Thinking of this, Hua Kai perked up and quickly went back to the department store, where she bought a sketchbook and a set of watercolor pens.

I originally wanted to buy markers, but they weren't available. Of course, even if they were, I wouldn't have that much money.

Watercolor pens can be used for now. When you get back, cut off the tips of the watercolor pens. Although the strokes can't compare to those of markers, they can still achieve the same effect.

Taking these back to the dormitory, Wang Lingling wasn't there. Zhang Weifang had fallen asleep while reading, and Hua Kai went back to bed to start hand-drawing interior renderings.

This is an industry that the general public doesn't understand yet, so Huakai knows that it's essential to make the drawings immediately attractive to customers in order to generate business.

So she really put her heart into drawing, creating several styles: Neo-Chinese, Simple European, Japanese, and Black, White, and Gray.

She spent only one or two drawings on each style, and it took her until evening to finish. She didn't plan to go out to find business today. She needed to do the preparation work first, so she could go to that neighborhood to find suitable clients during her lunch break in the future.

There is evening self-study on Sunday nights, because even if you go home, you will come back before dark.

During evening self-study, she found a quiet spot by herself and drew several floor plans to visually demonstrate to the client how important the layout design is.

These past two days, Hua Kai has been watching Ren Chao, the class monitor's deskmate, sleeping. He sleeps in class and during self-study, and no teacher ever calls on him. It's quite strange.

I chatted with him during the break today and learned that Ren Chao has narcolepsy, so he has an exception and can sleep.

However, this actually makes Huakai more free. Without a student sitting behind her, and with a sleepy student sitting in front of her, and the class monitor having to keep an eye on a lot of things every day, this place has really become a treasure trove for her, allowing her to draw without any problems.

The next day at noon, after drawing the flowers, she didn't go straight to the cafeteria for lunch. There were too many people after school, and queuing would be too time-consuming. Instead, she took the drawings and went directly to the neighborhood she had chosen the day before.

When they arrived at the entrance of the residential area, there was no one guarding the gate, which wasn't even finished yet, so Hua Kai just went straight in.

Looking at the sky, Hua Kai still felt very fortunate. If it had been a month later, she would have missed the best season for renovation. Autumn is the perfect time to renovate.

The current renovation is quite different from the one in the future because there are fewer material choices and it is not a frame structure, so many walls cannot be moved. Therefore, there is not much wasted time, and it can usually be completed in a month.

She walked to the unit with the best location, where the residents had absolutely high taste and requirements.

At this moment, a couple came out, talking about the room layout as they walked. Judging from the flowers, these two were the owners of the place.

She followed him and said, "Sir, Madam, hello, may I trouble you for a few minutes?"

At that time, there was no sales industry, so when someone called out to them, the couple simply stopped.

The male homeowner, who was in his forties and looked like a leader, asked Hua Kai, "Young lady, did you call us for something?"

Hua Kai walked up to the two men, took out the drawings in her hand, and said, "Sirs, I am an interior designer. Please take a look at my design first." As she spoke, she handed the drawings to the two men.

She didn't state her purpose directly. If she mentioned benefits from the beginning, it would make the other party feel uncomfortable. She wanted to impress them with her drawings so that they would come to her first and ask her to design for them.

The male homeowner looked through the blueprints, somewhat surprised: "You drew this?"

Hua Kai nodded: "Yes, I learned from a foreign designer, but this industry is just starting in China." She did have exchanges with foreign designers in her previous life, so it wasn't exactly a lie.

As the male homeowner looked around, he discussed it with his wife beside him: "Look, we were just saying before that we didn't know how to decorate properly."

The female homeowner said with a big smile, "I didn't have any particular ideas before. I just wanted to do the same thing as Old Shen's house upstairs. But now that I've seen these pictures, I feel like one house isn't enough. I like every style."

When the male homeowner saw the floor plan of Huakai, he was surprised again: "You understand architectural drawings?"

Hua Kai nodded: "Yes, I've studied it. I've researched both domestic and international design drawings." She needed to be certain in order to gain the other party's trust, and of course, she was telling the truth.

The female homeowner looked at the blooming flowers with great delight: "This young lady is quite something! How can we decorate our house like the one you drew?"

Hua Kai said, "I can come to your house in person to measure it, and then design a plan that best suits your needs based on the actual situation."

The female homeowner was completely satisfied with Huakai's meaning: "Okay then, how much will you charge?"

Hua Kai was also very happy, as the other party had brought these things up themselves, and things naturally fell into place.

She said, "It's charged per square meter, one yuan per square meter, not including construction materials, just the design fee. However, I will come to check on it regularly during the renovation to control the progress and style."

The female homeowner looked at her husband, seeking his opinion: "Old Cheng, what do you think?"

The male homeowner didn't hesitate: "I think it's great. People are progressing now, and we should also be at the forefront of the times. Shall we take Xiaohua upstairs to have a look?"

The female homeowner looked at the blooming flowers and said, "Shall we go upstairs and take a look?"

Hua Kai agreed: "Okay, I'll take a look first, and then I'll make a sample for you two. If you like it, we can talk about the rest."

As they spoke, the couple took Hua Kai and went upstairs.

As they walked, the female homeowner introduced herself to Huakai. The man's surname was Cheng, and he was a section chief. The woman's surname was Meng, and she was a primary school teacher.

After the introduction, the way to address them became simple. They all had official titles: Section Chief Cheng, Teacher Meng, and so on. These were proper and respectful titles, so there was no need to worry about calling them by the wrong name.

Listening to the two of them talk, Hua Kai could come to the conclusion that they were not short of money, because they had no doubts about the design fee of one yuan per square meter.

Upon reaching the third floor, Teacher Meng opened the east door and led Hua Kai inside.

Upon entering the house and looking at the layout, Hua Kai had to admit that this first job was going to be a big one. Based on experience, this house should be around 110 or 120 square meters. At this point, there was no shared area, no elevator, and there were also complimentary balconies and corridors. All things considered, it was even more spacious than the later 140-square-meter houses.

"Section Chief Cheng, Teacher Meng, the layout of your house is really good. It's well-ventilated from north to south, with such a large balcony and great natural light. Leave the design of this house to me, and I will definitely make you satisfied." Hua Kai also likes to design houses like this because there is a lot of room for design.

Section Chief Cheng is quite satisfied with this apartment layout: "This is the largest apartment in the community. Although it is a staff housing building, there is also a portion that we paid for ourselves. We put a lot of thought into this apartment."

Hua Kai looked around and said, "People spend the most time at home in their lives, so a comfortable home environment is very important, especially in the north. When it gets cold in winter, people go out even less. Such a large balcony can be turned into an indoor garden. Add a rocking chair, and you can bask in the sun, drink tea, listen to music, and tend to the flowers and plants. It's so pleasant."