What's wrong with this lawyer?!-Chapter 1042 - 337: Passing the Buck, Huh? Find a Place to Do it Slowly!_3

"What do you mean ’not a reason’? I said it’s useless, so it’s useless... Fine, fine, if you want to keep it, then keep it. It’s not going to be of any use anyway," said the staff impatiently.

"How can you claim it’s ’not going to be of any use’? I’ve meticulously prepared this evidence, and you take one look and declare it useless?" Tang Fangjing replied calmly.

"I’ve already told you about the statute of limitations—can’t you understand? How are people like you even working as a lawyer? Even if your case gets filed, it’ll be dismissed immediately, get it?" The staff retorted.

"Dismissed?" Tang Fangjing unhurriedly opened his briefcase and pulled out a thick legal tome—the Civil Code!

Then, without haste, he flipped to Article 193 of the Civil Code, pointed to the provision, and said, "See this? The People’s Court shall not proactively apply the statute of limitations provisions."

"What’s puzzling to me is this: Is the Ningtang County People’s Court operating under its own set of laws? Otherwise, why is every single statement you’ve made contradicting the current legal provisions?"

This particular provision is straightforward. Statute of limitations can be raised as a defense by the defendant, but the court cannot apply it proactively.

The court cannot take the initiative to say the case exceeds the statute of limitations and dismiss it. In fact, the court is also prohibited from explicitly stating that the case has exceeded the statute of limitations.

The commotion had already drawn the attention of others in the filing office, and now everyone subconsciously looked over.

Seeing Tang Fangjing flipping through the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Law while quibbling over legal language, the onlookers felt somewhat overwhelmed.

Anyone who studied law knows about these issues, but very few dare to directly confront the court. The reasons behind this don’t even need explaining.

Yet here he was—this out-of-town lawyer—not only confronting them but pulling out legal clauses to slap them in the face!

The staff’s cheeks were tinged red, "Are you here to teach us how to do our job? Who do you think you are?"

Tang Fangjing maintained his smile and replied, "I’m just an ordinary lawyer. You certainly don’t need me to teach you how to do your job. I’m merely pointing out your mistakes."

"Has the people’s right to oversight disappeared?"

The staff immediately fell silent, looking intently to confirm that Tang Fangjing was not secretly recording a video. Still, she refrained from saying more and chose to sit silently instead.

No point arguing with him—this case definitely won’t get filed.

Tang Fangjing wasn’t bothered by her reaction. He simply remarked, "Comrade, according to regulation, you’re supposed to give me a response within seven days. I’ll come back in seven days, then."

With that, Tang Fangjing turned to leave. Inside, the staff rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "What’s he trying to pull!"

She felt Tang Fangjing was putting on an act, bringing a legal book just to disgust people.

Others kept quiet; some felt the young man looked familiar but couldn’t remember exactly where they had seen him.

And just like that, Tang Fangjing returned to the hotel. He had expected beforehand that it would be a tough battle to file the case here, so he wasn’t upset at all.

Patience is key; in the end, he’d just publicize everything online anyway. It didn’t really matter to him.

The grassroots bureaucratic approach here was far too problematic—it wouldn’t hurt to straighten things out.

For now, he’d just wait.

However, he wouldn’t simply idle away these seven days. He intended to devote this time to investigative walkabouts, focusing on digging up rumors about that leader surnamed Qin.

Many rumors are baseless. In small towns, where people all know each other, anything can spread with exaggerated specifics.

One rumor was that the leader’s son had gone abroad but later returned. Allegedly, he owned property in Modu; the details were so vivid they seemed plausible.

But most of those rumors lacked evidence, and besides, he couldn’t possibly verify them himself.

Still, it didn’t matter—investigative walkabouts were always a gamble. Might as well start somewhere.

With all that hovering in the background, seven days passed in the blink of an eye. That morning, Tang Fangjing once again entered Ningtang County Court’s filing office. This time, the staff on duty was someone else.

The staff looked at Tang Fangjing, somewhat puzzled, "What’s your case about?"

"Exactly, my complaint and evidence—all of that was submitted seven days ago. According to the Civil Procedure Law, you should provide me with a response within seven days—either file the case or refuse to accept it. But now there hasn’t been any update, so I came to ask."

The staff shook his head after hearing this, "I wouldn’t know. All the cases here that I handle have been processed. Give me your name, and I’ll look it up for you."

Tang Fangjing chuckled, "Me? My name is Tang Fangjing."

"Tang Fangjing? Alright, let me… Wait, what did you say your name was?" The staff froze.

"I said, my name is Tang Fangjing. Is that so strange? What’s strange, however, is how the materials I’ve submitted to you seem to have disappeared into thin air!"