Inside the Su Family compound.
Faced with Bai Hongbo's "joke," which sounded more like an interrogation, Su Tianyu immediately poured himself 250 grams of baijiu, stood up, and replied, "Bai, even if you hadn't brought up what happened at Changqing Company's dump, I still had to thank you in person."
"Heh. What are you thanking me for?" Bai Hongbo replied with a cold laugh. He was definitely a little annoyed with Su Tianyu. The guy hadn't warned anyone before throwing punches, and after defending himself, he had somehow gotten Bai Hongbo beaten up too. Naturally, Bai Hongbo was fuming.
Su Tianyu looked earnestly at the cultured Bai Hongbo and said with emphatic sincerity, "Bai, I really did act rashly at the dump. When Lu Feng came after me, I should've held back. I regretted it afterward too. If you hadn't had your people hold Lu Feng off, I might never have made it out of that dump. That's why I have to thank you in person."
Hearing his younger brother's words, Su Tiannan immediately cut in. "Oh, so it was Bai who had his people stop Lu Feng for you?"
"Yeah. We got separated while we were running," Su Tianyu said with a nod. "After Lu Feng came out of the main building, he kept looking for me. Bai held him off for me, and that was how I got away."
A crafty gleam shone in Su Miaomiao's eyes. She immediately raised her glass toward Bai Hongbo and said, "Bai, I really had no idea you were the one who saved my little brother! Honestly, hardly anyone in Zhannan isn't afraid of Lu Feng. You're a real man. That alone deserves a toast from me."
Bai Hongbo was a little bewildered by this. So that's how you people in the Su Family see it? Well, if that's what you think, I can hardly tell you I got beaten up because I couldn't run fast enough. For a compulsive show-off, that would have been far too damaging to his image.
"What's all this real-man stuff?" Bai Hongbo waved a hand nonchalantly and explained quietly, "Young Su happened to be running with me. Then Lu Feng came out with his men and went straight for him, weapons in hand. I had plenty of people with me. How could I just leave Young Su hanging? Look, since our four companies have joined forces, we ought to help each other out."
"Bai's a real man! I saw you guys knock down several of Lu Feng's men." Su Tianyu immediately raised his glass respectfully. "No matter what, I have to drink to you."
"Come on, let's all raise a glass to Bai," Su Tiannan called out too.
All the younger members of the Su Family stood and raised their glasses toward Bai Hongbo. He had originally intended to use his words to put some pressure on the Su Family: since they had started this mess, they naturally had to take the lead in what came next. But before he had even had a drink, he somehow seemed to have become the backbone of the resistance against Changqing Company.
"Come on, let's have a drink together." Listening to their flattery, Bai Hongbo grinned and drained his glass.
"To a real man!"
The Su Family's younger members clinked glasses with Bai Hongbo and downed their drinks.
Half an hour later, Bai Hongbo had been plied with so much alcohol that he was thoroughly dazed. Holding Su Tiannan's hand, he said with a stiff tongue, "After the fight at the dump, I called Lu Feng. Originally, I wanted to..."
"You called Lu Feng after the fight?" Su Tianyu promptly asked from beside him.
Bai Hongbo froze, instantly realizing that he had nearly let the truth slip in his drunken state. "Ah... no, he called me, but I gave him an earful. Other people might be scared of him, but I'm not. What am I getting at? Since we can't reach an agreement anymore, our four families have to stick together, get this sorted out, and get the old man released as soon as possible. Tian Nan, just go ahead and do what you need to. I'll back you all the way."
"Okay, okay, Bai." Su Tiannan nodded repeatedly.
Su Tianyu looked at Bai Hongbo with a smile and raised his glass again. "Bai, for those words alone, I have to toast you again."
"Young Su, I'm not looking down on you, but when it comes to drinking, even three of you put together couldn't beat me."
"Then I'll risk my life to keep a real man company."
"Come on, bottoms up!"
"...!"
Another twenty minutes later, Bai Hongbo lay slumped over the table, white foam at the corners of his mouth. He mumbled, "Shit, I forgot. I'm injured. I think the doctor said I couldn't drink... Xizi, why's my heart beating so fast? Am I dying...?"
An attendant from the Bai Family stood up and replied, "You're fine. Nobody said you couldn't drink. The medicine they injected doesn't react with alcohol."
"No, this isn't right. My heart's beating too fast. Miaomiao, you studied nursing. Come feel it for me..." Bai Hongbo was drunk as a dead dog, but he still hadn't forgotten to flirt.
After the family banquet ended, Bai Hongbo's family helped him away, while Su Tianyu, Su Tiannan, Su Miaomiao, and the others sat chatting in the little pavilion in the courtyard.
"Tianyu, do you think shutting down the companies can get your second uncle out?" Su Tiannan asked bluntly.
Su Tianyu was the kind of drinker whose face never flushed. As long as he hadn't blacked out, nobody could tell how much he could handle. Holding a cup of tea, he replied quietly, "Stopping work can definitely get Second Uncle out, because Changqing Company isn't trying to kill anyone. They want profit. In other words, without anything to gain, they have no reason to make a mortal enemy of anyone. And when their interests take a hit, they'll naturally move quickly to cut their losses. But all of that depends on us holding out long enough for time and the situation to build pressure."
Su Tiannan nodded and picked up the thread. "I'm just worried we won't be able to hold out for long."
"The companies' management teams are the key. As long as they're willing to lead their people in speaking up, Changqing Company will definitely compromise if the standoff continues." Looking at his eldest brother, Su Tianyu added, "But whatever you can see, Changqing Company can see too. Our employees and the cooperation between the four companies are both very weak links."
"That makes sense." Su Miaomiao nodded slowly.
"My suggestion is that if Tianbei has nothing else to do over the next few days, he should keep an eye on our company's management team. They're important to us. Nothing can happen to them," Su Tianyu said succinctly.
"What about the other three companies?" Su Tiannan asked.
Su Tianyu was silent for a while. "Tiannan, we can't look after everyone, and we can't control the other three companies either. We just need to keep our own operation steady and wait for the situation to develop."
Su Tiannan fell silent.
"Tiannan, we have to protect ourselves before we can protect anyone else. Like I said, I'm still learning about the situation in Dragon City as I go. You'll have to make the final call on exactly how to handle things," Su Tianyu added.
"Let's do what you suggested," Su Tiannan replied.
Su Tianyu took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "I'll go have a look around the freight yard over the next few days. Our family's been in this business for so long, but I still don't know how the day-to-day work is done."
"Be careful. Lu Feng lost an ear. Sooner or later, he'll come looking for you," Su Tianbei reminded him.
"Heh, it'll be fine," Su Tianyu replied with a smile.
The next day, the four companies' work stoppage continued. Word had also spread among the public and begun to have an impact, since many managers had gone to the Management Council to protest the day before, stirring up public discussion.
As noon approached, large numbers of managers and shareholders from the four companies brought people to gather outside the District Management Council's entrance. They neither caused trouble nor stirred up the crowd. They only asked to meet the officials and explain their demands.
With so many people blocking the entrance, the Zhannan District Police Department couldn't pretend not to see them. They had already sent some officers that morning to maintain order.
In District One and Dragon City, any group that expressed its demands legally was protected by law. After all, they talked about freedom every single day.
Shortly after one in the afternoon, a minivan with dark-tinted windows pulled up outside the Management Council. Sitting in the middle row with his legs crossed, Lu Feng swept his gaze over the crowd. "Go see which company's shareholders are shouting the loudest."
At the Bai Family home, Bai Hongbo sat on his bed with a splitting headache and asked the attendant who had gone along to the Su Family's place the previous day, "Hey, what were we going to the Su Family's place for yesterday? How come I've forgotten?"
"I don't know either. We all got hammered. All I remember is a bunch of people crowding around you, saying you were a real man," the attendant replied groggily.
Bai Hongbo said, "Shit, every Earthling knows that. Did I need them to tell me?!"
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