Chapter 131

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling
Chapter 131: Slice of Pie
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In a flash,the May holiday was officially over and on May third, the three men flew backhome to Haicheng. After arriving at their apartment, while Gu Yu went to pickuptownhouse from the pet hotel, Zhang Siyi organized his photographs. Heseparated all sixteen-gigs worth of photos into folders with labels and notes.
Even with afew embarrassing moments, Zhang Siyi thought the trip was a great success. Theamount of information that he gained from staying at high-end hotels was aone-of-a-kind experience. He really valued his learning experience through hison-site viewing of the various cultural villages and especially Daiarchitecture.
All he canhope for now is that the project pass otherwise he going to be in debt and oweTao Fei a lot of money! (=_=)
Seeing ZhangSiyi work so diligently, Gu Yu smiled. Given the late hour and how tired theywere from their journey and the fact that they had to return to work tomorrow,Gu Yu and Zhang Siyi stayed in their own rooms for the night.
Early thenext morning, Zhang Siyi went to work with the project in mind anddetermination to see it through. As soon as he arrived at the company, Tao Feitold him to meet him in the conference room. Hearing the fast speed in whichTao Fei spoke and in such a serious tone, Zhang Siyi thought something waswrong. …… Is it possible that TaoFei also felt the pressure of 'hotel expenses'? (=_=)
For theearly stages of development of this project, there are only two of us. Thefirst report is on May 15. Since Party-A will personally come to our company wewon't have to travel and thus, we have a total of eleven days to come up with apreliminary conceptual design which includes site planning as well as tourismdesign and architectural concept design…”
Zhang Siyi: “Whatis tourism design?”
Tao Fei:"Tourism design is specialized content that specifically aims to provide touristswith services. For example, at Jingmai Mountains. There were various supportingattractions around like Pu’er tea factory or visiting the ancient village andLahu Family stockades. Not only do tourist want to visit a place, but they wantto experience the place and make lasting memories as well. Architects designthe environment by providing concepts for the supporting facilities andattractions. With regards to the implementation of tourism design, we don'thave to worry about it. There are travel design companies that specialize inbuilding the content.
Zhang Siyinodded: “Got it.”
Tao Fei:“Our mission isn't easy. There are more than one-hundred hectares of siteplanning to do that cover a comprehensive high-end hotel concept design with twentyor more single high-end tourist villas. In addition, there is a green teagarden landscape design, a lookout tower landmark and other attractions.”
Hearing'more than one-hundred hectares', Zhang Siyi realized the urgency of thematter. Although the land mass is half the size of the Z-City project, theZ-City plan utilized many people and 20 days to accomplish the proposal. Withonly the two of them to devise a concept and make a plan, will elven days beenough?
After TaoFei finished speaking, he slapped the table with his hand and said: “Timeis tight!”
Knowing thetask at hand, Zhang Siyi balked and spit: “Who was the one that said itcan be done in three to five days!?"
Tao Fei gavehim a sideways glance: “We have three to five days of drawing but ten daysto plan."
Not feelingassured, Zhang Siyi looked at Tao Fei skeptically.
NoticingZhang Siyi skepticism, Tao Fei explained: “We have to provide the conceptof the entire plan, but we don't have to draw the whole thing. Just one sliceof pie."
Zhang Siyi:“Aaahh!" Unexpectedly, Tao Fei 'profound' solution was to draw a slice ofpie!
Zhang Siyiangrily said: “Are you kidding me? Isn't it foolish to only draw onepart?"
Tao Feiraised an eyebrow: “How is it foolish? The more detailed the slice is, themore attractive it will be and thus more tempting. Gu Yu said there are othercompanies vying for the bid on this project. If we present the entire plan andthey decide they don't like it, it is our loss of time and money.
Zhang Siyi:“…… That kind of thing…… is it alright?"
Tao Feiexplained: "Of course, using a loop-hole is nothing new in the industry! So,lets plan a beautiful pie and draw a slice for the first time. Since thepurpose of our slice is to showcase our design concept, it doesn't matter if wefinish the whole pie. Let them take a bite of our delicious pie. When they signthe contract and give us money, we can continue feeding them the whole thing."
Zhang Siyi shookhis head in disbelief. It's really fucking sneaky! However, knowing that thisblack heart fat peach used his schemes on others made Zhang Siyi grin indelight. (≧▽≦)
Tao Fei:“Well, since it takes time and energy to draw a big pie, lets divide the responsibilities.I'll work on the site planning and you determine the design concept for eachsection of the map."
The designconcept for each section of the map is a visual aid to show Party A thedesigner's intentions for the entire plan. By including specific drawingdetails, color schemes and photographs, the designer can illustrate the planwithout having to draw the whole thing. Once vetted, the designer can useParty-A comments and direct the overall plan in a better and satisfieddirection.
After thedivision of labor, Tao Fei suddenly looked up and stared at Zhang Siyi with an imposingmanner: “This project must be won!”
In seconds, ZhangSiyi knew what he wanted to express. He reached out and firmly said: "We willwin!"
As comrades-in-arms,with a handshake they silently agreed. All for the hotel expenses!
Over thenext period of time, both Tao Fei and Zhang Siyi began to work like a dog.
Surprisingly,Tao Fei's workaholic mode was more severe than Gu Yu's. In the first two daysof developing the plan, they worked overtime until nine o'clock. On the thirdday, because Tao Fei didn't want to be interrupted during his design phase, hebrought his toiletries from home in order to stay overnight at the company.
Thestability of food from the company's bento at lunch and through the varioustake out places for dinner with late night snacks provided by the twenty-four-hourconvenience store, Tao Fei was able to work through his ideas for eighteenhours without interference.
Influencedby Tao Fei's determination and enthusiasm, Zhang Siyi also wanted to stay inthe company overnight to work on the project. However, he is now a family manand can't only do what he wants all the time. Every evening at ten o'clock, GuYu appeared at his desk to urge him to go home and sleep.
After a weekof overtime, on May 11, Tao Fei's plan was nearly finished. Excited, Zhang Siyimet with Tao Fei to discuss the plans. He pointed to various drawings andexplained: "This is the villa area. Since it is built on the mountain, eachvilla will have a different layout depending on the terrain. Here, we can buildan infinity-edge swimming pool so the countryside is connected with theskyline."
VisualizingTao Fei explanation in his mind, Zhang Siyi was really excited: "Great!" As helistened intently, he saw the road map of the pastoral countryside as if he hadfound a new world. Looking at the plan and realizing something, he confirmed itand asked: “Hey, is this the shape of the gourd?”
Tao Feisaid: “Ha-ha, yes. Since there is a Lahu stockade nearby, I used theelements of the gourd. What do you think?”
Zhang Siyi:“Awesome! In fact, I think you can also use the gourd as street lights."
“Well,write it down first and then let party A decide.” Tao Fei turned to askZhang Siyi: “How is your lookout tower design coming along?”
Sitting withhis pile of design work and notes, Zhang Siyi took out the folder thatcontained his three different tower design concepts. Showing it to Tao Fei, heexplained: "Using local materials and influenced by Dai architecture, the firstconcept is Bamboo House. I originally wanted to make a traditional tower, butdecided to change the shape into something more like a gazebo and include asurrounding pond. With lotus flowers planted in the water and a surroundingfence, it creates an illusion of our homeland.
In thought, TaoFei touched his chin: “Yes, the feeling of the tower makes me think of ToyoIto's designs."
As if TaoFei accurately read Zhang Siyi's thoughts, Zhang Siyi was really excited: "Yes,that's right. I was inspired by Toyo Ito's designs and used the Dai usage of bambooas textures for the building's exterior."
Tao Feismiled at him: "I used to look down on you, but in fact your design conceptsand thought process are very good!"
"Hey!" ZhangSiyi reactively pushed him on the shoulder then continued: "The second designconcept is derived from the peacock’s feathers. The lookout tower is like aproud peacock, arrogantly standing tall. The tower body can be framed out withwood, but layered on top of it would be the fan shape of the peacock's taillike broad fish scales…."
With Tao Fei'srepeated recognition of his abilities, Zhang Siyi was even more excited. It isthe first time Zhang Siyi thought that doing architectural design is reallyfun!
As they werediscussing the finer points of their concepts, Gu Yu came over from his officeand interrupted: "Zhang Siyi, get ready. It's time to go home."
Having saidso, Gu Yu returned to his office to gather his things. Because their momentumwas suddenly broken, Zhang Siyi felt a little irritated. Putting his papersdown, he went into Gu Yu's office and said: "Boss, I want to stay up with TaoFei and work on the project tonight."
With a blankexpression Gu Yu responded: "No."
Confused,Zhang Siyi asked: "What? Why?"
He wasn'texpecting Gu Yu to disagree. Doesn't it make all Bosses happy to have energeticand diligent subordinates? Keeping his public and private life separate, Gu Yuwouldn't be jealous of this kind of thing, would he? Zhang Siyi wouldn't bespending his night with Tao Fei in the same room!
"No, meansno." Gu Yu's answer is a little overbearing. "The Yunnan project progress madethus far is very good. At this time, there is no urgent need to require twopeople to work overtime and stay up all night."
Rubuttinghim, Zhang Siyi hurriedly said: "But we are going over our design ideas rightnow. If I stay for a couple days, we can prepare a better report."
Gu Yufrowned: “It is not enough to work overtime until 10 o’clock every night?In order to wait for you, I had to change the time we walk to dog to themornings.”
Specifically,in order to let Zhang Siyi sleep, Gu Yu got out of bed thirty minutes earlierto walk to dog alone. Zhang Siyi abandoned him in favor of staying up with TaoFei. Moreover, if he stayed up so much, how efficient could his work actuallybe?
Wanting topersuade him further, Gu Yu was about to say something, but Zhang Siyiinterrupted him instead: "Don't mind me. Go on ahead without me."
Started, ina flash a myriad of emotions appeared on Gu Yu face; surprise, dismay, anger.In the end, he only said: "Do what you want." Not giving Zhang Siyi any time toreact, he immediately grabbed his briefcase, and left.
Suddenly, ZhangSiyi regretted his decision a little. He was caught off guard by Gu Yu's cold demeanor.However, he didn't know what it was that he said that was wrong. He thought hewas being considerate by allowing Gu Yu to go home without him instead oftaking up his time. Was that a mistake?
With a despondentexpression, Zhang Siyi returned to Tao Fei to further discuss the projectplans.
Noticing thechange in behavior, Tao Fei asked: “What happened?”
Zhang Siyi quietlyspoke to Tao Fei: “I told Gu Yu that I would stay up late with you andwork overtime at night.”
Tao Feisnorted: “What? If you want to go back, you should go back. I'm a singledog so it doesn't matter if I stay overnight in the company or not, but youaren't the same. Where is my brother?"
“Healready left." Zhang Siyi said feeling wronged.
Tao Fei:“…..”
Clenchinghis teeth, Zhang Siyi stubbornly said: “I'm not going back. Since we worktogether, I ought to be able to share the joys and sorrows of the project withyou. It is just a few more days."
Speechless, Tao Fei looked at Zhang Siyi in surprise. Feeling touched by his admission, Tao Fei wrapped his arm around Zhang Siyi shoulder's and said: "Let's go!"
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