Chapter 649: Power Outage

Birds of a feather flock together.

Everyone understands that this is a battle, so they are also discussing how to continue to confront Mayor Williams, so as to obtain things other than money—

Balance.

Or they want to use this means to force Mayor Williams to take the initiative to bow his head in addition to wanting money.

If he is not made to know who is the real master of this city, then it will be a long-term trouble for the Bay Area.

In order to compete for actual ruling power, they will enter a state of anxiety.

They will constantly face provocations and tests from City Hall, and will use more energy to deal with Mayor Williams.

This is not what they want, so this time they want to directly suppress Mayor Williams.

Let him know that it is not necessarily the ruler of this city just because he is the mayor!

No matter what good plans he has, as long as the Bay Area does not agree, his plans will not be pushed forward!

Of course, they will not be tough blindly. As long as Mayor Williams realizes this point, that this city is not completely decided by him, then they can also take a step back.

After all, stability is what the ruling class pursues.

In a private social occasion, many factory owners in the old industrial zone gathered here, as well as some rich people in the Bay Area.

Everyone is discussing the recent changes in land prices in the old industrial zone, and everyone's face shows a satisfied smile.

The huge increase in land prices has made their net worth increase significantly, from more than one hundred thousand to several hundred thousand, to more than one million. They have never thought that making money could be so easy.

They don't need to do anything, just wait for a period of time.

If you want to make a rigid capitalist smile, just tell him how much profit he will get.

The atmosphere in the room is very warm. People surround the most central circle, either sitting or standing. The conversation sound of the gentlemen in the middle circle is the largest in the room. The further out, the smaller the conversation sound, ensuring that everyone can hear what the gentlemen inside are saying.

"... I heard that today some people chose to give up the profits they had already obtained and chose to accept City Hall's replacement subsidy."

"I have no intention to evaluate whether this approach is wise. I also express respect for their choices."

"I only talk about ourselves."

"I know Williams. After all, we have been together for more than thirty years. My understanding of him is like him looking in a mirror."

"Some of you may have seen him, know him, and feel that he is a person who is easy to contact."

"But in reality, he is not easy to contact, and he is a bit arrogant and conceited."

"When he decided to expand the city to obtain more family interests, he had to reach a compromise with us on this matter."

"Make money, and give us respect."

"Actually, I don't care much about whether to make money, but respect is a must."

The gentleman who spoke is named Charles, one of the major shareholders of Jincheng Bank.

"Big", occupying about six percent of the shares of Jincheng Bank, which is already very considerable for a bank, and he is also one of the core figures of the entire Bay Area.

Whether it is the Jincheng Bank they use to harvest Jincheng capitalists and the public, or the pier management company that controls Jincheng's economic lifeline, he is a major shareholder.

So the voice he speaks is also the largest here.

Everyone's eyes are focused on him, but he can't feel any pressure. Instead, he crosses his legs and sits on the sofa in a very relaxed posture.

Holding a cigar in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, from posture to expression, he is very relaxed.

The look in his eyes when looking at the people around him carries a trace of condescending contempt. Of course, it is not contempt for these people, but contempt for the Williams he speaks of.

He bit the cigar, took a puff, and then slowly exhaled, "Wait for him to take the initiative to negotiate with us, and compromise. Only then can we sell the land in our hands."

"Whether it is for City Hall to recover, or sold to other new investors, it is fine."

"But before he bows his head, gentlemen, I don't want to see anyone sign any agreement privately without our consent."

"We must unite. You have also seen that when we unite, even the ruler of this city can't do anything to us!"

The gentlemen around, who had already been excited by those words, started to applaud and cheer at this time, and everyone wished they could clap their hands to pieces!

After the applause subsided a little, someone asked, "Mr. Charles, if... I mean if, if Mayor Williams doesn't compromise?"

"Could it be that we just keep going like this?"

Mr. Charles looked at the person who asked, and then nodded, "For us, is there any actual difference between relocating and not relocating?"

"We relocated to the new industrial zone, and aren't we still producing?"

"Or, if we don't move away from the current place, do we not need to produce?"

"No!"

"No matter where we go, we will continue to produce. Instead, we are closer to the city, which is more convenient in terms of transportation."

"He is unwilling to talk to us, then we will continue to produce, don't worry about him."

"The urban expansion plan he submitted to the state, and the promise to the citizens to improve the city's living and working environment, that is his problem, not ours."

"Our job is to produce with all our strength and turn goods into money, that's all."

The person who asked, as well as some people who had the same thoughts, nodded one after another. That's the truth.

Some people focused on the land prices that kept soaring, ignoring that their production itself could also bring profits.

Although they didn't get much by selling directly, at least there were still some.

Next, some people raised some questions, and Mr. Charles solved them very easily, which also made them believe more that the future is bright!

Everyone was talking enthusiastically, as if Mayor Williams had already knelt on the ground to beg for their forgiveness, as if the price of an acre of land had risen tenfold, and most of them had made a big profit.

A guy who looked like a staff member here knocked on the door outside.

He named a gentleman to convey the information that there was a phone call, and then left.

People didn't stop because one person left. They were still drinking, smoking, and chatting about the future.

The gentleman with a red face and hot cheeks took out a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat on his temples. He came to another room, picked up the phone, and put it to his ear.

"What happened?"

"Power outage!"

Power outage, yes, power outage.

"Wang Defa, why is there a power outage?"

"Did you call the power company?"

"You have to tell them, if they can't guarantee the power supply and cause problems with our production plan, I'm going to sue them!"

The businessman's face suddenly became redder, but not because of excitement, but because of anger and a trace of uneasiness and fear!

Power outage!

Power outage means stopping work, means the assembly line will stop completely, and also means everything has been pressed the pause button!

Because the factory stopped work due to power outage, it is not just as simple as not being able to let the product continue to be produced, there is also the possibility of a certain breach of contract risk.

Suppose a factory has one thousand workers, and they need to pay each worker about forty-seven or forty-eight dollars a month.

The factory needs to pay fifty thousand dollars for these one thousand people a month. Let's count it as fifty thousand dollars.

Once the factory stops, wages will become a heavy and huge expenditure. In order to ensure that the factory will not run empty, most factories' orders are full.

One order after another, some factories with hot business are basically two shifts in twenty-four hours, and never let the assembly line stop.

Only in this way will the wages paid to the workers not become a burden on the factory.

But because of this, the orders are full. Once production has problems affecting the production plan, it may be a big problem, and it may involve breach of contract and compensation.

So a factory, especially a large factory, will not stop easily once it starts operating.

He just didn't understand, why did the power suddenly cut off?

The factory manager said in a low voice in the receiver, "Boss, the power supply company said... the substation exploded!" "Before it is repaired, it will not continue to send power."

Substation exploded?

This is the second time he scolded someone today, "Fuck, why did the substation explode?"

"Ask them, when can it be repaired, will our production arrangement be affected?"

The factory manager bit the bullet and said, "They said they need to transfer equipment from Jinxing City and Xigu City, and it might not be repaired until tomorrow or the day after."

"As for the production arrangement, it might be affected."

After listening, the businessman felt his liver hurt. He walked back and forth a few times, "What about our own power generation?"

The manager didn't speak, and he let the businessman know in this way that he was wishful thinking.

After confirming that there would be no power in a short time, the businessman hung up the phone, and his face returned to the salon with a difficult look.

He also has friends here, and his friend asked curiously, "What's wrong with you?"

He pursed his lips, "The factory stopped power, and I am a little worried about the production plan."

His friend hadn't realized the seriousness of the matter yet, and his face still carried a smile of "it's just a small thing", "Temporary power outage?"

(Content omitted)

"How long are they going to stop power this time?"

"Damn it, let those workers have another opportunity to be lazy openly. I have to find a way to deduct some money from them this month."

Several businessmen around also laughed one after another, mocking his friend for even wanting to find a way to exploit such a little money.

During this period, sometimes there will indeed be such temporary power outages. The supply of electricity is often insufficient.

Even in the Federation, some areas will have phased power outages to ensure production electricity.

Things like connecting to a new power network may also cause temporary power outages.

As long as the power outage time is not too long, everyone can accept it.

But the businessman's next words made everyone uneasy.

"The power supply company said it would take about... two or three days."

Those people who had relaxed smiles on their faces immediately became uneasy, and more people were called out, and new phone calls were made.

Mr. Charles, who was sitting in the middle of the crowd instilling his ideas into others, also found something wrong. He asked someone to find out that the power was cut off, and it would take several days.

He first thought in his mind that this was a conspiracy!

It must be Mayor Williams who did it, using this method to force others to bow their heads to him and compromise with him.

Many factories have had increasing orders recently. Because of the war, some production plans were sent to the Federation to do.

The number of these orders is not small, and it is no different from ordinary orders. If they cannot be completed within the specified time, they will face huge compensation.

After all, some of these commodities have a direct or indirect relationship with the war, such as some equipment used by engineers.

Before, they were happy because of the sudden large orders, but now, they began to feel uneasy.

More people began to panic, began to be unable to concentrate, and they couldn't stay here anymore.

Mr. Charles couldn't force them, and took the initiative to propose to go to the substation with them to see.

So soon a large group of businessmen drove and came to the substation with Mr. Charles.

Before they got close, everyone smelled a burnt smell, and there were some fire trucks at the scene, looking a bit messy.

Soon they saw the person in charge of the substation here. The person in charge still had some black dust on his face. He looked at these businessmen and didn't know what to say.

"What exactly happened?", Mr. Charles asked.

The person in charge of the substation seemed to have come back to his senses. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and explained, "I don't know. Before the accident, all the equipment was operating normally, and no abnormalities were found during the patrol, but I don't know why, several groups of equipment suddenly exploded."

"To avoid a bigger disaster, we immediately cut off the power supply and called the fire truck."

Mr. Charles looked at the equipment group in the distance, "It seems there is no big problem."

The person in charge of the substation shook his head, "Many equipment have been damaged and cannot be used anymore. This will bring huge safety hazards."

Actually, if you really want to use it hard, it's not impossible, but the power company and the power grid company are not willing to bear the consequences.

If the power grid burns, who will pay for this loss?

Even if they really don't want to cut off power, they won't supply power before the equipment is replaced.

Others asked messily, and the person in charge of the substation kept repeating those few sentences, and the scene was messy.

Just after such an accident, the person in charge of the substation was also full of anger. After answering the questions a few times, he loudly explained the situation, and then left, leaving only the confused businessmen in place.

What about the production plan?

What if there is a breach of contract?

Who should I ask for the liquidated damages?

No one knows.

At this time, some damaged equipment was moved out from inside. Mr. Charles took the initiative to walk to one of the damaged equipment and frowned.

This equipment looked very badly injured. The powerful force made it completely deformed, and a part of it was broken. He didn't know much about whether the substation accident would cause such damage.

In his impression, power problems, at most, melt, rather than like these equipment in front of him, as if destroyed by some huge force.

He was also more certain of his previous thoughts in his heart, and there might be Mayor Williams' shadow.

While appeasing others, he also indicated that he would find a way to transport those equipment here as soon as possible.

A terrible day.

But for the workers, this was obviously a happy day, and they were given a holiday in the second half of the day.

Except for factories that have their own generator sets, the old industrial zone ushered in a rare "tranquility".

Overnight, businessmen were worried and concerned about the transportation of equipment, but it was obvious that bad news was still emerging one after another.

Early the next morning, the person in charge of the substation reported a bad news to some businessmen who came to supervise their work—

"The car transporting the equipment last night had a car accident on the road because of the slippery snow, and the plan to repair the substation might need to be postponed."

This sentence made many businessmen suddenly furious. If they said wait two days, they could barely accept it, then continuing to postpone it now is something they couldn't accept.

But the substation side also had no good way. The equipment loss caused by this explosion was too much.

The local backup equipment was already topped up and not enough, so they could only transfer from other places.

When federal people face problems they cannot solve and explain, they often think these are conspiracies, the result of some force manipulation.

This time they still think so. Some people think this is Mayor Williams' trick. His purpose is to force people to sign some replacement subsidy agreement!

If people could persist before, they thought that even Mayor Williams might not be able to do anything to them.

Then now, they realize they are not "safe".

This is a "high-level war". Actually, some of them understand, but they were all blinded by huge profits.

Even now, there are still people telling them that this is also to stabilize land prices and continue to increase, because Mayor Williams is in a hurry.

He is in a hurry, so he will use this method to try to force them to compromise.

Then they can completely transfer the loss to the mayor or new investment, let them pay more money.

This is indeed a good way, at least it sounds like this.

Land prices are still continuing to rise, and the confrontation between the two interest groups is still continuing.

But there is also a small group of people who have started to regret.

What substation explosion, what slippery snow road car accident, who knows if these are naturally occurring or artificially controlled?

Now the substation can explode, then next time, what will explode?

Persist?

It sounds quite simple, but how to persist?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 650 =====