It was truly insane!
Who would think of creating two proposals in one week?
Xu Yuejin had wanted to see where Xia Xiaolan’s talent lay, but once he entered the workspace, there was no chance of leaving.
His eyes were red from exhaustion, and when he touched his head, his already sparse hair seemed even thinner. Xia Xiaolan herself only managed the big picture, immediately pointing out what needed improvement, but rarely doing the hands-on work herself.
After the weekend, Xia Xiaolan left Gong Yang at the studio and returned to her classes.
Those left behind continued working frantically for her as if possessed!
When someone couldn’t take it anymore, they’d rest in the next room. Everyone had a cup of strong tea beside them – tea that Xia Xiaolan had provided. She’d given each person a tin of Xinyang Maojian from Yunan Province as if it cost nothing, saying it was a specialty from her hometown… Xu Yuejin couldn’t help wondering if Xia Xiaolan had stockpiled tea specifically for gifting.
For the men who couldn’t be won over by tea alone, she added cigarettes – Zhonghua brand no less!
If alcohol didn’t interfere with work, she probably would have offered all three: cigarettes, alcohol, and tea.
Xu Yuejin felt the ruthlessness of a capitalist but failed to see the “talent” his master spoke of.
He complained to Ning Yanfan:
“The workspace reeks of smoke. I smell like cured meat that’s been smoked for days.”
Ning Yanfan looked at the past few days’ work.
“Look at them – they’re all helping willingly. Managing oneself is impressive, but managing others? Isn’t that talent?”
Xu Yuejin was stunned by Ning Yanfan’s words.
Pointing at the completed designs, Ning Yanfan continued:
“You’re complaining, yet you can’t help but follow her lead. When something needs changing, doesn’t she seem to know exactly what to do?”
Xu Yuejin was speechless.
Thinking back carefully, when he explained technical difficulties to Xia Xiaolan, she listened intently, asking follow-up questions when she didn’t understand. Only when something was truly impossible would she abandon an idea?
But when discussing aesthetics, she firmly rejected suggestions in just a few words… Who created these designs? Everything followed Xia Xiaolan’s vision. Others did the hard work, but the proposals were undeniably hers.
Lacking technical fundamentals herself, she gathered people to realize her ideas and provide technical support!
Xu Yuejin rubbed his nose and reviewed the completed draft proposals, setting aside his prejudices.
He had to admit that following Xia Xiaolan’s ideas would create beautiful results. This beauty differed from the current domestic aesthetic of red carpets everywhere – the color schemes transcended vulgarity, which was truly remarkable.
Xu Yuejin stubbornly argued:
“Interior decoration barely counts in architecture. It’s just taking shortcuts – she could never create an independent architectural proposal.”
Ning Yanfan looked at Xu Yuejin twice, “When did you become so harsh? Are you comparing Xue with a freshman architecture student? How many years has Xue studied compared to how long she’s been exposed to this?”
Xu Yuejin felt embarrassed.
As a man in his thirties, why was he competing with a freshman? People naturally protect their own. Having followed Ning Yanfan for over a decade and practically watching Ning Xue grow up when Ning Yanfan said Xia Xiaolan would achieve more than Ning Xue, Xu Yuejin approached her with a critical eye.
Thinking about his foolishness as a freshman, when he couldn’t even hold a pencil correctly, how could he be so harsh on Xia Xiaolan?
“Teacher, I’ll go back to helping.”
Watching Xu Yuejin sheepishly run off, Ning Yanfan looked down at the draft drawings.
The 16 million proposal merely modified his original work, but the 30 million proposal completely changed the functional layout.
Would the Hong Kong company agree to double the decoration budget?
Ning Yanfan was already quite adaptable – few architects of his generation could run their studios while maintaining steady work domestically until retirement.
Yet he still had a generational gap with Xia Xiaolan’s thinking.
It wasn’t that Ning Yanfan was stupid – years of social environment influenced people’s judgment. The pre-Reform and Opening-up generation had suffered greatly. Even after becoming wealthy, they struggled to abandon their frugal habits. For Ning Yanfan, “saving money” was paramount. It wasn’t that domestic architects preferred unchanging styles, boxy matchbox buildings, and cramped tube-shaped apartments – was this architectural design?
But building this way was quick and cheap!
In a China riddled with war wounds, everything needed rebuilding. With industrial development taking priority, people’s basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were minimized!
With Reform and Opening Up, everything was changing. These changes came slowly to many inland cities, but in coastal regions, especially in the Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen, each day brought new developments.
“Maybe it could work…”
Ning Yanfan muttered to himself.
Young calves fear no tigers – young people could try boldly. Though enlightened, he would still prioritize cost savings in his next design proposal. Not everyone was a Hong Kong company, and not every building was a five-star hotel. Money still needed to be saved where appropriate!
In the blink of an eye, it was the 17th – time to submit the proposals to Huo Chenzhou.
Xia Xiaolan had arranged to meet on Friday evening.
Gong Yang walked unsteadily, having spent the week eating and sleeping at Ning Yanfan’s studio – mostly eating, with barely two full nights of sleep, and involuntarily inhaling plenty of secondhand smoke.
“Can you hold up? If not, head back to the guest house to rest.”
Gong Yang nodded weakly. What use would he be meeting Manager Huo? It’s not like Manager Huo would particularly appreciate him.
Gong Yang lacked Xia Xiaolan’s connections. Besides drawing interior design plans, he couldn’t secure multi-million yuan projects. There was no point in fighting to show his face. Xia Xiaolan telling him to rest was both practical and considerate.
Xia Xiaolan and Liu Yong together submitted both design proposals to Huo Chenzhou, while Liu Yong signed the new contract.
The original contract was mutually destroyed and voided. The new contract made Liu Yong breathe rapidly – if Xiaolan was right and the 30 million budget proposal was approved, Yuanhui would handle 7.5 million worth of work!
“Manager Huo, if the 16 million budget proposal isn’t approved, don’t forget you have an alternative. Taking it along won’t occupy much luggage space.”
Xia Xiaolan reminded Huo Chenzhou once more, knowing he hadn’t taken it seriously.
She wasn’t necessarily forcing Huo Chenzhou to choose the second proposal. She’d put effort into both proposals – securing the project was the primary goal, while profit margin was secondary.
Huo Chenzhou paused, putting the two proposals in separate boxes:
“You’ll both know the result next Monday.”