Chapter 46
Yoda and Liu Si quickly perked up their ears.
With an audience in hand, Li Fen immediately got excited: "I originally liked his home's interior design style and wanted to ask how to contact you, but I ended up listening to a whole bunch of complaints about his current designer."
"He thought that taking a picture of your rendering and copying it would be the same. Besides, the designer he hired was cheaper, and he used the money he saved to upgrade his package according to the designer's advice. He thought that although he spent more money, the materials were upgraded, which would be equivalent to taking the renovation to a higher level. Unexpectedly, when the renovation was completed, the effect was not what he expected. When he went to the designer to argue, the designer directly said: 'Renderings are inherently different from reality. Don't be fooled by how warm and inviting the pictures look; they've all been edited. It's impossible to recreate them in reality.'"
"And what's with all this talk? People edit their photos these days, and which designer doesn't retouch their renderings? No one could replicate that effect. Blame it on him buying a middle unit; if it were an end unit with better lighting, it would definitely have that effect."
At this point, Li Fen said with some disdain, "He could have just said he was dissatisfied, but he was coaxed home by a few words. At the time, it seemed reasonable, but when he came home and sat there, he felt a bit cheated, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it." He's easily swayed and tries to take advantage but ends up losing out.
Yoda didn't know what to say; this outcome was somewhat predictable. When she was designing the house, she observed the amount of sunlight entering the room throughout the day during her first on-site measurement, precisely to address the issue of poor lighting. Since there was no way to enlarge the windows, she could only compensate through interior decoration, making the space feel brighter and larger to the user.
Therefore, Yoda used furniture made of different materials to increase the diffuse reflection of indoor light sources. Moreover, furniture such as screens and coffee tables can be moved, so that the need to reflect natural light can be met in different scenarios.
To achieve the desired effect, the design included space for furniture movement. This way, in actual use, the furniture can be moved according to different seasons, while still allowing light to be reflected into the room.
In the renderings, it just looks like ordinary furniture and blank space. This was originally just one part of enhancing the lighting, requiring coordination from other elements. However, if this detail wasn't noticed, other more subtle design elements were likely overlooked as well.
Therefore, it's normal for the final product to differ from the rendering.
"I saw how bad the result of his home renovation was, so I knew I had to hire you. At first, when I asked him, he was a little reluctant to say, probably because he felt a bit embarrassed. After all, he spent more money and didn't get the effect he wanted."
"However, he figured that what others said might be true, that middle units don't get much sunlight anyway. Since both of our units are middle units with exactly the same layout, he finally told me anyway. He definitely wanted to see if the final design would look like the renderings you gave him."
At this point, Li Fen waved her hand and readily signed: "I just like the style and design you installed for him. You don't have to do anything; just copy it for me."
Yoda said with a smile, "Even with the same apartment layout, the lighting and ventilation conditions will differ depending on the location. Moreover, the homeowners' usage habits are different, so the details of the renovation also need to be modified."
"Auntie, don't worry, I will do my best to take care of it."
Li Fen nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly said, "However, we need to speed up the renovation. We need to move in with their family."
Actually, Yoda had already found it a bit strange. Even if it was a direct copy of his own design, the renovation time was too fast. Now, seeing how anxious Li Fen was, he realized he couldn't meet her first request: "Auntie, the construction period really can't be rushed. After the tiles are laid, we need to stop work and wait for the cement mortar to stabilize. After the latex paint is applied, we also need to close the windows and wait a few days for the paint to dry in the shade."
"Oh? Then his place looks like it will be ready soon."
Yoda glanced at the other person, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. Otherwise, how could he have done something like starting renovations based on just a few photos?
Li Fen instantly understood Yoda's meaning, but she was still conflicted: "I'm in business, and I want to have a great start. It's already bad that their front door is now facing down on me, and if I move in any later, I won't feel right."
While speaking, he showed Yoda the doors of the two houses. Originally, the developer installed the same style of doors for both houses, and the height and size were the same. However, the house of the owner who had previously canceled the purchase had been replaced with a taller and larger door, which took up the middle space and was also changed to an outward-opening door to save interior space.
"This door? It's not up to standard." According to fire safety regulations, even when a door is opened to its maximum extent, it must not obstruct the passageway or the opening of the neighbor's door.
No wonder Aunt Li Fen is uncomfortable with the way the door has been changed.
"Huh? That's not compliant. I was thinking of making it the same as his, since he's taking up space, so am I."
Yoda patiently explained, "Auntie, your apartment layout has a specially reserved entryway area right at the entrance, so the original inward-opening door didn't affect its use. Changing it to outward-opening wouldn't save any more space and might even affect safety."
At this point, Yoda felt a little embarrassed. He had just assured the other party that he would be satisfied, but he had to contradict himself on every single point they made.
But there was really no other way. However, Li Fen didn't refuse or get angry. Instead, she felt that Yoda was sincere: "I misunderstood. I've been selling tiles for many years and I know a bit about decoration. It's just that styles and designs have changed so quickly in recent years that even I can't figure out some of the new categories, like skin glaze, cement glaze, and candy glaze. They make my head spin, and I don't dare to apply my previous experience. When I saw his home decoration, I thought it was some new technology that could do it quickly and well."
He nodded and said, "What you say sounds reliable, I believe you."
With the contract successfully signed, Yoda's spirits soared, and his previous frustration vanished. This was a true sign of things turning around for the better, a sure sign of good fortune. While overjoyed, Yoda calmed down. Although Aunt Li Fen's project had basic time constraints, with proper planning in the early stages, tasks that could be done simultaneously could be completed together, saving considerable time.
However, to ensure smooth transitions between each stage of the renovation process, the design needs to be more specific and detailed to facilitate successful construction.
Mo Ke's design drawings are not yet finalized, so we need to hurry. Although communication is difficult and time is limited, Yoda did not give up. After arranging a time for Aunt Li Fen to come and measure the house, he went straight to the building materials market.
Since the other party is more comfortable making choices, Yoda simply sent all the choices to them in various stores.
After all, seeing it in person is more intuitive than describing it yourself.
Tiles, wall paint, cabinets, curtains—Yoda wandered around the various stores, feeling dizzy, before finally figuring out the colors Moke liked. Although the renovation budget was limited, with a little more time, they could always find the best value option.
Looking at their densely packed chat history, although most of it consisted of various pictures sent by Yoda, Moko responded to every single choice.
Yoda glanced at the picture and realized that the other person actually preferred warm and dreamy colors. When choosing a dining table, the picture Yoda sent was originally just a regular-colored slab stone dining table, but Moko specifically pointed out the pink marble dining table in the corner and inquired about it.
Unfortunately, Mo Ke stopped talking later because the price wasn't right.
Yoda looked at the other products Moko had chosen and realized that this color combination was more suitable than the ordinary gray slab.
But the price? Yoda stood up, turning back without hesitation from her walk home. She knew there were several factories nearby that seemed to wholesale stone, and they probably also had marble slabs. Buying finished products directly was a bit expensive, but if she bought the slabs directly from the factory and had a carpenter make the frames, the cost would definitely be much lower.
After shutting down her computer, the lively atmosphere of the live stream was gone. Mo Ke stared at her small rented room reflected in the dark screen. The smile on her face hadn't faded yet, and no one would guess that she had been shy when talking to Yoda.
After washing up, Mo Ke lay in bed, thinking about the house she had just bought, which she had spent all her savings on, but she had never even seen it once.
I was just thinking about buying a house when an ad for that particular apartment complex popped up, so I went straight for it and bought a unit that was just within my budget. After buying the apartment, I happened to see a design firm on the street, so I went in. The first designer I met there signed a contract with.
Judging from the other person's surprised expression, perhaps a normal person wouldn't be so rash? Mo Ke doesn't know how others would make decisions, but she has made many important decisions in her life this way.
If you don't want to stay at home, leave home and live alone; if you don't want to go out to work, stay home and be a game streamer; if you don't want to rent a house, buy one.
The thought of the designer constantly talking to her made Mo Ke a little annoyed. Why did he have to ask her so many questions? Why didn't he just build her a decent-looking house?
Even though I was thinking that, when I closed my eyes, the image of home kept popping into my mind.
Venetian blinds, a rocking chair, a bathtub, and wall lamps were all things Mo Ke had never considered before. She originally thought she didn't need these things at all, but when she saw the pictures, she inexplicably looked at each one carefully and even made a choice among the different styles offered.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but open the chat window again, only to find that there were new messages during her live stream.
Yoda: "Do you like it?" (Image/Image/Image)
When Mo Ke clicked on it, she saw different patterns of pink marble, which immediately reminded her of the slab dining table she had seen by chance before.
The combination of soft pink and cool, orderly marble gave Mo Ke a natural sense of intimacy, perhaps just like herself, resisting contact with people yet hoping that someone could break through the barriers she had erected.
Looking at the shadows cast by the light on the edge of the other person's photo, Mo Ke suddenly thought that perhaps she should give it a try.
Mo mustered up her courage and sent a message: Are you coming to my current place?
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