The crisis of the Forty Thieves was simple: the money was gone!
After Old Ma spent three arduous days working in Hong Kong, Lou Wensheng called him with a voice full of helplessness. He told Old Ma that he was at his wit's end, that there wasn't a single cent left in the account, and that they could no longer disburse funds to the various shops, let alone any subsidies.
"Give me some more time, let me think!"
In fact, during these three days, as long as he wasn't meeting with anyone else, and his mind was free to ponder other things, Old Ma had been constantly thinking about the answer to this problem.
After all, without being able to borrow funds, a broken cash flow had become an inevitable issue. Therefore, Old Ma had to consider what measures he should take to salvage the situation if the cash flow truly reached the brink of breaking.
However, Old Ma had not yet come up with a solution.
After hanging up Lou Wensheng's call, Old Ma felt incredibly dejected. He, who had always been an early riser, suddenly found himself unable to sleep. So, he threw on a coat and quietly slipped out of the hotel, strolling along the streets of Hong Kong, hoping to clear his head with the night breeze.
Then, Old Ma got beaten up.
That's right, he was beaten up. The perpetrators were a group of thugs... no, to be precise, they were a group of triad members.
Actually, Old Ma hadn't done anything. He was just walking normally on the street. Then he saw a commotion up ahead. A group of people wielding baseball bats and even large cleavers were chasing another group of people who were scurrying away with their heads in their hands.
At this moment, Old Ma's most sensible decision should have been to turn around and leave. But our Old Ma had always been the type to show off and act impulsively. So, he decided to stand aside and be a spectator.
Then, unexpectedly, these people ran towards Old Ma's direction. Old Ma was then mistaken for being part of the fleeing group. Before he could react, he was hit several times with sticks and knocked to the ground. After that, someone grabbed him by the neck and restrained him.
In no time, a few more of the escapees were caught. Old Ma and they were all thrown into a dark corner of a street.
The leader of the group said, "Haven't you asked around? Who controls this street? Let me tell you, it's your grandpa, Brother Haodong of Sanxing. If any of you dare to cause trouble at the entrance of Yuandong again, I'll beat you up every time I see you. I won't kill you, but I'll cripple your lower body, making you unable to take care of yourselves, leaving you wishing you were dead but unable to die!"
"However, Boss Xu is a benevolent person. He said that in two months, he will come to Biqian and pay all your wages at once. But whoever dares to quit will not get a single cent!"
After speaking, this Brother Haodong, with immense dominance, led his subordinates away, leaving only these beaten individuals to curse inwardly. Then, one by one, they helped each other up and emerged into the light of the street. It was only then that they exclaimed in surprise and asked, "Sir, are you with us too?"
"I was just passing by..." Old Ma said, with a wry smile. He really had the worst luck in eight lifetimes, coming out for some fresh air and getting beaten up, and for such an inexplicable reason.
"Alas, you've been wronged. We implicated you and got you beaten up too!" one of them sighed. Old Ma then noticed that these people who were speaking were all quite old, around forty or fifty years old, with dark skin, hunched backs, and calluses on their hands. They looked like pitiable individuals who had been doing heavy manual labor for years.
"Why did they hit you?" Old Ma asked, confused. Since he had been beaten, he might as well find out the reason for it!
"Alas, we just wanted to get our wages back!" Hearing Old Ma's inquiry, the elder immediately poured out all his pent-up grievances.
It turned out that these people were all laborers from the lowest strata of Hong Kong. They made a living by transporting goods for others at the docks. Their main client was a company called Yuandong.
They had originally agreed to settle their wages once a month. At first, it was fine, but later on, their wages were delayed more and more. After working for half a year, they were already three months behind on their wages.
When they went to ask for it, the boss said that the company wasn't making money and that there wasn't a single cent in the bank account. He said that he would pay their outstanding wages only after the company's performance improved.
After asking several times without success, they felt that continuing to work for this company was just selling their labor for nothing and that they couldn't even support their families.
So, they decided to quit first, find other jobs, and continue to demand money from Yuandong Company.
However, when they went to resign, the boss of Yuandong Company suddenly changed his tune. He viciously told them that if they wanted to resign, it was fine, but once they left the company, they shouldn't expect a single cent of the six months of wages owed to them. He wouldn't give them a penny!
Just as they were filled with immense anger, this boss suddenly changed his expression again. He told them that the company had recently received a small sum of money, so he decided to generously pay them all their wages with this small sum. Thus, each person received half a month's wages. He then gave each of them another half month's wages, saying that the company would receive more outstanding payments in the future and would then make up all their wages.
But whoever dared to quit would get absolutely nothing.
So, these poor workers, thinking about the three months of wages they were owed and looking at the half-month's wages they had just received, found their desire to leave halved. At the same time, they harbored beautiful hopes, perhaps after some time, the boss would really make up all the wages?
Then, they worked for another four months. However, during these four months, the company didn't pay a single cent.
A few days ago, they went to the company to collectively demand money. The boss, with great distress, gave them half a month's wages, saying he had sold his coffin money to pay them, and asked them to continue working.
These workers weren't fools. They naturally saw through the boss's trick, using half a month's wages to compensate for their three months of hard work. They truly considered themselves the biggest fools in the world.
So, these workers blocked the entrance of Yuandong Company this morning to protest, and their protests were loud. Many reporters and media outlets were attracted.
However, Yuandong Company had long since closed its doors, and no one came out to respond to the matter. They waited at the company entrance until the evening. Only after the reporters had left did they have to disperse and go home.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they reached this street, they ran into those triad members and were brutally beaten.
"What are you going to do now?" Old Ma asked sympathetically after listening to the story of these unlucky workers.
"This..." However, this question plunged all the workers into a dilemma. Although they had all seen through this boss's scheme, the best course of action was to leave, stop working for him, and continue to demand their money.
But since this boss dared to hire thugs to beat them, he must not be afraid of trouble. Moreover, it was rumored that Yuandong had very powerful backing. They couldn't fight Yuandong, and ultimately, they wouldn't be able to get their money back.
"Why don't we work for another two months!" Suddenly, someone said, "Didn't that Brother Dong just say that Boss Xu would settle our wages in two months?"
"That's bullshit!" Old Ma said without hesitation. "This Boss Xu will probably only give you another half month's wages then, tricking you into continuing to work for him. He will absolutely not pay you all your wages."
"That's true... but what if..."
"There's no 'what if'. If you received all your wages, you would definitely resign and leave immediately, and you wouldn't work for this guy for free anymore. This greedy scoundrel would never do such a thing!" Old Ma was such a smart person, he saw through Boss Xu's calculations and true nature at a glance.
"But if we quit, our six months of wages will really be gone!"
"Yes, six months of wages. How can we leave!"
These people sighed, constantly cursing Boss Xu, but few of them mentioned quitting and leaving anymore. They all seemed to be looking forward to Boss Xu settling their overdue wages in two months.
Finally, these people were unwilling to pay attention to Old Ma, who was desperately trying to persuade them. They left on their own, leaving Old Ma alone in the wind, bewildered.
"These fools, they deserve to be cheated!" Old Ma said angrily. A cold wind blew, and Old Ma shivered. At the same time, a flash of lightning struck his mind. He suddenly thought of something terrible, causing his pupils to shrink instantly, like those of a dead person.
But soon, his pupils dilated again, and they were even filled with light.
"I know what to do!" Old Ma stomped his feet excitedly. Then, with a bleeding head, he rushed back to the hotel.
Ignoring the astonished gaze of the front desk staff, he stormed back to his room, picked up his phone, and directly dialed Lou Wensheng's number.
"Boss, do you have a solution? Or have you found the funds?" Lou Wensheng asked excitedly.
"We don't need any funds. I'll be back tomorrow. We don't have to look at anyone's face. We can solve this crisis with our own strength!" Old Ma laughed heartily.
"Really?" Lou Wensheng was overjoyed. He had been struggling for a long time, and in Old Ma's position, he was extremely cautious, feeling tormented every second.
Now that Old Ma was returning, he could finally be relieved.
"Then the merchants' payments for goods..."
"What's the hurry? It won't kill anyone if it's late, and they haven't even shipped their goods yet. Why are they in such a hurry for money! We'll talk about it when I get back!" Old Ma said unapologetically.
At the same time, his gaze fell upon a tall office building in the distance. The neon sign of Yuandong Group emitted a brilliant glow.
[PS: Old Ma's storyline will conclude tomorrow... probably...]