Shadow Empire

Chapter 371 Riot on the Dock
At the Marina Management Company’s office in the city centre, directors would gather and chat.

There were several bottles of wine worth hundreds of dollars on the table, as well as some other drinks and cakes.

Several directors seemed to be talking about something particularly interesting, and they all laughed exaggeratedly, and did not seem to be worried about the strike at the dock at all.

Edward (the son of a director) sat next to his father and felt an indescribable sense of humor watching the people here talking and laughing heartily.

"They're not at all nervous about what's going on at the dock," he told his father.

In fact, he himself was not qualified to attend the board meeting, but because his father was a director and there was a high probability that he would inherit his father's shares in the future, he was allowed to attend this small meeting.

Those directors who are serious and rigid outside show a completely different impression here. They also laugh loudly and unrestrainedly and not so politely.

Drinking or eating can also make some noises.

His father narrowed his eyes slightly and moved his lips slightly, "Just a group of workers."

In fact, no one, including the old man himself, cared much about the striking workers at the dock.

This is not their first strike, nor will it be the last, and they do not believe that these people's strike will cause any substantial harm to the company.

Edward didn't quite understand and could only keep his mouth shut, but he felt that these people's lack of attention to the striking groups might cause some trouble.

"We will have the first round of negotiations with representatives of those companies in the next few days." After chatting and laughing for a while, the chairman of the board began today's topic.

The others fell silent and looked at him.

"Our bottom line is to increase it by at least 7%, and ideally we can get it to around 10%."

"Then the price of each service fee will be increased by no less than 3% to 4% each year. This will further expand our profit margin. Apart from the new expenses brought by the salary increase, the annual operating profit will increase a lot."

He put on a reserved smile and said, "This will help our stock market value continue to rise. The market likes stable and growing profit points!"

Some directors expressed some concerns, “They may not agree.”

Another director laughed and said, "Let the strike continue. They are more anxious than us!"

He raised his glass and said, "This city can lose those workers and get a new group of businessmen, but it can't lose us!"

The directors raised their glasses with undisguised arrogance and laughter, and this scene seemed particularly funny to Edward!
He couldn't understand, and perhaps that was why his father always thought he was "almost" not a pure capitalist.

He couldn't ask the other directors, so he could only ask his father in a low voice, "Aren't you afraid that if you push the workers too far, something unexpected will happen?"

His father glanced at him and said, "A lion will eat a man when it is pushed to the limit, but what will happen to the workers when they are pushed to the limit?"

He smiled, "We can only go on strike!"

He waved his hand, "Put aside your worries, they are much safer than you think."

Someone suddenly asked him, "What are you talking about with Edward?"

The old man smiled and said, "We were discussing something else."

Edward also forced a smile to get by.

As a few people were chatting and laughing, the board's full-time secretary suddenly tiptoed in from outside the door.

He closed the door, walked to the chairman of the board with a slightly bent back, said something in his ear with a serious face, then took two steps back with a bent back before standing up.

The chairman of the board immediately frowned, "Sorry, gentlemen, I have to leave for a while."

The rotating executive director asked, “Would you like our help?”

He asked very cleverly. He couldn't just ask the chairman of the board "what happened?" What if it was the other party's private matter?
But he can use "Can we help?" as a test, and also as a statement that he is willing to help.

The terminal management company does not have a position called "President". The specific work at the terminal is handled by the manager, and there is a rotating executive director on the board of directors.

There will be a rotation every three years, and everyone has the opportunity to become a rotating executive director. The person in this position can fully preside over the company's daily work arrangements and other affairs.

Except for matters that require a vote by board members, he can make all other decisions on his own.

However, even so, each rotating executive director will still convene board meetings frequently to prevent the company from deviating from its development due to personal judgment issues.

The chairman of the board of directors had no expression on his face. He was silent for a while and said, "Something happened at the dock."

As he said this, he tucked his clothes with one hand, leaned slightly, maybe only three or five degrees, then turned and left.

The other directors were stunned. What could have happened at the dock?
Edward's father's expression became a little serious. He glanced at Edward again and motioned him to go and find out.

Edward then stood up, and the other directors themselves, or their secretaries, began to stand up and walk out of the room.

He came to a separate small room with a sofa set, a bar, wine and other things.

In many large companies, there are small rooms like this next to the conference room. They can be called lounges, and in some places they are also called VIP rooms.

They can discuss more private matters here during breaks in the meeting.

Edward picked up the phone, but the manager's office number was not dialed. He didn't know if someone was on the phone or for some other reason.

He then called his office, which was on the pier.

With the help of the dock management company, Edward has indeed made some money over the years. Some people are born at the destination, and he is one of them.

He could make a ton of money by getting some resources from the dock and doing nothing but transferring them, not to mention that he could make even more if he ran it himself!

The call was quickly connected, and the person who answered was the manager of his company, "What happened at the dock?"

"I don't know, sir. I'll go and find out."

"As soon as possible, don't hang up the phone."

He sat there, lighting a cigarette, closer to the men on the dock than to the management company's board of directors.

Therefore, he never felt that the docks would be well managed, and once any problems were reported, they would quickly escalate.

He was almost done smoking a cigarette and had looked at his watch twice with a bit of dissatisfaction when the receiver finally made a sound.

The manager's voice was a little panicked, "A fight has broken out!"

Edward's scalp tingled when he heard this. "Who fought with whom?"

"The security guards and some workers of the dock management company, the specific situation is not clear, but now the two sides are fighting downstairs of the company, it's very chaotic. I was in a hurry to come back and tell you about it, so I don't know much."

Edward sighed. The thing he least wanted to happen had happened.

"Assign someone to find out what happened and keep the phone open at all times."

He stood up and quickly returned to the meeting room and sat next to his father. "There was a conflict between the security guards and the workers, and the situation is escalating."

Others also found out what happened through their own channels. Almost all of them, like Edward, took advantage of their status to help their families make money at the port.

Anyway, you are making money for others. It's like a warehouse at a dock. Since it is rented out, doesn't it matter who you rent it to?

But it is actually different, because their relatives get the warehouse and then sublet it, which makes extra profit, but everyone is doing this.

Soon the meeting room became lively, and the chairman of the board came back from outside. "They made three requests."

"First, the daily working hours are reduced to ten hours."

“Second, have more meat and eggs for lunch.”

"Third, everyone's salary will be increased by at least one dollar and seventy-five cents."

The entire conference room was in an uproar, and almost all the directors were against these three items. Reducing working hours, increasing lunch expenses, and raising wages, these invisible changes actually made each worker gain more than one dollar and seventy-five cents in benefits, so of course they would not agree!
The chairman of the board looked at everyone, "Now we have two choices."

"Let's calm down the situation first, negotiate with them, and start solving the problem."

"Or hold them down first."

One director immediately said, "If we agree to their demands as soon as they start making trouble, even if it's just a temporary negotiation, I can already imagine how difficult our work will be in the future."

"You can increase their wages, but you can't reduce their hours or increase their benefits. They can only choose one."

"Call Charlie."

The chairman of the board looked at the others, and they all expressed their opinions, agreeing to put the matter aside first and then work on resolving it.

They have to act tougher, only in this way can they seize the initiative in the confrontation between labor and capital.

The chairman of the board looked at the executive director, who had a humble smile on his face but didn't have a good word in his heart.

He went directly to the next room and came out soon and returned to his own seat. "Charlie said that these will be taken care of soon."

The chairman of the board nodded his chin in a reserved manner, "Then let's continue discussing the issue of fees..."

To them, this might just be a small matter.

The terminal management company is one of the important local forces in the Bay Area, and many big capitalists are involved in it. Charlie did not dare to neglect it and quickly called Hunter to ask him to mobilize people to go to the terminal to resolve the dispute.

The whole city is in chaos now, and the Municipal Police Department cannot mobilize so many people on its own. He can only ask each branch to contribute a part of the manpower.

This also included the Imperial Branch. He even requested the most people from the Imperial Branch because the public security in the Imperial District was one of the best at that time.

Before dispatching, Chief Blue called Lance, explained the situation, and then began to arrange for the police to be dispatched.

He warned the policemen to just stand outside for a while and not to go in.

Although he didn't know why he must not go in, he knew there must be a reason.

The riots on the docks are gradually turning into unrest. Now many dock workers are not clear about what is happening. They only know that the dock management company is attacking their co-workers and is trying to suppress the strike!

In an instant, the angry workers finally stopped being silent. They began to actively attack the management company, and the greedy desires of some workers were released!

In fact, the workers' representatives had not yet talked to them about the idea of ​​taking some things from the warehouse. They didn't even need to say anything, the workers had already started to do so on their own initiative!
They are very familiar with the docks and know which warehouses or containers contain good stuff. They have special tools and opening those containers is like playing.

The security guards had to protect the office building and the staff inside while trying to solve the theft problem, and the conflict between the two sides continued to intensify.

As a large number of police cars arrived at the port area, Chief Bruce got out of the car and looked at the dock that was in complete chaos. He took off his hat with a look of shock on his face!

Workers and security guards were "fighting" everywhere. They were beating each other in groups of three or five, and everywhere they were expressing their desire to be each other's father.

Chief Blue stood at the entrance of the dock and looked at the others, bewildered. "What should we do?"

Hunter is also here. He is not the chief yet. He has discussed this issue with Charlie. He needs to appear more authoritative so that he can better control the entire Jingang City police system in the future.

For him, the Bay Area's instructions are everything!
He straightened his wide-brimmed police hat that represented justice, and the police badge reflected the light of technology under the street light.

"What are your batons for?"

"After separating them, keep these workers under control."

"What if they resist?" one officer asked.

Hunter stamped his feet, "He hit you, and you won't fight back?"

He also emphasized, "You can use batons and other weapons, but remember, don't shoot!"

"Whoever shoots will bear the consequences!"

There are too many workers on the dock. Once "shooting and blood are seen", the situation will only get further out of control. It will be a nightmare!
Although the people who can decide whether he will be the real director in the future live in the Bay Area, these workers also have a way to prevent him from becoming the director, by sacrificing their lives!

Chief Blue took his men to choose a remote area. He didn't want to cause trouble. These people were the game between Lance and these big shots, and he was too thin.

Even if they are just pinched lightly, they can't stand it.

Hunter didn't say anything about Chief Blue's "escape", but he kept it in mind. When he comes to power, he will make all these disobedient people get out!

There were already a large number of reporters here at this time, and George (column reporter of "Today's Jingang") invited many good friends from the media to come over.

There are many national media here, such as the Federal Daily, the Federal Post, the DC Post and other newspapers. These newspapers have a certain influence in the entire federation and even the world!
For these journalists, what they fear most is that this society is becoming more and more civilized!
If there were no wars in the world, people were polite and courteous, no unfriendly conflicts occurred, and everyone obeyed the law, then there is a high probability that they would all be unemployed.

So sometimes they are the ones who most want the world to be in chaos, because only when there is freedom and chaos will there be enough news to report, and they can gain fame and fortune!

As a large number of police officers began to enter the scene, they initially asked the two fighting parties to separate, but when these people did not listen to them, some police officers became angry.

They held the police officers and beat the workers, hitting them on the head and on the joints. They knew where it hurt the most!
With the addition of the police, the workers began to retreat. It was not because of how many police there were, but because they were afraid of the skin of the police!

The workers dare to confront the security guards, but may not dare to confront the police, even though they are all human beings and all have one nose and two eyes.

Johnny knocked down a security guard with a stick in his hand. Several workers came over and said, "The police are here. Help them beat our people."

Johnny spat out a mouthful of blood and punched someone in the face several times.

There was a cut on my cheek, and it's now swollen. Every time I open my mouth, I bite my cheek, which causes the swelling to get worse and the wounds to increase.

Johnny looked at them, his eyes widened as he asked, "They have more people than us?"

Johnny didn't know how many people were on the dock right now, but it was definitely much more than the security guards and police now!
Unless all the police in Jingang City come at this time, they cannot be controlled at all.

The two workers who came shook their heads, "There are not as many as us."

Johnny cursed and turned to walk outside, "Then what the hell are you afraid of?"

When he reached the outermost edge, some of his co-workers had been pinned to the ground by him. He suddenly rushed over, kicked a policeman away, and started hitting him with a stick!

When the other workers saw how brave Johnny was, they also rushed forward when he was filled with courage!

The situation that had been somewhat under control got out of control again, and the scene became even more chaotic!
Hunter, who was standing high up behind the crowd, curled his lips and asked, "Who is this person?"

The dock policeman next to him said, "This man is called Johnny. He used to be a bully. This strike was caused by him."

Hunter nodded slightly. "He's a difficult character. Is there anyone else behind him?"

Seeing the dock policeman hesitant to speak, Hunter knew that this matter might not be simple. "Who is it?"

The dock police are part of the port police station, but they have a dedicated office on the dock and are also under the management of the city police department.

Under Hunter's gaze, he said the name.

"Lance Family."

When a policeman was knocked down, people lost a lot of their fear of the police, and the situation at the dock became more chaotic because of the police's intervention.

Hunter took out the cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the ground, then stomped his heels twice. He found a telephone booth and called Charlie who was waiting for news.

"It's no use without guns. They started to fight back against us."

"And I think there is someone behind this incident."

Charlie frowned, "Don't shoot, withdraw first to prevent the situation from escalating." He paused, "Who is that person you are talking about?"

"Lance..."

(End of this chapter)