"Everyone, calm down, calm down!"
"This is not how you solve problems. If you have opinions, let's discuss them thoroughly at the factory. Huddling here like this is just giving the other factories a reason to laugh at us."
The factory director at the entrance was sweating profusely.
Even though he was no longer the person in charge of this second factory, if something went wrong, he was the one likely to take the blame.
In such a situation, he might even lose his position as director.
He had never expected things to escalate to this point.
However, he had no authority, and there were many things he couldn't do even if he wanted to.
What was even more infuriating was that Liu Dalong still hadn't shown up, clearly indicating he didn't want to deal with this matter. He felt utterly disheartened but could only face these fellow workers alone.
"Director, stop trying to fool us. We all know what's going on."
"If Liu Dalong doesn't give us a satisfactory explanation today, we're not leaving."
"We're all still factory employees, and it's not illegal to stand outside our own factory gate."
An old man spoke with great sincerity. Was he dissatisfied with the factory?
Strictly speaking, all the employees of the second factory, except for those who benefited, were dissatisfied with the factory.
Not to mention the large number of people who were laid off and were struggling to support themselves. Even those who were still working.
Although they were still employed, their wages and benefits were far from what they used to be.
Liu Dalong naturally bore the primary responsibility for the reforms that led to this situation.
However, the economic system transformation was also imminent. In the past, even if the factory had no orders, the higher authorities would still provide subsidies.
And now? Forget about subsidies. Even orders were few and far between. It was a loss-making situation, and it would be strange if nothing went wrong.
Who didn't know how good the benefits of state-owned factories were? How many people knew what crisis the entire factory would face once these benefits disappeared?
"What are you doing, what do you all want to do?"
"Are you rebelling? Do you have any respect for the factory leadership? You people, trying to demand an explanation from the factory, who gave you the courage?"
Finally, amidst the noise, Liu Dalong, who had been prepared to play dead and not appear, finally emerged, unable to control his anger.
He knew clearly that no matter how much he tried to hide, he wouldn't get away with this situation today.
What he wanted now was to find the source of this problem and control the organizers, so that he might have a chance to turn things around.
Otherwise, a riot could bring him down. Given what he had done in the factory.
It was hard to imagine what he would face once he was out of power.
"Director Liu, what a display of authority."
"We all know what you've done in this factory."
"Someone like you, how dare you call yourself a factory leader?"
"What factory leader would treat the second factory as their own, taking whatever they eat, use, or can get into their pockets and not share it?"
Seeing that Liu Dalong could no longer sit still, Yu Zhou, from within the crowd, also stood up and spoke.
This matter was, of course, his plan.
Even though he knew that relying solely on this riot was unrealistic to fully avenge himself and send Liu Dalong to prison.
However, to bring him down, or at least to stop him from causing more trouble, this action was necessary.
He had caused such a scene just to collect a little interest.
According to his calculations, this was not a good thing.
But it couldn't be helped that when the entire factory saw someone organizing, everyone became indignant.
Old Zhang from the East District had his only daughter ruined by Liu Dalong, which caused his prospective son-in-law to back out, and his entire family was now facing unemployment.
Liu Da Zhu's family in the South District was even more unfortunate. To secure a spot to stay, they had almost gone bankrupt, but in the end, they were still on the list.
Coupled with Yu Zhou's family, who were subjected to attempted bullying and then both husband and wife were dismissed from their public positions.
What Liu Dalong had done was truly an outrage.
Some people might not dare to do anything to him because he had powerful connections, but once everyone was dissatisfied and gathered together, it would become a force that could not be underestimated.
"Yu Zhou! It's you?"
The moment Liu Dalong saw Yu Zhou, he immediately understood what was going on.
His lungs were about to explode with anger.
He had gone to trouble Yu Zhou in the morning, and he didn't expect the retaliation to come so quickly in the afternoon.
Gathering so many people to demand an explanation at the factory was not something that could be easily accomplished.
It was only because this guy had some ability, and coupled with his visit to Yu Zhou's home that morning to reclaim the house, that it had become a catalyst. As a result, even he was now in a difficult position.
What to do? Everything that needed to be done had been done. Even if he regretted it now, it was too late.
He could only invite a few people who had the authority to handle such matters to suppress this incident, so that he could continue to do as he pleased in the second factory.
Would Yu Zhou give him this opportunity?
If it were someone else, Liu Dalong might have been able to buy them off with money or other promises. As long as the organizer was dealt with, most of the workers would not be a threat.
But now? The organizer was his sworn enemy. Yu Zhou probably wished him dead immediately.
In this case, was there any room for compromise between them?
"What? You can act outrageously, and we workers must endure your oppression? Is there such a principle in this world?"
"Besides, although you are the deputy director, this second factory is not yours personally. What right do you have to accuse us?"
Yu Zhou spoke very precisely, ensuring that his opponent would not find any loopholes.
It was precisely because of this that Liu Dalong's expression became very grim.
His mind was racing, trying to figure out a way, but for a moment, he couldn't come up with a good solution.
"You few leaders, don't you want fairness?"
"Fine, I will give you fairness. However, I don't know if you have the courage to come inside and talk with me?"
Liu Dalong, who had taken the initiative, spoke loudly after a brief silence.
Since he couldn't win them over, he could only try to divide them. At least, the incident needed to be quelled for now.