pjbooks Chapter 108 The Hidden Tricks of the Project Quantity
Chapter 108 The Hidden Tricks of the Project Quantity
Chapter 107 The Hidden Tricks of the Project Quantity
Time flies, and Lin Chen has already been at the project site for a week.
Still doing nothing, very comfortable.
Old Zhang clings to power in the project department, controlling everything, big or small, and tolerating no dissent. Even though he is old and his strength is failing him, and his body can no longer keep up with his ambition, he is still greedy for the sense of control that power brings and refuses to let go.
Lin Chen was in no hurry and continued to obey and cooperate with him unconditionally, letting him be busy all day long and dizzy, while she herself enjoyed peace and quiet, and happily wrote novels while taking a break.
To demonstrate his authority, Lao Zhang insisted on holding a class meeting every morning. Everyone had to put down their work, sit up straight, and talk about the day's work arrangements and potential risks.
Everyone needs to speak. After everyone has finished speaking, Lao Zhang will summarize. After he finishes speaking, he will politely ask Lin Chen if he has any additional comments.
Lin Chen didn't really have anything to say, but he couldn't stay silent all the time, or everyone would probably think he was mute. So Lin Chen could only squeeze out some meaningless words to respond each time, or just repeat some things that Lao Zhang had said before.
In the past, when Lin Chen watched those leaders in meetings, after the top leader finished speaking, the second-in-command would always pick up on what the top leader had said and repeat the same nonsense. At the time, Lin Chen thought this behavior was completely unnecessary and brainless. Now that he had actually become the deputy, he truly understood the benefits of picking up on what others had said.
Once you're in that position, you have to make your voice heard and establish your presence, otherwise how will your subordinates recognize and remember you? But you can't have any other opinions, after all, they're the top leader. So many times, you can only repeat yourself. Although repetition is redundant, it's definitely not wrong.
Through these days of observation, Lin Chen has also gained some understanding of the people in the project department. Old Qiao, Qiao Guifang, is 45 years old. Her husband works in the Ministry of Finance. Although she is a bit old, she is actually well-maintained. Her skin has regular wrinkles. She likes to mix and match styles and often wears shawls or similar items on her shoulders, giving her the feel of a wealthy lady.
She had worked in the project department for over a decade and was the most senior. She had access to a lot of inside information about early projects. She was also the only one who dared to publicly criticize Lao Zhang. During meetings, she even bluntly told Lao Zhang that he was pretending to know what he didn't and that he had no real expertise.
Old Zhang was quite unusual; he was relatively polite to her. Every time she criticized him, he would shake his head and reply, "That's just a woman's view. She's all talk and no action."
I thought there might be some distance between the two of them, but one time when Lin Chen wanted to report to Lao Zhang, Lao Qiao happened to be asking Lao Zhang to reimburse her for the meals she ate during her rural inspection.
Lin Chen originally planned to go later, but he saw that Lao Zhang's hand blatantly patted Lao Qiao's buttocks lightly, and he even showed a lewd smile. Lao Qiao did not get angry, but just rolled his eyes and left.
It seems they're still an adulterous couple, but thinking about it, it's not surprising. Didn't I and Tang Xin also have an affair? There are far too many messy secret relationships like this at Xinhai Company.
No one can say for sure who started this bad trend. It was Zeng Huihuang who started it back then. Rumor has it that he was incredibly audacious and couldn't bear the humiliation, so he resigned and left. This shows how arrogant and domineering he was.
As for Lao Peng, he was actually a key technical member of the project team. He understood construction and blueprints, but in the company, people with such skills and abilities are often frustrated and unfulfilled.
When a person acquires skills and talent, they may feel superior and become arrogant, neglecting interpersonal relationships and looking down on those with connections, thus becoming cynical.
At Xinhai Group, the most feared people are those with strong emotions. You think you're so great because you have the skills? Then you'll be stuck at the bottom for life, showing off your supposed superiority. That's just how it is.
As for this Zhang Shuyi, she is quite simple-minded. She comes from an ordinary family, is of average appearance and figure, and is just an ordinary person. All she wants is to work steadily and get a raise. She doesn't usually compete for anything.
If you tell her to go west, she goes west; if you tell her to go east, she goes east, becoming completely invisible in the department.
In the end, only Xiao Liu, Liu Guangwei, remained. Compared to the others, he was one of the more active ones. He seemed to have made up his mind to follow Lin Chen now. Whenever Lao Zhang was not around, he would come to Lin Chen's office to curry favor.
He poured tea, took out the trash, wiped the table, and even got Lin Chen a small fan. It was clear that this person really wanted to improve, but Lin Chen always kept his distance from him, knowing that he was talkative, indecisive, and would sway whichever way the wind was blowing.
He won't be nice to you for no reason. If you give him a bone, he'll fawn over you, but once you stop giving him anything, he might turn around and bite you back.
Today, the new deputy director, Lin Chunhua, arrived. Director Song prepared a dinner to welcome him, but Song Jiehui left after having two drinks. On the contrary, Lao Zhang seemed very excited, as if he had finally found a close friend. He got completely drunk with Lin Chunhua and didn't come to work the next day.
Lin Chen felt relaxed and at ease since he didn't come to work. He casually said a few words during the morning meeting and then went back to his small office to secretly write his novel.
A short while later, Lao Qiao brought over a set of project completion documents for Lin Chen to review: "Director Lin, the project scope has been revised several times. Today, we have to go through the necessary procedures to the city company. We can't delay any longer, or it will expire. I called Lao Zhang, but he was a bit confused and said to just sign it. You can just click on it in the system."
Lin Chen's system approval permissions were only activated a few days ago, so he already had the qualification to sign off on things. However, Lao Zhang usually handled all the lucrative tasks, and Lin Chen never bothered with them.
Moreover, I only learned a few days ago that the project department's engineering approval process has been directly connected with the city company since some time ago. That is, once the project leaves the county project department, it goes directly to the city project department without needing Song Jiehui's approval.
This really surprised Lin Chen.
接过工程单一看，不过是城东小水塔的扩建工程，单子上的项目却列得密密麻麻，琐碎又离谱：石方开挖120000立方米、土石方填筑5000立方米、润滑油消耗50瓶，还包括平板门10扇、水泵4台、水轮机6台、发电机组10台————拢共核算费用高达108万。
The cost was outrageously high. Lin Chen immediately noticed something was wrong. It was just a small water tower expansion project in the east of the city, which was nothing more than raising the tower and expanding the water tank. It would only cost a few tens of thousands of yuan at most. How could it cost millions? Not to mention the excavation of hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of stone. It was completely fabricated and obviously full of trickery.
Lin Chen raised his eyes and said calmly, "Old Qiao, have you confirmed the scope of this project on-site? Are there any problems?"
Old Qiao was clearly surprised that Lin Chen would take it so seriously. He looked slightly taken aback and replied vaguely, "I haven't checked this on-site, but Old Zhang and the others have. They corrected it several times, so it should be fine."
"Just leave it here for now. I'll go to the site later to check it out. If everything's okay, I'll sign it for you when I get back this afternoon." Lin Chen said calmly. A hint of unease flashed in Old Qiao's eyes, but he didn't dare to say anything more and could only put down the form and leave dejectedly.
Lin Chen didn't waste any words and immediately called Xiao Liu to go to the countryside to inspect the construction site. Xiao Liu's face lit up with joy, secretly pleased that his past few days of obsequiousness had finally paid off; Director Lin was taking him out to earn some extra money. In the eyes of everyone in the project team, inspecting the construction site in the countryside was not supervision work, but a lucrative position with real power, and an excellent opportunity to generate revenue. The higher the leader you followed, the more benefits you could reap—this was an unspoken rule within Xinhai Company.
All water conservancy projects within the project's jurisdiction, including water supply centers, water station operation and maintenance, waterway technical upgrades, and new plant and station construction, must be approved and signed by the project department. The construction process must also be subject to full supervision. The project department holds the lifeline of the construction party and has an astonishing amount of power. If the construction party wants to advance the project smoothly and receive the project payment, they must obediently pay their respects and dare not be negligent in the slightest.
Along the way, Xiao Liu, all smiles and flattery, advised Lin Chen: "Director Lin, when we get to the construction site, you'd better put on airs! These construction workers are all very shrewd and shameless. The more arrogant you are, the more humble they will be, the less likely they are to try to fool you, and the more substantial the benefits they will offer!"
Lin Chen smiled without saying a word. How could he not understand this principle? The construction company was most afraid of the company's people finding fault and nitpicking. The more you acted like a leader, the more leverage you had over them, the bigger the bribes they would give you. This was the hidden benefit of workplace power. However, he wasn't here to gain any benefits today; he just wanted to find out the shady dealings in this project.
Soon the two arrived at the east of the city, a newly developed area of Suicheng that has now become a bustling commercial center. Water consumption has surged, and the company's original water tank was not enough. Therefore, the plan was to expand the original water tower to increase the water storage height and extend the water supply radius. The project was very small and could be seen at a glance.
Before the car had even come to a complete stop, lookouts arranged by the construction company spotted them in the distance and immediately took off running towards the construction site, their speed in alerting the crew comparable to that of rabbits.
In a matter of moments, the construction site descended into chaos, resembling a scene of panicked thieves. Workers on the tower, not wearing safety harnesses, scrambled down like monkeys, terrified of being caught violating regulations. Those who had started unauthorized fires on the ground quickly buried the flames with soil, not even having time to pack up their tools. Cranes operating without proper support were immediately brought to a halt, their operators scurrying away. Workers without safety helmets fled the site in panic. Even the female workers helping out on the site hurriedly sat on the ground fixing their hair, trying to appear tidy. The entire construction site came to a standstill, a scene of utter chaos. It was clear that the construction supervisor had given his men prior instruction, teaching them to distinguish when to work and when to remain hidden, demonstrating a knack for maneuvering and a deep understanding of how to evade inspections.
Foreman Cai jogged up to greet them. Upon seeing that the team leader was Xiao Liu, his face immediately plastered with a fawning smile, and he offered a cigarette with obsequious eagerness: "Brother Liu, you're here! Have a smoke!" He then forcefully shoved a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes into Xiao Liu's hand. Xiao Liu instantly straightened his back, head held high, his face full of arrogance, and deliberately raised his voice to introduce, "This is our department's new Director Lin. From now on, Director Lin will be in charge on the construction site. Even Director Zhang will have to show him respect!"
Upon hearing this, Engineer Cai's expression immediately became even more respectful. He quickly pulled out another pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, bowed respectfully, and handed it to Lin Chen, saying, "Director Lin, you are truly young and promising. You have a bright future ahead of you. I will rely on your guidance and support for things on the construction site in the future!"
"Let's go in and take a look." Lin Chen said casually, taking the cigarette and putting it in his pocket. In Xinhai Company, cigarettes and alcohol were not considered bribes at all. They were called normal social interactions, but in reality, they were the stepping stones for rent-seeking, and everyone was used to it.
The three entered the construction site, and Xiao Liu immediately adopted a leader's demeanor, pacing back and forth with his hands on his hips, his expression serious. He pointed and gestured at the construction area, nitpicking and spouting technical jargon, deliberately looking for trivial issues: "You dug too shallow here, you have to dig deeper." "The paint color is uneven, repaint it. No work is allowed if it doesn't meet the standards." "Why is this water pipe bent like that? Fix it immediately, can you take responsibility if there are problems?" His usual submissive and obsequious manner was completely gone; now he exuded an air of arrogance and self-importance.
Lin Chen ignored Xiao Liu's performance and strolled slowly around the construction site, seemingly casually observing, but in reality, his eyes were sharp. He compared the project order with the actual items on site, one by one. Although he couldn't tell the exact cubic meters of rock excavation and earthwork filling, he could immediately tell the difference in the quantity of equipment visible to the naked eye. The project order reported 10 flat doors, 4 water pumps, 6 water turbines, and 10 generator sets, but the on-site count revealed only 5 flat doors, 2 water pumps, 4 water turbines, and 5 generator sets. The quantity of each type of equipment was less than half, a ridiculously large discrepancy.
How dare Engineer Cai and Lao Zhang so blatantly exaggerate the amount of work done and brazenly go through the approval process? They're treating the company like fools.
Lin Chen didn't waste any words. He directly pulled out the project quantity sheet and slammed it in front of Engineer Cai, questioning him in an icy tone: "Engineer Cai, this is the project quantity sheet you submitted, right? Take a look for yourself. The quantity of equipment on it doesn't match the actual items on site at all. It's a full half short. Are you blatantly falsifying data to deceive the company?"
Upon hearing this, Engineer Cai's expression changed slightly, his scalp tingled, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes. However, he quickly regained his composure, like a seasoned veteran, and explained with a forced smile, "Oh, Director Lin, you've misunderstood. It's not falsification. We've already checked with your Director Zhang. This amount of work includes the second phase of renovations. We've only installed these equipment in this phase so far; the rest will be added in the second phase."
Lin Chen was stunned, his face full of astonishment: "Phase Two? You have a second phase of renovation for this water tower expansion? When is construction scheduled to begin?"
Engineer Cai's eyes darted around, and he stammered, "Well, it might not be that quick. It could be a year or two, or even three to five years. It's hard to say. Your Director Zhang said this is called being prepared for a rainy day. After all, water consumption in this area is increasing rapidly, so it's convenient to factor it in in advance."
Planning ahead? Lin Chen felt like a million grass mud horses were galloping through his mind. It was utterly absurd and ridiculous. An unknown project three to five years from now could be included in the current project workload for reimbursement. This was not planning ahead; it was clearly a conspiracy to embezzle company funds. Their greed was extremely despicable!
"Even if we're planning a second phase, we can't just cram the amount of work from the second phase into the cost calculation for the first phase. That's against the rules and unreasonable." Lin Chen suppressed his anger, his tone growing increasingly cold.
Seeing this, Engineer Cai immediately approached, pulling Lin Chen towards a secluded spot. Lowering his voice, his tone laced with subtle flattery and innuendo, he grinned slickly, "Director Lin, you're new here and might not understand the ins and outs. This arrangement is for everyone's convenience, bundled together. It makes your approval process easier, saving you the hassle of going back and forth. We engineers know how to handle people; we won't let you work for nothing. You'll definitely get your share of the benefits. Don't worry, Director Zhang has already given his tacit approval. We all understand without saying a word."
Holy crap!