Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Halfway to his destination, Pei Yi suddenly got a call.

”Boss, there’s been an incident!”

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At the Kaiqi Commercial Center, on the border of the Hongkou and Jing’an Districts.

A rider in an orange Kuai Pao uniform lay sprawled on the roadside next to his toppled vehicle. His face was a mess of bruises, and bright red blood streamed from his mouth and nose, pooling on the ground.

”Oh my, why is this young man lying on the ground? Can someone help him up?”

”It’s not a good idea to move him. We should wait for the Inspectors to handle it.”

”Looks like a Kuai Pao Delivery employee? How did he get beaten up this badly?”

The passersby pointed and chattered amongst themselves, but no one dared to step forward and help.

A few minutes later, another Kuai Pao Rider passed by and rushed forward to help the young man up.

”Did you fall?” the Kuai Pao Rider, a man in his thirties, asked with a suspicious look as he examined the young man’s injuries.

”Brother Zhang, I was beaten up by an Eleme rider. He hit me and then ran off,” Cheng Jinhui said, his voice full of grievance. He sat on the curb, taking the tissue Zhang Tao offered, and wiped the blood from his nose and the corner of his mouth.

’Beaten up?’

Zhang Tao shot to his feet, fire in his eyes.

Cheng Jinhui was the only part-time university student at their station. He was a top student from Tongji and always respectfully called the other deliverymen, who came from humble origins, ”Big Brother.”

’And now some guy from Eleme beat him up?’

Zhang Tao laughed in anger. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to the station’s main group chat: ”Jinhui got beaten up. Any brothers without orders, come to Kaiqi. We’re going to demand an explanation from Eleme.”

It was currently the off-peak period for deliveries. Aside from a few scattered orders, most of the Kuai Pao riders were at the station eating or resting.

As soon as they saw Zhang Tao’s message, they immediately dropped their chopsticks, hopped on their electric vehicles, and zipped over to the Kaiqi Commercial Center.

When Station Manager Li Ziqiang saw what was happening, he first reported it to headquarters, then hurriedly chased after them.

Ten-odd minutes later, 13 Kuai Pao Delivery riders and 5 Cloud Speed Express couriers had gathered at the intersection by Kaiqi Commercial Center.

After hearing Cheng Jinhui’s story, they exploded with anger, clamoring to go settle the score.

”Brother Li, Brother Zhang, don’t be impulsive. I already called it in. Let the Inspectors handle this.”

Cheng Jinhui blocked Li Ziqiang and Zhang Tao, trying to stop them from leaving.

But Li Ziqiang, who was in the heat of the moment, shoved Cheng Jinhui aside and led the men toward the Eleme station.

’Cheng Jinhui is only nineteen, still just a kid. How could that guy have the heart to be so brutal?’

As a competitor, Li Ziqiang knew the location of the nearby Eleme station like the back of his hand. After a couple of turns, he found his target in a narrow alley.

”Goddammit! Who beat up our guy at Kaiqi Commercial Center half an hour ago?! Get your ass out here!”

Li Ziqiang was from Luzhou. He had a few years of schooling, but not many.

He was originally the ”Order King” of Shushan District and had followed Pei Yi to Hu City to open up a new market. He was usually cheerful and easygoing, rarely losing his temper.

But now, his face was grim.

Hearing the commotion outside, the Eleme riders inside came out in twos and threes. Seeing the furious Kuai Pao staff, one of them asked weakly, ”Brother, is there some kind of misunderstanding?”

”Misunderstanding?” Li Ziqiang barked. He waved, pulling the bruised and swollen Cheng Jinhui forward. He gestured toward the group of Eleme riders and said bluntly, ”Point him out for me!”

Whoa!

’Who did this?’

The seven or eight Eleme riders looked at each other, completely baffled.

”Brother Li, he’s not one of them,” Cheng Jinhui said, shaking his head after looking them over carefully.

”Let’s go inside and look!”

After saying this, Li Ziqiang started to lead his men to barge inside.

At this, the Eleme station manager was not happy. ’This isn’t your house. You can’t just waltz in whenever you want!’

The two sides immediately started arguing, which led to shouting insults, and then to shoving.

It was unclear who threw the first punch.

In no time, it devolved into a chaotic brawl. Several Eleme riders were beaten so badly they could only cover their heads and scurry away.

’We’re screwed!’

Cheng Jinhui dropped the wooden stick. He had felt a satisfying rush during the fight, but now that he had calmed down, a wave of fear washed over him.

’If they investigate this, I’ll probably end up at the Inspection Institute.’

’If the university finds out, I could even be disciplined!’

Li Ziqiang glanced at Cheng Jinhui, thinking, ’This university kid hits even harder than I do.’

As the Eleme riders ran out, they called for backup from nearby stations.

Li Ziqiang led his men into the Eleme station. After a thorough search, they indeed couldn’t find the assailant.

In the end, they could only return to the Kuai Pao rest station. Just as they were about to take Cheng Jinhui to the hospital, a few riders surrounded the entrance.

Li Ziqiang stuck his head out and traded insults with them, not taking them seriously at all.

「Meanwhile.」

Riders and couriers from all over Hongkou and Jing’an District were rushing toward Li Ziqiang’s location.

Both delivery platforms paid for their riders’ five insurances and one housing fund, which resulted in an unprecedented sense of unity among the delivery staff.

The Eleme riders heard that Kuai Pao deliverymen had come to their station and beaten up their colleagues!

The Kuai Pao riders heard that an Eleme deliveryman had beaten up one of their own brothers.

And the Cloud Speed couriers felt that since Kuai Pao was their sister company, bullying Kuai Pao was the same as bullying Cloud Speed!

After receiving the news, Pei Yi and Kou Zhen immediately drove to the scene.

By the time they arrived, the Inspectors had already come and gone. They had taken away both the Kuai Pao riders who had been fighting and the Eleme riders who had been beaten.

”President Pei, don’t worry. I’ve asked around. It’s all superficial injuries, not even serious enough to be classified as minor injuries,” Kou Zhen said in a low voice.