Justice System: I Litigate for the Whole City

Chapter 48 : Sixty Percent

February 18, 9:00 a.m., second floor of the Litigation Service Center.

Tang Guo had gotten the guarantee letter done. She saw the comment Shen Zhixia had left under one of her videos, and the next morning she brought her ID card and a copy of the judgment upstairs. When she came back, she said the insurance company on the second floor would accept it: coverage amount 36,406, premium 120 yuan.

"I fronted the money." Tang Guo slapped the paper onto the table. "Pay me back if you want, or don't. I don't care."

Shen Zhixia read the paper twice. Tang Guo had pressed a fingerprint onto one corner.

"A secret mark." Tang Guo said. "So you can't deny owing me later."

On February 11, the preservation application went in through the filing window. On February 18, she brought the receipt and went to ask about the result.

Inside the window was still the same person, in his forties, the lid of his enamel mug screwed on. He pulled a sheet of paper from the drawer and slid it out under the glass.

"Notice of Property Investigation Results."

Only half the page was printed. Two stamps at the top, four lines below.

Defendant 2, Jiangzhou Sutong Delivery Service Co., Ltd. Four bank accounts, including the basic bank account. Balance, total zero. Real estate, none. Vehicles, none. External investments, none.

Defendant 3, Jianhua Delivery Service Department. Two bank accounts. Balance, total zero. Real estate, none. Vehicles, none. External investments, none.

Beneath the four lines was one more line of fine print: No property eligible for preservation was found; these preservation measures could not be implemented.

"What got frozen?" she asked.

"A page of zeroes." The man said, "You got a good judgment in that case. But its accounts are empty. Empty, you can't freeze."

"When did they go empty?"

"That's not on the paper." He tapped the keyboard twice. "Last December, when that execution was terminated, Hengtong's three accounts still had four figures. In January this year, I checked once—two figures." He paused. "This month, zero."

She folded the half page twice and tucked it into her wallet. The fifty yuan He Xiufen had given her was still pressed in there.

Before leaving the hall, she refreshed the Public Information Registry again. On Sutong's page, the line at the top had changed: simplified deregistration filing application, objection established, transferred to general deregistration procedure. On Jianhua's page, the same entry.

She clicked further down to Hengtong. The Legal Representative column still read "Wang Deshan," and the address was still that house number in Shiqiao Village, Linhe Town. Changed on February 3. By now, there was nothing left behind that door to move.

At noon she went back to Zhengping Firm. The kitchen downstairs was steaming. He Xiufen was at the stove. When she saw her come in, she turned the flame down.

"Got the freeze."

"A page of zeroes." She laid the half page on the chopping board.

He Xiufen wiped her hands, carried it to the window, and looked it over under the light, slowly. When she finished, she set the paper back down.

"Three hundred eighty-four yuan in preservation fees, one hundred twenty for the guarantee." She said, "For this half page."

"Mm."

"That big name above it—why didn't you freeze it?"

"To freeze it, you'd first have to freeze the account it collects money into." He Xiufen turned the flame down again. "That account isn't in Jiangzhou."

"Cross-province."

"A cross-province document has to make the rounds. By the time it answers, this half page of yours will already have gone cold." She said, "The ones that can run away are the small ones. The big one doesn't run."

"It doesn't run."

"It stalls."

He Xiufen turned the flame up.

"Winning on procedure doesn't count as winning. Money reaches the card—that's when it counts."

"I know."

The water in the pot came to a boil. He Xiufen shook the noodles in.

"A general deregistration requires liquidation and a forty-five-day public notice, slower than simplified." She said, "But that word, liquidation—sounds nice. What it actually does is split things up. And who it splits them among, it doesn't ask you."

"Then what should I be watching?"

"You can't watch it. You don't have the right." He Xiufen fished out the noodles. "Those three things of yours—you've finished two and a half. The third was finding leads. Did you find any?"

"There's nothing under its name."

"Nothing under its name." He Xiufen brought the bowl over and set it by her hand. "Under the name of the person above it—do you have the means to go look?"

She pushed the bowl half an inch away.

"I need to wait until this paper in my hand takes effect first."

"Right."

[Thud. Three hundred eighty-four yuan frozen: a page of zeroes.]

[Thud. First it switched the person, then it moved things out, and only then locked the door.]

February 20, dark came early. At the entrance of Chengdong Cold Storage, a layer of icy slush had built up. The wheels of the tricycles going in and out were each wrapped in a ring of white.

Luo Cheng came out the side door, his cotton gloves half off, several fingers bright with cold. He saw her standing by the wall, froze for a second, and tucked his helmet under his arm.

"You really came."

"I said I'd come."

"What are you here for? I'm not going back on it."

He took out his phone and held it over. One payment: 720 yuan. Balance: 37.40 yuan.

"I scraped this month together." He said, "Next month on the twentieth, still seven hundred twenty."

"That scooter of yours is second-hand."

"Second-hand still comes in installments." He put his phone away. "My wife does warehouse sorting, 2,600 a month. Rent is 1,300. That 720 last month—I dug it out of the cold-storage daily pay, one bit at a time. This one today, my mom sent over."

She didn't answer. The fan by the entrance hummed. White vapor rolled out of the cold storage and ran low along the ground.

"Somebody called me this afternoon." Luo Cheng said.

"Who?"

"Local number. A man. First he asked if I was Luo Cheng. Then he asked if I was one of those twenty from Chengnan Station No. 1."

"What did he say?"

"Said, your share can be worked out." He switched his helmet to his other hand. "Said, don't keep holding out alongside that lawyer. Come alone. Sit down and talk."

"Did you keep the number?"

"Kept it." He pulled up the call log. "It rang twice. The second time I didn't answer."

"Send it to me. Remember three things—if he calls again, don't go alone, don't sign anything, and record any call."

"Could he actually give me money?"

"He can't." She said, "What he wants is for you not to stand with the other nineteen."

Luo Cheng put his hat back on and pressed the brim down.

"Sis," he said, "when does the money come?"

The wind lifted the plastic sheeting and let it fall. She stood by the wall and went through the Five Steps again from beginning to end: the first step was done, four remained. Standing in between were the second-instance hearing schedule, five months, and two deregistrations busy moving things out.

"I don't know the exact day," she said.

Luo Cheng nodded and didn't ask again. He shifted the plastic bag to his left hand and walked toward the row of scooters. After two steps, he turned back.

"The twentieth next month," he said.

February 24, the last day of the appeal period.

In the evening she pushed aside the plastic curtain of the noodle shop. Someone was sitting at the small table by the stove.

Lu Jibai's case file lay sideways at his left hand, pinning down half a menu. There was an extra kraft paper envelope on the table.

"Sit."

She sat, but didn't pick up the chopsticks.

"Filed this morning." He said, "Last day."

"I know what day today is."

"Two things in the envelope." He pushed it half an inch toward her. "One is a copy of the Notice of Appeal, for court service. The other is a Settlement Proposal, one copy for each of the twenty appellees."

She opened the envelope. The appeal page was written cleanly. In the Facts and Reasons columns, the first line of the first column read: The first-instance judgment found the facts unclear and applied the law incorrectly.

Below it was the printed Settlement Proposal, in four articles.

1. The appellant and the twenty appellees shall reach mediation after the second-instance case is accepted, and the second-instance court shall issue a mediation order.

2. Within thirty days from the date the mediation order is served, the appellant shall pay a lump sum of 21,843.60 yuan.

3. The twenty persons confirm that all disputes in this case are fully settled, that they will no longer assert an employment relationship, and that they will no longer apply for enforcement.

4. The liability of Defendant 2, Defendant 3, and Defendant 4 in this case is concluded together.

She read it line by line, then spread the paper flat on the table.

"Sixty percent."

"Sixty percent." He said, "It did the math. Sixty percent of 36,406 is 21,843.60."

"It knows what this sixty percent is buying."

"It's buying the sentence you won in first instance." He picked up his empty cup and set it down again. "Once the second-instance mediation order is served, the first-instance judgment is vacated. Whether these twenty people and it had an employment relationship—not a single word will be left."

Over at the kitchen side, He Xiufen stacked bowls twice and didn't come out.

"Article 2 says within thirty days." She said, "Withdraw first, pay later."

"That's how the words read."

"Articles 3 and 4—one wants those six words from me, the other wants me to let go of the three companies." She turned the paper over. The back was blank. "If it really is willing to pay, why won't it pay all of it?"

"It can't come up with that amount."

"Then send my terms back exactly as they are." She said, "My conditions: one-time payment, full amount, money in the card and then I sign; no withdrawing the finding, no giving up enforcement, and the separate liability of Defendants 2, 3, and 4 doesn't get written into the settlement. If it agrees, we can sign tomorrow."

Lu Jibai looked at her for three seconds. He didn't argue, and he didn't smile.

"Would it agree?" she asked.

"No."

"Then why did you bring this over?"

"I'm its representative." He tucked the case file under his arm and stood up. "Every piece of paper it produces, I have to deliver to your hands."

A corner of the plastic curtain was lifted by the wind at the entrance. He walked to the doorway and stopped.

"The fact that it's willing to offer sixty percent means it admits it lost." He said, "The rest, it won't negotiate money with you. It'll bet against you on time."

"How long?"

"Six months." He lifted the curtain. "It's betting you can't hold out six months."

The curtain fell. The bowl of noodles on the table was still steaming, the chopsticks laid in a cross—He Xiufen had brought it over at some point.

[Thud. It offers sixty percent, pays out 21,843.60, to buy back those six words.]

[Thud. It isn't short these 36,000 yuan. What it lacks is the people still standing behind you five months from now.]

Upstairs, the long table was spread with the judgment and that sheet of grid paper. Ma Jianjun sat at the far end, Deng Wei next to him, Luo Cheng by the window, Xiao Duan holding up his phone.

She placed the Settlement Proposal in the middle of the table.

"What's this?" Ma Jianjun asked.

"A second-instance settlement." She said, "It's offering sixty percent. 21,843.60."

The table went quiet for a moment. Xiao Duan spoke first.

"Sixty percent is still money. Twenty people—1,092 each."

"It was supposed to be 1,820 each." Luo Cheng's hands rubbed against his knees. "That's 728 less. I've got another 720 coming out on the twentieth next month. And this afternoon there was another call, different number."

"How many people have gotten them?" Deng Wei asked.

"Four that I know of." Xiao Duan turned his screen around: a row of unknown numbers. "Lao Chang got one, Xu Li got one, me, and Luo Cheng. All the same wording—'your share can be worked out.'"

"It's picking people off one by one." Ma Jianjun said.

"It wants us to withdraw first." Deng Wei looked at the page. "Withdraw the finding, withdraw the enforcement, withdraw the pursuit of those three companies. The money is held back until thirty days later."

He Xiufen came upstairs with her tea mug, sat down across from Ma Jianjun, and took the proposal. She scanned it quickly.

"It's offering sixty percent because it wants to buy back those six words you won." She said, "'The existence of an employment relationship.' The price it's set on those six words is 14,562.40—deducted right out of the 36,000 you should get. And after the deduction, the money still has to wait thirty days."

"So do we take it?" Luo Cheng asked.

"You ask me whether to take it. Let me ask you whether you can afford to wait." Deng Wei set his cup down on the table with a thump. "Twenty people, the total shortfall is about 14,000. Anyone here whose family isn't waiting on money this month—speak up."

"I didn't say I wanted to sign." Luo Cheng said.

"I know you didn't."

"Brother Deng," He pushed the brim of his cap up. "My wife told me yesterday, if we miss one installment, they'll come tow the scooter. If it gets towed, that's eighty fewer orders a day for me."

No one at the table answered him.

She pressed her hand onto the paper.

"It's betting we can't hold out until that day. It's betting on people—out of twenty, one will always break first. Those four calls today? That's it counting."

"Counts however many it can get." Deng Wei said.

"Which is why I won't sign." She folded the paper. "I've put forward my conditions: full amount, in the card, no withdrawing the finding, no giving up enforcement. Whether it agrees is its business. I'll send the answer back."

He Xiufen screwed the lid onto her tea mug and said nothing.

Ma Jianjun had sat motionless the whole time. A page of the paper lay in front of him. He picked it up and looked it over twice—some of the writing he couldn't fully read—then pushed it back to the middle of the table.

"That day in court," he said, "it didn't recognize me as a person. It only recognized the orders I'd run."

"Mm."

"After half a year's effort, it wants to use sixty percent to make me hand those six words back." He slid both hands back into the pockets of his padded jacket. "I'll tell you something true—until this money is in my hand, I won't withdraw for a single day."