Chapter 326: 327. Chapter 323: Jonny and Charlie

327. Chapter 323: Jonny and Charlie

Jonny squatted by the side of the road, smoking a cigarette. A broom rested beside him, his eyes filled with the haggardness of someone who had seen through life.

Ever since Lan Si had broken his arm in front of everyone, he had become much more well-behaved at the docks.

It wasn't that he didn't want to find work elsewhere, but there truly wasn't any place suitable for him.

The industrial zone wasn't recruiting as many workers as it had in previous years; the work wasn't great, the pay wasn't high, and most of them required workers with some understanding of the job.

For someone like Jonny who knew nothing, the first month after starting would be unpaid—factories would demand they learn the assembly line or factory workflows under the guise of "adapting to the position."

Only once workers mastered the content of their position would they be hired.

Before that, most people were just there learning how to work.

If you were unlucky and couldn't learn, the factory might demand you leave; they wouldn't hire a fool to slow down their work progress.

Considering he still had family to support, Jonny eventually returned to the docks.

Fortunately, Lan Si's people hadn't pushed him to the brink, leaving him a place to work at the docks.

But he could no longer do his old jobs; now, his work was ground cleaning.

Every time cargo was loaded or unloaded, many things were left on the ground, such as dust, dirt, and even small weeds.

Some of those shipping containers drifted at sea for a month or two, enduring wind and sun, and sometimes, through sheer luck, a seed or two would land in the dust accumulated in the corners, taking root and sprouting.

This was when he found his purpose, using a broom to clean all these things away.

Twenty-seven dollars and fifty cents a month, no overtime required, but honestly, he didn't really want this job. He would rather be tired now if it meant earning more money.

Unfortunately, the people at the docks didn't look after him much.

Just as he was feeling dejected, two young men appeared before him. They wore duckbill caps, hands in their pockets, and walked right up to him.

He glanced at the two of them and said impatiently, "Get lost, don't provoke me."

His expression was foul: a terrible job, lower income, complaints from family members, a stomach that was never full, and alcohol he could no longer afford.

But the two men didn't seem to have any intention of leaving, which made Jonny's temper flare up.

Confirming that these two weren't dock workers, he stood up.

The big man's stature did indeed give people a sense of nervous pressure. Just as he was preparing to say "if you don't get lost, I will," one of the young men spoke: "Lan Si wants to see you."

Jonny's entire movement froze. His expression changed rapidly: first fear, then confusion, then hesitation, eventually evolving into unease.

He dropped the cigarette in his hand, acting like a helpless child, rubbing his hands on his clothes, not knowing where to put them. "I haven't done anything recently!"

His voice was no longer as impatient as before, carrying a patient and aggrieved explanation—he really hadn't done anything!

That was why he couldn't understand why Lan Si wanted to see him!

The young man just kept staring at him. "There's no need to tell me these things; you just need to come with me."

Jonny's gaze swept the surroundings; clearly, he was thinking of some incorrect course of action. The young man spoke again, "We know where you live, unless you abandon all your family and never return to Jincheng, nor show your face again."

This sentence shattered his thoughts of running away, and he became completely dejected. "I didn't think that!"

"Then come with us!" The young man turned and walked toward the dock entrance. Jonny stood there for a moment, eventually choosing to follow.

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

The slightly pleasant scent in the car made him feel out of place. He rubbed his hands back and forth between his legs. The young man sitting next to him glanced at the floorboard. "You'll have to clean this up after we get out."

There was dead skin on the floor; the salt content by the sea was high, and their work left many calluses on their hands, which were constantly renewing.

The old ones would fall off if you rubbed them.

Combined with some dust, there was a small patch of dead skin and grime under his feet.

This made Jonny's face flush red. If anyone had dared to say that before, he would have definitely made them taste how hard his fists were.

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

The car soon stopped behind the office. After getting out, he bent over and used his hands to move the things on the floor outside.

When he turned around again, he let out a heavy sigh.

He was brought outside Lan Si's office. About a minute after the young man went in, he was allowed to enter.

Lan Si sat behind the desk. When he saw Jonny enter, he didn't stand up, nor did he intend to shake hands, just pointing to the chair opposite the desk. "Sit."

Jonny walked to the chair and sat down, carefully placing his hands on his knees, just like an honest, obedient primary school student!

"Smoke?" Lan Si opened a cigarette case, which held neatly arranged cigarettes and cigars.

Jonny's throat moved. He really wanted one, but in the end, he shook his head. "No, Mr. Lan Si, I don't smoke."

"You can't even tell a lie well!" Lan Si smiled and tossed one over. "As long as you don't get ash everywhere, I'm not that cold and heartless!"

He took one himself, then showed Jonny how to use the desk lighter.

After both were smoking, Lan Si asked, "I heard you've been responsible for sweeping at the docks recently?"

Jonny nodded. "After my arm fracture, I couldn't handle my previous work, so they arranged a lighter job for me."

Screwing bolts or hammering would apply various forces to the bones in his arm; after a fracture, it was indeed not suitable for such work.

Especially the hammering, which could cause the wound to break again, hindering the healing of the fracture.

But he hadn't expected that once he started sweeping, he would be doing it for months, and it looked like he would continue to do so. Even his old friends didn't come around as often now.

Everyone at the docks knew he had offended the Lan Si family, and they were all staying away from him.

Jonny flicked the ash from his cigarette after a heavy drag, but he didn't see an ashtray. Thinking of Lan Si's words just now, he eventually extended his left hand and flicked the ash into his palm.

Lan Si watched this action and wanted to laugh. "You are very familiar with the docks."

Jonny didn't deny it. "I've been looking for work at the docks since I was sixteen. Maybe I don't know it as well as those old men, but among our generation, I'm definitely the one who knows it best."

"Mr. Lan Si, they said you wanted to see me. I'm a bit uneasy; I don't know if I've offended you in any way."

"If I have, you can tell me directly; that would actually make me feel better."

Perhaps it was the two drags of high-quality cigarette, or perhaps Lan Si's attitude wasn't that "vicious," but Jonny couldn't help himself.

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

Lan Si revealed a smile. "Your worry is unnecessary. I have a few things that need to be done recently, and after thinking it over, I finally thought of you."

"But rest assured, it's definitely a good thing for you."

He extended a finger to stroke his eyebrow. "I heard that wages at the docks haven't risen in years?"

Hearing it was a good thing, Jonny's mood relaxed quite a bit. "Yes, it's been almost three years."

"Mr. Lan Si, can you believe it?"

"Now the prices of everything are rising, but wages aren't. The main reason is those..."

He suddenly stopped, breaking into a cold sweat, then felt a bit at a loss.

Lan Si knew what he was going to say. "Those immigrants and illegal immigrants, right?"

"I know many of you think that way."

Jonny couldn't sit still. "Mr. Lan Si, I didn't mean that..."

Everyone knew Lan Si had a very close connection with illegal immigrants, and some even said he himself was an illegal immigrant. But for small people like them, even if they heard such things, they couldn't verify them, nor was there any need to.

But associating this with those rumors, Jonny's statement was equivalent to accusing Lan Si, which almost scared his soul out!

Lan Si shook his head. "It's okay, I understand your thoughts. Illegal immigrants have indeed made it difficult for dock wages to rise; that's a fact."

Illegal immigrants only need ten or twenty dollars a month, while a legal federal worker needs thirty-seven, thirty-eight, or forty dollars. As capitalists pursuing profit maximization, there's no need to consider how they would choose!

You won't do it?

There are plenty of people who will!

So, even if many workers at the docks don't say it out loud, deep down they actually have great resentment toward illegal immigrants. This is also why the anti-immigrant riots that broke out caused such huge destruction at the docks so quickly!

It can only be said that this negative emotion had accumulated for too long, and suddenly there was a release point. Even for ordinary people, it's hard to avoid breeding some ideas.

Even at the docks now, many people still have such thoughts; they see the failure of wages to rise as an immigration problem.

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

That will be the next riot.

"Jonny, actually, compared to others, I can trust you more. Do you know why?"

Lan Si's question gave Jonny a sense of being inexplicably trusted. He hurriedly sat up straight, but didn't know where to put the ash in his palm, eventually stuffing it all into his pocket.

"I don't know, Mr. Lan Si."

"But regardless, I am very grateful that you can trust me!"

From his expression, it was clear he wasn't lying. Sometimes this world is just this ridiculous.

Lan Si broke his arm, yet because of Lan Si's few words, he actually developed a sense of identification and gratitude toward Lan Si. Perhaps this is a problem that all underclass people face or have experienced.

In front of people from higher social strata, they actually have no ability to resist!

"Don't be in a hurry to be moved. The reason I trust you is because I know your situation very well."

"From the moment you were born, to your family members, their respective situations, are all in my hands."

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

Jonny froze for a moment, then was indeed no longer moved, instead feeling a bit dry, not knowing what to say.

Lanse did not give him the chance to brew new emotions, "It is precisely because of this point that I can trust you, and now, I need you to do one thing for me."

"Go and demand a raise from the company, preferably calling on more people to join you. I can provide you with some funds."

"Make the momentum as big as possible. If you can persuade everyone at the docks to join you, that would be even better!"

Jonny looked blank. "I don't understand, Mr. Lan Si."

Lan Si laughed and said, "If you understood, the one sitting here would be you!"

"You only need to know that those companies at the docks haven't given you a raise in two years; that's unreasonable."

"For unreasonable things, one must struggle; this is the symbol of the Free Federal spirit!"

Jonny gradually realized at this moment that he seemed to have been dragged into a conspiracy, but he seemed powerless to struggle.

The expression on his face was like a puppy abandoned by the side of the road, not knowing where its future lay.

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

"At the same time, you will also be under our protection!"

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

"And all of this stems from your choice, Jonny!"

Jonny agreed without almost any hesitation. His life now was terrible, and he couldn't see any hope.

If agreeing to Lan Si could change this and make him the character he once dreamed of, then why refuse?

Maybe this matter was a bit dangerous, but Lan Si had a good reputation, and he trusted Lan Si.

Without experiencing too much psychological struggle, he agreed.

Lan Si gave him four hundred dollars, telling him to find a way to contact those friends who had the same thoughts and point their spearheads at the enterprises at the docks.

Returning to the docks, Jonny felt "different" in an instant. He touched the money in his pocket, looked at the broom he had left on the ground before leaving, and suddenly ran a few steps and kicked it, sending the broom flying!

"Go to hell, I'm coming!"

He suddenly laughed and walked toward other places. From this moment on, he was going to abandon everything old and welcome a new life!

For several days, the entire Jincheng was very calm, so calm that it made people feel a bit incredible.

In areas where gunfights often occurred, a car wouldn't suddenly rush out from somewhere and spray a burst of bullets at someone who had just walked out of a shop.

Nor were there groups of two factions surrounding a place exchanging bullets, eventually leaving behind a few corpses.

Everything was as if it had returned to the peak period of the Five Great Families; every gang was observing the rules of this city that weren't written into laws or announcements.

The Five Great Families, gangs, the Bay Area, everyone was observing these, making some old people feel as if they had returned to the past in a trance!

But those who could decide these things knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

The calmer, more harmonious, and natural it was now, the more violent, terrifying, and full of destruction it would be when the storm came!

On Saturday, Lan Si continued to attend the gathering at the Saint Naye Cathedral. Now, he was paying for this part of the expenses, so naturally, he was the most popular person here.

In just a year, people no longer cared much about where Mr. Qiaobafu had gone; they just wanted to talk to Mr. Lan Si a few more times.

After the morning gathering ended, Lan Si's original plan was to go find Patricia in the afternoon.

The girl had called him in advance, hoping they could go watch a movie together.

Jielaer's movie had already been released, and she really wanted to know how Jielaer's movie looked; after all, this movie was also a project invested in by Lan Si.

But just as Lan Si was preparing to go over, Sub-bureau Chief Bulu drove over to find him.

"I have other things to do this afternoon; you'd better keep it short." Lan Si put a piece of garlic-flavored potato chip into his mouth.

Who the fuck invented this flavor?

It smelled as unpleasant as shit, but it actually tasted pretty good.

Sub-bureau Chief Bulu's expression was a bit solemn. "I heard... you guys intend to stir up some trouble?"

Lan Si wasn't 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 wasn't surprised; instead, he felt this was normal.

So he didn't deny it. "Since you've heard, then the source must be fine." He paused. "So?"

Sub-bureau Chief Bulu pursed his lips. "Charlie and Hunter have also been actively moving these past two days; they've contacted many retired police officers, including those of us who are still working."

"It is said that he also found some people on the state police side; after all, he did indeed gain support here during his years as police chief, expanding his connections and social circle."

"He wants to use this opportunity of you guys stirring up trouble to make people notice the role and value of the police system to the city; he wants to gain more power!"

"And I also heard... he intends to run for municipal councilor."

The federal government didn't require officials to only work until a certain age; if they were willing to work, as long as their physical condition allowed, they could work indefinitely.

So Charlie running for municipal councilor was completely in line with relevant federal laws and regulations, but this move of his was indeed a bit beyond Lan Si's expectations. ===== CHAPTER 327 =====