Wang Yu followed Han Jun and quickly arrived at the scene of the conflict, Hanyang Road Food Street.
It was called a food street, but it was actually a gathering place for roadside stalls. From the evening commute until dawn the next day, it was the liveliest place in the entire county.
Most of the workers, with their limited entertainment options, would choose a roadside stall, order a few dishes to go with their drinks, and then share their feelings over cups of wine.
Of course, there was also the eternal bragging and joking to dispel the fatigue of a day's labor.
Wang Yu knew with his heel that his workers must have received their wages today and wanted to relax, so they went in groups to eat and drink well, and then probably got drunk and started a fight with workers from the hardware factory who were also eating.
"It seems like everyone was drunk and praising the young factory manager, you. But there were workers from the hardware factory eating at a neighboring stall. They heard it and interjected with a few bad words about you.
Our workers were upset and went up to argue with them. Then, somehow, they started fighting.
Later, because many people were eating there, groups of people gathered on both sides."
On the way, Han Jun explained to Wang Yu.
"How did the people from the Metallurgical General Plant and Tiger Brother's gang get involved?"
Wang Yu frowned and asked.
If it were just between their own sides, it would be normal. Who doesn't have a few friends or relatives? It's understandable for workers from the production workshop to show loyalty and lend a hand in a fight.
But how did other people get dragged into a fight between two sides?
Did they think this was playing Go, and now it's a four-nation war?
"I don't know. The people from the Metallurgical General Plant got involved at some point. It seems our people were drunk and mistook someone, hitting one of their men. Then it was like poking a hornet's nest, and a large group of them came.
Han Jun hesitated before saying, "As for Tiger Brother and his crew, I really don't know what's going on? They just happened to be passing by, it seems? And they joined in. Now both sides are confronting each other!"
"Is that so?"
Wang Yu's expression darkened. The two of them soon arrived at Hanyang Street.
From a distance, they saw two groups of people confronting each other across the street.
As Han Jun had said, one side was their factory workers, all of them looking like they had drunk quite a bit, with messy signs of a fight on them. Beside them, Tiger Brother was leading his underlings, shouting curses at the other side.
The other side, however, looked a bit more organized. Judging by the factory uniforms they were wearing, they should be from the Metallurgical General Plant and the Hardware Factory.
The two leaders on the other side looked familiar to Wang Yu. He felt like he had seen them somewhere before.
"That's the person who beat us up before," Han Jun reminded him from the side, jogging Wang Yu's memory.
That was indeed the case. Before, due to defective parts, Lu Fangquan from the hardware factory had beaten up people from their procurement department. This person seemed to be among those who had acted.
And on the other side, the leader from the Metallurgical General Plant was none other than Fang Zhongtian, who had appeared with Xu Guangping today.
What the hell, why was this scoundrel everywhere?
Several stall owners from the roadside stalls stood by, helpless, along with overturned tables and chairs, bowls, chopsticks, and plates.
Fortunately, both sides knew not to escalate things into a brawl. For now, it was just a confrontation and mutual shouting, not a full-scale fight.
Otherwise, who knew what it might have turned into!
"This is interesting!" Wang Yu mused, observing the scene.
"Damn it!" Seeing that one of Tiger Brother's underlings and a curly-haired young man from the other side had escalated from mutual insults to throwing bricks and other debris.
Seeing that they were about to fight, Wang Yu did not hesitate. He rode his bicycle straight into the fray.
The "Er Ba Da Gang" bicycle skidded sideways, blocking the gap between the two sides.
"Stop!"
Wang Yu shouted. However, his own Tiger Brother did not expect Wang Yu to appear so suddenly. A brick he had already thrown flew past the corner of his eye.
Instantly, Wang Yu felt a burning pain. He reached up to wipe it and found a trickle of blood on his palm, likely a scraped skin.
But he couldn't bother checking his injuries now. He directly blocked the center, using his bicycle as an obstacle in the middle to hold back both sides.
"I said, stop!"
"Young Factory Manager!"
Seeing that it was Wang Yu, the people from the automobile factory immediately stopped. Especially Tiger Brother, who looked regretful, not expecting his quick action to injure Wang Yu.
"What are you guys doing? I..."
Before Wang Yu could finish speaking, someone from the hardware factory side directly threw a stool, hitting Wang Yu's back as he was facing away from them.
Wang Yu's order to stop was only effective for his own side; they couldn't control the other side!
"Cough!"
Although it was just an ordinary plastic stool, it hit with considerable force. Caught off guard, Wang Yu stumbled, almost falling to the ground.
"Young Factory Manager!" The people from the automobile factory became agitated, shouting and preparing to fight.
"Everyone stop! No fighting!"
Wang Yu, while restraining his own men, cautiously dodged to avoid being hit again.
Both in his past life and this one, he truly had no experience fighting brawls, which made him seem somewhat passive.
Despite this, Wang Yu still stood directly in the middle, preventing the situation from escalating. For this, he took several hits.
They were all in hidden spots, causing piercing pain. He didn't know who had struck him amidst the chaos, it was very sneaky!
"What are you all doing? Break it up!"
A series of stern shouts indicated that the Public Security Bureau had arrived in time, immediately bringing the situation under control.
The leader was Captain Miao Wanli, whom he had met before, leading over a dozen men who were rushing over.
Well, it was worth mentioning that when they arrived, besides a dilapidated Jeep, the remaining two sidecar motorcycles and a small half of the rest were all "Er Ba Da Gang" bicycles.
After all, it wasn't common to have a car per person at this time, especially in Jiangyang County, which was a relatively poor region with insufficient finances.
Seeing the intervention of the Public Security Bureau, everyone present immediately became obedient.
Although they fought fiercely, they were just a bit drunk. Deep down, they were all honest and hardworking workers. Even Tiger Brother and his gang were just showing off their might in small skirmishes, not truly bad people.
So, everyone immediately became docile.
"Captain Miao, it's a good thing you came in time." Wang Yu pressed his eyebrows. Now that he was free, he noticed that the skin near his eye had been scraped and was bleeding.
"What's going on here? Are you trying to cause trouble? Planning a group fight?"
Miao Wanli's expression was grim. He stepped forward and roared.
"Wang Yu, was it you who reported to the Public Security Bureau?" Seeing Wang Yu, Miao Wanli nodded at him. He had a good impression of this young man from their previous encounters, and this time, the report also claimed to be from Wang Yu's side.
"That's right, Captain Miao, it was me who reported it." Wang Yu nodded without hesitation, then pointed at the people present, especially at those of his own side who were red-faced, clearly drunk, and had the most serious injuries.
"I want to report that these workers of mine got drunk and picked a fight, engaging in a brawl!"
Wang Yu's words stunned everyone.
Who would report their own people?