Reborn in 2000: I'm the Boss's Driver

The Lunar New Year celebrations are considered over on the seventh day of the first lunar month.

The streets and alleys of the steel city still bear the remnants of firecracker confetti, but the commuter crowds have already returned to the streets. Shops are gradually reopening, and government offices have resumed normal operations.

In the Political and Legal Affairs Commission's office, Lin Fan brewed a strong cup of tea, trying to shake off the lethargy brought on by the holiday. Several documents were piled on the table, all accumulated during the Spring Festival.

Zhao Gang knocked on the door and came in, holding a folder in his hand.

"Director Lin, Happy New Year." He said with a smile, but there was a hint of fatigue in his smile, clearly indicating that he hadn't had much rest during the holiday.

"Happy New Year." Lin Fan gestured to the chair opposite him. "Sit down. Any news from Guangzhou?"

"Got it." Zhao Gang sat down, opened the folder, and said, "I sent two comrades to Guangzhou on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and they came back yesterday. They brought Li Qiang and Li Zhiguo back with them."

"How is it?"

"He confessed everything." Zhao Gang pushed a copy of the statement over. "Li Qiang admitted that he was the one who hit the person in the bar back then, but he realized he had hit the wrong person after he finished. Fearing that the other party would cause him trouble, Li Qiang was scared, so he told his father."

Lin Fan flipped through the transcript. Li Qiang's handwriting was crooked and messy, but the content was very detailed.

"What did Li Jianguo do?"

"Li Jianguo was competing with someone for a project at the time, and he was afraid that his son would cause trouble and affect his business, so he turned the tables on Chen Xiaohu," Zhao Gang said. "Chen Xiaohu happened to have drunk a lot of alcohol and was knocked unconscious, so he didn't know anything. Li Jianguo then bribed witnesses and used his connections to pin the blame on Chen Xiaohu."

"Who are the police officers handling this case?"

"Liu Zhiqiang," Zhao Gang said, "Li Jianguo gave Liu Zhiqiang 80,000 yuan through an intermediary, and Liu Zhiqiang then made the case airtight."

Lin Fan closed the notebook, feeling a mix of emotions. Six years of a young man's youth were worth only 80,000 yuan.

"What about Li Jianguo now?"

Zhao Gang said, "Our colleagues in Guangzhou cooperated with us and took him away from his shop. He was escorted back yesterday afternoon and is now in detention."

Where is Li Qiang?

"They were brought back too, and they're being held in detention now."

Lin Fan nodded.

"Has the matter of the missing physical evidence been clarified?" he asked.

"We checked." Zhao Gang took out another document. "The evidence custodian at the Gangdong branch back then was named Wang Wei, and he's retired now. We found him, and he said that when the warehouse was relocated in 2008, Liu Zhiqiang personally came to 'clean up' a batch of evidence, including the beer bottles from the Chen Xiaohu case. Wang Wei raised objections at the time, saying that evidence shouldn't be handled arbitrarily according to regulations, but Liu Zhiqiang said it was an order from the leadership."

"Which leader?"

Wang Wei said that Liu Zhiqiang mentioned "Director Zhang" at the time, which should be Zhang Jianguo, the deputy director at the time, who has now been transferred to the provincial department.

Lin Fan noted down the name. If the loss of physical evidence was intentional, then the situation was even more serious.

"Are all the materials ready?" he asked.

"It's all there. Witness testimonies, lawyer's statements, confessions from Li Qiang and his son, an explanation of the loss of physical evidence, and documentary evidence such as bank statements," Zhao Gang said. "We can now formally submit a recommendation for a retrial."

"Okay, you prepare a complete report, and I'll submit it to Secretary Zhou."

After Zhao Gang left, Lin Fan leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. The first snow after the Spring Festival was falling, light and fine, drifting in the air.

The Chen Xiaohu case has reached a point where its verdict can be essentially reached. A wrongful conviction, ruining six years of a young man's life due to money and power transactions. And those who instigated this should now pay the price.

But he knew in his heart that there might be other similar cases within the political and legal system. Zhou Wenyuan's list contained more than a dozen cases that needed further investigation. Behind each of them, there was likely a broken family.

The road ahead is still long.

At 3 p.m., Lin Fan took the organized materials to Zhou Wenyuan's office.

Zhou Wenyuan was looking at documents when he saw him come in. He pointed to the sofa and said, "Sit down. Are the materials ready?"

"Ready." Lin Fan handed over the report. "The chain of evidence is complete, and it can be confirmed that it is a wrongful conviction."

Zhou Wenyuan read it carefully, which took him more than ten minutes. After he finished, he took off his glasses and rubbed his temples.

"These people are truly lawless," he said in a low voice. "A construction project, 80,000 yuan, is enough to bribe the police and fabricate a wrongful conviction. What do ordinary people mean to them?"

Lin Fan didn't speak. He knew Zhou Wenyuan wasn't really asking him a question.

"Follow the procedures." Zhou Wenyuan picked up a pen, signed the report, and said, "Request the court to retry the case. At the same time, file cases against Li Jianguo, Liu Zhiqiang, and others as appropriate, and transfer cases to the judiciary as necessary. Especially Liu Zhiqiang, who also has issues in Wang Jianguo's case; investigate both cases together."

"it is good."

Zhou Wenyuan handed the report back to him and suddenly asked, "What's the matter I mentioned to you during the Spring Festival? What's your thought process?"

Lin Fan knew he was referring to the promotion.

"Secretary Zhou, I've thought about it carefully," Lin Fan said, choosing his words carefully. "The position of deputy secretary is too important, and my qualifications are indeed limited. Moreover, I haven't worked in the Political and Legal Affairs Commission for very long. If I'm promoted suddenly, I'm afraid other comrades will have objections."

Zhou Wenyuan looked at him: "So you mean you're not going to answer?"

"It's not that I won't accept the offer," Lin Fan said. "I was thinking, could we resolve the issue of compensation first? My official position is still office director, but I'll enjoy the benefits of a full-fledged department head. This way, it won't affect my work, and it will also be more convincing to the staff."

Zhou Wenyuan thought for a moment, then smiled: "You're quite steady, kid. A division chief's salary, a deputy division chief's position. Okay, I'll think about it."

"Thank you for your understanding, Secretary Zhou."

"But while the compensation has been settled, the burden won't be light," Zhou Wenyuan said. "The political and legal system will undergo a major overhaul after the New Year, so you'll have to shoulder more responsibility."

"Of course."

Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief as he left Zhou Wenyuan's office. The salary of a division chief, the position of a deputy division chief—this arrangement met his expectations. It provided room for advancement without making him stand out too much.

Back in his office, he called Zhao Gang.

"The retrial process has been initiated, and Secretary Zhou has approved it. You should expedite the process on your end."

"Understood," Zhao Gang said. "By the way, Director Lin, Li Jianguo wants to see you."

"See me? Why?"

He said he wanted to discuss some issues with you in person, concerning the internal workings of the political and legal system.

Lin Fan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go to the detention center tomorrow morning."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Fan checked the time; it was almost time to get off work. He packed his things to go home when his phone rang again; it was Wang Juan.

"Are you coming home for dinner tonight?" Wang Juan asked.

"Yes. What's wrong?"

"Xiao Lei is going back to school today, and my mom cooked a lot of dishes, saying we should have a meal together," Wang Juan said. "If you're busy, just go ahead and do what you need to do; you don't need to rush back."

"It's okay, I'll be right back."

On my drive home, the snow got heavier. A thin layer of white had accumulated on the trees along the roadside, clearly visible under the streetlights.

While waiting at a red light, Lin Fan saw a small stall selling roasted sweet potatoes by the roadside. The stall owner was an elderly man, rubbing his hands in the cold wind. He got out of the car and bought a few.

When they arrived at her father-in-law's house, the sweet potatoes were still warm. Baby and Beibei eagerly asked for some, so Wang Juan cut them into small pieces and let them eat them with spoons.

"Where's Xiao Lei?" Lin Fan asked.

"I'm packing my things inside, school starts tomorrow," Wang Juan said. "I'm in my final year of junior high, the studies are intense."

Just then, Xiao Lei came out of the room and called out, "Brother-in-law."

"How's your studies going?" Lin Fan asked.

"It was alright, I ranked in the top 20 of my grade in the mock exam." Xiao Lei was a little embarrassed. "My teacher said I should have no problem getting into a top high school."

"Not bad." Lin Fan patted his shoulder. "Study hard, get into a good high school, and your brother-in-law will reward you."

"Thank you, brother-in-law."

During dinner, the family chatted about fun things that happened during the Lunar New Year. Wang Juan said that she went to the temple fair on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and it was so crowded that she couldn't move. Her mother-in-law said that the old lady downstairs gave her some homemade pickled vegetables, which were especially delicious.

Ordinary liveliness, ordinary warmth. Lin Fan listened, feeling at ease.

After dinner, Xiao Lei went back to his room to continue studying. Lin Fan helped clear the table, while Wang Juan washed the dishes in the kitchen.

"Oh, right, I have something to tell you," Wang Juan suddenly said.

"Um?"

"I've decided to rent a shop in that shopping mall in the provincial capital," Wang Juan said. "I spoke with Xiao Xu again yesterday, and she said the leasing process there is progressing quickly, and good locations are running out. I figured if I'm going to do it, I should finalize it as soon as possible."

"Has the rent been negotiated?"

"It's settled, 380,000 yuan a year, three-year contract," Wang Juan said. "I've calculated it, based on the current sales volume, we might earn less in the first year, but we can build up the brand. We should be able to make a normal profit in the second year."

Lin Fan nodded: "It's up to you."

"Do you need my help?"

"No need, I can handle it myself." Wang Juan dried her hands, turned around and looked at him. "You're busy enough with work, I'll take care of things at home."

Looking at her, Lin Fan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. In this life, being able to marry such a wife was his blessing.

"Thank you for your hard work," he said.

"What's so hard about it?" Wang Juan smiled. "We're husband and wife, we should support each other."

The next morning, Lin Fan went to the detention center.

When Li Jianguo was brought into the meeting room, he looked much more haggard. The man in his fifties had mostly white hair, heavy eye bags, and was wearing prison clothes; he had completely lost the air of his former boss.

"Director Lin." He sat down opposite him, his voice hoarse.

"I heard you want to see me?" Lin Fan asked.

Li Jianguo nodded: "I want... I want to make a contribution."

"How can I earn merit?"

"I know about some people in the political and legal system," Li Jianguo said in a low voice. "It's not just Liu Zhiqiang, there are others who take money to do things, and it's not just my case."

Lin Fan remained calm and said, "Tell me."

Li Jianguo named several people, including those from the police and the courts, all mid-level officials. The cases involved included economic disputes and criminal cases, spanning from 2005 to 2009.

Lin Fan listened, his heart growing heavier. If what Li Jianguo said was true, then the problems within the Steel City's political and legal system were far more serious than he had imagined.

"Why are you only telling me now?" he asked.

"I didn't dare before," Li Jianguo said with a wry smile. "I've been doing business in Steel City for so many years, I know how deep the waters run here. But now... I'm already in this situation, so I have nothing to be afraid of. I just ask for leniency."

"Do you have any evidence for what you're saying?"

"Some of it I have, like transfer records and recordings. Some I don't, that's all I know," Li Jianguo said. "The evidence is in the safe at my home in Guangzhou, and my wife has the key. You can go and get it."

Lin Fan wrote down the address and the safe's combination.

"Besides these, is there anything else?"

Li Jianguo hesitated for a moment: "There's one more thing... that might be related to you."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Before the Lunar New Year, I heard that someone wanted to target you," Li Jianguo said. "I don't know exactly who it was, but I heard it was a case you were investigating that touched on the interests of certain people. They might... might cause you trouble."

Lin Fan's heart tightened, but he didn't show it on his face: "I understand. I will verify what you said. If it's true, it will be considered a meritorious service."

"Thank you, thank you, Director Lin."

After the meeting, Lin Fan stood at the entrance of the detention center and lit a cigarette. The winter sun shone on him, but it offered no warmth.

Li Jianguo's last words made him wary. The rectification of the political and legal system would inevitably affect vested interests. It wasn't surprising that someone wanted to target him.

But he didn't expect it to come so quickly.

After finishing his cigarette, he called Zhao Gang.

"Li Jianguo provided some clues involving issues within the political and legal system. Arrange for someone to go to Guangzhou to collect the evidence."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"We need to strengthen the security measures for our investigators," Lin Fan said. "Especially when they are out conducting investigations, they need to be extra careful."

Zhao Gang was taken aback: "Director Lin, is something wrong?"

"It's hard to say, but let's take precautions," Lin Fan said. "Also, we need to expedite the retrial of Chen Xiaohu's case. The sooner the better."

"clear."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Fan drove back to his workplace. On the way, he thought about the names and cases Li Jianguo had mentioned.

The Chen Xiaohu case implicated Liu Zhiqiang, then Li Jianguo, and now it may implicate even more people.

This net is getting bigger and bigger.

But he wasn't afraid. Having chosen this path, he was prepared to face difficulties.

In this life, he didn't want great wealth or power.

If people are going to cause trouble even with this, then let them come.

He then did it.

The car pulled up into the municipal party committee compound and parked. Lin Fan looked up at the window of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission office.

Zhou Wenyuan should be inside.

With this leader, with so many colleagues, and with the law and justice in place.

He has nothing to be afraid of.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Fan walked into the building.

Work must continue.