Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 4 Bidding is like gambling on jade.
Chen Xuebing ignored this and looked outside.

"They're all my classmates. Many of them came to see us, but only a few will actually stay. Don't worry."

He had already told his uncle about wanting to work on the project with a few classmates, but it seemed the construction site couldn't accommodate so many managers.

Of the group outside, only six were truly with him, including Gou Hongyi, who had cheated and slept with him in his previous life.

Lu Yiwen, Liang Hui, Gou Hongyi, Huang Jin, Yu Yi, Zhang Hang.

The rest of the parents were open-minded and not misled by the booming construction industry these days. They either sent their children to join the army or spent money to get them into expensive colleges.

Some just didn't want to study for a while, so they came here, told their families that they would work in engineering with their classmates and have a future, and then escaped their families' pressure to go out and make a living in society, collecting protection money and working as security guards.

Jiao Gui from Class 3 was like that; I later heard he was imprisoned for seven or eight years.

Of course, there were also those who later heard that they had done well and wanted to follow him, but by then they had been out in the world for many years and were well-versed in the ways of the world, so they all had their possessions confiscated.

The location is difficult to arrange.

"More people are fine too. By the time you graduate, this project will be almost finished. We have a large contract section coming up, and we'll need a lot of people, but you'll have to start from internship positions."

Yu Chunyin became interested in her suddenly mature nephew and loosened her grip on the matter a bit.

But remembering her sister and brother-in-law's expectations for the child, she added, "It would be best if he could get into university."

He only mentioned it briefly. He had raised Chen Xuebing. When his brother-in-law passed away and his sister was busy running her shop, he attended Chen Xuebing's high school parent-teacher conference once. He knew what Chen Xuebing's grades were like.

In his previous life, Chen Xuebing had heard similar words, but fearing that his uncle would abandon him, he said firmly: I want to work on construction sites.

At this moment, Chen Xuebing smiled and did not dwell on the topic: "I will take the college entrance exam if I can. I also want to learn something, but it won't stop me from coming. By the way, Uncle, do you have any projects coming up next?"

"Hey." Yu Chunyin stood up, patted the computer on the table, and revealed a hint of confidence: "Your uncle wants to get into engineering. There are plenty of projects, but it's not easy to find something this lucrative outside."

Chen Xuebing knew, of course, that this was the main reason he came today.

"Uncle, may I take a look?"

The things on the computer were Yu Chunyin's "top secret," but since he could tell Chen Xuebing about them, he naturally wasn't afraid of him seeing them.

"Can you understand?"

As Yu Chunyin spoke, she made way for her seat.

"I told you I wanted to work on engineering projects with you. I've learned a lot from you; I've even read all the books on cost estimation."

Chen Xuebing gave himself a heads-up: seeing the Da Vinci screensaver, he clicked the mouse twice.

There was no movement.

"I need the password, don't crash my computer."

Yu Chunyin took the mouse, clicked it, entered the password, and pointed to a folder on the desktop.

The folder opens.

"Three documents?" Chen Xuebing asked knowingly.

Yu Chunyin waved his hand and laughed, "Just look at the second section, let's see what you can figure out."

Chen Xuebing chuckled inwardly as well.

This second section was the first project he had worked on. Not only could he see the potential, but he could also clearly explain to Yu Chunyin the final expenses, the sections requiring rework, and the completion time.

This project was a real mess. The design was revised three times during the process, which wasted a lot of time. Although there was compensation for the rework, it was still a losing proposition.

Chen Xuebing pretended to frown and slowly browsed through the listings, then opened another one.

Then there are the three standards.

These days, when people are bored and don't have smartphones, Yu Chunyin also uses Chen Xuebing as a pastime. She didn't stop him and even watched him with great interest.

Treat it as training the next generation, and see what he can actually learn.

About ten minutes.

"This three-standard standard is not bad," Chen Xuebing said slowly.

Upon hearing this, Yu Chunyin, who was leaning against the desk, immediately lost interest, waved his hand, and said:
"Move aside, move aside! Just say you don't understand. I'll teach you slowly after you graduate!"

Chen Xuebing didn't budge, looking at his uncle: "You're just doing the dredging of that four-kilometer stretch of river in Map 2, what don't you understand?" "Oh? You figured it out?"

Yu Chunyin looked surprised, then tapped the table: "Do you know why it's valuable?"

“There’s sand and gravel in the river. We can dig it out and sell it, which is several times the profit. We can also make some money from measuring the elevation,” Chen Xuebing said with a smile.

But inwardly, he sighed.

This money isn't so easy to earn.

The second phase of the project will be rerouted later, reducing the 4-kilometer river channel to 1.5 kilometers. Although the losses will be compensated, it will be the compensation that is made public. You can't just say that I cut off my profit margin in the river, can you?
It is also impossible to force construction to proceed according to the original drawings.

If things go wrong, people might ask: With such a big opinion, what do you want to do in the river?
"Since you know that, why do you still think the third standard is good?" Yu Chunyin asked, somewhat puzzled. "The third standard dredged almost half of the river channels."

"You haven't been to Sanbiao? It's Taohuaxi Zoo!" Chen Xuebing feigned surprise.

Yu Chunyin was speechless: "Aren't you talking nonsense? The zoo was built in the 1950s. I went there before you were even born. What's the use of Taohuaxi Zoo? They won't let us do the river channel renovation there!"

Chen Xuebing scratched his head: "Find me a map of Chongqing."

Yu Chunyin looked around for a long time, and seeing Chen Xuebing's confident expression, which seemed to indicate he had some ideas, she became a little anxious.

"Oh, just tell me what's wrong, I'll look into it when I get back!"

These three projects were given priority for him to choose one of the three projects because the leadership recognized that he had solved the Yuzhong sewage treatment plant issue.

Even now, some people are still trying to snatch the second contract through connections; the leaders gave them face.

Seeing his anxiety, Chen Xuebing revealed a robbing smile: "Want to pay for the intelligence?"

Snapped.

Chen Xuebing forgot that his uncle was a soldier.

Yu Chunyin glared at him, raised her hand, and slapped him on the back of the head.

They were completely convinced.

Chen Xuebing could only grit his teeth and say, while trying to come up with a plan:
“Look at the excavation distance and excavation volume of the third standard plant area, 10 kilometers, there’s definitely a profit to be made.”

The transport distance is the distance that the excavated soil and rocks need to be transported to a place to be dumped. It is paid by the kilometer. If it is set at 10 kilometers, and you can find a place nearby to dispose of it, then you have made money.

Yu Chunyin frowned: "I've looked at it. How much profit is there? The zoo is in the city, so we can't just dump the waste anywhere. Even if there are other dumping grounds nearby, they won't be much cheaper."

Chen Xuebing smiled and said, "What if there's road construction nearby, and they need to fill the ground with earth? Would it be profitable to dump the earth and sell it?"

Now, Yu Chunyin's expression became more serious: "Where did you know that?"

"The expansion of Jiulongpo Port is big news! As for the road construction, go ask around! They're definitely going to build roads! My classmate's dad works in the highway industry, and he was talking about it today."

Chen Xuebing didn't want to dwell on this topic, so he immediately added, "Moreover, that's not all. The location of this factory area won't change, will it? I've been there. The soil-to-rock ratio in the geological survey report is definitely wrong. It's definitely not silty clay. It's all sand and rocks underneath."

Yu Chunyin was stunned and remained silent for a long time.

Chen Xuebing leaned back in his seat, also feeling a mix of emotions.

In his past life, this three-billion-dollar scheme made a fortune.

The river dredging section eventually exceeded the length of the second phase, and the factory area also produced a lot of sand and gravel, which not only made money but also claimed compensation from the general contractor, turning earthwork into stone excavation.

They sold soil and stones, and the money from the excavation was completely subsidized, so they even made a little profit.

My uncle was envious at the time.

After drinking, I told him, "Bidding for civil engineering projects is just like gambling on stones in Myanmar."

This was Chen Xuebing's first major lesson in engineering.

The tuition was paid by my uncle.

Now, he's helping his uncle get his tuition fees back.

I'd also like to ask for some dividends.

Chen Xuebing had already come up with a plan.

(End of this chapter)