Lin Qiao caught up with Meng Jiao and went into her office.
After the door closed, Lin Qiao gave Meng Jiao an awkward smile and said:
"Sister Mengjiao, is what they said just now true?"
Meng Jiao sat down, put down the documents, and gestured to her with her lip, indicating that she should find a chair to sit down.
Lin Qiao pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her, listening attentively.
“That’s right, all the formalities were completed before the Chinese New Year. Now I’m all alone. We have time tonight, let’s go out for dinner to celebrate.”
Meng Jiao smiled easily, as if she were talking about someone else's business.
Lin Qiaozhen never imagined that one day she would see Meng Jiao with such a carefree expression.
Back when she lived in the countryside, she always had a faint sadness on her face, probably because she wasn't sure when she could return to the city.
After returning to the capital, she continued to have entanglements with Gao Baoliang, and eventually married someone she didn't love, after which she never smiled again.
Lin Qiao's fingers nervously gripped the handle, forcing a smile:
"Okay, I'll arrange the place. I'm so happy to see you in such good spirits."
As friends of many years, Lin Qiao's uneasy expression betrayed her. Meng Jiao asked her if she had something else to discuss with her.
"Since you're both divorced, there's no need for me to say anything more." Lin Qiao stood up, looking like she had been interrupted.
"Come back!" Meng Jiao feigned anger and called out to her.
"Speak up, what is it? If you don't tell me, I won't sign your application for permanent employment."
Meng Jiao threatened her with a smile.
Lin Qiao then told Li Jiabao about her desire to find out about the mayor's situation.
"Their startup company has just shut down like that? But even if Jiabao and I hadn't divorced, I would never have interfered in his affairs. I can go home and ask my dad what's going on."
The Meng family was shocked. They thought that since their father worked in a government office, they could ask him for information.
Lin Qiao's expression remained indifferent, as she felt this was to be expected.
Even if Meng Jiao spoke to Li Jiabao, his abilities were limited, and he probably couldn't influence the mayor's decision.
That evening, Lin Qiao brought the news home, and everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.
They've reached out to everyone they can, but the manager's intentions remain unclear. Every step they take is a trial-and-error process, fraught with peril.
Just as they were feeling dejected, Ji Yang came over. He learned from Lin Qiao that Meng Jiao and Li Jiabao had divorced. Since he couldn't get any information out of Li Jiabao, he thought of Ji Tingting.
"I'll call Tingting right away. She and Li Jiabao were quite close when they were little, so she should be able to talk to her!"
Ji Yang said.
Wang Xiufen immediately opened the box that locked the phone and took it out.
"Ningning's uncle, hurry up and call him."
Ji Yang's expression was solemn as he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
All eyes were on him.
My home phone doesn't have international calling service, so I can only contact them through a relay base station, which means I have to wait.
Time suddenly felt incredibly long.
Half an hour later, Ji Yang finally got through to Ji Tingting on the phone.
Upon hearing that the situation on their end was becoming increasingly difficult, Ji Tingting said she would call Li Jiabao immediately.
After the call ended, a sense of anticipation arose in everyone's hearts, hoping that Ji Tingting would bring good news.
Everyone fell into a quiet wait again.
After an unknown amount of time, a commotion arose at the entrance of the courtyard. Several men went out to see what was happening and found a group of about fifty or sixty newly hired workers from the company, who were causing trouble while holding torches.
"Give me back my hard-earned money!"
"Pay wages immediately."
A banner was displayed behind them, clearly indicating that someone had organized the disturbance.
There was also a manager nearby, known as Big Bear, who was in charge of managing the workers. He was trying to persuade them to stop causing trouble, saying that the company's difficulties were only temporary and that they could be paid once production resumed.
To everyone's surprise, his words not only failed to quell their anger, but instead provoked them to roar and question him:
“Fuqiang Construction has offended someone, and it may not be able to resume production for several months. Are we just going to wait like this?”
"We all have wives and children to feed at home; we manual laborers can't worry about that."
Seeing that Da Xiong was still trying to persuade him, they simply beat and kicked him until he rolled on the ground, clutching his head.
"Stop!" Luo Guangming saw this and quickly went to protect the bear.
Fearing for Luo Guangming's safety, Lin Chen and Gao Baoliang stepped forward to protect him and pulled the two of them out of the crowd.
Big Bear, clutching his bleeding nose, complained to Luo Guangming:
“I can’t reason with these people. It’s only been a few days since the work was suspended. Everyone wants the company to recover, but they’re just making trouble.”
Those people didn't think there was anything wrong with asking for wages, and continued to shout, attracting people living nearby to come and watch the commotion.
"Alright, stop arguing!"
Luo Guangming stood on the steps of the courtyard house and stopped everyone.
"The projects our company is currently undertaking have not yet been settled. Once the settlement is completed, we will definitely pay everyone's wages."
At this stage, according to industry practice, the work is completed first, and then the settlement is made with the workers.
No company pays its workers wages monthly, or even daily.
Lin Tao, who was hiding not far away, felt extremely smug as he watched the workers force them to their doorsteps.
Yes, he was the one who instigated these workers.
Back then, when he learned that Lin Chen and his brothers had started a company together, he was incredibly jealous.
He was overjoyed when he heard that his company was facing a crisis.
He overheard some workers discussing the matter in a karaoke bar, and then he thought of instigating them to cause trouble and demand their unpaid wages.
If he succeeds, those workers will get paid and might buy flour from him.
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