Xia Xiaolan, an outsider, had been forced to become proficient at reading architectural drawings. Gong Yang, a fine arts student, had found himself on the irreversible path of interior design. Could these two amateurs compete against professional companies from Hong Kong? Xia Xiaolan didn’t even consider domestic competitors a threat – she believed her design aesthetic would surpass current domestic standards. After all, how many hotels of different styles had she stayed in, and how many mid to high-end restaurants had she dined at?
Of course, the municipal government guest house’s decoration style could be somewhat more down-to-earth.
They needed to consider various requirements: neither too luxurious nor too shabby, and not so trendy that leaders would reject it.
Xia Xiaolan and Gong Yang spent every waking moment together these past two days, methodically working through the floor plans. The library, with its constant flow of people, wasn’t suitable for their discussions. However, finding an alternative location was challenging… Shangdu Business College originally had an architecture department, but in 1963, when Shangdu Institute of Technology was established, the architecture program was transferred to their Civil Engineering Department. During the turmoil period, the architecture program stopped admitting students until 1981, when it resumed as a four-year undergraduate program.
The lack of an architecture department at Shangdu Business College wasn’t a problem – they just needed to find architecture students to teach her how to read building plans.
In those days, all schools had exchange activities. Shangdu Business College and Shangdu Institute of Technology certainly had connections. Even if Gong Yang didn’t know any architecture students there, Zhuo Na definitely would.
Since the library wasn’t suitable, they worked in an art department professor’s office at Shangdu Business College.
Students could take leave for outdoor sketching, and art professors were often away from campus for days – perfectly normal.
As a good student, Gong Yang managed to borrow his teacher’s office.
Here, Xia Xiaolan received tutoring from a female senior architecture student from Shangdu Institute of Technology – she specifically requested a female senior to avoid any misunderstandings with male students. Her looks brought many advantages but sometimes created unnecessary complications. She had no time for rumors with male seniors – she wished each day had 48 hours!
Then Xia Xiaolan began drawing with Gong Yang.
They spent several days in the teacher’s office, only leaving for meals and restroom breaks. Xia Xiaolan only left the office to go home at night.
On June 10th, they completed all the design proposals. Xia Xiaolan handed the designs to Li Dongliang, who had returned to Shangdu, for delivery to Pengcheng. She immediately went to sleep. From this point, the bid’s success was out of her hands.
Now, only 26 days remained until the 1984 college entrance exam.
Xia Xiaolan heavily circled July 7th in red on her calendar.
…
Liu Yong was busy with the bidding process. This was his first time handling such matters – without Xia Xiaolan’s help preparing materials, he would have been lost.
He sought out the restaurant manager to understand their requirements better – no one would know the guest house’s expectations better than them. Interpersonal relationships weren’t Liu Yong’s weakness. Just as he had managed to rent the Blue Phoenix shop space and get help from Yuan Honggang, the deputy factory director of National Cotton Factory No. 3, he could build connections with the restaurant manager. Bold yet detail-oriented with thick skin, able to achieve what others hadn’t thought of – Liu Yong was quite skilled at this.
Of course, he also personally inspected the site. Floor plans were one thing, but on-site investigation was essential.
Then he communicated with Shangdu before finalizing the restaurant proposal.
On June 13th, the Pengcheng Municipal Government Guest House officially began its ‘bidding’ process.
Among the bidders were Hong Kong companies speaking accented Mandarin and famous domestic construction units. Liu Yong’s ‘Yuan Hui’ was unknown, with the smallest scale and least experience. Though ‘Yuan Hui’ had an impressive name, it was a small fish among the bidding companies. Fortunately, Liu Yong dressed well and wore a smuggled watch bought cheaply from Bai Zhenzhu. Carrying a briefcase with Li Dongliang following behind, he looked quite boss-like.
People judge by appearances first – if Liu Yong had maintained his farmer’s appearance, thin and lacking presence, he might have faced discrimination.
Now, no one knew his background.
Only the bidding committee would see the tender documents – competitors wouldn’t know about ‘Yuan Hui’s’ limited qualifications.
At the bidding meeting, Liu Yong didn’t see the Uncle Tang that Xia Xiaolan had mentioned. Little Wang, who had delivered his materials, was there, following a man in his early thirties. He passed by Liu Yong without a glance, let alone a greeting.
Liu Yong wasn’t foolish enough to try to get familiar with Little Wang in public.
His connections weren’t significant – every bidder had their connections.
Why were Hong Kong companies here? They wanted to use the guest house renovation project to secure next year’s “Nanhai Hotel” renovation!
Ambition was necessary, but as his niece said, secure what’s within reach first, then consider the rest.
Liu Yong focused solely on the guest house’s main restaurant bid. He hadn’t even seen what a five-star hotel looked like… well, except in book pictures, but did that count?
“Thank you all for attending the Pengcheng Municipal Government Guest House bidding today. The bid submission deadline is 10 AM, and the leaders and managers will reach a final decision by 3 PM. Please wait patiently.”
3 PM?
Liu Yong calculated – looks like they’d be having lunch at the guest house restaurant.
The municipal guest house already had basic decoration, and the restaurant was functional, but the municipal government’s dissatisfaction with its “simplicity” led to this renovation bid.
“Dongliang, you must be exhausted these past days. Let’s have a good lunch.”
Li Dongliang had retrieved the design proposal from Shangdu, spending over 70 hours on hard seats with no delays.
The money made it worthwhile.
Seeing Xia Xiaolan barely able to walk straight, Li Dongliang didn’t think his hardship counted for much. Without education or skills, just some martial arts knowledge – Miss Xia was beautiful, had a great boyfriend, excelled in studies, succeeded in business, and worked so hard. His train rides were nothing in comparison!
Liu Yong and Li Dongliang settled in the restaurant. Having become familiar with the manager, their dishes arrived first among all the bidders. A Hong Kong company employee complained in Cantonese, “What kind of small company is Yuan Hui? Never heard of them, really overestimating themselves.”
Liu Yong didn’t understand, but Li Dongliang understood Cantonese. He stood up, bowing:
“Boss, someone’s talking trash, should I…”
Liu Yong caught on quickly, pretending to scold Li Dongliang: “Sit down, sit down. We’re here for business, harmony brings wealth. Watch what you say here – save any words for after today.”
Li Dongliang, with his acting experience in Shangdu, played along perfectly, scanning the Hong Kong company staff with menacing eyes, making them shiver. What did they mean by “after today”? Could these two have triad connections? It wouldn’t be strange – Hong Kong triads were even involved in the film industry.
A representative from Hua Construction Corporation stared at the steamed fish. Hua Construction was established in 1982 and officially registered last March, formerly the National Construction Bureau. In the future, it will become the only super-corporation in China with three special-grade qualifications in building construction, highway engineering, and municipal public works.
At this time, Hua Construction wouldn’t be interested in the guest house renovation project split into small parts – their target was next year’s “Nanhai Hotel.”
Representatives from Nantong No.1 and No.3 Construction were also present.
Among domestic bidders, ‘Yuan Hui’ was the only private company. Liu Yong could confidently sit among these industry giants thanks to his ignorance breeding fearlessness.
In a guest house office, all bids were opened and reviewed one by one.
Tang Hong’en hadn’t come; Secretary Peng was there instead.
Thinking of his superior’s instructions, Secretary Peng felt helpless – ‘Yuan Hui’s’ qualifications were too thin. So thin that others ignored their bid, but Secretary Peng dutifully opened ‘Yuan Hui’s’ materials… interesting, it was different from what he expected.
Yuan Hui had presented their renovation examples in an album.
Though only three cases with dozens of color photos, they clearly showed three distinct styles.
Secretary Peng began reading seriously, including ‘Yuan Hui’s’ guest house design proposal – while bidding for just the restaurant renovation, they had provided a complete design for the entire guest house.