Chen Guoping was, after all, only in charge of planning and construction, and the specific work still needed to be implemented by those below. This bidding process was not made public; only the Provincial Construction Engineering Company and the three city construction companies, First, Second, and Third, submitted bids.
By the time he found out, the Provincial Construction Engineering Company had already been selected.
Upon hearing Chen Guoping's words, Chen Lishu's mind went blank for a moment.
The project she had been eager to undertake, she knew she didn't have the capacity to contract the main part of it, but even if it were other parts or the decoration and renovation, it would have been fine. However, she wasn't given any opportunity at all.
Although this matter was not Chen Guoping's direct responsibility, despite her disappointment, Chen Lishu quickly concealed her feelings and smiled as if nothing had happened, saying, "It's alright. If it can be secured, that's great. There are quite a few projects underway now, so I can look at others."
Hearing her say this, Chen Guoping nodded with a smile, "You're thinking correctly. It's not just infrastructure projects; the housing problem for employees of various enterprises is also very pressing. With the resumption of the college entrance examination and the continuous expansion of universities year after year, campus expansion is also imperative. In the next few years, or even ten to twenty years, it will undoubtedly be a golden age for the rapid development of the construction industry."
Thinking of the towering buildings that would later emerge, it was indeed as Chen Guoping had said. In the next ten to twenty years, China's construction industry would develop rapidly, and the height of urban buildings would be constantly refreshed. What used to be the tallest building, unchanged for decades, would eventually see its title frequently change hands. The Baiyun Hotel in Guangzhou, completed a few years ago, had already reached a height of one hundred meters.
After chatting with Chen Guoping for a while longer, Chen Lishu got up to leave.
"This child is truly wonderful, speaking so gently. She looks stable and is also good-looking," Sun Yongmei said to her husband after Chen Lishu had left.
Chen Guoping nodded, "Yes, if it were ordinary people who knew about this matter not working out, they would surely show some disappointment. But look at her; she's a sensible and understanding good child."
"It's just that she got married too early. Otherwise, she would have been a good match for our second son."
Chen Guoping: "..." She changed her mind so quickly.
After leaving the Chen family's home, Chen Lishu took a car back home.
Although she said it was nothing, this was still a municipal project. Her construction company had just been established, and if she could participate in its construction, it would be a commendable achievement for undertaking future projects. Therefore, she still wanted to try her best to secure it.
If she couldn't contract directly from the municipality, she would seek a subcontract from the Provincial Construction Engineering Company, the general contractor. If a specialized subcontract wasn't possible, then a labor subcontract.
With her decision made, Chen Lishu began to inquire about the Provincial Construction Engineering Company upon her return.
The Provincial Construction Engineering Company was a large-scale company in the province. Although it did not have a numerical advantage over the municipal construction companies, it had acquired several pieces of heavy machinery and equipment this year, which allowed it to stand out among the other companies.
Chen Lishu also learned that in addition to the new market construction project, the Provincial Construction Engineering Company was also undertaking several other projects, which gave Chen Lishu a glimmer of hope.
With many projects underway, and learning from Chen Guoping that this market had to be completed this year, personnel would surely be stretched thin. Moreover, there were very few individual or collective engineering teams like hers at present. If she went to negotiate a subcontract, it should not be a major problem.
After analyzing the situation, Chen Lishu began to prepare.
As the reform and opening up had only begun a couple of years ago, most raw material resources were still firmly held by state-owned factories.
Previously, due to Zhou Bin's connection, Chen Lishu could still speak with leaders from the Provincial Materials Bureau. She first inquired about the prices of all building materials.
Upon returning, she meticulously prepared a bid document, including the company's business license, major material quotations, and budget. Although the few small jobs she had completed previously were not enough to impress the leaders of large companies, she had at least gained some experience and listed them one by one.
Once everything was prepared, Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye went to the Provincial Construction Engineering Company together.
"Third Sister-in-law, will they agree to contract the work to us if we do this?" Gu Xingye felt that this matter was a bit uncertain.
If their company was indeed short of manpower as Chen Lishu had predicted, why would they have taken on the entire project in the first place? Wouldn't it have been better to subcontract a portion of it?
Chen Lishu smiled upon hearing his words and explained, "Why would they do something without profit? They contract it and then subcontract it out; there's profit in between."
In the future, subcontracting and re-subcontracting would occur, and even subcontracting under a different name. The difference in price could be as high as millions. However, according to the current prices, it wouldn't be that high. The quotation she prepared was not overly expensive. She just wanted to do her best to secure this job, so she could gain experience for her employees and performance for the company.
Upon arriving at the yard of the Provincial Construction Engineering Company, the two first registered with the gatekeeper before heading to the office building.
The long corridor in the office building, with its various departments, left them a bit bewildered.
Chen Lishu spotted a staff member and, with a smile, went forward to ask. The other party's attitude was not particularly friendly, saying, "I don't understand what you're talking about. You'll have to ask at each office yourself."
After saying that, the person left.
If they had to ask, then they would ask.
Chen Lishu indeed started inquiring from the first office. Some offices were empty, and others immediately turned them away after they knocked. Fortunately, after a while, someone pointed them towards the engineering department on the second floor to inquire about the situation.
"They don't understand anything and just give orders blindly. I'm already short-handed, and they want to transfer people away! They won't hire more people, so let them tell me how I'm supposed to work. If they can't, they can do it themselves; I'm not serving them anymore."
"It's a job, everyone should try to be understanding; he also has his difficulties..."
As Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye reached the doorway, they heard shouting from inside. They had intended to wait a moment before entering, but suddenly, the door was pulled open from inside, and two people walked out angrily, carrying hard hats. Seeing Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye standing at the door, their footsteps paused. Chen Lishu quickly moved aside, and the two men strode past.
"You two are?"
Upon hearing the question from inside, Chen Lishu replied, "Hello, we are from Hongyuan Construction Company. We heard that your company has contracted the commercial street market project, so we've come to inquire about something."
Then, Chen Lishu briefly explained her purpose.
Upon hearing her words, Section Chief Song's face lit up with joy, and he enthusiastically invited them to sit down.
After a brief chat, Section Chief Song said, "This matter you're talking about is not under my purview. It needs to be discussed with our manager. Please sit for a moment; I'll go and inform him."
This was truly like finding a pillow when you're drowsy. Their personnel were already stretched thin, and besides permanent employees, the company also had a very small number of temporary workers.
The policy had only been open for a short time, and there were too few migrant workers entering the city. It wasn't just their company; all construction companies were recruiting. Just now, a foreman had come to him and thrown a tantrum. Now that there were people available, he felt the leader would definitely agree.
However, when he explained the matter, the other party only said, "I see," and there was no further response.