Urban Martial Saint

Liu Yuan did not even know at which school Ye Qing had graduated from. Recalling the day Ye Qing had visited him in military attire to handle affairs, he even suspected that Ye Qing might not have attended college at all.

However, a person who had never attended college could not possibly have prepared a project proposal so quickly. Therefore, Ye Qing might have gone to college, but not necessarily to a prestigious one. Otherwise, why would he have enlisted in the military?

”Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is not a term we’d use, being capable is enough,” Liu Yuan casually responded, trying to steer the conversation away from this topic.

”Being capable is already no small feat,” Lin Feng saw Liu Yuan’s discomfort and, pressing further, continued to inquire, ”May I know which university this friend graduated from?”

Liu Yuan was extremely embarrassed; Lin Feng was clearly trying to make him look foolish. It appeared that he could not dodge this question any longer.

Liu Yuan looked at Ye Qing, who had been standing silently on the side. Detecting Liu Yuan’s embarrassment, Ye Qing spoke up, ”Northern University.”

”Northern University?” Liu Yuan, Lin Feng, and Chen Daqiang exclaimed in unison.

Northern University was one of the top two most prestigious universities in the country. Compared to institutions like Zhonglu University or Shenchuan University, it was absolutely dominant. A graduate from Northern University was leagues ahead of people like Lin Feng and Xu Yueru.

Clearly, nobody had expected that Ye Qing was a graduate of Northern University.

A look of surprise appeared in Liu Yuan’s eyes, but recalling the speed at which Ye Qing had prepared the project proposal, he somewhat believed it.

Lin Feng and Chen Daqiang were completely in disbelief. High-caliber students from Northern University were even difficult to recruit by companies like theirs. How could he have ended up in a small company?

”Manager Liu, your friend really knows how to joke.” A sneer crossed Lin Feng’s lips as he said, ”Northern University? Are you referring to Northern Technical University perhaps?”

”Hahaha...” Chen Daqiang burst out laughing and said, ”Old Liu, project work isn’t about who can boast the biggest. Your friend already won at that. But when it comes to projects, it’s about proving one’s actual ability. There are so many people here today, it’s easy for someone to call your bluff on the spot.”

Even Liu Yuan himself was not certain whether Ye Qing really was a graduate of Northern University, and thus he was also reluctant to delve deeper into this issue. With a cold tone, he replied, ”What’s the use in saying all this? Once the bidding is over, won’t we know everything.”

”That’s right, Old Liu, we’ll go take our seats up front then. After the bidding ends, remember to give me a call,” Chen Daqiang said with a laugh as he led the two people with him to the front while Liu Yuan’s expression grew colder. The grudge between Chen Daqiang and himself had lasted for many years, but every time he ended up on the losing side.

If he couldn’t secure a satisfactory project this time, Chen Daqiang would trample on him again.

Liu Yuan took Ye Qing to their company’s seats, and while there were still not many people around, he quietly asked Ye Qing, ”Ye brother, which school did you really graduate from?”

Ye Qing replied, ”Northern University. Haven’t I mentioned it before?”

”Ah?” Liu Yuan looked at Ye Qing and said, ”You... you really graduated from Northern University?”

”Is that a problem?” Ye Qingqi inquired.

”It’s not that, I…I’m just... just a bit perplexed...” Liu Yuan surveyed Ye Qing and said, ”You... if you graduated from Northern University, why... why would you end up in this current company, and only as a salesperson at that? You should know that in Shenchuan City, academic credentials represent everything.

With your Northern University degree, even big corporations like Lin Corporation would be accessible to you!”

Ye Qing did not answer this question, and Liu Yuan did not press further. Every household has its own set of difficulties, and Ye Qing must have had his reasons for making such a choice.

Not long after, the bidding conference officially began. Representatives from all participating companies were seated, watching the stage with both tension and excitement.

Amid everyone’s anticipation, a thirty-year-old man took the stage. This man was none other than Li Chengyuan, the Mainland general manager of Dayue Group.

Just as Liu Yuan had previously learned, Li Chengyuan briefly spoke a few words before he outlined the requirements for the bids. Dayue Group’s projects were vast, divided into many subprojects. Li Chengyuan listed each bidding project on a large display screen in front of everyone, for them to choose.

This bidding process was typical of Li Chengyuan’s style. He would not assign all projects to one company because these projects were too complex and numerous. Furthermore, a company might be proficient in one area but not as capable in another. By dividing the projects and allowing all companies to submit proposals based on their strengths, it naturally showcased each company’s best aspects.

Li Chengyuan listed thirty-some projects, and the time allotted to prepare the project proposals was only two hours. In other words, even the most capable companies could not possibly secure all the projects, because it was not feasible to prepare proposals for all projects within two hours. Although the proposals were only preliminary, this was absolutely not an easy task.

Li Chengyuan laid out the projects and after presenting the bidding requirements, everyone immediately started to get busy. The first step was to choose the projects their company excelled in and then develop a proposal on that basis. After all, this was the most reliable and likely approach to win the bid.

If there was any extra time left, they could work on other projects, and with some luck, they might even win two projects.

After Li Chengyuan listed the projects, Liu Yuan began to select the projects that best fit his company. Of course, he didn’t dare to aim for the more lucrative projects and could only focus on the relatively smaller ones.

”The twenty-seventh one, this project is a good fit for our company,” Liu Yuan whispered to Ye Qing, the project was worth about two million. If he could secure this project, he would be returning fully loaded, able to give his boss a satisfactory response.

Ye Qing had already gained some understanding of Liu Yuan’s company’s products earlier on his way there, and had carefully researched them, getting a good grasp of the company’s situation. Although he was not from Liu Yuan’s company, using their products to draft the proposal was not difficult for him.

Ye Qing reviewed the conditions of the twenty-seventh project, pondered for two minutes, and then began to write the proposal.

Liu Yuan watched Ye Qing nervously from the side. He too had started his career as a salesman and had done similar work. However, he was more capable in management but not so in design. Of course, he still had some understanding of the planning process.

After contemplating for two minutes, Ye Qing began writing the proposal, which was quite shocking to Liu Yuan. A proposal needed comprehensive consideration, not only with meticulous calculations but also an overarching contemplation. Such tasks were in fact the most time-consuming. Hence, the initial thinking often took up the majority of the time preparing a proposal.

Ye Qing had only thought for two minutes, did he not take this proposal seriously, or did he genuinely have the capability?

Liu Yuan didn’t know which was the case for Ye Qing, but naturally, he hoped Ye Qing truly had the capability. However, seeing everyone else still deep in thought, Liu Yuan felt somewhat uneasy.

Even if Ye Qing truly was capable, could he really be so much better than everyone else?

Half an hour later, Ye Qing’s proposal was nearly complete, and he casually handed it over to Liu Yuan.

”That fast?” Liu Yuan’s eyes widened, as he flipped through the proposal and was immediately stunned.

He had assumed that a proposal produced in such a short time would have many aspects that were not well-considered, but after reading it from start to finish, he could not find any issues. This proposal was more than satisfactory for him.

Holding this proposal, Liu Yuan was overjoyed. Just based on this one proposal, he knew that engaging Ye Qing was the right decision!

”There’s still some time, could you... could you do another one?” Liu Yuan cautiously asked, afraid of upsetting Ye Qing.

Ye Qing nodded, since he was free anyway.

Liu Yuan was thrilled and quickly looked up at the project list, saying, ”The twenty-third, the twenty-third.”

This time Liu Yuan chose another project worth two million. Although there was still about an hour and a half left, he didn’t dare take a risk and choose one of the higher valued projects.

If Ye Qing could produce another two million worth of proposal for him in this one and a half hours, then he would make a huge profit. He dared not hope for more. After all, his best expectation was only three to four million, which was already beyond his expectation!

This time, Ye Qing didn’t take much time and produced another proposal for Liu Yuan. Liu Yuan reviewed it, and was very satisfied with this one too. Of course, this was just his satisfaction, who knew if Li Chengyuan would like it?

After completing the second proposal, Ye Qing didn’t sit idle and without waiting for Liu Yuan to speak, he said, ”There’s still some time, I’ll do another one.”

Liu Yuan checked the time, there were still over forty minutes left. Liu Yuan looked up, ready to find a smaller proposal, but Ye Qing had already picked one, ”The eighteenth, that matches your company’s products well.”

Liu Yuan took a look, and based on his years of experience, he estimated the project to be worth about three million, which was quite a large project. He didn’t want to take on this project, fearing Ye Qing couldn’t finish it with the remaining time. However, since Ye Qing had already said so, he felt it improper to object.

And Ye Qing chose this project not without his own plans. This project overlapped with Mu Qingrong’s company’s business. If Liu Yuan could secure this project, he could delegate some smaller businesses to Mu Qingrong’s company.

Before the time was up, Ye Qing had already written out this proposal. Liu Yuan hadn’t finished reviewing it when the time came, and people from Dayue Group came down and collected all the companies’ proposals.

In the afternoon, the Dayue Group staff from Xiangjiang would evaluate these proposals. By three o’clock, the specific results of the bids would be announced.

As everyone left the conference room, it was visible that everyone was very excited. Who would have the last laugh when the bidding results were announced in the afternoon?