Chapter 426: Chapter 197: Sunshine Procurement (2)
"No can do, Bob." Miller shook his head. "If the system rejects it, I’ll get a warning too. Three warnings, and I’ll get the boot."
"It’s just one warning, what’s there to be afraid of?" Bob pushed the envelope forward again, even unsealing it to reveal a stack of green bills inside. "Whether it works or not, this money is yours. One warning in exchange for a new motorcycle. It’s worth it."
Miller stared at the money, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Besides, he also wanted to see for himself just how powerful this ridiculously hyped-up system really was.
A bid of eighty-five thousand was less than twenty percent higher than the fair price. In the past, that was nothing.
He reached out and stuffed the envelope into his drawer.
"Just this once," Miller said.
He plugged in the USB drive and opened the backend of the "Pittsburgh City Municipal Procurement Smart Management System."
Import bid proposal.
Enter amount: 85,000 US Dollars.
Hit Enter.
The screen didn’t pop up with the usual green "Submission Successful" message.
The entire screen instantly turned red.
A huge warning box popped up, accompanied by a piercing "BEEP."
[Abnormal Activity Alert: High-Risk Interception]
[This bid is 18.5% higher than the regional market benchmark for similar projects.]
[In accordance with Article 12 of the Pittsburgh Financial Transparency Act, the system has identified this bid as a risk for price-gouging fraud.]
[Action frozen. This bid has been automatically rejected.]
[Warning: A record of this action has been automatically forwarded to the Municipal Investigation Office and the Auditing Department.]
Bob’s eyes widened as he stared at the red text on the screen.
"Wh-what the hell is this thing?" Bob stammered. "Market benchmark? How does it know what the benchmark is?"
"It knows," Miller explained helplessly. "This system is connected to Pittsburgh’s big data. It knows the current price of a barrel of paint, a ton of cement, an hour of labor. It can even calculate how many nails you need to lay this floor."
"Your bid was padded by over twenty thousand dollars. The system saw it in a heartbeat."
Miller pointed to the words "forwarded to the Auditing Department."
"And what’s more, Bob, you’re in trouble now. This bid of yours is on the record. If something like this happens two more times, your company will be blacklisted and permanently banned from participating in any Pittsburgh municipal projects."
The color instantly drained from Bob’s face.
He reached out to pull out the USB drive and take back the envelope.
"Then... can I change the price? What if I bid sixty thousand?"
"Too late." Miller spread his hands. "This is a single-bid system. You only get one shot. You’re out."
Miller looked at Bob’s dumbfounded expression, picked up the envelope, and weighed it in his hand.
"I’m keeping this money, Bob." Miller’s tone was calm. "The people from the Municipal Investigation Office will be coming to talk to me. Consider this payment for my emotional distress. It’s just enough for me to take a vacation."
He stuffed the envelope into his pocket, stood up, and patted Bob’s fleshy shoulder.
"Time to go, Bob."
"The game has changed in Pittsburgh."
"Your old rules don’t work anymore."
...
「Nathan’s home.」
The beef stew on the dining table had gone completely cold.
Nathan was still staring blankly at his computer screen.
He had already given up hope. After the initial five-minute rush of impulsiveness had passed, logic told him that something this good would never happen to him.
"Let’s eat, Dad," Sam said, closing his book. "We gave it a shot, anyway."
"DING!"
A crisp chime sounded from the computer’s speakers.
It was the sound of an incoming email.
Nathan’s heart skipped a beat.
A new dialog box popped up in the center of the screen.
There was only a single line of simple text.
[Congratulations, you have won the bid.]
[Winning Bid Amount: 58,000 US Dollars.]
[Please click to confirm within 24 hours. The electronic contract will be sent to your email. The initial advance payment (30%) will be deposited into your account within 2 hours of the contract being signed.]
Nathan rubbed his eyes.
He rubbed them again.
The green dialog box was still there. It hadn’t disappeared.
"We won?"
Nathan’s voice trembled slightly.
"Dad! We won!" Sam jumped up excitedly and threw his arms around his father’s shoulders. "I knew it would work! I told you this system was fair!"
Nathan sat stunned in his chair.
He had been in the renovation business his whole life, dealing with all sorts of foremen, middlemen, and officials.
He was used to offering cigarettes, forcing smiles, having his pay docked, and waiting for checks that were never on time.
He thought those were just the rules of the world.
If a poor man wanted to make a living, he had to do it on his knees.
But today, all he had done was sit at his own dining table and press a key on his keyboard.
And just like that, a government contract worth fifty-eight thousand US Dollars had fallen into his hands.
No middlemen, no kickbacks, no nauseating dinner parties.
Nathan reached out and touched the "Confirm" button on the screen.
The touch of his fingertip was cold, but his heart was burning hot.
For the first time, he felt that this city had changed.
The young Mayor sitting in City Hall hadn’t been lying.
In this new Pittsburgh, an honest working man could actually win.
Nathan turned his head to look at his son.
A wide smile spread across his wrinkled face.
"Sam, go get that good bottle of wine I’ve been hiding in the cabinet."
Nathan said.
"Tonight, I have to celebrate."
"Celebrate what?"
"To earning our money while standing on our own two feet."
Sam pouted. "Dad, I’m not of legal drinking age yet."
"Then go buy yourself something you like to eat." Nathan pulled a few crumpled bills from his pocket. "How about that new bakery on the corner? I hear their croissants are good."
"A new bakery?" Sam was surprised. "When did it open? How come I didn’t know?"
"Just in the last couple of days." Nathan shrugged. "This neighborhood is changing every day. Who knows what new thing will pop up tomorrow."
Sam took the money, his eyes lighting up.
He grabbed his coat and bolted out the door like a gust of wind.
...
「102 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn District.」
Just two weeks ago, this was a shuttered grocery store, its windows thick with dust and a faded "For Rent" sign taped to the door.
But now, the huge glass windows were polished to a shine, revealing a warm, yellow light from within.
A hand-written wooden sign hung on the door: "Sarah’s Bakery."
Sam pushed the door open, and a sweet aroma of butter and caramel washed over him, making him take a deep breath.
A young woman in a white apron was standing behind the counter, busily packing bread.
"Welcome."
The woman looked up, revealing a radiant smile.
She was Sarah Miller.
Just one month ago, she had been a single mother worried about making ends meet.
Now, she was the owner of this small shop.
Sam stared at the golden-brown croissants and powdered sugar donuts in the glass case, feeling his mouth begin to water.
"I... I’d like a chocolate croissant and an apple pie," Sam said, pointing at the counter.
"You got it."
Sarah deftly packed the pastries into a paper bag and handed it to Sam.
"That’ll be 5 US Dollars."
Sam pulled out the money his father had given him, took the warm paper bag, and eagerly took a bite of the croissant.
The flaky crust shattered in his mouth, and a rich chocolate filling instantly coated his taste buds.
"This is so good," Sam mumbled, his mouth full.
Sarah watched the teenage boy wolfing down the pastry and smiled even more brightly.
She looked at the customers lining up in her shop and at the clean, tidy street outside the window.
She remembered how she had been just a month ago, trembling with anxiety at home.
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