On the second floor, following Old Wu’s directions, she found the Reporting Center. The door was tightly shut; was it closed on a Monday? She thought about waiting but decided it was better to call her uncle first.
“Hello, uncle, it’s Tao Le.”
“Little Le, have you arrived? Where are you now?”
“I’m at the office door, but it seems like there’s no one here, and the door is locked.” She knocked again, still no answer.
“Okay, come up to the fourth floor; I’m in the Public Prosecution Department.”
“Oh, okay.” She knew today wouldn’t be smooth; her eyelids were twitching when she left home. Now, she had an inauspicious start, relying on her uncle’s arrangements.
Tao Le climbed another two floors and finally found the Public Prosecution Department at the end of the corridor. In her mind, the procuratorate always seemed gloomy, especially this department, which she feared from the bottom of her heart. Every criminal had to pass through here, and those who worked here were typically what we call prosecutors.
She wasn’t fond of this profession. During trials, judges and lawyers weren’t the harsh ones; it was these prosecutors who were the most ruthless. She despised their cold, merciless attitude; even if some crimes were morally understandable, in their hands, they became justifiable offenses.
Luckily, she was only here tentatively; whether she’d stay long-term was uncertain, and she preferred to keep her distance from such work.
The door was open, and there were only a few people in the office. Tao Le searched for her uncle and saw a man at the back stand up to greet her. “Little Le, you’re here.”
Her uncle was always kind-hearted. She glanced around; these people had serious expressions, and the atmosphere was so cold that air conditioning wasn’t even necessary. It was rare for someone in student attire like Tao Le to enter, so the few in the office couldn’t help but take a few more looks, mostly out of curiosity.
“Hey, Prosecutor Xu, who’s this girl?” one of the women at the next desk gossiped.
“My niece,” her uncle introduced naturally, “It’s summer vacation, so I brought her here to intern.”
Tao Le kept her head down, knowing she had to behave in such a setting. Her mother was right; when it’s time to keep a low profile, one should.
“Which department is she going to?” the woman seemed intent on getting all the details.
“She’ll start at the Petition and Prosecution Department, it’s relatively quiet there; it’s not suitable for a young girl to run around.”
“I think she should come to our department; what can she do in the Petition Department? We’re short of staff here.” The woman was actively trying to recruit Tao Le into the Public Prosecution Department.
