HPDBC Chapter 911: Upper Limit and Lower Limit
Chapter 911: Upper Limit and Lower Limit
Happiness is always fleeting; the Spring Festival is over in the blink of an eye, and everyone has returned to their usual routines.
With only three months left until the natural disaster of his previous life, Huang Xiaochuan was still somewhat uneasy.
He pressed the intercom on his desk: "Takamatsu, come here for a moment!"
"OK!"
Soon, Gao Song appeared in the office.
"Mr. Huang!"
"Do me a favor."
"Go ahead!" Gao Song opened his notebook, ready to take notes at any time.
After considering it for a moment, Huang Xiaochuan instructed, "You should organize a team of structural experts to go to Guangxi, Guizhou, and southwestern Sichuan. The main purpose is to have these structural experts test whether the structural strength of the school buildings we donated meets the design requirements."
Huang Xiaochuan did this for a simple reason: these matters were handled by the foundation's staff, and he couldn't keep track of many of the steps in time. He could only confirm the quality based on the relevant reports issued by the local five main parties and the construction quality inspection department. However, having lived two lives, he knew that some things couldn't be judged solely by reports and data, as these could be manipulated.
A hint of surprise flashed in Gao Song's eyes. How much time has passed? Why did he suddenly think of checking the structural strength now? Weren't those school buildings all delivered after passing the final acceptance inspection?
His professional ethics led him to accept the task, but he still asked, "Is it all or just a random selection?"
Huang Xiaochuan thought for a moment. Checking everything would be too much work and wouldn't be enough time. He was also worried that his intentions would be questioned later. He couldn't be too direct either. If someone asked him about this sudden inspection later, he would have to find an excuse to explain. So he said, "Let's do spot checks!"
After noting these down, Gao Song closed his notebook and said, "Understood, I'll arrange it right away."
After Gao Song left, Huang Xiaochuan rubbed his temples and looked at the distant horizon.
The donation to build schools was initially implemented through the National Youth Development Foundation. Later, as Huang Xiaochuan and Ding Yi's businesses grew, they established their own foundation to undertake this task.
The foundation's name is derived from one character each from Huang and Ding's names: Sanyi Foundation. The character "San" is the same as the character "Chuan" (川) with its radical turned horizontally. The reason for not using "Chuan" directly is that Huang Xiaochuan didn't want people to know that the foundation was created and controlled by him and Ding Yi. It's about doing good deeds anonymously, and actually, they didn't want people with ulterior motives to associate these things with each other in the future.
The fund was registered in the Cayman Islands in order to keep the two founders behind the scenes.
Soon after, an inspection team was formed by several architectural experts from the Tongda Architectural Design and Research Institute.
Meanwhile, the Sany Foundation sent letters to relevant departments in Guangxi, Guizhou, and southwestern Sichuan, mainly to find out the current status of the school buildings donated by the Sany Foundation and whether the donated money was spent effectively.
Some places welcomed this, while others thought the Sany Foundation's move was unnecessary, and some didn't even respond.
The school buildings for these schools have already been handed over to the local authorities, and the property rights are no longer related to the Sany Foundation. Therefore, many people feel that it is unnecessary for the Sany Foundation to send people to conduct some inspections.
Of course, some of these people have ulterior motives.
"Cousin, what's the deal with this Sany Foundation? They're sending people to re-test the school buildings? Who do they think they are? They donated a little money and now they act like big shots? Who gave them the nerve?" In a private room of a relatively upscale restaurant in a county town, a man with slicked-back hair was complaining to a middle-aged man who looked like he worked in the government.
The middle-aged man, named Du Qihong, glanced casually at his cousin and said, "How many times have I told you? You need to be patient. Why can't you change this habit?"
At this moment, the person sitting next to Du Qihong chimed in, "That's right! President He, with County Chief Du here, what do you have to worry about?" The person who spoke was Ma Cheng, the director of the County Construction Bureau, and also Du Qihong's confidant.
He Bi chuckled awkwardly: "Hey, I was just venting."
Du Qihong took a cigarette from Ma Cheng and lit it with Ma Cheng's help.
"Does complaining solve the problem?" Du Qihong looked at her cousin. "The Sany Foundation sent a letter through proper channels, and its demands are reasonable. What right do you have to stop it? How naive!"
He Bi opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time, though he was still unconvinced.
At this point, Ma Cheng continued, "What County Du said is true, but then again, these two schools donated by the Sany Foundation have been in use for almost five years now. All the acceptance reports and quality inspection data are complete, and all five main parties have stamped them. It is indeed a bit illogical for them to come and retest the structural strength now."
Du Qihong slowly exhaled the cigarette she had just inhaled. "Old Ma, you've been doing this for over ten years, you're practically an expert in this field. I just want to ask, did He Bi strictly follow the design standards provided by Sany Foundation during the construction process?"
Du Qihong knew very well what kind of person her cousin was. He wouldn't blatantly cut corners, but he was absolutely capable of tampering with the other party's strength requirements. Otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted so strongly to the Sany Foundation's retest.
Sure enough, He Bi said, "Cousin, you know that."
Upon hearing this, Du Qihong frowned and immediately interrupted He Bi, saying, "What do you mean I know? What do I know? Just say what you want to say, don't talk nonsense."
He was momentarily speechless, but quickly recovered, "Yes, yes, everyone knows, everyone knows, is that alright now?" Seeing that Du Qihong didn't raise any further objections, he continued, "The standard required by the Sany Foundation is much higher than the national standard. The specifications, density, and concrete grade used are all the highest. But the problem is, following the regulations is already sufficient to ensure the safety of the building, and there's even a safety margin! The standard they gave is purely amateurish instructing professionals; it's just burning money. If we follow their standards, wouldn't that be throwing money away?"
Ma Cheng nodded in agreement, "Yes, Du Xian, from a professional point of view, the structural design code has a clear lower limit and upper limit for the reinforcement ratio of each component. Even the lower limit is enough to ensure the safety of the building. In my opinion, the upper limit should be set to take into account the application requirements of some special buildings. The requirements of the Sany Foundation all exceed the upper limit of the code. From a professional point of view, it is completely unnecessary."
At this point, He Bi chimed in, "Yes! It's such a waste. I hired an optimization company to improve the original structural design. Even so, the improved design still achieves the same effect as the original."