Chapter 3 Don't talk about emotions, it hurts the wallet.
Late at night, the moon was bright and the stars were dazzling.
Su Tianyu arrived at the door of his eldest brother's room and knocked on it. "Are you asleep, brother?"
"Coming." A response came from inside the room. Su Tiannan, dressed in formal attire, opened the door. "You're not asleep yet?"
"I can't sleep, so I came to talk to you." Su Tianyu replied with a smile.
"Hehe, come in." Su Tiannan stepped aside.
Su Tianyu walked into the room and glanced around at the furnishings. He noticed that there hadn't been much change in the room from a few years ago. It was clean, and tidy, and had no unnecessary furniture.
The room was slightly dimly lit, and there was incense on the desk in the living room. Su Tiannan closed the door and walked to the desk to pour tea. "Little brother, the timing of your return isn't great. The family has indeed encountered some problems, and I can't accompany you for the time being. Let Miao Miao take you out for a stroll later."
Su Tianyu sat down on the sofa and paused for a moment before saying, "Big brother, I didn't come to talk to you about personal matters."
Su Tiannan walked over and placed the teacup in front of him before sitting down and asking, "What's the matter? Do you have something else to discuss?"
"After listening to what you guys talked about earlier, I have some thoughts." Su Tianyu said after thinking for a moment.
Su Tiannan looked slightly surprised and asked, "What are your thoughts then?"
"I personally think that the turning point in Second Uncle’s case is not in the judicial department. Even if we spend money and use our connections, we may not be able to get a good outcome. Since Changqing Company can arrange things with the District Police Department and the Municipal Police Bureau, they won't easily give us a chance to intervene in the case. To put it bluntly, can our family compare to Changqing Company when it comes to spending money? Therefore, there is only one condition to turn the tables in the judicial department, and that is to balance power with power. Unless we can find a relationship that can make the police bureau obedient with just a word, otherwise our efforts would be in vain." Su Tianyu said frankly.
Su Tiannan rested his chin on his left hand and crossed his legs, nodding slowly. "Go on."
"I have two conclusions about this matter: First, it's important to unite the workers. If eight people shout, no one may listen, but if eight hundred people shout, the voice will be loud. Second, I heard you say that besides our Su family being killed in Zhana, there are three other families who were also targeted. Why can't we unite with them?" Su Tianyu said with a slight frown. "We don't have absolute power to stand up, so we need to find a way to make those with absolute power notice us."
Perhaps influenced by his father, Su Tianyu was very good at summarizing things and was willing to summarize complex things into the most concise points in order to adjust his thinking.
In Su Tiannan's mind, he always treated Su Tianyu as a child because the latter went to school at the age of 18 and hasn't been home for several years. So his impression of Tianyu was still relatively fixed. But at this moment, he unintentionally followed Tianyu's rhythm and felt that what he said made some sense.
"After your second uncle went in, the workers' hearts were scattered. They felt that our Su family would have a hard time getting through this, so they all avoided it. Not only did these people not support the company, but a few of the foremen even wanted to take advantage of the difficult situation of our Su family and take over our territory." Su Tiannan replied with a slight frown. "So it's difficult to unite with them."
"I don't think it's difficult." Su Tianyu smiled and looked at his older brother, knowing him well. "It's just that it might lead to a falling-out between us... and you don't want that."
When Su Tiannan heard this, he was once again stunned.
"Big brother, the workers and the company are always bound together by interests." Su Tianyu persuasively said, "It's normal to have a use of interest in between. If you don't want to deal with this matter, I'll do it."
Su Tiannan fell into contemplation.
"Why don't you make an appointment with the workers, and we'll talk first. If we can solve the internal problems, we can then talk to the other three families." Su Tianyu said again, "Your second uncle's case could be completed at any time. Once it's marked as trafficking, we won't have time to think of a solution."
Su Tiannan heard this and slowly stood up, saying, "Okay, I'll make an appointment with the foremen tomorrow."
"I think it's still early, why don't we make the appointment now? Solve it early, in case the night is long and has too many dreams." Su Tianyu even urged them.
"Okay, then let's go to the warehouse now." Su Tiannan was completely convinced.
—----
At the headquarters of Changqing Company in Zhanan District, a fat man in his forties dressed in a black suit sat on a spacious leather sofa, crossed his legs, and smoked as he asked, "What did Su Tiannan say?"
"He asked us to give him another five days." Lu Feng lazily lounged on the sofa, stroking his short hair, and replied, "This kid is persistent, he may still want to work out a way to bring his dad back from the police station."
The fat man in the black suit is Li Hongze, the boss of Changqing Company. The so-called Changqing Company is also a long-standing organization. Before the Common Era, it was called Changqing Gang. Its members were all overseas Chinese, and the organization had branches all over the world, but its reputation had always been poor.
"Why did you promise to give him five more days?" Li Hongze asked.
"There were over a hundred people on the scene. If we didn't agree, we would have to fight today. Fighting would easily attract attention and wouldn't do us any good." Lu Feng replied concisely, "Old Wang from the police station also had to intervene. We don't need to argue with Old Wang over a matter that involves someone who's not one of us."
Li Hongze chuckled at Lu Feng's response, "Haha, our number one enforcer in Zhanan is now using his brains to get things done. That's good, the company is getting better and better."
"Big brother, if we take down Su, Bai, Liu, and Kong, can I get half of the shares?" Lu Feng asked with a smile.
Li Hongze picked up his cigarette box and threw a cigarette to Lu Feng, "Five years from now, I'll make you the number one enforcer in Dragon City!"
"Okay, thanks."
—---
About an hour and a half later, more than thirty workers' leaders had gathered in a small conference room on the second floor of the Su family's goods yard in Zhanan. The room was filled with smoke, and voices whispered and talked one after another. Su Tiannan sat on a wooden chair with a serious expression.
"Xiaonan, we have been working with the Su family for a long time. There are no outsiders here, so let's talk face-to-face. If the Su family goes under this time, how will you arrange us workers? Will our retirement pension and labor insurance be affected? Can we receive our year-end bonuses on time?" A lead worker in his forties asked very bluntly.
"Yes, if the Su family hands over the work site to Changqing Company, how will our employment records and files be handled?" someone immediately chimed in, speaking in a more aggressive tone, with a hint of coercion.
Su Tiannan hadn't even had a chance to seek support from the workers' ranks, and they had already started to give him a hard time. In times of crisis, personal feelings are not worth mentioning.
"Here's the thing. My little brother just graduated and has been tasked with handling the worker placement issue for the family," Su Tiannan pointed to Tianyu, who was by his side, and spoke softly. "I'll be here listening. You can talk to him about it."
Everyone turned to look at Su Tianyu when they heard this, and when they saw how young and polite he looked, they were all somewhat dissatisfied.
"He's just a kid, and he's never managed any dirty business for the gang. What can we talk to him about?" One person said.
"That's right, he's just a kid. What does he know?"
Everyone fell silent when Su Tiannan spoke up.
When the room had quieted down, Su Tianyu reached out and adjusted his glasses before politely saying, "May I say a few words?"
The lead worker and his peers gave Su Tianyu a cold look, either whispering to each other or smoking without saying a word.
Su Tianyu took out the information he had sorted out in the car and said expressionlessly, "My elder brother went to the city yesterday to talk to the police department, but the results were not very satisfactory. Simply put, there is not much room to maneuver in my uncle's case. If we want to save him, we have to pay and hand over the Su family's land to the company. Our family has discussed it, and we all agree that we cannot fight Changqing Company, so we can only hand over the land and save my uncle."
The workers didn't seem surprised by this outcome, nor did they respond.
"As a preparation for the transfer of land ownership, we have prepared an agreement for all of you to understand," said Su Tianyu, frowning. "Your personal files and work registrations will be returned to you, and your monthly salary can be settled, but don't expect any year-end bonuses. It's only halfway through the year, and management won't settle year-end bonuses. After the formalities are completed, you'll have to find your own way."
As soon as the crowd heard this, there was an uproar.
"What does this mean? We terminate our contracts, and our year-end bonus is not guaranteed. How is this fair?"
"Yeah, if we terminate our contracts and our files and work records are returned to us, doesn't that mean we're being fired?! What about our retirement and social security benefits?"
"Su Tiannan, what are you trying to say? We've been working for half a year, why should we just accept that we won't be getting our year-end bonus? Su's family caused this trouble, why should the workers pay the price?"
The workers were outraged when they heard that Su's family was abandoning them.
Su Tiannan looked at the crowd without responding, while Su Tianyu calmly said, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. If Su's family can't even protect themselves, then they won't be able to protect everyone else either."
"You're talking nonsense! We've been working with Su's family for so long, even if we don't have an emotional connection, we still have a relationship, right? Let me tell you, if Su's second son hadn't been involved, he wouldn't have done this!" The middle-aged man in his forties who was leading the group almost shouted at Su Tianyu.
"Big brother, you're the one talking about benefits, and relationships, not me. If you act like this, Su's family will have a hard time dealing with it too." Su Tianyu replied with a smile.
"You don't understand anything!" The middle-aged man in his forties stood up and said to Su Tiannan, "If you're going to act like this, then we won't bother talking reason anymore. Tomorrow, we'll bring more than two hundred workers and attack your house."
Su Tiannan sighed, lowered his head, and still didn't respond.
Su Tianyu adjusted his glasses and stood up slowly, "Are you threatening me?"
The head worker looked at him, "Get lost, this has nothing to do with you."
Su Tianyu smiled at him and took out a small portion of the workers' information from his bag. He said concisely, "The company holds your files and work records, and submits them to management for hiring and resignation purposes. So, does this mean that if I say you're a permanent employee, you're one, and if I say you're a temporary employee, you're one too?"
The head worker was completely stunned upon hearing this.
"You see, when it comes to being shameless, capital can be even more shameless than you." Su Tianyu put down the information, "Big brother, do you want to talk about benefits or relationships now?"
The crowd fell silent.
Su Tianyu turned to look at everyone and said, "Do you think the downfall of the Su family has nothing to do with you? The Environmental Sanitation Management Committee cannot operate normally without the workers. But is that really the case? The Su family has handed over its territory. Do you think you can still make a living doing dirty work? Let me tell you, that's just a dream! Why does Changqing Corporation want to target the Su family? Our family has only about thirty people doing dirty work. What good does it do for them to go after us? Wake up, Changqing Corporation is after the eight hundred dirty workers in the hands of the Su family. The purpose of grabbing the territory is to let their own people have work to do, for the sake of monopoly. Do you understand, my family?"
The workers listened carefully to Su Tianyu's words and thought about it for a moment before sitting back in their seats with gloomy faces.
"Without unity, we'll die." Su Tianyu pointed to the termination agreement on the table and said, "Do you want to sign the contract or go through this difficult time with the Su family? You decide."
"What if we can't beat Changqing Corporation?" a fifty-something old man asked bluntly.
Su Tiannan, who had not spoken, stood up decisively and pointed to the warehouse yard, saying, "I, Su Tiannan, will never treat any of you unfairly. We can sign the contract, and if the Su family goes bankrupt and surrenders, the existing equipment will belong to the workers."
The interests of bottom-level workers have always been simple, nothing more than the word "life". When this word is guaranteed, ordinary people are always very docile and will work hard to contribute to society. But whoever messes with this word is in trouble. That's why many commercial giants now shout "pro-people" on the surface but secretly call for quick profits, and even after the harvest, they still say, "We are always together, my family."
It has always been the case throughout history.
Su Tianyu never thought of confronting the workers; he just wanted to take advantage of the situation.
After the negotiations, Su Tiannan sighed in the empty conference room, "It's not a pretty sight when old acquaintances fight like this."
In fact, Su eldest brother understood everything, but he just didn't want to do some things.
Su Tianyu sipped his tea and said softly, "Big brother, now that the workers are united, we need to talk to the other three families."
—--
In the city.
Su Tianbei sat in the car and said on the phone, "Can you get me two guns?"
"Your dad gets guns, and now you want guns too? What's going on, are you guys planning a family suicide?"
Chapter 3 Don't talk about emotions, it hurts the wallet.
Late at night, the moon was bright and the stars were dazzling.
Su Tianyu arrived at the door of his eldest brother's room and knocked on it. "Are you asleep, brother?"
"Coming." A response came from inside the room. Su Tiannan, dressed in formal attire, opened the door. "You're not asleep yet?"
"I can't sleep, so I came to talk to you." Su Tianyu replied with a smile.
"Hehe, come in." Su Tiannan stepped aside.
Su Tianyu walked into the room and glanced around at the furnishings. He noticed that there hadn't been much change in the room from a few years ago. It was clean, and tidy, and had no unnecessary furniture.
The room was slightly dimly lit, and there was incense on the desk in the living room. Su Tiannan closed the door and walked to the desk to pour tea. "Little brother, the timing of your return isn't great. The family has indeed encountered some problems, and I can't accompany you for the time being. Let Miao Miao take you out for a stroll later."
Su Tianyu sat down on the sofa and paused for a moment before saying, "Big brother, I didn't come to talk to you about personal matters."
Su Tiannan walked over and placed the teacup in front of him before sitting down and asking, "What's the matter? Do you have something else to discuss?"
"After listening to what you guys talked about earlier, I have some thoughts." Su Tianyu said after thinking for a moment.
Su Tiannan looked slightly surprised and asked, "What are your thoughts then?"
"I personally think that the turning point in Second Uncle’s case is not in the judicial department. Even if we spend money and use our connections, we may not be able to get a good outcome. Since Changqing Company can arrange things with the District Police Department and the Municipal Police Bureau, they won't easily give us a chance to intervene in the case. To put it bluntly, can our family compare to Changqing Company when it comes to spending money? Therefore, there is only one condition to turn the tables in the judicial department, and that is to balance power with power. Unless we can find a relationship that can make the police bureau obedient with just a word, otherwise our efforts would be in vain." Su Tianyu said frankly.
Su Tiannan rested his chin on his left hand and crossed his legs, nodding slowly. "Go on."
"I have two conclusions about this matter: First, it's important to unite the workers. If eight people shout, no one may listen, but if eight hundred people shout, the voice will be loud. Second, I heard you say that besides our Su family being killed in Zhana, there are three other families who were also targeted. Why can't we unite with them?" Su Tianyu said with a slight frown. "We don't have absolute power to stand up, so we need to find a way to make those with absolute power notice us."
Perhaps influenced by his father, Su Tianyu was very good at summarizing things and was willing to summarize complex things into the most concise points in order to adjust his thinking.
In Su Tiannan's mind, he always treated Su Tianyu as a child because the latter went to school at the age of 18 and hasn't been home for several years. So his impression of Tianyu was still relatively fixed. But at this moment, he unintentionally followed Tianyu's rhythm and felt that what he said made some sense.
"After your second uncle went in, the workers' hearts were scattered. They felt that our Su family would have a hard time getting through this, so they all avoided it. Not only did these people not support the company, but a few of the foremen even wanted to take advantage of the difficult situation of our Su family and take over our territory." Su Tiannan replied with a slight frown. "So it's difficult to unite with them."
"I don't think it's difficult." Su Tianyu smiled and looked at his older brother, knowing him well. "It's just that it might lead to a falling-out between us... and you don't want that."
When Su Tiannan heard this, he was once again stunned.
"Big brother, the workers and the company are always bound together by interests." Su Tianyu persuasively said, "It's normal to have a use of interest in between. If you don't want to deal with this matter, I'll do it."
Su Tiannan fell into contemplation.
"Why don't you make an appointment with the workers, and we'll talk first. If we can solve the internal problems, we can then talk to the other three families." Su Tianyu said again, "Your second uncle's case could be completed at any time. Once it's marked as trafficking, we won't have time to think of a solution."
Su Tiannan heard this and slowly stood up, saying, "Okay, I'll make an appointment with the foremen tomorrow."
"I think it's still early, why don't we make the appointment now? Solve it early, in case the night is long and has too many dreams." Su Tianyu even urged them.
"Okay, then let's go to the warehouse now." Su Tiannan was completely convinced.
—----
At the headquarters of Changqing Company in Zhanan District, a fat man in his forties dressed in a black suit sat on a spacious leather sofa, crossed his legs, and smoked as he asked, "What did Su Tiannan say?"
"He asked us to give him another five days." Lu Feng lazily lounged on the sofa, stroking his short hair, and replied, "This kid is persistent, he may still want to work out a way to bring his dad back from the police station."
The fat man in the black suit is Li Hongze, the boss of Changqing Company. The so-called Changqing Company is also a long-standing organization. Before the Common Era, it was called Changqing Gang. Its members were all overseas Chinese, and the organization had branches all over the world, but its reputation had always been poor.
"Why did you promise to give him five more days?" Li Hongze asked.
"There were over a hundred people on the scene. If we didn't agree, we would have to fight today. Fighting would easily attract attention and wouldn't do us any good." Lu Feng replied concisely, "Old Wang from the police station also had to intervene. We don't need to argue with Old Wang over a matter that involves someone who's not one of us."
Li Hongze chuckled at Lu Feng's response, "Haha, our number one enforcer in Zhanan is now using his brains to get things done. That's good, the company is getting better and better."
"Big brother, if we take down Su, Bai, Liu, and Kong, can I get half of the shares?" Lu Feng asked with a smile.
Li Hongze picked up his cigarette box and threw a cigarette to Lu Feng, "Five years from now, I'll make you the number one enforcer in Dragon City!"
"Okay, thanks."
—---
About an hour and a half later, more than thirty workers' leaders had gathered in a small conference room on the second floor of the Su family's goods yard in Zhanan. The room was filled with smoke, and voices whispered and talked one after another. Su Tiannan sat on a wooden chair with a serious expression.
"Xiaonan, we have been working with the Su family for a long time. There are no outsiders here, so let's talk face-to-face. If the Su family goes under this time, how will you arrange us workers? Will our retirement pension and labor insurance be affected? Can we receive our year-end bonuses on time?" A lead worker in his forties asked very bluntly.
"Yes, if the Su family hands over the work site to Changqing Company, how will our employment records and files be handled?" someone immediately chimed in, speaking in a more aggressive tone, with a hint of coercion.
Su Tiannan hadn't even had a chance to seek support from the workers' ranks, and they had already started to give him a hard time. In times of crisis, personal feelings are not worth mentioning.
"Here's the thing. My little brother just graduated and has been tasked with handling the worker placement issue for the family," Su Tiannan pointed to Tianyu, who was by his side, and spoke softly. "I'll be here listening. You can talk to him about it."
Everyone turned to look at Su Tianyu when they heard this, and when they saw how young and polite he looked, they were all somewhat dissatisfied.
"He's just a kid, and he's never managed any dirty business for the gang. What can we talk to him about?" One person said.
"That's right, he's just a kid. What does he know?"
Everyone fell silent when Su Tiannan spoke up.
When the room had quieted down, Su Tianyu reached out and adjusted his glasses before politely saying, "May I say a few words?"
The lead worker and his peers gave Su Tianyu a cold look, either whispering to each other or smoking without saying a word.
Su Tianyu took out the information he had sorted out in the car and said expressionlessly, "My elder brother went to the city yesterday to talk to the police department, but the results were not very satisfactory. Simply put, there is not much room to maneuver in my uncle's case. If we want to save him, we have to pay and hand over the Su family's land to the company. Our family has discussed it, and we all agree that we cannot fight Changqing Company, so we can only hand over the land and save my uncle."
The workers didn't seem surprised by this outcome, nor did they respond.
"As a preparation for the transfer of land ownership, we have prepared an agreement for all of you to understand," said Su Tianyu, frowning. "Your personal files and work registrations will be returned to you, and your monthly salary can be settled, but don't expect any year-end bonuses. It's only halfway through the year, and management won't settle year-end bonuses. After the formalities are completed, you'll have to find your own way."
As soon as the crowd heard this, there was an uproar.
"What does this mean? We terminate our contracts, and our year-end bonus is not guaranteed. How is this fair?"
"Yeah, if we terminate our contracts and our files and work records are returned to us, doesn't that mean we're being fired?! What about our retirement and social security benefits?"
"Su Tiannan, what are you trying to say? We've been working for half a year, why should we just accept that we won't be getting our year-end bonus? Su's family caused this trouble, why should the workers pay the price?"
The workers were outraged when they heard that Su's family was abandoning them.
Su Tiannan looked at the crowd without responding, while Su Tianyu calmly said, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. If Su's family can't even protect themselves, then they won't be able to protect everyone else either."
"You're talking nonsense! We've been working with Su's family for so long, even if we don't have an emotional connection, we still have a relationship, right? Let me tell you, if Su's second son hadn't been involved, he wouldn't have done this!" The middle-aged man in his forties who was leading the group almost shouted at Su Tianyu.
"Big brother, you're the one talking about benefits, and relationships, not me. If you act like this, Su's family will have a hard time dealing with it too." Su Tianyu replied with a smile.
"You don't understand anything!" The middle-aged man in his forties stood up and said to Su Tiannan, "If you're going to act like this, then we won't bother talking reason anymore. Tomorrow, we'll bring more than two hundred workers and attack your house."
Su Tiannan sighed, lowered his head, and still didn't respond.
Su Tianyu adjusted his glasses and stood up slowly, "Are you threatening me?"
The head worker looked at him, "Get lost, this has nothing to do with you."
Su Tianyu smiled at him and took out a small portion of the workers' information from his bag. He said concisely, "The company holds your files and work records, and submits them to management for hiring and resignation purposes. So, does this mean that if I say you're a permanent employee, you're one, and if I say you're a temporary employee, you're one too?"
The head worker was completely stunned upon hearing this.
"You see, when it comes to being shameless, capital can be even more shameless than you." Su Tianyu put down the information, "Big brother, do you want to talk about benefits or relationships now?"
The crowd fell silent.
Su Tianyu turned to look at everyone and said, "Do you think the downfall of the Su family has nothing to do with you? The Environmental Sanitation Management Committee cannot operate normally without the workers. But is that really the case? The Su family has handed over its territory. Do you think you can still make a living doing dirty work? Let me tell you, that's just a dream! Why does Changqing Corporation want to target the Su family? Our family has only about thirty people doing dirty work. What good does it do for them to go after us? Wake up, Changqing Corporation is after the eight hundred dirty workers in the hands of the Su family. The purpose of grabbing the territory is to let their own people have work to do, for the sake of monopoly. Do you understand, my family?"
The workers listened carefully to Su Tianyu's words and thought about it for a moment before sitting back in their seats with gloomy faces.
"Without unity, we'll die." Su Tianyu pointed to the termination agreement on the table and said, "Do you want to sign the contract or go through this difficult time with the Su family? You decide."
"What if we can't beat Changqing Corporation?" a fifty-something old man asked bluntly.
Su Tiannan, who had not spoken, stood up decisively and pointed to the warehouse yard, saying, "I, Su Tiannan, will never treat any of you unfairly. We can sign the contract, and if the Su family goes bankrupt and surrenders, the existing equipment will belong to the workers."
The interests of bottom-level workers have always been simple, nothing more than the word "life". When this word is guaranteed, ordinary people are always very docile and will work hard to contribute to society. But whoever messes with this word is in trouble. That's why many commercial giants now shout "pro-people" on the surface but secretly call for quick profits, and even after the harvest, they still say, "We are always together, my family."
It has always been the case throughout history.
Su Tianyu never thought of confronting the workers; he just wanted to take advantage of the situation.
After the negotiations, Su Tiannan sighed in the empty conference room, "It's not a pretty sight when old acquaintances fight like this."
In fact, Su eldest brother understood everything, but he just didn't want to do some things.
Su Tianyu sipped his tea and said softly, "Big brother, now that the workers are united, we need to talk to the other three families."
—--
In the city.
Su Tianbei sat in the car and said on the phone, "Can you get me two guns?"
"Your dad gets guns, and now you want guns too? What's going on, are you guys planning a family suicide?"
