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

On the third day after my father was hospitalized, an accident happened at the construction site.

I was getting hot water in the hospital corridor when Xiao Liu called. His voice was trembling on the phone.

"Brother Chen, come back quickly! People from the quality inspection station are here and say they want to stop work!"

I nearly dropped my thermos. "What happened?"

"The slope! The slope has cracked again! Supervisor Zhu reported it directly to the quality control station. Two people from the station came, inspected the slope, and said there was a major safety hazard and work must be stopped immediately!"

"Where is General Manager Hu?"

"General Manager Hu is talking to the people at the quality supervision station and asked me to call you."

I hung up the phone and went into the ward. Dad was awake, and Mom was feeding him water.

"Dad, Mom, something happened at the construction site, I have to go back."

"What's wrong?" Mom asked.

"It's a small matter, it can be handled with a little effort."

Dad glanced at me, didn't say anything, and nodded slightly.

I rode my electric bike to the construction site. I was riding so fast that the wind blew in from the front, making my eyes sting, but I didn't care.

When I arrived at the construction site, a white pickup truck was parked at the entrance, with the words "Quality Supervision" printed in blue on the door. My heart sank.

There were five people sitting in the project office meeting room: Lao Hu, Lao Hu's female assistant, two staff members from the quality supervision station, and the supervisor, Engineer Zhu. When I pushed the door open, everyone looked at me.

"Chen Mu, sit down." Old Hu pointed to the chair next to him.

I sat down. A middle-aged man from the quality inspection station pushed a piece of paper in front of me.

"Are you a field engineer?"

"Yes."

"Take a look at this."

The paper was printed with a "Notice of Suspension of Work and Rectification" from the Construction Project Quality and Safety Supervision Station.

Location of work stoppage: North slope and surrounding area. Reason for stoppage: Obvious cracks have appeared on the slope, the soil moisture content is abnormal, posing a risk of landslide, violating relevant provisions of the "Technical Specification for Foundation Pit Support". Rectification requirements: A qualified third-party organization must be commissioned to conduct a slope stability assessment and prepare a specific rectification plan. Work can only resume after expert review.

I looked up at the middle-aged man. "Sir, we've already done temporary shoring on the slope, installed anchor bolts, sprayed concrete, and are monitoring the data..."

"I've seen the monitoring data," he interrupted me, "but the cracks are still widening. Your temporary support is insufficient. We need to call in a professional assessment."

"How long will the assessment take?"

"It depends. It could take as little as a week, or as long as a month."

A month. I was on edge.

Old Hu spoke up. "Boss, our project has a very tight schedule, we'll have to stop work for a month..."

"Mr. Hu," the middle-aged man looked at him, "safety comes first. If something happens, who will be responsible?"

The meeting room fell silent.

Supervisor Zhu sat to the side, head down, saying nothing. His white shirt was spotless, a stark contrast to the drab conference room.

Old Hu stood up. "Okay, we'll make the changes."

The quality inspection station staff left. Engineer Zhu also stood up, walked to the door, and then turned back.

"Mr. Hu, Engineer Chen, I'm not targeting you personally. That's just how the regulations are; I have to report it."

"I know."

he's gone.

Only Lao Hu and I remained in the conference room.

Old Hu lit a cigarette, took a puff, and coughed twice, choking on it.

"The bidding results haven't come out yet, and the work stoppage order has already been issued." He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "Even God doesn't want us to do this."

"Mr. Hu, we'll have someone assess the slope, and I'll draft the rectification plan—"

"So what if you did it?" Old Hu looked at me. "The quality control station held you up for a month, delaying the project by a month. The client already wanted to replace you, and now they have even more reason to do so."

I didn't say anything.

"I'm not blaming you," Old Hu stood up. "This has nothing to do with you. The pipe leaked, the soil softened, there's nothing anyone can do about it."

He walked to the window, with his back to me.

"Chen Mu, that project in the provincial capital is supposed to start on October 8th. You were supposed to come with me, but now that this has happened here, you'll have to deal with it first before you go. If you can't finish dealing with it..." He didn't finish his sentence.

"It can be handled."

"I hope so."

he's gone.

I sat alone in the conference room, the work stoppage notice in front of me. Black words on white paper, stamped with a red seal. I folded the notice, stuffed it into my pocket, stood up, and walked out of the conference room.

There was no one left below the north slope. The workers had retreated to the east area, and a cordon had been set up around the slope, the red tape fluttering in the wind. I walked across the cordon, down to the bottom of the slope, and looked up at the crack.

It's longer than last time. It stretches from the top of the slope all the way down to the middle, crooked and twisting like a bolt of lightning. The soil at the edges of the crack is wet and black in color.

I squatted down and touched it with my hand. It was soft.

My phone vibrated. It was my boss, Hou Qunshan, calling.

"Muzi, how's your decision about changing careers coming along?"

I stood at the bottom of the slope, with the crack above my head, my phone pressed against my ear.

"Boss, something's happened to me."

"What is it?"

"Construction has been halted. There have been quality issues."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. "Is it serious?"

"Work will be suspended for a month."

"and you--"

"Boss, is your law firm still hiring?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"We're hiring. But Mu Zi, you need to think this through. You're not a law student, so you'll have to start from scratch. The pay won't be high, maybe even lower than what you get on the construction site."

"How many?"

"The internship salary is 3,500 yuan, and it will be around 5,000 yuan after becoming a full-time employee."

Five thousand. That's more than a thousand less than I have now. My mortgage is three thousand five hundred. What can I do with the rest of the money?

"Let me think about it some more."

"Think about it. But let me tell you, opportunity waits for no one. Our boss said it'll be decided this month."

"understood."

After hanging up the phone, I put it in my pocket and walked up the slope. The ground at the top of the slope was also cracked, with fissures extending along the edge like a snake. I stood on the top of the slope, looking down at the entire construction site.

The tower cranes were still turning, the workers in the east section were working, the pump trucks were running, and the vibrating rods were clanging. Everything seemed normal. But in the north section, it was as quiet as a graveyard.

My phone vibrated again. It was my mom calling.

"Little one, your dad is in much better spirits today, don't worry."

"Mom, I understand."

"Have you taken care of things over there?"

"Soon."

"When is 'soon'?"

"Mom, I'm hanging up now."

After hanging up the phone, I stood on the hilltop, the wind blowing, carrying the smell of earth and concrete.

I close my eyes.

Three voices were in my head. The eldest said: Opportunity waits for no one. Old Hu said: If you can't finish, don't come. Mom said: When is "soon"?

The three voices were mixed together, making my head throb.

I opened my eyes and walked down the slope.

Back in the office, I sat down and turned on my computer. I typed "third-party slope stability assessment unit" into the search bar.

A search returned a bunch of results. I called them one by one. The first quoted 30,000. The second quoted 28,000. The third quoted 25,000. 25,000, with a seven-day evaluation period.

I chose the third one and made an appointment to come to the event tomorrow.

Then I opened the document and started writing the slope improvement plan. Halfway through, my phone lit up.

The message was sent out by Xiaohui.

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

I looked at the photo. The strawberries were bright red, served in a white porcelain bowl.

I typed a few words: "Xiao Hui, I'm busy lately, I probably won't be able to go this weekend."

Send it out.

She replied quickly. "Okay. Brother Chen is busy. Take care of yourself, Brother Chen."

I stared at that sentence for a long time.

Then continue writing the rectification plan.