The entrance to Yuefu Residential Complex was in complete disarray, with both sides arguing fiercely and accusing each other of being unreasonable.
A bunch of cars were blocking the entrance, and some drivers had already gotten out of their vehicles and gathered around.
"Can you not block the way? Look at how many cars are stuck because of you. Can you move aside for now?"
"Exactly, argue with the property management all you want, but why block the entrance?"
Voices chimed in one after another, and it was visibly obvious that the woman who was arguing with the property management was turning red with anger.
"They're the ones not letting me in. I have a parking space, but they won't let me enter..."
The woman attempted to retort, but it was clear that now was not the time for reasoning.
Standing at the entrance and watching the commotion, Tang Fangjing shook his head, finding the situation truly troublesome.
He didn't say anything because he knew all too well that, at the end of the day, it was the fault of the property management.
It was like those less lawful wage claims; such behavior is indeed wrong, since legal proceedings should be followed, but at the root of it, whose fault is it...
Just then, a voice cut through the noise, "What's going on here? Move aside, move aside!"
Officer Lao Liang with his apprentice Guo Xiaoyang finally arrived. He wanted to get there sooner but couldn't; he had just been mediating a marital dispute in the neighboring complex when he received the call and hurried over.
It's a hard life at the grassroots level; big brother doesn't talk about the hardships of the second brother...
Seeing a police officer had arrived, the crowd started to talk all at once. After listening with a frown, Officer Lao Liang spoke, "Ms. Zhao, right? You should move your car first. Look at how many cars you've blocked."
Tang Fangjing wasn't surprised by the police officer's words. Whether it was muddling through or whatever, stability was the most important.
First, calm the situation down, then slowly mediate... As to whether it would be successful, that remained to be seen.
That's just the way it is at the grassroots level.
If the police had the power to handle the situation, do you think they'd want to repeatedly intervene in a half-hearted manner...
Nobody wants trouble, but some things are simply beyond control.
The woman, addressed as Mrs. Zhao, naturally was not pleased and tried to defend herself, but Officer Lao Liang cut in again, "Alright, first make way, clear the area and then we can discuss properly."
Given the police's presence still does convey authority, Mrs. Zhao reluctantly moved her car.
Really, such issues could be resolved by the property management, the neighborhood committee, or the community residents' committee; it wasn't a big problem.
But many property management companies belong to the developers themselves, so they feel that homeowners should be under their control.
Ultimately, the core issue is that most property managements see themselves as managing companies rather than service companies...
The woman at the gate was taken to the property management office; they said it was to mediate, although Tang Fangjing doubted there would be any results.
Not interested in spectating any longer, he made a phone call to notify the delivery man. After waiting a while, the items finally arrived.
It was all office equipment like computers and printers; when it's crunch time, you have to work even from home.
After loading everything into the elevator and pressing the button for the 16th floor, a man who looked about sixty suddenly spoke up, "Hey lad, you're the one who bought the apartment in 1601, aren't you? Just moved in today?"
Tang Fangjing nodded and replied, "Yes, I just moved in today. And you are...?"
"Oh, I live in 1603, we're neighbors."
As they reached the sixteenth floor, the old man immediately started to help carry the items.
"Don't be shy, young man, we're neighbors after all, who doesn't need a hand now and then?" the old man laughed heartily.
Since the old man helped him, Tang Fangjing, well-mannered, invited him to have a drink of water.
In the course of their small talk, he learned that the old man's surname was Qian, and he had a son living in Magic City.
Although Mr. Qian was very friendly, given it was their first meeting, Tang Fangjing soon brought up the situation at the entrance.
Old man Qian across the street heard this and started cursing right away.
"Exactly, you have to block the door. I'm telling you, Xiao Tang, the property management here is just no good. The maintenance fees keep going up, and now it's over three or four yuan, but just look at our yard—there's often garbage left uncleaned."
"Next door, the toilet was overflowing with dirty water, and no matter what, it wouldn't go down. We called property management, and they said it wasn't their responsibility. They're the fastest when coming to block the door and ask for money...
Clearly, this old man was genuinely dissatisfied with the property management.
Tang Fangjing replied, "I see this residential complex is quite old, has anyone tried to set up an owners' committee?"
Old man Qian responded with a sneer, "Don't even mention the owners' committee. Someone did try to organize it, but then we found out that the person was secretly taking benefits from the property management."
"And I don't know why, but it's always being dragged out. In the end, nobody took charge of it anymore, and the whole thing just fizzled out..."
"Anyway, Xiao Tang, I've already stopped paying the property fees. They say they don't take care of anything but know how to collect money, so why should I continue paying them?"
"You stopped paying property fees?" Tang Fangjing immediately asked, "Aren't you afraid the property management will sue you, Old man Qian?"
"What's there to be afraid of? There are many of us who don't pay the property fees. Do you think they can sue us all?"
Tang Fangjing didn't say anything more. Indeed, not paying property fees is one way to protest, but he couldn't understand why the other party would choose not to sue.
But he certainly wasn't going to say anything; giving advice lightly is taboo.
After chatting for a bit longer, Old man Qian left, leaving Tang Fangjing lying on the sofa, feeling that the property management of this residential complex seemed to have a lot of problems.
However, he had just moved in and hadn't felt the impact deeply yet, so he had no thoughts on it.
Forget it, take it easy today... I seem to remember there was something I needed to do, just can't think of it right now.
Inside Tengda Law Firm, Old Song looked at the reception records he had worked hard on all afternoon, his face turning pale; he felt like he'd been PUA-ed...
Time passed slowly, and despite Old Song's dissatisfaction, when Tang Fangjing said he would give him an extra 20%, Old Song still chose to compromise.
Sigh, what can you do after everything's done? Getting 70% is already not bad, definitely better than nothing.
It was another beautiful morning, but Secretary Tian felt nothing beautiful about it.
Despite repeated efforts to mediate, the conflict between the property management and the owners of Yuefu Residential Complex kept escalating.
And today, it was said that the property management had filed a lawsuit all at once against the owners who hadn't paid their property fees and vehicle management fees.
"Secretary Tian, I really have no other choice, do I? Look, they keep saying our property service isn't good, but we need money for that, right?"
"With so many people not paying property fees, we don't have the funds to hire enough cleaners. What can I do? I have to be responsible for the company too, right? We have so many employees to support."
A man wearing glasses kept saying this.
He was the general manager of the property management company of Yuefu Residential Complex, surnamed Hou.
After Manager Hou spoke, the opposing owners could no longer hold back.
"What are you saying? It was you who didn't provide good service first. The trash in the basement has been piling up for days without being cleaned up, and we were still paying property fees then," Zhao Ruixia spoke up.
She was the one who had previously blocked the door over parking management fees, and now her face was red with anger again.
Manager Hou directly said, "Talking to me about this is pointless, you know. If you think our company isn't managing well, you are free to take legal action, right? But you didn't do that."
"Besides, if you really don't want our company to be responsible for this complex, you can always set up an owners' committee. Our property management welcomes it, but you didn't do that either."
"Well then, Secretary Tian, I'll be leaving now. As long as they pay the property fees, our side will withdraw the lawsuit. You see, I really have no other choice; the property management is barely surviving."
After finishing, Manager Hou left, leaving behind a group of owners trembling with rage.
Secretary Tian looked at the situation and felt a headache coming on, but after a moment's hesitation, he still offered, "How about I call a more professional legal expert to come over for a consultation?"
The group of owners looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
Ordinary people don't know much about the law, and hearing about being sued would make anyone nervous. They urgently needed the help of a professional.