Chapter 13: Power to Take and Give

Before he even had a chance to enjoy the freedom of the Federation, he was fucking unemployed.

Perhaps this unemployment was a good thing for these young people, as it taught them a truth.

Even if they could endure exploitation and oppression, fate would still not favor them.

It was simply because they stood at the very bottom of this world, facing the power from above without any ability to resist.

When a person has no ability to resist plunder, others will not sympathize with your plight; they will only join the ranks of the plunderers.

Yisen wanted to argue with the manager, but Aierwen grabbed his clothes tightly, staring at him with a look he had never shown before—a somewhat fierce gaze—and shook his head slowly, telling him not to do it.

Offending workers—workers actually belong to the same class as them—at most, they would just cause some trouble, call the police, or something similar.

Every year, a huge number of cases occur in this city, and the police would not waste their limited manpower on such trivial matters.

Spending dozens or even hundreds of dollars in police resources to handle a worthless case? They would have to be crazy to do that!

But offending the management, even if it's just lower-level cadres, the outcome is different.

Aierwen walked to the front. "Sir, after this storm passes..."

The manager looked at Aierwen for a moment, then nodded. "Of course, you are always welcome here."

"Aierwen, you are a smart person, so I will tell you a bit more."

"As you can see, this place cannot function without you, so I believe this storm will not last long. You just need to hide for a while."

Aierwen squeezed out a somewhat awkward smile. "Then, during this time, our... wages."

The manager acted as if he hadn't heard, continuing to say what he wanted to say. "The company will not let the docks come to a standstill, and the City Hall is the same. You just need to be prepared to return to work at any time, and then wait for our call..."

He used this relatively gentle way to tell Aierwen that the money was off the table.

The income of several thousand people for half a month was not a small sum for the management company.

Moreover, it was reasonable and legal for them not to pay this portion of income—who told these people they were all undocumented?

The manager raised his hand as if he wanted to pat Aierwen on the shoulder, but looking at the shoulder clearly covered in dust, he withdrew his hand. "Good luck, Aierwen."

As for the others, he didn't even put them in his eyes.

The companions were somewhat angry, yet helpless. During this month, although they hadn't fully grasped the Federation's social hierarchy, they had gained some understanding.

"What do we do now?" a companion asked.

Aierwen pulled out a hair and twisted it in his hand. "Go find Lansi. Maybe he has some good ideas."

The main gate of the dock had already been surrounded by a group of protesters. Some young people's emotions looked very unstable, and they occasionally used the sticks in their hands to bang against the railings and the gate.

Not far away, the police acted as if they hadn't noticed their violent behavior at this moment, holding donuts and coffee, half-sitting on the hoods of their cars, chatting while tasting the food.

Perhaps because Aierwen's group was the largest, these protesters seemed to have discovered a new continent; several young leaders looked toward Aierwen's side.

Soon, most of the team of about thirty or forty people walked toward them with sticks.

The companions had never experienced such a situation and were a bit at a loss. Aierwen saw that the police over there didn't seem to intend to manage what was happening here, so he pushed Yisen and Meiluo hard, shouted "Run," and ran into the dock.

They were very familiar with this place and knew where people could hide and where they couldn't.

The police outside still had no intention of doing anything, still eating the sickeningly sweet donuts and drinking the sickeningly sweet coffee.

The Chief said that appropriately venting some emotions would only bring positive effects.

As long as no one was beaten to death... no, in an event that could already be called a "storm," even if a few people died, it wasn't a big deal.

There are always some people who are different from normal people, or rather, the social mood at this moment was amplified under the promotion of some politicians and capitalists, affecting more people.

Some locals who were not there to protest also rashly joined this "carnival" that seemed to be a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Lasting until after two in the afternoon, the dock management company believed that everyone's emotions had been vented enough, so they made a phone call to the New Jincheng Police Bureau.

Soon, a large number of police cars roared in, and a large group of police officers holding rattan shields and rubber batons began to enter the dock. They pressed those who were attacking illegal immigrants to the ground and handcuffed them.

As for those illegal immigrants who had fallen into pools of blood or were already injured, they ignored them.

It looked like they were enforcing the law impartially, but this impartiality always carried a smell of stinking salted fish.

Aierwen's group was quite lucky; after all, there were many of them, and after being beaten, they also tried to resist—

They would hug those attackers instead of attacking them and causing them injury.

Just like that, they minimized the damage, but several people were still beaten until their heads were broken and bleeding.

These young people, whose faces were covered in bloodstains, revealed a lingering fear. The longing for a beautiful future they had talked about not long ago had been almost completely lost in this battle they were caught up in.

The Mayor urgently issued a speech, demanding that all city police patrol the streets and prohibiting this development trend that could continue to expand. For those who engaged in beating, smashing, looting, and burning and resisted arrest, they could be shot.

For the whole afternoon, the sound of gunfire continued intermittently and didn't stop until after seven o'clock, when it gradually died down.

Lansi was absent-mindedly cleaning the bakery. The fat boss had returned with a truck and piled a lot of things into the warehouse.

Because something unimaginable to people had happened in the city today, after seven o'clock, the fat boss asked Lansi to flip the "Open" sign over.

He was doing the final cleaning, and once finished, he would close the shop door.

Just at this moment, the bell at the door rang with a "Ding-dong." "Sorry, we are already closed."

Lansi didn't lift his head while mopping the floor, but the person who came didn't seem to intend to leave, instead asking, "Where is Mr. Jonny?"

Only then did Lansi stop his work, leaned on the mop, straightened up, and looked at the person who came.

A small woman of about thirty-four or thirty-five, wearing a clearly outdated polka-dot round-neck top, and a wine-red long skirt underneath.

Although not stylish enough, her appearance and figure added a lot to her.

There was a kind of beauty that was not on the same track as "stylish."

"He is in the back. Do you need me to call him?"

The small woman nodded. Lansi ran to the window in the back, looked through the window, and shouted toward the warehouse, "Boss, someone is looking for you."

"Who is looking for me?" Jonny walked out with an account book in his hand. When he saw the small woman, he frowned slightly.

The small woman didn't wait for him to say anything, walked over actively, pulled him into the lounge, and then closed the door.

Looking at the locked door, Lansi curled his lips. "Lucky bastard."

This wasn't Jonny's ex-wife or current wife; he hadn't remarried after his divorce, and he hadn't seen this woman before.

When he intended to continue working, he unexpectedly discovered that the apprentice was standing by the door, looking at the tightly closed door with injured eyes and a kind of hatred.

Both of his fists were clenched until they were somewhat white.

Lansi walked over and nudged him with his elbow. "You know her?"

The apprentice turned his head and glared at Lansi, speaking somewhat aggressively. "You'd better not fucking mind other people's business!"

Lansi retorted, "Is that your mother?"

The apprentice glared at him fiercely, his eyeballs somewhat red. He turned around and returned to the back hall. Only then did Lansi realize that this really was his mother.

The movement in the room was very loud. Jonny didn't seem to care at all that there were still people outside. He tossed that small woman around, and one could even hear the small woman's pleas for mercy outside.

Lansi felt that the apprentice must have heard it too. The bakery was very quiet at this moment, and any sound could be heard, not to mention that the door wasn't very soundproof to begin with.

The whole process lasted about fifteen minutes before Jonny walked out from inside, satisfied. "This is the last time!"

He said to the small woman in a threatening tone, "For your sake."

The small woman's face was pale as she tidied up her skirt, covered her face, and quickly left the bakery. Lansi walked to the door and mopped the things left on the ground clean again.

The fat boss squinted at him. "Be careful. If I find any place on the ground that hasn't been mopped clean, you'll have to go hungry tonight!"

Saying this, he returned to the warehouse. A lot of things had been added today, and he had to take inventory.

After Lansi finished his work, he came to the back hall. The apprentice was standing in front of the cutting board, constantly rubbing his hands.

He walked to the other person's side, leaned against the cutting board, and looked at him. "Chat for a while?"

The apprentice didn't speak.

Just as Lansi intended to find a way to chat with him, someone else pushed the door and entered. He had to temporarily give up the opportunity to continue communicating with the apprentice.

When he entered the lobby, he discovered that the person who came was Aierwen, and his head was covered in blood.

Blood and his hair were stuck together. Although his face had been cleaned, many traces still remained.

His expression became serious, and he hurriedly walked over to check. "Who beat you?"

Aierwen felt his nose somewhat sour. "That's not important, Lansi. A conflict occurred at the dock this afternoon, and we were beaten at that time."

"We hid until just now and ran out while it was dark. There are several others who are about the same as me."

"We were temporarily fired..." ===== CHAPTER 14 =====