Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 302 Acquaintance
The construction site Yan Hui came to was located relatively far from the city center. It was a small but exquisite project with strict management, and Yan Hui's van couldn't get in.

After making two phone calls and lingering at the gate for a while, the security guard finally let me through, looking somewhat impatient.

After driving into the construction site, Yan Hui looked around and saw that the project only had four residential buildings, which had already been topped out. There were quite a few people on the site, but he didn't see any steel formwork.

There were some piles of plywood nearby. Yan Hui went over to take a look, and found that the quality was acceptable, but it wasn't his stock. He just didn't know the supply price. Of course, the pouring work for this project was basically completed, and Yan Hui didn't plan to deliver plywood here.

While we were waiting for someone, two men wearing white hard hats walked over and asked, "What are you doing here?"

After 2010, the construction site started to distinguish identities by the color of hats. Hats in those days didn't have any special meaning. Yan Hui stood up and looked at the two of them: "General Manager Liu, the general contractor of the construction site, asked me to come and take a look at the acquisition of second-hand steel formwork."

"Huh? Mr. Liu?" The tall, thin man paused for a moment, then looked Yan Hui up and down. "Then you wait here! Don't wander around, and don't touch anything. Cables were stolen from this construction site a while ago!"

"Okay." Yan Hui waved his hand, ignoring the person, and walked a few steps back to his van, intending to wait a while.

Seeing that Yan Hui ignored him, the tall, thin man was a little annoyed. He carefully examined Yan Hui's car, then left with his men. He wanted to investigate Yan Hui's car. In his eyes, there was no way Yan Hui could have any connection with President Liu.

The tall, thin man arrived at the gate, found the security guard, and asked him why Yan Hui's car was allowed to enter.

"Captain Li let him in, but didn't say anything else," the security guard said truthfully.

"Captain Li? Which Captain Li?" the tall, thin man asked.

"It must be the one who operates the crane, right?" the person next to the tall, thin man explained.

"That guy who drives the crane? I had a feeling it was related to the cable theft last time. I checked the import and export records, and there was nothing wrong with them. But his crane was just big enough to lift things from inside the wall to the outside!" The tall, thin man thought for a moment, then looked at the security guard. "You keep a close eye on that guy. See what's in his truck bed, and make sure you check it carefully when he leaves!"

"Understood!" the security guard replied earnestly.

Yan Hui didn't care about any of that. After a while, he received a call from Captain Li and drove the car further in.

"Mr. Yan, the boss said I can just load the steel formwork onto your crane." Team Leader Li glanced at Yan Hui's truck. "Haven't our trucks arrived yet?"

This van definitely can't carry more than ten tons of goods.

"No rush, let me check the goods first. The price hasn't been set yet! Trucks are easy to arrange, I can call one anytime." Yan Hui thought about it carefully and understood what was going on. He had dined with this general contractor, Mr. Liu, and was also familiar with the construction group. There were a dozen tons of used steel formwork here, originally used for construction in several special areas, and now that they were used up, they would definitely have to be sold. Such a small quantity, as long as the price was reasonable, it wasn't a big deal in Mr. Liu's eyes, so he directly arranged for a crane operator.

"Alright, you take a look first, you can discuss the price and stuff, I'll just do the work," Team Leader Li said with a smile.

“I see you’ve already started exterior wall construction here, the progress is quite fast.” Yan Hui looked up and said, “When I passed by here last time, it wasn’t even topped out yet.”

This used to be his job—working inside a suspended cradle.
"Yes, the construction schedule is tight." Team Leader Li nodded. He was a crane operator and also the team leader.

"I still have about ten cases of bottled water in my truck. It's tough being with my brothers, so I'm sharing it with you all," Yan Hui said, opening the trunk. This is one of the reasons he likes vans—they can haul goods! When going to places like construction sites, Yan Hui usually doesn't leave the truck empty; he delivers things to suitable customers, which doesn't cost much.

"Oh, Mr. Yan, you're too kind." Upon hearing this, Captain Li was immediately tempted.

Water is scarce during suspended platform construction, and people are reluctant to buy bottled water. They usually drink water from water bottles, but this water is rarely boiled; much of it is tap water.

"It's no big deal, just get a couple of people to move it. I need to take a closer look at these steel formworks," Yan Hui said, taking out a ruler and calipers from his bag.

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Yan. You're welcome!" Captain Li knew that Yan Hui was a big boss, and to be honest, he didn't need to be polite to him at all.

As he spoke, Captain Li looked around, called a few people over, and asked them to come and move the bottled water. He planned to move the bottled water directly to the dormitory; if there were a dozen or so cases, each person could get one case. The distance was a bit far, so he told everyone to move it themselves.

Yan Hui didn't care about all that. He carefully inspected the quality of the steel templates and felt that they were pretty good, and could be calculated according to the agreed price.

"Captain Li, weigh these structural components first. I'll take them with me; I need them urgently," Yan Hui called out to Captain Li.

Steel formwork components are generally divided into three parts: the largest and heaviest part is the steel formwork itself, followed by the steel pipes, and finally the connecting and fastening structural components. There aren't many structural components; for a steel formwork weighing over ten tons, the structural components only weigh a few hundred kilograms. Yan Hui is in dire need of these and needs them urgently, so he can take them back and use them immediately.

"Okay, I'll install it for you," said Team Leader Li. "There's no scale here, so you'll have to go to the entrance to weigh it. I'll send two people with you there in a bit."

“That’s easy to do.” Yan Hui nodded. “I’ll settle the payment for the goods with Mr. Liu later. I’ll take all of this batch of goods. I’ll send a truck over to weigh them in a bit. You guys get the quantities sorted out, and I’ll go find him to settle the bill.”

"Mr. Liu said to just do as you say." Team Leader Li adopted a very humble attitude. Given the significant difference in rank between him and Mr. Liu, he was determined to get things done.

As they were chatting, Yan Hui spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. Upon closer inspection, he exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Jianlei!"

"Huh?" Liu Jianlei was carrying water back when he heard someone call him. He turned around and saw Yan Hui. He was both surprised and delighted, and ran over with the water in his arms. "Yan Hui! What are you doing here?"

"I came here to collect some steel. Are you working here?" Yan Hui looked at Liu Jianlei and found that, apart from getting a little darker, Liu Jianlei had hardly changed over the years.

"Yeah, still painting. They pay more here, and there's more work. I can make at least 2000 a month!" Liu Jianlei was in a really good mood when he saw Yan Hui.

"Perfect timing, I'm free tonight, let's have dinner together when you're done."

"You treated me last time, so this time it's my treat!" Liu Jianlei said generously.

"Okay." Yan Hui nodded.

(End of this chapter)