Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 352 Bar Speech
In the underground dream world, the air of the "Rusty Bolts" bar is filled with the pungent smell of engine oil, sweat, and cheap bourbon whiskey.

In the dim light, a dozen men in faded overalls slumped on cracked vinyl chairs, their large, knuckle-heavy hands gripping wine glasses, their fingers stained with black grease that could never be washed off.

This is the last safe haven in the industrial area of ​​Gough.

Due to environmental concerns and other reasons, factories in Gof City are becoming increasingly scarce, coupled with some interference from labor unions. For the average worker, simply having a job is a blessing.

Contrary to popular belief, factory guilds did not speak for the workers, but rather for the interests of the guilds.

They, along with the gangs that control the workers, the upper echelons of the guilds, and even hereditary positions, are like worker aristocrats, firmly controlling the union.

Every worker in the factory was forced to join the guild and pay dues, even if the workers did not fully agree with the guild's practices.

For many low-income workers, the membership fees are a significant burden.

The union acts as a link between ordinary workers and business owners. On the surface, it negotiates wages with businesses for the benefit of workers, but once it is bought off by business owners, it may turn around and betray the interests of workers.

The guild collects membership fees and frequently protests and negotiates with business owners, then tries to prevent strikes, which only exacerbates the conflict between business owners and workers.

Then, you can take advantage of this contradiction to demand an exorbitant price and then negotiate a lower one.

Go to work? How much money can you make working?
Many guild leaders earn annual salaries of two to three hundred thousand US dollars, and they don't even have to work on the front lines! Guild leaders have their own political agendas and are no longer aligned with the workers.

They are a typical example of a minority holding the majority hostage to gain the benefits of the minority.

Therefore, ordinary workers were oppressed not only by business owners but also by labor unions. Their bitterness can be imagined.

They could only drown their sorrows in alcohol, venting their frustrations. They wanted to go to some wild bars to let loose, but they had to work the next day.

They need to stay away from indulgent things, like flour, in order to maintain their health and support their families.

Jack walked across the creaking pine floorboards to the center of the bar, the warm yellow light casting flickering shadows on his angular face.

“My friends!” he shouted to everyone from the middle.

Those who had drunk a few glasses of wine looked at Jack with surprise, wondering what Jack did for a living.

"Hey old man!" a drunken mechanic yelled, waving his bottle. "We want to see strippers, not an old man!"

“They’ll just suck your last penny dry, just like the unions suck your blood and sweat,” Jack said sharply to him.

"Heh..." Hearing Jack's mockery, the man wanted to stand up and argue with Jack!

Jack smashed the beer bottle in his hand, shards of glass flying across the wooden floor, startling the man.

“I know your distress! Because all of this is caused by Wayne’s lackeys!” he shouted.

It seemed that everyone in the bar was looking at him because he mentioned Wayne.

Jack spread his arms and said, “Look at this rotting city! Wayne’s lackeys are wriggling like maggots in the city hall, constantly crawling on our rotting flesh and eating our blood and blood!”

"Those elections are like choosing the king of maggots in a cesspool!!"

The crude words immediately resonated with many people. Damn it, they're not stupid. Do you think they don't know what elections are like?

There was once an elector who wanted to improve workers' wages, and people voted for him. But after he became mayor, he actually reduced workers' wages!

They've been fooled so many times that many people have stopped voting.

"You don't think you're the only ones feeling down, do you? I used to be a firefighter. Twenty-four years ago, I braved a raging fire and, together with my brothers, put out a blaze!"

“But look at me, I’m just a lonely old man now, I have nothing. No brothers, no pension, no family!” Jack’s voice was filled with grief and indignation.

"It's you! You're the last firefighter!" Suddenly, one of the drinkers recognized Jack.

Several years ago, someone reported Jack's story, calling him "the last firefighter"!
"It's you!"

"You're not dead yet!"

"Damn it, you still haven't gotten justice!" they began to whisper among themselves.

Jack's identity immediately sparked heated discussions. Only the workers at the bottom of society know how hard their work is, and they understand even more how precious firefighters like Jack are who risk their lives to put out fires.

And they also know how much suffering and pressure Jack has endured!

"Say what you want to say!"

"Yes! Do you want justice?"

“No! I’m not here today for my own justice!” Jack shook his head and said, “I’m here for everyone’s justice! If I don’t seek justice for everyone, then I have no justice.”

"What justice have we been served?"

"We haven't had our pensions embezzled!" the people in the bar said in a chaotic manner.

“But you’re all being bullied, just like me.” Jack’s words silenced the bar.

Do you think they wouldn't know if they were being bullied?
"How long has it been since you guys had a proper rest?" Jack looked at the silent bar and continued, "How many of you are sick but too afraid to see a doctor? You can only take damn painkillers!"

"How long has it been since you had a raise? Prices are much higher now than they were a few years ago!"

"How often do you have to carefully plan when you want to buy everyday necessities? Even something as simple as a few packs of tissues?"

"Do you guys remember when you started feeling like life was getting tougher and tougher? And as men, you have to hold on, you fucking can't fall down!"

Silence remained, but Jack's words were the truth, which is why they were the most hurtful.

"And all of this is caused by the whore Wayne Corporation and those damned capitalists!" Jack shouted. "They saw through your cowardice and can keep shitting on you and sucking your blood forever!"

“You’re the same!” one of the workers shouted.

“I’m different!” Jack said, taking the fire axe from George. “I’ve figured it out. Just begging them won’t work; I’m going to make those maggots pay!”

He grabbed a fire axe and chopped into the Gough Daily newspaper with Wayne's smiling face printed on it!
“Any of you cowardly, honest, bullied people who have been bullied your whole lives, are you willing to come with me?” Jack asked, looking around.
(End of this chapter)