Civil Engineering in the Mortal World: Ten Years Without Knowing Today's Events

I was woken up by my phone this morning.

It was Lao Hu calling. I checked the time; it was only 7:10. He said "Come to the project site" on the other end of the phone and then hung up. His voice sounded off—too short, too harsh, like something was blocking his throat.

I got up, washed my face, and rode my electric scooter towards the project site. There were few people on the road in the morning, so I rode very fast. The wind blew in from the front, making my scalp tingle.

Old Hu sat in his office, with five or six cigarette butts piled up in the ashtray in front of him. He glanced at me, said nothing, and pushed a document toward me.

"Take a look."

I picked it up. It was a notification letter from Party A, two pages long, with the heading "Notification Regarding Matters Related to the Bidding for the General Contractor of this Project." I quickly read on. When I got to the third paragraph, I stopped.

"...After careful consideration, it has been decided that the general contractor for the remaining work of this project will be selected through open bidding. Existing general contractors are eligible to participate in the bidding..."

"Mr. Hu, what does this mean?"

"It means they don't plan to renew our contract." Old Hu stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "It's an open tender; anyone can participate. Whether we win depends on our bid, our connections, and luck."

"So, what are we doing now—"

"We'll continue working until the bidding process is complete. Once the winning bidder is determined, we'll leave the site."

Sigh, I'm leaving from here, where should I go?

"When are you leaving?"

"The end of the month." Old Hu stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the construction site outside.

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling.

Not long after, I had nothing to do with the project anymore, even though I had been in charge of pouring the foundation, columns, and roof slabs. I had measured the slump of every truckload of concrete and checked the verticality of every wall.

"Chen Mu," Old Hu turned around, "I have something to tell you."

"Um."

"I'm already looking for another job. If you want to work with me, I'll reserve a spot for you."

"Where to?"

"It's not decided yet. It might be in the provincial capital, or it might be in a neighboring city. Anyway, it won't be in a county town."

The provincial capital. The neighboring city. Not in the county seat.

I bought a house in the county town, with a 30-year mortgage, and I've only been paying it off for six months. My dad goes for regular checkups at the county hospital, and my mom works at a supermarket in town. Xiao Hui lives in the county town.

"Mr. Hu, I'll think about it."

"Okay, think about it first." Old Hu picked up a cigarette from the table, then put it down again. "But don't think about it for too long. The position won't wait for anyone."

When I walked out of the office, the sun had already risen.

The sunlight shone on the construction site, turning everything golden. The workers had already started working; the pump trucks were running, the vibrators were humming, and the rebar cutters were making noise.

Everything seemed normal, so normal that it seemed like nothing would change, but everything was changing.

I stood at the edge of the foundation pit, watching the workers below tying rebar. Old Wang squatted on the rebar, twisting the binding wire bit by bit. His son was taking the college entrance exam next year, and he wanted to work until the end of the year to save enough money for tuition. If he had to leave the site at the end of the month, he definitely wouldn't have enough money.

I don't know how to tell him.

My phone vibrated. It was a voice message from Xiaohui. I didn't open it and put my phone in my pocket.

Old Huang came in the morning. When he walked into the office, he was holding a thermos. He paused for a moment when he saw me sitting there.

"Engineer Chen, you seem to have something on your mind."

What's wrong with me today? I can't seem to keep things on my mind.

"I was talking to Mr. Hu about something in the room just now, and then I somehow got distracted," I said softly.

"Oh, what's the matter that you'd like to discuss?"

I hesitated for a moment. "The client has issued a notice that the subsequent construction work will be put out to public tender."

Old Huang put down his thermos and sat down opposite me. He looked at me but didn't say anything.

"Mr. Huang, do you think we have a chance of winning?"

Old Huang took out cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to me, and lit one for himself. He took a drag, exhaled, and the smoke drifted between the two of them.

"Engineer Chen, we talked about this a few days ago. Whether we win the bid depends on our relationship."

"Yeah," I said with a wry smile.

"Haha, don't worry too much. The results aren't out yet, anything is possible." Old Huang stood up, patted my shoulder, and said, "Keep working, don't slack off."

Then he left, but forgot to take his thermos.

I grabbed my thermos and hurried after them.

"Mr. Huang, here's your cup."

He turned around, took it, and smiled. "Thanks."

In the afternoon, I sent Lao Hu a message.

"Mr. Hu, let me know when you find a new job. I'll go with you."

Old Hu replied with a single word: "Okay."

After sending the message, I sat in my office, staring at my phone screen. The screen slowly dimmed, revealing my face. It looked dull and gray, and my eyes were a little red.

Only then did I open the chat window with Xiaohui and click on the voice message I hadn't heard.

"Brother Chen, what are we having for dinner today?"

The voice was still small and soft.

I pressed the voice recorder button and said, "I'm eating a boxed lunch. What about you?"

"Mom made braised pork. Brother Chen, when are you coming again?"

"weekend."

"Okay. Brother Chen, I'll save some strawberries for you."

I put my phone on the table and leaned back in my chair.

Outside the window, the sun was beginning to slant westward. The tower crane was still turning, its arm's shadow slowly moving across the ground.

I'm reminded of what Lao Hu just said—"Positions don't wait for anyone."

Not only do positions wait for no one, but people do too. Dad can't wait, Mom can't wait.

What about Xiaohui? Could she wait? She knew nothing. She didn't know what bidding was, what withdrawing from a venue meant, or what unemployment was. All she knew was "Brother Chen is coming next weekend" and "Brother Chen is eating strawberries."

I closed my eyes and thought, what if we withdraw at the end of the month, and then what?

Then I'll go to the provincial capital, or the next city, to start over, meet new people, and adapt to the new construction site. But I still have to pay the mortgage, and my father's medication can't be stopped.

What to do about the small meeting?

I opened my eyes, picked up my phone, and called my mother.

"mom."

"Little one, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask how Dad is doing."

"Same as always. When are you bringing Xiaohui back again?"

"next week."

"Okay. Mom will cook something delicious for you."

"it is good"

……

The news of the change of general contractor spread very quickly.

That day, as soon as I arrived at the construction site, Old Wang came over. He squatted by the foundation pit, holding a steamed bun in his hand, not eating it, and staring straight at me.

"Mr. Chen, I heard the client is changing general contractors?"

I was taken aback. "Who told you that?"

"Everyone's talking about it. A few foremen were having dinner last night, and someone said it." Old Wang broke his steamed bun in half, then put it down again. "Engineer Chen, tell me the truth, is it true?"

I looked at him. He was in his fifties, his face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were bloodshot, and his fingernails were full of black grime. His son was taking the college entrance exam next year, and he wanted to work until the end of the year to save enough money for tuition.

"Old Wang, the bidding is real. But it's not certain who will win the bid yet."

"So that means we might not make it to the end of the year?"

I didn't answer.

Old Wang stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed. "Damn it," he muttered, then stood up, dusted off his pants, and left.

I stood at the edge of the excavation pit, watching his back. He walked very slowly, his steps were a bit dragging, as if something was tied to his feet.

Xiao Liu walked over from behind, holding a stack of documents in his hand.

"Brother Chen, I've compiled the steel reinforcement inspection records. Please take a look."

I took it and flipped through it. The date, location, axis, specifications, and quantity were all clearly written. The handwriting was neat and there were no corrections.

"Can."

Xiao Liu hesitated for a moment. "Brother Chen, I heard—"

"Don't listen to that." I handed the documents back to him. "Get back to work."

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. He turned and left.

My phone vibrated again, and when I opened it, it was a message from Lao Hu.

"At 3 PM, in the client's conference room, it's a pre-bid communication meeting. Come with me."

I replied with one word: "Okay."

At 2:30 pm, I changed into clean clothes and went to the client's office building with Lao Hu.

The client's office was in the center of the county town, in a building of more than ten stories. There were security guards at the entrance, and you had to register to enter. Old Hu signed the papers, and I followed behind him into the elevator.

The conference room was on the eighth floor. When we arrived, there were already two people sitting inside. One was the client's project manager, surnamed Liu, in his forties, wearing glasses, and looking very refined. The other one, whom we didn't recognize, was wearing a white shirt, with slicked-back hair, and looked like a leader.

"Mr. Hu, you've arrived." Manager Liu stood up, shook hands with Mr. Hu, and said, "This is Mr. Zhang from the client's engineering department."

Old Hu shook hands with the man in the white shirt. "Hello, Mr. Zhang."

"Sit down," Mr. Zhang said, gesturing to a chair.

We sat down. The conference room was large, with a long table, leather chairs, and a panoramic view of the county town hanging on the wall. Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, shining brightly on the table.

"Mr. Hu," Mr. Zhang said, his voice not loud but steady, "I called you here today to discuss the bidding process."

"Please speak."

"You've done a good job, and we, the client, approve of it." General Manager Zhang paused for a moment, "But this tender is an open tender. We welcome your participation. However, the final result will depend on the overall score."

Old Hu nodded. "We understand."

"Good that you understand." General Manager Zhang smiled. "Manager Liu, please discuss the specific arrangements with General Manager Hu."

Manager Liu opened the folder and rattled off a list of things—bid deadline, bid opening time, bid evaluation method, technical bid format requirements, and commercial bid pricing requirements.

I listened, taking notes, but my mind was elsewhere. The overall score was 40% for the technical bid and 60% for the commercial bid. The commercial bid was the price quote; whoever quoted the lowest price got the highest score. Our costs were what they were, so we couldn't lower our price too much.

As the meeting adjourned, General Manager Zhang shook hands with Old Hu. "General Manager Hu, best of luck."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang."

As he walked out of the office building, Lao Hu lit a cigarette, stood on the steps, and said nothing.

"Mr. Hu, how much can we lower the price?"

"We can't reduce it much further." Old Hu took a drag on his cigarette. "The cost of materials, labor, and machinery are all rising. If we reduce it any further, we'll lose money."

"That--"

"That's why I said it depends on luck." Old Hu stubbed out his cigarette and threw it in the trash can. "Let's go back to work."

On the way back to the construction site, I sat in the passenger seat, looking out at the county town.

The shops on both sides of the street are lined up one after another, selling clothes, mobile phones, and fruit.

People were walking on the sidewalk, some were waiting for the bus, and some were looking down at their phones. None of them knew that the largest construction site in the county might be about to change hands.

My phone vibrated, but I ignored it.

It was already 4:30 pm when I got back to the construction site.

I went into my office, sat down, and turned on my computer. There was a new email in my inbox, forwarded by Lao Hu—a tender document.

I opened it and read it through from beginning to end. Technical requirements, drawing list, contract terms, quotation list. It was a thick stack of over a hundred pages.

I rubbed my head and leaned back in my chair.

"Good luck." That's what Mr. Zhang, the project manager from Party A, said to Lao Hu.

good luck.

I've worked on construction sites for eight years and never believed in luck. I believed in standards, data, and acceptance records. But this time, standards and data were useless. What mattered were connections and quotes—whoever had the stronger connections got the lower price.

These are not things I can control.

Then I remembered the unread messages on my phone while I was driving. I took out my phone and saw the message Xiaohui had sent.

"Brother Chen, the strawberries are really sweet today."

I looked at the message and typed a few words: "That's good."

Send it out.

……

When I arrived at the construction site, I saw Old Wang squatting by the foundation pit, holding a plastic bag containing a few steamed buns. He stood up when he saw me.

"Engineer Chen, are you still at get off work?"

"It'll be here soon."

"Engineer Chen," he hesitated for a moment, "do you think that if the general contractor is changed, will the rest of us still be able to stay?"

"I don't know. The new general contractor has his own people."

Old Wang was silent for a while. "Damn it, I worked there for a year and a half, and now they're just switching jobs like that."

He didn't say anything more, picked up the plastic bag and left.

I stood at the edge of the foundation pit, watching his figure disappear behind the prefabricated houses.

My phone rang, and I answered it.

"Chen Mu, let's have dinner together tonight if you have time."

"Okay, Mr. Hu."

……

At 6:30, I arrived at the restaurant Lao Hu had mentioned. It was located on the west side of the county town; it wasn't large, but it was quiet. Lao Hu was already sitting in a private room, with several plates of cold dishes and a bottle of soy sauce on the table.

"Sit down." He poured two glasses of wine.

I sat down and picked up my glass.

"Chen Mu, how long have you been following me?"

"A year and a half."

"A year and a half." Old Hu raised his glass and clinked it against mine. "It's not a long time, but you're the most reliable field engineer I've ever met."

I didn't say anything.

"I have something to tell you." Old Hu put down his cup. "I've found a buyer. It's a project in the provincial capital, a residential building complex, over 200,000 square meters. The client is someone I've worked with before, someone I trust."

"When are you going?"

Early October.

I picked up my glass and took a sip. The liquor was very strong, burning from my throat all the way down to my stomach.

"Mr. Hu, I'll go with you."

"Have you thought it through?"

"I've made up my mind."

Old Hu looked at me and remained silent for a few seconds. "Alright. The salary will be two thousand more than now, accommodation provided, but meals not. Think it over carefully; the provincial capital is far from home, you can't come back every day."

"I know."

"Xiao Hui, what's going on over there?"

I was taken aback. Old Hu knew about Xiao Hui's affair? How did he know? There really are no secrets on a construction site.

"I haven't told her yet."

"You have to tell her," Old Hu poured himself another glass of wine. "Don't keep her waiting."

"I know."

Old Hu didn't say anything more. The two drank and ate, occasionally exchanging a few words about the people and things on the construction site.

Old Wang, Little Liu, Old Huang. Old Huang is being transferred to another project. What's the new supervisor's surname again? Zhu, a young man, supposedly not very easy to talk to.

After dinner, Lao Hu offered to give me a ride, but I said no, I came by electric scooter. As I walked out of the restaurant, a night breeze blew by, carrying the smell of smoke from the barbecue stalls. I stood by the roadside, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

After sobering up, I rode my electric bike to the construction site.

Lao Hu asked me to tell Xiao Hui.

What did she say? That I'm going to the provincial capital and won't be able to visit you every week anymore? That we might only see each other once a month from now on? That she might not be able to wait?

I don't know how to say it.

Back in the dorm, Xiao Liu was already asleep. I lay on my bed, took out my phone, opened Xiao Min's chat window, and stared at it for a long time.

In the end, I didn't send a message, then turned off my phone and closed my eyes.

I have to go to work tomorrow.