I know Wang Gong a few years ago at the site of a project in the Middle East. At that time, he was the general contractor and I was the site representative of the design institute. We share a dorm room and share the same interests despite the considerable age difference. At that time, I was young and energetic, and I often walked around with wang Gong after work. During those months, I talked with Wang Gong all the time and learned a lot about his experiences. I have always wanted to write down his story, but because he has been overseas construction sites for many years and rarely returned to China, he made several appointments without success, so I could only watch him travel around the world in the circle of friends. This year, I happened to go on a business trip to Shandong. When he came back to China for a rest, I made an appointment to see him. After that, we had a few more video chats. After his initial experience on the Algerian construction site, he told me about two other projects in the Middle East. This is the dictation of Gong Wang.
1
After the completion of the Algerian project, I chose to leave my job and wanted to find a job in China, but all the resumes I sent out were useless. After a long absence from work, I felt very weak. Seeing that I was free all day, my classmates introduced me to a construction site in Arak in Iran.
So round and round a big circle, I came back to the origin.
Arak, in northwest Iran, is known for its wetlands, where a heavy water nuclear reactor was built and has since become a familiar name in the Iranian nuclear crisis. Our project department is very close to the wetland group in Arak. When I arrived, the construction schedule was not tight. Usually, the project department does not interfere too much with the staff going out on alternate days, so we just need to register at the security department. So on weekends, I often go out with my colleagues, try the local food, drink and chat, which is also pleasant.
The job is much more formal, with a trip back to China every three months and a three-week leave. During the vacation back to China this year, I was introduced to a girl from Sichuan. We fell in love for half a year and got married, and soon had a child.
Just one year later, the situation outside the wall of the construction site changed dramatically. There were policemen with guns everywhere. They went out to buy daily necessities occasionally, and they would be stopped and checked soon after walking on the road.
While working in unstable regions for a long time, we also didn’t feel nervous, bold and colleagues also cheekily to submachine guns to the police to take photos, most of the time the request will be Iranian police righteousness is words to refuse, but occasionally, there will be pleasant police or security will pass our guns to unload a cartridge, and silently stood on the side, like watching to see our picture.
Before long, the project department issued an article saying that when going out, it must be approved by the project department, and that going out without the consent of the project department will be punished. People think the project department overcorrected a bit, but they can only comply. Then came the news that some of its Saudi employees had been shot by unknown men while out on a break, making the company more cautious about management.
At the beginning, we didn’t take it too seriously. The project department was equivalent to a small town with complete restaurants and supermarkets inside, and ordinary workers had few chances to go out. Therefore, no matter how the situation changed outside, the colleagues on the construction site were all right.
Suddenly it was a New Year, New Year’s Day, the construction site was taking turns off, I was worrying about how to spend these two days of holiday, living in the same container colleague suddenly said to me: “Lao Wang, we have been in Iran for so long, just to drill into the wetland, but also did not go out to play. One of the cars in the project department is now free, so I can get the keys and we can drive out.”
“Go out to play estimate difficult approval.” He makes me itch.
“Approval bullshit, who told you to tell the project department.”
After hearing what he said, I couldn’t care less. For the past six months, I’ve been at the construction site and never gone anywhere. We had a working car on our day off, which was a rare opportunity for us.
2
The night before, after consulting, we decided to visit the famous Imam Mosque in Isfahan, a few hundred kilometers away. Because of the long journey, also afraid of being found by the site, the next day we got up early, breakfast did not eat, with dry food drive away.
Not long after the road from the construction site, I noticed that there were more policemen than usual on the way. I felt a little nervous: “What happened, how so many policemen?”
“Whatever, it’s all coming out. What are you afraid of?” His colleague did not say a word, but as soon as he said it, he turned the car around and returned to the construction site, pulling off the covers of a sleeping local security guard: “Get up and play with us!”
“I’m off work today.” The security guard lingered on the bed, covering his head with a quilt, but refused to get up. After a brief standoff, my colleague panicked, took $50 out of his pocket and threw it on the security guard, who grinned, tooted his teeth, and ran away.
The roads were clear and the speed was fast, and by lunchtime we were at the Imam Mosque. There were hardly any police around, but there were plenty of people, with the occasional Asian visitor.
But I think it is much the same as the mosque I have seen in the Middle East before. After wandering around for a while, I feel boring and want to go back. The security guard asks me: “Boss, it’s still early now, I know there is a place with special features. We thought about it and agreed.
The guard showed us the way, and we threaded our way through the city through a mountainous area. Winters in Arak are wet and cold, but also lush and green. The road was foggy on both sides, and locals were occasionally seen herding sheep of various colours. I said to my colleague: “I really have never seen such a sheep, people here even out in winter sheep.”
Local colorful sheep (credit: photo)
I don’t know how long it took, but security asked us to stop the car. Yeah.
As I got out, I noticed that we were parked in what looked like a bazaar, with lots of people and heavily armed police patrolling the streets. I joked to the security guard, “You’re not going to take me shopping at your fair, and then you’re going to take a kickback?”
“No, Boss, look behind you.”
I followed his direction and saw a blue mosque with a unique shape. From the doorway, there seemed to be a lot of people inside, but it didn’t look like a church.
After a while, we asked the security guard to take us to see the mosque. The temple is not very big, and most of the people are local people, and tourists can only be seen occasionally. At first, the security guard accompanied us and introduced us all the way, but he didn’t know where to go after we walked.
The less we leave the farther, suddenly, the crowd screaming outside the inside rushed in, followed by a series of ‘poop-poop sound – at first I didn’t react that is completely bullets on the wall behind the sound, and see what was going to run in the past, colleagues a pull me, put me down to the ground: “don’t fucking killing me? Someone shot!”
I felt a rush of excitement and a desire to look up, but the smell of blood in the air was immediately followed by an overwhelming sense of horror — the sound of bullets going through the top of the head was strange, not like the onomatops in the movies, and shrill.
I heard a group of people rushing in, Shouting in a language we didn’t understand. I lay on the ground, holding my breath and not daring to move. Gunfire rattled overhead, followed by screams and shouts. But soon the gunfire and screams vanished as if nothing had ever happened.
My colleagues and I lay on the ground and dared not get up, not to speak, not to breathe. My colleague took my hand, trembling slightly, the heart of the hand is all sweat. I do not know how long, someone came to help us, I got up only to find that the original construction site security guards with the police to find us.
When we got back, neither of us had the courage to drive. The guard couldn’t drive, so the local police had to drive us back to the site. All the way the guards apologized and explained to us, but we didn’t answer and huddled in the back row, shivering.
3
Back to the dormitory, the two of us lay on the bed motionless, for a long time, the colleague stared at the ceiling, feebly said: “I thought I would die in that hell place today.”
Until we begin to take a bath in the middle of the night, into the bathroom and then smell a smell, I looked down and found that your pants with colleagues, wet a large — I said why the police to holding his nose when we come back along the way is always frowning – this thing, we never told others later, a “to go” is a violation of the program rules, let alone almost lost life.
I lay in bed at night with the afternoon bullets flying in my mind. I couldn’t sleep until the morning light came through the door of the container and shone into the room.
After I woke up, I went to the office and kept checking the news on my computer, but yesterday’s shooting never happened, as if it had never happened. From that day on, the security guard who accompanied us never showed up at the construction site again. I asked the captain of the local security company why he didn’t come to work. The captain looked puzzled and said, “Boss, he said you asked him to leave.
A few days later, I came back to the dormitory after work, I saw my colleague lying in front of the computer intently looking at the web page, he saw me come back hurriedly call me: “look!” I leaned in. It was news of Saddam’s execution.
“Wasn’t it meant to be? I don’t quite understand why he was so excited.
“If you think about it, when did we get shot? Two days have just passed. It must have something to do with it! Haven’t you noticed that there have been a lot more incidents in Iran than usual these days?”
The day we went out was three days after Saddam was executed, and his explanation, far-fetched but plausible — when I checked my map, there seemed to be a Kurdish neighborhood near the place, perhaps a factor in the shooting?
“I’m not staying here anymore. I’ve been overseas for almost 10 years and I’ve never had a life in danger!” Say that finish, he shut the web page, washed the face, began to qq video with his wife.
Before long, he applied to go back to China, and the project department couldn’t keep him. After that, he stayed at the construction site in China and never came out again. I heard that he died of cancer in the winter of 2017. Unfortunately, I was abroad at that time and could not send him to the last flight.
Overseas sites for 15 years
After my colleague left, the situation in Iran did not ease. Due to various considerations, I also submitted my resignation to the project department. The project manager thought I wanted to go back to China for a rest, so he asked me to wait. In order to successfully resign, I lion opened his mouth to ask for a raise, he refused on the spot on the grounds that the project funding is tight.
I think the alarm for a raise, can smoothly, thought for a few days, assistant project manager He Zong call me let me go to his office: “mama of, with great effort, the project manager didn’t agree with you pay, just you left, director of the professional, the little tortoise came cheap you – anyway, I also quick retire, assume that doing good, you can give me a good dry, don’t be badly off!”
“And don’t tell anyone about your raise. You can’t raise it again while you’re on this project. It’s catching up with me!”
“How can that be? Are you joking?” I blurted it out.
“Boy, don’t you believe me, let me show you.” Then he took a pay slip from the drawer and slapped it on the table. “You see, I didn’t lie to you, did I?”
I didn’t really look at it. I just glanced at it. The figures were so dense that I couldn’t see them clearly.
In the name of salary and promotion, I gritted my teeth and stayed on, and by sheer luck, I grew up as an employee and became a project manager.
4
In a flash, I stayed at the site for nearly two years.
This year, domestic engineering companies contracted overseas projects blowout, resulting in the overseas work and technical staff’s pay rose. Our treatment pales in comparison. The well-informed people in the project department have the right opportunity to jump ship, and the rest are ready to move.
Manager Liu, the project manager, went home on leave due to family business. Before he left, he required that all important decisions on site should be reported to him by email. After a while, Manager Liu sent an email saying that due to personal reasons, he was in charge of the project site for the time being. Later, it was whispered that the deputy general manager of the company would retire early due to team error. Liu was always a strong contender for the new vice president.
In liu home during the vacation, the project department person while wandering around the unidentified man attacks, seriously injured, this caused panic – project department before the project on the unstable area, no matter how outside, at least in the construction site safety is guaranteed – first smell is the most sensitive of management and technical personnel offered to resign to apply for, workers see management turmoil, have also put forward.
The installation company takes this as a bargaining chip to make demands on the project. As for the workers’ application for leaving and returning home, they will not refuse to accept it without any persuasion and directly feedback to the project department. The project department held several mobilization meetings, but they had no effect. The people who proposed to leave and go back to China were still in an endless stream.
In fact, “safety” is just the last straw — this project can be taken down, basically by winning the bid at a low price, the profit itself is not high, in the construction of nature is austerity, can save, to each subcontractor can fine fine fine, never soft. Parties at ordinary times accumulated a lot of anger, is unable to find vent, so this time to take advantage of the fierce rebound.
In order to appease the public, he proposed a “salary increase for all employees”, saying that he could add more if he performed well, but Liu said nothing about the matter. After Mr. He submitted the salary increase proposal, the headquarters did not approve it. After that, the project department proposed the salary increase to the domestic headquarters for several times, but the headquarters still replied that “we have to wait for a while, we are going through the process”.
The company said so many people were quitting that they demanded a head office increase. Finally, the head office stepped in and warned the company that it would “never cooperate with any more unreasonable demands.” Our company is the leading company in the industry, and all the suppliers and installation companies can’t afford to offend. Moreover, the headquarters seems not to care about the resignation of technicians. If you go here, you can transfer a fresh graduate from China.
Many of the technicians I manage have also offered to resign, with no reassurance other than a raise. I was so worried that I had to go to Mr. He, but he just waved his hand and told me not to worry. He told me that he would try to solve the problem and let me wait for the news and ask again, but he refused to reveal more information.
Experienced staff turnover too much, resulting in site quality out of control, the owner was furious. But the project department is still rock solid, no response, this is simply a 180 degree turn from the past attitude towards the owners.
He is always a senior with rich experience in field management. He works in a steady and sophisticated way. He was appointed as a deputy in this project just because he was close to retirement. It was so unusual for him to be so unmoved that it seemed to me vaguely like the prelude to a storm.
5
In a blink of an eye, Manager Liu has been back home for two months. During this period, various kinds of chickens and dogs have been flying around the scene, and e-mails complaining from various parties have been flying all over the place. The scene is filled with the smell of being on the verge of losing control.
To our surprise, the general manager of the company unexpectedly proposed to visit our project department. We received the notice one day, and the next day he arrived at the site.
In the past, the management of the company’s headquarters visited the construction site, and all the construction sites were trembling. I thought that the project department would start the face-building project overnight, but the project department was quiet and did not respond. When the general manager arrived at the scene, just held a simple welcome ceremony, in exchange for the general manager is silent, face overcast.
In the evening, the hospitality restaurant of the project department was full of toasts, and I was barely a member of the project team, so I was honored to attend. The general manager’s face gradually eased in a sound of urging wine, although there were comments on the project site, but also a lot of encouragement.
Just as the atmosphere on the wine table to a climax, the distance suddenly heard a burst of “crackling” sound.
“Who’s setting off firecrackers?” “Asked the security manager.
“Not firecrackers, someone is shooting!” Mr. He looked panic-stricken.
“Shoot? Was it ever like this?” The general manager wondered.
“It started in the first half of the year, before Mr. Liu came home.” He said with emphasis in the second half of the sentence.
We looked at each other. Before that, no matter how messy outside, still have never heard gunfire at the site, the project department is located in the remote, it’s so late, neuropathy will run to it – even to shoot, the project department please security also can handle, security companies and the local government and the army are inextricably relationship, the deep background, don’t panic.
But at the moment, no one can say much about the situation. The general manager sat in his chair without a word, his face uncertain. After a while, he got up and patted Mr. He, who was sitting next to him: “This joke is a little too big.” Then, without saying a word, he asked the driver to take him back to the downtown hotel. The next day, he did not return to the construction site, but left by plane.
General manager after returning to home before long, a raise plan passed, merrily merrily on the site, but it is not a good thing – for she heard that flared up after back to headquarters, general manager, said our site management in a big mess, especially security, even there was shooting things reporting to headquarters, blame liu don’t do the project well, deceives his superiors and deludes his subordinates, also home do something at sixes and sevens.
Later, some people said that Manager Liu knew how chaotic the site was after he came back to China. He wanted to prove his strong management ability and poor management skills of the deputy manager, so he was inseparable from the site. Some people also said that Liu saw the deputy general manager hopeless, take the opportunity to play temper demonstration, but did not think of he is always with the enemy injured one thousand from the damage of eight hundred “the way to drag him down.
A few days later, the security captain was fired by the project department. He is conscientious and responsible in work, and he is also enthusiastic. I felt a little sorry for him and wanted to comfort him, but when he left, I did not expect that he was jubilant.
Before Mr. Liu came back, Mr. He found a reason to retire in advance and returned home without waiting for the reply from the headquarters. However, due to “poor on-site management”, he was cancelled by the company all the benefits such as the middle-level enterprise annuity and retirement pension, resulting in a loss of more than one million yuan. The head office circulated the document around the company as a warning — a harsh and unforgiving approach for the first time in the company’s history.
Manager Liu was transferred back to the company’s headquarters after the project ended, and was not allowed to bring any more projects for two years. Despite criticism at the top meeting, his salary and title were kept. Before long, he quit his job to work in the oil industry.
Later, Mr. Liu’s powerful rival, Chen Li, took over as vice president.
I’ve been in the dark about what’s going on on this project. Once I met Mr. He in the community (the community is the company’s collection house) and we had a meal together. During dinner, I summoned the courage to ask him for the truth. He took a sip from his wine glass. “Sometimes the process and the truth are not that important, as long as the result is good.”
Then he smiled: “The new deputy general manager is the brother of my son-in-law. No one knows. Otherwise, how could I be so foolish? No one can afford not to be early.”
6
After the completion of a construction site project in 2013, the company did not arrange a new construction site for me, so I spent a year at home.
However, during this rare holiday, my wife quarreled with me from time to time. I had been wandering around overseas construction sites for several years without making any money. I saw my classmates and colleagues getting raises and promotions, but I stayed the same. My mother’s health is not good enough to do hard work, the family can not afford a nanny, my wife had to stay at home to take care of the elderly and children, the family of four all depend on my salary, it is a little stretched. My wife often feels dissatisfied under various pressures, but I can’t help feeling guilty.
Spring Festival has just passed, my wife took me to fortune-telling, can not tolerate my refusal. The fortune-teller, after some affectation, said that there would be a great change in my career this year, so long as I lived through it peacefully, I would be very prosperous in the future. If I could not endure it this year, it would be difficult to get better in this life. I didn’t think so and didn’t take it seriously. However, my wife happily gave the fortune teller a red envelope.
Not long after the Lantern Festival, I received a call from Chen Li, the deputy general manager of my company, telling me that I had a new “little project” I needed to report for work immediately.
When I got to the company, I realized that I was in charge of this project. I was excited, but I was a little worried: I had never heard of the project before, and what was more strange was that, as usual, project managers nominated project members, and the company had so many project managers waiting to be arranged, why should I be chosen as a novice with no management experience?
But this is my only chance. Even if someone is digging a hole for me, I have to jump in with my eyes closed.
Before I could digest all this, the owner demanded that I be on my way to the site in Saudi Arabia, so I had to clean up and say goodbye to my wife.
After landing, the Saudi branch arranged a driver to pick me up, I fell asleep on the car, a daze I do not know how long, the driver gently called me: “Mr. Wang, here.”
When I got off the bus, the sun was setting and a house stood in the desert sand, with a sparse fence that raised the project area. I took out my mobile phone and looked at it. The signal was only one bar. Although I was prepared in my heart, the conditions on the construction site were simple, and some of them exceeded my imagination.
The project manager of the owner is Richard, an Englishman who has been living in the Middle East for years, but there is no gentlemanly style in him. Instead, there is a bit of German arrogance and American barbarism.
Project starts after the meeting, I in order to share the responsibility, the specific things into each major, but they are all site si ones in abroad for several years, various routines to small-scale operations, coupled with the complex project personnel, in addition to Chinese, local workers, installation company workers are indians and Pakistanis, because their customs and beliefs, often because of a variety of small friction, to handle must be very careful. Not long after the execution of the project, I was exhausted and often had sleepless nights.
7
Three months later, according to the contract, there will be a major node to be checked and accepted — the installation progress usually involves payment, so it is also the aspect That I usually focus on.
Check and accept that day, owner also takes seriously very much, come to the spot early. The inspection went well and the owner signed it. When Richard saw that it was only 2pm and that it was still early for dinner, he suggested going to the warehouse to have a look. I noticed that the face of the warehouse manager accompanying me suddenly turned sour.
Sure enough, when the warehouse was opened and checked, many goods did not enter the warehouse according to the contract time. According to the plan, this month should be a purchasing and supply peak, although the contract to the total contractor procurement time and arrival time node has a requirement, but usually not too concerned about these owner, only care about the installation progress, but this is not the same, when Richard at the warehouse, immediately was livid, turn round and then walk, threatening to push this thing to headquarters, and a temporary freeze on the payment.
The responsibility this time is clearly the failure of the procurement and materials departments, both of which are headed by the materials department. I tried to suppress my anger and went to him, but I never thought he didn’t care: “What does it matter if the materials are not purchased according to the owner’s node? Can purchase according to the project node line, does not affect the site installation schedule. Richard is just finding excuses not to pay. Why don’t you send him a gift and solve the problem?”
“You have no responsibility at all?”
“What responsibility do I have? Is it because your project manager doesn’t have a good relationship? Which project owner have you seen take care of your warehouse? Richard’s up to something!”
Suddenly the talk broke down, I angrily to find the project manager: “let him leave my project, change a person to become the director of materials department!”
The project chief worker seems to be in a bit of a dilemma: “Mr. Wang, if we don’t calculate, we will change in the face of trouble…”
“No matter, this is not a matter.”
“I guess he has some background. It would be a little difficult to fire him.” The chief worker hinted to me.
“How can anyone on a project team work like him without any background?”
The manager looked embarrassed — his brother-in-law was in management. He looked at me and said, “But this time is different. He is the director of the materials department only two years after graduation. His background is definitely different.”
“Afraid of what?” I don’t listen to any advice, just take this opportunity to kill the chicken to see the monkey, purge the site discipline.
But this decision planted the seeds of failure in my career.
If the owner fails to pay in time due to our fault, if the company takes action, all my previous efforts will be in vain. I had no choice but to go to Richard privately with the cash.
As I had expected, Richard was adamant in his refusal. There was no room for manoeuvre. I had to get up in despair to leave.
“Oh, don’t hurry.” ‘he added suddenly.
I sat down quickly.
“You see, the progress of the site is also some can not keep up with, the site is short of manpower ah, need to send more people ah!” He said.
Then it dawned on me — he had been asking me to hire some more workers, but I had been holding back in order to save money. He brought up the matter again at this crucial moment. Everyone knew sima Zhao’s heart, so I quickly answered, “Mr. Richard, do you have any good recommendations?”
He smiled and shrugged. “Of course there is.”
A few days later, Richard introduced a number of local workers to the site through a labor agency – a company that had ties to Richard of course. These local workers caused a lot of trouble on the site, but I could only turn a blind eye. I’d rather he just took the money than work all day.
The only benefit these people bring to the project is that the owners are paying on time. A few days later, I was relieved when the company treasurer told me I had received my payment.
8
Not long after I fired the former director of the materials department, Chen Li gave me a call: “What’s wrong with you? You got rid of the managing director’s nephew. Do you want to get rid of him?”
Hearing this, I “hum” in the head – did not expect the guy’s relationship is so hard, I still careless.
Chen Li scolded me fiercely on the phone: “Are you too foolhardy? If you find a man difficult to use, you can just give him a good assistant. Let me tell you what? After all that time, how come you don’t have a political brain? Like this oil and water department, you don’t think you can get in at all? If you had done a good job on this project, I would have kept you down anyway, but how can I keep you down now? You’re such a muck that you can’t hold up the wall. What a waste of a seat for you!”
He hung up without listening to my explanation, and As I revisited the project team, I realized that there were so many complicated relationships among them that it was too late to make amends.
Before I could catch my breath, one wave rose after another. Indian workers at the installation company collapsed on the site for some reason. The installation company went on strike furiously, demanding huge compensation. Compensation talks do not go, the workers around the canteen, a few days refused to go away. The owner may have received the benefit of the installation company, stood by and did not say, but also urged the project department to deal with it as soon as possible.
I thought of many solutions, but I was afraid to give gifts for fear of getting burned — no one dared to cross the line because of the strict anti-corruption treaty between the headquarters and the installation company.
Finally, In the name of headquarters, I sent a sternly-worded E-mail to the head of the installation company, demanding that work be resumed immediately or they should compensate for the loss caused by the strike.
After the mail sent out, heard that the installation company could not resist to organize the parade, My heart stomped: “broken, to get into trouble.” I was relieved when the chief of security said that the installation company had only been marching inside the building and had not gone downtown — a situation that would have probably led to a diplomatic row and would have been even more difficult to deal with.
After a few days, the installation company stopped marching and staged a daily sit-in at the project department, where the project manager demanded huge compensation. To put pressure on them, I sent over a dozen workers from China, and threatened to hire another installation company from China if they did not resume construction. The installation company, for its part, has selectively resumed construction, but Indian workers still shout slogans every day in the project department.
This went on for more than two weeks, and I was still at my wit’s end.
One day I looked at the name of the dead man again and suddenly thought, “Is this a Dalit?”
After the idea was confirmed by many parties, I took the money to see the head of the installation company privately. I didn’t think he even had Chinese politeness, so I just accepted it. In the afternoon, the installation company resumed work.
It is not clear how much of the money will go to the families of the deceased. Later I heard that the installation company secretly took the dead to the sea near the construction site to be cremated according to the Indian custom, and picked up some ashes and sent them back to India.
After experiencing so many things, I specially applied for a large amount of “activity funds” from the company, but it was approved smoothly. With the help of this fee, I was granted an interview with local government officials and an honorary title, which made me proud for a long time.
With the endorsement of the local government, the project is well on its way to completion in another year. However, a sudden anti-corruption storm was launched in Saudi Arabia, and the prince who pushed for this project was also involved. As a result, this project was also affected. The project could not be accepted until the acceptance point, and even if it was accepted, payment could not be made according to the contract.
Due to the shortage of funds, the project was suspended for half a year. During this period, part of the cost of the installation company and the salary of the project management staff had to be paid. How can a small project stand up to this? Soon, what little money there was on the project books was bottoming out.
The company did not hope to start this project again, so it carried out liquidation at the end of the year. As a result, the project was in the worst loss in history.
That is, of course, my primary responsibility.
9
A year later, the project of Saudi Arabia are assessed after restart again, but has nothing to do with me anymore — – the original material is cut by me is the new project manager, director of the department and company give his deputy is a blessing, as soon as he took office sent the owner an email interruption of project claim, lists a lot of project claim, I thought that the owner would not hesitate to refuse, but to my surprise, the owner quickly back to the email, promised to all claims.
An accounting, this project reversed to profit.
For a long period of time, I defy spirit in particular, walk around, finally understand what the project: it turns out that the project was a domestic rival bid, but then the Saudi political situation had signs of instability, left the balance after the company, and the only bid for second place we turn. At first, the company thought the project was too risky and the profit was too low and wanted to give it up. However, in order to grab the local market, the company gritted its teeth and took it.
The senior project managers in the company all knew that the general manager wanted to promote his nephew with this project and did not want to be a stepping stone. They all made excuses and refused. The management chose me, who had no background and was in the dark. Originally, the general manager’s plan was to ask me to be responsible for the middle and late stage of the project, and then find some reason to transfer me and put his nephew in charge of the project manager. That’s why his nephew was so unscrupulous and did not give me any face when he was the director of the materials department.
People doing engineering on the site to see many strange, there is always some superstition, I can only think: some things are doomed in the dark, in front of fate, human efforts like a leaf boat in the vast ocean, insignificant.
After the Failure of the Saudi project, I was put in charge of the company’s Dubai office, busy but no longer as worried as before. I didn’t have the skills to find a more suitable job, so I just hung around for a few days, never daring to think of anything else.
My wife probably thought of the fortune-teller’s words again. She thought my mud could not help me to the wall and there was no hope. After a big argument, we divorced on impulse. But I am still grateful for her years of selfless dedication, I really want to say sorry to her, although it can not make up for anything.
But suffering daughter, daughter followed me, her mother went back to Sichuan, half a year is difficult to see her once.
A few years later, we remarried. I had planned to spend two years home to buy a set of small shops, open a small supermarket, so flat light over a lifetime. But not long after marriage, my wife unexpectedly became pregnant and had to change an apartment for the sake of the child. My plan to return to China was postponed again. Fortunately, the wife is now on the daughter as already, quite heart, daughter clever sensible, also slowly accepted her. But my wife had to take care of two children and couldn’t go to work, leaving me with the burden of a family of five.
In this way, southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East for a few years, the best years of life in the blink of an eye in the isolated construction sites. Long out of sync with home, I missed out on the growth dividends at home, and those early savings, compared to the soaring housing prices, became a bubble.
I was tired of all those years on overseas construction sites, of death and separation, of the cruelty of war and the ruthlessness of coups, and wished I could make a little more money and go home.
Afterword.
Wang Gong rambled on for more than two hours in the video alone, and I could hardly get a word in edgeways.
“What time is it back home?” He stopped and asked me suddenly.
“It’s after one in the morning.”
Here he suddenly changed the subject: “Well, that’s enough fucking bother. Let’s get over it and talk about something else. By the way, are you still laying off people? The foreign company now has what good ah, the wage is not competitive, simply to our company to do the scene.”
“A state-owned enterprise may also be laid off if it doesn’t have a project. If the site is too far away from home and the family can’t take care of it, then the wife will feel emotional.”
His face changed slightly and he did not speak any more. I knew I had said something wrong, so I hastened to rescue him. “Overseas project is still good, there is much money.”
“More what ah, compared with the domestic Internet companies but far from.” He took a sip from his teacup after a pause. “It’s hard in our line of work,” he said. “Unless we can be a member of the project team, we’ll have to go around the construction site for a lifetime.”
“But it is also difficult to be a team member. Although there is a lot of money, there is also a lot of pressure to bear. There are hundreds of people going in and out of a project, and the relationship between Party A, Party B, owners, subcontractors, suppliers and the local government is handled. “We’re all rats with dead bodies in our waists, but we’re always trying to pretend we’re hunting.”
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