Chapter 208: Ready, set

In the afternoon, Li Qingyuan returned home with 8,000 yuan in event funding from the finance department. His wife, Zuo Huizhen, saw it and couldn't help but ask happily, 'Did the company issue a stock dividend? There's so much money!'

As she said this, Zuo Huizhen reached out to take it, but Li Qingyuan immediately put it away: 'Don't touch it, this is the event budget I took out of the company, it's for the real thing.'

'What event budget? Qingyuan, don't tell me this is what you used for the shipping company bidding project. Your company is really stingy, isn't it? That order is at least tens of millions of dollars, but why was only an 8,000 yuan budget given? What can you do with such a small amount of money? Your company is really taking advantage of you,' Zuo Huizhen complained, obviously very dissatisfied with such a small amount of money.

'What can we do? The company is in a difficult situation right now, and no one is optimistic about winning this project, so no one wants to give us a bigger budget,' Li Qingyuan sighed.

Zuo Huizhen was still not satisfied: 'Qingyuan, didn't you say that Boss Zhou Ming is a man with good judgment? How can even he be so stingy? A ten million order is important, and even I know that as a woman, I must do my best to win it. How can the boss of Congee Eight Treasures still refuse to pay? Judging from this, his judgment is not very good either.'

Li Qingyuan immediately covered Zuo Huizhen's mouth: 'Shut up, I didn't tell Mr. Zhou about this budget at all. I discussed it with the general manager and came up with it.'

At this answer, Zuo Huizhen was first stunned, and then suddenly thought of something and asked carefully, 'Qingyuan, is it that no one in the company supports you? They are all targeting you and making things difficult for Mr. Zhou?'

Li Qingyuan shook his head silently and said, 'I can't say they're wrong. After all, I'm such a newcomer and I've become the marketing manager, and I've also closed such a big deal. It's only natural that these old hands who laid the foundation for the branch have a problem with me and are giving me a hard time.'

Li Qingyuan then said firmly, 'But the more they do this, the more I have to show them results, to slap them in the face with facts, to show them that no matter how difficult something is, it's possible to achieve it. Only in this way will I live up to Boss Zhou's expectations of me!'

The next day, Li Qingyuan worked hard all day to complete the project plan, which he handed over to Zhou Ming on the third day.

In a private room in a teahouse on the south bank of West Lake, Zhou Ming opened the project plan that Li Qingyuan had spent a day working on. Looking at the dense list of words on it, Zhou Ming sighed and said, 'Manager Li, it must have been hard for you to complete this project plan today.'

'It's fine, Mr. Zhou. After all, money is more important. A ten million order, just thinking about it can make me so excited that I can't sleep.' Li Qingyuan grinned and said, although his eyes were bloodshot and he had dark circles under his eyes, he looked very energetic.

'And to be honest, making this proposal is just a bit tedious, not difficult. Compared to the proposal itself, I think how to carry out the subsequent arrangements is the most important thing.'

Li Qingyuan continued, 'Mr. Zhou, based on this bidding process and the situation of the other bidding companies, I think we still have a good chance. Especially since this bidding is based on the data and prices given in each bidding company's plan, as well as the company's corresponding qualifications and a combined score of the plans of several companies. As long as the first place does not exceed the second place by more than ten points, the two highest scoring companies will enter the second round of bidding.'

'Under such a bidding process, Mr. Zhou, I think we can definitely compete with...'

Without waiting for Li Qingyuan to finish speaking, Zhou Ming interrupted him and said, 'Don't tell me how to do it, Manager Li. I'll just look at the results.'

'I understand,'

Li Qingyuan nodded silently, and Zhou Ming said to him again, 'Manager Li, I still have the same thing to say: you can do whatever you want, and no matter what happens, I and Baobao Congee Company will be your strong backing! If you lack funds for activities before the bidding, and the company's funds are insufficient, I can personally subsidise you some. After all, you called me boss, and I still have to act like one!'

Li Qingyuan shook his head and said, 'Thank you very much, Mr. Zhou, but I don't need it at the moment. I think as long as I do my job well, I won't need to spend too much money.'

'Very well, since you say so, Manager Li, I will choose to believe you.'

Zhou Ming said as he tore three pages from the calendar next to him and placed them on the desktop, saying, 'There are still three days until the bidding meeting, and I look forward to your performance in three days.'

Looking at the three calendar pages on the table, Li Qingyuan said firmly, 'Mr. Zhou, please rest assured, I will definitely give you the best answer three days from now!'

Time is like the wind. As soon as Zhou Ming let go of his hand, the three days quickly blew away.

Three days later, Li Qingyuan arrived at the Maritime Building, where the shipping company's bidding meeting would be held today.

If nothing unexpected happens today, I will be able to win the project and everyone will witness this miracle! Li Qingyuan silently cheered himself up in his heart.

'Manager Li, it's almost time for the bidding meeting, should we go in first?'

A crisp inquiry sounded in Li Qingyuan's ear. It was the secretary of the company office, who had arranged to come to the bidding meeting together this time. She was accompanied by several people from the public relations department, marketing department and finance department.

In fact, this arrangement fully shows that although Zhao Jun and the others have no hope at all for Li Qingyuan's bid, they are still very good at these bidding arrangements. After all is said and done, Li Qingyuan's presence here today represents the face of the company.

Li Qingyuan nodded to the secretary and then walked into the Maritime Building. The bidding meeting will be held in the lobby on the second floor. Li Qingyuan found the area where the company is located and sat down.

'This is the company that makes the eight-treasure porridge, right? Why isn't Mr. Zhao here?'

Li Qingyuan had only just sat down when he heard someone ask next to him. Li Qingyuan turned his head at the sound and saw a middle-aged man in his fifties standing over there, looking over in confusion. Li Qingyuan knew this person; he was his biggest competitor at this bidding meeting, Liu Feng, the general manager of Hangzhou City Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

He silently pondered the information he had gathered about Liu Feng, while at the same time putting on a smile: 'Hello, Mr. Liu, I'm very pleased to meet you. I'm the marketing manager of the company that makes the eight-treasure porridge. My name is Li Qingyuan. Mr. Zhao had other things to do at the last minute, so he asked me to come to this bidding meeting today, and I'm also in charge of all the shipping company bids.'

'That's a pity, because I was going to talk to him about a partnership after the meeting. After all, as you know, your porridge has a big advantage when it comes to storage.' Liu Feng said with regret.

Although Li Qingyuan and Zhao Jun and almost all the senior management of the entire Congee Company had previously had a difference of opinion regarding the tender, and it had even reached Zhou Ming, it was limited to within the company, and no one had passed the news on, so Liu Feng did not yet know that their minds had changed. He only thought that it was the same as Zhao Jun's original plan, to cooperate to get the project, and in the end just give him a random order of one or two hundred thousand yuan.

'Thank you very much for your kindness, Mr. Liu. I also think that there is a lot of room for cooperation between our company and your supply and marketing cooperative in many areas.'

Li Qingyuan's words were completely meaningless and polite, which made Liu Feng a little confused. After all, hasn't the supply and marketing cooperative and the company always had a cooperative relationship? So why did you say there was a lot of room for cooperation?

Liu Feng looked at Li Qingyuan with confusion, and suddenly he thought of a possibility: 'Manager Li, you're not trying to compete with us for the shipping company project, are you?'

Li Qingyuan's face still wore a smile: 'President Liu, in a sense, as long as we are in the market, there will be competition, which is why President Zhao insisted on attending this bidding meeting.'

Liu Feng laughed heartily: 'Manager Li, you really are naive. I think you'd better continue to follow the strategy set by President Zhao and go through the motions at the bidding meeting. That way, we can still be partners in the future, and I can pretend that nothing has happened and give you the 100,000 yuan order as we agreed. I think that would be very good for you.'

'Thank you very much for your kindness, Mr Liu, but I would rather keep things in my own hands,' said Li Qingyuan.

'So you are prepared to fight to the end with us? Do you think you have a chance?' Liu Feng asked with interest.

Li Qingyuan spread out his hands and said, 'How would you know if you don't try?'

Liu Feng shook his head helplessly and said, 'People these days, they think they've made some achievements and they don't know their place. They think they can do anything. Manager Li, in light of my relationship with President Zhao, I'll give you some advice: it's better to follow the guidelines set by the leaders on some matters, and don't be too self-assertive, it won't do you any good.'

'Thank you very much for your advice, Mr. Liu, I'll remember it,' Li Qingyuan said.

Looking at Li Qingyuan's humble but unrepentant appearance, Liu Feng snorted, turned around and left for the area of the supply and marketing cooperative.

The area where the supply and marketing cooperative was located was in the middle of the front, which was the best location. More than 20 people from the supply and marketing cooperative came, and they almost took all the good seats in the front. This was due to their relationship with the shipping company.

What's the use of having a good relationship and being able to sit in a good location? Being able to win the bidding and get the order in the end is the key! Li Qingyuan thought to himself.

Then the bosses of White Rabbit Company, West Lake Food Company and New Wave Food Company also walked into the bidding meeting one after the other. Compared to the supply and marketing cooperative and the Eight Treasures Congee Company, the areas they had arranged were all relatively far back, but even so, the bosses of these companies, like Liu Feng, took the initiative to come up and say hello to Li Qingyuan. However, unlike Liu Feng, these people were very friendly and didn't have that condescending attitude.

As the general manager of the shipping company and the others took to the stage, the bidding meeting was about to begin, and Li Qingyuan clenched his fists: I'm ready, so just wait and see, I'll show you what real business competition is all about!

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