Chapter Sixteen: Whose House Does the Fallen Flower Go To?

  That bidding material was written by Su Can himself, and naturally used the computer of his uncle's family. A 1.4MB floppy disk contained countless business reports he had made in the future. It would be somewhat limited for him to take out something impressive that he created now, but many classic templates were still recognizable. As for how to highlight the key points, he understood some techniques, so Red Little Sky felt it was different from ordinary materials at first glance.

  The bidding meeting went on in an orderly manner, announcing the results of the government's tenders for different project areas such as electrical appliances, automobiles, daily necessities, financial supplies, and so on. Some people were overjoyed, some were disappointed, and some left dejectedly. Finally, it was time for the Q&A session for the office supplies section. One of the expert reviewers looked at the bid documents that had been pre-qualified, then raised his head and gazed in the direction of Su Can's family.

  "As the bidder of 'Xia Hai Cultural Supplies Company', according to the 8th page, article 11.2 of your bidding document, it is stated that the city's financial budget requirement is 200,000 per year. Your bid price is higher than the average value of the financial budget quotation. Do you have any supplements to this?"

  People around were in an uproar, saying it was a tender offer. In fact, apart from the most basic qualification review, it's just a competitive pricing model. Now, companies that bid on tenders are all focused on how to compress this pricing algorithm, and yet someone dares to throw out a high price, which seems quite unusual.

  Su Licheng smiled at the people around him who had already shown interest in him, "Just like what Mayor Hong mentioned earlier, there are many drawbacks to fiscal supply under a planned economy. I dare say here that people have been intimidated by the fiscal supply system of our city for decades!"

  His father, Su Licheng, said this with a nervous heart, but according to Su Can's request, he tried his best to say the last sentence very lightly, and threw out Hong Xiaotian, this big tree, under the circumstance that everyone didn't understand his origin, people didn't think he was reckless, on the contrary, they all smiled in agreement.

  Seeing the smiles of everyone, Su Licheng gained confidence and continued to speak according to his previous plan. Although his words were a bit disjointed, in this atmosphere where all the big shots gathered, such expressions made people's hearts skip a beat. However, relying on Su Licheng's experience in summarizing meetings at the company, his statement was still complete. "Under the fiscal supply system, finance is the main body that purchases goods, and the users of the goods can only passively accept them. In contrast, under the government procurement system, finance only participates in and supervises the procurement process, ensuring fair trade and effective use of funds; the main body responsible for purchasing goods is the administrative departments present here today, including their technical and physical indicators such as performance, quality, accessories, delivery time, installation, and after-sales service. We can plan and guarantee this, striving to provide the most suitable office supplies and services for our colleagues."

  "The budget requirements we put forward under this service are reasonable and rational, and we voluntarily incorporate the latest monitoring procedures of the municipal finance, municipal economic and trade commission, and municipal supervision department to ensure that every budget fund can be implemented and completed."

  A burst of applause came from the crowd. In their hearts, they couldn't help but admire this person who dared to be unconventional and speak boldly, for without some background, it wouldn't have been easy to utter such grand words.

  But Jiang Chaoyang, who was in the crowd, snorted disdainfully. As the head of Xia Hai Department Store, his subordinate office supplies department was already struggling to make ends meet. The manager had given him several reports, and he himself had connections that could be used to sign contracts with various units. However, if he could get it through this procurement meeting, the channel would be much smoother, so he was determined to succeed.

  ···

  "According to the results of our evaluation committee's deliberation, we now announce the opening of bidding and declare the list of four government-designated procurement units for cultural goods. The first winning bidder is Tenglong Sports, Cultural Goods Department..."

  A round of applause rose from the crowd.

  "The second bidder, Office Stationery Chain." A middle-aged man in a grayish white suit stood up and bowed to the crowd in all directions, triggering another round of applause.

  The parents turned their heads and took a glance at Soo-chan, all three of them were visibly nervous.

  Do your best and leave the rest to fate. Su Can understood that they had done everything they could, now all they could do was wait for the outcome. If they failed, at least they would have tried their best. But thinking of his parents returning home to face the bitter consequences of failure, he couldn't help but feel that it would be a blow to their middle-aged self-esteem.

  Whether it can stand up again is hard to say.

  "The third bidder, Xinhua Bookstore, Office Supplies Sales Department." Xia Hai, the deputy general manager of Xinhua Bookstore, stood up and smiled at everyone, applauding.

  Everyone on the platform, including Zeng Quanming, involuntarily clenched their hearts. As the heads of their respective departments, they were still small soldiers in front of the mayor. Although they could propose procurement requirements for their departments this time, in the face of the massive procurement documents and influences, they were just a drop in the ocean. What influence could Zeng Quanming, the director of the Construction Bureau, have? Looking at the shortlisted bidders, they were all powerful old-brand enterprises. In comparison, Su Can's stationery store was too weak.

  The most proud one was Jiang Chaoming, sipping the tea he brought with him, and spitting out a slightly bitter tea leaf from his mouth. He had an unstoppable thought, Tenglong Sports, Xinhua Bookstore, these were all old state-owned enterprises in Xia Hai City, and also the state-owned enterprise alliance led by Jiang Chaoming. The two bosses looked up to him, and without them, the Red Little Sky would not be complete.

  It seems that Hong Xiaotian wants to save face, but he has no choice but to prioritize the interests of these state-owned enterprises. Otherwise, Jiang Chaoming will inevitably lead the way and make things difficult for him on this economic project.

  Now the bosses of Tenglong Sports and Xinhua Bookstore are giving each other a look, according to the established rules, the next fourth and last winner is obviously their Xia Hai Department Store, it's definitely no problem.

  Chen Jun, the deputy general manager of Xia Hai Wuzi Trade Co., Ltd. looked gloomy, under the pressure of this big shot's wristwatch, he, a small deputy general manager of a declining state-owned enterprise, was unable to come up with any countermeasures. Originally, he had planned to take advantage of the government's designated procurement reputation to revitalize the trade company, but now it seemed that his side was unlikely to succeed, as several project regions were not cooperating with him, and dissolution seemed to be an inevitable event.

  "The fourth winner is Xia Hai City, a cultural goods specialty store."

  The voice is not loud, but it can be heard clearly throughout the venue.

  Zeng Quanming's heart suddenly had a strange blockage, this name, how come it sounds so familiar!?

  Su Can clearly felt his mother's hand suddenly tightening, making him a bit painful. His father, Su Licheng, was still stunned in his seat, not reacting yet. Zeng Ke then added fuel to the fire by pinching his waist, trying to get him to do something.

  The father stood up with a dazed and deep thought, completely different from the calmness he had pretended to have just now. With an excited mood, facing the applause all around, he kept saying "Thank you!"

  Su Can was like a withered tree in his seat, the kind of relaxation in his heart was indeed very transcendent. After paying out great efforts and hardships, he finally won this development quota, taking advantage of the municipal government's favorable policies. In retrospect, there were still many lucky elements, thinking back to what he had imagined before, he couldn't help but wipe away a cold sweat for his own arrogance at that time.

  Jiang Chaoming's heart was shaken to a considerable degree, as can be seen from this one incident. He put down his teacup and the heavy thud of it hitting the table suddenly made the surroundings quiet.

  Locking eyes with Hong Xiaotian, the air was filled with a fiery smell. The several state-owned enterprise bosses who had been awarded contracts nearby did not look over, he understood Hong Xiaotian's cleverness, that he himself was just a troublemaker for the state-owned enterprises, and Hong Xiaotian's move was clearly aimed at undermining his own wings and alliance, finding fault with him to let them gain benefits, it was all just to slap him in the face!

  Hong Xiaotian smiled slightly, "Director Jiang, do you have any opinions?"

  Jiang Chaoming, still a bit of an old hand, said calmly, "No, our questions were already answered at the previous Q&A session. I fully support the city government's decision on the bid opening. However, regarding Xia Hai Cultural Supplies, this new company, I do have some doubts about the government's credibility - how did they pass the qualification review?"

  Su Can cursed in his heart, this old guy, actually found fault and questioned the government's credibility, it is possible to raise objections and refute the bidding opinions after the fact.

  Hong Xiaotian's eyes flashed, and he said lightly, "Oh, this is the assessment committee I led that personally reviewed and approved. Although they are young, their qualifications are impeccable, meeting all our requirements. What we value most is their serious attitude towards doing business, with precise details for each project. In terms of bidding documents, they are the most detailed and cleanest. So, using them also means we hope to cultivate more private enterprises with such an attitude!"

  Hong Xiaotian's words are not ordinary, as the mayor's endorsement is a heavy responsibility. If anyone else questions it, they will be questioning his qualifications as mayor. Moreover, the words also contain a veiled attack on Jiang Chaoming, implying that he is not serious about his work and that we should take him down.

  This is a complete break between Hong Xiaotian and Jiang Chaoming.

  Jiang Chaoming's hands were shaking, but he maintained a calm exterior. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, only to find it even more bitter than before.

  Su Can and his family achieved a great victory, in the eyes of others, Mayor Jiang Chaoming surprisingly supported a small office supplies store, the road to this, made people think deeply, even the head of the Municipal Bureau of Industry and Commerce looked at Su Can and his family more, secretly remembering their names and appearance, this is within his jurisdiction in the future, however, if it involves them, of course, they will be "flexible" a bit.

  When the bidding inquiry meeting ended, the crowd poured out of the Kayla Hotel like a tide, filled with all kinds of joys and sorrows.

  Among the crowd, a group of people walked out in the warm sunlight near dusk. Chen Jun and several old bosses from Xia Hai City's enterprises complained to each other, all feeling that this "city-designated procurement unit reputation" was a missed opportunity, quite regrettable. Next to them were their children, with Chen Lingshan being the center of attention. These few were students at No. 1 Middle School and were extremely courteous to Chen Lingshan.

  "Never mind, I've booked a table at 'Shu Xiang Village', let's go have a few drinks and relax. After all, our kids are all grown up and doing well, let's get them together again today and have some fun!" A businessman laughed and said.

  Then everyone saw Zeng Ke and his family who were renting a car, and the crowd began to discuss their origins again.

  Chen Jun moved his mouth, wanting to shout a greeting, but felt it was not suitable, so he withdrew his hand and watched Su Can and his family get into the taxi and leave.

  Chen Lingshan stood up, ignoring the men and women around her in this circle, her bright eyes gazed at that head and blinked, then found an opportunity to ask quietly, "Dad, is that... Zeng Auntie's family over there?"

  Chen Jun looked at his daughter in surprise, not knowing how she knew this woman who used to hold a low position in their unit. However, he also thought that maybe it was because of his own complaints that his daughter remembered her. At least, this proved that all these things were not just his own illusion.

  He nodded listlessly, "Alright... forget it, Ling Shan. Uncle Liu is treating us to dinner, let's go!"

  Chen Lingshan nodded obediently and got into her father's Santana, the gray window reflecting her pensive gaze, a complex expression flashing across her face.

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