The Dragon City Rises：Wei Jie

Inside Yang Decheng’s office at Baolong Mining Company.

Su Tianbei, filled with hatred, pinned down Old Yang and hammered his head with over a dozen punches, bloodying his nose.

At the doorway, security personnel and company executives who had rushed in intending to break up the fight, hesitated when they saw Lu Feng, gun in hand, staring at them with fierce eyes. They were intimidated.

It was one thing if the gun didn’t go off, but quite another if it did. None of them could be sure if Lu Feng wouldn’t fire a third shot.

Lu Feng glanced at the crowd, casually sat on the sofa, and frowned, saying, “I have nothing to say to you bastards. Even if I did, you wouldn’t have the authority. Fine, you call your superiors and tell them the Tongji Association and Changqing Company are here for compensation. If they don’t get it, they’ll start killing people.”

The management leaders standing at the door breathed a sigh of relief, replying fiercely, “You just wait!”

…

Five minutes later.

At Baolong Group headquarters, the beautiful Vice President Zhang Taotao rose and told her secretary, “Inform Director Miao, who oversees mining, and Director Yang from the development department, that we’ll have a meeting in the small conference room. There’s been a problem at the mining company.”

“Yes, Director Zhang!”

Having spoken, Zhang Taotao grabbed her tailored suit jacket and quickly left the office.

A short while later, Zhang Taotao, holding a cup of coffee, strode into the small conference room next to the president's office.

Inside, Vice President Miao Ziwei of Baolong Group, and the development department manager, were already seated with seven or eight other senior executives.

A brief introduction to Miao Ziwei: he was the half-brother of the Baolong Group’s president, twenty-nine years old this year. After graduating from a university in the First District, he joined his brother’s company. He spent three years polishing his skills at the grassroots level, and another year training in management before being promoted to vice president. Currently, he owns a certain share of Baolong Group’s stock.

Apart from Zhang Taotao, Miao Ziwei was probably the youngest board shareholder and group vice president in Baolong Group. But some said that Miao Ziwei was holding the shares on behalf of someone else because his father had an extensive network in the First District, which was why the group shareholders approved of this.

Miao Ziwei also had handsome features, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a hint of mixed European descent. So, judging from his appearance alone, he was definitely a young, promising, and extremely rich man.

After Zhang Taotao entered the conference room, she casually found a seat, without exchanging pleasantries with everyone. Instead, she cut straight to the chase: “The mining company has had a bit of a conflict with the subordinate labor union over compensation issues. I heard that guns were even involved. Since the decision-makers for the mining operations are all here, let’s have a brief discussion about this matter.”

“Yes, I heard about it too. Old Yang’s deputy called me,” Miao Ziwei replied with a frown. “Personally, I don’t think there’s much to discuss. Someone fired a gun and injured people. We should just report it to the police and go through the legal process.”

Zhang Taotao paused. “Going through the legal process is fine, but how do we handle the compensation? I’ve also looked into the situation at the mining company. The legal department says that the insurance company won’t recognize the claim. We can only resolve the dispute through a lawsuit, but the chances of winning are actually very small because the policy was indeed not in effect on the date of the incident. This means that the compensation issue may have to be borne by our company itself.”

Miao Ziwei took a sip of coffee. “The mining company is all about cash flow, and the financial chain is extremely tight. If we draw out more than 100 million to pay compensation, the group will have to re-inject capital into the mining operations, which will cause a chain reaction. My idea is to pay a smaller portion first, maybe ten or twenty million, to appease the workers and alleviate the pressure from the municipality. We can delay the remaining money for a while.”

“If the money is given slowly, what if the workers sue?” Zhang Taotao’s communication with the other party was very direct, and she didn’t say a single unnecessary word from beginning to end. “And we also have to consider the labor union’s factor. They definitely won’t tolerate us delaying for too long. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened today.”

Miao Ziwei smiled upon hearing this. “A lawsuit is the most ideal outcome! I can’t wait for them to sue us.”

The development department manager next to him also echoed with a smile, “A lawsuit would be great. In the first round, the mining company responds to the suit, and in the second round, the entire group responds. After two rounds, it will take at least two or three years. By then, our mining operations’ financial pressure will definitely be alleviated. We’ll just pay according to the judgment. This way, we won’t even have to give the initial ten or twenty million in compensation, saving us money, ha ha! Just think about it this way: if you borrow more than 100 million from the bank, how much interest would you have to pay in three years?! Apart from the losing fee and late payment fine, we’ll have almost no additional losses.”

“This will have some impact on the company’s image,” Zhang Taotao reminded.

“The negative impact can’t be solved at the moment. When a mine accident happens, no matter how you explain it, it’s a blemish on the company’s reputation. Compared to that, delaying compensation and fighting a lawsuit are nothing,” Miao Ziwei spread his hands and replied. “Besides, we’re not saying we won’t pay. It’s just that this matter itself involves a three-way dispute. The insurance company won’t recognize it, so we have to appeal, right? Before the workers were hired, didn’t we pay a portion of insurance premiums? I’m not saying we’re not taking care of the workers, am I? From a neutral perspective, we’re also victims, the losing party.”

Zhang Taotao was silent after hearing these words.

“Also, I find this Tongji Association and Changqing Company’s actions disgusting,” Miao Ziwei frowned. “The mine accident happened less than two days ago, and they were already on our heels demanding money, and even threatening to shoot and kill people if we didn’t pay. What the hell is that if not a gang?! Let me tell you, Director Zhang, the more you indulge these organizations, the more arrogant and ignorant they become! Just based on the fact that they brought guns into the mining company and injured people, I won’t easily give them the compensation. Let the workers’ families go to their headquarters and make trouble. I’ll crush them to death.”

Zhang Taotao frowned slightly and said directly, “The compensation of 980,000 per person is indeed a bit high, because that’s the maximum amount of insurance payout, a theoretical figure. But we can negotiate with the subordinate labor union and re-discuss the compensation amount. If they are willing to take a smaller portion, then we should pay it as soon as possible to restore the company’s image. I think it’s quite worthwhile. Of course, their shooting and injuring people is absolutely intolerable. I also agree with going through official channels…”

“I really don’t have any money here, Director Zhang!” Miao Ziwei shook his head. “The mining area will be shut down for at least a few months, right? This loss, increasing and decreasing, has already put the mining operations’ financial chain in the red. If we take out another 100 million, this hole can’t be plugged.”

Having reached this point, Zhang Taotao didn’t say anymore, because she could already see that Miao Ziwei didn’t want to touch the mining company’s money. Moreover, Yang Decheng was also his man, and the actions of the Tongji Association and Changqing Company were equivalent to indirectly angering Miao Ziwei.

After the two parties finished communicating, Zhang Taotao didn’t try to persuade him anymore. She simply got up and said, “Then let’s do it according to your idea.”

“Okay.” Miao Ziwei also stood up. “Director Zhang, let me treat you to dinner tonight.”

“Heh, forget it. I haven’t even dealt with Old Pang’s matter yet,” Zhang Taotao smiled and turned to leave.

Miao Ziwei stood in the small conference room, turned to the development department manager, and said, “Report it to the police and pursue their criminal liability.”

…

On the highway back to Dragon City, Su Tianyu shouted at Da Bai, “The rain is lighter, we can go, we can go!”