Diary of the poorest guy in China

Chapter 34
Chapter 33 The highest state of doing things is smooth flow
Cloudy Wednesday, September 2007, 3
I have been thinking about the message Zhou Zhong gave me.

I called Zhao Jun and asked him if he knew any weak current companies.I said that there is a project and I want to find a weak current company to cooperate with.

Zhao Jun said that he has a good relationship with a weak electricity company. This company has used the bridges in Zhao Jun's factory for a long time, and gave me the phone number of the company's boss.

The boss's surname is He, his head is bare, and he looks like a shrewd person.

I said to Mr. He: "I have information about a weak current project, are you interested?"

Mr. He smiled and said, "I'm not interested in information, I'm only interested in the project itself."

This is actually to learn more about the project.

I asked him point-blank: "If this information is useful to you, how much will you give?"

A look of disdain appeared on Mr. He's face, but he quickly covered it up with a smile.

He said: "It depends on your role in it. If it's just a piece of information, then I won't give you a penny; if you can influence the project, we can negotiate a price."

I think so too. There are so many construction projects now, it is not difficult to find information, but it is too difficult for me to influence the progress of the project as Mr. He said.

I said, "That's right. The person in charge of this project is a friend of mine. I'll go and inquire about the specifics of the project first, and then I'll talk to you."

Mr. He agreed, and proposed several cooperation methods for me: one is affiliation, I conduct business activities in the name of their company, they charge management fees, and I am responsible for the rest; the other is that I act as a salesperson of their company For activities, after I take down the business, he will give me a commission. The commission ratio is 20% of the net profit, but I have to be responsible for the upfront expenses.

After much deliberation, I decided to cooperate in the second way.This way I earn less, but with my current situation, I can't help but rely on him.

I was afraid that Mr. He would play tricks at that time, so I proposed to sign an agreement, first villain and then gentleman.

Mr. He agreed, and according to my request, he specially stated on the contract: as long as Mr. He's company signs a contract with Party A, he should pay me the remuneration that I should get first.

Cloudy Thursday, March 2007, 3
After negotiating with Mr. He, I decided to go to County H to find out the specific situation first.

I took some money from my brother, and after driving for nearly six hours, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon when I arrived in County H.I found a small hotel, freshened up, and went to find Lao Liu.

Lao Liu is the person in charge of the project and Zhou Zhong's friend.

Downstairs in the hotel, I bought a pack of Yuxi and smoked one myself first—it tastes really mellow.

Lao Liu was not in the office, so I called him and said that I was Zhou Zhong's friend and wanted to visit him.

Lao Liu said that he was meeting with the government and was not sure when the meeting would end.

I asked Lao Liu to find a place to get together at night, and Lao Liu said: "Just talk on the phone if you have something to do, there is no need to spend money."

I lifted Zhou Zhong out again, and said, "We are all Zhou Zhong's friends, let's meet up, so we can say hello when we meet on the street."

Lao Liu hesitated and agreed.

I started looking for places to eat in the evening.

In the center of County H, I found a fairly luxurious restaurant and booked a small private room.

I hesitated for a while about whether to book a private room.There is always some indescribable embarrassment for two men eating in a private room, but I can't seem too stingy, so I still booked it.

After looking at the menu, the price of the dishes is cheaper than that of City C, but the drinks are very expensive.I told the waiter in advance that if my customers ordered more than 300 yuan a bottle of wine, they would say it was sold out.In order to prevent the waiter from not listening, I said: "I only have [-] yuan with me, and I have to save the travel expenses to go home. If it exceeds the standard, I can only 'eat the sidewalk'."

After doing all the preparations, I felt relieved, and I started to wander the streets of H County.

Looking at the fast or slow pedestrians on the street, and listening to their local dialect with a local accent, I suddenly felt some pleasure.

No one here knows me, no one pays attention to me, no one knows whether I am poor or rich.When I speak, they will accurately judge that I am a foreigner, and give me the enthusiasm for treating foreigners.

A person in an unfamiliar environment, in addition to novelty, is self-confidence.For example, when a small peddler is bargaining with an old woman, I can walk over without hesitation, pat the peddler on the shoulder and say, "He is an elderly person, don't worry about it."

The vendor would nod like a chicken pecking at rice: "Okay, okay, just follow this big brother's order."

Very comfortable, I enjoy this state very much.

But in City C, I can't make these moves.There is always invisible pressure restricting my impulse to express.

At 05:30 in the afternoon, I thought that Lao Liu's meeting should be over, so I took out my mobile phone and called him.But Lao Liu called first, and he told me that he had to go to a dinner party at night, and he was about to miss the appointment, and he would contact me after the dinner party.

I said, "Okay, I'll wait for your notice."

After answering the phone, I felt a little nervous.But thinking about Lao Liu taking the initiative to contact me after the entertainment, it means that he still cares about me.

I felt a little hungry, so I sat down at a street food stall and ordered a bowl of fried noodles.The stall owner took his time and added the seasoning carefully, asking about my taste from time to time.The noodles are finely made and taste delicious.

I also often eat noodles in City C, but with the speed of the noodle cooker, as soon as the noodles are dropped from the pot, I wish I could pick them up immediately so that I can greet the next customer.

Big cities and small cities have different rhythms.

In fact, many people like the rhythm of small cities, but desperately squeeze into big cities.

Can't say why, but that's how it is.

After eating, I found a teahouse for backup.I was afraid that when Lao Liu told me to meet, I could not find a suitable place in a hurry, so I made preparations first.

I had to work on those details.For this trip to County H, although I don't have high expectations, I have to make great preparations for a little hope.

According to Lao Liu, he would take the initiative to contact me after the entertainment, so I went back to the hotel and lay on the bed watching TV.The phone is next to him, and the volume is turned up to the maximum.

After eight o'clock in the evening, I started looking at my phone non-stop.As usual, the dinner should be over at eight o'clock.

However, after 08:30, Lao Liu still did not call.Because he said that he took the initiative to contact me, I couldn't call to urge him, so I had to wait patiently.

I have to say that waiting is a kind of pain, except for the expected phone ringing, everything else is dull.

The phone finally rang, and I couldn't wait to answer it, and said into the microphone in a particularly friendly tone: "Hello."

A childish voice came from the phone - it was his son's phone.

I am a little disappointed, but also a little happy.

I said: "Son, Dad has been busy outside and hasn't gone back to see you for a long time. Are you good?"

The son said: "I am good."

I said, "Why did you think of calling me?"

The son said, "My mother told me to call."

Zhou Yuan's voice softly threatening her son came from the phone.

I was silent for a while, and said to my son: "Don't be naughty, listen to what mother says."

The son said: "I am not naughty, I listen to my mother very much, and my mother also listens to me."

I was amused by my son, and asked: "Son, what did mother hear from you?"

The son said: "Mom cried, and I told her not to cry, so she stopped crying."

There was an inexplicable pain in my heart.

I whispered to my son, "Is mom around?"

I want to talk to Zhou Yuan for a while, and I want to ask her how she is doing during this time.

The son said, "Mom went to the toilet."

At this time, there was a beeping sound on the phone, and a call was coming in.

I took down the phone and looked, it was Lao Liu's call.I hurriedly said to my son: "Son, Dad has something to do, so he hung up. Dad will call you later."

After getting through to Lao Liu's call, Lao Liu asked me: "Where are you? Have you eaten yet?"

I said, "I'm in the hotel, I've eaten."

Old Liu said: "Then you come to the Red Star Hotel, I'm in room 1021."

I said, "Okay, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, I immediately left the room, got into a taxi at the hotel entrance, and said to the driver, "Go to the Red Star Hotel."

The driver hesitated and said, "It's very close, and it only takes seven or eight minutes to walk."

I said, "Never mind, the sooner the better."

I got off the car at the entrance of the hotel, and I went to the room that Lao Liu said, and rang the doorbell.

Lao Liu is a middle-aged man with a bald head. After hearing my self-introduction, he said in surprise: "You are so fast."

I smiled and followed Lao Liu into the room.

This is a deluxe standard room, with two chairs next to the thick curtains.In the middle is a coffee table with an ashtray on it, and a pack of hard boxes of China.

Lao Liu asked me to sit down casually, and explained that I was eating downstairs just now, and the government usually opened a room for dinner, so that there was a place to rest in case someone got drunk.

Lao Liu and I sat down and wanted to take out the Yuxi cigarettes we bought in the afternoon for Lao Liu to smoke, but when we saw Zhonghua on the coffee table, we hesitated.However, he felt that Yuxi should be able to get his hands on it, so he gave up one to Lao Liu and said, "My smoker has the right to remember the bitterness and think sweetly."

Lao Liu pointed to Zhonghua Cigarettes and said, "This was posted during dinner just now. I usually smoke all kinds of cigarettes, not just one cigarette."

I said, "There is still a difference, the leaves are all smoking."

Old Liu laughed and said, "That's true."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the atmosphere became more harmonious, and the topic gradually got to the point.

Lao Liu asked me what I wanted to see him for, and I got straight to the point, saying that I wanted to do the weak current project of their complex building.

Lao Liu's face changed, and he said after a while: "There are many people in this project. At first, I planned to find two professional companies to compare the price and quality of the products, and negotiate competitively. Later, considering fairness, I prepared to invite bids." .”

"All I can do to help you is send you a bid," he said.

I was very disappointed.

I thought it was too easy to do this project.I thought it was like I sold materials to the construction site, as long as the price was right, the transaction would be completed, but the actual situation was much more complicated than I imagined.

Lao Liu suggested that I go to a clerk named Wu Xiaobo in their unit, who is responsible for receiving companies that come to bid.This is already an excuse.

Saying goodbye to Lao Liu and coming out, I felt very uncomfortable.Looks like my 2007 is off to a bad start.

Now, I am faced with two choices, one is to go back home immediately, so that my loss is not too big and within the acceptable range; the other is to continue, but is it meaningful to continue?Bidding, this is all about fighting for strength, what strength can I fight for?
After thinking about it, I decided to go to Lao Liu's unit again to find Wu Xiaobo.Participate in the bidding if possible, just like buying a lottery ticket to try your luck.

Cloudy Friday, March 2007, 3
Wu Xiaobo shared an office with four other colleagues, all of whom participated in the construction of this project.

Wu Xiaobo is about 27 or [-] years old, with a bulbous nose and small eyes, and looks relatively modest.This kind of people are generally difficult to deal with, because they have low self-esteem in appearance, so they like to show their unusual aspects in affairs to attract others' attention.

In the morning, I introduced to him that I belonged to the Weak Current Company. I saw that they were repairing the complex and wanted to participate in it. I asked him what requirements he had.

Wu Xiaobo said bluntly: "As long as they have done weak current projects, they are qualified."

I said, "Then I meet your requirements. If I want to participate in the competition, what procedures do I need to go through?"

Wu Xiaobo said: "Check the qualifications first, and you can buy the tender without any problems."

I said, "I came in a hurry and didn't bring my qualification certificate. Can you sell me the bid first, and I will bring the qualification certificate when I come to bid."

Wu Xiaobo disagreed, he said: "This is a matter of procedure, I have to follow the rules."

Fuck me, the mechanics are really good enough.

I am most annoyed by this kind of person who has little power but great style.Everyone is working and serving the people, it's just that you take the initiative in your position.

But at the same time, I think Wu Xiaobo's attitude may be a help to me.Because other companies who come to know about it will probably enjoy this kind of treatment from Wu Xiaobo, and if they are not patient enough, they may easily give up.Then there will be fewer people who come to participate in the bidding virtually, and my competitors will also be fewer.

Originally, I didn't have any confidence in this project, but Wu Xiaobo's attitude made me feel that it is still necessary to fight for it, just to exercise myself.

I decided not to fight him.

I suddenly pretended to be casual and said: "Hey, you old Liu had a long meeting yesterday afternoon."

Wu Xiaobo said, "How do you know that Lao Liu was in a meeting yesterday afternoon?"

I said, "I met you outside, looking in a hurry."

The purpose of my saying this is to let Wu Xiaobo know that I know Lao Liu.Although I know that many people know Lao Liu, it doesn't mean anything.But for a master like Wu Xiaobo, if he looks humble, he must have low self-esteem. Because of low self-esteem, he will worship power, and there will be a kind of flattery towards the leader in his bones.

Of course, I won't be so stupid as to tell Wu Xiaobo that I know Lao Liu very well, and I'll just click on it.

Sure enough, Wu Xiaobo's tone was a little softer, and this kind of softness was gradual.I also cooperated with every intention to increase his imagination.

Later, Wu Xiaobo sighed and said: "The leaders are under a lot of pressure now. Let's talk about this bidding. The leaders have also been under pressure from various aspects. People everywhere come to the leaders to intercede. If they agree to one family, they will offend the other family. , the common people are also staring at it, maybe they will say you are corrupt, it’s difficult.”

I laughed and said, "It's hard to be a human being, but it's even harder to be a leader."

After chatting with Wu Xiaobo for a while, I asked him to be more accommodating, saying that it was not easy for me to come from City C, and if I went back empty-handed, it would be difficult for the company leaders to explain.

Wu Xiaobo agreed and gave me a design drawing of the project.Going from rigid to flexible is not that complicated.As long as you respect each other and be patient.

(End of this chapter)