After my divorce at thirty, I developed an intelligence network.

Gong Yuelong turned around and saw a short-haired woman walking quickly towards him, wearing a suit dress and sneakers.

During the meeting just now, this woman seemed to be sitting diagonally in front of him.

I vaguely remember that she listened attentively and occasionally jotted down notes in her notebook.

Judging by his attire, he doesn't look like someone who works in an office; he looks more like someone who frequently visits construction sites.

"Lin Wei works at Shunfa Construction and mainly takes on small jobs."

She reached out her hand, smiling brightly, "I'm just a nominal deputy manager, basically just a gofer."

Gong Yuelong shook hands with her: "Gong Yuelong."

Lin Wei's smile became more genuine: "This meeting...tsk, sounds pretty impressive, right? But those of us in this line of work know that there's one thing on stage and another off stage."

Gong Yuelong followed her words: "Rules are rigid, but people are flexible."

"You're absolutely right!" Lin Wei clapped her hands. "President Gong, what does your company mainly do? Residential construction? Municipal engineering? Or do you specialize in a particular niche?"

She asked the question naturally, clearly having already assumed that Gong Yuelong was the head of a construction company—judging from his calm demeanor, proper attire, and neatly arranged document bag, he must be at least a vice president level.

These kinds of people have some project resources, which is exactly what she wants to get to know.

Gong Yuelong said vaguely, "A little bit of everything, it mainly depends on the project."

That's not a lie; he really did have to do everything.

Lin Wei, however, sensed the implication of formidable strength, and her eyes brightened:

"That's right! It's too difficult to do a single thing now. For small companies like ours, we have to rummage around everywhere—those with connections engage in bid rigging and collusion, those with connections specialize in providing supporting services, and those with qualifications rely on subcontracting and skimming profits."

Her words carried a hint of probing and:

"But even in the biggest companies, there are still some connections you have to navigate. The budget department's brother-in-law, the project manager's old classmate… which one can't you bribe?"

He nodded: "Every profession has its own way of doing things."

Lin Wei smiled and sighed, then changed the subject, "President Gong, I think you're a very honest person. If you're free right now, there's a restaurant called Yellow River Fisherman's Restaurant in the back alley. The owner is from my hometown, the food is good, and he's easy to talk to. Shall we go sit down?"

I've arranged to meet with the general managers of several construction companies to see if we can collaborate on any projects. We can support each other in terms of qualifications and track record, and the price is negotiable.

What she said was very true.

In her view, the company represented by Gong Yuelong should be larger than hers, and she might have to put in more effort in the cooperation, but as long as she could make connections and get a share of the profits, she would be making a profit.

Meanwhile, Gong Yuelong needed to access more project information.

"Okay," he nodded, "Sit down."

"Alright!" Lin Wei smiled sincerely. "My car is in front, a white Volkswagen, the one that looks all dusty. Just follow it!"

The two entered the Yellow River fisherman's house, which looked more spacious inside than outside.

There were seven or eight square tables in the lobby downstairs, and people were already drinking beer and chatting loudly at some of them.

The boss was a dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man. Upon seeing Lin Wei, he grinned and greeted her in his dialect:

"Manager Lin is here! We've reserved a private room for you upstairs!"

The so-called private rooms were actually two small rooms on the second floor separated by wooden boards. The walls were covered with faded landscape calendars, a round table, and a few plastic chairs, which made it quite quiet.

After we sat down, the owner brought out a pot of barley tea and two dishes of peanuts and edamame.

Lin Wei quickly scalded the bowls and chopsticks and poured tea for Gong Yuelong:

"There's nothing fancy about this place, but the food is high-quality. The fish is freshly killed, and the ribs are cooked to perfection."

She paused, then smiled and said, "Actually, it's better than meetings—at meetings you only hear official jargon, but here you hear the truth."

Gong Yuelong accepted the tea and nodded.

He knew that these kinds of places, these kinds of dinner parties, were often where information flowed the fastest.

Lin Wei took a sip herself and smiled:

"President Gong, I noticed you were engrossed in taking notes during the meeting, which is quite different from us who are just here to make an appearance."

She paused.

"To be honest, people in our line of work fall into several categories when they attend these kinds of meetings: those sent by big companies to get things done, and those with connections who come to show their faces and make connections."

There are small companies like ours that want to snag some information and gauge market trends... but there are few like you who truly take the information to heart and write it down.

Gong Yuelong picked up his teacup but didn't reply, waiting for her to continue.

Lin Wei lowered her voice:

"This industry is tough now, especially for small companies like ours in town."

With low qualifications, poor track record, and weak connections, they can't get big projects, but they're scrambling for small ones. To survive, they either have to fight tooth and nail or scheme and maneuver everywhere.

She looked at Gong Yuelong.

"I've been observing you for a while and I don't think you're one of those bosses who only know how to drink and socialize. That's why I took the liberty of stopping you—to put it bluntly, I wanted to make a friend and try my luck."

She laughed self-deprecatingly:

"They say that those in the same industry are enemies, but I think that people like us who want to do honest work but don't have any strong connections should lend each other a hand."

Sharing information, filling gaps in resources, and pooling resources for suitable small projects... it's always better than trying to handle everything alone.

Gong Yuelong sipped his tea slowly, listening.

Lin Wei's words were straightforward, yet true.

She had a good eye for people, and her motives were clear—she wasn't there to build rapport, but to explore potential collaborations. He appreciated her pragmatism.

"You're right," he put down his teacup, "it's really hard to go it alone in this line of work."

Lin Wei's eyes lit up, and she became more talkative:

"Exactly! Sometimes it's a small project that you can't handle yourself, but you're also reluctant to give up. If you try to collaborate with a big company, they simply won't even consider it."

Collaborating with unfamiliar partners is risky; you might get ripped off. If you had a few trustworthy colleagues, kept in touch regularly, and could lend a hand in crucial moments… that would open up many more avenues for collaboration.

As she spoke, she laughed first:

"Perhaps I'm being a bit naive. But in this industry, having more friends is always better than having more rivals, don't you think?"

Looking at her open and honest smile, Gong Yuelong suddenly realized that although this woman was from the lower class,

Yet there was still a light in his eyes—the kind of light that comes from struggling in the mud but still believing that people can help each other climb out.

He nodded and replied briefly:

"Yes."

She picked up some edamame, peeling them as she spoke:

"Two more friends will be coming over later. They're from a small construction company nearby, and their positions are similar to mine—assistant managers in name only."

One is Sister Liu from Hongyuan Construction; the other is Old Zhao from Antai Engineering. The three of us are basically the three musketeers who were just there to make up the numbers.

Two small dishes were served, including cucumber salad. I took a bite myself.

"Boss Gong, don't let my complaints fool you. I've actually got a pretty good grasp of the ins and outs of this business—otherwise I wouldn't have made it this far."

"Take the community service center renovation project in our town this year, for example. The budget wasn't high, just over a million yuan. Logically, it should have been put out to public tender, right? But guess who won the bid?"

Gong Yuelong looked up at her: "Which family is it related to?"

"It's more than just a connection." Lin Wei's smile was somewhat complicated. "The winning bidder is the cousin of the deputy director of the town committee."