Shadow Empire

Chapter 323 Johnny and Charlie

Johnny was squatting on the side of the road smoking a cigarette, with a broom beside him. His eyes showed the fatigue of seeing through life.

Ever since Lance broke his arm in front of everyone, he has become much more well-behaved at the dock.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to work in a different place, but there’s really no place suitable for him.

The industrial zone is not recruiting as many workers as in previous years. The jobs are not very good, the wages are not very high, and most of them need workers who have some understanding of the work.

People like Johnny who know nothing will not receive any salary in the first month after they arrive - the factory will use the term "adapting to the position" to require them to learn the assembly line or factory work processes.

Workers will only hire you if they understand the job content of their positions.

Before that, that's where most people learned how to work.

If you are unlucky and never learn, the factory may ask you to leave directly. They will not hire a fool to slow down their work progress.

Considering that he still had a family to support, Johnny eventually returned to the dock.

Fortunately, Lance's men did not kill him all, leaving him with a job at the dock.

But he can no longer do his previous job, and now his job is floor cleaning.

Every time after loading and unloading cargo, a lot of things will be left on the ground, such as dust, dirt, and even some grass.

Some of those containers will drift on the sea for a month or two, experiencing wind and sun. Sometimes, by sheer luck, one or two seeds will fall into the accumulated dust in the corner and take root and sprout.

At this time, his skills came into play and he took a broom to clean up all these things.

Twenty-seven thousand five hundred dollars a month, no overtime required, but to be honest, he really doesn't want this job. He would rather be more tired and want a job that can earn more.

Unfortunately, the people at the dock didn't take very good care of him.

Just when he was feeling depressed, two young men appeared in front of him. They were wearing baseball caps and had their hands in their trouser pockets. They just walked up to him.

He glanced at the two of them and said impatiently, "Get out of my sight and don't make me unhappy."

He had a sour face, a bad job, lower income, complaints from family members, a stomach that was never full, and now he couldn't afford to drink.

But the two men didn't seem to have any intention of leaving, which made Johnny a little angry.

After he confirmed that the two men were not workers on the dock, he stood up.

After the big guy stood up, he did give people a sense of tension and pressure. Just when he was about to "get out if the other party doesn't want to get out", one of the young men spoke up, "Lance wants to see you."

Johnny's entire movement stopped there, and his expression changed rapidly, first with some fear, then some confusion, then hesitation, and finally turned into uneasiness.

He threw away the cigarette in his hand, like a bewildered child, and wiped his hands on his clothes, not knowing what to do next, "I haven't done anything recently!"

His voice was not as impatient as before. He explained with patience and grievance that he really didn't do anything!
That's why he couldn't understand why Lance wanted to see him!

The young man just continued to stare at him. "There's no need to tell me these things. Just come with me."

Johnny looked around, and it was obvious that he seemed to be thinking about something wrong. The young man said, "We know where you live, unless you abandon all your family and never return to Jingang or show up in your life."

This sentence shattered his thoughts of wanting to escape, and he became dejected, "I didn't think so!"

"Then come with us!" the young man said and turned to walk towards the intersection of the pier. Johnny hesitated for a while, but finally chose to follow him.

This was his first time riding in a car, which made him feel a little restrained, and he didn't know why he felt his face getting hot.

The slightly pleasant aroma in the carriage made him feel out of place here. He rubbed his hands between his legs. The young man sitting next to him glanced at the floor of the carriage and said, "You have to clean these after you get off the train."

There is some dead skin on the floor. The salt on the beach is very high, and their work leaves a lot of calluses on their hands, which are constantly being renewed.

The old ones will fall off if you rub them.

With some dust, there was a small area under his feet covered with dead skin and dirt.

This made Johnny's face turn red. If someone had dared to say this before, he would definitely let the other person taste whether his fist was hard.

But now, he could only nod and respond with "I'll clean it up."

The car quickly stopped at the office. He got out, bent over, and used his hands to move the things on the floor out.

When he turned around again, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He was brought to Lance's office and was allowed in about a minute after the young man went in.

Lance was sitting behind his desk. When he saw Johnny come in, he neither stood up nor tried to shake hands with him. He just pointed to the chair opposite the desk and said, "Sit down."

Johnny walked to the chair and sat down. He carefully placed his hands on his knees, like an honest and obedient elementary school student!

"Do you want to smoke?" Lance opened the cigarette box, which contained neatly placed cigarettes and cigars.

Johnny's throat moved. He wanted to have one, but finally shook his head. "No, Mr. Lance, I don't smoke."

"You can't even tell a lie properly!" Lance smiled and took out a cigarette and threw it over. "As long as you don't make the ashes everywhere, I'm not so cold-hearted!"

He took one himself, then showed Johnny how to use a tabletop lighter.

After both of them smoked their cigarettes, Lance asked, "I heard that you are in charge of sweeping the docks recently?"

Johnny nodded. "I broke my arm and couldn't do my previous job, so they gave me an easier job."

Tightening screws or hammering things puts various forces on the bones in the arm, and it is indeed not suitable to do this kind of work after a fracture.

Especially the kind of knocking and hitting will cause the wound to reopen, which is not conducive to the healing of the fracture.

But he didn't expect that he would sweep the floor for several months, and it seemed that he would continue to sweep the floor. Even his old friends didn't visit him as often now.

Everyone at the dock knew that he had offended the Lance family and they were all staying away from him.

Johnny took a puff of cigarette and flicked the ash, but he didn't see an ashtray. Thinking about what Lance had just said, he finally stretched out his left hand and flicked the ash into the palm of his left hand.

Lance wanted to laugh at his action, "You are very familiar with the dock."

Johnny did not deny it. "I have been working on the dock since I was sixteen. Maybe I don't know as much about it as those old guys, but among my generation, I definitely know it best."

"Mr. Lance, they said you wanted to see me. I feel a little uneasy. I don't know if I have offended you in any way."

"If you have any, you can tell me directly. It will make me feel better."

Maybe it was because he took two puffs of the high-end cigarette, or maybe it was because Lance’s attitude was not that “bad”, Johnny couldn’t help it.

He couldn't stand the inner anxiety and restlessness, which made him feel like there was something wrong with his heart, which kept beating wildly.

Lance smiled. "Your worry is unnecessary. I have a few things to do recently. After thinking about it, I finally thought of you."

"But don't worry, it will definitely be a good thing for you."

He stretched out his fingers and stroked his eyebrows. "I heard that the wages at the dock haven't increased in the past few years?"

Hearing that it was a good thing, Johnny relaxed a lot, "Yes, it has been almost three years."

"Mr. Lance, can you believe this?"

"Everything is going up in price now, except wages, and the most important thing is those..."

He suddenly stopped talking, and at the same time, he broke out in a cold sweat, and then he felt a little at a loss.

Lance knew what he was going to say, "Those immigrants and illegals, huh?"

"I know a lot of you think so." Johnny couldn't sit still any longer. "Mr. Lance, that's not what I meant..."

Everyone knows that Lance has a close connection with illegal immigrants, and some people say that he himself is an illegal immigrant. However, even if these little people hear about this kind of thing, they cannot verify it, and there is no need to verify it.

But considering these rumors, Johnny's statements were equivalent to accusing Lance, which almost scared him to death!

Lance shook his head. "It's okay. I understand your thoughts. Illegal immigrants do make it difficult to increase wages at the docks. That's a fact."

Illegal immigrants only make a dozen or twenty dollars a month, while a legal federal worker makes thirty-seven to forty dollars. There is no need to consider how capitalists who seek to maximize profits will choose!
You don't want to do it?
There are plenty of people who can do it!
Therefore, even if many workers on the dock do not say it out loud, they actually have great resentment towards the illegal immigrants in their hearts. This is why the anti-immigrant riots that broke out caused huge damage on the dock so quickly!
It can only be said that this kind of negative emotion has accumulated for too long, and suddenly there is a gap for release. Even ordinary people will inevitably have some thoughts.

Even at the docks today, many people still have this idea. They regard the lack of wage increases as an immigration issue.

They have vented once before, so they won't show it. When these negative emotions accumulate to a certain level, they will erupt again.

That will be the next riot.

"Johnny, I can actually trust you more than anyone else. Do you know why?"

Lance's question made Johnny feel inexplicably trusted. He quickly sat up straight, but he didn't know where to put the ashes in his hand, so he finally stuffed them all into his pocket.

"I don't know, Mr. Lance."

"But anyway, I'm so grateful that you trust me!"

From his expression you can tell he wasn't lying. This world is just so funny sometimes.

Lance broke his arm, but because of Lance's few words, he actually developed a sense of identification and gratitude towards Lance. Perhaps this is a problem that all the lower-class people face or have experienced.

In front of higher-level people, they actually have no resistance!
"Don't be so quick to be moved. The reason I trust you is because I know your situation very well."

"From the time you were born to your family members and their respective situations, everything is in my hands."

"To put it simply, I'm not afraid of you doing something I don't want to see, because I can correct or erase the mistake immediately."

Johnny was stunned for a moment, and then he was indeed not moved. Instead, he felt a little dry and didn't know what to say.

Lance didn't give him a chance to build up new emotions, "It is precisely because of this that I can trust you, and now, I need you to do something for me."

"Go ask the company to give you a raise, and better yet, call on more people to join you. I can give you some funds."

"Make as much noise as you can. If you can convince the whole dock to join you, all the better!"

Johnny looked confused, "I don't understand, Mr. Lance."

Lance laughed and said, "If you understood, you would be the one sitting here with me!"

"You just need to know that the companies at the docks haven't given you a pay raise in two years. That's not reasonable."

"We must fight against unreasonable things. This is the symbol of the spirit of the Free Federation!"

Johnny gradually realized that he seemed to be involved in a conspiracy, but he seemed powerless to struggle.

The expression on his face was like that of a puppy abandoned on the roadside, with no idea where his future lay.

"After this is done, I will let you join Wanli Office and arrange a more comfortable job for you."

"At the same time you will be protected by us!"

"More income, a safer environment, and you can even regain your dignity in front of your friends."

"And all of this comes from your choice, Johnny!"

Johnny agreed without any hesitation. His life was terrible now and he saw no hope.

If promising Lance could change all that and make him the character he once dreamed of, then why refuse?

This might be a little dangerous, but Lance had a good reputation and he could trust Lance.

Without much psychological struggle, he agreed.

Lance gave him four hundred dollars and asked him to find a way to contact friends who had the same idea and let them point the finger at the businesses on the dock.

Johnny felt "different" in an instant when he returned to the dock. He touched the money in his pocket and saw that the broom he had placed on the ground before he left was still there. He suddenly ran a few steps and kicked the broom, sending it flying!

"Go to hell, here I come!"

He suddenly laughed and walked away. From this moment on, he was going to abandon everything old and embrace a new life!

For several days in a row, the entire Jingang City was extremely peaceful, so peaceful that it seemed a little unbelievable.

In areas where gunfights often occur, a car will not suddenly rush out from somewhere and fire a volley of bullets at someone who has just walked out of a store.

There weren't two groups of people gathered around a certain place exchanging bullets with each other, leaving behind a few dead bodies.

Everything was like going back to the heyday of the five major families, and each gang abided by the rules of the city that were not written into the laws and announcements.

The five major families, the mafia, the Bay Area, everyone is abiding by these, making some old people feel as if they have returned to the past!

But those who decide these things know that this is just the calm before the storm.

It is calm, harmonious and natural at this time, but when the storm comes, it will be more violent, terrifying and full of destructiveness!

On Saturday, Lance continued to attend the party at St. Helena Cathedral. Now he was paying for all the expenses, so naturally he was the most popular person here.

In just one year, people no longer cared where Mr. Jobaf had gone; they just wanted to talk to Mr. Lance more.

After the morning party, Lance's original plan was to meet Patricia in the afternoon.

The girl had called him in advance, hoping to go to the movies together.

Gerard's movie has been released, and she really wants to know how Gerard's movie looks like. After all, this movie is also a project invested by Lance.

But just when Lance was about to go over, Chief Blue drove over.

"I have other things to do this afternoon, so you'd better keep it short." Lance put a piece of garlic potato chip into his mouth.

Who the hell invented this flavor?

It smells like shit, but it actually tastes pretty good.

Chief Blue's expression was a little serious. "I heard... you are planning to do something?"

Lance was not surprised that someone leaked these things. In that environment, no one could guarantee that everyone present was of one mind.

So if something was said here and leaked out there, he didn't feel surprised, but felt that this was normal.

So he didn't deny it. "Since you heard about it, then there must be nothing wrong with the source." He paused, "So?"

Chief Blue pursed his lips and said, "Charlie and Hunter have also been active these past two days. They have contacted many retired police officers, including those like us who are still working."

"It is said that he also found some people from the state police. After all, he did gain support here during his years as police chief, which expanded his network and social circle."

"He wants to use this opportunity of your disturbance to make people pay attention to the role and value of the police system to the city. He wants to gain more power!"

"And I also heard that... he was planning to run for city councillor."

The federal government does not set a certain age limit for officials; if they are willing to work, they can continue to work as long as their physical condition allows.

Therefore, Charlie's participation in the election for city councillor was completely in compliance with the relevant federal laws and regulations, but his move was indeed a little beyond Lance's expectations.

(End of this chapter)