Before he could enjoy the freedom of the Federation, he lost his fucking job.
Perhaps this unemployment is a good thing for these young people, teaching them a truth.
Even if they can tolerate exploitation and oppression, fate will still not favor them.
It's just that because they are at the bottom of the world, they have no resistance to the forces from above.
When a person has no resistance to plunder, others will not sympathize with your plight, but will only join the ranks of the plunderers.
Ethan wanted to argue with the manager, but Erwin grabbed his clothes tightly, stared at him with a kind of gaze he had never shown before, a kind of fierce gaze, and shook his head slowly, telling him not to do it.
Offending the workers, who actually belong to the same class as them, will at most cause them to cause trouble and call the police.
Every year, there are a large number of cases in this city. The police will not waste their limited resources on such trivial matters.
They would be crazy to spend tens or even hundreds of dollars on police resources to deal with worthless cases!
But if you offend the management, even if it is just a low-level cadre, the consequences will be different.
Erwin walked to the front, "Sir, after this storm is over..."
The manager looked at Erwin for a while, then nodded. "Of course, you are always welcome here."
"Erwin, you are a smart man, so I will talk to you more."
"You can see that we can't do without you here, so I don't think this storm will last long. You just need to hide for now."
Erwin forced a somewhat embarrassed smile. "What about our...salaries during this time."
The manager pretended not to hear and continued saying what he wanted to say. "The company will not let the dock shut down, and the same goes for City Hall. You just need to be prepared to come back to work at any time and wait for our call..."
In this way, he told Erwin relatively mildly that the money was gone.
The income of several thousand people for half a month was also a not inconsiderable sum for the management company.
And it was reasonable and legal for them not to pay this part of the income. Who let these people be illegal residents?
The manager raised his hand as if he wanted to pat Erwin on the shoulder, but when he saw the obviously dusty shoulders, he withdrew his hand. "Good luck, Erwin."
As for the others, he didn't even bother to pay them any attention.
The friends were a little angry and helpless. Although they had not yet fully understood the social hierarchy mechanism of the Federation during this month, they had at least gained some knowledge.
"What now?", one of the friends asked.
Erwin pulled a lock of hair down and flicked it in his hand, "Go find Lance, maybe he can think of something."
The main entrance to the dock was surrounded by a group of demonstrators. Some of the young people looked very unstable, and from time to time they knocked on the railings and gates with the sticks they were holding.
The police officers not far away seemed to have ignored their violent behavior at the moment, half-sitting on the front of their car, chatting and eating their donuts and coffee.
Perhaps it was because Erwin's group was the largest, these demonstrators were like discovering a new continent. Several of the young leaders looked over towards Erwin.
Soon, most of the group of about 30 to 40 people, armed with sticks and clubs, came towards them.
The group of friends had never experienced such a situation before and were a little overwhelmed. Alvin looked at the police officers over there, who seemed to have no intention of getting involved, and gave Ethan and Mero a shove, shouting "Run!" and running towards the inside of the pier.
They knew the area well and knew where they could and could not hide.
The police outside still hadn't the slightest idea what to do and were still eating sweet, sickening doughnuts and drinking sweet, sickening coffee.
The chief had said that letting off some steam would only have a positive effect.
As long as no one is killed... No, in an event that can already be called a "storm", even if a few people die, it's not a big deal.
There are always some people who are different from normal people, or the social mood at this time is amplified by some politicians and capitalists, affecting more people.
Some locals who didn't come to demonstrate also rashly joined in this "carnival" that seemed to be a siege of illegal immigrants.
It lasted until after 2:00 p.m. When the terminal management company thought that everyone had vented their emotions, they called the Jingang City Police Department.
Then a large number of police cars arrived with sirens blaring, and a large group of police officers armed with batons and rubber clubs began entering the terminal. They pinned those who were attacking the illegal immigrants to the ground and handcuffed them.
Those illegal immigrants who were lying in a pool of blood or had already been injured were ignored.
It looked as if they were enforcing the law impartially, but this impartiality always smelled of stale salted fish.
Erwin and his group were lucky. After all, they were many, and they tried to fight back after being beaten –
they would hug their attackers instead of attacking them and injuring them.
In this way, they were able to minimize the damage, but several of them were beaten to a bloody pulp.
The young men, whose faces were covered in blood and who were still reeling from the shock, had talked about their aspirations for a better future not long ago, but they had all but lost it in this fight that had been caught up in the crossfire.
The mayor urgently issued a speech, demanding that the city's police officers go out on the streets to patrol and prohibit this kind of development, which threatened to continue to escalate, and that those who vandalized and resisted arrest could be shot.
The gunfire continued intermittently throughout the afternoon, and it wasn't until after 7 o'clock that it gradually subsided.
Lance absentmindedly cleaned the bakery. The fat boss returned with a truck and piled a lot of things into the warehouse.
Because something unimaginable had happened in the city today, after 7 o'clock the fat boss told Lance to turn the "open for business" sign upside down.
He was doing a final clean-up before closing the shop.
Just then the doorbell rang. "Sorry, we're closed."
Lance kept on mopping the floor without looking up, but the visitor didn't seem to be planning to leave. Instead, he asked, "Where's Mr. Jonny?"
Lance stopped what he was doing, straightened up with the mop in his hand, and looked at the visitor.
A young woman of about 30 or 35, wearing a slightly outdated half-round neck top and a burgundy long skirt.
Although her clothes were not fashionable, her appearance and figure added a lot to her.
There was a kind of beauty that was not on the same track as "fashionable".
"He's in the back, do you want me to call him?"
The young woman nodded, and Lance ran to the back window and shouted through the window at the warehouse, "Boss, someone is looking for you."
"Who's looking for me?" Jonny came out holding a ledger in his hands. When he saw the young woman, he frowned slightly.
Without waiting for him to say anything, the young woman took the initiative to walk over to him and pull him into the break room, then closed the door behind them.
Looking at the locked door, Lance scoffed, "What a lucky guy."
This was not Jonny's ex-wife or current wife. He had not remarried after the divorce, and he had never met this woman before.
When he was about to get back to work, he noticed the apprentice standing by the door, looking at the closed door with hurt eyes and a kind of hatred.
His fists were white with clenching.
Lance walked over and nudged him with his elbow. "You know her?"
The apprentice glared at Lance and spoke angrily. 'You'd better mind your own fucking business!"
Lance retorted. 'Is that your mother?"
The apprentice glared at him viciously, his eyes a little red, and turned around and went back to the back room. Lance then realized that this was really fucking.
There was a lot of noise in the room, and Jonny didn't seem to be surprised that there were people outside. He tossed the little woman around, and even from the outside you could hear the little woman begging for mercy.
Lance felt sure that the apprentice had heard it too. The bakery was quiet at the moment, so any sound could be heard, not to mention the fact that the door was not very soundproof.
The whole thing lasted about fifteen minutes before Jonny came out of there contentedly, "That's the last time!"
he said to the young woman in a threatening tone, "For your sake."
The young woman, pale, straightened her skirt, covered her face and left the bakery quickly. Lance went to the door and mopped up the mess on the floor.
The fat boss gave him a sideways glance and said, "Be careful. If I find any messes on the floor, you'll go hungry again tonight!"
Then he went back to the storeroom, where he had added a lot of things today and needed to do an inventory.
After completing his work, Lance went to the back room. The apprentice was standing in front of the workbench, rubbing his hands together.
He walked up to him, leaning against the workbench and looking at him. "A chat?"
The apprentice didn't say anything.
Just as Lance was about to think of a way to strike up a conversation, someone else pushed open the door, and he had to give up on the opportunity to continue the conversation with the apprentice for the time being.
When he entered the hall, he realized that the person who had come in was Erwin, who had blood all over his head.
Blood was stuck to his hair, and although his face had been cleaned, it still showed the marks.
His expression became serious, and he hurried over to have a look. "Who hit you?"
Erwin felt his nose tingle. "It doesn't matter, Lance. There was a fight at the docks this afternoon, and we were beaten up then."
"We hid until just now, taking advantage of the darkness to escape, and there were a few others like me."
"We've been suspended for the time being..."