20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 732 Taking advantage of the topic
When Jiang Lianheng heard this, he immediately put down his crossed legs, sat up straight and asked, "Who instigated this? Why didn't we have any prior information?"

"This... I don't know either!" Chuanghu gradually regained his breath and pointed out the window, saying, "Anyway, the printing factory has started to make a commotion, and it's quite noisy!"

Jiang Lianheng frowned, but did not lose his composure. Instead, he leaned back on the sofa, thinking silently.

The incident happened suddenly and Chuanghu's voice was a little loud. He had just explained the situation when he saw Hu Xiaoyan rushing towards him in a wheelchair from the restaurant.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhengdong hurried over and pushed his sister-in-law into the living room.

Hu Xiaoyan didn't say a word and asked Chuang Hu as soon as she entered the room: "Did you go to the scene to see it?"

"Look, I just came from that side."

"Among the workers who asked to rest, are there any banners or slogans?"

Chuanghu was startled, shook his head and said, "That's not the case."

"Then do you have a fixed slogan?" Hu Xiaoyan asked immediately.

"Hiss, it seems not." Chuang Hu recalled the situation at the printing factory and explained, "At least there wasn't any when I passed by just now. It's a mess over there now. All the workers are blocking the factory door. It's crowded, shouting and yelling, and I can't hear what's going on."

Hu Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Jiang Lianheng, and said, "That's not bad. This time the call for a break was probably a spur of the moment decision, not premeditated. It's understandable that our family didn't receive the news in advance."

Jiang Lianheng nodded and suddenly asked, "Did you see Mr. Zhu from the printing factory do it?"

"I didn't see it," Chuang Hu said, "but I heard from the onlookers that General Manager Zhu seemed to be blocked by the workers in the factory. Now the police have been notified and they are waiting for Lao Chai to come over and deal with it."

"Who is the current president of the Printing Guild?"

"Mo Laowu, when I came here, I saw him helping to mediate at the factory gate!"

As a "literary man", Chuanghu naturally knows the printing industry in the provincial capital very well.

He also had his own printing house, but it could not be called a factory at all. It was at most a small workshop with a total of three or five people. They usually worked on a mobile basis and mainly published erotic and obscene works. Although they were immoral, they did not take any stance, so the government was too lazy to investigate them thoroughly.

But the Fengtian Printing Factory is quite different. It is a factory jointly run by officials and businessmen. It not only prints provincial government documents and school textbooks, but is also a cooperative institution of many newspapers. Its business scope is very wide, and it can be said to be the largest printing factory in Fengtian Province.

Even though it is just a printing factory, if you look closely, you will find that there are typesetters, plate makers, printers, inkers, cutters, binders, quality inspectors and many other types of workers. If you add in the errands such as shipping and distribution, the entire factory has nearly 300 workers.

Although the number of people is not large, the impact is serious.

Once these workers call for a break, Fengtian's news and advertising industries will immediately suffer a severe blow, and even the provincial government's official documents will not be delivered in time.

Every family has its own rules, and every industry has its own regulations.

The printing industry's guild is commonly known as the "printing gang", and the president is elected by all printing houses.

Although the president has no real power, his words carry a lot of weight and he often takes the lead in formulating industry rules, such as setting wages, controlling the number of people in the industry, limiting poaching by peers, formulating procurement strategies, etc.

Mo Laowu is the old president of the "Printing Gang" and has quite some experience in the industry.

Last spring, he was highly praised for taking the lead in formulating the industry rule that "in order to protect national commerce, provincial printing houses are strictly prohibited from purchasing Japanese inks."

But he is ultimately a boss. No matter how much praise he gets from all walks of life, in the eyes of workers, he is still a black-hearted factory owner who exploits them.

Nowadays, Fengtian's business community is prosperous, with all walks of life intertwined and one move can affect the entire body.

Therefore, usually, whenever there is a labor dispute, the factory owner and the guild president will jointly mediate. If the dispute cannot be resolved, the United Chamber of Commerce will intervene.

When Jiang Lianheng heard that General Manager Zhu and Mo Laowu were both present but failed to calm down and call for a rest, he immediately became a little restless and hurriedly stood up and said, "I'll go over and see what's going on."

Hu Xiaoyan immediately reminded him, "Don't get involved before the government makes a final decision!"

"understood."

Jiang Lianheng responded, hurried out to call the driver, and took Chuanghu away from the house.

Hu Xiaoyan hurriedly turned her wheelchair and went to the window to look out. She remained in a daze until the car went away, and her eyes were filled with worry, far more than before.

When Zhang Zhengdong saw this, he slowly walked over and whispered to comfort her, "Sister-in-law, this kind of thing has happened before, don't worry too much."

Hu Xiaoyan shook her head and said calmly: "This time is different. If people are poor, they can do anything..."

…………

The Fengtian Printing Factory is located on the edge of the western industrial zone of the city. Accompanied by several bodyguards, Jiang Lianheng left through Xiaoxiguan and sped away.

When we arrived at the place, we found that Lao Chai at the gate of the yamen had already started to maintain order on the scene.

Dozens of men in peaked caps, holding rifles across their chests, stood in two rows along the factory gate, shouting at the workers who were taking a break to step back to prevent the situation from escalating.

The workers in the printing factory were not united. There were only about 100 to 200 people who actually gathered outside the door to protest. A few civilian staff stood in the factory yard, looking a little confused. The rest of the workers, perhaps because they were a little timid, immediately dispersed when they saw Lao Chai coming.

Jiang Lianheng asked the driver to park the car far away, then rolled down the window, and watched the situation inside and outside the factory while smoking a cigarette.

The workers were very excited and they all raised their arms and shouted. Although their voices were very loud, it was just a mess. Only the three words "raise wages" were shouted in unison.

Listening carefully, one could vaguely make out someone shouting, "Fire Team Leader Li! Fire Team Leader Li!"

"Who is Team Leader Li?" Jiang Lianheng asked with a frown.

"How would I know that?" Chuang Hu was also confused. "I don't work here, but I do know a few people in charge of shipping."

"Didn't you say that General Manager Zhu's office is inside?" Jiang Lianheng pointed at the factory gate and ordered, "Go call him out. I'll ask him what's going on now."

"what?"

When Chuanghu heard this, his head shook like a rattle, and he quickly said, "Boss, let's stop kidding. Look at what's going on over there. If I go over there with my small body, I'll be kicked back like a ball, right?"

Jiang Lianheng scolded him, "Have you become obsessed with writing books all day long and have forgotten what your original profession is?"

Chuanghu blinked his eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "Then I... climb over the wall next to it?"

"Go back quickly!"

"Boss, I actually think..."

Jiang Lianheng didn't want to hear him dawdle, so he immediately opened the car door and kicked him out: "Hurry up, at this rate, who knows how long it will take!"

Chuanghu slapped his butt twice, feeling helpless, and had to head towards the wall of the printing factory.

Jiang Lianheng looked forward along the direction of his figure, and suddenly saw a round-faced middle-aged man in a satin gown at the factory gate. He was sandwiched between the laborers and the patrolman, looking around and trying his best to mediate - this man was Mo Laowu, the guild president of the Fengtian "Printing Gang".

Because the distance was too far, I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I knew that every time he smiled, the workers would curse him. The leaders were trying their best to maintain order, but because the incident happened suddenly, they didn't dare to use batons to attack the workers without the permission of the government.

At the same time, the voices from the crowd calling for "expel Li Bantou" were growing louder and louder.

All signs indicate that this break seemed to be just an accident.

Jiang Lianheng smoked two cigarettes in the car. When he was about to light up the third one, he heard the driver turn around and say, "Boss, Brother Hu is back."

Looking forward through the windshield, I saw Chuanghu leading a middle-aged man dressed as a laborer, sneaking around the crowd and jogging towards this side.

Jiang Lianheng pushed open the car door to greet him, and General Manager Zhu immediately lowered his head and got into the car. Chuanghu followed closely behind him, rubbing his neck and grinning, with a pair of footprints on both sides of his shoulders.

"General Manager Zhu, why are you dressed like this?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

"Well, they're afraid of being recognized!" General Manager Zhu was still in shock. He kept looking at the factory gate, shaking his head and cursing, "They're always looking for trouble for me. Fortunately, the patrol came quickly, otherwise my office would have been smashed by them!"

"Is the situation so serious?"

"It's nothing, really. It's just a small matter. They just want to make a fuss about it. They will find trouble even if there is nothing else to do."

Seeing him so panicked, Jiang Lianheng couldn't help but be a little curious: "Then why are you still in this factory? I thought you left a long time ago!"

When this matter was mentioned, General Manager Zhu could not help but beat his chest and stamp his feet, but said:

"At first I couldn't leave. The laborers were like mad dogs and almost beat me up. Later, the police came and I wanted to leave, but they wouldn't let me. They said they were afraid the laborers would find out and make the situation worse. Boss Jiang, it's only because you sent someone to find me, otherwise Mr. Jiang and the others wouldn't let me go!"

"Are you planning to keep wasting time like this?"

"Who knows!" General Manager Zhu complained. "The government just called and said they would observe and understand the workers' demands first and try to exercise restraint. If they don't disperse in the afternoon, they will be forcibly dismissed."

This is not surprising. Although the government hates to call for a break, it is always extremely cautious when dealing with such incidents and will not use force unless it is absolutely necessary.

After all, it is difficult to offend public anger. If we act impulsively, it will not only fail to calm the situation, but may even backfire and escalate the current situation into a larger-scale strike frenzy.

In fact, as long as the workers' anger was not directed at the government, Lao Chai would tend to use restraint rather than violence in dealing with such matters.

At this point, Jiang Lianheng couldn't help but ask, "General Manager Zhu, I heard them shouting 'fire Li Bantou'. What is the reason for this break today?"

General Manager Zhu snorted coldly and said with a curled lip: "Listen to them yelling there, in the final analysis, isn't it all about wages?"

"Have you delayed their wages?"

"No no."

General Manager Zhu waved his hands repeatedly and then explained the whole story of the break.

It turned out that the Fengtian Printing Factory had undertaken the printing of various morning and evening newspapers, so the workers in the factory worked in day and night shifts. Today happened to be the day when wages were paid, so the workers were particularly enthusiastic about their work. Before dawn, many people arrived early to wait for their shifts and wages.

Li Bantou is a master craftsman in the printing factory. He manages more than a dozen plate makers and is also responsible for paying their salaries.

This person has great skills, but because of his great abilities, he also has a bad temper. He can't tolerate any flaws at work. If he finds any problem, he will start cursing and hitting. He will also deduct wages for no reason. He can be described as a stone in the toilet of the printing factory, and his personality is both stinky and hard.

But his craftsmanship is indeed impeccable. The printing plates he makes, whether they are words or pictures, are all smooth and flat, with clear lines, and are extremely durable.

This morning, Team Leader Li was distributing wages to the dozen or so apprentices as usual. There was nothing much to do, but as he was distributing the wages, a young man couldn't help but complain in front of him, saying that after working hard for a month, he only got this little money in return. What could he do with it?

When Li Bantou heard this, he immediately got angry and started to curse: "Why are you complaining about being poor? You didn't get paid enough or something? You don't do your job well every day, but you still got the job. If you can do it, then do it. If you can't, then get out. With such a big factory, are you still worried about not being able to recruit people?"

I don't know what provoked the young man. He usually kept his head down and never said a word, but today he suddenly retorted, "The wages haven't decreased, but the things you can buy have become less. The prices outside have risen so much. You are paid more, so why are you making such a fuss here——"

Before he could finish his words, Team Leader Li swung his arm and slapped the young man in the face, then started to curse him.

"You've only been in the business for a few years, and you're trying to compete with me. You broke a board the day before yesterday, so I'll deduct two dollars from you!"

"you dare!"

As the saying goes, when you see those people who are sullen, don't provoke them. Even a rabbit will bite when it is angry. If such an honest person doesn't fight back, it's fine. But if he fights back, then we will settle all the new and old grudges together and beat him to death.

The young man suddenly got angry, grabbed Li Bantou's neck and fell to the ground and started fighting.

After a while, Team Leader Li's face gradually turned purple.

Seeing that someone was about to be killed, everyone rushed forward to separate the two, and there was a commotion in the factory.

After a moment of confusion, the two were finally separated, but at the same time, the workers' emotions began to boil over, as if they had finally found some reason to vent, and they released all the depression in their hearts during this period, and it soon turned into a fight to rest.

Ultimately, it’s about wages.

Jiang Lianheng also agreed, "However, since they are now clamoring to fire Li Bantou, then just fire him. No matter if he is useful or not, it will be fine to calm their emotions first!"

"I told you!" Zhu said helplessly, "but they didn't believe me and insisted that I hand him over! My goodness, Li is now in my office and he's throwing tantrums. If I hand him over, he'll be beaten to death!"

"What did President Mo say?"

"What Master Wu meant was that he would first have the patrolman take Li Bantou away, saying that the government was investigating a case, and send him away as a formality. Then he would talk to the laborers and ask them to send a few representatives to negotiate tomorrow. Anyway, let's suppress this matter first!"

"That depends on whether the workers will listen to the advice."

"I think it should be fine. They are very angry right now. Even though they are yelling loudly, they haven't made any preparations in advance. I think they will disperse by lunch time."

"We will go back to discuss countermeasures after we disperse," Jiang Lianheng said firmly, "Tomorrow is the real time to rest!"

"Yes!" General Manager Zhu sighed, and suddenly clasped his fists and said, "Boss Jiang, you are a man of means. At this critical juncture, you have to help me think of a solution. If things get out of hand, our Fengtian United Chamber of Commerce will also suffer!"

Jiang Lianheng did not comment.

Before the provincial government explicitly asked the Fengtian Chamber of Commerce to intervene in mediation, he did not intend to take over rashly. Firstly, there was no benefit, and secondly, there was no reputation. However, as the chief boss of Fengtian and also a secret consultant in the provincial capital, it was necessary for him to keep abreast of the latest developments of the matter.

"General Manager Zhu, you are free tonight. Can you call Chairman Mo over? Let's find a place to discuss this, shall we?"

"Okay, okay, Boss Jiang, I've been waiting for you to say this!"

"Oh, right..." Jiang Lianheng suddenly remembered something, "If it's convenient, you can also call that squad leader Li!"

"Call him?"

General Manager Zhu was a little puzzled, but since it was Jiang Lianheng's request, he didn't ask any more questions and just nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)