"Manager, the other party is a construction company of a certain scale, with over ten people. I've inquired and they've handled some projects before. Old Li just complained to me that there aren't enough workers and the progress is too slow. If this continues, we might not be able to deliver by year-end."
Li Guojun raised his head. "Old Song, our company just acquired a batch of equipment at the beginning of the year. The funds allocated by the higher-ups are only temporary. Materials and labor all require money. The company is tight on funds right now. If it's really necessary, everyone can just work a few extra hours each day. We'll get through this period."
Song Kechang's expression turned somewhat displeased.
Just a few extra hours a day meant more work on top of already being overloaded. What if a safety accident occurred? Who would take responsibility!
"Manager, the workers are already starting to complain. I'm afraid if..."
"Afraid of what? The company pays them their salaries monthly. What's wrong with working a few extra hours? Go tell them, anyone who finds it too hard or tiring can leave. There will be people to replace them."
Temporary workers were eager to find such work. As permanent employees, they lacked such initiative.
Song Kechang opened his mouth, but seeing that he wouldn't listen, he turned to leave.
"Our manager is very busy right now. Why don't you leave your contact information or address, and I'll get in touch with you when there's news?"
Chen Lishu handed over the documents in her hand. "This is the tender document we prepared. We'll have to trouble Section Chief Song with it."
Chen Lishu then provided the address of her shop.
Meanwhile, at a construction site in the southern part of the city, a worker, due to continuous work, suffered from extreme fatigue and accidentally fell from the scaffolding. It was only the third floor, not a high fall by any means, but by unfortunate coincidence, his waist landed on two bricks as he fell. He fainted on the spot.
The foreman quickly organized people to send him to the hospital. The person was rescued, but he ended up paralyzed from the waist down for life.
This incident seemed to be the last straw. The other workers could no longer tolerate it and went on strike.
The situation became chaotic. Song Kechang had been busy at the construction site for two days without much sleep. When he returned and saw Li Guojun, with his bulging belly, coming out after eating at the small canteen with others, he was so angry that he feigned illness and abandoned the matter.
With no one in charge from above, the workers' anger intensified, and they directly protested to the provincial construction headquarters.
Only then did Li Guojun realize the seriousness of the situation and hastily went to find Song Kechang.
Song Kechang had two conditions: first, provide compensation to the workers; second, hire more people to allow the workers reasonable rest. Otherwise, he couldn't control his subordinates.
Li Guojun gritted his teeth and agreed, but finding people quickly was a problem. He suddenly thought of Chen Lishu, with whom he intended to cooperate.
After waiting for three days with no news, just as Chen Lishu thought the matter might be shelved and considered discussing other construction sites, Song Kechang came to her door.
To appease the workers' emotions as quickly as possible, and given that Chen Lishu's quote was indeed not high, both parties quickly reached an agreement. Two contracts were signed: one for labor subcontracting, and the other for outsourcing the later decoration and renovation of the vegetable market to Hongyuan Construction Company. Both parties agreed that Provincial Construction would pay 50% of the amount monthly, while Hongyuan Company would advance the remaining 50%. All project payments would be settled in full within one month after the project's completion.
Seeing that the contracts were finally signed, Gu Xingye's worried heart finally relaxed.
That afternoon, he called the village and asked his maternal uncle, Zhang Tiezhu, to gather everyone quickly.
Zhang Tiezhu and the others were also anxiously waiting at home. The prolonged lack of news made them think the matter had been dropped. Upon hearing that there was work, everyone packed their bags overnight and took a car to the provincial capital the next morning.
...
Lin Qi's discussions with the pharmaceutical companies were also not going smoothly.
Dandelion and Evening Primrose were relatively common Chinese herbal medicines. Most companies had limited purchasing quotas.
They weren't worth much to begin with, and selling them separately meant separate transportation, which was too costly to be worthwhile.
Lin Qi did not outright refuse the first two pharmaceutical companies he approached, only saying he would consider it and that if all else failed, supplying them separately was better than letting them rot in the fields.
"I didn't expect you to grow Isatis tinctoria. We'll take all you have."
Lin Qi, unwilling to give up, traveled to a more distant county town. To his surprise, after hearing his proposal, the other party agreed to take all their Isatis tinctoria without hesitation.
Lin Qi asked, "What about the Dandelion and Evening Primrose?"
"This year, we've basically met our quota for these. Even if we need more, it would have to be next year. However, if you agree to supply all your Isatis tinctoria to our company, I can accept a portion of the other two."
Lin Qi smiled. "Let's not just take a portion. Seeing as you're straightforward, I'll be honest, I'm from Qingshan Town. You know the distance between the two places. If you agree to take everything, I can sign a supply contract with you. For your company's planned herbal medicine purchases next year, we'll do our best to provide. What do you think?"
The price offered was not low, at eight fen per jin, and they promised to arrange their own transportation. Compared to other pharmaceutical companies, this price was quite fair.
Upon hearing that he could sign a pre-emptive contract, the other party was very pleased. After all, whether the herbs were collected by their downstream purchasing stations or by their staff directly, not only was the quality not uniform, but the planned annual volume also couldn't be well balanced. Sometimes they exceeded the planned volume by a lot, and sometimes they couldn't acquire what they wanted within expectations.
If they could sign pre-emptive contracts, the company would save a lot of trouble in the future. Most importantly, the quality would be consistent, which would be more favorable to the pharmaceutical factories.
"Alright, we'll do as you say."
After the two parties reached an agreement, Lin Qi called Chen Lishu. Lin Qi always handled matters with stability, so Chen Lishu had no worries.
...
"Why do you have time to come over today? Aren't you busy accompanying your wife and child?"
Zhao Hong was arranging clothes on the shelf when she saw Lu Chengming enter. Her expression immediately soured, and she turned and went behind the counter.
"Are you angry because I haven't come by recently?" Lu Chengming smiled and approached the counter. "It's because the unit has been busy lately. You know what kind of person Lin Xiaohui is. If it weren't for the child, I would never have married her."
Hearing him mention the child, Zhao Hong's eyes dimmed for a moment. "We had a child back then too."
The smile on Lu Chengming's face froze. "It's all my fault. I was too young back then and wasn't prepared to have a child at all. I was a scoundrel. I'm sorry."
Zhao Hong forced a smile. "Let it go. We're both divorced now. You're married, and I'm married too."
Lu Chengming didn't want to dwell on the matter. He changed the subject. "When I came by, I saw that Chen Lishu's shop was doing good business. Why are there so few people here?"