Chapter 58: Friend or enemy, make your choice!

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

The Third District Yamen, the Hall of Official Business.

The Hall of Official Business was solemn and dignified. All the tables and chairs were crafted from fine rosewood, and the floors were covered with exquisite animal-skin carpets.

Right above the elevated platform, the dragon banner of the Great Qian Dynasty was firmly affixed to the wall.

On the banner, a crimson, five-toed true dragon bared its fangs and brandished its claws, lifelike and vivid, with scarlet eyes that seemed as though they were about to come alive.

Hai Tie walked into the hall with a gloomy expression, followed closely by his secretary.

Beside him were various factory owners wearing Zhongshan suits, Tang suits, and various other luxurious and ornate garments.

Like Hai Tie, these factory owners also had many servants trailing behind them, yet their complexions were equally unsightly, as if they had just lost their parents.

Hai Tie and the numerous factory owners took their seats.

They sat in the second and third rows. These two rows were almost completely filled, totaling eighteen people.

Then, the second batch of factory owners entered.

This group of factory owners was dressed relatively simply, many wearing work clothes indistinguishable from those of ordinary laborers. Furthermore, the number of factory owners in this batch was quite large, filling all the remaining six rows completely, numbering close to a hundred people.

"Good day, Boss Hai!" A factory owner sitting near Hai Tie, looking somewhat restless, whispered to him. He glanced at the ancient artifact watch on his wrist, pulled out a small cloth, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Uhm, when does the meeting start?"

"They said two-30! It'll be soon..." Hai Tie replied, pausing briefly before exchanging a few rigid, awkward pleasantries with the factory owner beside him.

Eventually, both fell silent and continued sitting.

Hai Tie had never felt time pass so slowly, yet so quickly at the same time...

Finally, he heard a series of rising sounds from the back rows.

"!!!" Hai Tie’s heart shrank violently, and he hurriedly turned his head, whereupon he saw the teenage boy, who looked not yet twenty and whose face still retained traces of youthful innocence, walking into the conference room side by side with the District Administrator.

"Mr. Zhu! Administrator Sun."

"Mr. Zhu, you are as distinguished as ever."

"Administrator Sun, hello! And greetings to you too, Lord Director-General."

In the very back rows, the factory owners wearing work clothes were mostly small-scale proprietors, many of whom employed fewer than twenty people.

In fact, the number of such micro-factory owners was far greater than just those present; it was simply that these individuals had happened to be selected and granted the qualification to attend the meeting.

And the reason why this hundred-odd people could be selected was often because they were acquainted with Chu Zhu—

Yes, a large portion of them actually came from the shanty-town redevelopment zones!

Their small-scale factories had been established within the past five years.

Even one could say that their factories were founded precisely because of the trade union's urban renewal reforms—the support policies for individual skilled workers promulgated by Chu Zhu and implemented by Zhou Ze.

Therefore, they naturally held deep respect for Chu Zhu.

Some politically insensitive individuals even greeted Chu Zhu before greeting the District Administrator.

Li Kang, standing a short distance away, watched this scene in silence for a long time, then slapped his palm against his forehead, not knowing what expression to wear.

He offered a bitter internal smile. Wasn't this slapping the District Administrator in the face?

No...

They were factory owners now, after all. Even if their scale was a bit smaller, didn't they even have this basic sense of tact?

Glancing sideways at Administrator Sun, whose expression remained as calm and indifferent as if he didn't care at all, Li Kang sighed inwardly. It seemed he would have to drink with old Sun today or tomorrow, and by the way, bring up A-Zhu's relationship with Administrator Lu once more...

He knew old Sun far too well! Outwardly nonchalant, it did not mean he truly felt that way inside...

"Hahaha, Director-General! Please..." Administrator Sun smiled warmly, pointing toward the very center of the elevated platform. "Today, the main stage is yours! We are merely here to assist you in handling matters; we are not worthy of taking the principal seat."

"Then I won't decline." Chu Zhu locked gazes with Administrator Sun for a long moment, nodded, and without further polite formalities, sat down directly in the primary seat.

Administrator Sun smiled and seated himself to Chu Zhu's left.

From the elevated platform, one could easily look down upon the sea of factory owners below.

The front two rows of lavishly dressed large-scale factory owners and the back rows of work-clad small-scale factory owners formed two distinct and orderly factions.

"Everyone! Except for the newcomers in the back, I suppose this isn't our first time meeting!" Chu Zhu began directly, his voice calm and composed. "Well, of course..."

"To hold a meeting in such a large conference hall, under official witness... seems to be the first time."

Hai Tie's face darkened slightly, but a wave of relief washed over him inwardly.

Although meeting this living grim reaper was indeed unpleasant, this time, under official witness... surely this living grim reaper couldn't pull off any crazy stunts like he did five years ago?!

"Then, as for..." Chu Zhu pulled out a speech from behind him, glanced at it, and chuckled. "A friend of mine prepared this for me, but..."

Chu Zhu tore it directly into fragments and scattered them across the tabletop.

The venue fell silent for a brief moment.

Administrator Sun narrowed his eyes, his expression remaining a smiling mask.

As for Ning Linglong in the very back row: "!!!"

No, that was the fruit of her hard labor!

It had taken her a full two hours to write those two thousand words of the speech, and she had skipped her midday nap for it.

And yet you just tore it up like that?

Right out in the open!

Too outrageous, simply too outrageous!

"Let's lay our cards on the table and speak frankly, everyone!" Chu Zhu leaned back in his chair, fingers interlocked, his sharp gaze sweeping across the large factory owners in the front rows.

"As for ultra-small factories employing fewer than twenty people, I won't target them here!"

The group in the back rows breathed a collective sigh of relief. Of course, out of deep admiration for Chu Zhu, even if Mr. Zhu really demanded their blood... as long as it wasn't beyond what they could bear, they would grit their teeth and accept it!

"As for those employing between twenty and one thousand workers, with an annual worker mortality rate exceeding two percent, upon returning, pay your factory workers two extra months' wages, designated as a bonus!"

The factory owners in the middle rows stirred restlessly, whispering among themselves, clearly somewhat dissatisfied.

However, Chu Zhu completely ignored them.

"For those employing more than a thousand workers," Chu Zhu paused, "two choices: either establish a disability security compensation system, or go back and pay half a year's extra wages as a bonus."

The major factory owners in the front rows felt their hearts tighten. The massive gap between the bonuses demanded of them and those of the medium-sized factories meant one thing: Chu Zhu had left them no room for choice at all—

He was coercing them into picking the first option!

"Agree or disagree, make your choice!"

Chu Zhu's tone was flat, yet in the ears of the many major factory owners, his words sounded like—

"Friends or enemies, choose!"

This time, Chu Zhu intended to take action only against the major factory owners. It wasn't that medium-sized factories strictly enforced disability policies—the point was that if all the major factory owners implemented them, they would inevitably force the medium-sized factories to do the same.

How could those medium-sized owners swallow their grievances and bear the loss alone while the big bosses stayed out of it?

Regarding the domineering nature of the major factory owners, Chu Zhu had absolute faith in them.

Let the big factory owners discipline the small and medium ones; he only needed to discipline the big factory owners!

Administrator Sun almost suspected he had misheard: "!!!"

No, who operates like this?!

Administrator Sun tried his utmost to maintain a calm expression. He really wanted to curse out loud—

Doing it this way was pure coercion!

It would be a miracle if this bunch of lawless factory owners agreed to this.