A madman in France? How come he's always at crime scenes!

Chapter 57: I must thank Manager Zhang for his humanistic care!

Do you have time now?

Wu Liang glanced at the workers lined up neatly at the entrance of the government service center.

"have."

Just as Lin Zhiyi was about to speak, Wu Liang added:

"But not many."

Lin Zhiyi's fingers tightened around her phone, and she tried to keep her voice under control.

"Attorney Wu, I think it's necessary for us to meet and talk."

"Shall we talk about salary?"

"Solution".

"That's just about negotiating wages," Wu Liang said sincerely. "Manager Lin, the workers want money, not a specific method."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Okay," Wu Liang said, "but I should mention beforehand that I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat. I don't drink unopened water, I don't get into strangers' cars, and I don't sign anything I can't understand..."

"Beep beep beep..."

Wu Liang regretfully put away his phone.

That Miss Lin is really impolite; she hung up the phone before I even finished speaking.

Old Qian leaned closer and whispered, "Attorney Wu, have people from Hongyuan arrived?"

"Um."

"Can you pay me?"

Wu Liang sighed and said, "Don't focus on money all the time. It makes you seem unsophisticated and makes people look down on you."

Old Qian chuckled sheepishly; of course, he was naive and inexperienced.

These people are most familiar with steel bars, cement, scaffolding, and the endless stream of unpaid pay slips at the end of the month.

Less than ten minutes later, a gray minivan pulled up outside the government service center.

Wu Lianggang thought Lin Zhiyi was quick, but then he glanced down and saw a middle-aged man in a white shirt with a big belly walking down.

"Old Qian!"

The man called out from afar.

Old Qian was taken aback.

"Manager Zhang?"

An uproar immediately broke out among the workers.

They knew this Manager Zhang; he was from the Hongyuan project team. They rarely saw him on the construction site, but whenever they couldn't get paid, it was always him who would come out and say, "Wait a little longer."

Manager Zhang walked up to the group, his gaze lingering on Wu Liang for a moment.

"This must be Attorney Wu, right?"

"it's me."

"Young and promising, young and promising."

"Hey, Manager Zhang, no need for such flattery." Wu Liang's lips curled up. "It might make me misunderstand and think you're trying to renege on your debt."

Manager Zhang's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered, ignoring Wu Liang and turning his oily face towards the workers.

"Everyone has worked hard today, making this trip even during the National Day holiday. The company takes this very seriously. As soon as General Manager Gao found out, he immediately asked me to come and coordinate."

Someone hurriedly asked, "Will the wages be paid?"

Zhang Huaizhong pressed his hand down.

"Regarding salaries, the company will calculate them uniformly after the holiday. Right now it's a holiday, and the finance and approval processes are not yet complete, so please understand."

The workers' expectations vanished instantly.

Old Qian grew anxious: "Manager Zhang, we've been waiting for months!"

"I know, I know," Zhang Huaizhong sighed. "So, considering everyone's genuine difficulties, the company has decided to give each person five thousand yuan first."

Five thousand.

The crowd fell silent.

This number is not much; compared to the wages owed by Guangdong Hongyuan, it's even a bit meager.

But it's just the right amount of tempting.

Rent, tuition fees, medicine costs, and train fare.

It doesn't solve the problem, but it can help people get through this period of time.

Zhang Huaizhong was very satisfied with the quiet and took out a stack of papers from his bag.

"Let's all sign a settlement agreement, and the money can be arranged today."

Old Qian instinctively took a step forward, but Wu Liang reached out to stop him.

"Manager Zhang, what is this five thousand yuan for?"

Zhang Huaizhong smiled and said, "The company understands everyone's difficulties and will give everyone an emergency fund first."

"Not wages?"

Zhang Huaizhong's eyes flashed.

"Salaries will be calculated uniformly after the holiday. This is the company's way of showing humanistic care and helping everyone solve their immediate problems."

Wu Liang nodded and turned to look at the workers.

"Did everyone hear that?"

The workers were taken aback.

"Manager Zhang said that this 5,000 yuan is not wages, but an emergency fund given to all the workers by Hongyuan Construction out of humanitarian concern, in addition to the wages owed!"

The crowd was immediately delighted.

Zhang Huaizhong's expression changed.

"Attorney Wu, that's not what I meant."

Wu Liang turned around: "So you mean this five thousand is salary?"

Zhang Huaizhong got stuck.

Wu Liang took a step forward.

"If it's wages, that's simple. Please write down the total amount owed, the amount already paid, and the remaining amount, then stamp it to confirm."

"If it's not about salary, then it's even simpler."

Wu Liang looked at the workers and led the way in raising his hand and cheering.

"Thank you everyone, Manager Zhang, and thank you Hongyuan Construction. We've accepted the hardship allowance; wages will be settled after the holiday!"

The crowd was stunned at first, then reacted and cheered.

"Yes, Manager Zhang just said it wasn't salary!"

"If it's not wages, then it doesn't count as wages!"

"The five thousand is a subsidy; the owed wages still need to be paid!"

Zhang Huaizhong's face darkened, and he looked at Wu Liang, who had changed the subject, with a sinister gaze.

He didn't believe Wu Liang was unaware of his meaning; this guy was doing it purely on purpose!

"Gentlemen, that's not how it should be understood," Zhang Huaizhong's voice turned cold. "The company has its own procedures. The reason we're willing to give you money today is because we see you're in a difficult situation, and we hope you won't escalate the matter further."

As he spoke, he held up the paper in his hand.

"Sign this and the money will be in your account immediately. If you're not willing to settle this privately, then you'll have to go through labor arbitration or the courts."

He looked at Old Qian.

"Old Qian, think this through. Can you afford to wait six months, a year, or even longer?"

The moment those words were spoken, the momentum that Wu Liang had just built up instantly crumbled.

Old Qian's expression changed slightly, but before he could speak, Wu Liang raised his hand to stop him, and the latter looked up at Zhang Huaizhong with his chin up.

"Manager Zhang, what you're saying is quite alarming."

Zhang Huaizhong said coldly, "I'm just telling everyone the reality."

"The reality is that Hongyuan owes money and isn't paying it, and they're threatening the workers. If they don't sign something privately, they'll drag it to court?"

Zhang Huaizhong's expression changed: "I didn't say that!"

"Then explain yourself clearly." Wu Liang stared at him. "Does this statement say that we will no longer file complaints, arbitrations, or lawsuits?"

As he spoke, he reached out and snatched the paper from Zhang Huaizhong's hand, glancing at it briefly.

"Oh, and it even says all fees are settled. Manager Zhang, you seem to want to buy quite a lot with this five thousand yuan."

The workers' expressions changed completely.

Old Qian snatched the paper, read two lines, and his hands trembled.

"Manager Zhang, are you asking us to sign a settlement agreement?"

Seeing this, Zhang Huaizhong quickly calmed the workers down: "This is company procedure. Don't be fooled by this lawyer. This agreement is just for show; you'll all be paid your full wages!"

"Procedure my ass! Fuck you!"

Someone finally couldn't hold back and started cursing.

The scene suddenly became noisy and chaotic.

Just then, Wu Liang raised his hand.

"Stop arguing!"

The voice fell steadily, sending a jolt through everyone's hearts.

Wu Liang handed the paper back and sneered.

"Manager Zhang, either you set this 5,000 as a hardship allowance in front of everyone, without deducting it from your salary or attaching any conditions?"

"Either you pretend you were never here today, and we'll petition and complain as we see fit. If your company is only offering 5,000 yuan, you should have time to stall, right?"

Wu Liang wasn't entirely sure how much weight these wages carried in the minds of Hongyuan Construction's management, but the fact that Lin Zhiyi and Manager Zhang had visited him one after another without any prior communication suggested that this matter might indeed be more complicated than it seemed.

Zhang Huaizhong gritted his teeth, about to speak.

A woman's voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.

"Zhang Huaizhong".

Manager Zhang's face stiffened.

Everyone turned around.

Lin Zhiyi stood at the bottom of the steps, her gaze fixed on the paper in his hand.

Zhang Huaizhong's throat moved, and his voice instantly lowered.

"Miss Lin..."

Wu Liang raised an eyebrow.

Miss?