At around 9:30 in the evening, the police officers from the Zhanan District Police Department left the People's Hospital after taking statements. At this time, the two foremen who were disabled by the Changqing Company had just been pushed out of the emergency room.
Kong Zhenghui had been in the hospital parking lot for more than an hour, but because there were police officers and some people from the sanitation management committee upstairs, he did not go up immediately.
After most people had left, Kong Zhenghui took several of his brothers into the surgical building and came to the intensive care unit on the third floor.
At the door of the ward, many workers from the Bai and Kong families came. They were all friends and brothers of the seriously ill foreman. When they saw Kong Zhenghui arrive, they immediately surrounded him.
“Xiao Kong, Daming and Lao Li are both seriously injured. The doctor said that they are now disabled for sure. Whether they can survive depends on their follow-up treatment.” An older middle-aged man said urgently, “We are on strike to support your companies. Now that people are injured, the companies can’t just ignore it!”
"Yes, this man is disabled. What will happen to his family in the future?!"
“…!”
The workers present were all very scared and spoke in unison for the two foremen.
Kong Zhenghui looked at everyone solemnly and said in a resounding voice: "Don't panic, everyone. The company will definitely take care of Lao He and Lao Li's affairs. I will discuss with Bai Hongbo later to see how to pay the money. I'll put it this way, even if the criminals can't be caught and we can't get compensation, the company will still pay the money."
When everyone heard this, their expressions eased a lot.
Kong Zhenghui waved his hand and continued, "It's getting late now, so everyone should go away and stop gathering here. Oh, by the way, don't tell anyone about what happened today, so as not to affect the mood of other workers. But don't worry, my contact at the police station called me just now, and the gangsters who attacked and injured people have been identified, and such things will not happen again in the future."
The workers were able to obtain very little information, and seeing that Kong Zhenghui spoke with certainty, they did not ask any more questions and left together with trepidation.
After everyone had left, Kong Zhenghui finally met the wife of his foreman He Daming and his newly-adult son.
In the accompanying room of the ward, Kong Zhenghui closed the door and looked at He Daming's wife, who was dressed very simply. "Sister-in-law, don't worry. Our company will definitely take care of Brother He's matter, and we will not let those murderers off."
He Daming's wife is not well educated. She has been crying since she arrived at the hospital. At this moment, she looked at Kong Zhenghui with red eyes and said, "Xiao Kong! We don't need the company to make the decision, and we don't want to find any murderers. We are really scared. We can't beat those people from Changqing Company... We accept that Lao He was beaten like this... As long as the company pays for his treatment and saves his life, I will be satisfied... Really!"
Kong Zhenghui frowned at her and whispered, "Sister-in-law, this matter cannot be let go. Why did they cripple me, a perfect person? Listen to me, I have already found a connection with the police department, and people from two well-known media outlets will be coming over soon. They will interview you and expose this case. When the public attention increases, someone will definitely pay for this matter."
"What, exposed?! I dare not, Xiao Kong! We have just been on strike for less than three days and this man has been beaten to a disability. If it is really exposed, how can the lives of our family of three be saved? The people from Changqing Company said that if we make trouble again, we will be killed!" He Daming's wife shouted in horror.
"Sister-in-law, I have arranged everything with the media. As long as it is exposed, they will not dare to cause trouble again."
"No, Xiao Kong, listen to me. We are just ordinary people. We can't afford to fight with Changqing Company." He Daming's wife grabbed Kong Zhenghui's arm and said in a trembling voice: "I beg you, don't lead the trouble and do any more interviews."
Kong Zhenghui fell silent after hearing this.
"Xiao Kong, save people first!" He Daming's wife said pleadingly.
Kong Zhenghui paused and said, "Sister-in-law, if you don't cooperate with the company, this matter will spread out tomorrow, and other workers will not dare to strike again. If the company goes bankrupt, how can we control Brother He?"
He Daming's wife was stunned: "What do you mean by that?"
“… We have to get through this together and breathe a sigh of relief together, sister-in-law!”
"Xiao Kong! Lao He was helping your company and led the workers to go on strike. Now that something has happened, you don't want to take care of him?!" He Daming's wife's tears had not yet dried, and she shouted in a trembling voice, "That's not how you do things, Xiao Kong!"
"I paid you for going on strike, sister-in-law." Kong Zhenghui replied expressionlessly.
He Daming's wife looked at Kong Zhenghui in amazement, speechless.
"If ordinary workers go on strike for one day, I will give them a subsidy in addition to their normal wages, but a foreman like Brother He will take a thousand yuan from me a day, not to mention the contract area I promised to give to Brother He for free." Kong Zhenghui bent down slightly and said in a low voice: "Sister-in-law, the money is not taken for free!"
"Xiao Kong, your words are so inhumane...!"
"It's not that I don't have human feelings, it's that reality doesn't give you the opportunity to consider human feelings." Kong Zhenghui turned around and pointed at the drip bottle next to the bed, and asked word by word: "I ask you, if you don't pay today, can the life-saving medicine be injected into your blood vessels, sister-in-law!"
The woman gritted her teeth and said nothing.
"I'll arrange for the media to come over later. You need to explain clearly the monopoly of Changqing Company and the suspected violent retaliation against workers. The more tragic the better." Kong Zhenghui narrated softly: "After you finish speaking and cooperate, I will send someone to pay the hospital bills. As for the compensation, the company will also give you the maximum amount. Let me make it clear, it will not be less than 20,000 yuan, and your son can also join the company in the future. Brother He can't work anymore, so I will give him the contracted area. That's it, sister-in-law."
After saying that, Kong Zhenghui turned around and left. When he reached the door, he did not forget to remind the other workers: "Don't instill too much negative emotions in the other workers, sister-in-law."
The woman looked at her husband, whose legs were broken on the bed, and her son, who had just reached adulthood, outside the door, and murmured helplessly, "If he joins the company... then my son is still a worker...!"
Yes, it is difficult for a worker's son to stop being a worker...
Tears rolled down, becoming extremely turbid.
…
An hour and a half later.
After drinking at a well-known KTV in Zhanan District, Bai Hongbo came to the hospital drunk and went to the ward of Li Gang, the head worker of the Bai family.
"Dabai, your uncle has been messed up by someone, what do you think we should do?" Li Gang's wife asked.
Bai Hongbo sat on the chair and replied in a cheerful voice: "The company will take care of it! Medical expenses, lost wages, pensions, and compensation are all paid by the company."
"Dabai, we dare not go on strike again. If we do, we may lose our lives." Li Gang's wife said while crying.
Bai Hongbo burped, stood up, looked at the other party and said, "I'm in such a state, how can I let you make trouble? Okay, aunt, you just take care of uncle and heal his injuries, don't worry about anything else."
"Oh!" Li Gang's wife nodded.
Bai Hongbo lowered his head and took out his wallet, took out all the more than 3,000 yuan in cash, threw it on the bed and said, "Today I asked people from the city to deal with my dad's business, and the money is almost spent. You can use this to pay the fees and buy some nutritional supplements. It will not be counted in the money given by the company."
"Why!"
"This is the world we live in, please be more open-minded, auntie!" Although Bai Hongbo was drunk, he did not leave immediately after giving the money. Instead, he stayed and chatted with Li Gang's family for more than an hour before leaving.
Before leaving, Li Gang's wife took the initiative to say, "Dabai, we won't tell the workers nonsense. It's not easy for you either."
Bai Hongbo wiped his eye mucus and replied with a wry smile: "Yes, it's all very difficult."
…
It was after 11 o’clock at night.
In the main building of the Su family garbage dump, Su Tianyu was sitting in the living room, listening to the workers' conversation.
Because there were a lot of things going on recently, and the Su family was the first to compete with Changqing Company, seven or eight workers were left on duty every night. These people were bored at night, so they gathered together to smoke and tell dirty jokes.
Su Tianyu quite liked this atmosphere, so he sat in the living room and watched everyone play cards and chat.
In the corner of the room, Wu Shixiong, the Black Iron Tower, was sitting on a small stool, fiddling with a half-carved wooden sculpture.
Su Tianyu was bored and asked curiously, "Nobita, why are you on duty every night? Why don't you go home?"
"Thirty dollars a day. I can earn a little more by being on duty." Nobita replied innocently.
"Haha, you love money quite a lot!" Su Tianyu laughed.
"I have four brothers, but I... I... am not very smart... My dad said... he doesn't have money for me to marry a wife, so I have to earn it myself." Wu Shixiong replied with a grin.
After hearing such a simple reason, Su Tianyu looked at Nobita again with a little surprise.
Next to him, a worker smoking a cigarette bared his teeth and asked Wu Shixiong, "Silly Xiong, have you ever had sex with a woman? Why are you always planning to get married?"
"No." Wu Shixiong replied simply.
"Will you be able to do it after you get married?" the worker asked just to tease.
"What...what to do?"
“I’m telling you, when you’re not on duty one day, when you’re at home at night, if you hear any noise in your parents’ room, just lie outside the window and watch secretly… You’ll learn it after watching a few times, haha!” said the worker with a smile.
When Su Tianyu heard this, he frowned slightly but said nothing.
Wu Shixiong glanced at the other person, lowered his head and continued to fiddle with the wood carving without responding.
"Silly Xiong, have you heard any noise in your parents' room?"
“…!” Wu Shixiong lowered his head and remained silent.
"Fuck, how old is his father? What can he do? You are asking stupid questions." Another worker took over the conversation.
"Ha ha!"
The six or seven people in the room all laughed out of boredom when they heard this.
“Tramp!”
There was a sound of footsteps, and the third sister came down from upstairs, scolding fiercely: "Are you all sick? You make fun of Nobita every day? You are so mean! Are you all idle? Go out and patrol quickly, and stop smoking!"
When everyone saw the third sister coming down, no one dared to argue anymore. They gathered in groups of three or five and walked out of the main building.
Wu Shixiong secretly glanced at the fierce Third Sister, turned around and put the wooden sculpture into his pocket: "I... I'm going on patrol too."
“Tramp!”
There was a sound of footsteps. Su Tiannan arrived at the cargo yard in the early morning and said to Tianyu, "Something happened to the striking workers. Two of them were seriously injured."
Su Tianyu didn't show any surprise on his face. He slowly stood up and said, "Let's talk upstairs."
…
Zhannan District, City of Dreams, Lu Feng sat in a private room holding the phone: "I'll see if the workers will withdraw tomorrow! If they do, I'll immediately go after the next one, and our situation will be resolved, and everything from top to bottom can be arranged clearly."
"Have you decided which one to go with?" Li Hongze asked.
“Hehe…!” Lu Feng grinned.