20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 734: Insider Snitch [Deduct points for the leader’s wife]

"What? Fengtian Machinery Factory is also going to take part in the break?"

When Zhao Guoyan heard that the labor protest in the provincial capital was showing signs of expanding, he immediately became alert. He raised his hand to stop the man in the melon-shaped hat from talking, looked around, and then called Dong Erniang to open a private room for a detailed and confidential discussion.

Seeing his serious expression, Dong Er Niang stopped arguing. Because it was a busy time for business and there were no extra private rooms, she told Big Teapot to ask the girl to vacate a guest room and took the two of them to the second floor.

As he entered the room, a faint feminine fragrance wafted to his face. The man in the melon-shaped hat was immediately bewildered. He looked around and saw the embroidered pillow and mandarin duck quilt on the bed. He felt itchy and couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

"Brother Yan, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me for telling you this, but I've never even held a girl's hand since I was a child!"

Zhao Guoyan didn't have the time to chat with him about this, so he nodded and agreed immediately: "Okay, okay, don't nag me, I'll ask them to arrange one for you later, and then you can pick the one you like."

"Really?" The man in the melon-shaped hat immediately smiled happily, "Brother Yan, thank you, thank you so much!"

"Alright, alright, sit down now!"

Zhao Guoyan took out a pen and paper and assured him: "As long as you tell the truth, you will have both money and women, but -" his tone suddenly turned cold and hard, "Let me be frank with you. If you talk nonsense to me and try to get free food and drinks here, don't blame me for being rude."

"No, no," the man in the melon-shaped hat swore, "Brother Yan, even if you gave me eight hundred guts, I wouldn't dare to lie to you!"

This man's surname is Tang. He is the second child in the family and works as a loader in the Fengtian Printing Factory.

He is neither a member of the Jiang family's gang nor a member of the Jiang family's gang. The reason why he is willing to go undercover and inform on others is simply for the sake of "money".

Such people are not uncommon, and can even be said to be everywhere.

Jiang Lianheng is the leader of Fengtian. Most of the bosses in the provincial capital who are responsible for recruiting workers for various factories are Jiang family's disciples. In short, every factory in Fengtian City has Jiang family's eyes and ears.

Many times, spies do not need to hide their identities.

For example, at this moment, if the Jiang family wanted to find out some information, Jiang Lianheng didn't even have to go looking for it himself, as there would be traitors and insiders who would come forward to inform on the matter for the reward.

Guapimao was born in Zhili and had met Zhao Guoyan once at a hometown gathering in the provincial capital. So at noon today, he took the initiative to express his loyalty, made an appointment to meet here, and was ready to tell him the whole plan of the printing factory workers.

Although Zhao Guoyan could use him, he looked down on people like him in his heart, so his words and actions seemed a little cold.

"Don't think about the girl yet. Once you have explained the situation clearly, there will be plenty of time for you to entertain yourself."

Guapi thought that Zhao Guoyan was quite intimate with the madam just now, so his words must carry a lot of weight in this place, so he nodded and said, "Brother Yan, don't worry, I'm not in a hurry, let's do the business first."

"Okay, then first tell me the names of the workers who took the lead in calling for a break. How many of them are there in total?"

"There were more than 20 people attending the meeting, but the ones who really started the commotion were only six or seven people: Xiao Mao from the ink mixing team 2, Lao Meng from the printing team 3, and Zhang Lianfu who was in charge of quality inspection..."

The man in the melon-shaped hat scratched his head and carefully recalled the workers who were asked to take a break by the organization, while Zhao Guoyan recorded it truthfully.

"You just said that they were also planning to make banners?"

"Yes, the reserved slogan is 'Down with the unscrupulous factory owners, safeguard the rights of workers'."

Zhao Guoyan nodded silently. It was okay. At least so far, the workers had no intention of complaining to the government, so the Jiang family might not need to intervene secretly.

"Also, they have drawn up ten demands?"

"Yes, actually there were only eight requirements originally, but then we forced two more into it."

"What are your requests?"

"Let me think about it. We should shorten the working hours by two hours a day, prohibit beating or scolding workers, allow at least one day off a week, and require compensation for dismissing workers..."

"Let's talk about the key points!" Zhao Guoyan knocked on the table, "What about the salary increase? What are their expectations?"

The man in the melon-shaped hat raised his hand and said shamelessly: "Five yuan, not only will the monthly increase be five yuan, but we have to make up for last month's payment!"

"What?" Zhao Guoyan's eyes widened. "A five-yuan increase in wages for each person? Are they crazy? How is this possible?"

The man with the melon-shaped hat quickly explained, "Well, Brother Yan, they also know that it's impossible. They are deliberately leaving room for bargaining. According to everyone's thinking, if they can get a two-yuan increase in wages this time, they will be very satisfied."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guoyan immediately marked it down.

This may very well be the most important intelligence clue for this printing factory's break. No matter at what time or in what negotiation, as long as one party finds out the other party's expectations and bottom line in advance, it is equivalent to firmly grasping the initiative in the negotiation process and then formulating corresponding negotiation strategies.

If a two-yuan wage increase can satisfy the vast majority of workers, it means there is still room for further price reduction.

If the price is treated differently according to different levels, the workers are likely to lose their composure and become a disunited group.

Zhao Guoyan then asked, "Where will the workers take a break tomorrow?"

"Sanwei Road in the west of the city," the man in the melon-shaped hat replied, "They said there is a foreign consulate on that street. The government dare not take action easily, and it is convenient to make a big fuss, so as to expand the influence of the call for rest." "What's the time?"

"nine in the morning."

The man in the melon-shaped hat gave a straightforward answer without any guilt in his heart. He also did not consider the workers in the printing factory as a whole.

In fact, because he was illiterate, he could only work as a loader in the factory, doing the hardest work but earning the meager salary.

There was something in his heart that Guapi had never told anyone - in fact, he hated those typesetters a little.

In his opinion, those people's jobs were too easy. They just typed, brushed paper, and mixed ink in the factory. They did not work under the wind or rain on weekdays, but they earned much more than him. Why?
This is not the most important factor. What really makes him hate him is the attitude of the typesetters towards him.

It’s not that they bullied or insulted him, but they despised him and even looked down on him, as if a loader like him was not worthy of being compared with their typesetters.

The clerks and accountants in the office look down on the typesetters and printers in the factory; the typesetters and printers in the factory look down on the loading laborers outside.

Now that the printing factory is preparing to take a break, they say that everyone is the same and should work together to fight against the unscrupulous factory owners.

No, everyone is never the same.

The man with the melon-shaped hat knew very well that they only needed him now, so they treated him as a friend. Once the call for help was successful, they would no longer care about him.

Of course, he also knew that Zhao Guoyan looked down on him as well. No one would look down on a traitor, but Zhao Guoyan could give him money and women, but what could they give him? Neither respect nor benefits. Why should he bother to boost their momentum?
The man with the melon-shaped hat cleared himself of all charges. He did not care about right or wrong. Besides the interests at stake, there was also a bit of revenge in his mind - he did not want to succeed in calling for trouble.

He was ashamed to talk about it - it would make him feel better if everyone was poor.

Zhao Guoyan continued to question: "What about the Fengtian Machinery Factory? What are their plans?"

Strictly speaking, Fengtian Machinery Factory is not an official name. Its full name should be "Luda ​​Machinery Factory Fengtian Branch".

In other words, this is a Japanese-owned company controlled by Xiao Dongyang, with nearly a thousand workers. If there is a real disturbance, the provincial government will have to intervene.

Unfortunately, Guapimao didn't know much about the situation over there.

"I heard about this from Zhang Lianfu. He has a friend who works at a machinery factory. He said the workers there have long been dissatisfied with their wages. When they heard that we were calling for a break today, they sent someone to contact us and asked if we wanted to hold a joint protest."

"Gone?"

"That's all I know," Guapi said hurriedly. "Brother Yan, I always tell you exactly what I know and never make up stories."

Zhao Guoyan nodded, preferring no news to false news, so he said, "Okay, wait here first, and I'll send you the reward money later."

"Brother Yan, that..."

The man in the melon-shaped hat stood up hurriedly, stammering. After a long while, he was too embarrassed to speak and just smiled foolishly.

Zhao Guoyan immediately understood, and walked out of the guest room, shouting downstairs across the fence: "Second Mother, call a few girls up to me!"

Dong Erniang raised her head and glared at him, then shouted angrily, "You have no conscience. Where are the girls? They are all busy, and I am the only one left!"

"It wasn't me who shouted, it was the guest in the room who shouted!"

"Oh, then wait a moment, I'll ask someone to go up right away!"

Not long after, a few beautifully dressed girls were seen walking up the stairs with their skirts lifted and fans waved, smiling.

Zhao Guoyan invited them into the house, pointed at the melon-shaped hat, and said, "Go, call Mr. Tang."

The girls in Huifangli are well-trained. They are definitely not like the old prostitutes in the "dark doors" who only know how to do things for money, have no good face, and are impatient.

The prostitutes in front of them, who were trained by Dong Erniang, knew how to please men. When they saw the slovenly appearance of the man in the melon-shaped hat, they acted as if they were blind and didn't care. They immediately swarmed forward, pinched his shoulders and pounded his legs, and begged in a coquettish voice:

"Master Tang, let me serve you. Can you just consider it as a favor to me?"

"Oh, this room is usually where I live. If you choose someone else, I'll be mad at you."

"Master Tang, your hands are really big. I heard that men with big hands..."

As the saying goes, the flowers are so beautiful that they are dazzling.

The man in the melon-shaped hat suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, and his whole body felt weak and numb. He just wanted to dive into the land of gentleness as quickly as possible and forget about the mundane world.

Of course he knew that all this was just a show, and the girls actually disliked him, but he didn't care. At least at this moment, he lived like a "master", was respected and flattered, and felt a great satisfaction from it...

(End of this chapter)