That evening, Kong Zhenghui, Liu the Second, and Bai Hongbo stayed at the Su family's home until past eleven. Only after they had thoroughly discussed everything that came next did the three leave together.
Early the next morning, all four companies-the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong companies-shut down. The streets went unswept at dawn, and the overnight garbage was not collected as required. The entire sanitation system in Zhannan District was nearly paralyzed. Apart from Changqing Company and a handful of tiny firms that were still working, more than sixty-five percent of sanitation workers went "on leave." The stated reason was that their companies could no longer afford their wages. With no money to earn, naturally, nobody went to work.
A single day of sanitation paralysis was not enough to attract public attention, much less make anyone suspect infighting among sanitation companies. But to the Management Council responsible for the matter, this was a major incident that could not be ignored. The council officials overseeing Zhannan District therefore held an emergency meeting first thing that morning.
Leaving aside the infighting and verbal sparring among the higher-ups, just how much had the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong Families paid to shut down simultaneously?
First, the companies would certainly have to cover their employees' wages during the shutdown. The managers taking the lead in cooperating also had to receive tangible benefits, so shelling out money was unavoidable.
Second, shutting down was a double-edged sword. Once they did it, they were confronting not just Changqing Company, but the upper ranks of the Management Council as well. They were undoubtedly violating their contracts and might even antagonize the district government. By joining forces and leaving most of Zhannan District's garbage with nowhere to go, the four companies were creating a negative impact and a major headache for the higher-ups. That greatly increased their exposure to risk. In other words, if the shutdown failed to produce a favorable outcome, the resulting problems down the road could prove fatal.
Put simply, with no other way out of their predicament, the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong Families had chosen to go all in. And the man pushing it forward was Su Tianyu, who had only just arrived in Dragon City.
After ten that morning, the core younger members of all four families went to Zhannan District's sanitation administration office to petition and protest. Their complaint was that Changqing Company was using violence to establish an illegal monopoly and leaving the other contractors no way to survive.
This effectively put Changqing Company over the fire as well, because this was not a place with stable conditions and a healthy political structure. Dragon City's political and social environments were both extremely complicated and warped. More than twenty years earlier, before the Late-World Little Ice Age had fully ended, there had been Nine Great Residential Zones around the globe. Thanks to their formidable infrastructure-building capabilities, the Chinese had been the first to adapt to the apocalyptic conditions, securing all three residential zones in the Asian Alliance for themselves.
As people gradually adapted to the disaster, an even more terrifying man-made catastrophe arrived. Many exceptionally capable and ambitious individuals seized the opportunity presented by the apocalypse to rise to power, consolidate resources, and control governments. They became modern-day warlords with vast resources at their command.
Where there was division, there would naturally be unification. After decades of development, the three Chinese zones were the first to unify. The defeated warlords and political parties, having ties to overseas forces and hoping to make a comeback, took several million people with them as they fled to District One overseas-troops, military families, elites, and ordinary civilians alike. These exiles gradually settled under the political system of European Union District One, eventually forming the present-day Dragon City, populated primarily by overseas Chinese.
When Dragon City was first established, the government of European Union District One wanted to administer it directly. After several years of trial and error, however, they discovered they simply could not effectively govern these displaced overseas Chinese. The residents felt little allegiance to the District One government, and some policies would be attacked over discrimination, human rights, and other issues before they were even implemented. Every dispute would be dragged into public discussion, making it a tremendous headache.
After repeated efforts yielded poor results, European Union District One wisely chose to let the overseas Chinese govern themselves. Under Dragon City's current political system, the Chinese held the core authority, but remained under the supervision of the District One government. In other words, everyday affairs were theirs to handle, but major matters still required approval from the upper ranks of the European Union District One government.
This arrangement was convenient and effective. Indeed, Dragon City had developed rapidly over the past few years, drawing merchants from all over the world who believed the place was paved with gold and offered opportunities to make their names and fortunes. But under this political arrangement, most overseas Chinese public officials also felt they were working for outsiders. Corruption became rampant, public security deteriorated, violent companies proliferated, and various political factions fought for power. The situation closely resembled that of a certain port city in the fifties and sixties, before its return to the motherland.
Thus, as long as this conflict over interests did not spiral out of control, neither the Management Council's higher-ups nor the government departments could be bothered to intervene. But if it produced a major scandal that caught the attention of the supervisory authorities above them, there would still be trouble.
That was why the shutdown of the four companies also put Changqing Company in a very uncomfortable position. In a stable era, who the fuck would dare leave the garbage uncollected? They would surely be crushed for it. But the distribution of power in Dragon City was extremely complicated, with numerous factions even within the Management Council. Once things blew up, how would anyone bring them to an end?
At one in the afternoon.
Li Hongze, the owner of Changqing Company, rode in his luxury car to an upscale apartment building in Longkou District. Inside a lavish residence spanning a full four hundred square meters, he met Zheng Fu'an, the Sanitation Management Council official in charge of Zhannan District.
In the dining room, Zheng Fu'an ate a lunch consisting mostly of vegetables and said quietly, "Li, those four companies can shut down for a day without a problem. Even a week is fine. But if there's no end in sight, then we have a problem."
Sitting with his legs crossed, Li Hongze frowned. "All four protesting our violent monopoly together has certainly made a bit of a stir."
"I've only just taken this post, and trouble breaks out in Zhannan. That gives people something to talk about." Zheng Fu'an sipped his rice porridge. "I have two suggestions for you. One, if you can't suppress this, release the leaders of the four companies and take the long view. Two, if you have a quick, effective solution, resolve the problem as soon as possible."
"We've already set everything up, and putting this operation together cost us plenty. Let's give it a try," Li Hongze replied.
"Then deal with it quickly." Zheng Fu'an nodded.
Half an hour later, Li Hongze left Zheng Fu'an's home and returned to his company.
In the conference room, more than a dozen men in suits, all with menacing expressions, were talking among themselves.
"What do you think?" Li Hongze asked, smoking.
With an IV drip hooked up to him, Lu Feng answered bluntly, "So that's how they want to play? Then I'll hit whoever takes the lead. I don't fucking believe it. Those employees work to make money. Who would actually risk their life for these four families? Fuck it, cripple a few of them, and we'll see how cooperative they are."
"The word from above is that minor scuffles are fine, but we can't make things uncomfortable for them." Li Hongze went straight to the point. "The Police Bureau contacted me too. They don't want any more mass brawls."
"Don't worry. We won't leave any loose ends," Lu Feng replied flatly.
Zhannan District, Su Family Courtyard.
Ever since returning to Dragon City, Su Tianyu had been caught up in family affairs and had barely had any rest. Fortunately, he had already taken an outsider's perspective and gained a clear understanding of this feud among Zhannan District's sanitation companies. He did not consider it particularly complicated, either. If not for Su Tiannan's loyal, steady nature and the Su family's concern for its reputation, a more ruthless, cold-blooded approach might already have freed them from their predicament.
Of course, those were only Su Tianyu's personal thoughts. He had just returned to Dragon City, and his plans did not center on the family. There were therefore certain things he would not say outright, and he would not conduct himself entirely according to his own wishes.
That evening, his third sister, Su Miaomiao, feeling sorry for her younger brother, put together a table full of good dishes to officially welcome him home. Dozens of family members gathered to eat and chat, filling the place with the warmth of everyday life.
In fact, the Su family ate this way even when Su Tianyu was not around. There were plenty of people and children, and the sight of the whole extended family gathered together was cheerful in itself. Today, they simply got to enjoy better food thanks to his return.
"Tianyu, today the family's officially welcoming you home." Su Tiannan raised his glass with a smile. "You've graduated now, too. Whatever you do from here on, the brothers in our generation have to stick together. Nobody can break us up or tear us apart. We'll help each other make something of ourselves."
"Goes without saying," Su Tianyu answered with a smile in their hometown dialect.
At the head of the table, his second aunt looked at Su Tianyu and said softly, "Our Su family has always stuck together. The generation before yours even went to war together. As the old saying goes, broken bones are still joined by tendons. No matter how long you're away, once you come back, you're home. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Second Mom!" Su Tianyu grinned. "Let me toast you too. Don't worry about Second Uncle. We'll all do our best to put things right."
His second aunt was equally forthright. "I'm not worried about him. We've been through decades together. If he's executed, I'll bury him. If he gets life, I'll wait for him."
"Second Aunt, you really are a heroine!" Her words filled Su Tianyu with respect.
The older generation of the Su family had all lived through that turbulent era. Their mental fortitude was exceptional, and they could handle a crisis.
After toasting his second aunt, Su Tianyu turned and saw Su Miaomiao approaching with a dish. Wearing a short skirt and black stockings that showed off her shapely figure, she said, "Here, I made you carp. I know you love it, so I ran around four markets before I managed to buy one."
Su Tianyu replied with a grin, "Third Sister, those stockings of yours are really something. When you find me a brother-in-law, make sure he's got strong hands."
"Make fun of me, and I'll beat you to death!" Su Miaomiao tugged at her younger brother's ear.
Su Tiannan was one of the older brothers, while Tianyu, Tianbei, Su Miaomiao, and the others were close in age. As children, they had spent every day together.
While the family was eating and chatting, the cultured Bai Hongbo walked in with two younger brothers. Holding a flip phone in his left hand as a symbol of status, he ambled in with an exaggerated, splay-footed gait and a bandage wrapped around his head. "Heh, having a bite?"
"Ha, Big Bai's here!" Su Tiannan stood. "We're having a family meal. Come on, sit down."
"I came to discuss what comes next." Bai Hongbo turned, spotted Su Miaomiao in her black stockings and short skirt, and his eyes lit up. "Miaomiao, those stockings are so pretty!"
Su Miaomiao had known Bai Hongbo for ages and found the pretentious prick intensely annoying. Pursing her lips, she replied, "Bai, that white wrap on your head is pretty distinctive too."
"Fuck, just mentioning that pisses me off." Bai Hongbo burst into curses. "Sooner or later, I'll kill Lu Feng! If I can't get him, I'll go to the nursing home and get his mom. Either way, somebody's getting it."
"Everything's in motion now. No point getting angry." Su Tiannan politely invited Bai Hongbo to sit, then said with a smile, "Xiao Zhan, get Bai a bowl and chopsticks."
Bai Hongbo turned toward Su Tianyu and unconsciously touched the wound on his head. "Young Su, Young Su, that was a dirty move! Your little act of self-defense dragged all three of our families into this. Back in the courtyard, when Lu Feng chased you, you ran right in front of me. You were fucking moving so fast you left afterimages! That was low. I just want to ask, what did I ever do to you...?"
Inside a villa in Dragon City's Longkou District, a handsome middle-aged man in a white shirt sat in a chair reading.
"Four companies in Zhannan District have shut down. They say they can't afford to pay wages," a man on the sofa said quietly.
"Let's wait and see. If anyone from those four companies comes looking for me over the next few days, don't receive them. Just turn them away," the middle-aged man replied calmly.
Downstairs, two beautiful young women entered the villa's main hall. One of them was the wide-eyed beauty who owned the red sedan.
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