Chapter 453

Ten minutes later, the manager of the dock management company drove over.

The dock was huge. If he had walked, it might have taken twenty-something minutes.

He had an embarrassed look on his face. After getting out of the car, he took the initiative to walk over and shake hands with the general manager. “I came to see what happened.”

The Liji Group’s general manager looked behind him, his hands raised in a clear show of fluctuating emotions. “Where are the workers?”

“Our goods are waiting to be loaded. Can we have them load these things onto the ship first, and then we’ll discuss this?”

These orders also had penalty clauses. The compensation ratio for breach of contract was not large, many were 50%, but this was the kind that required paying a penalty.

The embarrassment on the manager’s face did not diminish. “I tried, but I failed.”

The general manager’s expression turned even worse. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how to say it!” The dock management company manager’s gaze was erratic, constantly looking at the things around him. “They said… they refuse to provide services for any of the Liji Group’s businesses because you look down on them.”

“They said that working for you feels like a personal insult, and they refuse to continue working for you, even if we deduct their wages.”

“Fuck!” the general manager cursed. “I didn’t look down on them, and you have to help me sort this out. We signed a contract!”

Renting a warehouse at the docks and using the dock management company’s workers—all of this was covered by a formal contract.

To be precise, after they rented the warehouse, the dock management company would provide the corresponding labor to help them complete the work that required it.

Hearing the other party’s offensive words, the dock management company’s manager also became less polite. “We did sign a contract, but it doesn’t say that you can insult our workers!”

“If you think we’ve breached the contract, you can go ahead and sue us!”

This was the Liji Group’s most frequently used countermeasure, now thrown back in their faces. The general manager took a deep breath, suppressing his temper.

Right now, the most important thing was to get these goods shipped out.

“Sorry, I was too tense. Our goods need to be loaded and shipped before 2 PM, but right now there’s no one here to help us.”

“I apologize for my inappropriate remarks just now. Can you see if you can coordinate and solve this through some other means?”

He was gritting his teeth in hatred for his own employees and the workers here, yet he still had to put on a “it’s my fault” appearance. His lungs were about to explode with anger.

“Can you find those workers?”

“I’ll talk to them again. I can compensate them with something, either financially or in some other way.”

The manager at the docks shook his head. “I accept your apology, but they said they won’t see you.”

Considering that the other party was a major client of the docks and that they would continue to cooperate in the future, he lowered his voice slightly and reminded him, “There are many casual laborers outside the docks. You can go and hire them to work for you.”

“Anyway, it’s just for one day. Daily pay will do. $1 or $2 per person. Many of them are also very familiar with the work on the docks.”

“$100 or $200 should be enough to solve your troubles for today.”

“But don’t tell anyone I told you this.”

These casual laborers were actually the dockworkers who had lost their jobs before. Companies or individuals who rented warehouses or needed other services at the docks could, according to the contract, use the labor provided free of charge by the port.

That is, the dockworkers in the blue uniforms now.

They could also find a group of workers to work for them themselves. This was allowed, but even if they found their own workers, there would be no reduction in the fees for using the equipment.

This was a complete service package. Whether you used it or not, you had to pay.

The general manager nodded, said a word of thanks, and then watched the other party leave.

He turned his head and glanced sideways at those employees who already knew they had caused trouble, then drove to the outside of the dock gate.

There had been a casual labor market outside the docks for a long time. In the past, it was mostly illegal immigrants, squatting or standing together, listless.

When someone who looked like they were going to hire workers passed by, they would stand up.

Seeing these low-level casual laborers with a distinct strange smell approaching, the general manager who had just gotten out of the car was almost scared back inside.

The obvious disgust in his eyes made the casual laborers wisely not get too close to him.

“I need some people who can do dock warehouse loading and unloading work. Today’s work must be finished today, $2.”

He had offered a little more. In fact, some would be willing to do it for $1, but to be on the safe side, he added an extra dollar.

By the way, he also added, “I need strong ones, preferably those who have done this kind of work before.”

In an instant, the crowd was like a boiling pot. People were constantly raising their hands and squeezing towards him.

He took two steps back and set his sights on a big-bearded man. “You, have you done this before?”

The big-bearded man nodded repeatedly. “I used to be a worker on the docks, and a worker representative at that.”

This made the general manager a little bewildered for a moment. He of course knew what a worker representative meant, but he also couldn’t understand how a worker representative could become a casual laborer.

But now he had no time to think about these things. He pointed at the big-bearded man and said, “Help me recruit a hundred workers. I need you to go to work right away.”

The big-bearded man’s face was full of joy. A considerable portion of the surrounding crowd immediately let out a sigh and began to leave on their own initiative.

The big-bearded man was the representative of the local casual laborers. He had many friends. If he was the one choosing, then the immigrant casual laborers, the illegal immigrant casual laborers, and the refugee casual laborers looking for opportunities would have no chance at all.

Looking at the scattered people, the general manager vaguely realized something, but he didn’t care.

What he needed was someone to solve his troubles, not to solve social conflicts.

Soon, a team of white men was selected. The big-bearded man had a smile on his face, but in his heart, there was a different kind of feeling.

“Boss, the men have been selected. I guarantee they are all the best lads on the docks.”

The corner of the general manager’s mouth twitched slightly. Why are the best lads outside the docks, and not inside?

He didn’t dwell on this, just nodded and said, “Then let’s go to work.”

“After you finish your work, my employee will settle your wages with you.”

“I still have some things to do. He will take you to the docks.”

The specialist was arriving soon. He had to go and prepare.

He had a staff member take these people away and then went to the station.

The Liji Group had many cooperative relationships with various railway companies in the Federation. For large-scale agricultural products, it was an indisputable choice to use cargo ships for sea transportation.

Then on land, train transport became their only choice.

It wasn’t that cars were not an option, but in terms of current technology, the carrying capacity of trucks was far worse than that of trains, and the transportation costs were also higher.

The Federation’s railways and trains were all owned by private companies. The Liji Group was their major client, so these railway companies all provided the Liji Group with a “symbol of honor”—

Exclusive personnel rest carriages, and even more advanced exclusive carriages.

Just like the carriage the specialist was currently riding in. It was from more than forty years ago, a very luxuriously decorated carriage. It didn’t look at all like being on a train.

Exquisite furniture, decorations, and also an office and a rest room, to ensure that even on the train, the distinguished guests could get a good rest and a space to work.

To have such an exclusive carriage, besides the three major agricultural product channel distributors, there were only those resource companies.

They were also heavyweight clients of the railway companies.

When the train came to a stop in a great cloud of steam, a gentleman in a suit and a wide-brimmed felt hat, looking very exquisite, got out of the car.

He looked to be in his thirties, about the same age as the general manager, but the other party was already a company specialist.

“Mr. Specialist, I am the person in charge here.”

The specialist nodded a little arrogantly. “I’ve heard of you…”

After seeing a smile appear on the general manager’s face, he continued, “but not in a good way.”

“In one year, to have the company send two specialists over. To be honest, I have doubts about your ability. I hope the board of directors has not been blinded by something.”

He didn’t give the general manager any face at all. This kind of person was very common in the company. They all belonged to the vested interest group of “doing things by the book.”

To put it more colloquially, they cared more about the system and abiding by the system than anyone else. And because of their strict adherence, they were selected by the company and became the middle management of the company.

Even if their relatives made a mistake in their work at the company, for example, their parents, or their own brothers and sisters, they would unhesitatingly fire them if they should be fired, and hold them accountable if they should be held accountable, with a completely impartial attitude.

This was their work principle. Perhaps in life they would be a little more humane, but at work, they were more like a machine than a person.

The smile on the general manager’s face instantly froze. The few staff members who had followed him out of the carriage, “Where is the car?”

The specialist asked, “Our time is very tight. Let’s skip the social engagements. Just tell me what needs to be handled.”

The general manager took a deep breath. He thought of the previous specialist, and his end.

Suddenly, he felt a little bit of anticipation, anticipating this specialist angering Lance, and then arranging another “accident” for him.

Soon they returned to the company. Out of a wicked sense of humor, the general manager placed the “car crash toy” someone had given him in the office temporarily prepared for the specialist, and in a very conspicuous place.

The specialist saw the model at a glance. He looked back at the general manager, then threw it into the trash can.

“Get out, I need to work.”

The general manager who had been shut out of the door had not yet returned to his own office when his secretary ran over. “Something’s happened at the docks again…”

The big-bearded man led the workers to the docks to start work. Johnny immediately gave Lance a call. “Big Beard is leading people to help them work. Should we interfere?”

Big Beard had directly stood on the opposite side of Lance during the strike. Later, he was directly fired by the management company, had also caused trouble, had been beaten, and finally chose to compromise with reality.

Some had gone to the industrial area to try their luck, but some, they were still looking for work opportunities at the docks.

Although the work of a temporary laborer was unstable, it could barely sustain their lives.

The dock management company had not completely eliminated them, and whether to hire them or not was the client’s own business. They wouldn’t interfere.

Lance was a magnanimous person most of the time, but at certain times, he was not so magnanimous.

He was actually very good to these workers and had been helping them fight for their rights. But when they found that there was a greater benefit in front of them, and the price was to abandon, or even harm Lance’s interests, this part of the people had abandoned Lance.

Lance could not be magnanimous to these people, not to mention that this also involved the conflict between him and the Liji Group.

“You don’t have to worry about it. I’ll arrange for people to go.”

He hung up the phone. “Get Alan over here.”

Hiram, sitting on the sofa, walked to the door. “Alan, come here.”

Before long, Alan arrived in the room.

He was very useful, obedient, flexible, and most importantly, reliable.

Lance sat behind the desk, his hands clasped together. “The Liji people have found a group of casual laborers to do their loading and unloading, but I don’t want to see them be able to load the goods on time. Do you understand what I mean?”

Alan nodded. “I’ll go and handle it.”

Lance nodded slightly and also kindly reminded him to bring more people.

After Alan left the room, he came to the rest room. He picked a few captains. “Bring your men and clubs and follow me. Bring your weapons too.”

The faces of these captains immediately lit up. They all ran to the back to call their men, and then followed Alan together to get their weapons and set off for the port.

Everyone in their hearts actually knew very well that Alan was very likely to be promoted to cadre. So even though everyone was a captain, but… they were still very obedient to Alan.

Not only because he had good connections, but also because his future was bright.

A total of thirty to forty people came this time. These young men were all wearing roughly the same uniform.

As the weather gradually got colder, the trench coats could be worn again. The red armbands made them seem a bit out of place with the dark, gloomy docks at this time.

Alan held a cigarette between his thumb and forefinger and strode towards the warehouse. This was something he had learned from Lance. He thought it was very cool.

As the warehouse appeared in sight, some workers who were not wearing work clothes were loading and unloading goods. He took a baseball bat from the hands of one of his subordinates and pointed at that group of people. “Hit them!”

He charged at the front. To make the other young men obey you, you can’t shrink back. He understood this principle.

He directly saw a somewhat familiar big-bearded man in the crowd. Without caring whether the other party was their target, he swung the bat and hit him.

For a time, the area near the warehouse was filled with screams and curses. Although these casual laborers were actively resisting, compared to these more professional young men with baseball bats, they seemed to be lacking a little.

In less than ten minutes, many casual laborers were lying on the ground outside the warehouse, having been knocked down. More casual laborers had taken advantage of the chaos to run away, watching from a distance.

Alan handed the bat in his hand to the person next to him. He carefully straightened his trench coat. This suit was specially customized.

When he saw a clear bloodstain on his clothes, his heart ached.

He kicked the casual laborer who had fallen beside him again. “Son of a bitch, fuck!”

In the distance, the wail of police cars was approaching. A lot of onlookers had already gathered around. A few minutes later, the police cars arrived here.

The police officer who was dispatched saw the attire of these social personnel standing outside the warehouse, and his originally cold and indifferent expression softened.

“What happened?”

Alan threw away his cigarette, crushed it with the tip of his brown leather shoe. He walked over and said, “There was a little conflict, officer.”

The police from the Port District sub-bureau all received “wages” from the Lance Family. They knew Alan, but it was not convenient to show that they were familiar with each other now.

“I have to take you and your men back for questioning.”

Alan did not resist, but raised his hands. “Do you need to handcuff me?”

The police officer shook his head. “Until it’s confirmed that you have indeed committed a crime, we will not handcuff you.”

Alan smiled and nodded. “Okay, can I drive my own car?”

“Of course!” The police officer still did not make things difficult for him.

He expressed his thanks, and then as he turned around, he swept his cold gaze over the guys lying on the ground and walked to his own car.

Soon, this group of them and the police left together. The police had asked if they should call an ambulance for these injured people—the cost would have to be paid by them.

In the end, everyone refused the ambulance service. They had to get up from the ground themselves and then go to the sub-bureau to report and explain the situation.

Among them, the one who was beaten the worst was the big-bearded man. His face was covered in blood.

He looked at the direction the police cars and those social vehicles had left, and a trace of regret finally appeared in his heart.

A little while later, Sub-bureau Chief Duke gave Lance a call. “Lance, next time can you not do this in front of so many people?”

“It’s very difficult for me to handle.”

Thirty-something people, should he arrest them or release them?

If no one had seen, they could have arrested the victims, intimidated them a bit, and then mediated, and the matter would be over.

But so many people had seen, which made it not so easy to operate. After all, there were too many witnesses, and there would always be some people with a sense of justice.

“Handle it as it should be handled. I’ll have someone pay the bail. Tell them, if they want to sue, then sue. We accept it all.”

In the Federation, fighting is a very vague “case.” It often needs to be resolved through litigation, and it also requires “witnesses.”

If there are no witnesses, the judiciary can only handle it on a 50/50 basis. It’s possible that in this process, the party that clearly caused the harm would be detained, but Lance’s side would pay the bail, so in a sense, the big-bearded man and his group were beaten for nothing.

Even if the judge passed a sentence, this kind of minor injury would at most be some restriction of movement or community service and compensation.

But would they dare to ask Alan for compensation?

No, they wouldn’t dare.

With Lance’s authorization, the subsequent matters became much easier. In less than ten minutes, Roben the lawyer had paid the bail.

The one who did the beating went home immediately, while the one who was beaten had to be investigated at the police station.

Perhaps, this was the most psychedelic scene of the Federation’s judiciary…

(End of chapter)