Chapter 146 The Calm Before the Storm

Six o'clock in the evening, Longcheng, Zhanan District, 72 Huanhai Road.

This is a warehouse area near the seaport, somewhat deserted due to the sea closure.

However, one of the warehouses was brightly lit. About seventy or eighty people, with red ropes tied to their arms, were gathered inside.

These people held signs, banners, and some even wore homemade breastplates sewn together with steel plates and hemp ropes.

In the crowd, a leading man, about forty years old, was sitting on a chair, puffing on a cigarette.

He looked down at his watch, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, turned to the crowd, clapped his hands, and shouted, "Okay, okay, everyone, listen to me for a few words!"

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to him. The man cleared his throat, stood up, and said loudly, "Don't panic, everyone. Tonight, at least two or three thousand people in our Zhanan will be acting together! Our target is the Coast Guard! Once we get there, we will protest according to our demands. Don't listen to the higher-ups' nonsense, and don't get too emotional! Shout slogans and make a big commotion! But, be smart and don't actually have a direct conflict with the officers! Our mission is…"

Inside the warehouse, the man was speaking passionately. Outside the warehouse, two cars drove over and stopped in front of the gate.

Two young men responsible for surveillance hurriedly took out their walkie-talkies, preparing to contact the people inside.

"Swish!"

The car doors were pulled open, and a dozen young men jumped out of the car, standing in front of the warehouse. Following closely behind, Wei Xiangzuo, dressed in cloth clothes and shoes, also stepped out of the car.

The two young men responsible for surveillance were stunned when they saw him. One of them reacted first, stammering a greeting: "Deputy… Deputy Chairman, why are you here…"

"Don't move!"

Two young men stepped forward and directly pinned down the young man holding the walkie-talkie.

Wei Xiangzuo scanned them with his chest heaving, and said in a low voice, "What a bunch of goddamn fools!"

After saying this, Wei Xiangzuo walked towards the warehouse door.

The young man hurriedly shouted, "Deputy Chairman, there's no one inside!"

Wei Xiangzuo ignored him and led a dozen people, pushing the door open and walking in.

"Bang!!"

The door opened, and the people in the room turned around. When they saw that the person who had come was Wei Xiangzuo, they were all dumbfounded. Including the middle-aged man who was leading, he was also stunned.

Wei Xiangzuo, with his hands behind his back, scanned the faces of everyone here. Then he turned to look at the leading middle-aged man, pointed at him, and said, "He Lao Er, He Lao Er, what are you trying to get everyone to do?!"

He Lao Er lowered his head, not saying a word.

Wei Xiangzuo said, "I'll give you five minutes, and you all get out of here! Not just you, tell the others to get out of here too!!"

Everyone remained silent, not responding.

With Wei Xiangzuo's nearly ten years of dominance in Zhanan, at this time, no one echoed him, and no one left.

Wei Xiangzuo looked at them and roared in extreme anger, "Am I not in charge of you anymore?! Huh!!"

He Lao Er thought for a long time before finally opening his mouth and saying, "Brother Wei, you will always be the number one in Zhanan. We all respect you and admire your character. But right now, we can't live anymore! Once this area is sealed off, it won't just be a month or two. We might not be able to eat for a year or two! You tell me, aren't we risking our lives every day just to support our families? But what can we do now? Once maritime trade stops, we're all screwed. Even the mahjong parlors are empty."

Wei Xiangzuo stared at He Lao Er and asked, "Are you feeling wronged?"

He Lao Er said without hesitation, "Of course I feel wronged! My whole family is waiting for me to make money!"

"Is that so?"

Wei Xiangzuo walked up to He Lao Er.

He Lao Er's eyes showed some fear, and he couldn't help but take a step back.

Wei Xiangzuo reached out his hand, pointed at He Lao Er's chest, and asked sternly, "Haven't you made money all these years?! You've already bought two villas, don't you know that? How much more money do you want, how else do you want to live?! Is the association giving you too little? Huh?!"

He Lao Er's face was livid, and he didn't say a word.

Wei Xiangzuo turned his head again, his eyes sweeping over everyone in the warehouse, and continued to ask, "Have your wages been unstable all these years that you've been with the association?! Has your life not improved?! Who gave you the opportunity to not commit crimes or do dangerous jobs?! As people, we can't just say that when things are good, everyone contributes and the fire burns high. But when we encounter some difficulties, we turn around and kick out the fire. Is that how things are done?! I ask you, are you here to wave flags and shout? Can you hold guns or fight? Do you know what the situation is outside? You'll lose your little lives if you're not careful!! Others load you with bullets, and you just fire away? And you even raised banners!! I've been in Longcheng for most of my life, and I still don't understand politics. Can you understand it?"

Many people showed a hint of shame on their faces and lowered their heads.

Wei Xiangzuo softened his tone and said to them, "It's difficult for everyone now, and it's difficult for the association too! But I'm still reporting to the higher-ups today, and the administrative department has also agreed to give our workers economic subsidies. We all come from humble beginnings, and I've been adhering to one principle all these years!! Doing things righteously might be a disadvantage in the short term, but in the long run, it will definitely be profitable!! I'll say it again, don't drop your bowls when you don't have food to eat, because when the food comes again, you won't have anything to hold it!"

Everyone remained silent, and the warehouse fell into a long silence.

That night, only the dockworkers in Zhanan District of Longcheng remained calm, they were directly suppressed by Wei Xiangzuo.

Because, no matter what, in the lower levels of Nanzha, among the poor brothers, he was always the most upright spiritual leader!

…

Six thirty in the evening, No. 1 Coastal Road, Fugang District.

From a wharf warehouse, more than a hundred workers, pulling banners and wearing red armbands, came out and walked silently along the street.

After walking more than a hundred meters, leaving the warehouse compound, they began to shout loudly, protesting.

"Stop the war, demand peace talks!"

"Stop…"

The crowd continued to advance, and more and more people joined them along the way.

In a short while, one hundred people became two hundred. Two hundred people became two thousand.

The crowd was like a snowball, rolling bigger and bigger. In less than a kilometer, four or five thousand people had gathered.

The entire coastal road, as far as the eye could see, was densely packed with heads. People were shouting and roaring like a tsunami, becoming more and more agitated!

Because of the current tense situation, patrol posts were set up on the main streets of Longcheng.

The crowd surged like a tide on the street and soon came to a guard post at the end of the street. A dozen police officers stood in the guard post, looking expressionlessly at the dark crowd in front of them.

A leading man looked at the police officers and shouted unceremoniously, "Get out of the way! We want to express our opinions!"

Hearing this, the police officer with a cigarette in his mouth kicked over the railing next to him with a bang.

All the police officers stepped aside, ignoring them and watching the crowd rush out of the street.

Four or five thousand people quickly became six or seven thousand. The commotion in Fugang District was the biggest!

At the same time, similar events were taking place in other districts!

…

Longcheng, Administrative Hall.

In the mayor's office, Li Mingsheng received the relevant news and directly instructed Li Yuan, "Connect me to Gu Baisun's phone!"

Li Yuan dialed Gu Baisun's phone directly in front of Li Mingsheng.

Soon, the other party answered the phone and asked, "Hello?"

Li Mingsheng picked up the phone and asked directly, "How long will it take to solve the problem?"

Gu Baisun immediately said, "Leader, call me again in an hour."

"Okay, I'll give you an hour!" Li Mingsheng hung up the phone with a snap, frowned, and said, "Damn it, a bunch of ingrates!"

…

Fugang District, a large crowd was advancing along the street, shouting protests loudly.

At this moment, the leader suddenly received a call, hurriedly took out his phone, covered his ear, and asked, "Hello, Young Master Shang?"

Shang Shixun's voice sounded, "Lao Wei, don't worry, except for an accident in Zhanan, all the districts have started to move! You don't have to worry about anything, just keep moving forward, the police system won't stop you."

Lao Wei nodded repeatedly, "Okay, we are now preparing to converge! Except for Fugang, we will converge towards Longkou and push to the administrative building together!"

"Okay!"

The two hung up the phone.

The mighty crowd, like a long dragon, shouted and arrived at the next intersection.

"Squeak—"

At this moment, seven or eight cars suddenly stopped in front of them, blocking the empty road in the middle, directly blocking the intersection.

The crowd was a little surprised and subconsciously stopped.

A large number of soldiers jumped out of the car, led by a young officer, about twenty years old, holding a loudspeaker and shouting at the crowd, "I order you, in the name of the Longcheng Garrison Command, to immediately disband on the spot and return to your homes!"

The leader, Lao Wei, was stunned for a moment, then immediately yelled at the young officer, "Machine guns and cannons can't scare us! We want to express our demands! You lackeys, get out of the way!"

Behind him, the crowd also shouted excitedly.

"Get out of the way!"

"Stop the war, demand peace talks…"

At the intersection, in a military vehicle, Gu Baisun sat in the back row, looking expressionlessly at the rioting crowd, picked up the walkie-talkie, and ordered softly, "Let them shout again."

Outside the car, the young officer adjusted his headset, picked up the loudspeaker again, and shouted loudly, "I, on behalf of the Longcheng Garrison, warn you again! You must disband on the spot within ten minutes!"

"Get out of the way!"

At this moment, someone in the crowd suddenly lit a gasoline bomb and threw it at the military vehicle!

"Pa!"

"Whoosh!"

The gasoline bomb exploded into a ball of flame, and someone in the crowd roared.

"Knock down these lackeys!"

"Don't be afraid! Keep moving forward!"

The flame seemed to be a signal, and the crowd instantly became chaotic, desperately squeezing forward, trying to break through the blockade!

The young officer could only lead the soldiers to retreat, while pressing his headset and asking, "What do we do?"

Gu Baisun sat in the car, silent for a long time, and then said, "Kill them!!!"