Ye Qing was detained by Liu Yuan, who also didn't linger in the office. After making a few calls, he stood up and invited Ye Qing to leave with him.
Liu Yuan drove Ye Qing and finally shared his own situation on the way.
It turned out that half a month ago, the mainland general manager of Xiangjiang's Dayue Group had set up in Shenchuan City to start a construction project for their subsidiary. And today was the date they publicly announced the tender.
For all the companies in Shenchuan City involved in this industry, this was a significant event. The Das Group took this matter very seriously, and the boss specifically ordered Liu Yuan to handle it well.
Liu Yuan himself had been fretting over it, but the Xiangjiang side had yet to announce what the tender project was or lay out any requirements for the tender. This puzzled Liu Yuan, so he asked around through friends and stumbled upon shocking news.
The Dayue Group's mainland general manager was named Li Chengyuan, a graduate of Stanford University, and outstanding in all aspects. Moreover, he believed in a maxim that genius is ninety-nine percent perspiration plus one percent inspiration, but that one percent of inspiration is the most important, even more crucial than the ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Li Chengyuan valued human inspiration, and this was true for design as well. He thought that releasing the tender plans in advance would be unfair to many small and medium-sized companies because they didn't have the financial and human resources of larger companies. Under such preparation, their proposals would surely be inferior. And during the process, someone might resort to trickery.
Therefore, he had kept the tender conditions a secret from everyone. Only on the day of the public tender would he reveal the conditions, allowing all competing companies to design on-site. He would then choose the best design and award the project to that company.
Even if he ended up choosing a small company, he would still entrust the project to them, because what he valued was that spark of inspiration in the design. Only with that spark could something new be created.
If the project conditions had been made public in advance, Liu Yuan wouldn't have had to worry. He could have just done his best and left it at that. But with Li Chengyuan's approach, it was like an on-the-spot exam. Liu Yuan knew his own abilities and the shortcomings of his company in this area.
He was well aware that if the design had to be made on-site, his company would likely not get anything from this project.
Yet, the boss had issued an order. If he didn't handle this tender well, Liu Yuan's position would be in jeopardy.
This was something Liu Yuan had pondered for a long time when he suddenly thought of Ye Qing, whom he had met last time, and wanted to bring Ye Qing in to help with the design. Unexpectedly, before he had a chance to call Ye Qing in the morning, Ye Qing took the initiative and showed up. For Liu Yuan, it was as if a sleepy person had found a pillow.
"Ye brothers, I won't hide it from you, this time I'm really out of options. I just can't come up with the design on my own, so I'm counting on you," Liu Yuan said, "Ye brothers, this matter doesn't affect your company. I'm someone who speaks bluntly; your company simply doesn't qualify for this tender. Even if you help me, it won't create competition with your company.
So, I really need your help this time!"
After understanding the situation, Ye Qing fell silent for a while before saying, "Manager Liu, you mentioned that Li Chengyuan is looking for a flash of inspiration in the design. But any design I come up with on the spot is unlikely to be perfect. In the future, you would still need to refine the proposal, and wouldn't that reveal the shortcomings?"
"Let's worry about the future later, the key is to secure the project first," Liu Yuan said.
Ye Qing frowned and said, "Isn't that like deceiving people?"
"There's no other way," Liu Yuan replied helplessly, "The main thing is to get the project. Once we have it, we can improve it gradually."
Ye Qing remained silent for a moment and then said, "I can help you, but I have a condition."
"What condition?" Liu Yuan looked at Ye Qing with a feeling of foreboding. If Ye Qing demanded something exorbitant, it could spell trouble.
Ye Qing said, "If we get this project, I want to personally refine the design I create."
"Ah?" Liu Yuan was stunned for a moment. Was that even a condition? It was actually like asking for a second favor.
Ye Qing continued, "If you don't agree, then I can't help you with this."
"Ah..." Liu Yuan hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Ye brother, of course there's no problem. But after all, you are still with Chiyun Company. Creating such a plan, how should I compensate you?"
"There's no need for that," Ye Qing shook his head and said, "I agreed to help you out, so let's not talk about money."
"Ah?" Liu Yuan was taken aback again and couldn't help but glance at Ye Qing. Are there actually people in the world who aren't greedy for money?
Liu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Ye brothers, forgive my bluntness. You don't want money, yet you're willing to do so much more – what exactly is the reason for this?"
Ye Qing replied, "I created this proposal. I have to take responsibility for the work I've done and ensure that there are no errors during the later stages of improvement!"
Liu Yuan looked at Ye Qing, and in that moment, he seemed somewhat dazed. In this society where money is supreme, it was rare to see someone with such a strong sense of responsibility!
Liu Yuan sincerely said, "Ye brothers, I don't even know what to say. Rest assured, if we secure this project, any business that your company is capable of handling, I'm willing to give it to your company!"
The tender was taking place in the large conference room on the fifth floor of Kelin Hotel in the Shenchuan City Development Zone. By the time they arrived, the venue was already filled with many people. Compared to the others, the partnership of Ye Qing and Liu Yuan seemed rather humble.
In fact, Liu Yuan's Das Group was nothing special here. For a project as large as the one from Dayue Group, if Das Group could win a portion exceeding three million, it would already be Liu Yuan's biggest achievement this time.
Liu Yuan was also aiming for this goal. Leading Ye Qing into the conference room, he felt a little apprehensive. Faced with so many strong competitors, he truly didn't know what he could gain this time.
"Yo, Manager Liu, you're here too!"
Just as Ye Qing and Liu Yuan were looking for their seats, a mocking voice suddenly came from nearby.
Liu Yuan turned his head to see a middle-aged man with a male and a female assistant walking towards them.
The man was portly and, though there was a smile on his face, it contained more mockery than friendliness.
Liu Yuan furrowed his brows; he recognized the man because he was none other than Chen Daqiang, the former deputy director of his previous company. Liu Yuan was forced out of the company due to disagreements with him and later joined Das Group.
If Liu Yuan had not been pushed out, being one of the earliest employees, he would have likely held a high position by now, instead of being a sales manager at a mediocre company.
Chen Daqiang glanced at Ye Qing and said, "Manager Liu, what a coincidence to see you here. Are you interested in this project as well?"
Liu Yuan replied, "Since the project is open for tender, it's not a crime to be interested, is it?"
Chen Daqiang said, "Of course it's not a crime, but Manager Liu, that company you're with now... what's it called... the Das Group, does it have the qualifications for these project tenders?"
Liu Yuan coldly retorted, "If we didn't have qualifications, would I be standing here?"
"That's true." Chen Daqiang chuckled and said, "This means that after you went to Das Group, the company must have developed quite rapidly. Ah, after all, the experience you gained with us played a crucial role. Otherwise, how could you be in the position of sales manager now?"
Hearing Chen Daqiang's sarcastic remarks, Liu Yuan's expression turned colder as he firmly said, "The progress of Das Group isn't that fast; it's just that you've regressed. I didn't expect that so soon after my departure, the company would have fallen to such a state. Chen Daqiang, you really have a way with leadership!"
Chen Daqiang's chubby face suddenly seemed as though it had been grabbed, his annoyance spilling out as he said, "Liu Yuan, I'm well aware of what you're capable of. What accomplishment can Das Group possibly have? Do you know how the tender is being conducted today? What are you two here for? To watch the action and enjoy free tea?
The public tender has attracted the cream of the crop from Shenchuan City. Manager Liu, don't you consider yourself one of the elite?"
Liu Yuan countered coldly, "If I'm not, neither are you. We're all the same; there's no difference, really."
"I oversee everything, so of course I can't be everywhere at once. However, our company never lacks talent." Chen Daqiang arrogantly pointed to his two assistants and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Lin Feng, a top graduate from Zhonglu University. And this is Xu Yueru, a top graduate from Shenchuan University who just graduated this year.
Both of them are considered elite talents in the industry; they're more than enough to handle a situation !"
Lin Feng stepped forward, extended his right hand, and with a smile, said to Liu Yuan, "Manager Liu, it's a pleasure to meet you. I often heard Director Chen talk about you at the company, saying you always had hidden talents under your command. The person next to you must also be someone extraordinary, right?"
Liu Yuan inwardly seethed. Zhonglu University and Shenchuan University were both top-tier universities in the country; there weren't many institutions that could surpass them. Das Group didn't have the resources to hire two such individuals at once. Though Lin Feng appeared courteous, his inquiry about Ye Qing's identity was clearly intended to embarrass Liu Yuan on the spot.
After all, there weren't many universities that could surpass Zhonglu University and Shenchuan University. It wasn't likely that Ye Qing just happened to be a graduate from one of those few prestigious institutions, was it?