20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 739 Coming Out
Wang Zhengnan walked into the living room, and before he had time to sit down, he hurriedly said, "Brother, there is news from the provincial government."

"What's going on?" Everyone was curious.

"Old Zhang is furious," Wang Zhengnan found an empty seat, sat down and wiped his sweat while explaining, "It's mainly because the foreigners are pressing for more, and they are worried that if the workers continue to make trouble, it will cause xenophobia. Now the news has reached the capital, and Old Zhang has issued a death order. No matter what means are used, work must resume immediately."

Throughout the whole day, the Fengtian Provincial Government was busy responding to inquiries from consulates of various countries, among which the dissatisfaction of Xiao Dongyang was the strongest.

Now that the Fengtian Army intends to expand southward, they naturally cannot tolerate a fire in their backyard, so they pay special attention to the treatment of the laborers named Xie.

After learning about this, Marshal Zhang immediately decided to return to Fengtian as soon as possible to take charge of the situation personally.

Jiang Lianheng knew that this matter could not be delayed any longer, so he hurriedly asked, "What is Wang Tiekan's attitude?"

"What other attitude can he have? Of course he has to do it immediately." Wang Zhengnan said with a smile, "In addition, because the provincial government has issued instructions, General Manager Zhu and Mo Laowu are also ready to make concessions. Now, whether it is the government office or the chamber of commerce, everyone is of one mind. As long as we can resume work, any conditions can be discussed."

"It seems that if this trend continues, labor-management negotiations should be held soon." Hu Xiaoyan responded softly.

Wang Zhengnan nodded. "Yes, I have already taken care of the Chamber of Commerce. Chairman Chen, General Manager Zhu, and Mo Laowu all agreed to let us mediate. How about the labor representatives?"

As he spoke, he suddenly turned and looked at Zhao Guoyan.

"We have about half of the labor representatives from the printing and machinery factories. It shouldn't be a problem to get them to agree to the Jiang family mediating, but..."

Zhao Guoyan glanced at his sister-in-law, and then continued: "At present, our people cannot occupy the majority, which means that we cannot guarantee whether the result of the labor-management negotiation can be achieved in the end."

"Then we have to hurry up and make arrangements!" Wang Zhengnan said hurriedly, "Don't let the Jiang family come forward to mediate, and the workers don't accept the proposed plan. That would be like shooting ourselves in the foot!"

This hits the nail on the head.

Nowadays, the Jiang family is busy running around in order to play an important role in mediating labor disputes.

If the labor representatives do not give face, wouldn't the Jiang family be bringing humiliation upon themselves?
Upon hearing this, Li Zhengxi quickly asked, "When is the scheduled time for labor-management negotiations?"

Wang Zhengnan frowned and muttered, "According to the provincial government, it would be best if we could have the first round of negotiations tomorrow, or at the latest the morning after tomorrow. We can't delay it any longer."

"Are you so pressed for time?"

"Alas, the longer the night, the more trouble there is. The printing factory has been on strike for two days now, and tomorrow will be the third day. Every day the workers continue to call for a break, the Municipal Office will have no peace. Of course, we have to find a way to resolve it as soon as possible."

Everyone understands the principle, but when it comes to actually getting things done, it seems a bit difficult.

Of course, for the Jiang family, it is easy to insert a few ideas overnight without anyone noticing.

But the problem is that at this sensitive moment, we must not kill easily.

Otherwise, once the workers discover that their representatives have inexplicably disappeared, they will only become more angry, causing the situation to further deteriorate.

Even the Fengtian Provincial Government, when dealing with these "troublemakers and rebellious gangs" who incited hatred, tended to settle the scores later rather than use drastic measures immediately.

If the Jiang family wants to mediate labor disputes in an upright manner, they cannot kill people at will to silence them, at least not now.

Seeing that the labor side's situation had not been properly arranged, Wang Zhengnan suggested, "How about... I go to the government and the Chamber of Commerce to lobby and see if we can postpone the negotiation schedule for another two days?"

However, Jiang Lianheng said, "That's not necessary. There is no such thing as a foolproof plan. No matter how good the plan is, it won't change as fast as it does. Now that it has come to this, if I delay any further, it will seem like I'm scared, and I won't be able to face anyone if the news gets out."

Hu Xiaoyan also agreed with this and said hurriedly, "There are too many variables when workers ask for a break. The longer it is delayed, the more trouble there will be. Even though only workers from the printing factory and machinery factory are participating now, it is possible that in a few days, places like the hemp factory and the cigarette factory will also get involved."

"I only care about Wang Tiekan's attitude now," Jiang Lianheng continued, "He has to give me enough authority and enough bargaining chips so that I can mediate. After all, I can't always side with the government and the court. I also have to consider the workers, otherwise it won't be a long-term solution!"

Everyone nodded, naturally there was no objection.

Just at this moment, there was a sudden noise on the stairs.

Following the sound, I saw Jiang Ya and Jiang Chengye each holding a bottle of Ba Wang Si soda, and curiously leaning over to listen to the adults' conversation.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jiang Ya put down the glass bottle and burped, "What time is it? Why aren't you sleeping yet?"

Jiang Lianheng frowned, waved his hands impatiently, and said, "Mind your own business, go back to your room and go to sleep!"

"What's wrong? Can't I just listen?"

"You know a few things, don't mess with me!"

"Hey, how come I don't know?" Jiang Ya was quite unconvinced, "Aren't you just talking about those laborers? What is a break? They call it a workers' movement, and you still say I don't understand!"

Jiang Lianheng sneered, but said: "Okay, you know everything, then explain to me what the workers' movement is?"

"The workers' movement is ... is ..."

Jiang Ya was suddenly at a loss.

After all, those four words were just a new term to her. They were very fashionable in school recently. All the senior students were talking about them. Those who didn't know about them couldn't even integrate into the various student groups.

In fact, even those senior students do not have any real insights into this. Whenever they talk about this matter, most of them are superficial and in the end, they are just repeating what others have said.

But I am very enthusiastic, excited, full of hope and firm in my belief.

Jiang Ya was a strong-willed person, and she was unwilling to easily admit that she pretended to know something when she didn't. Now that she was being tricked by her father, she felt a little embarrassed, so she racked her brains and made up nonsense, trying to cover up the matter.

Just when he was about to deal with it, he suddenly felt his shoulders sink. He turned around and saw his Second Aunt standing behind him.

"Who told you two to run down here? Come upstairs with me!" Sister Hua quickly grabbed the two children's hands, and then said to Hu Xiaoyan with a hint of guilt, "Sister, I'll take them back right away, you two can continue chatting!"

Hu Xiaoyan nodded, took a sip of tea, and watched the three of them walk up the stairs while playing and joking, but she didn't blame them for anything.

Although the Jiang family mansion is grand and spacious, it is just a house after all.

Four walls and a roof, that's all. Where else can you hide?
Some facts can't be hidden after all.

After a moment of silence, Hu Xiaoyan said with some emotion: "The child has grown up."

"Yeah," Jiang Lianheng also agreed, "When we first met, we were about the same age, but I always felt that Jiang Ya was still a little brat, who knew nothing and was spoiled. She is still not good at taking matters into her own hands!"

Hu Xiaoyan rolled her eyes and didn't respond. She immediately instructed Zhao Guoyan and the others, "In short, things have come to this point. The Jiang family has no reason to back down. Continue to prepare as usual. Nanfeng will take care of the government and the Chamber of Commerce, Guoyan will handle the United Labor Union, and Xifeng will continue to inquire about the labor representatives."

Everyone nodded, except Li Zhengxi who suddenly remembered something.

"Sister-in-law, where is Brother Dong?"

"Dongfeng has gone." Hu Xiaoyan said, "In the next few days, if you encounter those stubborn people who refuse to listen to anything, do not take action without permission. Come back and tell me first. I will let Dongfeng go and make arrangements."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guoyan and others had no objection.

Among the brothers of the Jiang family, each of them has his own responsibilities and they are all well-known figures online.

Wang Zhengnan was involved in the business world and often dealt with foreigners and collusion between officials and businessmen. Naturally, he was also involved in official personal connections. He appeared in public the most often and was the most conspicuous.

Although Li Zhengxi often hangs out with the lower classes, his fame as a street artist has gradually spread far and wide. In Fengtian alone, he is well-known. Zhao Zhengbei is a soldier away from home, so he is exempt from this.

Xue Yingqing runs a business on Bagua Street. The customers in his business are either rich or noble, so it is difficult for him to keep a low profile.

Zhao Guoyan is the head of the Jiang family. He doesn't resort to assassinations and always resorts to head-on confrontation. Because he is so aggressive, naturally no one dares to provoke him.

Wen Tingge is currently based in Shanghai, not in Fengtian. He is also half-crippled, and his actions are extremely conspicuous.

Only Zhang Zhengdong acted the most low-key, like a shadow, inconspicuous. What he did most often was to pick up and drop off the children from school, run errands for the family and pay the water and electricity bills, occasionally kill two people, and come back to buy some seasonal vegetables, that's all.

It is no exaggeration to say that many outsiders don’t even know that there is a person named Dongfeng in the Jiang family.

When I saw him unexpectedly, I thought he was the Jiang family's driver!

Therefore, if one wants to deal with labor representatives, it is naturally safest to send Dongfeng on a business trip.

The scheduled date for labor-management negotiations was exactly as Nanfeng expected.

The next day, with the cooperation and strict prevention of the provincial government’s military and police, the large-scale demonstrations were completely put down.

However, printing plants and machinery factories have not yet resumed work.

Both labor and management are making their own preparations.

The capital side has already determined the negotiating representatives, and General Manager Zhu of the printing factory and Manager Huang of the machinery factory are naturally the protagonists.

In addition to the two of them, Mo Laowu from the Printing Guild and President Chen of the Fengtian Chamber of Commerce also attended the event.

This is also a common practice in labor-management negotiations. The Chamber of Commerce and guilds attend the negotiations mainly to check and balance the average wage in Fengtian.

Several bosses unanimously agreed that the negotiations would be mediated by Jiang Lianheng, who was highly regarded by the public.

At the same time, workers are also actively preparing for negotiations. They have not only redrafted the twelve demands for resumption of work, but also selected representatives for negotiations.

The number of laborers who came to negotiate far exceeded that of management. Although there were only two leaders, there were twelve or thirteen people in attendance.

This is to prevent someone from abusing their power for personal gain, secretly accepting benefits from the boss, and selling out the interests of their brothers, causing the protest to fail.

Little did they know that among these dozen or so people, half of the gang brothers could be considered members of the Jiang family.

Most people who are involved in gangs have one thing in common - the big brothers care about interests, and the younger brothers care about loyalty.

Because they are loyal, impulsive, like to show off, and are not afraid of being the first to stick their heads out, but are afraid of dying without leaving a name, they often take the lead at such times.

There were also a few people who secretly accepted benefits from the Jiang family, taking money to do things, but kept it a secret.

Therefore, when Jiang Lianheng stepped in to mediate, it naturally gained the approval of the majority of labor representatives. Even if some people opposed it, it was of no avail.

This negotiation was unfair from the start.

The capitalists are in collusion with each other, using threats and inducements; the workers are divided and there are many traitors among them - it's all just the Jiang family's game.

At least, that's what Jiang Lianheng thought.

On the other hand, because this call for a halt involved a demonstration and parade, which alarmed the consulates of various countries on Sanwei Road, the Fengtian Provincial Government naturally attached great importance to it, and thus also dispatched officials from the Commercial Port Bureau to be present to listen in, under the pretext of: caring about merchants and civilians and making fair judgments.

After discussions between the two parties, the negotiation location was finally confirmed to be held in the Fengtian United Chamber of Commerce Building.

The time is set at nine in the morning.

Early that morning, the area around the Chamber of Commerce building was particularly lively. Many Chinese and foreign reporters arrived early and took pictures everywhere with their cameras.

Unfortunately, it was useless to take the photos because the Fengtian Printing Factory has not resumed work yet. In the past three days, only a few inferior newspapers can be bought in the provincial capital.

The labor representatives arrived very early, just after 8:30, and saw a dozen workers walking towards them not far away.

After entering the Chamber of Commerce building, there was no one to lead the way. The group stumbled around like headless flies and searched for a long time before they found the meeting room.

After sitting down and waiting for half an hour, I saw that the agreed time had passed before several big bosses from the Chamber of Commerce and Guild finally arrived by car.

Next came the officials sent by the Commercial Port Bureau to listen in.

After everyone was seated, another three to five minutes passed before Jiang Lianheng finally showed up.

At this time, several labor representatives had already revealed expressions of dissatisfaction on their faces, and they had even more deep hatred for these wealthy bosses in their hearts.

Inside the office, there is a huge oval table.

The labor and management sides sat on each side, and the officials from the Commercial Port Bureau sat at the end. The position opposite the far end was reserved for the Jiang family to show their role as mediators.

As soon as Jiang Lianheng showed up, General Manager Zhu and others stood up and flattered him, "Oh, Boss Jiang, you're finally here. We're all here, waiting for you to come and do justice!"

"Sorry, sorry, there was a traffic jam on the road. Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Jiang Lianheng smiled, clasped his hands together, and made up a lie.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was just being pretentious.

These days, apart from the grand event of Marshal Zhang’s birthday celebration, there has never been any mention of traffic jams in Fengtian City.

But this is not important. What is important is that Jiang Lianheng had already obtained the majority support from both labor and management before the negotiations began.

In other words, this move is actually a test.

After a few pleasantries, Jiang Lianheng sat down with a smile. On his left was the labor representative, on his right was the capital representative, and the man sitting opposite him in the distance was the official sent by the provincial government to sit in on the trial.

Without thinking too much, he immediately said, "Assistant Liu, you are an official from the Commercial Port Bureau, helping to manage the business community in Fengtian. How about you open a show for everyone?"

Assistant Director Liu quickly waved his hand to decline, but said, "Boss Jiang, labor disputes are a normal part of business. The provincial government only sent me here to listen and understand the demands of both labor and management, but I will not intervene in the mediation. You should start the discussion!"

"No, no, no. With the officials present, everything will be fair and just. It would be most appropriate for you to open the meeting."

"No, no, Boss Jiang is a role model in the business community and a union official. This mediation is what both the labor and management sides want. It is reasonable for you to initiate it."

"I'm afraid this isn't appropriate?"

"Hey, this couldn't be more appropriate..."

When the two were being pretentious and polite to each other from a distance of eight feet, they suddenly heard a loud noise coming from the table!
"boom!"

Everyone looked over and saw Zhang Lianfu, a laborer in the printing factory, slamming the table and snorting, "Alright, stop wasting time. The officials won't say anything, the bosses won't say anything, so let us laborers speak first!"

(End of this chapter)