The Third District was a major industrial zone, so Sun Zheng often interacted with the owners of the large factories. He knew all too well how difficult they were to deal with.

He had no doubt that if he went on stage and made this proposal now, it wouldn’t end with a happy agreement. Instead, it would cause a commotion, leaving both sides in an impossible position and forcing them to part on bad terms.

Then, he would experience firsthand the terrifying extent of these factory owners’ networks—

From the lowest-level clerks handling the grunt work to the mid- and high-level leaders throughout Jinghai City, they would all reach out to him, overtly or covertly, to "have a word" or even exert pressure.

In the end, even if he wanted to act like a despot, ignore all opposition, and force the policy through, he wouldn’t be able to.

The reasoning was simple. Even if he forced the order through, the ones who actually carried it out were the clerks. And a large portion of those clerks had been groomed by the local elite families.

And as it happened, most of the major factory owners present here also hailed from those same Jinghai City elite families.

Then...

"...Mr. Zhu!" Hai Tie raised his hand. When Chu Bamboo nodded, he immediately stood up.

He took a deep breath, the harsh words catching in his throat, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them.

"If you have nothing to say, you can sit down," Chu Bamboo said calmly. "If you want to object, speak up! I don’t mind if you want to curse me out, either. After all... I’d like to think I’m a big believer in democracy!"

Hearing this, a number of the more stubborn factory owners from the mid-sized group—the ones set to receive a two-month bonus—looked eager to take a shot.

But the major factory owners in the front row were practically drenched in sweat.

Hai Tie panicked, losing his composure. He finally stammered, "The Jinghai City Government Office... Governor Lu... he pushed hard for the disability benefits system a month ago. At the time, for various reasons, like the impact on our profits, we were unable to fully implement it..."

"...Oh?"

"Of course, what I mean is, the time is now... mostly right. We can try to... uh, attempt..." Hai Tie pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Just tell me. How long will it take you to get this done?" Chu Bamboo cut in forcefully.

"S-six months? I think six months is a reasonable timeframe, after all..."

"One month," Chu Bamboo said calmly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the others’ faces. "If it takes longer than a month, then I’ll have reason to suspect that it’s you, or the powers behind you, who harbor a deep-seated resentment toward the Union!"

Before the meeting, he had secretly leaked the news of the deaths of Zhou Ze and the other officials. He had even deliberately emphasized how gruesome their deaths were.

So the subtext was clear: ’If you dare to object, then you’re the ones who killed Zhou Ze. And I will retaliate at any cost.’

This was, without a doubt, a threat. It was coercion.

But...

In the end, the major factory owners voted yes unanimously, as did all the owners of the small factories. It was the owners of the mid-sized factories who dissented—about sixty percent of them voted no...

Well, when those mid-sized factory owners realized all the major players had agreed, they started to panic and quickly changed their tune.

They wouldn’t question the major factory owners’ decision—those men certainly had far more foresight than they did.

Especially when all the major owners had made the exact same decision!

After all that, less than ten percent of the mid-sized owners—the truly stubborn ones who valued money more than their lives—still refused to agree. But it was obviously pointless.

The final result of the vote was binding. Everyone had to comply, or they would be targeted by all.

...

Watching the crowd disperse, Sun Zheng began to question his entire existence. The way he looked at Chu Bamboo kept changing.

’Seriously, man, are you the governor or am I?’

He watched Chu Bamboo, who was also getting up to leave, and opened his mouth several times. In the end, he couldn’t find any words to make him stay.

"What are you standing there stunned for? Let’s go," Li Kang said, walking over to Sun Zheng’s side with a puzzled look.

"I am contemplating a rather serious..." Sun Zheng began, about to launch into a complex sentence, but Li Kang cut him off. "I know what you’re confused about. Stop trying to figure it out. Your situation and Chu Bamboo’s are completely different."

"?"

"Yes, your authority may indeed be greater than Chu Bamboo’s, but..."

Li Kang gave a wry smile, his tone complex. "When Chu Bamboo says he’ll kill their whole family, he means he will *actually* kill their whole family."

"...?" Sun Zheng was even more confused. "Then couldn’t they just report him to the authorities and have him arrested? Wait, is it because you’re protecting him...?"

"Protect him my ass..." Li Kang scoffed.

"It’s because those factory owners also know that Chu Bamboo doesn’t even need to kill them himself. All he has to do is resign, leave the Union without anyone in charge, and their lives are probably forfeit."

It was a piece of very dark humor.

But the major factory owners, the ones truly at the top of the capitalist food chain, could see one thing with perfect clarity:

The Union didn’t just protect the workers; it also protected the factory owners.

The "sacrifice" of a chief official, along with several high-level ones, was more than enough to ignite the Union’s full fury, causing the organization to erupt with tremendous power.

Even if the factory owners got word ahead of time and managed to flee, saving their own skins, they couldn’t take their factory equipment with them.

The cost of the downtime and the destroyed equipment alone would likely be far more than what they’d spend on disability benefits.

Of course, aside from that, there was another major reason...

"Didn’t the Sea Factory Director already say it?" Li Kang shook his head. "A month ago, Governor Lu had already issued a policy on this very matter."

Sun Zheng froze. A bolt of understanding shot through his mind, and his eyes lit up with realization.

’So that’s how it was...’

In this situation, the only thing that could protect them was the government. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But since the government had already issued this policy a month ago, they couldn’t win if they tried to fight it through official channels.

Chu Bamboo seemed to be acting recklessly... but in reality, he had masterfully managed the balance between the Union, the City Government Office, and the major factory owners.

The major factory owners weren’t just up against Chu Bamboo alone. They were up against Chu Bamboo, a man who could unite every worker in the shantytown redevelopment district, combined with the will of the government itself!

...

「Outside the District Government Office.」

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Chu Bamboo turned his head, giving Ning Linglong an odd look.

’What’s with this girl? Does she have split personalities or something?’

’Her attitude was one way yesterday, another way when we met this morning, and now it’s changed again?’

"She must be in heat," Guan Fei muttered, rolling his eyes. He couldn’t tell if Chu Bamboo genuinely didn’t get it or was just playing dumb. Considering Chu Bamboo’s abilities, he figured it was probably the latter. "I think..."

With a deadpan expression, Ning Linglong shot out an elbow, striking Guan Fei hard on his fleshy neck and sending ripples through the layers of fat.

"...Pathetic. You think this defense of mine is just for show?" Guan Fei said, completely unfazed. He even taunted her, "You must think I’m as fragile as one of those Wall Announcements."

"You!" Ning Linglong ground her teeth viciously. But after a glance at Chu Bamboo, she forced herself to suppress her unladylike behavior.