Official excuse: I've put you on patrol in Handong, and the whole province is in a panic.

Handong Province.

Jingzhou.

Dafeng Factory.

The iron gate of Dafeng Factory has been erected by workers using steel pipes and old machine tools. A red cloth strip is hung at the entrance, which reads "Protect the equity of employees and safeguard the workers' jobs".

Zheng Xipo walked around the factory area, stepping on broken bricks and oil stains. When he saw the plastic buckets piled up next to the boiler room, his face immediately darkened.

"Wenge, who allowed these buckets to be placed here?"

Wang Wenge was leading several workers from the factory protection team to move wooden planks when he heard Zheng Xipo call him. He then hoisted the stick in his hand onto his shoulder.

"Old Zheng, don't be so alarmed. These are just to scare the demolition team."

Zheng Xipo walked over and suppressed his anger.

"You can't scare people like that. When it comes to gasoline, if something goes wrong, no one can cover it up."

Wang Wenge spat on the ground.

"Who wanted this to happen? They forced it!"

"People from Shanshui Group are out and about every day, court officials can come and go as they please, and construction trucks are parked at the intersection. If we don't stand up for ourselves, this factory will be bulldozed tomorrow."

Zheng Xipo sighed.

"Alright... but please be careful!"

Wang Wenge gritted his teeth.

"What safety? I'm telling you right now, if those bastards dare to mess around, I'll set all 20 tons of gasoline on fire! We might as well all go to heaven together! If I don't survive, they won't survive either!"

Zheng Xipo's expression was rather unpleasant.

"Xiao Wang, don't be impulsive..."

Wang Wenge gave a bitter laugh.

"Not act impulsively? This is a life-or-death struggle! If I don't act impulsively, this factory will definitely be demolished! You've seen those bastards; they've used threats and inducements, murder and arson—they've committed every imaginable atrocity! If we don't unite and dare to fight to the death, we won't be able to save Dafeng Factory!"

"Damn it, Cai Chenggong didn't say a word when he pledged the employee shares, but now he's nowhere to be seen guarding the factory! If that old bastard comes back, I'll tie him to a gasoline drum! If we're going to blow up the factory, we'll blow this bastard up first."

Zheng Xipo sighed.

"If we could find Boss Cai, we could at least get him to help us think of a solution... We're just a bunch of workers who can't do anything but work hard. If Boss Cai were here, he could probably give us some advice..."

Wang Wenge put the stick off his shoulder.

"What kind of brilliant ideas could he come up with! He'd just sell us all out; this land is our lifeline."

"They've said this land is worth a billion now, and we workers still have 40% of the shares, which is 400 million! Whether the Cai family is involved or not, we have to hold onto it!"

"With over 1300 employees, each family will receive a considerable amount of money!"

Zheng Xipo looked at the workers who had gathered around him and knew that he couldn't discuss the legal details with them at this time.

These people have been owed wages, misled by restructuring, and had their shares pledged without Cai Chenggong's knowledge. They have been holding back their anger for far too long.

Anyway, if we can protect the factory and get the 4 million yuan into the hands of the Dafeng Factory employees, that would be the best outcome, and I could also benefit from it. He continued, "Increase patrols tonight."

"Two people at the west gate, three people at the east wall, no smoking, no drinking, and no joking around with gasoline near the boiler room."

"Wenge, you take the factory security team and keep watch at the factory gate. If anyone sees the construction team approaching, call for help first, but don't take action first."

Wang Wenge was not happy.

"They've already come to our door, why aren't you doing anything?"

Zheng Xipo reached out and tapped the stick in his hand.

"Those two blows you struck changed everything."

"We're here to protect the factory and demand an explanation."

"If we really hurt someone, people outside can say we're causing trouble."

Wang Wenge cursed, "Those bastards are just waiting for us to make our move."

Zheng Xipo nodded.

"So we can't let them wait... The police are practically hoping we start fighting! They want to arrest all our people so they can forcibly demolish our property!"

A young worker ran in from the doorway.

"Chairman Zheng, there are more cars parked outside."

Wang Wenge immediately grabbed a stick.

Which way?

"At the south intersection, there were two vans with their lights off, but no one got out."

Wang Wenge's face darkened.

"Don't go and cause trouble, send someone to keep an eye on things first."

Then he turned around and shouted, "Da Liu, Lao Ma, go and watch the south wall, but don't go outside the factory gate."

The two workers agreed and ran south.

Zheng Xipo wanted to say more, but his phone rang.

The image on the screen is of Cai Chenggong.

He glanced at it and answered the call.

"Boss Cai, where are you? Our factory security team is about to be overrun."

Cai Chenggong sounded anxious on the other end of the phone.

"We have to defend it, even if we can't! That's all money! We can't afford not to..."

Zheng Xipo was furious upon hearing this.

"Boss Cai, so now you know to let the workers guard the factory?"

"When you pledged your shares as collateral, why didn't you think of us workers?"

Cai Chenggong complained on the phone.

"Old Zheng, I had no choice. The banks were pressing for repayment, the project needed funding, and the Shanshui Group was urging me to sign the contract. I was just trying to get the cash flow sorted out, but who knew things would turn out like this... Now that I think about it, it was all a setup! They all conspired to trap us!"

"Old Zheng, now is not the time to scold me. If the factory is really lost, everyone will have nothing."

Zheng Xipo looked up at the workers who had gathered around him and moved his phone further away.

Wang Wenge asked, "What did Cai Chenggong say?"

Zheng Xipo gritted his teeth and turned on the speakerphone.

Cai Chenggong was still shouting, "Is Wenge here? Wenge, listen to me, we must increase patrols tonight and not let the demolition team into the factory."

Upon hearing this, Wang Wenge became furious.

"Cai Chenggong, you still dare to order me around?"

Wang Wenge yelled into the phone, "You fucking sold off the employee stock ownership plan, and now you expect us to risk our lives for you? Who do you think you are?"

Cai Chenggong quickly offered an explanation.

"Wen Ge, you can't say that. I'm also from Dafeng Factory. Would I harm anyone?"

Wang Wenge laughed fiercely.

"Haven't you caused enough harm yet?"

"If you were in front of me, I'd give you two whacks first."

Cai Chenggong panicked.

"Even if you attack me, you have to protect the factory first."

"If Shanshui Group really takes the factory away, you won't even have a place to fight me anymore."

This sentence silenced the room.

Wang Wenge slammed the stick into the ground.

"We'll protect the factory."

"I'm not guarding it for you, I'm guarding it for the workers."

"Cai Chenggong, remember this: we'll settle accounts with you after this is over."

Cai Chenggong quickly replied, "Yes, yes, let's guard the factory first, and settle the accounts later."

Zheng Xipo turned off the hands-free mode.

"Cai Chenggong, where are you now?"

Cai Chenggong stammered.

"I'm out there running connections."

Zheng Xipo sneered.

"Are you afraid of getting arrested?"

Cai Chenggong didn't dare to accept it.

Zheng Xipo said, "Let me tell you, the inspection team has arrived in Handong, and the workers are preparing to hand over the materials. You'd better not try anything funny."

Cai Chenggong was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "The inspection team? Old Zheng, you've contacted the inspection team? That's a viable option!"

But let me tell you, going to the inspection team these days is unreliable! I have a childhood friend named Hou Liangping, who used to be from Handong, and now he's the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Handong Provincial High People's Procuratorate!

"This is a big shot. If I can get in touch with him, things will turn around at Dafeng Factory. You guys hold your ground and wait for my good news... He's incredibly powerful! Much more reliable than any inspection team!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xipo's eyes lit up.

"Boss Cai, we didn't contact the inspection team. Why didn't you say you knew such an important person sooner? Is he even more powerful than Old Chen Yanshi?"