Shadow Empire

Chapter 340 Conflict
The manager stood upstairs holding the phone and watching more and more people coming downstairs. He called the dock workers' union again, but Vaughan was still not there!

"Damn it, he disappears when we need him. Is that the only way to support such a group of people with so much money every year?"

The manager slammed the receiver onto the phone base. He walked back and forth beside the window, holding his hands on his waist, his eyes fixed on the workers who were growing in number downstairs.

From where he was, he could see that many workers were gathering together. He hadn't seen so many workers gathering together at work for two years.

He also hated the idiots under his command. It was just a matter of changing Johnny's job, so why did it turn out like this?

Even if there is no suitable position, wouldn't it be okay to just give him a raise?

What a waste!
Although most of the time the superiors think so, because a small loss creates a potential huge risk, they will think that the people under them are not flexible enough.

Such a simple thing can be messed up like this, isn't he just a waste?

But in fact, for people in the middle and lower levels, they do not have any actual decision-making power. The only thing they can do is to abide by the company's rules and regulations.

Many capitalists have even created a "work manual" to help them establish a correct work perspective more quickly, which records many things they may encounter in the course of their work.

But what they haven't been taught is the ability to flexibly predict the future.

The security team leader ran up from downstairs, panting, "People are getting a little excited now."

This was half a sentence. He didn't say the second half, but just stared at the manager.

People are getting emotional, and with so many people gathered here, mass incidents could break out at any time and anywhere!
This is not a good thing. If the situation cannot be controlled quickly, based on the security captain's experience, it will slide into the abyss.

The half sentence he left was actually very simple, which was "You have to do something." However, as a subordinate who had a work manual in his mind, he knew very well what he could say and what he could not say.

Do you let managers take the initiative to take responsibility?
Do you fucking want to keep doing this?
As for whether the manager would misunderstand, that was not his business, and he had fulfilled his responsibilities.

The manager turned around and looked at the people below who were constantly shouting various slogans. He always felt that this matter was not that simple.

The sudden ringing of the phone startled him a little, and the security guard's eyes shifted from his trembling hands to other places.

The manager picked up the phone and it was a director of the board of directors.

The board of directors was very dissatisfied with today's unexpected situation and asked him to sort out everything here as soon as possible, otherwise he would lose his envied job!

In order to keep the job, for the family’s mortgage, car loan, children’s college loan, and for all the good life and future to look forward to, the manager took a deep breath.

He looked at the security captain, "Can I trust you to keep me safe?"

The security captain wanted to laugh, but he couldn't. He had to keep a straight face and look serious and mission-oriented, and said, "I will always be by your side, sir!"

"very good!"

"I like your attitude."

The manager put on a light coat and left the office.

He was actually very nervous because he himself was not sure whether he could handle it.

Soon, he arrived in front of the office building and saw the crowd becoming more agitated. He gritted his teeth, glanced at the security captain, and strode out.

The noise suddenly died down and many people looked at him. Every dock worker knew what the manager looked like.

Because every day before they enter the dock to start work, they will pass by an "Outstanding Employee Bulletin Board", and managers will most of the time be placed in the position of "Star of the Week".

Although no one knows what he did for the prosperity of the dock.

"work……"

He had just opened his mouth when someone threw an egg at him and hit him on the head. He shivered and almost fell to the ground.

He seemed to be frightened, he had never experienced such a thing in his life, the laughter from the crowd made his face turn red, he wanted to run back to the office right now and order these people to be fired!

But he knew that he couldn't do this. He could deal with these people slowly later, but not now.

The egg yolk and egg white dripped down his hair, and the security captain tried to hide him behind his back, but failed.

The manager stepped forward like a warrior, wiping the egg wash off his face and saying, "I'm here to solve the problem!"

The laughter died down a bit; at least it seemed the manager wasn't a complete loser.

He was a little worried, but he still came to Johnny. Now there was no one around him except the security captain.

Most people here could beat him up so badly that he was at a loss for words, and he was very nervous.

His nerves were tense as he said, "Johnny, if you have any conditions, you can tell me. There is no need to make it like this."

If this were Johnny's own business, he might have made some demands now and then left with the benefits, but this was not his own business, it was Mr. Lance's business.

His eyes were suddenly filled with an incomprehensible kind of pity, which made the manager obviously angry.

He clenched his fists and said, "We all don't want anything bad to happen. Tell us your conditions, any conditions, and we can negotiate."

Johnny looked at the people around him, and the crowd gradually quieted down, as if everyone was waiting for the next development of the matter.

He had never felt this kind of feeling before, and he liked this feeling of being under the spotlight of everyone!
He licked his lips, "First thing, I want you to make the guy in that office and anyone else who participated in beating me apologize to me and fire them!"

The manager decided whether he should leave or his subordinates should leave in a second. "No problem. Anything else?"

Perhaps it was his decisiveness that made people see some of his sincerity, and the originally tense situation eased a lot.

Johnny stated his second request, "One more thing, that's a pay raise!"

Some people in the crowd booed, but Johnny didn't explain anything, and some people looked disappointed.

The manager agreed again, "No problem, I heard they adjusted your job, I'll have someone adjust your job back and give you a raise... two dollars!"

He thought Johnny would agree, but people only saw Johnny shaking his head.

The manager frowned and cursed the greedy bastard in his heart, but still managed a smile, "I can make the decision and give you a raise..."

He wanted to raise his salary by three dollars, but thought that if Johnny was still not satisfied, something unexpected might happen, so he decided to raise Johnny all at once, "I'll raise your salary by five dollars, forty-three, Johnny. This income has already brought you up to the average income, and it's also a very high income at the dock."

His subtext was to not be so ignorant, but Johnny still shook his head and said loudly, "I'm not asking you to raise my salary, I'm asking you to raise everyone's salary!"

"You owe us this!"

This sentence was almost shouted out. The people around were stunned for a moment after hearing it. Some big guys came to Johnny with their fists waved.

They ruffled Johnny's hair and patted his shoulders to express their affection for him.

It's just that simple with the dock workers, if they hate you they'll make it clear.

If they like you, they will let you feel it.

At the same time, the topic of raising wages for everyone has also triggered people's faster response and support!

The manager looked at Johnny in disbelief, as if he was looking at a fool!
There would be no problem even if he raised Johnny's salary to $50. If this could solve the problem, the board of directors would praise him greatly.

But if he relied on giving everyone a dollar salary increase to solve this problem, he might not even have to wait until next month for the board to let him go! Perhaps these workers were not as scary as he imagined, and he became a little bolder, "Can I talk to you alone?"

Some people started to speak up to stop him, but he just looked at Johnny.

Johnny raised his hand to signal everyone to calm down and said, "Let me hear what he has to say!"

People stopped trying to stop him, and Johnny was pushed aside by the people behind him, and then the manager came over.

"Give up those unrealistic ideas, Johnny. I can give you five hundred dollars and this matter ends here!"

Johnny shook his head. "That's not enough."

There was a flash of disdain in the manager's eyes when he heard what he said. Although his sudden proposal to raise everyone's salary caught the manager off guard, Johnny was really not smart.

If he accepted this condition, Johnny would become a "sinner", which might be one of the best outcomes the manager could see.

Since the other party is willing to talk, he can continue to add.

"Eight hundred dollars, eight hundred is not a small amount, Johnny. Even if I raise your salary to forty dollars a month, you will have to go without food or drink for twenty months to get this money!"

"And we all know that you can't actually save much money every month!"

He likes to drink and occasionally spend a dollar or two to take care of personal physiological problems, so he really can't save much money.

But Johnny just looked at him. He cursed Johnny again in his heart and offered a higher price, "One thousand dollars!"

"That's all right, Johnny. You just got a beating, they'll apologize and you'll get fired, and you'll get a thousand bucks."

"If we switch places, I'll agree if you offer 500!"

He desperately wanted Johnny to nod in agreement, but Johnny still shook his head.

This attitude made the manager angry, "One thousand five hundred, no more!"

"Too little!" Johnny said.

If it wasn't for Lance's request, he would have actually agreed to it at five hundred dollars, just as he had said to the manager.

But now, this is the task Lance gave him, and he cannot let Lance down!
"Damn, you greedy guy, do you know how stupid you are?"

The manager bent down with a disdainful and somewhat ferocious expression, his facial features twisted together, "Two thousand yuan, this is the last number I can give you!"

Johnny looked at him for a few seconds, then pushed his wheelchair back. The manager was a little overwhelmed by Johnny's sudden toughness!
Is this still the garbage on the dock that he knows?

He looked at Johnny's incredulous face and said, "Add another two hundred, I'll pay for it myself, this is all I can give you!"

Johnny pushed his wheelchair back to the crowd without looking back. He shouted, "That man wanted to give me 2,200 yuan to persuade you to go back, but I refused!"

"I don't understand any big principles, I just know that we haven't had a salary increase in two or three years!"

"The price of beef is going up, the price of bread is going up, the price of everything is going up, except the bitches outside the docks, and us!"

"I am not here for myself today, I am here for all of you who are like me. They must pay us back the wages we owe!"

"He would rather give me 2,200 dollars to shut up than let me say what I should say. That's them!"

The lower class people are the easiest to be instigated because they have very strong empathy. Their emotions can be mobilized without even having to say anything to please them!
"You did the right thing, Johnny!" A strong man walked up to him and patted his shoulder, almost breaking it.

The manager over there was helpless after seeing this scene and cursed "Fuck". When he was still considering remedial measures, someone suddenly started shouting "Apologize, raise wages", and then more and more people waved their fists and shouted.

The rhythm is fast and strong, gradually forming a force rather than just a slogan!

Especially when it concerns one's own interests and someone else is taking the lead.

The invisible force coming from each individual is twisted into one under the influence of these slogans and becomes indestructible. This is the power of workers!
When the manager saw this scene, his eyes went dark and he almost fell to the ground. He watched all this happen in despair. He knew that he was going to be finished soon!
The workers' relentless pressure made the atmosphere on the scene extremely solemn and serious. Some security guards also became uneasy, and some even picked up the wooden sticks in their hands, signaling these people not to get too close.

Everyone is a little emotional at this moment, how can they calm down in such a short time?
Seeing that the friction was about to escalate, the manager did his best to calm the workers, asking them to calm down and saying that everything could be discussed.

But his strength alone was too weak. He could only separate the people in front of him, but there were more people around him!
At this moment, in front of all the security guards, including the security team leader, who were staring in amazement, a security guard suddenly swung his stick and beat a worker in front of him, leaving him with a bloody head. The conflict escalated at this moment!
Countless ugly curses began to be heard, the two groups started pushing each other, and then they started fighting!
"The security guard beat someone up!"

"Someone from the management company beat someone up!"

At this moment, the manager, who had been hit by several hammers, became furious. He ran to the back and grabbed the security captain by the collar, saying viciously, "Show them some color!"

He's going to lose his job anyway, so he might as well let off some steam before his power expires!
He even snatched the stick from the security captain's waist and rushed towards Johnny!

Both sides were constantly increasing their manpower, more security guards rushed over from all over the dock, and more workers who heard about the conflict joined in.

The most eye-catching thing was a large group of temporary workers in blue work uniforms. They also joined the resistance group and fought with the security guards!
The workers who originally had some prejudice against these people, at this moment, at least at this moment, suddenly felt that they were actually quite good!
The super melee on the dock lasted for more than 40 minutes before the police finally arrived. Many people were beaten and bleeding, including the manager.

He originally wanted to give Johnny a few hard hits, but he didn't expect to be hit hard by them several times.

When he was helped up from the ground, he couldn't even stand steadily!
There were several bumps on his head. If someone hadn't supported him, he would have fallen down again!

"Murder, this is murder!"

"Officer, they almost killed me!"

The manager was yelling a bit hysterically, but the police obviously knew what to do in this situation.

"You can tell that to the judge, not to me."

Of course, his tone was not so rigid. He also recognized that this was the manager, but he didn't know yet that the manager might not be a manager in the future.

"Do you need me to call a doctor for you?"

There were many doctors on the scene treating the injuries of the injured, and there was a shortage of manpower.

The manager calmed down a little, shook his head, walked aside to ask for a piece of gauze, pressed the wound, and went back upstairs.

The phone kept ringing and he got a little scared, but he finally picked it up.

As soon as I picked up the phone, all kinds of ugly curses came from the receiver, and the curses continued for quite some time.

After about two or three minutes, the tone of the person on the other end of the phone became a little better. "How did it become like this?"

The manager recounted what had happened, and the person on the other end immediately sensed a conspiracy.

But even if he knew, he wouldn't say it. Someone must take responsibility for such a big thing, and the manager is a good choice.

"Calm the workers down first and ask them to send representatives to talk to us. I'll call Vaughn and clean up your mess!"

The man repeatedly warned, "Don't provoke them again, and don't do anything stupid!"

The manager agreed quickly. He certainly wouldn't do such a stupid thing.

Everything that happened at this moment began to spread inside the dock, and the Workers' Club was obviously the best place to exchange information.

There’s nothing better than chatting about these things over a cold beer!
At around eight o'clock, when the workers' club was full of people, Lance asked Erwin and his team to bring the "undercover" to unload the goods...

(End of this chapter)