Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 374 The Real Bidding Scene
Does doing business always rely on giving gifts and drinking alcohol?
Perhaps most people think this way because it's the simplest thing—an exchange of benefits.

If you ask 10 bosses this question, all 10 will tell you that mutual benefit is the most enduring relationship. This is true and a fundamental truth.

However, benefits do not necessarily mean giving gifts or drinking alcohol.

A slightly more academic approach would tell you: the economic base determines the superstructure.

Yan Hui believes it's not that simple.

From the beginning of the experiment at Heng Hui Chemical to today, Yan Hui has never given any big gifts to the leaders, nor has there been any direct exchange of personal benefits, yet he still manages to obtain a lot of policies, and the leaders have always valued him highly.

Once a company reaches a certain level, it will be needed and will translate into achievements for its leaders, which is actually what leaders want most.

It sounds simple, but it's actually quite difficult.

Once Heng Hui Chemical enters a normal tax payment cycle and its scale further expands, it will become a highly sought-after asset in the eyes of district leaders.

This is the highest level of exchange of benefits.

Many entrepreneurs don't understand this concept because they haven't reached that stage yet. People still prefer the rules of the game and the rules of society because everyone can understand them.

Some people are extremely adept at navigating social relationships and have made a fortune through it. Once they succeed, they believe it to be the only truth.

Many entrepreneurs of this era are like this: success comes too easily, leading to a simple path dependency. Therefore, in recent years, some long-established successful individuals have been making boastful statements online, believing themselves to be smarter than anyone else and that their abilities have transcended social classes.

Yan Hui isn't someone who doesn't show off or boast, but his experience over the past decade has taught him that no matter where you are, you must do things well; that's the fundamental principle.

This is also the main reason why Yan Hui wanted to participate in this bidding.

Even if Yan Hui went out and told everyone the truth, many people probably wouldn't believe it—Yan Hui didn't give a single penny in gifts for this tender of more than 4 tons of steel.

The reason is simple: through a simple payment cycle stipulation, Yan Hui concluded that the bidding party was a sensible person and a good leader who genuinely wanted to reduce costs.

Therefore, during this period, Yan Hui continuously optimized his bid documents and maintained a cash balance of 1500 million yuan in his account, without going out to find people or connections.

He shuttled between companies, steel mills, and construction sites, compiling a mountain of information every day until the day of the official bidding. He could work fifteen or sixteen hours a day, and it was all highly efficient, while those bosses who were busy with banquets were only relatively sober between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sometimes they drank too much and didn't recover until the evening of the next day, only to have to attend the next gathering.

Unlike Yan Hui, the other first-level agents have been attending drinking parties every day lately, all trying to find the right people and give the right gifts.

On Monday, March 10, Yan Hui took Wang Yongjun to the government department where the bidding was being conducted.

Upon arrival, Yan Hui explained his purpose, showed the security guard a brief overview of his qualifications, and was then led to a conference room.

Yan Hui arrived relatively early. There were only three or four people in the room at the time, but soon more and more people arrived, and there were more than a dozen people in total, in pairs.

Yan Hui recognized most of the people in the room; apart from his lackeys, everyone was a first-tier steel distributor in Jinan.

This was the largest government bidding project in Jinan at the beginning of this year, and all the primary agents in Jinan with sufficient funds are here.

Since the government leaders were not yet present, everyone in the room was chatting. Yan Hui didn't participate much because he wasn't very familiar with these people. He had eaten with a few people once or twice, but they weren't very close.

Aside from Yan Hui, everyone else had been working in the steel industry for at least five years. They knew each other well and were all trying to get some information out of each other, so they chatted. Yan Hui and Wang Yongjun chatted, and Yan Hui overheard some information.

It is said that all the leaders of the bidding party were temporarily selected, and they were randomly selected from various departments. Everyone said that they did not know anyone.

Whether what was said was true or false, only the person who said it knows. In any case, there was no truth to be told at the scene; everyone was taking the opportunity to assess their opponents and the veracity of information, while simultaneously releasing misleading statements.

This lasted for about 20 minutes before the leaders arrived.

Yan Hui looked up and realized that he didn't recognize any of the leaders who were bidding.

Although Yan Hui rarely hosts dinner parties, he has been dealing with the government for quite some time, and this is the first time he has encountered a situation where he doesn't know anyone.

This made him somewhat uneasy.

The meeting room wasn't large; only eight or nine people could sit on each side.

At this moment, a young man who looked like a clerk came over and began to arrange seating for everyone.

The bidding party sat on one side, the primary agents sat on the other side, and each primary agent's assistant sat on a chair in the back, not at the table.

Including Yan Hui, a total of seven first-level agents came. Of these six, Yan Hui knew three, recognized five, and only one was a stranger, presumably an agent from a steel mill in another province.

Sitting opposite Yan Hui were five bidding personnel and two assistants. One was a clerk, and Yan Hui didn't know what the other did.

After everyone was seated, the clerk began to read out a series of rules and procedures according to the established procedure. After speaking for about half an hour, the clerk then asked for questions. At this point, no one from the bidding team spoke.

"If everyone has no further questions, you can leave the sealed bids in front of your seats and then leave," the clerk continued.

Each primary agent quietly placed their bid documents and left the venue one after another.

After Yan Hui and Wang Yongjun left, he finally got his phone back and found two missed calls, both about the chemical industry. He quickly called them back.

This is considered waiting time away from the seat.

According to the rules, after the bidding party has reviewed all the bids, they will call everyone in one by one to answer questions.

Yan Hui was busy with work, constantly making and receiving phone calls, so he wasn't particularly nervous.

After an unknown amount of time, a court clerk came out and called out names.

The first-level agent whose name was called followed the clerk into the room, and everyone else quieted down and began to wait.

Yan Hui had finished his business and put the phone aside to wait.

About half an hour later, four first-level agents entered one after another. Yan Hui was finally called by name and followed into the room.

This was the first round of bidding, and everyone still had the opportunity for a second round of bidding, so the people who entered the room were generally not very nervous. Yan Hui was the same; he was very calm. After entering the room, he found a chair and sat down.

(End of this chapter)