Chapter 129

Su Xinghui said, "A road is about to be built from the county seat to Menghuling Township—a secondary highway."

Xu Xiaoguang's hand, holding his chopsticks, froze in mid-air. He had been following his father in the construction business for several years, so he certainly understood what this news meant.

A secondary highway over thirty kilometers long would cost at least five or six million. For the current Haimin Construction Engineering Company, this counted as a major project.

Xu Xiaoguang pondered for a long time and said, "It's a good thing, certainly, but the road construction projects in Shangjun County are currently all monopolized by Hongye!"

Su Xinghui knew who Hongye was; it was the Hongye Construction Engineering Company of Shangjun County. It was also a private construction company, and in recent years, they had basically cornered all the road construction projects in Shangjun County.

Their boss, Qian Hongye, was the brother-in-law of Shangjun County's Deputy County Magistrate, Xu Shixie. It was rumored that County Magistrate Shan Guozhi also held shares in this Hongye company.

Xu Shixie had been in charge of transportation and industry for several years now. During these years, Hongye Company had taken on many highway projects. They couldn't finish them all themselves, so they subcontracted quite a bit, and even Haimin Company had subcontracted projects from them.

Su Xinghui smiled and said, "I heard you've also subcontracted their projects, right?"

Xu Xiaoguang nodded and said, "That's right, we've subcontracted quite a few, but the profit margins on their subcontracted projects aren't high; it's really hard to make any money."

Su Xinghui knew this point well. Hongye Company was quite unscrupulous when subcontracting projects, leaving very little profit space for the subcontractors. If the subcontractors cut corners, the profit might be decent, but Xu Haimin and Xu Xiaoguang were not that kind of people, so they couldn't make much money from such projects.

Su Xinghui said, "If you were to take on this project yourselves, would you have the ability to do it well?"

Xu Xiaoguang asked, "We take it? How? Let me tell you, if it's not Hongye, this project can't be taken. I'm telling you, their boss is County Magistrate Xu's brother-in-law."

Xu Xiaoguang assumed Su Xinghui had just graduated and didn't understand the situation in the county, which was why he suggested he take the project. He knew Su Xinghui had good intentions, but he still had to clarify the situation for him.

Su Xinghui said, "I know that. Not only do I know Qian Hongye is County Magistrate Xu's brother-in-law, I also know County Magistrate Shan has shares in Hongye. But I'm just asking you: if you were to take this project, would you have the ability to do it well?"

Xu Xiaoguang was somewhat surprised. He looked at Su Xinghui, who was smiling and looking at him with certainty.

Xu Xiaoguang picked up a piece of mandarin fish with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and while chewing, said, "If we could really take on this project, of course we could do it well. In terms of technology, experience, and machinery, our Haimin Company is absolutely not inferior to any other company in the county."

Xu Xiaoguang wasn't bragging about this. His father had been in construction for over a decade and was among the first group of people in Shangjun County to do so. How many years had Hongye Company been in construction? They only started taking projects after Xu Shixie took office. They were fine for building some rural roads, but they simply couldn't handle a secondary highway like this.

In fact, the quality of some projects Hongye Company had done themselves in recent years had significant issues. If it weren't for Xu Shixie, how would they have even gotten projects?

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Alright, hearing you say that, I'm relieved."

Xu Xiaoguang was surprised again: "You're not joking with me? You can really get me this project?"

Su Xinghui said, "I can't guarantee you'll get this project; I can only guarantee that this time, you'll be able to compete fairly with Hongye Company. If it's a fair competition, you have the confidence to get this project, right?"

Xu Xiaoguang's spirits lifted: "If it's a fair competition, who would be afraid of their Hongye? Let me tell you, Xinghui, as long as it's a fair competition, there's no one in all of Shangjun County we're afraid of. Can you really guarantee a fair competition? And how will you handle County Magistrate Xu and County Magistrate Shan?"

Su Xinghui knew there were some inside details he had to tell Xu Xiaoguang, otherwise he wouldn't feel secure. Only when he felt secure now could he make some preparations in advance.

Su Xinghui raised his glass to have a drink with Xu Xiaoguang and said, "Xiaoguang, this project will require a budget of about six million. The county is only putting up a few hundred thousand; the remaining five million-plus is funding that County Magistrate Zhang and I went to the province to request. Therefore, this road cannot be built by Hongye; it must be given to someone we can trust."

Xu Xiaoguang's mouth hung wide open, and after a long while, he said, "You and County Magistrate Zhang went to the province and requested over five million in funding?"

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Yes, don't spread this around. The funding is still going through the process and hasn't arrived yet. I've already discussed it with County Magistrate Zhang; this project must be put up for public bidding, and it must be open, fair, and just. There must be no backroom deals."

Speaking of this, Su Xinghui said with emotion, "This road is truly too important for the people of Menghuling. This is a road to prosperity. If it's built as a shoddy project, then we would be failing the people of Menghuling."

Xu Xiaoguang gathered his thoughts and said, "You have to tell me, isn't County Magistrate Zhang in charge of agriculture? How did he end up in charge of road construction?"

Su Xinghui explained the cause and effect to him, then said, "You must keep this secret, especially about Secretary-General Lu; you can't tell anyone."

Xu Xiaoguang was a person who kept his mouth shut. After hearing this, he nodded solemnly.

Su Xinghui said seriously to Xu Xiaoguang again, "Xiaoguang, if your Haimin Company really gets this project, you must ensure the quality. It's fine to earn a little less money this time, but there absolutely cannot be any quality issues. This concerns not only your reputation but also County Magistrate Zhang's reputation, and even more so, Secretary-General Lu's reputation. Do you understand?"

Xu Xiaoguang said, "Don't worry. Even if you didn't say it, we would definitely ensure the quality. You know my dad, don't you? He's just that kind of person."

Su Xinghui said, "Good. By the way, tomorrow morning, you and your dad come to my house. I've made an appointment with County Magistrate Zhang; he'll be coming to our house tomorrow too."

Xu Xiaoguang nodded in realization. For this matter to succeed, his father had to gain County Magistrate Zhang's approval, so the two sides needed to meet. However, if his father went directly to County Magistrate Zhang's house and was seen by someone with ulterior motives, it might cause some trouble. Going to Su Xinghui's house would be better.

Xu Xiaoguang nodded and said, "I understand. Xinghui, it looks like you're really going to do something big this time!"

Su Xinghui said, "Life is but a fleeting moment. Since I've come into this world, I must leave some mark. Since I've gone to Menghuling, I have to do something for the people there; otherwise, wouldn't that be too much of a failure?"

Xu Xiaoguang said thoughtfully, "Hmm, you're right. It seems I need to have some goals for my own life as well." ===== CHAPTER 131 =====