Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

Activity room at the ground floor of Building 5, Xindafeng Factory Welfare Community.

The heating was blaring, and the room was so hot that people were sweating profusely.

A dozen or so fully automatic mahjong tables were shuffling the tiles with a clattering sound.

The elderly men and women, dressed in brand-new, thick down jackets, leisurely played cards while munching on imported sunflower seeds.

"Bang!"

The thick cotton curtain that protects the activity room from the wind was suddenly lifted.

Panting heavily, Cai Chenggong plunged headfirst into the warm current, his forehead covered in sweat.

His two beady eyes darted around and then fixed their gaze on the empty table in the very center of the room.

He darted over in a few steps, using both his hands and feet to climb onto the table like a giant toad.

"Men, young and old! Brothers of the Great Wind Factory! Stop fighting!"

Cai Chenggong, with his hoarse voice, frantically clapped the recording pen in his hand.

"Listen to me, everyone, from the bottom of my heart! Our day has come!"

The sound of mahjong tiles gradually stopped inside the room.

Dozens of eyes turned to him at once, staring at him as if he were a monkey show.

Old Zhang, sitting by the window, was sipping tea from a thermos.

He raised his graying eyebrows and gave Cai Chenggong a nonchalant glance.

"Old Cai, why aren't you in the warehouse fixing your screws? What are you doing here throwing a tantrum?"

Cai Chenggong slapped his thigh suddenly, putting on a look of deep regret.

"Old Zhang! And everyone else! You've all been blinded by Yan Qingfeng's little favors!"

He lowered his body and adopted the same posture he used when he was the factory director, making grand promises.

"That high-ranking official from Beijing, Director Hou of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, just personally confided in me!"

"The Lingxiao Consortium is now the focus of the investigation! Yan Qingfeng is a ruthless capitalist oligarch who devours people without spitting out the bones!"

He got more and more excited as he talked, his spittle flying everywhere under the warm light of the radiator.

"Director Hou has spoken! If we unfurl banners now and protest in front of the Lingxiao Building!"

"Expose Yan Qingfeng's forced labor and restriction of personal freedom!"

"Once it's done, the higher-ups will return the land and factory of Dafeng Factory to us exactly as they were!"

Cai Chenggong raised the recorder in his hand, his eyes shining.

"Then we'll be in charge! We won't have to live at the mercy of those rich people anymore!"

He took a deep breath, his face full of anticipation as he waited for the deafening response to erupt from below.

Based on his past experience, these hardworking and poor workers would rush forward like they were on steroids as soon as they heard there was a factory that would pay them.

One second, two seconds, half a minute passed.

The activity room was deathly silent; not even a cough could be heard.

No one cheered, no one raised their fist.

Everyone just stared at him quietly, as if they were looking at a complete idiot.

"Give it back to us?"

Old Zhang slowly closed the thermos and let out a piercing sneer.

He slowly stood up, picked up the mahogany cane beside him, and tapped it twice on the ground.

"Cai Chenggong, have you lost your mind, or do you think we're all idiots?"

Old Zhang walked step by step to the mahjong table, looked up at him as if he were trash.

"We've returned Dafeng Factory to us, and then what?"

Old Zhang stretched out his rough fingers and stabbed Cai Chenggong hard.

"And then you keep working for me? And I don't get paid for six months straight?"

"The machine broke down and no one repaired it. Old Zheng broke his leg in the workshop, and they can't even get 20,000 yuan reimbursed for his medical expenses?"

Cai Chenggong's face stiffened, and he swallowed hard.

"Old Zhang, the past is the past. Now the country is standing up for us..."

"What a load of bullshit!"

Old Zhang roared and slammed his cane heavily against the aluminum alloy rim of the mahjong table, almost sending sparks flying.

"The state is in charge? For the past six months, has the state been giving us money, or has it been 'Master Yan' who's been giving us money?!"

The surrounding workers were instantly ignited and swarmed around.

"That's right! You heartless, despicable bastard!"

A plump middle-aged woman stood with her hands on her hips, pointed at Cai Chenggong's nose, and began to hurl insults.

"Working under Master Yan, our base salary has tripled! Plus, there's a perfect attendance bonus at the end of the year!"

"These newly built, fully-furnished apartments only charge us 200 yuan a month in property management fees!"

The plump woman became more and more agitated as she spoke, and her eyes even reddened.

"My husband was diagnosed with uremia last month, and Lingxiao Hospital waived all his medical expenses without hesitation!"

"Are you asking us to use Master Yan's bowl to smash Master Yan's pot?"

"Who do you think you are, Cai Chenggong, to be compared to Master Yan!"

As Cai Chenggong watched the group of workers pressing closer and becoming increasingly agitated, his legs began to cramp violently.

This plot isn't right!

What happened to the working class resisting capitalist oppression? How come they've all become die-hard fans of Yan Qingfeng?!

"Everyone, calm down! I'm doing this for our long-term interests..."

Cai Chenggong retreated while frantically waving his hands.

"I'll give you long-term benefits!"

Old Zhang ignored his nonsense, swung his mahogany cane, and smashed it down with a whoosh.

A muffled "bang" was heard.

The cane struck Cai Chenggong squarely on the calf.

"Oh my goodness!"

Cai Chenggong screamed, his body swayed, and he rolled off the mahjong table, falling face-first into the dirt.

"Brothers! This bastard's a mole! He's trying to ruin our lives!"

Old Zhang swung his cane and roared with great force.

"Tie him up! Send him to General Manager Shen to collect his reward!"

The activity room was in complete chaos.

Five or six burly young workers pounced on him, like pressing down a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered, and pinned Cai Chenggong to the floor.

Some people deftly pulled off their belts, while others casually grabbed the nylon cable ties from the bundle of newspapers.

"Don't tie me up! I'm here to rescue you! Director Hou is still waiting outside!"

Cai Chenggong's face was pressed against the cold floor tiles as he struggled desperately, howling with heart-wrenching pain.

"Snapped!"

Old Zhang slapped him hard across the face, making him see stars.

"Shut your filthy mouth! Director Hou? Even if the King of Heaven himself came, he wouldn't be able to take away our jobs!"

The men worked quickly and efficiently, and in less than half a minute, they had tied Cai Chenggong up in a tight pretzel shape.

A tablecloth was shoved into his mouth, silencing all his cries of pain.

"Bring a tricycle! Take this thing straight to the security department building!"

Old Zhang angrily shook his wrist and led the way out.

A large crowd escorted Cai Chenggong out of the welfare community like a war criminal.

Meanwhile, in the corner of the green belt surrounding the community.

The cold wind lashed at Hou Liangping's face like a knife.

He tugged at the collar of his windbreaker and kept rubbing his frozen hands.

He exhaled puffs of white breath, constantly checking his watch, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

"Why is there still no movement? Old Cai's ability to incite people isn't working."

He poked half his head out and peered through the gap in the wall toward the main gate of the community.

As soon as the workers rushed out with banners, he could immediately take the recording and report it to the capital.

This is the sharpest public opinion weapon to bring down the Lingxiao Consortium.

Suddenly, a cacophony of footsteps and shouts erupted from the residential area.

"They're here!"

Hou Liangping was overjoyed, and his eyes instantly lit up with an alarming gleam.

He quickly took out his phone, turned on the camera mode, and prepared to record this historic moment.

The crowd surged out of the gate, and the streetlights shone on the electric tricycle at the front.

Hou Liangping's smile froze on his face, and he almost dropped his phone.

There were no protest banners or angry slogans demanding unpaid wages in the back of the tricycle.

Only Cai Chenggong, bound hand and foot with nylon cable ties, his mouth stuffed with a dirty rag, writhing like a dead dog!

"What... what's going on?"

Hou Liangping's bloodshot eyes widened, his mind went blank.

"Hurry up and push! Don't let this traitorous spy get away!"

Old Zhang walked beside the tricycle, still holding the mahogany cane in his hand, his expression excited.

"He dares to instigate us to rebel against Lord Yan? He's got a death wish!"

The dozens of workers following behind were filled with indignation.

Where was there even a trace of anger at being oppressed by capital in those eyes? It was nothing but fanatical protection for Yan Qingfeng!

Hou Liangping felt his throat go dry, and a bone-chilling coldness shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

His painstakingly planned backlash from public opinion turned out to be an absurd joke.

Yan Qingfeng didn't use a single soldier; he turned ordinary people into his most loyal bodyguards solely through welfare and real money!

Just as Hou Liangping was stunned, a powerful roar suddenly erupted from the crowd.

Old Zhang stepped onto the tricycle wheel, turned around, and waved to the workers behind him.

"Brothers! Cai Chenggong just shouted that there's some Director Hou outside to meet him!"

Upon hearing this, the workers' eyes instantly turned red, like a pack of wolves whose tails had been stepped on.

"That's the mastermind behind this mess that's ruining our livelihoods! We absolutely can't let him get away with this!"

Old Zhang slammed his cane on the ground, looking fierce.

"Turn on all the flashlights! Turn this area upside down, including the greenbelts and garbage dumps!"

"Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we'll find that bespectacled spy!"

The flashlight beams, like sharp swords, swept across the darkness in an instant.

Dozens of young and strong workers, carrying shovels and mop handles, scattered in the direction where Hou Liangping was hiding.

"Over here! I think I just saw a figure huddled behind the holly tree!"

A sharp-eyed young man pointed in Hou Liangping's direction and shouted.

Hou Liangping shuddered, his scalp tingling.

He suddenly realized that this was not a group of rebellious people, but a group of thugs who wanted to tear him apart!

Once he's caught by these bloodthirsty workers, his reputation as the former head of the anti-corruption bureau will be completely ruined.

He pulled his baseball cap down low and turned to slip away along the wall.

I had barely taken a half step when a cold, eerie voice suddenly came from behind me, accompanied by the crisp sound of high heels on the stone slabs.

"Director Hou, it's the middle of the night, and you're wearing a baseball cap, playing hide-and-seek here. Who are you waiting for?"