Chen Dali had aged a lot overnight. Ever since he returned to his accommodation on Minsheng West Road, Wang Guoquan and others had taken turns following him, even going to the toilet. Although they had taken Chen Dali's ID card and held the IOU in their hands,
, but after not getting the money for a day, Wang Guoquan and others could not let go. Everyone earned hard-earned money, not pie from the sky. Such people often regard money more seriously than others.
Chen Dali sat on the stool, with a bitter look on his face and his head drooped, not daring to raise his head to meet Wang Guoquan's gaze. He held a cigarette in his right hand, the butt of which was almost burning to the point where he didn't even realize it. He was holding a mobile phone in his left hand, shaking slightly, as Liu Tao had already called.
I made dozens of calls and the other party’s phone was always turned off.
Living to the age of fifty has always been about helping others. When Luo Zhixuan was alive, he was over sixty years old and many construction sites refused to accept him. He was the one who shamelessly allowed him to enter the construction site; when Li Guozhang first arrived in Donghai, he was just a coolie.
He taught him the craftsmanship step by step; and Lu Shanmin, with just one word from Lin Dahai, he brought Lu Shanmin into the construction site. Even Wang Guoquan and others found him when they were anxious and couldn't find a job, and he came to him without saying a word.
Involved several of them in this project.
Chen Dali did this kind of thing all the time. He asked himself that he had never done anything unconscionable in his life. This honest man who still retained the simplicity of a farmer always believed that good people will be rewarded. How could he have ever thought that there would be such an ending?
He didn't blame Wang Guoquan and others for being ruthless, he just hated himself for bringing everyone into the gutter. In his opinion, he brought the seven or eight co-workers to the construction site, and now they can't get paid, so he should be responsible.
He was more ashamed and embarrassed than angry and complaining about the kingdom. He had never owed anyone a penny in his decades of life, and now he could not even afford to pay off this debt even if he bankrupted his entire family.
Lu Shanmin knew that Chen Dali would be sad, but he didn't know how sad he was. Early in the morning, he took a Tai Chi tour as usual and practiced twenty or thirty words before Lu Shanmin started walking to the construction site.
Walking into the project department, Lu Shanmin squeezed out a smile and said, "Hello, Manager Zhao."
Zhao Kai didn't know whether to laugh or cry, thinking, if you follow me like this, how can I do it?
"Just find a seat and sit by yourself."
Lu Shanmin nodded and found an empty seat to sit down.
Zhao Kai was indeed very busy. He spent the entire morning either making phone calls or answering phone calls, studying drawings, or typing on the computer keyboard. He was so busy that he didn't even have time to drink water.
Lu Shanmin didn't know if it would be effective to keep guarding Zhao Kai like this, but if he didn't guard him, what could he do? The East China Sea is so big, and he was unfamiliar with other places except Minsheng West Road, so he rashly went to Liu Tao and said
Maybe I didn't find him and got lost instead.
There was an abandoned civil construction drawing next to the table. Lu Shanmin had nothing to do. He picked up the drawing and looked at it. As soon as the drawing came into view, he couldn't help but feel dizzy. The lines on the drawing were completely incomprehensible. But it was okay anyway. Lu Shanmin began to think about it.
From what I saw and heard working as a handyman in this building, I slowly matched the physical form of the building with the lines on this drawing, gradually figured out the meaning of some of the lines, and gradually figured out which lines represented load-bearing walls and which lines
Represents beams and columns.
Just as he was looking fascinated, a black figure walked into the office. Lu Shanmin looked up and saw that he was wearing exaggeratedly large sunglasses and a black windbreaker. The scar on his forehead had not completely faded away. It was the man who saved Xiaowei that day and was right.
A woman who said some unintelligible words to herself.
The woman also spotted Lu Shanmin, but she only glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
Zhao Kai did not notice the visitor immediately. When she saw the woman clearly, she hurriedly put on a bright smile on her face, but she was already uneasy in her heart. This woman was the chairman of the owner, and she was with other large groups.
The chairman of the company was different. He visited the construction site twice in a row without notifying the leadership of the construction company and without accompanying him. He just suddenly appeared in front of him quietly and silently.
Zhao Kai hurriedly bent down to greet him, "Director Hai, welcome to inspect the work. You see, you didn't even mention the notice, so I can arrange to receive you."
The woman's voice had a cold air, "I'm just passing by, taking a look, and I'll leave right away."
Zhao Kai quickly moved a chair over and said, "Hai, please sit down and I will report the work progress to you."
The woman said calmly: "No need, I just want to see the results."
Zhao Kai nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes."
"It will take four months for the commercial floor of the podium to open, and five months for the office building to be ready for occupancy."
Zhao Kai's smile immediately turned into a crying look. The decoration company is still going through the bidding process. Even if the HVAC equipment is ordered now, it will take a month or two to leave the factory, let alone installation and debugging. Right now
It's the Spring Festival in two or three months, and it's hard to hire workers. This is simply an impossible task. But Zhao Kai didn't dare to say no, not to mention himself. He saw the company with his own eyes last time.
The general manager was so scolded by the woman in front of him that he was dripping with blood and sweating all over his body.
The woman glanced at Lu Shanmin. Because she was wearing sunglasses, she couldn't see her eyes clearly.
"Why is he here?"
From Zhao Kai's attitude and the conversation between the two just now, Lu Shanmin had already seen that this woman was a big shot, so big that even big shots like Zhao Kai were scared.
Without waiting for Zhao Kai to answer, Lu Shanmin said, "We finished the work and didn't get the money."
The woman's expression could not be clearly seen, but there was a slight wrinkle on her forehead, and it could be seen that she was somewhat dissatisfied.
Zhao Kai wiped his sweat and said quickly: "Our company's money has been paid to the contractor, but the contractor did not pay them."
"I don't care who of you owes whom. I have already paid your company the money that should be paid according to the contract. I will take care of the rest. If something happens that affects the reputation of Haitian Group, it will not look good to everyone."
Zhao Kai bowed his head repeatedly and said yes. When he raised his head again, the woman had turned around and walked out. Zhao Kai, who was left with a miserable look on his face, secretly complained.
Zhao Kai sat down on the sofa and called the office director, "Gather all the people from each unit and go to the conference room for a meeting immediately."
The other end of the phone came, "Mr. Zhao, it's lunch time soon. Do you want to wait until lunch before holding the meeting?"
Zhao Kai yelled into the phone, "What the hell, get the hell out of here right away".
Zhao Kai stood up, picked up a stack of documents and notebooks, and walked out. He walked to the door, frowned, and turned back to Lu Shanmin and said, "Come with me, too."
Lu Shanmin was a little surprised. What did the project department ask him to do during the meeting?
Zhao Kai's anger was very effective. In less than ten minutes, everyone arrived in the conference room, and Lu Shanmin found a corner to sit down. Zhao Kai threw his notebook on the table, "There are two topics today. First,
On this topic, who of you is more familiar with the contractor named Liu Tao? Let’s talk about it and see if we can find him.”
The people in the conference room looked at each other. Several of the construction workers in charge of civil engineering all knew Liu Tao. They had made phone calls in the past two days under Zhao Kai's instruction, but Liu Tao's phone had long been turned off. To speak of private contact, it was not
I know Liu Tao very well. There are many contractors like Liu Tao on the project, and not everyone knows everything about them.
One of the security officers frowned and thought for a while and said: "Mr. Zhao, during a security inspection, I overheard Liu Tao chatting with the construction team leader who made blinds about playing mahjong. It seemed like they often make appointments."
.
Zhao Kai nodded, "The shutters of the fire escape have not been completed and accepted yet. If anyone has the phone number of the construction team leader, please ask him to come to the conference room immediately."
"I have it," said a young construction worker in his twenties, and quickly took out his mobile phone and dialed.
A few minutes later, a middle-aged man in his forties wearing a safety helmet walked into the conference room with a big belly. As soon as he entered, he smiled and gave Zhao Kai and others cigarettes.
Zhao Kai waved his hand impatiently, "Stop fuming, I have something to ask you."
"Haha, Mr. Zhao, please give me some advice."
"Do you know Liu Tao?"
"We know each other. I have nothing to do after work. Sometimes I play two games of mahjong with him."
"Are you still playing cards together these two days?"
The man shook his head and said, "Mr. Zhao, it's not like you don't know that the project deadline is tight. How can I have time to play cards? My food and accommodation have been on the construction site these days. I told my subordinates that
Within three days, the tasks assigned by Mr. Zhao must be completed."
"Where do you usually fight, and who do you fight with?"
The construction team leader who made the shutters didn't understand why Zhao Kai asked these questions.
"Mr. Zhao, nothing happened, right?"
Zhao Kai said impatiently: "Just tell me honestly. As long as you complete this project well, I will arrange for you to come over and make blinds next time if there is a new project."
The man's eyes lit up and he quickly said with a smile: "We usually work at the Huatian Teahouse on Dongyu Road. Sometimes it's just a few foremans from the construction site, and sometimes there are also a few friends of Liu Tao." Then he added:
"That guy Liu Tao is a gambler and he loves this guy very much."
Zhao Kai nodded and asked, "How does he win or lose in mahjong?"
The man chuckled and said, "That guy is just a dishonest person. Whatever he carries in his pocket is other people's food."
Hearing this, Lu Shanmin finally got an idea. That bastard Liu Tao must have used the money to gamble. He had heard the old magician talk about gamblers before, saying that he had seen many gamblers when he traveled around the world.
Gamblers have a mentality. They always think that they can get their money back in the next game and will never give up until they lose completely. Since Liu Tao is a gambler, he must have been hiding somewhere to gamble these past two days.
Zhao Kai looked at Lu Shanmin calmly: "I can only help you so much."
Lu Shanmin stood up, said thank you, and walked outside.