Chapter 373: If You Want to Do It, Do It Big

Dave and several worker representatives walked out of the docks. They were all wearing the brand-new work uniforms issued by Lansi.

It had to be said that after wearing neat work uniforms, everyone's mental outlook had undergone a huge change.

They hadn't received higher education, so they didn't know how to describe this feeling. In short, they felt they had twisted into a rope and also became more full of power!

Now if the capitalists dared to face them, they could smash a capitalist with one punch!

They smoked, and walked with wind; they no longer looked like their previous selves.

If someone who understood the history of labor unions saw this scene, they would understand that these worker representatives were entering a special stage, a stage of transformation.

When they transformed completely from this stage, they would no longer be the ordinary working class, and they would gain greater space for development in politics.

That's how labor unions came to be!

When the working class united to confront the exploitation and oppression of capitalists, everyone was together.

But only the first batch of people who shouted "Workers' Unity" and began to formulate some regulations, and were seen by some as fools running around to help everyone defeat the capitalists, finally transcended from the working class.

They established the Labor Federation, and some other people discovered these problems. They realized this was an opportunity to change themselves, so the second batch of people became the rule-makers of industry unions.

When those workers, those workers who were no different from them, reacted, whether it was the Labor Federation or the industry unions, there was no place for them.

Perhaps Dave and these people couldn't establish any Labor Federation, or establish an industry union, and there was no place for them inside.

But they were indeed transforming. In places they couldn't even see themselves, another piece of blank space was released.

Strong Johnny, who was walking in the front, opened the door of the restaurant, and the others filed in. They soon saw Lansi sitting at the table in the middle of the restaurant.

There was no one else in the restaurant. It had been booked by Lansi for one hour.

It wasn't time to eat now. Lansi used twenty dollars to book it temporarily.

"Mr. Lansi?"

"Did someone just say you wanted to see us?"

Lansi signaled for them to sit down and let the restaurant waiter get some coffee.

After these people sat down, he said, "The militia will enter the city in a few days, to be precise, the day after tomorrow."

When they heard this sentence, everyone showed an expression of disbelief. The militia entering the city was a big thing in the Federation; this represented that order had been destroyed!

After the internal contradictions of the Federation were resolved, they formulated a series of rules. Some were written on paper, framed, and put into museums or some political buildings to remind people of the promises they once made.

There were also some they weren't very good at recording, which were promised orally, and they guaranteed they would definitely abide by them.

Politics and the military are separated; they shouldn't change because of someone's will.

Watching the workers all become a bit nervous, Lansi increased the firepower, "And I have confirmed news that besides solving the security problem, they also want to solve the strike problem."

"Suppress the strike?" Johnny stood up in shock. This wasn't the content of the script!

Others were also shocked. Lansi nodded slowly, "Jincheng doesn't allow chaos, and you should know that the chaos behind it is actually a confrontation between two interest groups."

"Locals, and outsiders!"

They had heard these rumors. Workers, especially workers with voting rights, most often talked about political things, although they had been closest to politics in their lives the moment they cast their ballots into the ballot box.

But they were still keen on talking about politics, talking about figures related to politics.

Of course they had heard the story of "locals" and "outsiders." After all, the huge New Port District was right there, and it hadn't been completed or fully put into use until now.

But to say they had a very deep understanding of these things, that wasn't necessarily true.

Lansi explained simply, "The mayor might have linked everything together through a farce of being shot, including the current chaotic city security problem."

"Shootings, bombings, fighting for territory, many districts have fallen into huge chaos!"

"Plus we went on strike at this critical moment!"

"Now if you were the governor, what would you think?"

"You should all know that Jincheng is very important!"

These worker representatives could be elected by workers to become worker representatives, definitely not because they were stronger when screwing screws, or could move things better than anyone else.

It must be because their brains were good enough, at least better than other workers' brains.

They could consider more things, more detailed things, so they were elected to become worker representatives.

Those fools, they never had this opportunity in their lives.

So they would also use their brains to think. Under the extremely limited intelligence information, a truth that wasn't correct, at least not completely correct, began to appear in front of them.

"We have become pawns on the chessboard!", Dave let out a roar of unwillingness. He had felt the most and strongest during this period!

The clenched fists creaked. Lansi believed that if given a chance, he could smash this wooden table now!

Other worker representatives also showed expressions of anger and unwillingness. Although they often talked about politics, who hoped to become a part of political games?

And, the next key node of this game involved the "militia."

"Once the militia comes in, this strike will become very dangerous.", Lansi crossed his legs, lit a cigarette, and talked to them very patiently about the trend the strike might develop.

"Either we don't compromise, and in the end, we will be treated by the mayor and some people who urgently hope for the city to stabilize as unstable factors obstructing the city's stability, and then be suppressed by the militia!"

"Or we choose to compromise, but what we get in return might be a longer time without raises, without more welfare benefits. They won't respect us, because our power is ridiculously weak!"

Lansi's words made their breathing become heavy. Thinking that this was the future not long from now, they felt a deep despair surrounding them.

"These damn capitalists and politicians, they never care about us at the bottom!", a worker representative hammered the table with force. The coaster and coffee cup on the table jumped. He was startled by this sound, then scratched his head a bit embarrassedly, "Sorry, I didn't notice..."

Lansi shook his head. He picked up the coffee and took a sip, avoiding the coffee splashing out the next time they hammered the table.

He pointed to that person, "You are very right. Besides ourselves, no one cares about us."

"Actually, I heard from Woen that the Labor Federation is very dissatisfied with Jincheng going on strike privately without approval. Woen bore huge pressure to support our strike."

"I have always believed one point, that besides ourselves, no one can help us!"

Dave nodded with force, "You are very right, Mr. Lansi. Only we ourselves will care about ourselves!"

He paused, looked at the workers around him, and lowered his voice slightly, "Do we have any way... to change this ending?"

"At least I don't like this ending. Whether we are suppressed, bleed, and sacrifice, or we choose to compromise, letting the efforts of these days become a joke, are things I don't want!"

Other worker representatives also echoed one after another. Their stance was simple, clear, and independent.

Lansi took a puff of smoke, "Actually, I called you here because of this matter. I do have an idea, maybe not very mature, but there is a bit of risk."

"If it succeeds...", he leaned back. At this time, he didn't need to show an aggressive or invasive sitting posture.

On the contrary, this defensive action of leaning back was more suitable, which could make his words more persuasive. He already had a comprehensive plan, and everything was under his control!

"Mr. Lansi, please tell us what we should do!"

Lansi seemed to be hesitating, thinking. After a while, he nodded, "Fine, I'll tell you."

"You should know that mobilizing the militia is definitely the result of the governor submitting it to the State Legislature and getting approval. In other words, this is an internal affair of the State of Likai."

"The matter hasn't fermented further. Maybe in other parts of the Federation, no one has reported our strike."

"I said, the Labor Federation is very dissatisfied with our strike decision. If they don't help us convey our demands, it will be very difficult for more people to know what happened here."

"If the state government intervenes administratively, maybe Congress only knows that sending the militia is to solve the security problem, and doesn't know they are trying to use the militia to suppress a legal strike!"

"So, my idea is, before the militia enters the city, let's do something big!"

He licked his lips and stopped. This required giving these worker representatives a process of interpretation, understanding, and then processing it themselves. They would add some details Lansi might not have said according to their own thoughts, and use these details to move themselves.

After waiting for two or three minutes, the big beard said, "Do you have any plan?"

Lansi nodded, but didn't say it, instead looking at the others, "What about you?"

"Are you joining?"

Other worker representatives looked at each other.

Dave tapped the table at this time. His strength was greater, and a lot of coffee splashed out. Fortunately, Lansi had foresight and had drunk two sips.

"I've heard a sentence—"

"Victory is never begged for!"

"This sentence is just right for now. We have been forced to stand on the edge of a cliff, with cliffs on both sides. No matter which side, we are jumping down!"

"Since we are jumping down, why not choose a direction we can control, instead of choosing the one they left for us?"

"Even if jumping down will break all the bones in my body, at least I resisted!"

He was a bit inarticulate, but the general meaning was very clear. Johnny immediately stood up, "Right, tell us, Mr. Lansi, we'll listen to you!"

Others also expressed their stance. Only then did Lansi nod slightly, "Actually, what we need to do is very simple."

"There are a large amount of materials on the Jincheng docks. Grab a batch, destroy a batch, burn a batch!"

In an instant, everyone was stunned!

Even Johnny was a bit at a loss!

Lansi looked at them and stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.

"Once the Jincheng docks are in chaos, it will attract greater attention, because the owners of these goods on the docks affect different regions of the entire Federation, and even the whole world!"

"When they see us hurt and sad, they will only clap and laugh, feeling like they are watching a farce."

"Only when they feel the pain personally will they realize how painful this is!"

"Pain will make them shout. They will make a sound, let more people know about this chaos, know about this destructive strike, and then they can face our demands squarely!"

Lansi's words were very powerful, which was also what the workers wanted to hear.

The big beard furrowed his brows, "Mr. Lansi, I'm not questioning your idea, just if we do as you say and destroy a part of the materials, will they let us go?"

The "they" in his mouth, of course, referred to the owners of those goods.

Their things were destroyed, and they definitely had to make people bear the responsibility and consequences. It was conceivable that when confronting these capitalists, they had no advantage at all.

Lansi tapped his finger on the table twice, "First of all, the dock management company and the owners of the goods have mostly bought insurance."

"If an accident happens, if they want compensation, they won't come to you, but will go to court with the insurance company!"

Ocean shipping during this period still had great risks, including port storage.

Perhaps a storm could destroy a shipment, could make the goods in the warehouse soaked in water, so most port businesses would buy insurance.

Although Lansi wasn't sure if there were clauses in the insurance company's terms that goods destroyed by humans also needed compensation, when the only place capitalists could recover losses was the insurance company, they would definitely unite to go to court with the insurance company.

On the contrary, destroying the main body of these things, which was the strike and the workers, didn't need to bear very serious economic compensation.

"The only risk you might have to face is that they sue you for destroying things on the docks."

Lansi's gaze stayed on their faces one by one. Some looked very worried, some looked indifferent.

After waiting for ten or twenty seconds, he continued, "If they really sue you, or others."

"I can guarantee you that I will arrange the best lawyers to defend you, help you minimize the prison sentence to the maximum extent, and through some..."

He raised his hands and turned them slightly outward, "... some technical means. You know, some technical means are very technical and challenging, but this can let you not need to be inside for so long."

"Only in this way can we let the Federation know that here, there is still a group of people like us who need people's and the whole society's attention!"

"Only when we do these things will there be a force significantly higher than the state government to intervene in these matters."

"A war is about to break out. If at this time Jincheng, this important material transportation node, has a long-term accident, the federal government cannot accept it!"

Dave said that word, "Congress!"

Lansi pointed at him, "You definitely haven't read the newspaper less!"

Dave was suddenly a bit embarrassed, "

"This is a good habit; keep it up."

Lans stroked his eyebrows, "You can go and discuss it with your friends, colleagues, and fellow workers."

"But you must do it as soon as possible!"

"We must seize the initiative into our own hands. Even if we have to jump off a cliff, it must be us jumping off of our own volition, not because they forced us to jump!"

"If the initiative falls into their hands, we won't have any chance to choose; whatever they say it is, that's all it can be!"

Jonny suddenly raised a question, "Lans, payday is coming up soon. If we make too much of a scene, they definitely won't pay us, and might even use this as a bargaining chip."

He glanced at the others, "I don't mind, but there are over ten thousand workers at the docks, and there are always people waiting for the money to live."

This was already in Lans's plan, "Solve this problem in two ways. We can take a portion of the supplies from the docks."

"You work at the docks every day, so you surely know better than I do which things in the warehouses are more valuable."

"This portion can make up for some of your financial problems."

"If you are still short on money, you can come to me. I can lend you a sum of money first, interest-free. Once we have negotiated the terms and the wages come through, you can pay me back."

Jonny's question and Lans's solution seemed to be a very good choice. The worker representatives looked at each other, decided there were no problems, and so they all stood up.

Lans urged them repeatedly that time waits for no one.

For the militia, they would only assemble and enter the city by vehicle after forty-eight hours.

But for the workers at the docks, they might only have twelve hours, or even have to make a decision before tonight!

Soon, these worker representatives left the restaurant. They quickly returned to the docks and began to spread these ideas.

At first, it was cautious, but soon more people joined in.

Their feelings were the same as the worker representatives when they first heard the news: either be suppressed and pinned to the ground by reality.

Or, choose to compromise and kneel down again!

Neither path was what they wanted; after kneeling for too long, people become numb.

But fortunately, there was another path here, a third path!