The day before yesterday, I was working the afternoon shift at a milk tea shop. Around 8 p.m., the shop’s phone received a message notification from Manager Dog in the work group. When I opened the group chat with the usual mindset of browsing work messages, I realized that the situation was not simple. The message from the manager in the work group was as follows: “Some workers might come to the store later, if it doesn’t affect normal business, you don’t need to worry, if it does, tell me. I am the business manager.” This made me feel surprised, “Some workers are coming to the store? Affecting business? The capitalists want to call the business manager?” Manager Dog’s message made me realize that there was a group of workers on their way to our store, about to launch a wage dispute movement, while the capitalists were planning a conspiracy, attempting to collude with reactionary forces in the shopping mall to suppress the workers’ struggle. After a brief assessment of the situation, I discussed this with another night shift coworker in the kitchen, Xiao X (a worker with a clear proletarian stance and experience in wage disputes), who expressed support. Then, we decided that after the workers arrived at our shop, we would first understand their situation, then reveal the capitalist’s conspiracy to them, and cooperate with the workers to hinder the store’s business and help them fight.
Around 8:30 p.m., an elderly worker, about 50 years old, arrived at the scene. He questioned me about the whereabouts of the capitalist and said he was here to demand the renovation fee for the store’s refurbishment. I told the elderly worker that the capitalist was not in the store, and after learning this, he prepared to make a phone call, seemingly to notify other workers on the way. I took the opportunity to ask about their situation. From what I learned, he was a renovation worker. Since our store’s renovation was completed in May 2025, the capitalist had been delaying payment of 17,000 yuan in renovation fees, which had not been paid to this day. The elderly worker said that tonight, eight workers would come to demand their wages, including some ethnic minority workers, and their demand was to settle the wages immediately tonight; if not, they would refuse to stand down. I then expressed our support for their struggle, stating that Xiao X and I had also been owed wages, and as workers, we should help each other. We then exposed the capitalist’s plan: to refuse to appear when workers demand wages under the pretext that it would not affect the store’s business, but to call the business manager to suppress the workers if it did affect business. We advised the workers to prepare thoroughly and organize their struggle once the crowd gathered. After learning this, the elderly worker said he wouldn’t make things difficult for Xiao X and me, since we are all workers. He said it wouldn’t affect our normal shift change, but emphasized that the store must not close normally, and his focus was on the capitalist. He also said that the workers were not afraid of the business manager, even if the police came (they had entered the police station multiple times before), and dared the capitalist to send the business manager to interfere. Then, the elderly worker informed us that they would later block our delivery service, preventing the store from operating normally. Xiao X and I agreed to cooperate actively with the workers to hinder the store’s normal operation, and we also informed the delivery personnel that the store could not fulfill orders, urging them to report the abnormality to the platform and attribute the responsibility to the capitalist. (However, later, since the delivery personnel explained to the workers that in this situation, they could not pick up the orders, and the responsibility would fall on them, the workers reconsidered and did not forcibly stop the delivery.) Subsequently, I followed the workers’ request and took the initiative to spread the message in the work group that workers were obstructing the delivery (if I didn’t do this, the capitalist wouldn’t come out). Manager Dog, upon receiving the message, immediately took measures to contact the business manager and openly stated he would personally intervene soon.
It was around 9 p.m., my shift ended. By then, two or three workers had gathered in front of our store, forming a human wall. The former store manager, who occasionally complained about the capitalist’s wage arrears, also volunteered to maintain order, revealing his true nature as a traitor. Soon after, the business management staff arrived, attempting to drive the workers away, but they were refused. Then, the administrative staff and auxiliary police took turns, and under their continuous interference (details unknown, as I was already observing from a distance), the workers temporarily disbanded the human wall and moved to the opposite side of the store, seemingly waiting for the capitalist to arrive for negotiations. After a long wait, the capitalist arrived, but she first sent her lackey—the store manager—to confront the workers, while she herself hid in the back kitchen of the store. In the kitchen, she first asked Xiao X about the workers’ situation. Xiao X said he knew nothing. Then, she slandered the workers behind their backs, calling them rude and even saying, “After the renovation, I found the floor had color differences, I was dissatisfied, so I didn’t pay them,” uttering outrageous words. But what was the truth? According to Xiao X’s account after work, the workers even paid out of their own pockets for the materials used in the store’s renovation! The capitalist demanded the workers to renovate the store but did not provide any materials. After the renovation, they used the excuse of “color differences in the flooring” to refuse to pay wages—absolutely shameless! At the same time, when the capitalist saw the workers coming to demand wages, she trembled nervously, kept shifting her attention, lamented the high temperature in the kitchen, tried to drink water to “calm down,” and discussed ordering matters with the store manager who was also hiding in the store, as if “nothing happened.” Her behavior and manner reflected the ugly nature of the bourgeoisie—externally strong but internally weak.
As time went on, negotiations made no progress. The workers, unable to bear it any longer, resolutely and bravely smashed the milk tea shop’s signboard with their hammers, claiming, “These were originally installed by us, we have the right to dismantle them, anyway, there’s no money to take,” and continued to pressure the capitalist for wages at the door. Finally, the police, acting as agents of the fascists, intervened. Under threats of summons and deception by the police, the workers agreed to first negotiate a detailed repayment plan with the capitalist according to the contract, but if they still refused to pay wages, they would continue to struggle. Now, the workers had no money even for rent and were about to face homelessness. When told that demanding wages might result in being taken to the police station, the workers fearlessly replied, “We’re not afraid of going to jail; anyway, I have nowhere to live, and if I go inside, I’ll have a place to stay.” Their firm fighting spirit was inspiring and admirable—this is the fighting spirit of the proletariat, because without private property and living in extreme poverty, they can fight most resolutely. (To be continued)
Truly deserves to be executed. Over half a year of unpaid wages, no one cares, and the just struggle of the working class is violently suppressed so quickly. Seeing the labor inspection team and others take a long time to arrive after the workers are taken away shows whose interests the state machinery of Zhongxiu serves.