Chapter 515: New Questions Can't Stump Her
“People always choose the wrong path.”
Han Lingcui folded up the design drafts one by one and put them in a drawer. "But if you make the wrong choice, you have to bear the consequences."
She walked into the yard and picked up the sunflower pot that had been knocked over. The soil was scattered all over the ground and a few petals had fallen off, but the sunflower still held its head stubbornly towards the street light.
When Lin Xiao left, he left her a bag of freshly baked croissants and gave her some instructions.
"Lock the door at night and call me if you need anything."
Han Lingcui watched her back disappear around the corner, turned back to the studio, and finally picked up the phone under the workbench.
There were more than a dozen missed calls on the screen, all from Shen Hanxing, and a message from Xuanyuan Pavilion, asking her why she didn't reply to the message.
She first sent a message to Xuanyuan Pavilion, saying that she was busy and asked him not to worry.
Then he clicked on Shen Hanxing’s dialog box, hesitated for a moment, and made a video call.
The call was quickly connected, and Shen Hanxing’s face appeared on the screen, his eyes full of anxiety.
"Ling Cui! Are you okay? Lawyer Li just said the police have Xi Muxuan under control. I was so scared that my hands were shaking."
"I'm fine."
Han Lingcui smiled at the camera, hiding the red mark on her wrist behind her back, "It's just a small scratch, nothing serious."
The camera suddenly shook, and Xunxun's little head came over with building blocks in his hand.
"Mom! Why didn't you answer the phone just now? I built a new castle, and it's taller than the last one!"
The little guy was wearing a yellow jacket and his eyes were sparkling.
Han Lingcui's eyes instantly became wet. She sniffed and spoke softly.
"Mom was packing up just now and didn't hear. Xunxun is awesome. When mom comes back, she must come and see the castle we built."
"OK!"
Xunxun held up the building blocks and shook them towards the camera. "Mom, when will you come back? I drew a lot of wontons and stuck them on the refrigerator."
"It's almost time. Once Mommy's side is more stable, I'll pick you up and come over to play."
Han Lingcui looked at his son on the screen, and the fatigue in his heart suddenly disappeared, leaving only full warmth.
Chen Hanxing took the phone and said softly: "Don't be too tired. Now that Xi Muxuan's matter is resolved, just take a good rest for a few days. It's okay to take your time with the studio's affairs."
"I know."
Han Lingcui nodded, his eyes falling on Xuanyuan Ge in the corner of the screen. He made a "reassurance" gesture to her, his eyes full of concern.
After hanging up the phone, the studio returned to silence.
Han Lingcui went to the second floor, folded the scattered fabrics, and put away the design draft that was scratched by a knife.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a message from Lawyer Li:
"Xi Muxuan's extradition procedures are already underway. She has confessed some of her crimes with Jiang Shutong. They haven't caused you any substantial harm, so we won't trouble you again."
When Han Lingcui put the design draft that was scratched by the knife into the drawer, his fingertips suddenly stopped.
The crooked scratch on the manuscript paper looks very much like the winding cobblestone road in the old neighborhood.
A few days ago, when the police were taking statements, they mentioned that this old neighborhood was going to launch an "organic renewal" plan, and the core "community public cultural space" project was being tendered.
Designers were required to retain the architectural texture while injecting modern functionality.
She stared at the ivy-covered window lines on the manuscript paper, and suddenly an idea came to her mind:
Why not give it a try?
…
When she walked into the bidding site with the design plan of "Shiguang Collection", she really became the "outlier" in the whole venue.
On the left is an international architectural firm specializing in minimalist glass curtain walls, and on the right is a local design institute that specializes in high-density commercial complexes.
Only her display board was filled with old bricks, wooden beams and a sunflower-shaped atrium. The plan stated, "Not a single old tree will be knocked down, and not a single repairable old wall will be demolished."
"Ms. Han," Academician Chen, the white-haired architectural master, pushed his glasses at the bidding review table.
"Your proposal mentions 'retaining the warehouse's wooden trusses.' How will this address modern loads from a structural safety perspective?"
Han Lingcui was well prepared. She opened the three-dimensional model on the tablet and ran her fingertips across the hidden steel structure supports on the screen.
"We will use Q355 steel as hidden beams and embed them into the joints of the wooden trusses. This will not only preserve the original appearance but also support the weight of the bookshelves in the second-floor picture book library. It's like providing a handrail for the elderly – invisible but able to support the weight."
But the questioning did not stop.
Suddenly, someone in the back row raised their hand: "You've only done soft furnishings before, so how can you take on such a large-scale construction project?"
She looked up at the man who was speaking, took a deep breath, and turned the tablet towards the audience.
"I don't have any experience with large-scale construction, but I've lived in this old neighborhood for six months. I know the florist's wife has to move the flower racks at 4 a.m. every day, that the bakery's oven needs a dedicated 380V line, and that the children need a courtyard where they can run and laugh. These aren't things you can find out with resources; you learn them by squatting at the alley entrance every day."
Her words caused silence for a few seconds, and Academician Chen suddenly nodded.
"The essence of architecture is to serve people. You've grasped the core. But the construction difficulty and cost need to be further refined."
What he said basically confirmed Han Lingcui's plan.
Although others were envious, they didn't say much.
After all, it all depends on one's own ability.
Han Lingcui also thought that his career had reached a new level.
Unexpectedly...
The real hurdle comes after winning the bid.
On the first day the construction team arrived at the site, the foreman came to her with the blueprints.
"Engineer Han, the surface of this old brick wall is brittle. Either tear it down and rebuild it, or don't use it. Otherwise, it will definitely collapse when you pour concrete."
Han Lingcui ran to the construction site and squatted at the base of the wall to feel around.
There are still decades-old grass veins embedded in the cracks between the bricks, and they fall off when touched by fingertips.
But this wall represents the longing of the old residents!
She gritted her teeth and said, "No. Give me three days and I'll find a solution."
She barely slept for three days.
I spent the day in the architectural archives, looking up construction drawings from the Republic of China period, and discovered that this wall was built using the "three-by-one" masonry method, and was solid at heart.
When they were video chatting at night, Xunxun held up the building blocks and shouted, "Mom, if the building is crooked, you can use small cubes to cushion it." This gave her inspiration.
She contacted a master who restored ancient buildings and customized "repair bricks" made of the same material as the old bricks.
Then, glutinous rice mortar was used to fill the cracks in the bricks, and finally a 50mm thick fiber cement board was made on the inside of the wall.
It not only preserves the "old look" on the outside, but also builds a strong "new skeleton" on the inside.
But troubles came one after another.
Three months into the project, we suddenly received a notice:
A drainage network from the Qing Dynasty was discovered underground in the old neighborhood, and the original foundation location had to be moved back 3 meters.
This meant that the atrium staircase she designed would have to be modified, the area of the handcraft workshop on the second floor would be reduced, and even the bakery's reserved flue would have to be adjusted.
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