Chapter 56

It's too passive, too embarrassing!

The incident in Qingyuan City had alarmed the provincial leaders, yet the city leaders were still unaware. Guo Zichun slammed the table and summoned the vice mayor in charge of industry, Tang Yifu, to his office, ordering him to immediately rush to the scene,疏散人员, 疏通道路, and quickly quell the incident to prevent the situation from worsening and eliminate negative impacts.

Tang Yifu, having been reprimanded by the Party Secretary, naturally had no good face for Guan Haoyu. He instructed Guan Haoyu to immediately contact the main leaders of the instrument factory and rush to the scene to organize the investigation and handling.

Guan Haoyu, after all, was a seasoned bureaucrat. Despite Vice Mayor Tang Yifu's urgent and fiery demeanor, he was not at all worried. The laid-off workers of the instrument factory were causing a disturbance, and the factory's top leaders were the primary responsible parties. The traffic paralysis was a headache for the head of the traffic management department, and the negative impact was what the top leaders of the municipal Party Committee and government feared most. No matter how big the incident became, as a soon-to-retire director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), he would at most bear indirect leadership responsibility.

After hanging up the phone, Guan Haoyu still dispatched Huang Roshan, along with the director of the Enterprise Reform Department, Ye Ping, and Qi Dagang, to the scene. He himself claimed to be unwell and continued to hide in his office, refusing to show his face.

Tang Yifu was known for his bold and decisive nature, a typical hardliner. He had previously handled some conflicts and disputes among state-owned enterprise workers, almost always extinguishing them in their early stages with forceful measures. Party Secretary Guo Zichun and Mayor Zhu Minwen were satisfied with Tang Yifu's ability to handle emergencies.

Today's incident was too sudden, making Tang Yifu lose face in front of the provincial and municipal leaders. He was seething with anger. As soon as he arrived at the scene, even before the car had stopped, the first thing that caught Tang Yifu's eye was not the congested traffic or the crowded crowd, but the banners hanging at the factory gate:

"State-owned assets must not be lost!"

"We want to live, we want to work!"

"Vow to defend the instrument factory!"

"Corrupt officials and businessmen, you will not have a good end!"

The last one, in particular, was especially glaring to Tang Yifu, as if it were cursing him. Looking around, he did not see Guan Haoyu among the few people who came to greet him, which only added to his anger. He thought Guan Haoyu was trying to show off his seniority and put pressure on him.

Thus, he vented his anger on Huang Roshan, Guan Haoyu's substitute, harshly reprimanding him and forcing him to take people to confiscate the banners hanging at the factory gate, threatening that if he couldn't do it, Guan Haoyu would have to do it personally.

Tang Yifu, who was in charge of the SASAC, could decide the fate of Huang Roshan's career. His instructions had to be carried out without any hesitation.

Huang Roshan was not stupid. He asked the director of the Enterprise Reform Department, Ye Ping, to find the Party Secretary of the instrument factory, Guo, and the factory manager, Liu, and ordered them to organize people to confiscate the banners. If they couldn't do it, they would lose their positions.

In the bureaucracy, one level of authority pressured the next. Whoever held the power held the authority.

The positions of state-owned enterprise leaders were in the hands of the SASAC. Guo and Liu naturally dared not disobey Huang Roshan's instructions.

In reality, Guo and Liu had already been called "traitors" by the factory workers. Their words carried little weight. After receiving the notice, they brought a few trusted middle-level cadres and had been pleading with the crowd for several rounds, but the chaotic scene only worsened, and they were pushed and shoved by the laid-off workers, sweating profusely and achieving nothing. The crowd only grew larger.

They thought the arrival of the city and SASAC leaders would ease the pressure, but they never expected that the first task assigned by the leaders was not to disperse the crowd or clear the road, but to confiscate the banners.

Orders from above could not be disobeyed!

To show the SASAC's proactive involvement, Huang Roshan sent Qi Dagang with Guo and Liu.

When Tang Yifu arrived, he notified the chief of the Beihu District Public Security Bureau, Hao Jiancheng. After dispatching Huang Roshan, Hao Jiancheng brought Han Li and a dozen police officers in several police cars to the scene.

Tang Yifu ordered Hao Jiancheng to organize the police to immediately disperse the crowd on the riverfront road and maintain traffic flow.

Hao Jiancheng immediately instructed Han Li to lead a dozen police officers to form a human wall, using threats and intimidation to gradually push the crowd on the road to the sidewalk. The traffic on the Qinglian River Bridge finally returned to normal.

Tang Yifu was very satisfied with Hao Jiancheng's strong performance but was extremely dissatisfied with Huang Roshan's inability to confiscate the banners.

The banners were organized and hung by a group of female workers led by Tan Yufen, all middle-aged women who were sharp-tongued and fierce. They were unmoved by the earnest appeals of Guo and Liu and instead cursed them harshly.

Tang Yifu called Huang Roshan to inquire, and Huang Roshan called Qi Dagang. After several calls, Tang Yifu could not hold back and coldly said, "Huang Roshan, with your indecisive character, can you be a top leader?"

This time, Huang Roshan was truly alarmed. He shouted into the phone at Qi Dagang, "Qi Dagang, you can't even handle such a small matter. Can you be a good office director with this attitude?"

Stimulated, Qi Dagang discussed with Guo and Liu and decided to take action. He led the charge, tearing down a banner, and Guo directed several middle-level cadres to block the female workers and tear down the banners.

The female workers were caught off guard and were no match for the strength of the men. Within seconds, the banners were in the hands of Qi Dagang and others.

Seeing this, Tan Yufen was furious. She shouted, "Sisters, let's get the banners back!"

The female workers rushed forward, led by Tan Yufen, and began to tear and pull at Qi Dagang and others.

Qi Dagang managed to grab a banner and quickly put it in his pocket, planning to show it to Huang Roshan. Seeing Tan Yufen rush over, he tried to block her, accidentally colliding with her chest.

"Help! Someone is being a pervert!" Tan Yufen, not realizing what happened, was loudly shouted by a nearby woman.

Zhang Wei and others, who had been pushed to the side by the police, heard the commotion and saw Qi Dagang's hand on Tan Yufen's chest. They were enraged. The young workers, who had been pushed around by the police and were already frustrated, now saw an opportunity to vent their anger. They rushed forward, and Zhang Wei slapped Qi Dagang.

The young workers, who had been suppressed by the police and were already angry, now saw an opportunity to vent their frustrations. They attacked Qi Dagang and Guo, determined to release their pent-up anger.

Seeing the situation turn bad, Qi Dagang and others fled in panic, with Qi Dagang, who had the banner, running faster than a rabbit. The other banners were taken back by the female workers.

Tang Yifu was waiting for this outcome. This was his usual tactic in handling emergencies. He would remain calm on the surface while secretly instructing people to create small disturbances. The agitators, already emotionally charged, would easily lose control. Once they started fighting, it would be legitimate to arrest them.

Tang Yifu understood the psychology of ordinary people. They liked to join in the commotion but were mostly timid and afraid of trouble. Once their relatives were arrested, they would immediately become submissive and beg the government to release them.

At this point, most people would forget their original goal and only hope to get their relatives released as soon as possible.

Zhang Wei and others fell into the trap. Tang Yifu ordered Hao Jiancheng, "Arrest them."

Han Li and several fully armed police officers rushed into the crowd, grabbed Zhang Wei, and dragged him to the police car.

The young workers, who were about to charge, were stunned and stopped in their tracks.

Da Hu and Lao Wan rushed over, shouting, "No, you can't take him away."

Han Li glared at them, "What? Do you want to assault the police? If you cause more trouble, we'll arrest you too."

Taking advantage of Da Hu and Lao Wan's hesitation, two police officers pushed Zhang Wei into the police car.

If it were any other woman, seeing her husband arrested, she would likely cry and beg the police to release him. However, Tan Yufen was a brave woman. She rushed to the police car and shouted, "If you take my husband, you'll have to step over me."

Han Li ordered, "Drag her away!"

Two young police officers rushed forward and grabbed Tan Yufen's arms.

Tan Yufen, taking advantage of the situation, tore open her shirt, exposing her chest, and shouted that the police were being perverts. The two young police officers, seeing this, dared not drag her and let go, stepping back.

Tan Yufen did not stop there. She rushed forward and collided with Han Li, scaring him pale. He retreated and hid in another police car, not daring to come out.

Encouraged by Tan Yufen, the laid-off female workers of the instrument factory also exposed their chests and stood in front of the police car holding Zhang Wei.

With the commotion and the sight of the women, passersby stopped to watch.

The traffic, which had just been restored, was again blocked.

Qi Dagang, covering his face, approached Huang Roshan. Huang Roshan took the banner from his pocket and ran to Tang Yifu to show his success. Wu Shicai, who had been watching from the side, shouted, "There are even bigger leaders over there. Let's go talk to them."

The laid-off workers rushed toward the direction where Tang Yifu's Audi was parked.

Seeing the situation, Hao Jiancheng commanded the remaining police to form a human wall in front of the Audi.

The situation was out of control again, and even more chaotic than before.

Tang Yifu scolded Huang Roshan and got into the car. He called Guan Haoyu, ordering him to quickly organize forces to quell the incident, or else submit his retirement report to his office the next day.

Guan Haoyu, still calm, called Ouyang Meimei to his office.

After a brief introduction, Ouyang Meimei's delicate face showed a sinister smile. She said, "Director, don't worry, I have a plan."