Chapter 1 The Gift of Gab

Inside the Su family compound.

Facing Bai Hongbo’s almost accusatory “joke,” Su Tianyu immediately picked up the wine bottle and poured himself two and a half *liang* (approximately 50ml) of *baijiu* (white liquor), stood up, and replied, “Brother Bai, even if you didn't mention the Longqing Company's garbage dump, I still have to thank you in person.”

“Heh, what are you thanking me for?” Bai Hongbo retorted with a sneer. He was definitely a bit unhappy with Su Tianyu, because the latter had acted against Lu Feng without consulting anyone. After it was over, he inexplicably caused Da Bai to get beaten up, so naturally, he felt a bit resentful.

Su Tianyu looked at the learned Da Bai with a sincere expression, his tone forceful and measured as he said, “Brother Bai, I admit I was impulsive about the garbage dump. Originally, Big Brother asked me to go there just to listen in, but I didn't expect Lu Feng to boast about wanting to cut my second brother, so I couldn't hold back and went after him. After hitting him, I regretted it. If you hadn't sent people to stop Lu Feng, Brother Bai, I might not have been able to get out of the garbage dump, so I have to thank you in person.”

Listening to his younger brother's words, Su Tiannan immediately interjected, “Ah, so it was Brother Bai who had people help you stop Lu Feng?”

“Yes, we ran off separately at the time,” Su Tianyu nodded. “Lu Feng kept looking for me after leaving the main building. Brother Bai blocked him for me, so I could run out.”

Su Miaomiao's eyes sparkled, and upon hearing this, she immediately raised her glass and said to Bai Hongbo, “Brother Bai, I really didn't expect that you were the one who saved my brother! To be honest, few workers here in Zha Nan aren't afraid of Lu Feng. You're such a man. For that alone, I have to drink a toast to you.”

Bai Hongbo was a little dumbfounded when he heard this. He thought, "So this is how you Su family understood it?" Since that's how they understood it, he couldn't very well say that he got beaten up because he was too slow; that would be too damaging to his image as someone who pretends to be impressive.

“What man or not,” Bai Hongbo casually waved his hand and said softly, “Little Su just happened to run into me. Lu Feng came out with people, carrying knives, and rushed straight at him. I had a lot of people with me, so could I just ignore Little Su? Well, since the four families have banded together, we should help each other.”

“Brother Bai is a real man! I heard that you guys took down several people from Lu Feng's side,” Su Tianyu immediately said respectfully, raising his glass. “I have to toast you for that, no matter what.”

“Come, come, let's all toast Brother Bai,” Su Tiannan also called out.

All the Su family members stood up, raising their glasses to Bai Hongbo. The latter had originally wanted to use this opportunity to put pressure on the Su family, saying that since they were the ones who started this, they should naturally take the lead in the subsequent events. But he didn't expect that before he could even drink, he seemed to have become the main force against Longqing Company.

“Come on, let's all drink together,” Brother Bai said, grinning as he emptied his glass, hearing everyone's compliments.

“To a real man!”

The Su family members clinked glasses with Bai Hongbo and drank it all in one gulp.

Half an hour later, Bai Hongbo had been plied with so much alcohol that he was dazed, grabbing Su Tiannan's hand and saying with a stiff tongue, “After the fight at the garbage dump, I called Lu Feng. I originally wanted to….”

“After the fight, you still called Lu Feng?” Su Tianyu asked proactively from the side.

Bai Hongbo was stunned for a moment, and he instantly realized that he almost blurted out the truth, “Ah…no, he called me, but I cursed him out. Others are afraid of him, but I'm not afraid of him. What I mean is, since we can't come to an agreement, then the four families must be tied together to handle this well and get the old man out as soon as possible. Tiannan, just do it with peace of mind. Brother Bai will definitely support you.”

“Okay, okay, Brother Bai,” Su Tiannan nodded repeatedly.

Su Tianyu looked at Bai Hongbo with a smile and raised his glass again, saying, “Brother Bai, for that remark alone, I have to toast you again.”

“Little Su, it's not that I look down on you, but when it comes to drinking, three of you tied together wouldn't be a match for me.”

“Then I'll risk my life to accompany a real man.”

“Come on, bottoms up!”

“……!”

Twenty minutes later, Bai Hongbo was slumped on the table, foam flecking his lips, slurring, “Damn, I forgot, I have knife wounds. The doctor seems to have told me not to drink…Xizi, why is my heart beating so fast? Am I going to die…?”

Hearing this, the follower from the Bai family stood up and replied, “It's okay, they didn't tell you not to drink. The medicine you took doesn't react with alcohol.”

“No, my heart is beating too fast. Miaomiao, you studied nursing. Help me check….” Bai Hongbo, drunk as a lord, didn't forget to flirt.

……

After the family banquet, Bai Hongbo was helped away by his family, while Su Tianyu, Su Tiannan, Su Miaomiao, and others sat in the courtyard's small pavilion, chatting.

“Xiaoyu, do you think the strike can save your second uncle?” Su Tiannan asked directly.

Su Tianyu was the type who didn't show it on his face when he drank; as long as he didn't pass out, no one knew how much he could hold. At this moment, he held a teacup and replied in a low voice, “The strike will definitely save Second Uncle, because Longqing Company's goal isn't to kill anyone, but to make a profit. In other words, if there's no profit to be made, they won't offend anyone to the point of death. But if their profits are affected, they'll naturally cut their losses quickly. But the prerequisite for all of this is that we can persevere and create a time and event effect.”

Su Tiannan nodded and continued, “I'm just afraid we won't be able to persevere for long.”

“The workers are key. As long as the workers don't scatter and are willing to speak out, Longqing Company will definitely compromise if we hold out long enough,” Su Tianyu looked at his elder brother and added, “But what you can see, Longqing Company can definitely see as well, because the cooperation between the workers and the four families is our weakest link.”

“That makes sense,” Su Miaomiao nodded slowly.

“My suggestion is that if Second Brother is free these few days, he should keep an eye on the workers, especially the group that's protesting at the Management Committee. They're very important to us,” Su Tianyu said concisely.

“What about the other three families?” Su Tiannan asked in return.

Su Tianyu was silent for a moment. “Big Brother, we can't control everyone. The other three families can't either. We just need to stabilize our position and wait for time to create an event effect.”

Su Tiannan was silent.

“Big Brother, we have to protect ourselves first before we can protect others. I'll say it again, I'm learning about the situation in Longcheng as I go. You'll have to make the decisions on how to proceed,” Su Tianyu added.

“Let's do as you say,” Su Tiannan replied.

Su Tianyu took a sip of tea and said with a smile, “I'll go take a look at the freight yard these few days. Our family has been in this industry for so long, but I still don't know how things work normally.”

“Be careful. Lu Feng lost an ear. He'll come looking for you sooner or later,” Su Tianbei reminded him.

“Heh, it's okay,” Su Tianyu replied with a smile.

……

The next day, the strike continued, and it had also gained some traction and influence among the public, because many workers had protested at the Management Committee yesterday, and the word was out.

Near noon, more than four hundred people gathered at the entrance of the District Management Committee, not causing trouble or provoking a crowd, but only holding banners to express their demands.

With so many people blocking the entrance, the Zha Nan District police department couldn't pretend not to see it. They had already sent more than a dozen police officers to maintain order in the morning.

A business car with dark tinted windows stopped in front of the Management Committee around one o'clock in the afternoon. Lu Feng sat in the middle row seat, crossed his legs, and scanned the crowd. “Go take a look. Who's shouting the loudest?”

……

In the Bai family, Bai Hongbo sat on the bed with a splitting headache, asking the follower who went to the Su family with him yesterday, “Hey, what were we going to do at the Su family yesterday? Why did I forget?”

“I don't know either. I was too drunk. I just remember a group of people surrounding you, saying you were a real man,” the follower replied groggily.

Bai Hongbo: “Damn, everyone on Earth knows that. Did they need to say it?!”