Ye Yuzhe took a deep breath and said solemnly, "We agree to mediation. However, it must be according to the compensation amount we demand. If it's even a penny less, we'll sue directly!"
In fact, Ye Yuzhe would have preferred to use the evidence he had to drag out the dispute with the milk tea shop, ideally until it went bankrupt.
But he also knew that for Zhang An'an, nothing was more important than getting the money quickly and securing it. The longer it dragged on, the more likely it was for complications to arise.
The staff member nodded and then contacted the owner of the milk tea shop.
When the milk tea shop owner heard that Zhang An'an had actually applied for arbitration, he rushed over in a panic.
Upon arriving at the scene, he immediately said to the staff member, "Young man, don't listen to their nonsense. These two people are just trying to extort me. That bumpkin never worked in my shop! They even came to my shop to cause trouble yesterday. It was only because I'm a kind-hearted person that I didn't call the police and let them off the hook..."
Ye Yuzhe stared coldly at the milk tea shop owner. He was no longer as impulsive and naive as he was yesterday, rushing headlong without understanding the situation.
He could see that despite his bluster, the milk tea shop owner was actually a paper tiger. Recalling yesterday, when he had threatened to call the police, he never actually did, clearly out of guilt and fear.
Even now, the milk tea shop owner was shouting loudly, his guilt written all over his face. Did he think shouting louder made him right?
A barking dog doesn't bite. For such a paper tiger, one had to be even tougher to scare him!
"On what grounds do you claim we caused trouble? Do you have any evidence?" Ye Yuzhe scoffed.
The milk tea shop owner retorted angrily, "I have surveillance footage in my shop..."
"Oh? That's perfect!" Ye Yuzhe said aggressively, "Let's go and check the surveillance footage now, and see if An'an actually worked in your shop!"
"My, my surveillance is broken..." the milk tea shop owner stammered.
Without giving him a chance to think, Ye Yuzhe pulled out the printed call records and slammed them onto the table with a "snap," startling the milk tea shop owner.
"Do you think without surveillance, you can't prove An'an worked for you? You're too careless! You had An'an call you every day when she came to work and left, and that's her proof of employment!"
"It's, it's just calling, that doesn't prove anything..." the milk tea shop owner said guiltily, "Who knows where she got my number? She harasses me all day..."
"Hmph, do you think I only have this evidence?" Ye Yuzhe said coldly, "I've already asked employees from several shops around your milk tea shop, and they're willing to testify for An'an!"
The milk tea shop owner stammered a defense, "They, they must have been bribed by Zhang An'an..."
Ye Yuzhe took out a USB drive and placed it directly on the table, "This USB drive contains surveillance footage from the surrounding shops! From their footage, it can be seen that An'an was working in your shop! Now that we have witnesses and evidence, what else do you have to say?!"
"I, I..." The milk tea shop owner was speechless.
Ye Yuzhe stepped forward and looked down at him, "Pay her wages now, and we won't pursue it further! Otherwise, you can wait to sit in the defendant's seat! Withholding wages is illegal, and in severe cases, you can go to jail! How many years do you want to spend inside?!"
The milk tea shop owner's face instantly turned pale. He slumped into a chair in terror.
A hint of disgust flashed in Ye Yuzhe's eyes. As expected, the milk tea shop owner was also ignorant of the law! If he weren't, he wouldn't have gambled on trying to trick people into working for free.
Fortunately, he had stayed up late last night studying the labor laws that Ye Zhi had sent him. He had only slightly exaggerated to scare the milk tea shop owner, and it had actually worked. Indeed, knowledge is power!
"It, it's just two thousand eight hundred, right?" The milk tea shop owner weighed the pros and cons in his mind, then gritted his teeth, "I'll give it to you then..."
"Heh, two thousand eight hundred? What are you dreaming about?" Ye Yuzhe sneered, "According to An'an's call records, she worked from nine in the morning to nine at night, twelve hours a day! Also, you didn't sign a contract with An'an and unfairly dismissed her, requiring double compensation! Therefore, the amount you ultimately need to compensate An'an is... 6720 yuan!"
"What?!" The milk tea shop owner jumped up from his chair in shock, "You're extorting me! This amount is wrong, I absolutely will not pay!"
"If this amount were wrong, do you think An'an's arbitration application would have been accepted?" Ye Yuzhe said coldly.
The milk tea shop owner instinctively looked at the staff member. Seeing the staff member nod affirmatively, he said furiously, "I'm not paying this money anyway! Zhang An'an, I'll give you two thousand eight hundred, take it or leave it!"
"Yuzhe, forget it," Zhang An'an sighed.
The milk tea shop owner's face lit up with joy. He knew that Zhang An'an, this bumpkin from the countryside, was easy to deal with!
"We gave him a chance, but he didn't cherish it. Let's go to court. Anyway, I'm a student, and I can just take a few days off to run errands. I'm a good student, so I can catch up even if I miss classes..." Zhang An'an continued.
She tried her best to speak calmly, but her hands were clenched tightly, her nails digging into her flesh.
These words were spoken after she and Ye Yuzhe had discussed them. They planned to retreat to advance, deliberately trying to intimidate the milk tea shop owner. She was trying her best to remain calm so as not to be a burden.
The milk tea shop owner did not notice her subtle movements. His face had become extremely unsightly.
"That would be good," Ye Yuzhe nodded, "At that time, we can also fulfill our civic duty and visit the Administration for Market Regulation, the Tax Bureau, the Fire Department, and so on. This will help make this milk tea shop better and more compliant, and it can be considered our repayment to him!"
The milk tea shop owner's expression grew even uglier. Was this repayment? It was clearly revenge!
Zhang An'an pinched herself and chimed in, "Since I worked here, I know where the problems are..."
The milk tea shop owner became extremely terrified. Angrily, he took out his wallet and, without even looking, pulled out a wad of cash and scattered it on the floor, "Don't you just want money? Pick it up yourselves!"
Ye Yuzhe's lips twitched. He really hadn't expected the other party to not use coins to disgust them, but instead to humiliate them in this manner.
Fortunately, he had listened to Ye Zhi yesterday and had prepared for various situations.
Seeing Zhang An'an about to bend down and pick it up, Ye Yuzhe gently tugged at her sleeve. He then said, "The amount is not enough, we cannot sign a receipt."
"You haven't counted, how do you know it's not enough?!" The milk tea shop owner's nose was almost out of joint from anger.