Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 375 Second Bid
Leaders' time is very valuable. As soon as Yan Hui sat down, the leader sitting in the middle spoke first: "You are Yan Hui, a first-level agent of Laiwu Steel, right?"

"Yes." Yan Hui nodded.

"I have a very serious question for you now," the leader said, his face ashen. "Did you have any illegal communications with the project's relevant personnel before today? Did any insiders leak the bidding prices to you?"

Yan Hui assumed it was a routine inquiry and simply replied, "No."

"You need to answer this question seriously. We have reason to believe that someone has leaked the bidding price to you, because your quote is very close to our survey price." The leader's tone was very serious, and he stared intently at Yan Hui, as if trying to uncover some inside story.

"Huh?" Yan Hui hadn't expected this situation, but he quickly calmed down. "Sir, I accept all investigations. If I am found to have engaged in similar behavior, I am willing to take full responsibility."

"An investigation is definitely necessary; you don't need to tell me that. We've looked into it, and your company is a new one. Your previous bidding projects were all corporate bids; this is your first time participating in a government tender. Based on your experience, you shouldn't have such strong market judgment. We all agree that your bid is problematic," the leader continued.

This remark infuriated Yan Hui.

How can you say that about me without any evidence?

Is it a bad thing that my quote was accurate? What kind of logic is that!
After a moment's thought, Yan Hui became somewhat blunt: "Sir, I don't know any of the five of you in this room, nor do I know any of the people in charge of this project. My judgment on prices is based on my own logic. I've been in business since I was 15, and cost calculation has always been one of my strengths. Here, I want to ask you a question: since this bidding project is so rigorous, and you're so serious about it, can I assume that if I have no connections with anyone, and my price best meets your requirements, then if I don't win this bid, it means that the other primary agents have some inappropriate connection with one or more of you here, or with the people in charge of the project?"

"As long as we verify your qualifications and there are no problems, and no other bidders can offer a better price than you, we will give you priority consideration according to regulations." The leader always spoke with great tact.

“My qualifications are definitely not in question. Laiwu Steel is not a small company, as I’m sure you are well aware of. I believe that all the leaders present hope to complete the bidding process with a lower price. Therefore, I think it’s unfounded to question my low price. My company is strong enough to win this bid on its own. I’ll be frank. Even if you all approve my qualifications, I’m still willing to accept any investigation. However, if the investigation finds no problems, I’ll apply to win the entire project by myself.” Yan Hui actually tried to take the initiative in this situation.

After Yan Hui said that, the leaders looked at each other with some surprise and uncertainty.

"You're a new company, do you have the capability?" another leader questioned.

“None of our primary distributors produce steel; we are all agents. I have my own chemical company, which I'm sure you can all find out. My chemical company's products do require time to prove their quality, but our steel agents don't. The quality of Laiwu Steel's products is well-known. Therefore, I don't think there's a difference between new and old steel trading companies. On the contrary, because we are a new company, we don't have such messy accounts. All the cash in my account can be used to advance funds for the government, which I clearly stated in my tender documents. For the past month, my company has had 1500 million yuan sitting untouched in its account, and if needed, I can mobilize several times that amount of funds. I believe I have the strength to exclusively supply steel. Moreover, I believe that exclusively distributed steel is more stable and more uniform, with a more consistent carbon content, which is very beneficial for construction,” Yan Hui said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"These..." the leader hesitated for a moment, "we will consider them."

"I'll reiterate what I said: provided my after-sales service and supply capabilities are guaranteed, I hope to be selected. Today, after this meeting, I'm open to investigations from all government departments. If I have any issues, I'll take full responsibility; if I have no issues, I hope to receive truly fair treatment," Yan Hui concluded.

"Okay, you can go out now." Even the leader felt a bit of pressure.

This is a key provincial project, not something the city can decide on its own. Besides the provincial officials, there's also a supervisor from a higher level who's responsible for taking notes.

Unlike the others, after Yan Hui left, the clerk didn't call the next person. Instead, several minutes passed before calling the next person in to answer questions. After everyone had answered their questions, about half an hour later, everyone was called into the room together.

In front of everyone, the clerk publicly announced the prices quoted by each company.

As Yan Hui expected, everyone else's bids were all between 3735 and 3750, while he alone offered a low price of 3712 yuan.

As soon as the price was announced, everyone looked at Yan Hui.

How can you make money like this?
I'd heard before that Mr. Yan was known for his aggressive pricing, but I never expected him to quote such a high price for such a large project. Does he not want to make money? Does he have a grudge against money?
"Now that everyone knows the other people's quotes, we have carefully considered the previous quotes and taken into account each company's after-sales service capabilities. Based on the above information, you can begin the second round of quotations," the clerk said.

In the second round of bidding, everyone still submitted their own bids, and no one knew the specific prices offered by others.

However, with Yan Hui around, everyone else felt immense pressure.

Everyone's cost of capital is different, and their profit calculation methods are also different. Moreover, entertaining guests and giving gifts both cost money, and this project requires a large amount of capital, making it very difficult to negotiate a significant price reduction.

Finally, each company submitted its second round of bids, making some modifications as needed.

Yan Hui didn't change a single penny. Since his quote was accurate, it meant that his calculated price was reasonable. There was no point in him competing against himself.

"Because this bidding process is quite complex, we cannot open the bids on-site. We will notify everyone of the bid results in two days, and there will be a one-week public announcement period after the bids are opened," the clerk continued, explaining some of the rules.

Everyone present kept glancing at Yan Hui.

In the second round of bidding, no one offered a lower price than Yan Hui.

According to the rules, the price of the second bid cannot be higher than the first bid. Otherwise, things would fall into chaos. In reality, most tenders don't involve a second round of bidding; this time, the emphasis was clearly excessive.

Therefore, when everyone knew that their bid was higher than Yan Hui's, everyone felt somewhat helpless.

Fortunately, theoretically, three people can win the bid this time, so we can just give one to Yan Hui. Anyway, Yan Hui won't make any money from this bid, so there's no need to compete with this madman.

The second round of quotes from everyone was basically about 5 yuan less than the first round.

(End of this chapter)