Chapter Fifty-two: The Price

  The plump body lying on the quilt, at this time, there is no longer any vitality. The originally fair and smooth skin has turned pale blue. The skull shattered by bullets caused brain matter to splatter all over the quilt. Looking at such a bloody scene, I'm afraid anyone would feel nauseous.

  "This is the second time I've seen a dead person. Still in our own family's factory."

  Looking at the disgusting and nauseating scene in front of him, Sima didn't know how to deal with it. If this were to happen in a later era, things would be much simpler - just dial 110 and report the crime, no need to bother himself.

  Looking at the two people kneeling in front of him, it seemed that they were the ones who came to report the fight between the two gangs last time. Looking at them, Sima didn't know whether he should be happy or angry at this moment.

  Fortunately, the shooting skills of his own guard team members have become so "accurate" in just a few months. Two people fired one shot each, one hitting the heart and the other hitting the brain. Although it doesn't seem like much at such close range, during this chaotic and dark time, being able to shoot with such accuracy is truly admirable.

  Luckily, Sima didn't know that the two of them were just blindly feeling their way in the dark. If he had known, who knows what he would have thought? But for now, someone was dead, and this dead man's background was unknown. What if it brought trouble to his own factory?

  "Master, we've killed someone. We know that a life for a life is the rule, so please take care of our families. That way, I can die in peace. This was my doing alone and has nothing to do with Xiaobai, so please spare Xiaobai."

  One person does things and one person takes responsibility. If something is done, then one must take the consequences alone. Wu Mantun only hopes that by doing so, he can at least protect himself and his brother.

  What's going on here? Both guns have been fired, and Sima had checked the guns before. It seems that this Mantun is also a man of honor, wanting to take responsibility for this alone, to protect this Xiao Bai. This matter is really troublesome.

  "The two of them have done this for the sake of the factory, so please, master, do spare their lives. We can still observe the rules and customs of our trade, but please, master, show mercy and let them live."

  Seeing the master's embarrassed face, Ma Si stepped forward and knelt down to say that at this time, Ma Si had to come forward to guarantee their safety, otherwise, he would not be able to stay in the escort team.

  "You two... Ah!"

  Looking around at the factory guards holding guns, they were all sympathetic and looking down at Wu Mantun and Mu Bai kneeling on the ground, with an expectant gaze towards themselves.

  "Come on, take them away and lock them up for ten days."

  Simar knew that he could only do this, if he didn't protect the two of them for now, it was likely that the entire guard team and even the entire factory would become estranged from him, then everything he had done before would be in vain.

  "Hurry up and thank the boss for sparing your life."

  As soon as the master ordered them to be confined, Ma Si hastily stood up and used his feet to nudge Wu Mantun and Mu Bai, who were somewhat dazed. Ma Si had not expected this punishment to be so light, merely a few days of confinement.

  "Thanks for sparing my life."

  "Thanks boss..."

  Wu Mantun and Mu Bai never thought it would end like this, just ten days in a dark room. To think that they had killed two people, albeit outsiders from the factory, and might have even provoked the bandits. And yet, the result was only ten days in a dark room. Could the master really let them off so easily? The two found it hard to believe this could be the outcome.

  Can't help but say, looking at everyone's cheers and the expression of devotion to you from now on, Sima feels very fulfilled. As for those two dead people, what can be done since they're already dead? If it can't be undone, then there's no need to undo it. As for other things, they're not something that needs to be considered right now.

  "From now on, when patrolling at night, add some sentries outside the factory. If there's any movement, open fire. Use up all the bullets, don't know if there will be any trouble later."

  Although it was like this in front of people, but in the end Sima still warned Ma Si a little, raising vigilance would never be wrong, who knows what trouble might be caused by this matter in the future.

  Returning to his own villa, Sima spent the entire second half of the night with the two sons' portraits placed under his pillow. He couldn't sleep peacefully all night, and yet his heart was still at ease.

  The next day, Sima had someone go to Kongjiazhuang to call Gao Chuanliang and hurry over to discuss this matter together. After all, he was the one who knew the most about things around him at the moment.

  Now Sima has a bit of awareness that the people around him are all immigrants from Guannei. Now the workers, technicians, and even the factory directors of the flour mill, spinning mill, and cigarette factory are all migrants from Tianjin and other places. Except for Old Gao, no one in the entire factory understands this place and its affairs.

  "Lao Gao, do you know this woman?"

  Pointing at this woman whose skull had been cracked open, Sima asked, by now her originally naked body had already been covered with her own clothes.

  "Ah! It's her!"

  Gao Chuanliang suppressed his nausea and took a closer look, but as soon as he saw her clearly, he couldn't help but be shocked. It was actually this woman, what was she doing here, doing something so humiliating?

  "How did you know?"

  Apparently, Gao Chuanliang knows this woman and at least knows who she is.

  "Master, we're in big trouble now. This woman is nobody, just a village woman from Kong Family Village, but if I'm not mistaken, the man who was beaten to death might be San Dangjia of the Red Gang. We're in deep trouble now."

  "What?!"

  Simma hadn't heard of any top-notch bandits, but he knew that this third master was probably one of the three masters of a gang of horse thieves. Someone like him died here, and his mother's blood curse had been triggered.

  "Master, we're done for. Although this is our territory, the infamous Three Taohua's death at our hands means that the Red Vixen will surely come seeking revenge; it would be strange if she didn't."

  The dead woman was a well-known figure in the village of Zhuangzi, she had been married for many years. Last year, somehow she got hooked up with San Dangjia, a notorious gangster. The dead man had a gun on him, and apart from San Dangjia, this woman also had connections with other armed men. Although it's unclear why the two of them ran to the factory warehouse to have an affair, now that things have come to this, there's no way to make it right.

  Just thinking about the Red Vengeance coming to take revenge, and then recalling his notorious reputation, that's enough to make a child stop crying outside. A few years ago, someone provoked him, and in that village of several hundred people, not a single adult or child was left alive.

  This man has always been reckless in his actions, and if something like the death of Old Three occurred in his own factory, he probably wouldn't even think twice before bringing his men over to slaughter everyone in the entire factory, then hang their heads outside the building as an offering to his third brother.

  He was the third son of that family, beaten to death by people from the factory in the factory. He came to avenge himself, and even if he said something, it wouldn't be useful because the Red Line would never buy Grass Floating's account anyway.

  "Lao Gao, do you think Cao Xueqin can help us save face? Let's spend some more money."

  When Lao Gao said this, Sima felt a little dizzy. He didn't expect that the third master was from such a background. Moreover, he couldn't believe that this red thread was so ruthless. If this person came to the door, Sima knew that at that time, the factory would be filled with blood.

  "Master, the Grasscutter just wants to guarantee that they won't come and rob us, and protect us. This time we're in the wrong, so even if the Grasscutter wanted to help us out with the Red Vanguards, it's not like they'd have to go all out for us."

  Gao Chuanliang is telling the truth, Ma Fei collects your protection fee, although it's said to be protecting you, but absolutely will not risk offending people for your sake, let alone offending a mad dog like Hong.

  "This matter must be kept confidential. Let Ma Si tell the people in the factory that this matter is not to be spread, whoever spreads it will be finished."

  It's no use asking who it is, the only thing to do now is to try to cover this up and see if we can't keep it from getting out. If the news doesn't leak out, at least we'll have some time to prepare ourselves. Otherwise, if this gets out now, all our hard work will be for nothing.

  "Master, this matter will definitely not be hidden for many days. We must make arrangements early, otherwise... I'm afraid we'll all be stuck here."

  Gao Chuanliang, who knew the Red Guards' ways all too well, was worried. Covering it up wasn't the best solution, but if this got out now, the entire factory would probably be bathed in blood tonight. Although there were over a hundred guns in the factory, they were no match for the thousands of Red Guards; swallowing them up would be child's play.

  "Ji Yuan, take a look and estimate how long it would take to build a stone wall around the outside of the factory. It must be sturdy. At least three meters high, and every hundred meters set up a five-meter-high guard tower."

  It's time to take action, what else can be done, it's necessary to think of a way to protect oneself. For such a long time, just thinking about expanding the factory. But forgot to build a wall around it. Otherwise, wouldn't have gotten into this trouble. Damn it, this third master *** doesn't mess with women in the village, but instead brings women to the factory to fool around.

  "This wall is several kilometers long, and it would take at least a month to finish it, even if all the workers in the factory work on it together, like before, dividing the task into sections. If they can't finish it, they won't get food or wages. It's estimated that it will still take two weeks to finish."

  Just now, listening to Sima and Lao Gao's conversation, Liu Jiyuan realized the necessity of building this wall, but no matter how important it was, it was unlikely that such a wall could be built in just a few days. Digging foundations on this rocky beach was not an easy task, and quarrying stones from the mountains would also take time. All these things needed to be done step by step, and having more people wouldn't necessarily get the job done faster.

  "I don't care about anything, you want what I'll give you whatever, at most one week, you get this wall up for me, work overtime, three shifts a day, I don't care what method you use, if you can't do it, we'll all die together."

  At this point, what else can Sima think of saying? The most important thing now is to quickly build up the wall. If the wall is not built, when the time comes, the thousands of bandits under Hong's command will be able to rampage freely throughout the entire factory area.

  "Lao Gao, you go contact that Japanese devil at Matsukata Trading Company, see how many guns he has and how many we need. We can pay with silver or exchange for watches. Once this is settled, arrange to send 1,000 dan of grain to Cao's place. If he's willing to take charge of this matter, we'll give them 10,000 bags of flour every year."

  Buy more guns in case of self-defense, who knows if the grass will float and give himself a headache, these things are not what Sima can predict, only to make the best preparations, just in case. For this factory, Sima has paid his heart's blood, no one else thinks of destroying it.