My Life with Narration

Chapter 584 - 575: Bastard Creature, Show Your True Form!

There’s no denying that experience counts. Wen Jingqi has traveled all over with the old master Wen for so many years and gone through countless projects. Now he’s stepping up to the plate, much better suited in this regard than someone like me who has money but no power or connections.

He also has a clear vision, including the various processes, etc.

So when he heard it wasn’t his relative but just a classmate’s father who was involved, Wen Jingqi breathed a sigh of relief and was glad it wasn’t something that happened on his own project.

He then explained, "Although no amount of money can bring back a life, there is a price on life at a construction site.

Every year across the country, some construction workers unfortunately die during construction, but as contractors, it’s impossible to stop work for a single death. So most of the time it’s dealt with by paying compensation, after all, the person is already gone and can’t come back to life.

The compensation is usually around one million, though it can fluctuate between 800,000 and 1.2 million. However, there are exceptions, such as if the project has ample funds and the worker’s death is due to the contractor’s fault, they might pay more to avoid delaying the schedule.

Truth be told, I’ve been involved in projects where there are death quotas. If fewer than three people die on a project, it’s considered a medium to small incident. If three or more die, it’s a big incident, and someone from higher up will come to investigate.

Also, as you mentioned, your classmate’s father didn’t die on the spot but held on in the hospital for a while. I’ll be frank, brother, don’t take this the wrong way, but this is the last thing contractors want. The hospital fees plus compensation are more troublesome than an immediate death, so in my eyes, the contractor’s approach seems reasonable. Of course, offering only 500,000 is a bit of a bully move, which likely means someone inside wants to skim some money off the top.

And for such people, it’s easy to deal with. Just find the person and expose them. Simply put, make a big deal out of it, and it will eventually reach the ears of higher-ups. By then, they’ll handle it, and the project could even be halted."

Wen Jingqi has been through such situations with his projects over the years. When something happened on his project, as the boss, he’d generally prefer to settle it with money because a few hundred thousand isn’t much compared to disrupting his schedule.

Some equipment on a construction site can cost tens of thousands a day; do you think it’s a joke?

Moreover, if the schedule is delayed, they have to pay penalties or even be held accountable, so they naturally don’t want any time wasted in this regard.

However, when he wants to pay compensation to settle things but finds people below trying to pocket some cash as well, leading to family members of the deceased causing trouble at the site, in the end, he ends up paying more, and the responsible individuals are dealt with.

Never underestimate human nature’s baseness. That sum might mean nothing to Wen Jingqi and the likes but to those below; it’s a windfall, so naturally, some will have the wrong thoughts.

Not only that, some project leaders are adept at all kinds of corruption, and nearly every project has such characters; there’s no escaping it.

Some people are so vile they’d be dead if not for today’s legal society. Wen Jingqi knows how chaotic this industry was when his father started from scratch.

Some particularly arrogant middle managers, still arrogant today, might find themselves encased in concrete at night; some incidents are known but left unspoken, others just mysteriously vanish, alive or dead unseen.

So in this business, the bigger the leader, the more generous they are in such matters. A few hundred thousand isn’t much, but the feeling of being watched is downright uncomfortable.

Listening to Wen Jingqi’s analysis, Su Qing found it reasonable and pondered where to start.

Seeing his expression, the landlady glanced at her brother, signaling him. Wen Jingqi immediately understood: "Alright, brother, if you trust me, let me handle it for you."

"Huh? No, no, I feel awkward troubling you so much!"

"It’s nothing big, isn’t it just the developer over in Xining? It’s not far from Jiang City, and I might know them, since they’re in our circle. By the way, what’s the company’s name?" Wen Jingqi waved his hand with a smile.

Seeing Wen Jingqi say this, Su Qing took a deep breath and didn’t overthink it: "I think it’s called Jucheng Architecture."

This name appeared on the reconciliation agreement he saw from the contractor yesterday.

"Jucheng... doesn’t ring a bell, but projects are layered and complicated. Find some time to ask your classmate which project his dad was on, and let me know. Even if I’m unavailable, I’ll send someone with him, so he won’t be completely at a loss."

"Okay, thank you, brother."

"What’s there to thank? You’re being too formal. I might even ask you to guide me in investing in films someday, haha!"

"No problem, I’m actually considering starting a company this year, so I might need funding. If you’re interested, you should definitely come aboard!"

"Alright, it’s a deal then!"

With that, the issue of Ding Qiang’s father’s compensation was on track for resolution.

No one helps you for no reason, and truthfully, it’s all about mutual interests. Su Qing wouldn’t refuse Wen Jingqi’s goodwill, but he knew he had to reciprocate.

While their past real estate venture was because of the old master Wen appreciating him and wanting to repay a favor for helping his daughter, now with Wen Jingqi helping him, he naturally had to respond accordingly.

It’s an exchange of interests, after all. Plus, if it’s about film investment, he might not have enough on his own, so having Wen Jingqi backing him creates a mutually beneficial situation, a win-win.

Regarding Zhang Chao’s family, just like Wen Jingqi said, there’s no rush, but they certainly won’t have it easy.

Later, they chatted merrily, partly because they gathered to celebrate the New Year, and partly to congratulate him on making money.

Such good news happening just after the New Year was perfect.

While Su Qing was talking excitedly about setting up a studio at Shen Yi and the landlady’s company in the capital after the funds returned post-New Year.

The sound of beeps came from the living room door. With a click, the door opened, followed by the voices of Da Huang and his sister Su He.

Da Huang: "Woof woof... woo~~" [Back again, my dear caretaker, haha... cough, crap, there’s a bad omen here, run!]

But Da Huang was caught by Su He and couldn’t escape: "Brother, your film investment was a hit, you’re rich... Oh? You have guests?"

Mid-sentence, Su He noticed the situation inside and retracted her neck awkwardly.

Seeing this, Su Qing couldn’t help but sigh. He thought he really needed to change his door code; otherwise, this girl would never treat him like an outsider.

Annoying boundary-less sister!

"Uh-huh, this is Wen Jie’s elder brother. Just call him Brother. This is my sister, Su He."

Su Qing stood up to introduce Wen Jingqi since the landlady and her sister had met and spoken before.

"Xiao He, come and sit!" The landlady beckoned with a smile.

Su He also greeted Wen Jie and then looked at Wen Jingqi, "Happy New Year, Brother, I’m Su He, his sister!"

"Nice to meet you; you have such a pretty sister, eh, Su Qing!" Wen Jingqi nodded with a smile.

Just as Su Qing was about to ask why his sister was here, the little girl Wen Yun spotted Da Huang and ran over with open arms.

"Da Huang, did you miss me, brotherly loyalty!"

Da Huang: "Woof woof" [Don’t touch me!]

Wen Yun: "Well, it seems you missed me!"

Da Huang:...

After thinking a bit, Wen Yun took her little backpack and called out to Da Huang: "Da Huang, give me a New Year’s greeting, and there’s a red envelope for you!"

Da Huang: "Woof woof!" [Up yours!]

The next second, with a thud, Da Huang felt something hit his head, looking down to see two stacks of brand-new banknotes, ten thousand each stack.

His tail wagged furiously, and he rolled over, exposing his belly: "Woof woof, woof woof woof!" [My lord, my lord, let’s play, just don’t treat me like a dog, pelt me all you like!]

Su Qing:...

Su He:...

The siblings exchanged glances, feeling a bit disheartened. How come their red envelopes had only a hundred, while Da Huang received twenty thousand?

Is this what people do? Humans worse than dogs! Together, their red envelopes from childhood couldn’t have amounted to twenty thousand! Is this what it means to be from a wealthy family?

Such a small child carrying such a fortune in a tiny backpack.

Especially Da Huang’s shamelessness for cash, regardless of who he takes after, he’s quite the miser!

Does a trivial twenty thousand make you forget your dignity as a dog? Quit letting them treat you like a dog; it’s too pathetic.

Watching Da Huang act coy, the little girl giggled, soon lifting a little foot onto Da Huang’s belly, her hands mimicking a divine gesture with fingers poised exquisitely, she declared:

"You wretched beast, transform back to your true form!"

Da Huang: ???

"Woof woof woof woof" [I’ve already shown my true form, I am my true form! Which of us is the wretched beast!]

The adults chuckled at the little girl’s antics, and the landlady quickly lifted her daughter:

"Enough sorcery already!"

...