Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 125 Union? Labor Law!

That night, Zheng Yi suffered from insomnia again after a long time.

Once again, he was entangled with himself, and it was a little unclear what path he would take in the future. As a man, he should have some ambitions.
He is so rich now, and apart from power, there is really nothing else that can still make him feel excited.

Regarding the Nanyang King's matter...

It is impossible to say that he doesn't want to do that at all. To be precise, Zheng Yi wants to enjoy the pleasure that power brings him.

But he doesn't want to bear the pressure that power brings him.

Being a common man, he finally struggled for a long time and had no other good ideas except to take it one step at a time.

After four and a half years in Nanyang, although he believed that he had grown rapidly, he was still no match for those heroes.

To put it bluntly, it can be summed up in three words: lack of courage.

Late at night, others were smoking downstairs, but Li Jiazhi came down from upstairs in her pajamas.

"Why did you wake up?"

"Are you awake or not?"

"Didn't sleep."

"Oh."

Li Jiazhi walked up to Zheng Yi and asked, "I haven't seen you worried about anything in a long time. I thought you were omnipotent."

"I'm not a god, so of course I have troubles too."

"Why can't you sleep? Why don't you tell me?"

So Zheng Yi told Li Jiazhi what Yang Shaomin had said to him today.

But he couldn't help but ask with a smile: "What about you? Do you want to be the wife of the King of Penang or the King of Nanyang?"

Li Jiazhi actually thought about it seriously for a moment, then smiled and said, "What does it have to do with me? I'm just a teacher at a girls' school."

Zheng Yi asked seriously, "Do you really plan to be a teacher in a girls' school in the future?
"I know you want to work outside, but there's no need to avoid my relationship, right? How about I pay for a charity fund and let you manage it? I'll be responsible for making money and you'll be responsible for spending it. How about that?"

Li Jiazhi smiled upon hearing this and said, "It's not that I have to hide my identity, but since I was little, although I have gone to school, I have never worked outside.

No matter what I do, there are always little rings around me that take advantage of me and won't let me do anything. You know, I've always envied Qiao Yun. Now... she's the general manager?"

Zheng Yi: "If you want to be one, we can always hire a general manager for fun."

Li Jiazhi shook her head and said, "It's different. The reason I concealed my identity is because I've never done anything before and I don't know how to do anything. If I just go out and do something, everyone will flatter me, but how can I learn anything?"

"When I feel the time is right and I find the career I want to pursue, I will naturally start working on it."

"Oh~"

Zheng Yi nodded, not quite understanding.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"what?"

"Who do you think can save China, the Nationalist government or the X Party?"

"what?"

Zheng Yi was stunned and his cigarette fell to the ground in fright. Why did he suddenly talk about such a sensitive topic?
"Why do you think of asking this? Why do you think of paying attention to domestic affairs?"

"Three days ago, someone established a student union in our school and promoted some XX ideas."

Zheng Yi sat up immediately. "Your school? Fujian Girls' School?"

"Yeah." Li Jiazhi nodded.

Since this thing has even entered girls' schools, it must have spread to boys' schools long ago. It seems to be in the stage of spreading ideas at present.

"Don't you like it?"

Zheng Yi shook his head and said, "That's not the case. It's mainly because I'm confused. I actually admire them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have given Mr. Qian one million US dollars.

But we are capitalists after all, and everything must be done in moderation. This... well, forget it, it's all very complicated anyway. Who do the students in your school support?"

"Most people support northern Shaanxi, especially after Mr. Chen returned from China."

Zheng Yi frowned: "Most of the children who can go to girls' schools should be from wealthy families."

Li Jiazhi nodded: "No one in our class lives in welfare housing."

"Hey~"

Zheng Yi also sighed.

To be honest, it is really unbelievable that a legitimate newborn regime can lose the support of the people like this.

Six months ago, Tan Kah Kee, as mayor of Penang, was invited back to his hometown in Fujian. Upon his return, he began railing against the Nationalist government, particularly the Fujian leader, Chen Yi, in newspaper articles. He even openly expressed his desire for the Nationalist government to replace Chen Yi, arguing that he was failing to manage his subordinates and that the provincial government was rife with corruption, reminiscent of the late Qing dynasty. He urged the government to conduct a thorough investigation and give overseas Chinese an explanation.

This incident did happen in history. It was mainly because after Chen Jiageng returned to his hometown, he found that it was in great ruins and the people were burdened with extremely heavy taxes. It also happened that the government was conscripting young men and assigning them to labor service.

Corruption is rampant from top to bottom.

He was so angry that he turned hostile.

Mr. Chen's prestige in Southeast Asia is needless to say, and his purpose in making this trip was to ease the conflict.

For various reasons, their relationship with Nanjing had become very tense. Even when Nanjing wanted to buy arms from him, Zheng Yi refused to sell them. Instead, he had in-depth cooperation with the Guangxi, Guangdong, and Yunnan cliques. The fact that he gave Mr. Qian one million US dollars could not be concealed from anyone.

Thanks to this one million US dollars, although the losses incurred in this strategic shift are still huge, they are much better than in history.

Nanjing was naturally very dissatisfied with Penang and sent people to hold them accountable many times. After all, they all had dual citizenship, and all the Chinese in Penang had Chinese nationality. It would not be good to make things too awkward, so Mr. Chen made this trip north.

He also brought with him the opinions of all Penang residents: as long as Nanjing agreed to go north to fight against Japan, Penang would be willing to sever ties with all warlords and provide them with large donations.

Penang’s arms will not be used to fight a civil war. This is the unanimous principle of all Penang Chinese. Moreover, after the September 18th Incident, these overseas Chinese have been calling for and urging the anti-Japanese war. Donations to Ma Zhanshan have not stopped until now. This is also the common wish of all overseas Chinese.

Then there is no doubt that the talks have broken down, and the relationship has reached a freezing point.

You have to know that Tan Kah Kee's prestige among the Chinese in Southeast Asia, especially the Fujian Chinese, is that of a leader in the absolute sense, especially among the Fujian people outside Penang. Even Zheng Yi's prestige may not be comparable to his.

As a result of his actions, all the newspapers, big and small, on the streets, and after-dinner conversations in Nanyang naturally pointed their fingers at Nanjing and started cursing.

Especially in Penang.

The most feared thing in everything is comparison. Although Zheng Yi has only been in charge of the city for a short three years, as long as you are not blind, you can see the construction results. At least the salary is really rising.

As the saying goes, one thing grows while another grows. In addition, he invited Yang Shaomin to Penang, and Penang's industry is so developed. With the right soil, the right ideas will naturally spread faster.

Not to mention the domestic situation, the history in this regard has indeed changed a lot abroad, and he should indeed consider how to balance the left and the right.

Zheng Yi suddenly asked, "Have you teachers organized a teachers' union?"

Li Jiazhi said, "As for the teachers' union, there isn't one, but I heard that some factories have indeed been quietly organizing unions, including..."

"Which ones?"

"Including Taiyou Machinery."

"Taiyou Machinery? Taiyou Machinery has also organized a union? What are they going to do? Are they going on strike? Who told you that? Li Xiaowu?"

At present, Taiyou Machinery is mainly managed by Li Xiaowu. Even Li Xiaoshi rarely cares about the factory's affairs because he is busy with more important things.

"That's exactly what my second brother told me, but I don't think there will be a strike. Most of the workers haven't joined. However, this union organization is indeed expanding quite rapidly."

"Even Tai Yew Machinery has a union, so I'm afraid most companies in Penang have one. I've rarely been involved in practical matters recently, so I didn't even know about such a big thing."

"Do you think this is a big deal? So big that you need to take care of it yourself?"

"of course."

But Zheng Yi picked up the phone and called Yang Shaomin. It was late at night, but he didn't bother to ask him to come over.

Afterwards, he hurriedly went with Li Jiazhi to change clothes and clean the battlefield.

"What do you want to do? Do you want the union to be forcibly dissolved?"

"Um……"

Zheng Yi hesitated for a moment, but as he changed clothes with Li Jiazhi, he suddenly said, "When will you get tired of being a teacher in that school?"

"what?"

"I plan to set up a Penang Federation of Trade Unions in Penang, or in other words, to set up a Ministry of Labour to formulate a labour law. As the saying goes, it is better to open up than to block. The Ministry of Labour will be responsible for writing, revising and supervising the labour law.

Although we are capitalists, we don't need to exploit workers to make money. It's better to open up than to block. Instead of letting the people below do whatever they want and letting them mess around, why don't we set up an official organization to get things done right? Do you want to be the director of the Labor Bureau?"

"Me? Why me? Shouldn't Mr. Yang be more suitable?"

"Do you think I can trust him? Think about it carefully. The power of this department can be great or small. If it's someone unrelated, almost any government office will have more authority than him. It will be difficult to truly protect the interests of the workers. Anyone working in the government can bully the workers."

"But if one person sided with the workers, that wouldn't work either. What if they asked for a three-hour shift a day and a hereditary job? What if they made such unreasonable demands?"

"It's hard to grasp the right balance. To put it bluntly, it's a matter of whim. We do this entirely on conscience. We can't let the unions and capitalists fight, but we can't really draw up any rules or regulations either. We can't just leave it alone.

Therefore, in my opinion, you are the most suitable person to serve as the Director of the Labor Bureau. I also trust your conscience. You are my wife, so you don't have to give face to anyone."

"If you do well, it will be of great help to your prestige as the City Lord's wife, and even to me. Do you want to give it a try and challenge me?"

As they were talking, Ding Dong, their doorbell rang. Yang Shaomin, who was woken up in the middle of the night, had already packed his clothes, put on his glasses and briefcase, and appeared at Zheng Yi's door.

　This is the last chapter, and there will be no more plot related to our party.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)