Chapter 296 The Old Rascal
Mr. Niu suddenly stood up, looking somewhat dazed and confused.
He stared blankly at Chen Yu, his eyes filled with incredulity.
"You're actually Shuixianzi!"
Chen Yu might have felt he hadn't had enough fun, supporting his chin with one hand, his eyes brimming with teasing.
"Look at me, how could I possibly be Shuixianzi? I am a genuine businessman!"
Mr. Niu's eyes were wide with disbelief.
"Chen, don't make me come over there, or I'll kill you!"
Suddenly, Chen Yu became serious, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.
"Then you'll need the ability to actually kill me!"
In that instant, Mr. Niu felt an unprecedented murderous intent, causing his body to shiver uncontrollably.
"Enough, why waste words on this guy?"
Zhou Shengtao had his men take Mr. Niu away, then pulled Chen Yu aside.
"Chen, you've really made a significant contribution this time. You have no idea how much we've paid to catch this old fox. I heard he tricked you into that village. Are you okay?"
Thinking back to the village gave Chen Yu a chill; he had never imagined a small mountain village could suffer from plague for seven or eight years.
"Right, Captain Zhou, I haven't asked you yet, what's the deal with that village?"
Zhou Shengtao sighed helplessly.
"We've sent so many people there before, but we could never get to the root of the problem. Once we cured one type of plague, a variant would emerge. In the end, we could only isolate the place."
Chen Yu nodded, deciding not to ask any more questions.
Industrial Park, Pharmaceutical Factory No. 3.
Hou Jianchang sat on a pile of stones at the entrance, his face showing helplessness. In front of him, a hundred or so grey-haired elderly people, all wearing uniforms, clearly the factory's retired workers, surrounded him.
"We're all retired from here. Since you've taken over the factory, our pensions should now be your responsibility."
"I've worked at this factory my whole life and I'm attached to it. Why won't you let me come back? Do you think I'm too old to be of use? That's discrimination."
"Call your manager out, let them explain it to us face to face."
"We too were owed wages back when we worked. You've paid those new workers their back pay, so why haven't you paid us?"
...
The crowd kept up a constant chatter, which was giving Hou Jianchang a headache.
As the Industrial Park continued to expand, more and more chaotic issues emerged. Hou Jianchang's hair, which had already been half white, was now almost completely white.
Moreover, the current situation had arisen so suddenly that even he didn't know what to do.
The people who came brought with them old labor contracts, some even dating back twenty years.
In those decades, that pharmaceutical factory had changed owners countless times; could the wage issues from so long ago really be piled onto them?
"Ladies and gentlemen, I've already made it very clear to you, it wasn't us who signed the labor contracts with you. Although we've taken over this factory, according to the rules, we're not responsible for the personal wages and other benefits of the employees. What we've done already exceeds our obligations..."
Before he could finish, a crowd surrounded him, armed with all sorts of tools, ready to settle accounts with Hou Jianchang.
If it weren't for the security guards holding them back, Hou Jianchang might've been dragged out already.
Just as the scene descended into chaos, a supercar suddenly charged through and stopped steadily amidst the crowd.
The once chaotic crowd instantly quieted down, and Hou Jianchang let out a sigh of relief.
Chen Yu got out of the car with ease, bypassing the troublemakers in front of him.
After resolving the issues with Boss Niu, he had rushed back nonstop. Halfway through, he received a call that made him anxious; if it weren't for Zhou Shengtao's grand gesture of transferring one of Boss Niu's supercars to Chen Yu, he might not have been able to make it back so quickly.
On his way back, Chen Yu quickly looked up the personal details of the troublemakers and discovered they were the local ruffians from this factory area decades ago.
It was precisely because of their severe disturbances back then that the relevant departments had been forced to close several factories, leading to the constant resale of these factories.
Everything had already been settled, but now that Chen Yu had acquired the factory and distributed back pay to the old employees, it had aroused the jealousy of these people.
They brought their employment qualifications, as well as the wage arrears slips from the old factory, to this place.
To put it plainly, they just wanted to get a share of the wages from Chen Yu.
"The criminal records of all of you are in my hands. I'm giving you one chance to leave immediately, or else I'll hand you over to the relevant departments for prosecution."
Chen Yu waved a large stack of documents in his hand gently, and immediately subdued everyone present.
But the leading few old thugs weren't afraid of this. They gripped their tools and took a few steps forward.
"Kid, you really shouldn't try to bluff us with these things. Back when I was running this turf, you were still in your mother's womb. Today we have only one demand, either pay up, or we'll smash your factory."
A dangerous smile suddenly appeared at the corners of Chen Yu's mouth; he hadn't expected these people to be so brazen and unreasonable.
He let out a sigh and then took out a certificate for external personnel from his person.
"Since it's like this, then I won't waste any more time."
These people were a bunch of old rogues, and seeing the certificate in Chen Yu's hand, they immediately deflated and didn't dare to act rashly.
Some even started running away as soon as they saw Chen Yu's certificate, not daring to stay a moment longer.
"Brother, this is all a misunderstanding. To tell the truth, we just feel sentimental about the old factory, so we came to make a fuss. We didn't intend to do anything! Let's just turn the page on today's incident, alright?"
The old ruffian in front said with a smile, then gestured to the people behind him. The large group quickly dispersed.
But as they walked away, the murderous intent in Chen Yu's eyes didn't dissipate; he truly hadn't anticipated such an incident.
"Hou Jianchang, next time this happens, just kick them out immediately; don't waste time with them."
Hou Jianchang's face was helpless: "Old Chen, you don't understand the situation. These people are experienced thugs. Today you drive them away, tomorrow they'll dare to carry a bed to the front of your factory and lie down."
Chen Yu was incensed: "I refuse to believe that this bunch can really turn the sky upside down; next time they come, just fight them off directly."