But before Li Xiao could ask, Zhang Li spoke up.
"Mr. Li does need to give Mr. Pan severance pay, but not for the alleged twenty-one months. Just half a month."
A smile immediately appeared on Li Xiao’s face when he heard he only had to pay half a month’s salary as severance.
He didn’t want to give a scumbag like this a single cent.
Still, as a law-abiding citizen, he had to follow the law.
If it was only half a month’s pay, he could just think of it as tossing some money to a beggar.
When Pan Quanhong heard he would only get half a month’s severance, his face immediately twisted into a snarl.
"What kind of bullshit are you spouting, you damned lawyer?!"
"Do you even know the law? I consulted a professional lawyer about this! I worked for this company for a full twenty years! This proof of employment proves it!"
"According to labor laws, severance pay is calculated based on the employee’s years of service—one month’s salary for every full year worked!"
"I’ve worked for this company for twenty years, and with this year, that makes twenty-one!"
"If you want to fire me, you have to pay me at least twenty-one months of severance pay!"
"Li! I know you’re rich! You bought my entire plantation in one go. There’s no way you don’t have over 600,000!"
"I can’t believe you’re so rotten you’d try to cheat me out of just over 600,000!"
"If I don’t get the money I’m owed, you can forget about an easy life! I built this plantation with my own two hands!!!"
"If you want this business to run smoothly, you’d better just give me all my severance pay! Otherwise, I’ll make sure this plantation can’t stay in business!!!"
Li Xiao couldn’t be bothered with the man’s ranting. Since Zhang Li had already said he only needed to pay half a month’s severance, there had to be a reason. He had no interest in getting into a war of words with such scum.
Zhang Li stepped forward, positioning himself in front of his client.
He raised a hand and swatted away the finger Pan Quanhong was pointing at Li Xiao.
"Mr. Pan, I suggest you watch yourself. Publicly insulting someone can be considered disorderly conduct, which is punishable by three to fifteen days of administrative detention."
"Furthermore, threatening someone in a public place could constitute the crime of intimidation. That falls under criminal law, and if you’re convicted, you could face anywhere from three months to three years of criminal detention."
The thought of possibly doing three years in prison made Pan Quanhong tense up.
He blustered,
"What proof do you have that I threatened him?!"
"Don’t you try to frame me, you damned lawyer!"
Zhang Li rolled his eyes. He’d seen plenty of scoundrels like this. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a recording pen, its small red light blinking.
"My apologies. This pen has been recording ever since I got out of the car."
"We also have several staff members here as witnesses. That’s more than enough to establish a chain of evidence."
Pan Quanhong’s face froze. He never imagined the lawyer would be recording him. All his previous arrogance vanished in an instant.
"You... That..."
Seeing the man stammer, unable to get a word out, Zhang Li gave a contemptuous smirk.
He had no desire to waste his breath on the man, either. He casually waved the proof of employment and the sales contract in his hand.
"Of course, as long as you stop harassing my client, I imagine he’d rather not pursue this matter."
Seeing that the man had finally shut his trap, he continued.
"Today, I am here at my client’s request to help process your dismissal, Mr. Pan."
"According to the terms of this sales contract, my client, Mr. Li, did indeed purchase Panpan Mushroom Cultivation Co., Ltd."
"However, the contract does not state that Mr. Li must assume the liabilities or employee welfare responsibilities of Panpan Mushroom Cultivation Co., Ltd."
"This means that any debts on Panpan Mushroom Cultivation Co., Ltd.’s accounts, as well as the company’s prior employee relations, have nothing to do with Mr. Li."
As he spoke, he turned to the plantation employees who were watching the spectacle, raising his voice a few decibels.
"According to the terms of this contract, it’s not Mr. Li who needs to pay out severance. On the contrary, it is you, Mr. Pan, who should be providing full compensation to the employees based on their years of service."
"As of yesterday, the change in legal representative for Panpan Mushroom Cultivation Co., Ltd. was completed. The company has also been formally renamed Li’s Mushroom Cultivation Co., Ltd."
"Without a signed contract for the transfer of liabilities or any clauses regarding employee resettlement, the seniority of all former employees of Panpan Mushroom Cultivation Co., Ltd. is effectively reset to zero. It’s equivalent to everyone starting a new job."
"Everyone here can demand compensation for your years of service from Mr. Pan."
"Under current law, the compensation for years of service is calculated the same way as severance pay: N+1."
"I would strongly advise all of you to claim this compensation from Mr. Pan as soon as possible. It’s better to act sooner rather than later. If he happens to transfer his funds away, you might all end up with nothing."
Hearing that their years of service had been wiped out without their knowledge, the dozen or so employees who had been enjoying the show suddenly became agitated. After all, this was about their own money.
"Old Pan, that’s a low blow! How could you pull a dirty trick like that?"
"Boss Pan, I’ve worked for you for seven or eight years, haven’t I? Even if I don’t have distinguished merits, I’ve put in the hard work. Wiping out my seniority just like that? That’s going too far!"
"Everyone, surround him! Don’t let him run away! His son racked up a ton of gambling debt before, who knows if he has any money left!"
Pan Quanhong never expected things to turn out like this.
He was supposed to be the one demanding compensation from Li Xiao, so how had it turned into everyone demanding compensation from him???
He started to panic. He did have some money left after selling the company, but that was his nest egg. How could he be willing to just hand it over?
But before he could react, Zhang Li spoke again.
"Also, according to this supposed proof of employment you provided, your monthly salary for the past twenty years has been 38,000."
"I wonder... did you pay the full amount of personal income tax on that 38,000 a month?"
"On 38,000 a month, your personal income tax payable should be 5,590 yuan. That’s 67,080 a year, which comes out to 1.34 million over twenty years. And I don’t even need to mention the change, do I?"
"Under current law, if the amount of tax evasion exceeds 30% of the total tax payable *and* is over 100,000 yuan, the sentence is three to seven years in prison."
"So if you don’t have the relevant tax records, Mr. Pan, and you can’t pay back that sum of over one million in back taxes... I’m afraid you’ll have to spend a few years in the slammer."
Hearing this, Pan Quanhong’s vision went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot.