Chapter 69: Raid Inspection
Seeing them gloating, the calm Han Ping took a sip of his wine, then looked up and put on a sorrowful expression for everyone.
"Hey, I'm telling you, that's enough. Why are you all still laughing at me?"
"You know the saying: don't call someone out even if you see through their act. Regarding the well, let's just leave it at that."
At this moment, Han Ping deliberately lowered his voice and leaned forward mysteriously.
"Besides, do you really think I took on these four wells on my own initiative?"
"This came from Mr. Zhang himself!"
"So, my brothers, this pain in my heart… I'm the one who took the fall for you."
"For that kind of friendship, don't you think you owe me a couple of rounds?"
Hearing his complaints, everyone grew even more cheerful, and they all patted their chests. "No problem, no problem! We'll make sure there's plenty of wine and meat!"
This time, Han Ping had taken advantage of others' suspicions and expended a great deal of effort to get the assignments for the four profile control wells for his team from Zhang Zhengmao.
How could it be possible for him not to be worried at all?
Especially since for these four wells, he never saw Liu Shang—not during the preparation before construction, nor after it began. Based on his understanding of Liu Shang, that absolutely meant there was a problem.
So at the time, Han Ping had panicked.
On the second day after the work officially started, Han Ping couldn't take it anymore and called Liu Shang.
On the phone, Liu Shang only asked one thing: "Brother Han, do you trust me?"
That kind of question required no thought at all, and Han Ping naturally answered with confidence.
After that, Liu Shang never mentioned the construction or the site again. But from that moment on, Han Ping felt a sense of reassurance, and all his previous worries vanished.
It had to be said that after the last well, Liu Shang had acquired a mysterious aura in the eyes of Han Ping, his team, and even the entire plant.
The performance of these nine wells didn't put too much pressure on the captains of the oil production teams. If they couldn't do a good job, they would, at most, be criticized by their superiors during a meeting.
But for Pan Qingfeng, the plant director whose hopes for advancement had been reignited, the significance was immense.
So, after work that evening, Song Guangyuan received a call from Pan Qingfeng just as he, Director Zhong, Xu Tiande, Liu Shang, and Ma Yuan were quietly heading to the construction site.
"Guangyuan, what's going on with your construction wells this round?"
"I haven't seen any results so far, and I don't get any sense of urgency from you."
"Let me tell you, I rarely visit the sites, but in the past few days, I've been there more times than your own company managers."
"And the lack of energy at the site, along with various other signs, gives me a nagging feeling that something is wrong!"
"Most importantly, where did that kid Liu Shang go?"
"I don't know why, but when I don't see him at the construction site, I feel inexplicably anxious."
Hearing Pan Qingfeng's words, Song Guangyuan's forehead broke out in a sweat. He secretly rejoiced that Director Zhong and Liu Shang had insisted on dragging him to the site today, despite his other plans.
"Haha, Brother Pan, listen to you! What time is it now? Your year-end promotion is on the line, how could I not care?!"
"I've told my people countless times that we must spare no expense. Even if it costs us money, we have to improve the performance of these wells!"
"And as for me, Director Zhong, Professor Xu, and Liu Shang, we're already on our way to the site."
"We estimate we're about ten minutes out!"
Hearing what Song Guangyuan said, Pan Qingfeng's spirits lifted on the other end of the phone.
"That kid Liu Shang is with you?!!"
"That's great! I'm leaving now too. We'll meet on the road!"
***
Before the end of the workday today, Director Zhong, who had been informed of the plan, rushed to Song Guangyuan's office and insisted on taking him to the site.
At first, Song Guangyuan, who already had dinner plans, didn't want to go at all. But he couldn't refuse Director Zhong and was reluctantly dragged into the car. This was a testament to Song Guangyuan's character; when the company's interests were at stake, he could always restrain his personal desires.
Contrary to Director Zhong's and Xu Tiande's expectations, Liu Shang insisted on bringing Ma Yuan along for this surprise inspection.
As a result, a bewildered Ma Yuan, who was just about to get off work, was also pulled into the car.
Afterward, Song Guangyuan and Director Zhong started their cars one after another and sped toward the site together.
Soon, Pan Qingfeng, Zhang Zhengmao, and a few others joined Song Guangyuan and Liu Shang in the oil field area, and they immediately headed to the nearest construction site.
Originally, Zhang Zhengmao, the chief geologist, had planned to go home and rest for the weekend. But when he heard that Liu Shang and the others were coming, he immediately canceled his plans and rushed over with Pan Qingfeng.
These profile control wells were primarily under the geology department's purview, and they hadn't seen the slightest response after four or five days of construction. Zhang Zhengmao himself was eager to communicate with Liu Shang and hear his opinions and ideas.
With the roar of three approaching vehicles, the construction team at the first well site immediately panicked.
Who would have thought someone would come to inspect the well on a Friday evening?
At that very moment, several people in the on-site trailer were in the middle of a heavy drinking session.
Unfortunately, before the men on duty outside could run in to report, Liu Shang was the first to burst into the trailer.
Behind him, Pan Qingfeng, Zhang Zhengmao, Song Guangyuan, and the others followed.
Seeing the state of the men inside and the pungent smell of alcohol, Song Guangyuan's face turned livid. Pan Qingfeng, Zhang Zhengmao, and the others couldn't help but frown, though they didn't say much, out of respect for Song Guangyuan.
"Mr. Song..."
"We were wrong. We're sorry, we shouldn't have been drinking..."
Ignoring the completely panicked workers, Song Guangyuan didn't say a word but followed Liu Shang directly to the construction equipment.
Liu Shang climbed up a few steps, glanced at the fluid tank that was constantly being stirred, and then snorted coldly.
Just as he expected, the liquid in the tank was like water, without the slightest viscosity.
Liu Shang climbed down the ladder and handed the team's construction logs and chemical addition records to Song Guangyuan and Xu Tiande.
"Mr. Song, Professor Xu, I believe you are no strangers to profile control sites."
"My order for this well was to configure a polymer gel with a concentration of 0.25%, but the current tank contains something that's not much thicker than plain water."
"Go and see for yourselves."
Hearing Liu Shang's words, the expressions on Song Guangyuan and Xu Tiande became even uglier.
Afterward, not only the two of them but also Pan Qingfeng and Zhang Zhengmao, the leaders from Party A, went up to take a look.
By this time, a sample taken from the tank had been brought before them. It was as thin and watery as soup, confirming Liu Shang's statement.
At that moment, the atmosphere at the construction site was so tense it felt like it was about to freeze.
As for the team members in charge of the construction, their legs were shaking so badly they could hardly stand.
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