Guard Against Your Own People as You Would Against Thieves

"Mr. Raine," Fagin replied with a smile, "Our demands were not just conveyed to you. They were announced two days ago through our strike declaration. The official documents we brought today are unchanged from the declaration two days ago. If you require us to spend time repeating these contents, I think it's either a waste of time or a sign of your lack of sincerity."

"We... we have seen it, of course... but, but Brother Nield, you have to understand us. We're not having an easy time either. We're facing a lot of external pressure. You workers don't know how hard it is to make money these days. Those damn Netherlands, those damn United States, those damn Spain and Italy, they're all trying to steal our business. If we can't compete with them, our factories will all go out of business. And if our factories go out of business, then nobody will have anything to eat."

Therefore, Brother Nield, we factory owners and you workers are actually interdependent, sharing a common destiny. We are not enemies, but comrades-in-arms in the same ranks. We must understand each other and unite sincerely. Although there are some minor difficulties at the moment, these are only temporary. As long as we work together and overcome these small difficulties, my brothers, believe me, these difficulties are only temporary, and we will definitely have a better life in the future. As long as we..."

Raine launched into a torrent of toxic motivational rhetoric at the worker representatives. Fagin, on the other hand, simply watched his ramblings with indifference, as if observing a theatrical performance.

Raine went on and on about the same old thing for a while before finally stopping. Then, looking sincerely at Fagin and the other worker representatives, he asked, "What do you think of what I said?"

"Hehe... hehe..." Fagin and the other worker representatives laughed together.

"Mr. Raine, do you know? Before I came to the city, I farmed in the countryside. Several families in our village shared a horse to pull the plow. One day, I was driving it to work when it suddenly said to me, ' Nield, you haven't fed me hay yet! How can I work on an empty stomach?' I said, 'Ah, just bear with it. After the autumn harvest, when the oats are ripe and plentiful, I'll feed you oats. What hay are you feeding me now?' Then the horse got very angry and said, 'By the time your oats are plentiful, I'll have starved to death! You'll have skinned me and sold me to the tanneries, and you'll have used my meat to make soup!' Haha... Mr. Raine, do you think we're even dumber than that horse?"

The surrounding worker representatives burst into laughter. Raine was taken aback at first, then joined in, saying, "Brother Nield, you've misunderstood me. Why would I want the horse to run without feeding it? It's just that we've encountered a few difficulties and need everyone's support to get through this together. We see your struggles and are concerned for you. I know we initially overlooked your difficulties; this new contract does have some issues, but we're all friends, and things can be discussed, right? Yes, we need to discuss it together, each taking a step back, and see if we can reach a result that satisfies everyone."

He paused, glanced at everyone, and continued, "Brothers, you all came all the way from the factory, right? The factory is really far away and inconvenient. Well, it's getting late, it's time for lunch. How about we treat you all to lunch first, and then we can talk more?"

Fagin smiled slightly and said, "No need for your concern, Mr. Raine. We lowly folks can't handle good food. We wouldn't be able to digest your stuff; it would give us stomach aches. We've already prepared our own food and drink. If Mr. Raine really cares about the workers' well-being, wouldn't it be enough to simply revise your bloodsucking contracts to our demands? Don't you agree?"

"That's right!"

"That's right!"

The other representatives burst into laughter. One of them even said, "What's the fox up to by inviting the hen to dinner? We'll never know what it wants to eat!"

Despite the mockery, Raine remained unfazed. He continued, "Since everyone lives so far from here, it's inconvenient for you to travel back and forth every day. This isn't something that can be resolved in a day. We've already booked rooms at the Peace Hotel next door, so you can all stay there tonight. It'll be much more convenient. Of course, we'll cover both food and lodging. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Fagin smiled slightly, thinking to himself, "They've come after all!"

Fagin knew what Raine was doing. His goal was to separate the worker representatives and then defeat them one by one. Fagin knew that the representatives who came here were all brave men, who wouldn't flinch even if faced with knives and axes. But Fagin didn't know whether these tough men could still stand firm once they were tempted by money.

If Fagin and the representatives agreed to stay there, Fagin could easily guess what would happen next. That night, when the representatives were asleep, the door would suddenly open, and then Raine and his men would show them money and beautiful women, then produce a parchment scroll containing a contract to sell their souls, forcing them to sign their names.

Fagin could even picture them saying to the representatives, "If you help us, all this money and this woman are yours. What, you're worried about retaliation? Heh, don't worry, don't worry. With this money, you can take her, take a ship to Americas, and start a new life somewhere Americas. Who will be able to find you then? Just think about it, all you have to do is sign a document, and you'll have everything. From then on, you can live a completely different life..."

Fagin had considerable doubt about how many of these representatives could resist such temptation. His Fagin had told him not to test human nature, not to think he could truly withstand temptation. Not everyone is Jesus, and not everyone can withstand the devil's trials.

The reason why the previous generation's Fagin was ultimately hanged was because one of the people he trusted most sold him out for thirty silver coins.

Therefore, before the negotiations began, Fagin established the most important rule for these negotiations. "At no time should the delegates separate or act alone. Even when going to the toilet, showering, or sleeping, they must be together. This applies at the negotiation site, on the way to and from the negotiation, and after returning to the factory area, and continues until an agreement is reached. Anyone who violates this rule during this period will be unconditionally disqualified. If any delegate is disqualified, the negotiations must be suspended, and a new election must be held. The delegate who was previously disqualified for violating the rules will be disqualified from being elected."

This strict and seemingly inhumane rule, which caused great inconvenience to everyone, was not understood at first. Some representatives even said, "Isn't this treating our own people like thieves? How can you do such a thing?"

But Fagin was adamant. He asked the other delegates directly, "If someone approached you alone with a thousand pounds or more, telling you that if you sided with them, you could get the money, enough to go to Americas, buy a large piece of land, and even buy some slaves to farm for you, so you could live a life of comfort and abundance, tell me honestly, wouldn't you be tempted?"

"Of course I'm not tempted!" one representative said immediately, though his voice gradually lowered.

"Bill, do you believe the other delegates can resist such temptation?"

So Bill fell silent.

So Fagin continued, "Jesus once went into the desert alone and spent seven days there, succumbing to the devil's temptations. In the end, he overcame the devil, and the Spirit of God filled him. But are we Jesus? Which of us dares to say that if I went into the desert, I could succumb to the devil's temptations for seven days without wavering, just like Jesus? I don't know about you, but at least I don't have that much confidence in myself. If I were really put in Jesus' situation, I'm afraid I would become the devil's prey on the very first day. You should also know that you are not Jesus."

Since none of us are Jesus, how can we face the devil alone? Therefore, my suggestion may seem like I'm treating everyone like thieves, and in fact, I am. But it stems from my love for you all, to reduce your chances of being tempted, making mistakes, or even committing crimes. I hope you can understand and support me on this issue."

Everyone fell silent. After a while, Bill spoke first, "Fagin is right. If there really were a thousand pounds in front of me, I honestly wouldn't know... There's no such thing in front of me right now, and just thinking about it makes me feel... I don't trust you guys anymore. Let alone if it were real! So, if we want to be worthy of these tens of thousands of brothers, we really have to treat ourselves and you guys like thieves!"

"Exactly! After thinking about it carefully, I immediately realized that even I don't trust myself anymore. I think Boss Fagin is right. Let's do it this way! Think about it, no matter how inconvenient or difficult it is, it's only for a few days. Besides, it's not that difficult. Compared to the hardships we've endured, this is nothing!"

Thus, this rule was adopted.

So Fagin smiled and replied, "No need for you to trouble yourself, Mr. Raine. We're all destined to be busy; we feel uncomfortable if we don't walk around every day. We feel more comfortable staying in our own little kennels."