Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 231 Building a strong military starts with logistics!

Chen Jiang put down his chopsticks, picked up a tissue to wipe his mouth, and his smile faded, replaced by a serious and earnest expression.

"Tiejun, General Manager Wang," his voice wasn't loud, but it was clear and strong.
"Mr. Wang, if your company is indeed highly qualified and strong, we welcome all law-abiding and capable enterprises to participate in open and fair competition. The new bidding and supervision procedures will be very strict, and everything will be done according to the rules. As long as you win the bid based on your true abilities and achieve the best project quality, that will be the greatest support for the military."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two of them, his tone becoming even more resolute: "As for the rest, please forgive me, but here, there are no 'special treatments,' only rules and regulations. This is a matter of principle."

The atmosphere in the private room instantly became somewhat tense.

Wang Hongliang's smile froze on his face. He had originally wanted to take out a bank card that he had prepared in advance from his pocket, but now he felt a little embarrassed.

After listening to Chen Jiang's words, sending it out like this would probably backfire.

Bai Tiejun really had no choice. After his demobilization, he was able to rise from a junior supervisor to where he is today thanks to Wang Hongliang's "help".

Therefore, he had no way to refuse Wang Hongliang's request. He had even considered that Chen Jiang might refuse on the way here, since he knew Chen Jiang's character very well.

So he quickly smoothed things over: "That's right, that's right, the old squad leader is very principled, we all admire him! General Manager Wang just wanted to express his willingness to participate, we'll definitely follow the rules, follow the rules!"

Chen Jiang knew that was all he could say. He stood up and said, "Thank you for your hospitality. It's great to see my old comrades again. But I have some things to do at the brigade tonight, so I have to go back first. Tie Jun, let's get together again next time, and I'll treat you next time!"

After saying that, he nodded politely and turned to leave the private room without giving a chance to explain.

To be honest, this meeting made Chen Jiang very unhappy. On one hand, there was the bond between old comrades-in-arms, and on the other hand, there was the iron discipline and rules. A slight misstep could lead to an abyss.

When he returned home, Chu Ning had just put the child to sleep. She noticed that her husband's expression was not quite right, so she asked, "What's wrong? Didn't you go to a gathering with your old comrades?"

Chen Jiang recounted the events of the evening with a grave expression. Chu Ning fully supported her husband's approach in this regard.

“You did the right thing. Today Bai Tiejun brought a boss to pull strings, and tomorrow a comrade will bring people over. How will you handle this? Just cut the Gordian knot. Otherwise, you, the deputy brigade commander in charge of engineering logistics, will eventually be overrun by them.”

Hearing Chu Ning's comforting words, Chen Jiang felt a little better.
It's really difficult for a man to make something of himself.

But the pressure of these personal relationships must be withstood; this is probably what Gao Jianjun meant when he told me to do the same thing.

The superior's approval came quickly, fully agreeing with the relevant system submitted by Brigade C. Cheng Guoqiang also made an important instruction on the approval: We must manage the bidding and tendering work of engineering and logistics with the utmost rigor, and strive to become a model and benchmark for the entire army in this regard!
With the approval from his superiors, Chen Jiang quickly gathered his subordinates to revise the relevant rules and regulations. This set of rules and regulations was responsible not only to all companies involved in the project, but also to all infrastructure projects of C Brigade.

Regarding the problems they discovered earlier, Long Kaifeng personally signed off on transferring them to the higher-level disciplinary inspection department. A well-known company that was investigated published an apology in the newspaper, and all engineering projects were completely renovated and rebuilt.

Although it was a bit of a hassle, the results were immediate.

It turns out that some members of the leadership team believed that such a strict bidding system would deter many large companies, making them unwilling to bid and resulting in no one wanting to take on engineering projects.

But in reality, the opposite was true. After learning about this news online, many well-known domestic construction companies sent people from all over the country to participate in the bidding, including the construction company of Wang Hongliang introduced by Bai Tiejun.

Because there are many projects involved, many companies have sent their best personnel to repeatedly calculate and comprehensively evaluate each project.

This allowed nearby advertising companies that prepared tender documents to make a fortune; a thick stack of tender documents filled the bidding office of Brigade C.

On the day of the bid opening, the experts invited by Chen Jiang were completely isolated in another bid evaluation room, each in their own small, enclosed space, and could only communicate with the outside world through headphones and video.

Of course, these places all implement strict security measures, prohibiting mobile phones from being brought into the venue, in order to minimize interference from personal relationships.

The evaluation process not only included the standard paper-based evaluation of commercial and technical bids, but Chen Jiang also unprecedentedly proposed that each bidding company send someone to give an on-site presentation on key aspects such as the project concept and investment. During this stage, the evaluation experts could directly ask questions about the submitted bids and conduct a comprehensive evaluation.

Overall, although the process was relatively complex, it avoided the flaws that existed in previous bidding processes to the greatest extent. In the end, after a full day of comparison, several large companies that were originally favored failed to make the shortlist because they were too casual about the bidding process. Several small and medium-sized construction companies, on the other hand, made a comeback thanks to their meticulous preliminary research and excellent presentations.

After the bid evaluation results were confirmed at the meeting, Long Kaifeng, on behalf of C Brigade, signed contracts with the heads of the relevant companies one by one.

A mid-sized construction company remarked with great emotion: "We originally thought coming here was just a formality, because we can't compete with those big companies in terms of company history or resources. Usually, there's no need to compete in this situation. But we ended up winning the bid! This fully demonstrates the rigorous and scientific approach of C Brigade to project management. Please rest assured, leaders, our company will absolutely cherish this opportunity and will do everything in our power to ensure the quality of the project, making it a model project!"

With the engineering work on track, Chen Jiang began to focus his efforts on the logistical support of the entire brigade.

Based on the fact that his residence was close to the mountains and forests, he consulted with local units in the surrounding area many times and finally finalized a cooperative project to raise free-range chickens in the mountains and forests.

At the same time, relying on the spring water in the mountains, the water is diverted to the foot of the mountain to raise fish. These aquacultures seem simple, but they all require professional skills. Through in-depth cooperation with universities, he invited some teachers and students to establish an internship and entrepreneurship base here, and started with a batch as a pilot project.

Once the pilot project is successful, he will find a way to solve the funding problem and start large-scale breeding.

To improve the growth environment of the fish fry, Chen Jiang personally led people to dig ponds, cut aquatic plants, and catch snails to enrich the ecosystem of the fishpond. Experts said that the fishpond should have oxygen supply equipment, but in order to save costs, Chen Jiang brought a water pipe from the mountain to irrigate from top to bottom, bringing fresh oxygen.

When Chu Ning brought her child to visit him, she found him working in the fishpond, with even the logistics staff coming to help out.

Chen Jiang, with his trousers rolled up, was standing in the fishpond, carefully arranging aquatic plants, when he suddenly heard his son's exclamation from the shore: "Dad has turned into a loach!"

He looked up and saw Chu Ning standing by the fishpond with her two-year-old son, Chen Gang. Both of them stared wide-eyed.

Chu Ning was both amused and annoyed: "Deputy Brigade Commander Chen, are you personally going into the water to carry out ecological construction?"

Chen Jiang chuckled as he waded ashore: "The experts said that aquatic plants can purify the water and provide shelter for fish fry. Buying them ready-made is too expensive, but there are some on the back hill. Let's bring some back with the comrades."

Chen Gang squatted down curiously and looked at the snails in the bucket: "Dad, are these for the little fish to eat?"

“These aren’t for the fish to eat, at least not now, but they’re good for the little fish.” Chen Jiang patted his son’s head and said to Chu Ning, “What brings you here?” “To see you. You’ve been so busy you haven’t even come home. What have you been up to?” Chu Ning took out a tissue from her bag and handed it to him. “Your face is covered in mud. Wipe it off.”

Just then, hurried footsteps came from afar.

The clerk jogged over: "Deputy Brigade Commander Chen, the brigade commander and political commissar are here. They say they want to check on the aquaculture pilot project."

Chen Jiang was taken aback and quickly wiped his face: "Why weren't you notified in advance?"

"They said it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and we've already arrived at the breeding area."

Chen Jiang hurriedly straightened his clothes and led Chu Ning and Xiao Yu to greet them.

Long Kaifeng and Li Haiguang were standing in front of the chicken coop, watching the soldiers build a fence.

"Brigade Commander, Political Commissar!" Chen Jiang saluted.

After returning the greeting, Long Kaifeng smiled and said, "I heard that our Deputy Brigade Commander Chen has recently switched careers to become an aquaculture expert? Show us around!"

Chen Jiang led the two leaders on a tour of the breeding base under construction and gave a detailed introduction to the cooperation plans with local units and universities.

Gao Jianjun nodded in approval: "It's a great idea. It makes use of local resources and improves the soldiers' meals. But how will the funding issue be resolved for such a large project?"

Chen Jiang reported: "The initial pilot phase involved minimal investment, primarily in human resources and technology. University faculty and students participated through research projects, while local organizations provided seedlings and technical support. Once the pilot is successful, we will apply for special funding to expand the scale."

Long Kaifeng pondered, "If the pilot program is successful, not only our brigade, but the entire army group can promote this model in the future." He turned to Li Haiguang and said, "Old Li, shouldn't we give Deputy Brigade Commander Chen more support?"

Li Haiguang smiled and said, "Of course. In that case, I'll support it from another angle. Next week, I'll organize some government officials to participate in the labor. This will not only be a themed educational practice activity, but it will also speed up the project's construction progress."

"Okay, I'll give you something in return. Two of the companies we worked on last time were recognized as outstanding quality units and their names are on the army group's website. This made the two general managers very happy, and they donated two million yuan to our brigade. I'll just pass this money on to you."

The leader's affirmation greatly encouraged Chen Jiang.

He was so excited that he couldn't speak. He had spent his own money on the breeding project many times, and he did everything himself to save costs.

"Alright, enough with the fluff. You need to give me something tangible, like experience in breeding and business models."

"Yes, I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Chen Jiang said with full confidence.

However, good things don't always come easy. A week later, a sudden rainstorm destroyed some of the fishpond facilities, resulting in the loss of many of the newly introduced fish fry.

After receiving a call from the duty officer, Chen Jiang immediately led most of his officers and soldiers to brave the rain and carry out emergency rescue operations. They reinforced the pond dam with sandbags and salvaged the facilities, but some fish fry were still lost.

After the rain stopped, many soldiers looked dejected as they looked at the messy fishpond and the dead fish floating in it.

"Deputy brigade commander, all our hard work over this period of time has been wasted," a soldier said dejectedly.

Chen Jiang firmly stated, "It wasn't a waste of time; we learned a lot! Natural disasters are unavoidable, but this lesson has taught us that we must be prepared for unforeseen circumstances and take proactive steps in our work!"

The next day, Chen Jiang convened a meeting.

Everyone noticed that Deputy Brigade Commander Chen was not discouraged at all; instead, he put forward an even bolder idea: "This flash flood has taught us that we can't rely entirely on the weather. We can't rely on the weather or the land; we have to rely on ourselves! I suggest that we establish contact with the meteorological department on the one hand, and accelerate the construction of modern aquaculture facilities on the other hand, to ensure that we are not affected by natural disasters."

Someone pointed out, "But the budget isn't enough!"

Chen Jiang waved his hand and said, "I've already contacted experts from the agricultural university, and they're willing to participate in the construction by contributing their technology as equity. At the same time, the brigade allocated us some funds, which will come in handy!"

Just as Chen Jiang was busy working on the project, Bai Tiejun came to his door again.

This time, he wasn't pleading for someone else; he was bringing a cooperation proposal.

“Old squad leader, I know you don’t accept any form of ‘special treatment’,” Bai Tiejun said bluntly. “But I now run a legitimate agricultural breeding company. We have a technical team and market channels. If we cooperate well with the brigade’s breeding project, it can be mutually beneficial.”

Chen Jiang cautiously stated, "Tie Jun, if it's a project collaboration, then it also needs to be put out to public tender."

“Of course!” Bai Tiejun quickly replied, “We follow the rules exactly.”

Chen Jiang thought for a moment and nodded: "As long as it is compliant, all capable companies are welcome to participate."

Following a public bidding process, Bai Tiejun's company successfully won the bid.
Several months later, the pilot aquaculture project finally began to show results.

The first batch of free-range chickens were ready for market, and the fishponds also regained their vitality.

Even more encouraging is the success of the water-saving recycling system developed in collaboration with universities, which has greatly reduced aquaculture costs.

That day, Brigade C held an on-site meeting on logistics construction. Higher-level leaders and representatives from many other units visited the breeding base.

They were impressed by the ecological cycle system and overall environment of the breeding base. When they tasted the new food at the logistics base, they highly praised the innovative practices of Chen Jiang's team.

Gao Jianjun and Cheng Guoqiang, who were invited, praised Chen Jiang's crucian carp and tofu soup, saying that the fish was of good quality and that they would "specially supply" some to the army group's canteen in the future, which made everyone laugh.

(End of this chapter)