Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 278 What does his son do?
Zhou Yi's words left Zhou Jianguo completely bewildered.

“If they’re not really going, what’s the point of encouraging them? If they’re not really going, how could the factory leaders possibly agree?” Zhou Jianguo asked.

"Dad, there's a principle: a sword is most intimidating when it's sheathed. Do you understand?"

Zhou Jianguo thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"Alright, let's put it this way: you have to encourage them, but you can't actually go to the factory manager and force him to make an immediate statement. There will be a few problems with that."

"First, marches need to be reported and applied for in advance; otherwise, they will be suspected of violating the law, and the organizers will be detained."

Zhou Jianguo was immediately startled.

"Secondly, if the conflict really escalates, the factory director will lose face, and the matter will definitely be reported to the city. Even if the factory director agrees under pressure at the time, his words may become invalid because the problem has escalated."

"Third, the workers' emotions are uncontrollable. Everyone's situation is different. If some people are emotionally agitated, others will be incited as well, and things could easily get out of control."

Humans are emotional beings and are easily influenced by others, especially in crowded environments.

Zhou Jianguo gasped, "Then why am I inciting them?"

"You incite them, but don't take them to the factory immediately. Wait at least a day to allow for a buffer period. Before that, you need to find someone to complain to the factory!"

"Tell someone a complaint?" Zhou Jianguo said, "Wait a minute, my mind is a bit muddled, let me think."

"Son, do you mean I'm instigating everyone to cause trouble while simultaneously having people report me to the factory?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

Zhou Jianguo shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, that would make me look like a two-faced person. Your father has never done anything like that in his life."

"No, don't rush, listen to me. The purpose of complaining is to let the factory leaders know in advance that you organized a group of people to cause trouble. The factory will definitely investigate, right? Once they investigate, they will know that it is true. The factory certainly cannot let things escalate. The thing that laid-off workers fear most is that the workers will cause trouble."

"Uh-huh."

"Once the factory confirms it, they will definitely have to contact you, the organizer, in order to prevent this from happening."

Zhou Jianguo nodded, seemingly understanding his son's meaning.

"At that time, you will have the right to negotiate with the factory leaders, or even the factory director. In order to avoid worker demonstrations and rallies, and to prevent the matter from being reported to the district or even the city, the factory will listen carefully to your demands. At that time, I don't need to teach you what to say, right?"

Zhou Jianguo suddenly realized, "So that's why the sword was in its sheath."

"That's right, the most intimidating thing is when things escalate before they start. Because the factory will do its best to prevent things from happening, and if things are handled properly before they happen, the factory leaders will also look good. If things really escalate to the factory director's office, and the enemy is at the gates, the factory director will definitely not be thinking about how to make up for the money, but about how to suppress the matter and how to explain it to the higher-ups."

Zhou Jianguo suddenly felt enlightened. The incited workers were the sword in his hand. What the factory director feared was that the sword was still unsheathed. Once it was unsheathed, it would be a fight to the death, and things might become even more unmanageable.

"Son, what if the factory doesn't contact me?"

Zhou Yi patted his shoulder and said, "Dad, don't worry. Unless your message wasn't delivered properly, they'll definitely come looking for you. So you need to think about who to 'tip you in' and who to 'inform' to. I can't help you with that."

Zhou Jianguo frowned, pondering who he should contact.

"There's another problem. I haven't negotiated this before. What if I can't win the argument?" Zhou Jianguo thought for a moment and asked, "How about I bring your mother along? She's very good at talking."

"No, Dad, please don't let Mom get involved!" Zhou Yi firmly denied. "If she messes things up, we'll be in big trouble."

"What should we do then..."

“It’s easy. Just call your third uncle in front of all the factory leaders and let him handle the negotiations. He’ll decide who to sell to, how to sell, at what price, and how to sign the contract. He’s an expert in this.”

Zhou Jianguo nodded repeatedly: "Okay, then I'll find some time today to call your third uncle and tell him about this."

The students in the No. 2 Steel Company dormitory all started to take action, putting on their work clothes and entering the factory area.

Although the security guards couldn't recognize all the laid-off workers, they knew who they were without even guessing since a large group of workers entered the factory area after working hours.

Soon someone reported the news to the security department, which immediately became tense.

Before announcing the list of laid-off workers, the factory director made a clear instruction to Luo Mingliang, the head of the security department, during a meeting: the workers must not be allowed to gather and cause trouble.

Luo Mingliang immediately ordered the security personnel to go down and find out if the workers had gathered together. If there were any signs of this, they were to report it to him immediately.

Therefore, Zhou Yi's judgment was absolutely correct. This kind of thing was originally within the factory leaders' worries and was a key point of prevention.

In his previous life, he was unaware of the factory's situation, but he suspected that some people had tried to gather together to make demands of the factory, but they didn't cause any trouble. Either they were dismantled in advance, or no one was willing to be the first to speak up.

Huang Xiaomao was driven to desperation by his father's suicide and detention, which became the final straw.

However, it's one thing for those above to understand things from below, but it's even more important for those below to "report" on things, because that's how information becomes more accurate.

Zhou Jianguo had originally intended to have Kong Laosan act as the "whistleblower," after all, he was a model worker. However, he now dared not let Kong Laosan do it; the old man was always threatening to hang himself, and if he impulsively did something foolish, things would get really troublesome.

After thinking it over, Zhou Jianguo remembered Xiao Zhao from the ironworks that his wife had mentioned.

Xiao Zhao is thirty-eight years old this year, which is not exactly young.

When he first joined the factory, Zhou Jianguo was his mentor, and Zhou Jianguo taught him forklift skills step by step.

Although I only followed Zhou Jianguo for a little over a year, I did call him "Master".

Zhou Jianguo realized that the reason for his actions was not as Zhang Qiuxia had suggested, since Zhang Qiuxia was just grasping at straws and didn't know the situation.

The reason he sought out Xiao Zhao was because Xiao Zhao loved playing cards, and the kind of card game where he made a lot of money, with substantial wins and losses. Several of Xiao Zhao's card-playing friends were from the security department.

If he goes to "report" something, the message should be able to reach Luo Mingliang, the head of the security department, directly.

Without hesitation, Zhou Jianguo rode his bicycle into the factory and found Xiao Zhao in the ironmaking workshop.

Xiao Zhao was quite surprised by his arrival, after all, he had heard yesterday that Zhou Jianguo and his wife were also on the list of laid-off workers.

"Master, what brings you here?" Xiao Zhao called out somewhat guiltily, since he wasn't on the list. Although it wasn't the list he had compiled, he still felt a little ashamed.

"Xiao Zhao, I need your help."

"Master, I really can't help with the layoffs. I'm just a card-playing buddy with those guys in the security department, we don't have much of a relationship." Because some of the old workers in his workshop who were put on the list yesterday had already approached him, wanting him to use his connections in the security department to put in a good word for them, he thought Zhou Jianguo had come for the same reason.

But Zhou Jianguo calmly said, "You're overthinking it. I'm not here to ask for help; I have something else to discuss."

"Other things? What is it, Master?"

Zhou Jianguo waved his hand and said, "Go to the security department and report me."

"Oh, okay." Xiao Zhao paused for a moment, answering instinctively, but then suddenly realized, "Huh? Report me?"

"That's how it is..."

……

In the office of the head of the security department, Luo Mingliang refilled his glass with a thermos.

The tea leaves in the cup swirl with the flowing water, and the cup is also labeled with a canned yellow peach label.

There was a stack of newspapers on the table, but he hadn't read more than a few pages; clearly, his mind wasn't on the newspapers.

Those sent out to gather information have all brought back similar news: the laid-off workers will gather at Gate 3 at 10:00 AM tomorrow.

But who was in charge and what the gathering was for were still unknown. All that was known was that they wanted to demand an explanation from the factory manager, and there were even rumors that some people were going to bring ropes and hang themselves at the factory manager's office door if he didn't agree.

This terrified him, because if that were to happen, his job as head of the security department would be over.

He will be the first name on the next list of laid-off workers.

Luo Mingliang was restless in his office, pacing back and forth, when suddenly someone burst in through the door.

"Section Chief... I know who's behind this."

"Who?"

"Zhou Jianguo, the forklift operator in Workshop No. 2 of the steel rolling mill, was just reported by someone who said that he was the one who organized tomorrow's workers' rally."

"Zhou Jianguo?" Luo Mingliang thought for a moment. "Isn't he a pretty honest person? Could there be a mistake?"

"There's no mistake. He wanted to win over Zhao Zhongyi from the ironworks. Zhao Zhongyi had worked for him when he first joined the factory and called him 'Master.' But Zhao Zhongyi and we guys usually got along well and often played cards together, so when he found out about it, he immediately came to report it."

“I didn’t realize Zhou Jianguo had this ability. Alright, bring him back right now and interrogate him properly to see what he’s up to,” Luo Mingliang said, waving his hand.

But the subordinate didn't move his feet. Instead, he said with some difficulty, "Well, Section Chief Luo, I advise you not to do this."

"What? He's just a forklift driver. I'm the head of the security department at No. 2 Steel Plant. Do you think I'm afraid of him?"

"Section Chief, you're not afraid of him, but I'm afraid we can't afford to offend his son."

"His son?" Luo Mingliang was taken aback. "What does his son do?"

“His son’s name is Zhou Yi. He used to be a policeman at the Nanhu Police Station, the same station as my brother-in-law. But last time I heard from my brother-in-law that Zhou Yi has now been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Municipal Public Security Bureau as a criminal policeman, and he’s said to be doing very well.”

(End of this chapter)