Regarding the second and third points, Ding Yun pursued them concurrently, her steps involving registering a daily chemical product company and obtaining its qualifications, as well as hiring a lawyer to initiate legal proceedings.
The former is rather straightforward.
If she intended to produce and sell cosmetics, she naturally had to follow the proper procedures. With limited startup capital, totaling just over two million, she had to handle the application process herself.
The latter primarily concerned suing for child support.
Even if the couple was unmarried, as long as the child was indeed the other party's, seeking child support was entirely reasonable. Ding Yun did not intend to rely on the Zhou family's financial support for her livelihood; she simply lacked the time to deal with the Zhou family recently, so she decided to cause them some trouble through this matter.
As long as they were unhappy, Ding Yun would be happy.
She figured the original owner might also be happier.
After entrusting the lawyer, Ding Yun focused her attention on her second plan, the entrepreneurial venture. Meanwhile, Zhou Shou received a lawyer's letter from a law firm a few days later.
The lawyers' procedure was to first send a lawyer's letter. If both parties were willing to settle, they would settle. If not, they would proceed with the lawsuit. This was essentially a warning.
After the warning, if no settlement was reached or if reconciliation failed, the formal legal process would commence.
...
Nanyu Street, No. 702.
Yucheng Huayuan, Unit 3, Building 4, Apartment 504.
Hu Lin, who had just received the lawyer's letter, returned home with trembling hands and immediately waved the letter, calling out anxiously towards the living room,
"This is terrible! Your ex-girlfriend is going to sue you.
A lawyer's letter has been sent to the house. What should we do? What does the law say about this?"
"What's there to be afraid of with a lawyer's letter? It's not a subpoena."
Zhou Shou, who was having lunch in the living room, casually replied without even turning his head, clearly understanding the vast difference between a lawyer's letter and a court summons.
Subsequently, seeing his mother still looking distracted, Zhou Shou put down his chopsticks and began to explain to his father and mother the specific meaning of a lawyer's letter, stating that it was merely a scare tactic and there was no need to worry.
At the same time, Hu Lin and Zhou Ling breathed a sigh of relief and, with a calm demeanor, even a sense of amusement, opened the envelope.
"So it's just a scare tactic. You really frightened me. Your ex-girlfriend is truly despicable, with absolutely no self-awareness. My attitude back then was already crystal clear, yet she shamelessly clung to you. I don't know if she's genuinely foolish or trying to use the child to climb the social ladder.
Is she starving now?
Trying to threaten us with the child?"
Having said that, the envelope was opened, and the specific content of the lawyer's letter was revealed. Hu Lin then sneered again, "My guess was correct.
As expected, she wants money using the child.
She even wants child support. A mere girl has the audacity to ask for child support. If she had a son,
I wouldn't mind having an extra grandson.
But she has the nerve to ask for money for a girl."
"She's even threatening to sue me if I don't negotiate. Does she really think I'm easily scared!"
At this point, Zhou Shou's expression turned somewhat grim. Although the lawyer's letter had no legal effect, the fact that they could send one meant they had likely contacted a lawyer.
And if they had contacted a lawyer, and negotiations failed, a lawsuit was not impossible. With this thought, Zhou Shou's face turned serious, and he snatched the letter from his mother's hand, reading it word for word.
He paid particular attention to the closing remarks and the sender's information.
Upon confirming it was issued by a law firm, and after a quick online search revealed it to be a rather reputable one, he started to panic inwardly.
"No, no, no. She's already fallen out with her family, and she doesn't have any money. Where did she get the money to hire a lawyer? This must be a forged letter.
Yes, it's probably forged..."
"Didn't you just say it was a scare tactic?"
As Zhou Shou's mother, Hu Lin could see that Zhou Shou was clearly flustered, and she herself was also feeling a vague sense of panic. She quickly asked.
"While this is a scare tactic, I don't know if she has any other tricks up her sleeve. If she does, then we might have to go to court."
The crucial issue now was not this lawyer's letter itself, but the content within it, and whether Zhu Xin would actually act according to its terms. If Zhu Xin went ahead with it, it would undoubtedly be a major problem for him.
It would be like adding a troublesome burden.
With this thought, Zhou Shou began to regret his past actions, regretting that he shouldn't have taken it upon himself to puncture the contraceptive device. He had only intended to save some bride price money for his family, but who knew his mother had no intention of letting his ex-girlfriend marry into the family, and even less that his ex-girlfriend Zhu Xin, knowing marriage was impossible, refused to have an abortion.
Now, even the child was going to cause him trouble.
"Then what should we do? You're getting along quite well with your current girlfriend, aren't you? Why don't you quickly find a way to get married to your current girlfriend? As long as you get the marriage certificate, everything will be fine.
We've been hiding the fact that your ex-girlfriend had a child from her all this time. If that Zhu Xin really makes a fuss, to the point of a lawsuit, we probably won't be able to keep it a secret. So, you should act decisively and propose to your girlfriend immediately.
Once you're married, she won't be able to change her mind."
Hearing her son's words, Hu Lin became worried and anxious, urging him on. She had painstakingly found a local only daughter for her son to consider, and had been meticulously concealing the matter of Zhu Xin and her child.
To this end, she hadn't dared to let that woman visit their home.
She always had her son arrange for the woman to meet him in places far from their home, for fear that some gossipy neighbor might reveal Zhu Xin's situation.
This would affect her son's marriage prospects.
"But, she also wants a bride price.
She's asking for two hundred and eighty thousand as a bride price."
In fact, with Zhou Shou's efforts, he had already discussed marriage with his new prospective girlfriend.
However, because the bride price demanded was high,
he was worried his mother wouldn't agree,
and thus he had kept it from her.
"What? Two hundred and eighty thousand?
Isn't she an only child? Why is she asking for such a high bride price? Is she crazy? Is their family desperate for money?"
As expected, upon hearing the figure, Hu Lin
immediately exploded.
Whether she regretted it or not, her heart was filled with extreme dissatisfaction, and she even felt like cursing them out.