The Prosecutor Is Accustomed To Waiting For A Rabbit To Hit A Stump - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The ‘little white rabbit’s’ office was not hard to find. A sign was posted on the door of every office in the Anding Court, listing the person’s name followed by three options: “On Duty,” “On Leave,” or “On Business Trip.” The red, movable dot next to the ‘little white rabbit’s’ name was parked on “On Duty.”

Gu Ye stopped in front of the sign. She frowned and then hesitated.

This was completely unlike Gu Ye.

Historically, Gu Ye’s personality had never been one for hesitation.

Footsteps sounded from the opposite office. Gu Ye hesitated no longer and walked into Lin Fan’s office.

Lin Fan’s office door was open, but no one was inside.

Gu Ye felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

She stood in front of Lin Fan’s desk, contemplating.

It was easy to find Lin Fan’s desk among the three because it was so characteristic of Lin Fan.

A large stack of materials was piled in one corner. A small, stand-up wooden mirror was next to the computer, with her employee ID resting on the wooden stand.

Court officers have separate enforcement certificates and employee IDs. The photo on the employee ID was taken when Lin Fan first joined the court; her face was soft enough to pinch, and she was smiling, revealing her adorable little canines. She looked like a cheerful, good-natured big kid.

It was somewhat different from how she looked now.

Gu Ye waited for a moment, but no one returned.

It was definitely inappropriate to linger in an empty office.

She checked her watch, picked up the pen on Lin Fan’s desk, and left a message on one of Lin Fan’s colorful sticky notes.

Before leaving, she considerately helped close some of the doors, leaving them slightly ajar.

Upon reaching the Criminal Division, she returned the access card to Chief Judge Fang.

Chief Judge Fang asked, “How is the case that was returned for supplementary investigation progressing?”

That was also a plea bargaining case. Generally, prosecutors disliked having plea bargaining cases returned for supplementary investigation, as it affected their performance evaluations in that area, leading to low enthusiasm.

Fortunately, Gu Ye was not like that. She was meticulous about details and was never afraid of trouble, possessing a fierce determination to make every case she handled an ‘iron case’ (unassailable).

In practice, prosecutors and judges are the same. They handle so many cases, with sentences long and short.

Like doctors performing surgery, there are major and minor operations. They are always on high alert for major surgery, but during minor surgery, it’s inevitable that the intensity of focus isn’t as high.

So, if you ask prosecutors and judges whether they want to make every case an ‘iron case,’ every one of them would say yes, especially since the lifelong accountability system means one must take responsibility for a wrongful conviction for life.

But while the desire is there, it’s difficult to maintain complete concentration and perfection amid complex workloads.

Some minor flaws are hard to avoid, or if one is slightly careless, the case proceeds to trial with ‘sickness.’

If the judge also fails to notice, the case is sentenced as is.

This wouldn’t count as a wrongful conviction, at most a procedural flaw.

This specific case returned for supplementary investigation was actually discovered by Gu Ye herself during the court review phase.

“Almost done,” Gu Ye checked her watch, replying and standing up. “Chief Judge Fang, I’ll head over now.”

“Alright.”

Leaving the office area, Gu Ye, without an access card, had to walk around through the Litigation Service Center.

As she walked into the center, she heard a chaotic clamor. One office was packed with people, some even standing in the hallway, blocking the way.

Those blocking the hallway were mostly wearing dirty coats, revealing rough hands. Their skin was tanned black by the sun, and the lines etched on their faces clearly indicated their identities: hardworking manual laborers.

Gu Ye guessed correctly. Those crowded in the hallway and the reception room were migrant workers who hadn’t been paid.

As Gu Ye walked past, the migrant workers immediately moved aside for her, seeing her uniform.

In the gap, they discreetly glanced at her, appearing cautious.

Gu Ye was not normally a curious person, but as she passed the doorway, she suddenly caught a clear, bell-like female voice amidst the varied noise.

She instinctively turned her head and looked into the office.

Sure enough, Lin Fan, in her uniform, stood out remarkably among the sea of dark-clad migrant workers.

A tall, clumsy-looking man stood beside her, clearly bewildered by the crowd. Only the ‘little white rabbit’ was smiling cheerfully, no matter what she encountered.

She looked exceptionally composed now, speaking to the leading (elder brother/leader).

Gu Ye retracted her gaze and left the bustling area.

Inside the room, Lin Fan suddenly looked up and glanced toward the door. It was still filled with a dense crowd of enforcement applicants.

Nothing had changed from a moment ago.

Ying Chaoyang, standing beside her, also looked toward the door, alerted, and quietly asked, “What is it, Sister Fan?”

Lin Fan, seeing his nervousness, nudged him with her elbow without hesitation. “Nothing, just looking around.”

She refocused her attention on communicating with the group of applicants seeking back wages.

In the noisy environment, Lin Fan still spoke with a very good attitude to the leading ‘potential representative.’

“Please don’t look down on me because of my age. I’ve been doing enforcement for several years, and you have to believe me. I definitely care about your case. How can you want to switch enforcement officers just because I look young? And bringing everyone here has only reduced communication efficiency. Didn’t we agree on the phone that you would select a few representatives, and I would communicate directly with them? I made the appointment with the representatives on the phone.”

The few leaders exchanged glances. The man standing in the center, surnamed Liu, looked at Lin Fan again.

This young woman was wearing a police uniform and claimed to be a court officer.

What was a court officer? They didn’t understand. The young woman looked cheerful, like a big bun, white and round, and was friendly to them.

But could friendliness feed them?

This batch of forty-six brothers came from the same village to earn money with him. Old Liu had confidently promised everyone would earn money, but before the New Year earlier this year, the boss simply disappeared. Half a year’s worth of work was for nothing. They had no money, couldn’t even afford New Year goods.

One brother had a newborn baby whose wife lacked breast milk, and they were waiting for the wages to buy formula. Now the baby was sickly thin, and the wife was not recovering well after childbirth.

Not to mention Old Liu himself. His daughter needed to start school, his mother needed surgery, and he had various minor illnesses, having run out of medicine.

Unable to find the boss, Old Liu had no choice but to scrape together some money to give to an acquaintance who was doing well, hoping he could help connect the dots. The acquaintance had connections and many associates, so perhaps he could help find the boss.

Unexpectedly, before the money was handed over, the acquaintance, who was involved in the underworld, was arrested first.

Old Liu was arrested along with him but was eventually released after the facts were clarified. The kind police officer sympathized with his plight and showed him the way.

“I’ll write down an address for you. Go there to file for labor arbitration. If you still can’t get the money, take the arbitration award to the court and apply for compulsory enforcement. Let the judge help you find the person and get your money. Don’t worry, we live in a society governed by law. He can’t run away.”

So, following the police officer’s instructions, Old Liu ended up in front of Lin Fan.

His case was assigned to Lin Fan just this Monday.

Old Liu knew the case was assigned to a person named Lin Fan and immediately called. Lin Fan wasn’t in the office at the time, and Ying Chaoyang answered.

Although Ying Chaoyang was usually clumsy, his voice was the steady, reliable tenor of a man, which greatly reassured Old Liu.

He was just waiting for the court to help him get their hard-earned money back.

But after a few days, Old Liu received a call from Lin Fan, asking if he had any clues about the judgment debtor and inviting him for a face-to-face meeting.

Hearing the cheerful, clear female voice on the phone, Old Liu was stunned on the spot.

When he learned that this young-sounding woman was his enforcement officer, Old Liu couldn’t sit still.

This case involved the hard-earned money of forty-six of his brothers!

The court… sent a young woman to handle it?!

Thus, today’s scene unfolded.

Lin Fan, who had just heard about the hidden complexities behind her ‘pig-hugging’ video this morning and realized the turbulent undercurrents beneath a seemingly calm life, sat quietly in her office for a while. She was about to grab some cookies to snack on but hadn’t even opened the bag when she received a call from her court officer colleague at the security checkpoint.

Hearing about the massive scale of the crowd, Lin Fan quickly put down her cookies.

The moment she hung up, she had already figured out the underlying motive behind the large crowd.

But she wasn’t angry. If her capability was questioned, she would just prove herself.

They were the enforcement applicants; she was their enforcement officer.

Calming the applicants was part of her job.

So, looking at the uncles and elder brothers, their simple clothes, and their faces etched with worry, Lin Fan pulled out her phone. “How about this? We’ll create a WeChat group face-to-face. This way, you can supervise me constantly. If there is any progress in the case, I will post it in the group for everyone. If you have any leads on the judgment debtor, you can also post them there.”

After creating the group, Lin Fan continued to speak earnestly. “Brother Liu, our Enforcement Bureau assigns cases according to regional jurisdiction; your case wasn’t intentionally assigned to me. I’ll be honest with you: today’s action certainly left a deep impression on me. Therefore, you should trust me even more. Because I was deeply impressed today, I will pay extra attention to your case. Isn’t that right?”

The co-worker next to Old Liu nudged him. “That makes sense.”

Lin Fan chuckled softly. “People tend to seek advantage and avoid harm. I understand, I understand completely. So, think of your enforcement officer as a person too. You wanted to switch officers, but after today’s commotion, who would dare to take this case? So, your action today has truly tied this case to me. I am determined to see your case through to a successful execution. My goal is the same as yours, but to make it happen, everyone, including you, must listen to me and not act impulsively.”

Her words were kind yet firm.

The co-worker on Old Liu’s other side nudged him again. “Alas… what a fuss. There’s no other way now.”

Old Liu raised his face, filled with deep-seated hardship, and stared intently at Lin Fan.

Lin Fan offered him a slight smile.

Suddenly, Old Liu stepped back half a pace and bowed to the young woman who was about the same age as his eldest daughter.

“We are counting on you! Please help us! Everyone needs this money to live!”

Ying Chaoyang was stunned by the sudden turn of events.

Lin Fan’s smile instantly vanished. She quickly moved to prevent Old Liu from bowing, stopping him mid-way.

Her face was serious, and her eyes flashed with determination.

“It is my duty.”

Judicial judgment is not final because it is correct, but correct because it is final.

The same applies to arbitration that has reached the enforcement stage. An arbitration award that cannot be enforced is nothing more than a piece of waste paper.

On the way back to the office from the reception room, Ying Chaoyang sighed. “Sister Fan, the common people aren’t so simple either. Their intentions…”

Lin Fan, who was usually gentle to everyone and didn’t even care about Chen Qian’s petty remarks, spoke to Ying Chaoyang sharply for the first time. “Ying Chaoyang, you are creating division and antagonism between you and the litigants! Be careful of your language and your stance.”

Lin Fan’s demeanor made Ying Chaoyang nervous. He was a little afraid of his mentor and immediately stood at attention. “Yes!” After responding, he couldn’t help but ask clumsily, “St… Stance?”

“Don’t let your stance be skewed!” Lin Fan looked at him earnestly and sternly, her eyes blazing. “Our unit and profession are named after the people. To ignore individual cases and individuals, and talk about the ‘people’ in the abstract, is very easy to go astray.”

Ying Chaoyang’s heart tightened. He bit his lip and nodded, feeling somewhat ashamed. “Sister Fan, I understand.”

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