Justice System: I Litigate for the Whole City

Chapter 244: I Can't Say for Sure

"Witness Guo Jianping." The presiding judge pushed his glasses up. "Before we begin, this court must inform you of two things. One: the clerk will record every answer you give. Two: you are obligated to testify truthfully. If you commit perjury, you bear the consequences yourself."

"Understood."

The clerk placed a copy of the Witness Truthfulness Pledge on the wooden rail of the witness stand. Guo Jianping wiped his hand on his pant leg before taking the pen. He signed slowly, the last stroke dragging into a thin line. When he finished, he reached into the old jacket draped over his arm, pulled out a sheet of paper folded twice, and handed it to the clerk—the original settlement slip.

On the defendant's table, the two pages of the Objection to the Plaintiff's Witnesses' Qualification to Testify still lay face-up.

"The plaintiff may question the witness."

Shen Zhixia flipped her binder to the first page.

"Mr. Guo, on May 20th, the video shoot on Wenchang Road Subdistrict—who assigned you that job?"

"Xingyao. Jiangzhou Xingyao Culture Media Co., Ltd. Field videography."

"Which company paid you?"

"Dingchang. Jiangzhou Dingchang Culture Media Co., Ltd. It came through their corporate account."

[Thud. Two sentences practiced yesterday. Not one word more today.]

In the last row of the gallery, He Xiufen's hands were clenched into fists on her knees, knuckles white. Two seconds passed before they slowly loosened.

"How many payments?"

"Five."

"How do you know those five payments came from them?"

"The June 23rd payment—the summary field had a string of numbers. That string is on the back of my card."

"The plaintiff has no further questions."

"The defendant may question the witness," the presiding judge said.

Lawyer Zhao stood and turned the pledge page toward himself.

"Mr. Guo, you say Xingyao assigned the work. Did you sign a labor contract with Xingyao?"

"No."

"Then what makes you say Xingyao assigned it?"

"When the job came in, it was their company that called my name. When I worked, it was under their company's name."

"Who called your name? What day? What was that person's surname?"

Guo Jianping's Adam's apple moved.

"I can't remember the date. The person—I can't say for sure."

"So on the assignment step, you can't say for sure." Lawyer Zhao spun his pen between his fingers. "What about the payment step?"

"The money came from Dingchang. Five payments, all into that card."

"Whose work were you doing?"

"Work assigned by Xingyao."

"Those two sentences—someone told you to say them, didn't they?"

"I'm saying them because I want to."

"That settlement slip—who wrote it? Who gave it to you?"

"After I finished the job, the company gave it to me."

"Which person at the company put it in your hand?"

"I didn't ask."

"Why didn't you ask?"

"I do the work, I get paid. I didn't ask anything else."

Lawyer Zhao pushed his notebook forward half an inch and flipped to a page with a paper slip tucked in it.

"This card—why did you keep it?"

"It's my card. The work's done; I keep my card."

"Besides the money Dingchang deposited, is there money from anyone else in that account?"

"Yes. Other jobs."

"Then how can you be certain those five payments came from Dingchang?"

"The June 23rd payment—the string in the summary field is the number on my card."

"How can you be certain Dingchang and Xingyao are the same company?"

The presiding judge set down his pen. "Witness, listen carefully to the question and answer truthfully."

Guo Jianping raised his eyes and looked across the room.

"I can't say for sure about that."

[Thud. The column he can't speak to is exactly the column missing from the paper.]

Someone in the gallery let out a low laugh, quickly stifled. The paper on He Xiufen's lap was still blank, not a single word written.

"The seal on that slip," Lawyer Zhao said. "What kind of seal? When was it stamped? Who stamped it?"

"It came to me like that. I never touched it."

"Before the plaintiff's attorney contacted you, did you know her?"

"No."

"Did she pay you?"

"Your Honor." Shen Zhixia spoke up. "The plaintiff will answer for the witness—no. The plaintiff only asked him to come and speak to what's written on those pages in his hand."

"Let the witness answer as well," the presiding judge said.

"No," Guo Jianping said. "I say a few words and go back to looking for work."

"Does the plaintiff have any further questions for this witness?"

"One." Shen Zhixia said, "Mr. Guo, yesterday afternoon, a piece of paper was slipped under your door. What was written on it?"

"Your Honor." Lawyer Zhao looked up. "This question has no bearing on the facts this witness is here to prove."

"Let him answer."

Guo Jianping's hand pressed flat against his pant leg.

"Starting this month, no more field shoots will be arranged."

"Was there a signature on it? A seal?"

"No. Nothing at all."

"The plaintiff has no further questions."

"The witness is excused," the presiding judge said. "After leaving the courtroom, you may not observe the remainder of the proceedings, nor may you discuss today's testimony with anyone."

Guo Jianping placed the pen back on the wooden rail and picked up the old jacket draped over his arm. At the door he glanced back—not at the defendant's bench, but at the plaintiff's. Shen Zhixia gave him a small nod. The door closed with a soft click.

"The plaintiff may continue presenting evidence."

"The plaintiff requests an in-court examination of the original item."

She lifted the kraft paper envelope from the bag at her feet, seal side up, a perforation seal pressed across it. She set the envelope on the edge of the table and pulled out the notarial certificate page from the case file.

"On July 15th, the Chengnan Notary Office extracted and sealed this memory card, together with a one-page handwritten statement by the witness. The notarial certificate is in the record; the serial number can be checked against the number on the seal strip. The original settlement slip has been in the witness's possession and was just handed to the clerk in court by him."

The presiding judge opened the certificate, examined the seal on the envelope, and pushed both toward the clerk.

"Serial numbers match," the clerk read aloud. "Seal strip intact."

"The plaintiff requests permission to open the seal in court and verify the original item."

"Granted."

The clerk put on gloves, cut along the seal with a small pair of scissors, and removed the contents: a zip-seal bag holding the card, and a one-page handwritten statement.

The clerk passed the settlement slip Guo Jianping had submitted to the plaintiff's bench. The paper had been folded twice. Shen Zhixia unfolded it, pinned its two corners to the table with her fingers, and faced it toward the bench.

"Letterhead in this field: Jiangzhou Xingyao Culture Media Co., Ltd." She paused for two seconds. "Handling officer field: blank."

"This red seal in the lower right corner—missing a corner."

She raised her eyes toward the defendant's bench.

"I invite the defendant's counsel to look again at that page in the record—Guo Jianping's June 23rd service fee, the summary reference number, a string of characters: three letters at the front, ten digits after. This morning, the defendant's counsel offered no objection to this page."

Lawyer Zhao flipped through two pages to that column and studied it for a long moment.

"That column was already reviewed this morning."

"It was." She said, "Then the plaintiff now asks the court to look at the second item against this same string. The notarial certificate attachment—a photo of the back of the card. Three letters at the front, ten digits after."

The clerk laid the two pages side by side on the bench and looked at the left, then the right.

"Three letters, ten digits. First through tenth positions—identical in every one."

"The company that assigned the work is written in the letterhead as Xingyao," Shen Zhixia said. "The signature line is blank. The money was paid from Dingchang, and the card that received it belongs to this witness. Three items—all in court today."

"A handwritten slip of unknown origin, a witness who can't explain anything." Lawyer Zhao closed his notebook. "The plaintiff wants this court to find that my client assigned this job."

"The plaintiff doesn't decide anything for this court." She released the two corners of the settlement slip. "The plaintiff simply reads these fields aloud for the court to hear."

"Verification complete," the presiding judge said. "The original item will be held by this court for safekeeping and disposed of according to regulations after judgment."

The clerk returned the card and the written statement to the envelope, resealed it, wrote the date on the seal strip, and signed. The settlement slip went into a separate evidence bag and was stored with the rest.

"The plaintiff has one more page to submit."

She pushed the last page to the edge of the table: the Witness Harassment Statement, with attachments and a police station receipt underneath.

"In this page, the plaintiff has written no one's name," she said. "What's written are dates—and the serial number on the receipt. On the evening of July 31st, a vehicle parked below the witness's building for over an hour; the last three digits of the plate were 731. It was there once on the night of August 9th. Then again on the night of August 11th, from 9:20 to 10:20 PM. The dates and times of three knocks on the door. A work-suspension notice with no signature and no seal. A letter with no postmark and no sender. A lawyer's letter from a law firm. At 7 AM this morning, this was delivered to the police station—the receipt number is here."

"Your Honor," Lawyer Zhao said, "not one page of this mentions the defendant. The plaintiff is attempting to use the conduct of persons outside this case to inflate this witness's credibility."

"The plaintiff has only this to say." She said, "On the afternoon before trial, another slip of paper was pushed under his door. The plaintiff cannot produce who pushed it, and won't speculate. The plaintiff submits these dates to the court and asks that they be entered into the record."

The presiding judge turned the page over, then back.

"Accepted. It will be entered into the case file and the record." He said, "The court notes for the record: this portion of the materials will be considered only as reference for assessing the credibility of the witness's testimony, not as a basis for finding infringement."

"Understood."

At the plaintiff's table, Tang Guo's hand had never left the strap of her bag. The corner of that sticky note had frayed from all the handling. Three words still on it.

"Does the plaintiff have further evidence to present?"

"Yes."

"Your Honor." Lawyer Zhao stood. "The defendant has a request."

He closed his briefcase.

"The defendant asks the court for a deadline extension—to verify once more the circumstances of our contact with the Wu Jianchuan named in that letter, and after verification, to submit a written supplementary explanation to the court."

"This court granted the defendant three days this morning. It is already in the record." The presiding judge said. "Is the defendant now applying for a postponement of trial?"

"The defendant is hoping for a little... latitude on the deadline." Lawyer Zhao said. "Additionally, regarding the amount of compensation in this case, the defendant is willing to exchange views with the plaintiff outside of court."

A rustle of paper came from the gallery. Someone leaned forward half an inch.

Shen Zhixia glanced at the plaintiff's table. Tang Guo sat motionless, eyes on her.

"The plaintiff does not accept an exchange of views outside of court, nor does the plaintiff apply for a postponement." Shen Zhixia said. "The plaintiff requests to continue presenting evidence."

Lu Jibai did not push any paper over. He sat to her left, opened the binder in front of him, folded down the corner of the next page for her, pressed his fingertip along the crease, and withdrew his hand.

"Accounts in court get settled in court," he said, voice low, directed toward the defendant's bench.

"Granted." The presiding judge tapped the edge of the desk. "The plaintiff may continue presenting evidence."

"Continuing with evidence," she said.

The binder turned over. At the top of that page was a company name. Below it, a field reading Legal Representative, three characters: Chen Maolin.