Chapter 17: A Large Income

Chapter 17: A Large Income

Mrs. Lisa began recounting Hobert's outstanding actions today and the miraculous potion in front of the Count and Countess, as well as Audrey.

Audrey suspected that the miraculous doctor might be an extraordinary individual. Since Hobert knew such an extraordinary doctor, could he also be an extraordinary person? Unfortunately, she had too little knowledge of the supernatural to make a correct judgment. However, the Tarot Club meeting was in three days, and she could ask Mr. "Emperor" for advice then. This gentleman knew a lot and was very approachable.

After listening to Lisa's account, Earl Hall smiled and said, "He is a reliable young gentleman who knows how to seize opportunities."

He then said to Audrey, "Dear, if you have any legal issues in the future, you can seek his advice."

"Father, that is exactly my thought," Audrey smiled. "But before that, I want to pay 'Aslan-Barton' a satisfactory reward."

"Father, is there a way to give Mr. Hobert a little extra tip? I think he deserves it."

Earl Hall smiled and said, "Besides the fee paid to the firm, you can specify an amount to cover the firm's expenses for this case. Generally, after deducting expenses, the firm will give the remaining money to the lawyer responsible for the case."

Usually, these matters were handled by the butler, and Earl Hall would just give a brief instruction to tip a certain lawyer. Today, to let his daughter understand the underlying rules of Beckland society, the dignified Earl Hall personally attended to this small expenditure of a few hundred pounds.

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On Saturday morning, Hobert accompanied Lisa to complete the release procedures for Miss xio. When xio walked out of the prison, she was still in disbelief. "Mr. Hobert, it's really hard to imagine that you solved the matter in just one day."

Hobert smiled and said, "It was just good luck. I happened to know a famous doctor who cured weir's paralysis."

He looked around the prison gate and asked, "No friends came to pick you up?"

xio smiled helplessly, "She probably hasn't received the news yet."

Hobert said, "Then please allow me to take you back to your place."

xio immediately declined, "Thank you for your kindness, but I would like to walk in the sunshine for a while."

Her face looked somewhat youthful, making it easy to overlook that she had been struggling in Beckland for many years. She did not trust Hobert enough to let him know where she lived.

"Alright then," Hobert thought to himself, "It seems I won't be seeing Miss 'Magician' today."

xio asked for Hobert's contact information, "If I encounter any legal difficulties in the future, I hope I can still get your help."

Hobert nodded, "I look forward to your patronage."

Watching Miss xio leave with her short legs, Hobert and Lisa took a carriage back to the law firm. Lisa went directly to Barton's office, and Hobert guessed it was to settle the payment for this case.

Near noon, Lisa left, and Barton called Hobert into his office. "Miss Audrey is a generous lady. She paid the firm 200 pounds for this case."

Hobert quickly did the math. As a legal assistant, he could only get 10% of the fee, which was 20 pounds. This was a considerable income. In previous cases at the magistrate's court, he only received 3 pounds, and after taxes, it was just 2 pounds and 12 shillings.

The usual weekly salary for a legal assistant was 6 to 9 pounds. However, when Hobert started working at the law firm, Barton suggested he take a commission instead of a weekly salary, and Hobert followed the advice of this great lawyer.

A legal assistant could get 10% of the total fee, and after becoming a senior assistant or lawyer, they could get 20%. If one became a great lawyer, they could either become a new partner in the firm or start their own law firm.

Choosing commission-based pay as a new legal assistant was not very cost-effective because not every case was easy to solve. Sometimes, it took two weeks to earn 3 or 4 pounds. However, with Barton's support, income was not an issue. His recommendation alone earned Hobert 20 pounds.

Seeing Hobert's pleased expression, Barton smiled with a hint of amusement, "The generous Miss Audrey also paid the firm 80 pounds to cover all expenses for this case. According to custom, after deducting the 34 pounds, 6 shillings, and 3 pence you spent, the remaining 45 pounds, 13 shillings, and 9 pence will be your tip."

Hobert's mouth opened in surprise, "This is a large income!"

Barton's laughter echoed, "This is Beckland. It has its ugly side, but also its beautiful side."

He said, "Congratulations, young man. Your excellent performance has earned you over 60 pounds. You should know that many middle-class people are not as wealthy as you are now."

After leaving Barton's office, Hobert was still excited. "Is this Beckland? It can make a person penniless overnight, or turn an ordinary person into a wealthy one in the same time."

As he thought about it, Hobert gradually calmed down. He suddenly realized that such a society was actually terrifying. With more examples of overnight wealth, people would always think of taking shortcuts, always thinking of gambling everything in some investment.

He recalled seeing Mr. Robin in court. Mr. Robin's family was doing well, but he went into debt to invest, ultimately bankrupting a happy family.

The excitement of receiving a large sum of money for the first time gradually faded, and Hobert's mind became clear. Although money was useful, he could not get lost in the world of money.

He had many things to do, such as summarizing the "Lawyer's Code," further exploring the "Nation of Disorder ," finding a way to completely lift the family curse, and figuring out why he had crossed over and why he had such a close connection with the "Nation of Disorder ."

In this extraordinary world, strength is the hard truth!

Hobert sighed at how he was almost blinded by money and began to summarize his recent gains in his mind.

There was still no clue about the "Lawyer's Code," but he had a better understanding of the abilities of a "Lawyer."

In Hobert's view, the abilities of a "Lawyer" mainly consisted of two parts: finding weaknesses and twisting thoughts.

Finding weaknesses was a very useful extraordinary ability. Generally, for those at Sequence 9 and below, it was easy to find the other party's weaknesses.

Twisting thoughts was not as useful as imagined. Based on Hobert's attempts in the past few days, the main way to twist the other party's thoughts was through eloquence, and it could not significantly violate the other party's ideas.

"P.S.: If you find any mistakes or incorrect names, please let me know."

(End of this chapter)