Chapter 1369: Chapter 180: Not Our Business!

On the first day of the lunar new year, Yu Xiangqian wanted to check the on-duty situation of various branches, just as Director Chen did. However, compared to inspections, Director Chen focused more on comforting the police who stayed at their posts during the Spring Festival.

Unexpectedly, just after comforting a few traffic police maintaining order at major intersections in the urban area, he received a call from the Executive Deputy Secretary of the City Political and Legal Committee. He couldn’t imagine that his subordinates had been complained about on the first day of the new year.

Director Chen asked his secretary to call Wang Wenhong first, requesting the Water Police Station to quickly understand the situation, and then continued his rounds of comfort visits.

After a round trip to the long-distance bus station, Binjiang Port Passenger Pier, and Bisha Ferry, he arrived at the Water Police Station at 11:30 a.m.

Having spent the whole morning on comfort visits, it was just right to come to the Water Police Station to make up for the "inspection" section.

As soon as Wang Wenhong received the call in the morning, he rushed to the office and urgently called Old Chen from the Water Police Second Team to the station. Just as they figured out the ins and outs, the director arrived, and they hurriedly invited the director into the conference room to report the situation.

"Salted Fish and Xiao Yu helped them out, yet they bite back?" Director Chen found it too absurd, almost unable to believe his ears.

"Mayor Chen, there were at least a hundred shipmen present at the time. Those shipmen are now in the Bin Qi River Lock area. If you don’t believe it, you can have the discipline inspection investigate."

"Why are you so excited? It’s not that I don’t believe you, nor do I disbelieve Salted Fish; it just seems too ridiculous. Did those judges get their heads caught in a door, unable to distinguish right from wrong?"

The more Director Chen thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through the contact list, and said irritably, "The one who ties the bell must untie it. I’ll call Scholar Yu and ask what’s going on!"

Wang Wenhong hurriedly said, "Mayor Chen, don’t call him. I just did, and he’s more distressed than you and me."

"What’s he distressed about? He created this mess, so who else should clean it up if not him?"

"He didn’t understand the situation at first, only knew that the court president said some judges and police officers came to our Binjiang for mandatory enforcement and were blocked by the crowd. Thinking that both the court president and the procuratorate’s prosecutor general also serve as deputy secretaries of the Political and Legal Committee, and usually have a good relationship, he tried to help by calling Salted Fish."

It’s normal to find Salted Fish for matters on the water.

Director Chen put down his phone and asked, "Then what happened?"

"Then this whole mess happened. He was very embarrassed and immediately called the president. It was only then that he learned that the deputy dean in charge of enforcement was parachuted from the High Court. The new official wants to make a mark, seizing the opportunity when people are home for the Spring Festival to organize a cleanup of a backlog of cases."

"What’s that got to do with them biting back?"

"When those above issue commands, those below run their legs off. It’s said that the judges and police officers assigned to enforcement haven’t rested from New Year’s Day to now, having to work overtime for the new year or even travel. Although they can’t complain openly, they are internally resentful, each holding a grudge with nowhere to vent."

"So they’re venting their frustration on us?" Director Chen laughed bitterly.

Wang Wenhong hesitated, then laughed bitterly, "The fire might really have been started by Salted Fish. Yesterday, he said a few things he shouldn’t have on the scene. Those two judges who were already upset might have felt offended and reported to that deputy dean."

Director Chen asked in a low voice, "What did Salted Fish say?"

"He said whether it’s a trial or enforcement, it must conform to common sense and logic, insinuating that their case handling was flawed. Later, he somehow mentioned ’enforcement shouldn’t be done at the expense of conscience.’ One of the judges got agitated and said on the spot that they were following the law and accused Salted Fish of local protectionism."

"You can’t even talk?"

"They have a civil judgment and mandatory enforcement documents, which have legal effect. I’ve asked Legal, and they said the person being enforced can appeal or even file a lawsuit, but before that, they must cooperate. Otherwise, it’s obstruction of official duties, which has legal consequences. From this perspective, Salted Fish shouldn’t have said those things; after all, as public security police, they must first uphold the dignity of the law."

"So because they felt their dignity was offended, they complained about us?"

"Yes." Wang Wenhong offered a cigarette with a bitter smile, "That deputy dean wasn’t just parachuted from the High Court. Before being transferred to the High Court, he worked in the Provincial Political Committee and is reputed to be impartial, not giving face to anyone. Mayor Yu is very embarrassed. The president of the Yungang Court was even more embarrassed, just before I called Mayor Yu, the president was calling him to apologize."

Does working in a provincial committee make one remarkable?

Director Chen had worked his way up to the Vice Mayor post from the grassroots, not too fond of parachuted officials, especially not from another city’s court.

After taking a few puffs of smoke, Director Chen asked in a low voice, "Was there any flaw in the case they handled?"

"I have looked into it, and yes, there are flaws."

"Was there a procedural issue?"

"I asked Legal about it, and they said the procedure for mandatory enforcement is debatable."

"What do you mean by debatable?"

"Neither conforming to common sense and logic nor the spirit of humanitarian concern in mandatory enforcement by the Supreme Court. After all, the object of enforcement was a ship, which for the shipmen, is not just a means of transport but also their home. They weren’t even notified beforehand, just suddenly came over to seize it, even bringing drivers to take the ship away. Where is the family supposed to live?"

If someone owes a debt and the court wants to seize their house, it must first consider whether the debtor has a place to live after the house is seized. If they don’t, the house shouldn’t be seized lightly.

From this perspective, Yungang Court’s seizure of the ship indeed had issues.

Moreover, there was already a dispute over the ship’s ownership. The buyer had purchased it from the defendant before the defendant secured a loan from a bank to buy a new ship, and the old ship wasn’t even mortgaged.

Thinking of this, Director Chen felt Salted Fish neither did wrong nor said anything wrong. He extinguished his cigarette and asked, "Did Secretary Xu from the Political and Legal Committee contact you?"

"Yes, he did."

"What did he say?"

"I reported truthfully, and he said some issues couldn’t be put on the table."

Director Chen puzzledly asked, "What does it mean by ’can’t be put on the table’?"

Wang Wenhong explained: "First, we have no right to criticize other people’s cases for being flawed. Furthermore, situations like the Yungang Intermediate Court enforcing without distinction are somewhat common. This could be related to the court’s limited enforcement resources, especially for cases involving cross-regional enforcement. They don’t have the capability to clarify everything first, so they tend to seize what they can first and ask questions later."

"Is that equivalent to property preservation?"

"More or less."

"They handle cases carelessly and don’t allow others to comment. What kind of logic is that!"

"Secretary Xu means to minimize the issue and let us assist them in finding the ship, to cooperate with their enforcement first before saying more."

"Why should we assist?"

"The deputy dean led the team personally, and this matter has already caught the attention of the Provincial Political Committee."

If it were any other matter, Director Chen would genuinely respect Deputy Secretary Xu of the City Political and Legal Committee’s advice to minimize the issue and have the Water Police Station help find the ship, assist with the seizure, and expedite sending off the Yungang Intermediate Court’s judges and police officers.

The current problem is that the other party is ungrateful and has the audacity to vilify us first, giving no face to the Binjiang Police. So why should Binjiang Police Department give them face?

But as the director, Director Chen couldn’t state this directly, instead he whispered, "Have you contacted Salted Fish?"

"I’ve called him."

"What did Salted Fish say?"

"Salted Fish said he’s an anti-smuggling police officer. Their branch is a vertically managed unit, and he’s not a cadre in the Binjiang Political and Legal system. The City Political and Legal Committee has no authority to inquire about him." Wang Wenhong rubbed his nose and added, "Xiao Yu is from Changhang navigation police, a similarly vertically managed unit."

"This matter has nothing to do with us?"

"Although our division had police on the scene, they were mostly maintaining order."

Director Chen couldn’t miss the implication in Wang Wenhong’s words. He quickly picked up his phone and dialed: "Secretary Xu, it’s Old Chen. I’m at the Water Police Division. I just learned about the matter you called about this morning, and it seems unrelated to our City Bureau!" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Unrelated?" Deputy Secretary Xu was accompanying Yungang Intermediate Court’s Deputy Dean Yang for tea, bewildered by the call.

"The situation as I understand it is, yesterday, three police officers visited the ship being enforced. However, two of those officers were from the Smuggling Crime Investigation Branch and the Changhang Bureau, respectively. Our City Bureau Water Division police were only maintaining order; there was no local protectionism or so-called tip-off."

"What were the Smuggling Crime Investigation Branch’s police doing on the enforced ship?"

"The Customs Anti-Smuggling Dock is by the river. He likely saw the crowd on the ship docked by the river and went to check due to concern."

"What about the Changhang Bureau police? There’s no pier at the Bin Qi River Lock area, so what were they doing there?"

"Although the security of outer port waters is mainly under our City Bureau Water Division’s jurisdiction, the entire waterway’s firefighting safety is under the Changhang Bureau’s jurisdiction. The Changhang Bureau officer likely passed by there during a firefighting safety check."

Director Chen exchanged a glance with Wang Wenhong and nonchalantly added, "I just asked; the Smuggling Crime Investigation Branch officer’s surname is Han, called Salted Fish. The Changhang Bureau officer’s name is Xiao Yu. Secretary Xu, they’re meddling excessively; you might want to speak with their superiors."

Deputy Secretary Xu was shocked: "Salted Fish!"

"Yes, Salted Fish."

"Which Salted Fish?"

"There’s only one Salted Fish on the river."

A person’s name is like their shadow!

Although Deputy Secretary Xu had never met Salted Fish, he had heard about him more than once, even knowing that Secretary Lu, Mayor Wang, Vice Mayor Qin, and Commander Wang of the Military District valued Salted Fish highly.

Reporting Salted Fish in Binjiang is a joke, isn’t it?

As for reporting Salted Fish for local protectionism to the Provincial Political Committee, it’s equally futile!

Deputy Secretary Xu realized this is not something a deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Committee can coordinate. He put down the phone and turned: "Dean Yang, sorry, I just clarified the situation. The two officers you mentioned are not from Binjiang. One belongs to the Customs system, and the other is Changhang navigation police. You may need to report this to your superiors to find their leaders."

"They’re not Binjiang Police Department officers; what were they doing on the ship?"

"That I don’t know; the Provincial Political Committee is awaiting a reply, and I must report to my superiors quickly."

"Secretary Xu, could you do me another favor?"

"What favor?"

Deputy Dean Yang, realizing he had wrongly accused them, sheepishly said, "Our Yungang is not like Binjiang; our court’s funding is limited. It’s not easy to execute once. Could you help coordinate again and ask the Water Division colleagues to help find that ship?"

Reporting us Binjiang without understanding the situation, especially during the New Year’s time, do they think we’re pushovers!

Deputy Secretary Xu was displeased and naturally declined the favor, saying with a helpless expression, "Dean Yang, you’ve worked in the Provincial Committee; you should understand our Political and Legal Committee’s situation. We may coordinate, but there’s little we can do, especially in specific cases where we can’t intervene or inquire. I truly can’t help. Shall I arrange for someone to take you to the Water Division to talk to them?"

"I go to talk?"

"You came with an introduction letter; they should assist. Moreover, the first director of the Water Division was Vice Mayor Yu from your Yungang. Yungang coming for a case, they’ll certainly give Mayor Yu face and will surely help."