Night had already fallen, and the speeding car left the road, turned into a curved and narrow deceleration road made of dozens of cement piers, turned around for more than 100 meters, and slowly stopped in front of an iron gate.

On the other side of the serpentine barbed wire, two soldiers slowly walked out of the sentry box to the front of the car, looked at the pass posted on the front window, one lifted the front cover and the rear compartment for inspection, and the other took the reflector and walked around the car to check under the chassis. After confirming that there were no bombs, they shakily paced back, and the iron door slowly slid open.

The driver restarted the car and pulled through the gate to meet a circle of sandbags, a swarthy heavy machine gun, heavily armed soldiers and a tall, thick concrete wall.

The car turned a corner and continued between the barbed wire fence and the high wall, and on the way it came into contact with a "Humvee" patrolling with a machine gun.

At the corner of the wall, there was another fire point surrounded by sandbags, the same cold machine guns, the same fully dressed soldiers.

It's not a movie clip, it's not a battle game, it's a necessary way for them to return to their dormitory every day in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

There are a lot of jokes about this checkpoint at the entrance of the community, some of which are serious, for example, some time ago, a brother who came to China on a business trip curiously took a picture with the checkpoint as the background, and was immediately sent to the police station and locked up overnight before being released. For example, a soldier was taught a few words of Chinese by everyone, and after checking the car, it was often the Chinese who said "comrades have worked hard", and he replied loudly "serve the people", and he was happy to answer the question.

Saudi Arabia's "SC Telecom" is an important customer of "Weizhong" in the Middle East. One of the projects we are working on is a tricky software project, which is more than a year behind schedule.

At this moment, the project manager in charge of project delivery is called Lin Han, who, like Lao Xie, was also the first batch of "great people" to come to North Africa and the Middle East in 2001. Lin Han was originally proficient in product technology and had supported him in Iraq for a long time, and at the beginning of the year, he was transferred to the project manager to take over the project of "SC Telecom". He tossed for more than half a year, and finally got the project on the right track.

One of the most important purposes of Qian Dan's trip is to promote the closure of the project as soon as possible, and he plans to hand over the work to his local colleagues after receiving the customer's acceptance certificate, and he will go to Egypt to be responsible for the project management of the software products in the regional department.

On the night he got the acceptance certificate, Lin Han was in a good mood, and he had to drag Qian Dan to see Riyadh.

They went to the Sky Bridge on the roof of one of Riyadh's two iconic towers, the Kingdom Center, which is a large enclosed steel bridge with a span of more than 50 meters above the 99th floor of the building. The two sat on the floor in the middle of the bridge, looking down through the glass window to look down horizontally and vertically, only the headlights from south to north brought a little lively Riyadh.

Lin Han said: "Finally, the project is almost done. Who says it's easier to be a project manager than a technician? I finally changed to a project manager, and I was even more tired. The first project jumped into the fire pit, I thought I was dead, Lao Xie said that I was a southerner and a northerner, and I was a lucky general, it seems that he was right. ”

Qian Dan looked at Lin Han, he looked as strong as Cao Song of the Sultan, but he was a Cantonese, and he spoke a fairly standard Mandarin.

Qian Dan sighed: "Alas, as soon as I hear you talk about the situation of this project, I feel that time and space are out of order. The first project I did in China when I first joined the company was exactly the same as the problem of this project, which was a contract that promised more than ten new value-added businesses to customers, and the customer's marketing department couldn't digest it, didn't know how to operate, and the operation and maintenance department was unwilling to take over, and the customer was inefficient and inefficient. Our company's internal R&D is R&D, the market is the market, the service is the service, and the coordination workload is huge. Yesterday once more, why do you think we keep making the same mistakes? ”

Lin Han did not answer Qian Dan's question, but said proudly: "Pain is pain, but Saudi Arabia has an order of more than 10 million US dollars for this contract, and the profit is very good." The second phase of expansion is about to begin, and it will cost millions of dollars. ”

Qian Dan was surprised: "Really? This has just been accepted, and the customer has not started to make money, so what is the expansion? ”

Lin Han said: "Customers have budgets, and Saudi tycoons have money. We have a time business, that is, you make a call, the system reports to you what time it is, it is said that there is only one user, is a local tyrant who can influence the customer's high-level, that person has bad eyes, can not see the clock clearly, very much like this business. ”

He slapped his hands on the ground and stood up: "Let's go, go back to the dormitory, I'm not in the mood in front, you haven't invited you to drink my red wine for so long." ”

Qian Dan was even more surprised: "Where did you get the wine?" The embassy made it? ”

"I make my own wine, I'm the number one foodie in North Africa and the Middle East in 'Weizhong', haven't you heard of it?"

"You're not afraid of being caught by the police?"

"Hiding in the dormitory and drinking, brewing it yourself, you can't even see the bottle after drinking, who knows? I'll tell you a paragraph, wasn't it very stressful some time ago, one day a customer was very mysterious and said that he wanted me to relax at night and take me to stimulate the excitement, I was very excited, and got into his car at night, he took me around, went around and around, went to a secluded yard, and took me into the house, I was very puzzled, because the house was quiet, only the two of us, I don't know what he has to stimulate him? He was mysterious, opened the fridge and rummaged through it, and suddenly, he yelled 'Suprise' and pulled out a can of Heineken beer from the fridge! Alcoholic beer! What a thrill for him! ”

Qian Dan followed Lin Han with a heart of admiration for the "Lin Family's Private Brewing" and left the "Kingdom Center" with a fart.

Saudi Arabia's network was so poor that it took Qian Dan more than an hour to collect hundreds of new emails the next morning. At a glance, I saw an email sent by Sultan Chen Yongsheng, and the title of the email was typical of Chen Yongsheng's style, which was "Naked kneeling Sahara!!" Vomit blood and ask for help!! ”

He couldn't help laughing, and quickly clicked on the email, but the more he looked at it, the more unhappy he became.

Chen Yongsheng's email was a meeting notice, and dozens of people, including the heads of various departments of the Shenzhen headquarters and the regional department, called everyone to have a conference call in the evening, and the main appeal was to find important people from various departments to go to Sudan for support.

To Qian Dan's displeasure, in order to highlight the pressure on Sudan's resources, the attachment to the email included the names of almost all the technical service engineers in the subsidiary, and listed several reasons why they could not take on the important task after each name.

He read the email carefully again, and found that there were no people in it who commented on the software, but he still replied angrily: "Qian Dan attended the meeting on time!" ”

In the evening, Qian Dan was thinking about finding a quiet place to dial in to the meeting to theorize, when the mobile phone rang, and when he answered it, it was Chen Yongsheng.

Chen Yongsheng got straight to the point: "You are not allowed to speak later!" ”

Qian Dan said in a weird manner: "Mr. Chen, you know me very well, I really want to speak!" ”

Chen Yongsheng sneered on the other end of the phone: "I still don't understand your donkey temper? Don't speak, you have to dare to speak, the next time you come to Sudan, burn your passport, and let you stay in Sudan. The pressure on the subsidiary is high, and we focus on solving the problem and not getting emotional. ”

"What's the problem? Who's emotional? It's the first time I've seen someone like you complaining about your brother. ”

"Don't be crooked, who complains about their brother? It's called calling for artillery fire. Now Sudan has 'Weizhong' and no 'F Company', and there is no 'Wei Zhong' if there is 'F Company'. We were so busy that we didn't have time to have meetings during the day, so we specially convened the meeting at night, just to let the bigwigs in the family get out of the bed in the middle of the night and feel the pressure on the front line. Besides, I don't think I said anything about your software people, right? The little thing about your software is not the main contradiction now, so don't jump out and add drama to yourself. ”

"Are you naked now? If you are really naked, kneel and vomit blood, I will not speak. ”

"Isn't this to be taken seriously by the bigwigs of your regional ministries and agencies? You take care of all the opportunities every day, and you can't kill the endless emails, will you pay attention to them if you don't come up with a different title? ”

The two of them accidentally chatted, and the meeting time was still unfinished. Chen Yongsheng asked: "Lao Dan, what did you do before you entered 'Weizhong'?" ”

"At home banking, in charge of the savings system. What about you? ”

"I was a teacher at university, and it was a good day! On weekends, I went to the school dance, and I sat down in a random corner, and the female students lined up to invite Teacher Chen to dance. What is it like now? After being tortured by customers all day long, I have to fight with you natives within the company. Lao Dan, you have to be my strong backing, don't be a sharp spear to poke holes in the back of my ass, please, please. ”

Time is like an arrow, and it does not pass forever.

Qian Dan was about to end his business trip in Saudi Arabia and was going back to Egypt, and Lin Han walked with him as planned.

On the weekend before parting, a group of them crowded into the dormitory room for an analysis meeting of the new project, and finally everyone reached an agreement: to break up the meeting and go for a walk in the old palace.

The Old Palace is located in the Hanifa Valley, more than ten kilometers northwest of Riyadh, and is the birthplace of the Saudi royal family. The former capital was destroyed by the Ottoman governor in Egypt in the early 19th century, leaving only a few dilapidated houses built of mud, stone and dried date palms.

A group of ten of them wandered among the ruins, and Qian Dan was thinking that compared with the ancient Chinese emperors, the Saudi king lived too economically, when he saw three men in white scarves and white robes walking slowly between the ruins in front of him. The three men saw that this group of Chinese was very warm, exchanged a few pleasantries, and after a group photo, they warmly invited them to drink coffee at home.

Lin Han hesitated and muttered on the side: "Don't go, right?" ”

Qian Dan was full of interest: "Go, there are ten of us, what are you afraid of?" I haven't been to an Arab house yet. ”

Most of the brothers sided with Qian Dan.

So, their car set off in the setting sun following the Saudis' car.

It was a real big family, the owner had already called home to order the reception, and there were more than a dozen people standing at the gate of the courtyard to greet them, but only male family members and a little girl who could come out to meet people.

They entered the living room lively, feeling that the interior was not much different from that of a Chinese home, with a sofa around a coffee table, but no television. Everyone sat on the sofa and chatted, and the children were busy going in and out, bringing out coffee, black tea, dates, and all kinds of small desserts one by one.

Lin Han threw away all his vigilance and reserve, and showed a satisfied smile. Qian Dan especially likes the coffee poured in a small cup, and when he takes a sip, there is a clear fragrance of dates in addition to the light bitterness, which is very special. When asked, they were really particular about it, and they stuffed fresh shredded dates into the spout of the coffee pot.

Nearly an hour passed, and the master got up and led them to the next room.

There was no furniture in that room, such as a sofa or coffee table, just a carpet full of fruit. Everyone sat around the floor and started a new topic while attacking bananas, mangoes, and guavas.

Qian Dan secretly sighed in his heart that the local tycoon country is really extraordinary, and the Chinese want to drag ten strangers home on the street as guests, even if they have enough enthusiasm and courage, it is difficult to prepare everything in such a short time.

At this time, an uncle who invited them in the old palace beckoned to Qian Dan and Lin Han, signaling them to sit closer. They quickly sat down and pricked up their ears.

The uncle asked solemnly, "Friends, can you do me a favor?" ”

Lin Han turned his head to look at Qian Dan and whispered, "Sure enough, there is a conspiracy." ”

The uncle hesitated for a moment and said: "I really like Chinese girls very, very much, Chinese girls are really very, very beautiful, I want to marry another wife, can you help me introduce a Chinese?" ”

Qian Dan and Lin Han looked at each other, and Qian Dan asked, "Marry another one?" How many wives do you have now? ”

The uncle said calmly: "I have two wives, they are very good, but I want to marry the third one now." ”

A Saudi man can marry four wives according to the law, as long as you treat each one fairly. Although the uncle's appeal is in line with Saudi law, it is not in line with the Chinese's reason.

Qian Dan was thinking about how to express his love and helplessness to his uncle, Lin Han once again abandoned all his vigilance and reserve, and said enthusiastically: "No problem, the Chinese girl is good!" However, we are leaving Saudi Arabia tomorrow, and we don't even have a wife ourselves, so I'll find someone to help you. ”

He beckoned to a brother sitting on the other side of the carpet who was in charge of product sales based in Saudi Arabia: "Zhang Jie, come here, there is an important matter that you need to be responsible for." ”

He pulled Zhang Jiela, who came over with a suspicious face, and sat down next to his uncle: "He is our colleague who has stayed in Riyadh for a long time, and he knows many beautiful girls in China, so he can definitely help you introduce him." Zhang Jie, you must help with this. ”

With that, he moved his ass to the side, grabbed a guava from the carpet and nibbled half of it off in one bite.

The uncle's hopeful eyes stared at Zhang Jie gently.

Time is like a thief, quietly on the run.

After everyone left a group photo in the courtyard of the Saudis, the Chinese were about to leave.

Lin Han took Qian Dan into the car, pressed the window again, stretched out his head and called Zhang Jie in another car: "You remember to help someone find a good wife to come over, look at the big yard and this big house, there will be girls who are willing." ”

Qian Dan was overjoyed: "You cow, you reacted quickly, and quickly pulled Zhang Jie into the water." ”

Lin Han started the car: "Once I don't need to deliver, I don't need to go back, I dare to promise anything." Last time you asked us why we keep making the same mistakes? I pondered it for a few days, because everyone didn't want to! Each has its own 'KPI'! ”

As soon as he said this, Qian Dan remembered again the big and small projects he had experienced and seen. Said seriously: "When you go back to the regional department, let's manage our project well!" We must invest in people from the beginning of the pre-sale, and together with product sales and R&D, we will investigate customer needs clearly, control the contract review, sign the 'FRS (Functional Requirements Specification)', and manage the difference between problems and requirements. Don't be afraid of pits, the key is that everyone wants the same thing, dig the pit together and fill it together. ”

Lin Han stepped on the accelerator and shouted "OK".

Their car lights shone brightly in the Riyadh night.