Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Arguing
Jiang Haibo's eyes darkened. "I'll handle this matter. Don't worry about it. Just focus on your work and don't let irrelevant people hinder your future."
Jiang Shaojie agreed obediently, but once the door was closed, the smile on his face vanished completely. He muttered sinisterly to himself, "Sister, since you're disobedient, don't blame me."
"Uncle, we brought an extra jar of braised chicken today. When someone comes to buy it later, you can tell them." Jiang Xi said to Wu Youli as he scooped out the braised chicken and put it in a bowl.
Wu Youli nodded. "Don't worry, I'll tell them there's plenty of braised chicken to go around today."
Jiang Xi: "You don't have to say that. Sometimes the more something is unavailable, the more people want it."
After listening to Jiang Xi, Wu Youli took note of what he said. He had learned a lot from doing business with Jiang Xi during this period. Many of Jiang Xi's ideas were beyond his imagination, but in actual practice, many of Jiang Xi's ideas turned out to be correct in the end. Wu Youli admired Jiang Xi more and more, to the point where he only obeyed Jiang Xi.
In the past few days, the sales of braised chicken have been getting better and better, and there are more and more repeat customers. Many people specifically ask to buy braised chicken, and there is not enough chicken to sell every day. Wu Youli estimates the number of braised chickens. Even if he adds one more jar of chicken, it is likely that it will not be enough to sell. This is really a sweet trouble.
Jiang Xi and Wu Youli had just set up their stall when a group of people rushed out of the steel mill. They were wearing security uniforms and surrounded Jiang Xi's stall with a lot of noise.
The leader was a man in his thirties or forties. His face was red, he had a red nose, and his voice reeked of garlic. "You two, get out of here!"
Wu Youli stood in front of Jiang Xi and said, "What do you do? We are setting up a stall here peacefully. Why are you chasing us away?"
"Why?" The leading man sneered, "Because I'm the director of the steel plant's security department. You're seriously endangering the public security of our steel plant here. Stop talking nonsense and leave now!"
When Wu Youli heard the man say that he was the director of the security department of the steel plant, he felt a little timid. In his opinion, being a formal employee of the steel plant was a very powerful job and it was a salary earned by the government. But although he was afraid, Wu Youli still stood in front of Jiang Xi, fearing that these burly men would hurt Jiang Xi.
Jiang Xi's eyes were sharp, and he questioned unyieldingly, "We've been setting up our stall here for a long time. We always clean up the ground properly. We also have a good service attitude and haven't had any arguments with anyone. Please tell me how we have disrupted the so-called public security of the steel mill?"
The red-nosed leader just made up an excuse, but he didn't expect Jiang Xi to question him. He looked at him with disdain: "How come you stall owners don't understand what I'm saying? I told you to leave, so just leave now! What are you clinging on here for?"
Jiang Xi did not take a step back. She looked around and saw that the vendors around were all looking at her. Several workers were also observing, and one or two of them were regular customers of the stall.
Jiang Xi said in a deep voice, "I'm not the only one setting up a stall in front of your steel plant. If you can drive me away today, will you drive others away tomorrow? We earn our hard-earned money through labor, and we get up early and stay up late every day just to provide convenience to our fellow workers. Which rule of the steel plant have we violated? What have we violated? Are you telling everyone that stalls are not allowed in front of the steel plant?"
Jiang Xi understood that it was difficult to carry the team alone, so she wanted to recruit more people to join her, and she implicitly put herself and all the stall owners on the same side.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, several people setting up stalls looked at the security team with unfriendly eyes. Although there was some competition among them when setting up stalls outside, they sold different things, and there were so many people in the steel plant, so there was relatively less friction among the people setting up stalls here.
During this period, Jiang Xi set up a stall here and kept to himself with the other vendors. Jiang Xi greeted everyone with a smile and sometimes even gave them some braised vegetables. Now that Jiang Xi was about to be driven away, the vendors felt a sense of crisis. They stared at Jiang Xi with burning eyes, waiting to see what explanation this group of people would give.
The leader didn't expect Jiang Xi to be so sharp-tongued. In an instant, he put him in opposition to all the vendors. He frowned and said, "Just leave when I told you to! Do you really have to chase you away?" The people behind him were holding sticks and looking at Jiang Xi ferociously.
Jiang Xi straightened his back and argued, "If you want to kick me out, you have to come up with a rule. I'm not selling things inside your steel plant. I'm selling things on the street. This street doesn't belong to your steel plant. You have no right to kick me out. You guys came over with sticks and threatened me. This has seriously damaged my interests and endangered my life and property. Leave now or I'll report you to the police."
The leader didn't expect Jiang Xi to be so tough. He received instructions from his superiors today, asking them to drive away a small vendor. Although he didn't understand what was going on, it seemed to him to be a very simple matter. It was just a small vendor. He only needed to move his fingers to scare him and he would definitely be able to drive him away. But he didn't expect Jiang Xi to be so difficult.
The director of the security department was threatened in turn and froze there for a moment.
Jiang Xi continued, "My dear friends, fellow workers, I ask you to bear witness. I've been operating here with integrity and haven't done anything illegal or disciplinary, yet they suddenly show up and try to drive me away. As a small vendor, don't I even have any dignity? I earn my living through hard work, and I don't steal or rob. Even the leadership is advocating for and encouraging everyone to do business and protect the rights of small vendors. Yet, these people are blatantly undermining the plans of those above them and disrupting social stability and harmony. Where do they get the power to do this? Could it be that the director of a factory's security department is more powerful than the nation's leaders?"
Jiang Xi was accused of several more crimes, and the director of the Security Department was already trembling. He had only expelled one person, so how could it be elevated to disobeying the orders of the national leadership? He couldn't bear this crime.
The small vendors around just felt relieved. The girl was right. They worked from dawn to dusk, earned their money through hard work, and were often looked down upon. They felt the same way as everything Jiang Xi said, but why? The national leaders supported them, but the director of the security department didn't allow them to set up stalls. Who did he think he was?
A small vendor selling cold noodles couldn't help but say, "The national leader has spoken. Who are you to chase us away? What have we done to offend anyone by setting up a stall here?"
One person spoke up, and the others followed suit: "That's right, that's right. We didn't steal or rob, we earned our money through hard work. What right do you have to sabotage us? You're a bad element who's destroying our unity!"
"Bring out the rules! What rules prohibit us from setting up a stall here? We won't leave until you can bring them out!"
The director of the security department was sweating profusely, and the group of people following behind him looked at each other in confusion. They didn't know why the situation had turned out like this. Wasn't it just about driving away a small vendor? Why did these vendors unite? They didn't even say they were going to drive them away.
The director of the security department wiped the sweat from his forehead. The current situation was beyond his control. He really had no right to drive Jiang Xi away. If he wanted Jiang Xi to leave, he would have to drive everyone away.
Some of these people setting up stalls in front of the steel plant are relatives of people working in the factory, and some have connections in their families. Those who have no connections are even less afraid of them.
If things really get out of hand and something goes wrong, they simply can't afford it.
The head of the security department was cornered and could only say: "We'll give you a few days to leave quickly, otherwise we will not be polite."
Jiang Xi watched them leave with her eyes slightly narrowed. Jiang Shaojie, he showed up yesterday and caused trouble today. She was busy making money and had no time to deal with him, but this disgusting thing was jumping around.
Wu Youli was terrified: "Jiang Xi, what should we do now? Can we still set up our stall here? Are we really going to leave?"
Jiang Xi comforted him, "Don't be afraid, uncle. We are upright and honest. They have no right to drive us away."
Several other small vendors wanted to ask about the situation, but were all stopped by Jiang Xi. Jiang Xi didn't want to say much, as she already had a plan in mind.
Jiang Xi continued selling fermented food at the same pace as usual, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing Jiang Xi so calm, Wu Youli also gradually calmed down. Anyway, if those people dared to take action, he would definitely fight to protect Jiang Xi.
A girl in her twenties came to the stall and said, "Boss, give me a portion of braised chicken."
Jiang Xi was very familiar with this girl. She was an old customer who often came to buy chicken. Jiang Xi packed the chicken for the girl, but the girl took it and did not leave for a long time.
She was an employee in the steel plant's logistics department. She had just watched the entire process and, after buying the chicken, whispered, "Shopkeeper, did you offend someone in the factory?"
Generally, steel mills turn a blind eye to people setting up stalls outside. After all, there are only a few kinds of food in the factory. The workers in the steel mill earn a lot and have high requirements for food. A few people setting up stalls outside can also provide convenience for the factory employees, so they are generally not driven away. This is the first time the girl has seen such a big scene.
Jiang Xi was very grateful for the reminder from this old customer: "Thank you, I will pay attention to it."
The girl was still a little worried: "Why don't you go and hide out? Come back here to set up your stall in a few days. Your zao lu is really good, and I don't want to see you get chased away."
Jiang Xi gave her a reassuring look: "Don't worry, I know what's going on. We won't be driven away."
The girl then picked up her things and left.
Jiang Xi fell into deep thought as he looked at the gate of the steel plant. Jiang Shaojie had just started working yesterday, so he didn't have much say. It went without saying that the person who could command the director of the steel plant's security department could only be Jiang Haibo.
Her biological father was a beast. Jiang Xi blinked in disgust. She wanted to see what other tricks Jiang Haibo had up his sleeve.
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