Chapter 118 New President

In the front row of seats, Wei Xiangzuo raised his hands and applauded vigorously, "Welcome the new president to the stage to speak!"

"Pa, pa..."

After Wei Xiangzuo finished speaking, Dong Zheng of the Fukuoka district, and the presidents of other branches, although with surprised expressions, still applauded in agreement.

Seeing this scene, the others slowly raised their arms, and thunderous applause gradually resounded throughout the venue.

Wei Xiangzuo looked straight ahead and said softly, "Walk the rest of the road yourself!"

Gu Baisun suddenly stood up, turned his back to the podium, and waved to the more than sixteen hundred people, "Thank you, everyone! Thank you!"

While waving, he walked to the podium and tapped the microphone lightly.

The scene quieted down again. Gu Baisun, with his arm in a sling, looked at everyone present in a somewhat embarrassed manner, and said in a trembling voice, "First of all, thank you for the votes you cast for me! Secondly, thank you, Brother Wei, for your trust in me. Some people say... that he has forgotten the kindness my father showed him back then, but I want to say that Brother Wei has never been sorry to the Gu family! In this day and age, it is rare for people to still remember favors even after the benefactor is gone. Thank you, Brother Wei!"

After speaking, Gu Baisun bowed to Wei Xiangzuo, but the latter did not respond, only continued to applaud.

Gu Baisun stood up and looked at the members below again, speaking powerfully, "Since everyone supports me to take the stage, I will say two things! First, strictly implement the founding purpose of the migrant worker association. We are a grassroots social organization, and the primary purpose of the association's development is to protect the vital interests of grassroots members, so as to unite into a single force and contribute our strength to our families and our hometowns. Second, during my tenure, I will revise the president's removal rules. As long as the Council of Elders, the regional presidents, and one-third of the sixteen hundred elected representatives cast a vote to remove me, then I will step down without saying a word! You supervise whether I do well or not; everyone judges whether I am capable or not! Alright, that concludes my speech."

In two sentences, Gu Baisun had clearly stated his position. The originally bewildered crowd below also gave him warm applause.

Truthfully speaking, no previous president had ever publicly mentioned the association's removal rules upon taking office. Moreover, after taking office, they tried every means to revise this rule, so as not to lose their power inadvertently.

However, Gu Baisun's new decision maximized the risk of his own removal, which instantly added to the impression of him held by the grassroots elected representatives.

...

Backyard.

While Su Tianyu was on the phone communicating with Jin Maohui, Hou Guoyu strode over and whispered in his ear, "The voting results... there's a situation. Gu Baisun went up!"

"Brother Hui, I'll call you back in a moment." Su Tianyu hung up the phone, frowned and looked at Hou Guoyu and asked, "What, Gu Baisun went up?!"

"Yes!" Hou Guoyu replied with the same surprised expression, "So, we didn't waste our time for nothing?"

Su Tianyu paused slightly, "Mingyuan?"

"They were on the second floor just now," Hou Guoyu replied.

After hearing this, Su Tianyu stood still. His inner emotions were very complicated. He knew that something big was about to happen.

...

Inside the Municipal Building.

Li Mingsheng had just finished his call with Ouyang Zhen and looked up at Li Yuan, "It's Gu Baisun?"

"Yes, this voting result was too unexpected," Li Yuan replied immediately, "When I answered the phone, he was giving his inaugural speech."

A flash of surprise flashed in Li Mingsheng's eyes, and he sighed with a very complicated tone, "Damn it! I have to guard against the outside world and balance the conflicts between these little bastards!"

"Gu Baisun is not capable of getting so many votes," Li Yuan immediately added, "This shows...!"

"He definitely doesn't have the ability," Li Mingsheng waved his hand and replied, "Someone is helping him. You immediately call Xiaoyu and tell him to have Gu Baisun come to me immediately after the conference."

"Understood!" Li Yuan nodded, thought carefully, and said, "Do you think Liu Zi will know the inside story?"

"He knows, but he also doesn't know," Li Mingsheng replied contradictoryly, "What he cares about is not Gu Baisun."

Li Yuan thoughtfully said, "I understand."

...

Inside the Taida Conference Center, after Gu Baisun delivered his inaugural speech, he very formally kowtowed and paid respects to the founder of the migrant worker association during the Ming Dynasty, the ancestral master, under the leadership of the Council of Elders, and poured tea for the elders one by one.

These very cumbersome and Jianghu-flavored rituals were created by the modern founders of the migrant worker association. They had to have a purpose for establishing the association, they had to make it formal, to show that they were orthodox and that the association's intention was lofty, so they forcibly attached themselves to several organizations during the Ming Dynasty, claiming that they were modern branches with a long history.

After the ceremony.

The representatives of the Council of Elders couldn't wait to announce the adjournment of the meeting, allowing the many attendees to leave the venue in an orderly manner, and would also arrange for the new president to go to various districts to understand the situation in a week. In short, after taking office, the first round of field investigations would be to build relationships and network.

According to common sense, after the public vote conference, a dinner and gathering should be arranged, but the current situation was obviously not suitable for such activities, because the battle outside was already underway, and it was easy to accidentally misfire.

In this situation, what was the point of eating or having a gathering? It was better to dismiss everyone quickly.

The conference ended, and everyone left the scene in an orderly manner.

Wei Xiangzuo and Gu Baisun, and others, in the backstage corridor, were also seeing off the members of the Council of Elders and the presidents of the regional associations one by one.

At this time, Yu Mingyuan on the second floor said to Zhou Tonghui, "Do you know who cast those dozens of votes for Wei Xiangzuo?"

Zhou Tonghui replied without thinking, "Only the Donggang District is completely controlled by us. It must have been cast by Dong Pengyu's people."

Yu Mingyuan's face was gloomy, "You arrange the rest. Let's go!"

After speaking, a group of people quickly left.

...

About five minutes later.

After Gu Baisun had seen off the last group of people, accompanied by Wei Xiangzuo, Niu Feng, Guo Zhengdao, and others, he was also preparing to leave the venue quickly.

A group of more than twenty people walked quickly along the special passage, but just as they were about to reach the exit, the two open doors were suddenly closed and locked.

Gu Baisun stopped and said with a sneer, "I knew it. I wouldn't be able to get out."

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps sounded at the other end of the corridor. More than twenty unfamiliar men walked quickly, carrying guns.

"Wei Xiangzuo, leave with your people!" A burly man at the head of the group shouted.

Wei Xiangzuo clenched his fists, "I don't know you. I can't leave!"

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. The man at the head of the group held a pistol, "Can you leave or not?!"