Summit Farmer

Peter Brown treated the tender bidding for the Riverwater Valley Reservoir project as a matter of utmost importance and managed to clarify the entire situation within a day.

"Salem, what do you think our chances are of winning this project?" Peter summoned Salem Hill and immediately began to inquire.

Hearing Peter’s question, Salem Hill hesitated before saying, "Boss, to be frank, we basically have no chance at this project."

Seeing Peter’s gaze turn towards him, Salem added, "With investments of ten million, there was already fierce competition. Although our company was tracking it, our relationships are not in place—the leader in charge doesn’t have a good relationship with Henry Ford, so we were only following the project."

Peter asked, "What if we absolutely have to win this project?"

With a bitter smile, Salem replied, "Boss, I know this task has been placed on your shoulders but, honestly, it’s now escalated to a fifty to sixty million project. The competition at the provincial and municipal levels is too intense. Too many people are greeting each other from top to bottom. You know, with such a large project, the company’s situation is actually not that important; it’s the relationships that count. Whoever has the strongest relationships might ultimately win."

Peter nodded inwardly. Many things seem fair and reasonable on the surface, but what’s important is the work that must be done behind the scenes.

"You should have some understanding of the strength of each party involved, right?"

Now that it was Peter’s responsibility, Salem had indeed investigated this matter. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Right now, the biggest competitors for us are two people: one is Huxley Taylor from the city, and the other is Madison O’Donnell from the provincial capital."

Another name, Madison O’Donnell, was added to the list.

Peter asked, "What’s the situation with these two people?"