Italian Born Chinese

[ This is part of a multi-post series about our little legal problem in Shanghai. To read previous installments go here
]

Thursday morning, 2010/01/07, property agent Wang called me saying that he had received his copy of the documents which he immediately faxed over to Li. (I forgot to mention earlier that we abandoned the idea of contacting the agents as of 2010/01/02 because Lawyer Sui did not even want to trust anything that any property agents say. But we felt that we had to send them a copy of the agreement of settlement to finalize this case.)

Friday noon, 2010/01/08, agent Wang called me saying that Li et al demanded to meet with me as they could not agree to or accept the amount of money that was wired and felt that they should have been paid more. I politely declined and told him that if they had issues with the settlement, they were welcome to contact my lawyers as I respect them as professionals in their field and will follow their guidance. He then asked me how I got Lawyer Tang’s address and if it was appropriate and legal for me to send the documents to Lawyer Tang. From the way Wang said things, I got the feeling that now Li et al wanted to deny that Lawyer Tang represented them. I told Wang again that they could direct all questions at my lawyers and reminded him that we had Huang on tape saying that Lawyer Tang represented them (hinting that if they were lying with their “lawyer”, then this could perhaps turn from penal to fraud?)

I wondered about these people. After everything that’s happened, after what they have done to me and caused me, why would I go out to meet with them at this point? What was I to gain from meeting with them now? Why would I even consider meeting their demand? They are beyond comprehension!

I don’t know what happened among the agents, Li et al, and their lawyer; and I don’t care. I don’t even care now if Lawyer Tang happens to be fake and without a license. I only know that the money Dad sent through China Post to them cannot be collected by anyone but Li, and it cannot be rejected or returned to me as promised and stated by China Post.

I have very mixed feelings about this apartment that I own. I “think” I don’t regret buying it; I “think” I don’t regret having had to go through all the troubles because I really have learnt so many things and trained my courage to stand up to something that I felt was wrong. So many times, I felt so tempted to just let it go to save my time and my sanity, but what would that be teaching these people? In Shanghai, how many many and many times have I been told and shown that verbal/physical violence is the way, to just take regardless of right or ownership is the way?!

I’m glad that I did not once lose my temper over anything or raise my voice to anyone of them during the course of this case even though I still wonder if there was anything that I could have done to make the whole deal easier and better for everyone. I’m glad that I held onto God and truth. But, I do regret the time that I lost, the time I cannot buy to spend with my kids. I regret my son’s tears once when he so looked forward to seeing me but I was busy with the case.

I praise the Lord for granting me cautiousness and calmness throughout this time. I don’t understand, don’t know and don’t want to know how to play games or tricks. I can only protect myself with hard evidence and law, by respecting and obeying the law.

I’m thankful for friends that have worried about me and prayed for me. I’m thankful for my wise father who always does everything according to the books. I’m so thankful to my husband for taking care of the kids, for his giving me space, for his waiting patiently to learn about this case once I finished writing it down, for his understanding and support of me all this time. I’m most thankful to my Heavenly Father. He is guidance, He is protection, He is mercy, He is faithful, He is the truth, He is love.

My friend Beverly reminded me of this on 2010/01/02. I cannot thank her enough, for it humbled me and brought me peace, strength, and such faith.

Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord
with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways
acknowledge Him
and He
will make your paths straight.

Thank you so very much, friends, for your continued prayers and for echoing my feelings at times even if not all the time.

I hoped that Part Eight was the last one and case closed, but…