20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 737 Peeping
Nantie Concession, Tiexi Industrial Zone.

It was already evening, and inside the Fengtian Hemp Factory, workers were changing shifts and taking turns going to the canteen to get their meals.

The dining area for Chinese workers was extremely simple, with tables but no stools. There was often not enough space, so everyone could only eat while standing around the table and were not allowed to sit on the floor. Meal times were also very strict. If you were a little late, you would be beaten and scolded by the foreman. Anyone who dared to talk back would have their wages deducted.

The food was also very monotonous, with only mixed-noodle pancakes and mixed vegetable soups. Even the style of the pickles remained almost unchanged for thousands of years.

But the workers still eat here because the canteen is mandatory and the cost of the meal has been deducted from their wages regardless of whether they eat it or not.

When stewing in a large pot, oil is often added at the last moment, with only a thin layer of oil floating on the surface. It’s on a first-come, first-served basis, and those who come late will only be left with watery soup.

Therefore, in the past, every time this time came, the workers would always rush and make a lot of noise, and there had to be someone dedicated to maintain order.

But today was different. The cafeteria was dead silent. Apart from the "slurp" sound of swallowing, there was almost no sound. Occasionally, a few people talked, but they only dared to speak in their throats, like thieves, and frequently glanced at the Japanese military police who were patrolling and guarding in the cafeteria.

The news that the Fengtian Printing Factory and the Machinery Factory had jointly called for a shutdown had spread quickly throughout the provincial capital. Factory owners were on high alert and stepped up surveillance to prevent workers from causing unrest.

Xiao Dongyang had the most factories in Fengtian and reacted most nervously, even directly dispatching military police to the factories to supervise production.

Fengtian Hemp Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a large manufacturer in the industry, with nearly a thousand regular workers. As soon as the demonstration broke out on Sanwei Road, Japanese military police came to maintain order.

From noon till now, whenever three or five workers gathered together and whispered, they would be forcibly separated or even interrogated individually.

Now it was dinner time and it was getting dark, so the supervision was relaxed a little.

After everyone had prepared their meals, they naturally went to look for familiar co-workers and quietly discussed the situation of the workers in the printing factory calling for a break.

"Hey, guys, can we shut down the printing factory this time?"

"I think it's a disaster. Even if we really raise their wages, what will happen? Their wages are not rising as fast as the price of goods!"

"It's hard to say. They are protesting at Sanwei Road. The foreigners will definitely urge the government to solve the problem as soon as possible. If the government urges the factory owner again, maybe it will really be solved."

"What are you talking about? If the government wants to solve this problem as quickly as possible, they have to arrest all the troublemakers and lock them up for you. Then see what else you can do."

"Speaking of which, why doesn't anyone here take the lead and join in the fun?"

"Bring your ass, didn't you see those little devils..."

The discussions stopped abruptly. It turned out that some Japanese military police happened to pass by.

Everyone hurriedly ate their food, pretending nothing had happened.

The Japanese military police put his hands behind his back and walked to the table. He swept his cold eyes over everyone's faces and paused for a moment on the face of an older worker. Seeing that no one dared to look at him, he sneered and continued to walk to other tables.

The laborer looked to be in his forties, with deep wrinkles on his face. When he chewed the biscuit, the muscles in his cheeks were tense and each bite was very solid, making him look like a refugee who had survived a disaster.

This man's hands were covered with calluses, obviously from frostbite, and there was black mud in the lines of his palms, which seemed to never be washed clean. Those were the hands of someone who had worked all year round and suffered from heavy physical abuse.

In the hemp factory, workers of his age were rare. If he had not been so experienced, he would have been fired by the foreman and left the factory long ago.

After the Japanese military police left, everyone started discussing quietly again.

After a while, a worker turned his head and asked him in a low voice: "Brother Qun, you are the only one who has insight here. Do you think it will be possible for the printing factory to shut down this time?"

Li Qun picked up the bowl, drank a mouthful of soup, and replied simply, "No hope."

Upon hearing this, the two young laborers immediately curled their lips and said, "You only know how to throw cold water on others. How come there is no hope?"

Li Qun was too lazy to argue and just said calmly: "Just watch if you don't believe me!"

"Just watch," the young worker said with disdain, "A dollar increase in wages is still money, it's better than doing nothing, right? At least they dare to take a break and hold demonstrations, unlike you, who just keep saying depressing things all day long."

Seeing this, others hurriedly defended Li Qun, saying, "You two know nothing. Brother Qun has seen the world. When he was working as a laborer in Russia, you two were still eating shit in your mother's womb!"

"So what?" The young man was unconvinced and sneered, "Going abroad means you've seen the world?"

The others ignored him and turned to look at Li Qun, then asked: "Brother Qun, can you tell me why there is no hope?"

Li Qun snorted coldly, "You don't even have a decent organization. What's the point of just going out on the street and shouting slogans? I promised to raise your salary today, but when the storm has passed, I will fire you tomorrow. What can you do?"

"Then keep making trouble!"

"What's the fuss?" Li Qun asked. "One person is fired today, two are fired tomorrow. They are slowly clearing out those who are the leaders of the riot. Do you expect all the workers in the factory to take a break just for those three or two people?"

"Then change jobs!" several young people said, "There are so many factories now, and they are hiring everywhere, so there is no need to worry about having no place to go!"

Li Qun laughed dumbly, shook his head and said, "You are still too young. Believe it or not, as long as you lead a trouble, no matter which factory you go to in Fengtian, no one will pay you to work again."

"Tsk, if you say so, then we should stop asking for rest from now on. We should not fight back when we are beaten or scolded. We should just sign the contract to sell our bodies to the factory."

"Don't tell me, it's almost like that."

"Then how did Maozi become successful?" someone else asked.

"They have an organization over there!" Li Qun explained patiently, "When they strike, at least their food, clothing, housing and transportation are guaranteed. Otherwise, how can they persist?"

"We have an organization too, the Fengtian United Labor Union."

"Come on, they call it a united union, but how many real workers are there in it? Those who hold real power are all lackeys of the bosses, right?"

"Well... that's not the way to put it," everyone said hesitantly, "Boss Jiang from the United Labor Union is quite considerate. He has given subsidies to workers who asked for a break before, and he has also helped the workers negotiate."

The corner of Li Qun's mouth twitched suddenly. After a moment's silence, he said, "Don't dream. He raised the wages of the workers by one dollar. Maybe he made two dollars secretly!"

Having said that, everyone always has some suspicions about Boss Jiang.

After all, Boss Jiang is not an ordinary wealthy businessman, but the leader of Fengtian City, a big boss on the Internet, and a man of the underworld!
Most of the gangsters are hooligans, but Boss Jiang is different. He is kind and generous. Whenever Fengtian encounters a disaster of any size and needs to raise funds for relief, the Jiang family always responds actively.

Not to mention the distant past, just take the fire that broke out on Gaoli Street last spring as an example. It was Boss Jiang who took the lead in rebuilding the building. He is a much better person than those black-hearted factory owners.

Most of the workers at the Fengtian Hemp Factory lived in the shantytowns of Tiexi. Although few people had seen Jiang Lianheng in person, his good deeds were known to everyone. It was precisely because they had never dealt with him that they could not help but fantasize about him.

Li Qun was too lazy to argue with this bunch of idiots. He just shook his head and said, "Our union is all affiliated with the government. It's different over there. Not only do they give you food and money, and help you strike, but they also..."

At this point, he looked up at the Japanese military police patrolling the area, and then said, "And they also gave guns to the laborers."

"Fire guns?" Everyone's heart tightened, "Then... Isn't that a rebellion?"

Li Qun did not comment, but stated a fact: "You don't have a gun, so no one will be afraid of you even if you shout slogans loudly."

At this time, a few timid laborers heard that the topic had changed a bit, so they hurriedly took a few sips of the soup and turned around to avoid the gossip.

Li Qun looked at the backs of those people going away, and suddenly sneered, saying, "See? People like them, if they are caught, they will be shot. They are almost all traitors. They not only have armed teams, but also patrol teams. It's not like us here, where they are just fooling around."

The young people around him were a little excited when they heard this, and asked in a low voice: "Brother Qun, did you rebel against the Russians?"

Li Qun did not answer immediately. He just stared at the young people in front of him silently for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "No, that's the Russians' business. How can a Chinese like me get involved?"

"Beep-beep-"

As they were talking, a series of shrill copper whistles were suddenly heard from not far away, and another group of workers were seen slowly pouring into the canteen, preparing to get their meals.

Several Chinese foremen came over quickly and scolded them harshly: "It's time to work, it's time to work, and you still want to eat, are you starving to death or something? Hurry up and get moving, and go back to the factory immediately. Anyone who delays will be fined two days' wages!"

Seeing this, everyone hurriedly stuffed a few more mouthfuls of food into their mouths, hastily put down their bowls and chopsticks, followed the foreman's instructions, and left the cafeteria hall one after another under the guard of the Japanese military police. As they walked, they heard someone shouting behind them:

"Go your separate ways, don't gather together and complain, focus on your work, stop thinking about useless things, and do your job well. That's better than anything else!"

With the Japanese military police maintaining order, no one dared to complain and quickly dispersed and went to their respective posts.

Workers at the Fengtian Hemp Factory had to work at least twelve hours a day, but they were paid unequal wages for equal work. The wages of Chinese workers were only one-third of those of their Japanese counterparts.

Even so, there is still a steady stream of young people coming to apply for jobs.

Li Qun and others left the cafeteria, but did not dare to gather together. They also did not have any extra time to rest and had to go to work immediately.

As they were walking, a young laborer suddenly caught up with Li Qun from behind. He walked side by side with him, but only looked forward without looking back. He asked in a low voice: "Brother Qun, can you tell me more about what's going on over there?"

Li Qun was a little surprised and shook his head, saying, "What's there to say? I'm lucky to be able to come back alive from there."

The young man asked again: "How long did you stay there?"

"Why are you asking this?" Li Qun suddenly became alert and lied, "More than two years, not that long."

"So you are considered a war laborer, right?"

"It doesn't matter if it counts. I'm still a laborer now."

The young man was quite interested in this and asked, "I heard that the wages of the workers who went abroad to fight in the war were very high. Did you make any money?"

"No," Li Qun shook his head, his eyes suddenly becoming a little sinister, "I was abducted there, so I had to go."

"Is there such a thing? You were cheated, right?" The young man was just full of blood and felt indignant when he heard this. "Nowadays, those bosses who recruit foreigners are just like human traffickers. They make exaggerated promises but sell people when they get to the place!"

"Yes, the world is dangerous, we have to be on guard!"

"You make it sound like you've been involved in gangs," the young man said with a smile. "By the way, after you came back, didn't you go looking for him? If I was cheated, I'd find him and beat him to death!"

"I came to Fengtian just to find him."

"Really? That bastard is in Fengtian!" The young man patted his chest immediately. "Then this matter is easy. I have been in Fengtian for five or six years. Tell me his name and I will ask my friend to find out for you!"

Li Qun hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you have a wide range of friends?"

The young man swore, "Of course I will. I am a member of the Jiang family's 'helping group.' As long as you tell me the name, I will give you a reply within three days."

Li Qun's face suddenly darkened. After thinking for a while, he just shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Thank you for your help, but I don't know the man's name either."

"What does he look like, do you remember?"

"It's been so long, I'm a little confused now."

"Ah?" The young man seemed a little discouraged and murmured, "This is a bit difficult, but it's okay, at least we know that he used to do the job of recruiting workers. Follow this line and ask around, maybe we can find him!"

"Let's just forget it!" Li Qun's attitude suddenly became firm. "What can I do if I find out? I'm just a worker in the factory. If I really fight, I'll be sued. Forget it!"

"Hey, what are you afraid of!" The young man looked fearless, "Didn't I tell you that my buddy is the 'helper' of the Jiang family? I'll treat him to a drink tomorrow and let him vent your anger. Don't worry, you won't be sued!"

"From what you said, it seems that the Jiang family is almost lawless."

"Hey, Brother Qun, it seems that you don't understand the affairs of the underworld! To tell you the truth, Jiang Lianheng is in Fengtian, and there is really no one who can control him!"

"Really? I've only heard of a Jiang Chenghai in Fengtian before. I wonder if he has any relationship with this current Boss Jiang."

"Jiang Chenghai?" The young man was a little confused. "Who is that? I've never heard of him!"

Li Qun laughed and said, "I guess you haven't heard of him either. Judging from his age, he must have died a long time ago."

Times have changed, but the trend of going to Guandong continues. In Fengtian City today, most young people have never even heard of Zhou Yunfu, let alone Jiang Chenghai. Only Lao He online knows a little about him, but rarely talks about it.

Although everyone has heard of Jiang Lianheng, very few people have actually had the honor of meeting him.

After all, as a well-known wealthy family in the provincial capital, the Jiang family lives in a completely different world compared to ordinary people. It is not that easy to see.

If someone really wanted to get to the bottom of the matter and asked around, and was determined to find Jiang Chenghai's whereabouts, it wouldn't be a difficult task, and they would naturally be able to find the Jiang family.

But what is certain is that when you found the Jiang family, the Jiang family also found you...

(End of this chapter)