Chapter 343: 344. Chapter 340: Conflict

344. Chapter 340: Conflict

The manager stood upstairs, phone in hand, watching the growing crowd below. He dialed the dockworkers' union again—Vaughn was still out!

"Dammit, the one time I need him he vanishes. Are all that money every year just feeding this bunch of people?"

The manager slammed the receiver onto the phone's base. Hands on his hips, he paced back and forth by the window, his gaze fixed on the workers below, whose numbers kept swelling.

From where he stood, he could see more and more workers gathering. It had been two years since he'd seen so many workers congregate during work hours.

He also loathed the idiots under him. It was just a matter of reassigning Johnny—so why had it turned into this?

Even if there wasn't a suitable position, couldn't they just give him a raise?

What a useless bunch!

Though most of the time, those in charge thought exactly like this: a small loss that creates a potentially huge risk, and they immediately blame their subordinates for not being agile enough.

Something this simple, and they still managed to turn it into a mess. Aren't they just useless?

But in reality, for those in the middle and lower ranks, they actually have no real decision-making power. The only thing they can do is follow the company's rules and regulations.

Many capitalists even came up with an "employee handbook" to help their workers quickly build proper work attitudes, recording many situations they might encounter on the job.

But it never taught them how to flexibly predict the future.

The head of the security team ran up from downstairs, panting. "The crowd's starting to get a bit worked up."

That was only half a sentence. He didn't finish the rest, just stared fixedly at the manager.

The crowd was getting worked up, and so many people had already gathered—a group incident could erupt at any moment!

This was not a good sign. If the situation couldn't be brought under control soon, in the security captain's experience, it would slide straight into the abyss.

The half-sentence he left unsaid was actually very simple: "You need to do something." But as a subordinate who carried a handbook in his heart, he knew perfectly well what could be said and what couldn't.

You want the manager to step up and take responsibility?

Are you fucking out of your mind? You want to keep this job or not?

As for whether the manager would get the wrong idea—that wasn't his concern. He'd already done his duty.

The manager turned and looked at the people below, who kept chanting various slogans. He had a nagging feeling that this matter wasn't as simple as it seemed.

The sudden ring of the phone startled him slightly. The security guard's gaze shifted from his trembling hand to somewhere else.

The manager picked up the phone. It was a director from the board.

The board was extremely dissatisfied with today's sudden situation and demanded he resolve everything here as soon as possible, or he'd lose his enviable job!

To protect this job, to pay the mortgage, the car loan, the college fund for his kids, for all the beautiful life and hopeful future he could look forward to, the manager took a deep breath.

He looked at the security captain. "Can I trust you to protect my safety?"

The security captain wanted to laugh, but he couldn't. He had to keep a straight face and put on a solemn, mission-ready expression. "I will stay by your side at all times, Mr.!"

"Very good!"

"I like your attitude."

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

He was actually very nervous, because he wasn't sure himself whether he could handle all this.

Soon, he arrived in front of the office building and saw the crowd, whose emotions had grown even more heated. He gritted his teeth, glanced at the security captain, and strode out.

The noise stopped in an instant. Many people looked at him—every dockworker knew what the manager looked like.

Because every day before they entered the docks to start work, they passed by an "Outstanding Employee Bulletin Board," and the manager was usually featured in the "Star of the Week" spot.

Although no one knew what he'd actually done for the prosperity of the docks.

"Work……"

He had just opened his mouth when someone threw an egg that hit him on the head, making him flinch so hard he nearly fell to the ground.

He stood there as if scared stupid. In his entire life, he'd never experienced anything like this. The laughter from the crowd made his face flush red. He wished he could run back to his office right now and order all these people fired!

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

Yolk and egg white dripped down his hair. The security captain tried to shield him behind his body, but failed.

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

The crowd's laughter quieted a little. At least it seemed the manager wasn't a complete waste.

He was a bit worried, but still braced himself and walked up to Johnny. Now, besides the security captain, there was no one else by his side.

The vast majority of people here could beat him senseless. He was very nervous.

With his nerves taut, he said, "Johnny, if you have any conditions, you can tell me. There's no need to let it get to this point."

If this were Johnny's own business, he might have put forward some demands right then and left with his gains. But this wasn't his own business—this was Mr. Lans's business.

His eyes suddenly filled with a kind of pity that was impossible to read, and this pity clearly made the manager very angry.

He clenched his fist. "Neither of us wants things to turn ugly. State your conditions—any conditions. We can negotiate."

Johnny looked around at the others. The crowd gradually quieted down, as if everyone was waiting to see how things would develop.

He had never felt this feeling before—under the gaze of everyone. He loved it!

He licked his lips. "First, I want you to make that guy from the office and everyone else who took part in beating me apologize to me, and fire them!"

Whether it was himself who got fired or his subordinates, the manager made his decision in less than a second. "No problem. Anything else?"

Perhaps it was his decisiveness that showed people some sincerity. The previously tense atmosphere eased considerably all at once.

Johnny stated his second demand. "There's one more thing—a raise!"

Someone in the crowd booed, but Johnny didn't explain anything. Others showed looks of disappointment.

The manager agreed again. "No problem. I heard they reassigned your job. I'll have them reassign you back, and give you a raise of… two dollars!"

He had assumed Johnny would agree, but the crowd only saw Johnny shake his head.

The manager frowned, cursed inwardly at the greedy bastard, but still forced a smile. "I can authorize a raise of…"

He had been about to say three dollars, but thinking that if Johnny was still unsatisfied, something might go wrong, he decided to give Johnny the full raise in one go. "I'll give you a five-dollar raise. Forty-three dollars, Johnny. That already puts you at the average income, and it's a very high wage at the docks."

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

"This is what you owe us!"

The words were almost shouted out. The people around were stunned for a moment after hearing them, and some big fellows came over to Johnny's side waving their fists.

They rubbed Johnny's hair and patted his shoulder to show their affection for him.

Dock workers are that simple — if they hate you, they'll make it clear.

If they like you, they'll make sure you feel it too.

At the same time, the topic of raising everyone's wages also drew a faster response and support from the people!

The manager stared at Johnny in disbelief, as if looking at an idiot!

Even if he raised Johnny's wages alone to fifty dollars, there'd be no problem at all. If that could resolve this trouble, the board of directors would praise him highly.

But if he solved the problem by giving everyone a one-dollar raise, he probably wouldn't even need to wait until next month — the board would have him thrown out!???? Maybe it was because these workers weren't as scary as he'd imagined, his courage grew a little. "Can I talk to you alone?"

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

Johnny raised his hand to signal everyone not to be nervous or worked up. "Let me go hear what he has to say!"

The people stopped trying to stop him, and Johnny was pushed aside by those behind him, after which the manager also walked over.

"Give up those unrealistic ideas, Johnny. I can give you five hundred dollars, and that's the end of this!"

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

When he heard those words, a flash of contempt crossed the manager's eyes. Although Johnny's sudden demand to raise everyone's wages had caught him off guard, Johnny really wasn't smart.

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

Since the other party was willing to talk, he could keep raising the price.

"Eight hundred dollars. Eight hundred isn't small, Johnny. Even if I raised your wages to forty dollars a month, you'd still have to go twenty months without eating or drinking to get that much money!"

"And we both know you actually can't save much each month!"

He had to drink, and occasionally spend two dollars to take care of his personal biological needs — he really couldn't save much.

But Johnny just looked at him. After cursing Johnny a few more times in his heart, he offered a higher price. "A thousand dollars!"

"That's enough, Johnny. You just took a beating. They'll apologize to you and get fired, and you'll get a thousand dollars."

"If the two of us swapped places, I'd have agreed when you offered five hundred!"

He was desperate for Johnny to nod and agree, but Johnny still shook his head.

That attitude made the manager's teeth itch with hatred. "Fifteen hundred dollars. That's the most I can give!"

"Too little!" Johnny said.

If it weren't for Lans's request, he really would have agreed at five hundred dollars, just as the manager said.

But now, this was the task Lans had given him — he couldn't let down Lans's "trust" in him!

"Damn you, you greedy bastard. Do you know how stupid you are?"

The manager bent down, his face showing contempt and a somewhat savage expression, his features all twisted together. "Two thousand dollars. That's the last number I can give you!"

Johnny locked eyes with him for a few moments, then pushed his wheelchair back by himself. The manager was thrown off balance by this suddenly tough Johnny!

Was this still the dock trash he knew?

He looked at Johnny with utter disbelief. "Another two hundred, out of my own pocket. That's all I can give you!"

Johnny pushed his wheelchair back to the crowd without looking back and said loudly, "That guy said he'd give me twenty-two hundred dollars to talk you all into going back. I refused!"

"I don't understand any grand principles. I just know we haven't had a wage increase in two or three years!"

"The price of beef is going up, the price of bread is going up, everything's going up — except the whores outside the docks, and us!"

"I'm not here for myself today. I'm here for all of you who are like me. They have to give back the wages they owe us!"

"He'd rather give me twenty-two hundred dollars to shut me up than let me say what needs to be said. That's what they're like!"

The common people at the bottom are the easiest to stir up, because their capacity for empathy is so strong — you don't even need to say much to cater to them, and their emotions can be roused!

"You did right, Johnny!" a big fellow said as he walked over and patted his shoulder, nearly breaking it.

Seeing this, the manager over there cursed "fuck" and felt a bit helpless. While he was still considering remedial measures, someone suddenly began shouting "Apologize! Raise our wages!" and then more and more people started waving their fists and chanting.

The rhythm was fast and intense, gradually forming a force rather than mere slogans!

Especially when it concerned their own vital interests and someone had taken the lead.

The invisible power from each individual, under the effect of these slogans, twisted into one strand and became invincible — this was the power of the workers!

When he saw this, the manager's vision went dark and he nearly collapsed to the ground. He watched it all unfold in despair, knowing he was about to be finished!

The workers' step-by-step pressure made the atmosphere on the scene solemn and serious to the extreme. Some security guards also grew uneasy, and some even picked up the wooden sticks in their hands, signaling these people not to get too close.

At this point everyone's emotions were a bit heated — how could they possibly calm down in such a short time?

Seeing that the friction was about to escalate, the manager did his best to soothe the workers, telling them to calm down and that everything was negotiable.

But one man's strength was too weak. He could only push apart the people right in front of him, but there were many more around!

Just then, under the dumbfounded stares of all the security guards, including the security captain, one security guard suddenly swung his stick and beat a worker in front of him until his head was bloody. In that instant, the conflict escalated!

Countless ugly curses began to ring out, and the two groups started shoving each other, then broke into a brawl!

"The security guards are hitting people!"

"The management company's people are hitting people!"

When it really came to this, the manager, who'd taken several punches himself, also got vicious. He ran to the back, grabbed the security captain by the collar, and said viciously, "Show them what they're dealing with!"

Anyway, he was going to lose this job anyway — he might as well let off some steam before the power in his hands expired!

He even snatched the stick from the security captain's waist himself and charged toward Johnny!

Both sides kept adding manpower. More security guards rushed in from all over the docks, and more workers who had heard about the conflict also joined in.

The most eye-catching were a large group of temporary workers in blue work clothes — they also joined the resistance and brawled with the security guards!

The workers who had previously held some prejudice against these people, at this moment — at least at this moment — suddenly felt they weren't so bad after all!

The super brawl on the dock lasted over forty minutes before the police showed up late, and quite a few people were beaten until their heads bled, the manager included.

He had originally wanted to give Johnny a few good hits, but instead ended up being the one on the receiving end.

When he was helped up from the ground, he could barely stand steady in one spot!

He had several bumps on his head, and if no one had been supporting him, he would have fallen again long ago!

"Murder, this is murder!"

"Officer, they nearly killed me!"

The manager was shouting somewhat hysterically, but the police clearly knew how to handle the situation.

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

Of course his tone wasn't that stiff either; he had also recognized this was the manager, only he didn't yet know that the manager might not be the manager in the future.

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

There were quite a few doctors on the scene tending to the wounded, and they were a bit short-handed.

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

The phone kept ringing, and he was a little afraid, but in the end he picked it up.

The moment he picked it up, all kinds of nasty cursing came through the receiver, and the cursing went on for quite a while.

After about two or three minutes, the person on the other end of the line finally sounded a little better, "How did it end up like this?"

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

But even if he knew, he wouldn't say it; with such a big incident, someone had to take the blame, and the manager was a fine choice.

"First calm the workers' emotions, have them send representatives to negotiate with us, I'll call Vaughan and have him clean up your mess!"

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

The manager agreed right away; he certainly wouldn't do something that stupid.

Everything that had happened at this moment began to spread inside the dock, and the workers' club was clearly the best place to exchange information.

There was nothing better than drinking an ice-cold beer while chatting about these things to get the blood pumping!

A little past eight, when the workers' club was full of people, Lans had Erwin and the others bring the "undercover" over to unload the cargo…