Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 72 Fish-Eating Party
The temperature in Furong Village dropped again in mid-January.

With the Lunar New Year just a week away, two leaders from the town and the project team visited Furong Village together.

A series of firecrackers went off, marking the official start of the sewage treatment plant's construction.

Township government staff took photos with Tan Maoshui.

Three administrators were busy running around.

Ren Ying stood quietly behind Chen Xuebing.

Mayor Xu and Project Manager Ren observed with their hands behind their backs.

Workers were feeding materials into the mixer nearby.

There are already quite a few people on the construction site.

As the firecrackers stopped, Chen Xuebing stood smiling in front of the crowd, pointing to the pile of materials next to the mixer:

"Our material preparation process involves first adding a small amount of water to the surface of the sand and gravel, then adding the stones, and finally adding cement. Cement coating the sand is the most complicated method. If we use this method to complete the entire road, I will need about ten more workers. I also specifically found a measuring cylinder. The ratio of cement, sand, gravel, and water is very strict. After mixing, we have to check it again. Don't be fooled by the fact that we mix it ourselves. The quality of the mixed material is definitely much better than that supplied by the commercial concrete plant here."

The advantage of ready-mixed concrete is its precision and uniformity. It is mixed by large machines and delivered directly for pouring, resulting in almost consistent quality. It is fast, has high plasticity and strength, and is also more expensive. However, some ready-mixed concrete may have inferior aggregates and contain more additives.

Just like pre-cooked meals, there's a limit to how bad they can be.

When it comes to mixing your own concrete, your cooking skills really come into play.

Chen Xuebing, of course, believed in his own cooking skills and the ingredients he bought.

After saying that, he pointed to the road surface gap in the distance where the basic paving had not yet been completed.

"At this point, the foundation surface is the most intuitive to look at, right? The thickness and materials of each layer of the roadbed, subbase, and base course are all visible. There is absolutely no situation where the layers are misleading or of varying heights. The roadbed is sandy soil, and the subbase is all graded crushed stone with 30% slag added for waterproofing."

“We also widened the turning area by several square meters to make it a road shoulder. We used dozens of truckloads of soil and leveled it. Although it’s not as solid as the road surface, it’s much safer than before.”

The group nodded in agreement.

Tan Maoshui was even more proud: "Wow! I've never met a boss who's so generous with materials and so particular about the process! This road, as long as the surface concrete is poured well, can be used as a model textbook!"

"Your concrete is of good quality with a low slump. Constructing it in sections from high to low shouldn't be a problem. To make it look nice, the key is to control the finishing and joint cutting time."

Ren Kaiping looked up at the sky as he spoke, and then added:

Have you checked the weather forecast for the past couple of days? No rain is expected, right?

Chen Xuebing laughed: "Can the weather forecast be relied on? We've already prepared oilcloths, so it shouldn't rain. It's been dry and cold these past two days."

"Tsk tsk." Mayor Xu gave a thumbs up: "President Chen has put in a lot of effort, this is true craftsmanship! I'm even thinking of recommending a few jobs to you! Should we continue with this approach for the upcoming highway contracts?"

Chen Xuebing shook his head: "That road is too long and the construction period is tight, so self-mixing is definitely not an option. It's too slow, so we can only use commercial concrete. And to be honest, if this weren't a benchmark project, I wouldn't like to use self-mixing either. If something goes wrong, at least the commercial concrete plant will take responsibility. But the foundation of the road will definitely use the exact same materials and the same procedures."

After saying that, he looked at Ren Kaiping again and said, "I also plan to use self-mixed materials as much as possible in the factory area. Oh, I want to reinforce the pedestrian pavement with a textured finish. It will definitely look much better in the whole factory area. Mr. Ren, I'd like to trouble you to discuss this with the client. It won't cost much more. If it doesn't work out, you can just provide the materials for me, and I'll cover the labor."

Ren Kaiping gave him an appreciative look: "I'm relieved that President Chen is so concerned. This shouldn't be a problem! I'll have the stone paint team bring the materials over for you and include them in their process. I'll have them pay you for the labor as well. But President Chen, the most important things are the equipment and the tank. These are the key to ensuring smooth operation."

Upon hearing this, Tan Maoshui chuckled, almost wanting to exclaim, "A tiny pool, easily contained!" and patted his chest, saying:
"President Ren, whatever your blueprints look like, that's exactly what I'll build!"

Chen Xuebing coughed lightly: "Engineer Tan, don't be so absolute. Well... in some places, it may still depend on the actual situation on site. It's normal for there to be some discrepancies with the drawings."

You can make it exactly like the drawings, but you can't report it like that when you receive the goods, otherwise I won't make any profit from the false measurements.

Tan Maoshui's expression immediately turned awkward: "Yes, yes, that's true."

Ren Kaiping was actually on Chen Xuebing's side in this matter. The project department took a cut from the settlement amount of the construction unit. Since Chen Xuebing earned more, their project department also received more money, so they smiled and remained silent about it.

Mayor Xu didn't understand, but he thought the road was pleasing to the eye. After looking at it for a while, he smiled and said, "Alright! Mr. Chen, I'll head back now! This road won't be finished until after the New Year, right? I'll come and cut the ribbon for you then!"

Chen Xuebing, however, stopped him.

"Hey? Mayor Xu, don't go! I've had the fish cooked, 10 catties of fish, enough for two tables, it smells delicious! You've come all this way, have a taste before you leave! I've even prepared the wine!"

Before Mayor Xu could speak, Ren Kaiping smiled.

"Mr. Chen, it's inappropriate for you to use the word 'try' to describe local fish to Mayor Xu, isn't it? He's the local official in charge!"

Chen Xuebing, however, put his hands behind his back and said, "President Ren, you're wrong. Wherever we do projects, we need to familiarize ourselves with the environment and consider ourselves half-locals to understand the local people's needs and ensure the project's success! Mayor Xu is from the town, and I'm from the village. What's wrong with telling Mayor Xu to 'try something new'? Let me tell you, this fish is truly excellent. If I have some spare money in the future, I'll open a few wild fish experience restaurants in Furong Village, letting others taste Wujiang raw fish slices, helping our local fish brand and economy develop, and enabling the fishermen here to make big money!"

His words were firm and powerful.

Mayor Xu laughed heartily: "What a wonderful way to think about what the local people think! President Chen is absolutely right! It seems I must try this fish!"

People are all morally ambiguous. Mayor Xu may be mostly selfish, but after working here for so many years, he also has a dream of making the local economy take off. Chen Xuebing's words stirred up his lofty ambitions and made him feel refreshed.

Ren Kaiping couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "President Chen is so young, yet he has such a broad vision!"

In the surrounding towns, the project team immediately applauded.

Chen Xuebing glanced at his watch and smiled, "Someone else will be here soon, Mr. Ren. Save those compliments for dinner later!"

……

Twenty minutes later, a Toyota Camry drove up to the front of Xiaoyuan Road.

"Come in! Stop in the yard!"

Chen Xuebing beamed and waved.

Today is the day to fulfill the bet. He received news yesterday that Mayor Xu was coming to inspect the road construction, so he immediately called Ren Kaiping to hold a groundbreaking ceremony and also invited his uncle over for dinner.

It's time to mention going to Shenzhen to my uncle.

In the ten days since he returned from Chongqing, Taobao has given him another wave of homepage recommendations for electronic products, making him a fortune. He has an extra 40,000 yuan in his Alipay account. However, he has spent all of the 60,000 yuan Taobao bonus he received at the construction site. Later, he bought a motorcycle for 5,000 yuan, a camera for 2,000 yuan, paid 10,000 yuan for two driver's license registration fees, rented a forklift, rented formwork, and received some money for truck materials. He has spent a total of 40,000 yuan in total.

Salaries haven't even been paid yet; Taobao's revenue and construction site expenses are barely breaking even.

Currently, with 15 in Alipay and 15 in the bank card, the total is still 30.

Of course, this period of work was not in vain. He has already completed half of the output value that the town should have generated from the 20 yuan road repair fee, and he has also completed part of the excavation work for the factory site leveling.

In other words, of those 300,000, at least 200,000 belong to him.

He started with 12,000 yuan and earned over 200,000 yuan in two months in this slow-paced era. Moreover, his business has already expanded and will continue to grow faster. This speed of making money is enough to produce a nationally sensational entrepreneurship program.

But Chen Xuebing still felt it was too slow.

We still need to pay the workers, pay for the excavators after the New Year, and set up a company.

The first progress payment for the factory area will not be reported until early March, and the actual payment will probably not be made until the end of the month, during which time there will be additional expenses.

To save up a large sum of money, you either have to wait for a surge in traffic on Taobao or for the construction site to complete a large output and allocate a large sum of money.

It seems like it will all take quite a while.

The stock market needs money, and projects also need money.

Currently, the only cash cow quietly producing money is Taobao Mobile, and it's not exactly abundant no matter how you look at it.

He had to think of a third way: to make money with his uncle's money.

He hadn't really cared about the bet he made initially; it was mostly because he was annoyed with his aunt. But now that his business was booming and he was running out of money, he really wanted to find another way to make money.

The Camry pulled into the courtyard and stopped, and Mr. Chen personally opened the car door for the big spender.

"Hey young man, you're quite sensible!"

Yu Chunyin got out of the car, patted Chen Xuebing on the shoulder, and looked around.

Chen Xuebing smiled slightly: "Let's eat first! I'll take you to see the construction site later! General Manager Ren and Mayor Xu are both inside."

"Oh?" Yu Chunyin exclaimed in surprise, "You actually invited them..."

As they were talking, the two people inside came out.

"Mr. Yu!"

"Mr. Yu, I've heard so much about you."

"President Ren!"

"This must be... Mayor Xu, right? I've heard so much about you!"

After a series of formulaic social pleasantries, everyone went inside.

Tan Maoshui stood up and greeted Yu Chunyin. Chen Xuebing also introduced three administrators, Ren Ying, and Jiao Gui to Yu Chunyin. These people, along with four staff members from the project department and the town, ate at a large table, while Chen Xuebing, Yu Chunyin, Ren Kaiping, and Mayor Xu ate at a small table over the stove.

Yu Chunyin was somewhat shocked.

There are still a lot of questions.

This nephew has only been here a short time, yet he's managed to get the project manager and the local town mayor all together for a meal?

Are they still drinking Wuliangye?
It looks like everyone's assembled. How did he even get started?

Chen Xuebing invited his uncle today to give him a shock. He smiled and didn't explain. He opened the wine, poured a glass for the three people at the table, and then introduced his uncle to Manager Ren and Mayor Xu.

"Oh! Mr. Yu is a former soldier?"

Ren Kaiping's previous attitude towards Chun Yin was lukewarm, thinking that the other party was just a nepotism hire, and he didn't quite trust Chen Xuebing's youth. Now, as he gradually gets to know him, his impression of this construction company is gradually being overturned.

Yu Chunyin felt a different kind of respect than before, and began to laugh heartily: "I wasted twenty years in the army, now I'm a deputy regimental commander and I'm being demobilized!"

“That’s a high level. In our area, it would be equivalent to the deputy county level!” Mayor Xu also raised his glass with Yu Chunyin.

"Haha...we demobilized soldiers are all demoted when we transfer to civilian jobs! Mayor Xu is the one who's young and promising, not even forty yet, right? Come on, let me toast you!"

"Mmm, the fish is delicious!"

“It tastes really good.”

Just as everyone was having a lively conversation, Yu Chunyin's phone suddenly rang.

Yu Chunyin picked up her phone, looked at it, and answered the call.

After listening for a couple of sentences, he frowned, got up, and walked towards the door.

"How did you come?"

"Huh? Where are we?"

(End of this chapter)