Shadow Empire

Chapter 384 Recruitment and Planning

Senator Cleveland's words made the rest of the people in the room fall into deep thought.

The executive director and other directors had a brief discussion and said, "I don't think there is any problem with the operation, but the question is, what should we do if they make trouble?"

"We have to ensure that our interests are not infringed. It will definitely be very troublesome if so many workers start making trouble!"

Senator Cleveland didn't say anything, Lance coughed lightly at the doctor, "The police and I will take care of these problems here."

"And I believe that not too many people will make a fuss. After all, they are just ordinary people."

"Ordinary people mean they have fatal weaknesses."

"Life, family, children, these are the reasons why they dare not make trouble. There are actually not many real 'enemies' we need to face!"

After thinking for a moment, the CEO agreed to give it a try. “How long will it take you to gather so many people?”

Lance thought about it and thought, two or three days.

It sounds incredible to gather tens of thousands of workers in just two or three days. After all, even if you notify them one by one, there is not enough time.

But in fact it doesn't need to be that troublesome. He just needs to let the refugees know that now they can work, then there will be no problem.

After leaving the hotel, Lance got in the car. Erwin asked softly, "Didn't you reach an agreement?"

"I saw those workers leave first."

Lance nodded and told Erwin what happened. Erwin was immediately annoyed. "These people really don't know how to be grateful. We were the ones who helped them!"

He was furious. No one likes this feeling. You just helped someone, but this person turned around and kicked you aside.

Lance comforted him instead, "This is their problem. There is something I think is right that you should listen to."

“Don’t punish yourself for other people’s mistakes. Getting angry is a form of punishment.”

Lance lit a cigarette and said, "Actually, this matter is more beneficial to us."

Erwin was a little confused, "What do you mean?"

"These refugees basically have no proof of legal entry. In other words, most of them are illegal immigrants."

"No one knows better than us what life is like for illegal immigrants in the federal government. If they want to settle down, they can only rely on us."

"My original plan was to have all the people on the dock be ours. Now I've just changed the group, but the result is the same."

After listening to this, Erwin asked, "But how do you solve the ballot issue?"

"If we do that, the workers won't listen!"

“It’s going to be very difficult to get their votes.”

Lance shook his head, disagreeing with his opinion. "My opinion is exactly the opposite of yours. I think they will become more obedient because if they lose this job, it will be difficult for them to find another one."

"And I'm going to talk to Senator Cleveland to see if we can get something done on the immigration bill that the president said he was considering?"

"He is so busy that he must have missed these issues. We can't remind him, but if a senator talks to him about this, he will definitely take it seriously."

"Then we lend money to these people to buy houses, and while we have the votes, they all owe us money, plus interest!"

After hearing Lance's general idea, Erwin couldn't close his mouth. It took him a while to come back to his senses. "You are more terrible than those capitalists!"

Lance laughed, "That's the best compliment of the era, Erwin!"

The convoy merged into the traffic flow and disappeared...

The news that today's negotiations failed and further consultations were required began to spread among the workers. They were all satisfied with the result, but some of them became a little worried.

Because payroll is about to be paid, if the terminal management company doesn’t pay them, they will be in big trouble with their bills!
Although one bill won't force them to go bankrupt, it will certainly not make them comfortable and force them to borrow money or sell something to pay those annoying bills.

So now the workers on the dock are not a monolithic group, but most people still think that they should support the strike because the benefits it can bring to them are so huge!
When Johnny, Dave and a few other "surrenderers" returned to the dock, they were booed wherever they went, which made them angry but helpless at the same time.

But the good news is that some workers have approached them to discuss the opportunity to join their team.

Although strikes are good, for workers, having stable jobs is the most important thing.

The workers on the dock also began to split.

At the same time, in the new port area west of the port area, a considerable number of refugees gathered here.

The current refugees are mainly from the continent of Tanfit. The war forced them to abandon everything and come to the Federation.

But it is not easy to settle down in the Federation. The first problem is accommodation, and then the problem of food.

Food prices are rising all over the world now. There is no bread selling for two cents a pound in the bakery anymore. The cheapest one costs three or four cents, and the better ones are more than ten cents.

These refugees have limited money and no jobs. Once they run out of money, they will lose their source of food.

The federal government does sometimes provide some relief meals, but these relief meals are not open to these refugees now, and it is difficult for them to get food from here.

The entire Xingang District was filled with gloom at this time.

Some women have gone out to sell their bodies for income, but what about the men?
They had indeed heard that there were such groups in Jingang City, but they didn't know how to find them, and they were not used to having others behind them, or themselves behind others.

There are no job opportunities, no sources of income. Even though this place is as prosperous as the best city in the world, it is still gloomy and desperate in the eyes of these people at this moment!

"Do you know Shirley?"

A family was huddled together: a father, a mother, two boys and a girl.

They fled to the Federation with their whole family, and most of their savings were used to pay for the journey. Now, the total amount of money in everyone's pockets is less than five dollars.

During this period, some people took advantage of their need to exchange currency and cheated many people here. They were also cheated out of twenty yuan, which made their lives even worse.

The wife asked her husband, and the latter nodded. Shirley was a young mother who came with her family. Her child was very young and was still breastfeeding.

Their situation was dire, their child was sick, and they had spent all their savings.

They even sold some of the things they brought with them to pay the remaining medical expenses.

The husband licked his dry lips, "If she wants to borrow money..." He thought of the two big melons that Shirley hid in her clothes. He could smell the milky scent even if he got a little closer.

For some reason, the saliva in his mouth suddenly secreted a lot. He swallowed and said, "Lend them 20 cents at most. Tell them that we are in a difficult situation now."

They were on the same ship and could be considered "acquaintances", and these common experiences could deepen their trust in each other.

The woman shook her head. "It's not about borrowing money. She found a job yesterday."

The man took out the kettle and took a sip of water. The water from the Federation was sweet and delicious, and it also made him retain a trace of yearning for life.

However, this water also costs money. You can get a large bucket for one cent, so the price is not expensive. If several families buy one bucket together, it can be used for a long time.

"What kind of job?" He had some expectations in his eyes. A job means a stable income, and income means a stable life for the family. "She's such a lucky girl. She actually found a job. Won't they ask her for a work permit or something like that?"

The woman glanced at the three children next to her and lowered her voice, "She's selling breast milk."

The man acted as if he didn't understand. "What did you say?"

"She sells her own breast milk!"

"Oh my God!" the man showed an expression of disbelief, "Does her husband know?"

"Squeeze it into bottles and sell it, or..."

The woman's expression was a little strange. This was the job her husband had found for her. She didn't need a work permit or immigration certificate, nothing was needed, as long as she had breast milk. I didn't know where it was, but I heard her say that she would be taken to a very beautiful room and given work clothes.

They would scrub her clean and all she had to do was breastfeed the guests.

The man shrank back, it was obvious that he had a reaction, so exciting!

"Will they... do that to her?" He wanted to know some details, which might be one of the few remedies in this miserable time.

His wife didn't notice any of this. She just shook her head and said, "I don't know. She said no. I don't know."

"She gets a dollar commission for each customer. She got seven dollars yesterday alone."

At first, the man felt excited because the woman he knew was forced to take this path, but the next second he was attracted by the income of seven dollars a day.

But soon he became wary, "You wouldn't want to do these things too?"

The woman touched her breasts and said, "I would like to, but they don't like me."

She is skinny, small, and not pretty, the kind that even makeup can't save.

Although the man was relieved, he was still a little alert. "Whether it's this or anything else, don't do it. We still have money."

The wife fell into silence. In fact, the purpose of her saying these words was to make her husband mentally prepared.

She glanced at the other children playing with them and said softly, "What happens when our money runs out?"

Both husband and wife fell into silence. Although the man knew that this was a way to solve the problem, he just couldn't accept it.

He didn't understand why working in the federal government required so much trouble. He could even ask for no salary and just a little more food, but still no one was willing to hire them!
He was at a loss.

His wife held his hand and said, "Until the last moment, I will not give in to life. But if it comes to the last moment, I can go to the port area and earn a few dollars a day, which is enough for our family to live on."

“We can be a little bit bitter, but what about the children?”

The couple seemed to have adjusted their mentality, and their eyes were filled with guilt when they looked at each other.

This is not just a problem for their family, it is a problem for this group of people!
Too many refugees poured in at once, and the city had no time to absorb them all. It was actually good enough for them to have a place to hide temporarily!
It's summer now, so it's a little easier to arrange your sleep. You can just find a place to lie down and sleep.

But what to do when winter comes?
The wind blowing from the East Ocean is enough to freeze people to death, and the sea surface can be frozen. Living outdoors at that time is actually no different from seeking death!
Just like the woman said, the adults can still endure and resist, but what about the children?
Can they be like adults?
It’s a difficult question, life is never easy!
But at this moment, suddenly twenty or so large trucks appeared here, each with the words "Recruiting" posted on it.

All the refugees on the street suddenly became alert. They approached the trucks and ran along with the slow moving trucks, asking the drivers how many people they needed and how much money they could pay, and why they had neither work permits nor immigration documents.

When the car stopped, almost all the cars were surrounded.

Melo was a little surprised to see so many people. The New Port District was very remote and had lost its popularity since its development failed.

There were actually quite a few refugees on the dock, but they were separated, a small pile here and a small pile there, but he didn't expect that there were more refugees here!

Looking at those dishevelled refugees, he couldn't help but recall the time when he first arrived in the Federation.

"Don't worry, everyone!" He stood on the tire to calm the people around him. "This time we need about 5,000 workers in that line of work, 20 yuan a month, daily wages!"

Although the salary is not much, this money can survive now!
About 65 cents a day, ten cents was enough for their family to fill their stomachs, and there was still 55 cents left, so they could prepare for the winter in advance.

After all, it's already August, and winter is not far away.

In an instant, people raised their hands and shouted that they were qualified for the job, and some were even willing to take the initiative to reduce their income demands.

Such people are typical egoists, they don't care about others, they only think about themselves.

So Lan specifically instructed that such people should not be recruited.

"We want people who can work and have strength, not those who are too skinny!"

Melo and the others started to choose. If there were any elderly people here, everything here might trigger some memories of the past for them.

Those people stood together wearing crotch cloths, had their physical bodies checked, and then the strong ones were picked out...

One by one, people jumped onto the truck with smiles on their faces. The fewer spots there were left, the more frightened and uneasy they became.

But no matter how they begged, it was difficult to shake these people's will to "select officials".

The selection continued until after six in the evening, and we finally picked enough people.

Looking at the people around them who were reluctant to leave, Melo and the others felt a little sad.

But Lance had given instructions in advance, and he said loudly, "We may need workers later, so you all still have a chance."

"Jingang City is a place full of miracles. As long as you are not afraid of hardship, you will definitely find a place that will accept you!"

How could a capitalist not like this kind of labor coming to your home?
In fact, they have not yet adapted to life here. As long as you are willing to accept extreme exploitation and oppression, at least there will be no problem in surviving.

Five thousand people needed to be pulled repeatedly many times. They were not pulled directly to the dock, but were first pulled to the industrial area.

Here, they also saw Lance.

"We are from Wanli Labor Agency. My name is Lance, Lance White."

"It doesn't matter if you don't know me, we have plenty of time to get to know each other!"

Under the industrial lights, densely packed people stood together, most of them wearing only underwear, or finding something to cover their waists.

Lance had just given them a bath with a fire hose. These people smelled terrible, and some of them hadn't showered for quite a while.

It is a little troublesome to go to sea in the New Port Area because there are unbuilt docks there and the situation is a bit complicated.

If you go to the new bay area or the port and beach area, it is very far.

Most people don't take a shower.

Now that they have taken a bath, they all look much more energetic.

"From today on, we are in a partnership."

"I provide you with jobs and you pay me the agency fee. What I can guarantee is that the jobs I introduce to you do not require work permits or immigration certificates, but correspondingly, the income is not too high."

"You need to pay me one dollar every month, and I will deduct it directly from your salary."

"So you can actually get 19 dollars per month now. If anyone has objections to this or is unwilling to accept it, you can leave. I will arrange for someone to send you back."

Everyone remained silent and no one left.

Lance nodded with satisfaction. "In fact, I am just like you. I came to the Federation to escape the war. I know your thoughts and feelings. If you are willing to believe me, just listen to me first."

"Make some money so that you and your family won't starve or freeze to death, and then look for opportunities little by little to become a federal citizen or get an immigration certificate."

"Life is too heavy. Someone has to carry it forward. If you don't want your wife or your children to do it, then you must be strong!"

“Suffering will never sympathize with your experiences and current situation. It will only laugh at you and make your suffering even more difficult.”

"The only thing we can do now is to grit our teeth and beat it!"

He paused and said, "Those who have the skills, please step forward. Those who can operate a forklift, crane, or excavator, no matter what skills you have, please step forward."

He wanted to keep some talents for himself. As he finished speaking, many people walked out of the crowd.

Lance looked at the first guy who came out. He was about fifty years old and wore a pair of thick glasses. He asked, "What are you good at?"

"unlock……"

(End of this chapter)