for a moment, then after recalling, said:

"A pickle factory."

"The job was probably carrying pickles..."

Pi... pickles!?

Xu Liang frowned.

What does pickles have to do with a fatal fall from a height!?

As if seeing Xu Liang’s confusion.

Qi paused for a moment, then conveyed what the shelter center said to him.

"Their explanation is... the pickle factory’s shed needed renovation and a new coat of paint, so..."

So, they let a person with intellectual disabilities, with a real intelligence of only eight years old, who couldn’t live independently, go to work!?

Xu Liang was stunned.

He really didn’t know how these words could assemble together!

Until...

He frowned.

"These words..."

"Who told you all this?"