Kang Wei found his job boring – he worked at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

Was this ministry somewhere just anyone could work? At least Beijing Normal University graduates rarely got assigned there – wrong specialization and they wouldn’t want students from there anyway. Whether Shangdu University students could get in was debatable, but art majors definitely couldn’t!

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications was an excellent work unit – it would later become the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and eventually merge with the Tobacco Bureau. If Xia Xiaolan had found such a good job in her previous life, she wouldn’t have been forced to become a sales representative.

While Gong Yang felt envious, Xia Xiaolan’s feelings were more complex, having graduated just when the state ended job assignments after graduation.

This life, she’d caught the tail end of state job assignments, and barring accidents, would get into a better university than in her previous life. Still, she was destined not to rely entirely on state-assigned work for her livelihood.

The guesthouse rooms, even the basic ones, met proper standards. While Xia Xiaolan was used to five-star hotels from her previous life, Gong Yang and Liu Yong’s two workers had never slept on such soft beds. Early the next morning, Kang Wei came to pick them up. Liu Yong let the workers explore the area while he accompanied Xia Xiaolan and Gong Yang to Kang Wei’s home.

Even Xia Xiaolan envied Kang Wei’s location – she couldn’t afford property in this area in her previous life.

The house was mostly emptied of belongings, with no family members present.

“My mom’s temporarily staying at my grandmother’s until the renovation is complete.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded. She’d heard from Zhou Cheng that Kang Wei’s father had passed before his birth, leaving just him and his mother at home. Though their apartment was a two-bedroom, it had a living room, kitchen, and bathroom.

“Uncle, let’s measure the dimensions first.”

Liu Yong took out his measuring tape, while Gong Yang helpfully assisted in measuring and recording data.

The house wasn’t completely undecorated, and Kang Wei’s family wasn’t poor, but the furniture was old. Though personal items had been moved out, Xia Xiaolan could see how carelessly the occupants had lived.

Houses were usually maintained by the woman of the house. Xia Xiaolan pointed to an unmoved piano in the corner of the living room, “Your mother plays piano?”

Kang Wei lit a cigarette, “Rarely. It usually just sits there.”

Not just the piano saw little use – examining the grime on the kitchen’s exhaust fan, Xia Xiaolan suspected even the kitchen was seldom used. Kang Wei’s mother wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about life. Though not exactly refined, she could play piano. She rarely played, and clearly didn’t like spending time in the kitchen.

Xia Xiaolan walked through the house, reaching the balcony.

The layout had the kitchen and bathroom on the right upon entering, the master bedroom opposite the living room. The living room occupied the building’s front-facing windows, while the master bedroom had windows on the other side, with a large balcony. The second bedroom sat left of the living room, similarly spacious with its balcony. The overall layout formed a square pattern.

Xia Xiaolan found it ideal for renovation. Modern buildings were straightforward, with few obstructions front and back. Apart from slightly small windows affecting natural light, there were no real drawbacks. Beijing properties typically had smaller windows – double-pane insulated glass wasn’t common yet, and large windows would affect winter heating!

With a rough idea formed, she asked Kang Wei:

“Do you have a preferred style? What about the renovation budget? Tell us your thoughts so we can propose a plan.”

Decoration style?

Kang Wei liked how clothing stores were decorated.

But that was for shops – perhaps too flashy for a home.

Xia Xiaolan showed him a magazine with foreign home decoration examples: “We can’t exactly replicate these effects – many materials are hard to find domestically, and layouts differ. Your place is considered large, but still can’t compare to foreign standalone houses. Let’s just reference the styles.”

Kang Wei’s place was indeed considered large. Liu Yong and Gong Yang finished measuring – 69 square meters, not counting two living balconies. The larger second-bedroom balcony exceeded 8 square meters; Xia Xiaolan thought it could become a glass greenhouse or music room.

Houses then had no public area fees – 69 square meters was actual interior space.

Kang Wei flipped through the magazine, undecided, finally managing: “It should look good, but not like a restaurant. At least feel like a home, right?”

“What about the budget? Do you have a general figure in mind?”

Whatever the final cost, Kang Wei would pay. But Xia Xiaolan wasn’t planning to overcharge – she needed to know his price range to plan the design and budget accordingly.

“Sister-in-law, your clothing store looks beautiful – how much did that cost?”

“Less than twenty thousand.”

It initially cost twelve thousand, plus Liu Yong’s two thousand contributions, totaling fourteen thousand. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t give Kang Wei the exact figure – this was Liu Yong’s business. If Kang Wei copied it exactly, Liu Yong would make no profit, making their Beijing trip pointless.

Liu Yong needed to pay his workers’ wages, plus accommodation and travel expenses in Beijing.

“Well, I’m planning to spend thirty thousand on renovation. If it’s not enough, Uncle Liu, just let me know.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t decline.

Exceeding the budget was normal – whose renovation didn’t go over budget?

Zhou Cheng had previously brought a briefcase likely containing tens of thousands in cash for Xia Xiaolan. She knew both men had made money from cigarette trading. Thirty thousand in ’84 was significant – enough to buy a small courtyard house in Beijing’s non-prime areas.

Xia Xiaolan knew this, Liu Yong knew this, but poor Gong Yang didn’t.

This shocked Gong Yang.

His monthly university allowance was 21 yuan, and he estimated his post-graduation salary wouldn’t exceed 100 yuan. Using 30,000 yuan for home renovation? No wonder Xia Xiaolan and Liu Yong brought people from Shangdu to Beijing for work.

Leaving Kang Wei’s home, Xia Xiaolan, Liu Yong, and Gong Yang rushed to Beijing’s building materials market.

Beijing differed from Shangdu – more building material shops, forming small clusters. Tile patterns were more varied than in Shangdu. Liu Yong checked prices at each store, noting them down. Xia Xiaolan showed Gong Yang actual materials – he needed some impression to draw them.

This work couldn’t be completed in one day; Xia Xiaolan spent two days exploring Beijing.

By the third evening, they had rough design drawings. She discussed with Gong Yang drawing methods, furniture colors, and lamp styles. Without computer design in ’84, creating several renderings was quite labor-intensive.

Xia Xiaolan and Gong Yang pulled an all-nighter.

Gong Yang’s eyes were red like a rabbit’s, and with Xia Xiaolan, he tasted bitter coffee for the first time.

Liu Yong wasn’t having it easy either. He had to budget based on their renderings to give Kang Wei a quote. With material prices noted, Liu Yong calculated repeatedly whether they could achieve Xia Xiaolan’s vision within 30,000 yuan.

“How are the two workers’ wages calculated? What’s Beijing’s carpenter’s daily rate? How much lumber is needed? You need to calculate it all.”