Chapter 36
Yoda stopped what she was doing and subconsciously wanted to look at the chat window with Shixing, but the next second, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to control herself.
Since her birthday, Yoda has been determined to truly cure Shi Huang's symptoms. The two agreed to stop reporting everything to each other as before, and instead give each other some space.
When Yoda said those words that day, Shi Xing agreed, but the disappointed tone in his voice, and the subsequent air of silence that emanated from him, made Yoda feel very sad whenever he thought about it. The two of them had been inseparable since childhood, and now that he had finally woken up, he was going to try to separate again.
But Yoda still had to harden his heart, because his injury had already delayed Shixing for seven years. Only by turning Shixing back to his previous state could Yoda feel that his guilt could be slightly relieved.
"Just hang in there, it's all for a better life," Yoda comforted herself. "This must be desensitization therapy. Once I get used to being independent and stop being so sensitive to my own dangers, I can go back to how I was before."
"Yoda, come here for a second."
Designer Wang sent a message, and Yoda immediately stood up and went over. "What's wrong?"
"What did you do? All the cabinets are the wrong size."
Yoda took a look at the photos taken by the installer and realized that the cabinets were not the right size; each one was a little too big, making them impossible to install.
Yoda examined everything carefully, unable to believe it. She was always meticulous; there shouldn't be such a problem.
Customers order custom cabinets to achieve a seamless fit, preventing dust from getting into the corners and gaps, making them easy to clean and aesthetically pleasing. However, sometimes, uneven walls or a lack of a false ceiling can affect the final result of the custom cabinets.
So when others make cabinets, they usually reduce the dimensions by a few centimeters to ensure easy installation, since they can just cover it up with a panel later. But Yoda, to ensure the best customer experience, always measures exactly the right amount.
To achieve this effect, for customers who need custom cabinets, we will communicate with the construction team in advance to make the walls flat during the early stages of renovation, and we will take measurements for each household multiple times to ensure the accuracy of the data.
However, because the data was so accurate, adding just three centimeters now makes it impossible to install any of the cabinets.
Yoda firmly believed that he could never make such a mistake, but as he flipped through the pictures, the on-site feedback, and the factory records all indicated that the custom factory had made the products according to the data Yoda provided, but none of the finished products were usable.
The cabinets were quite expensive, and the customer was in a hurry to move in, so the handover date was written into the contract; any delay would incur compensation. Originally, everything was basically finished once the cabinets were installed, but this mistake would definitely affect the handover. Yoda was getting a headache thinking about the consequences.
There's definitely something wrong with the data, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly what's going on right now.
Regardless, the data discrepancy is a fact, and Yoda is frustrated. Because the project was urgent, she had been rushing through the process, and after giving the data to the factory, she went to look at other projects and didn't follow up further. "No matter what, it's my responsibility, and I will never shirk it. The most important thing now is to resolve this issue first."
Designer Wang nodded without speaking, but instructed Yoda to contact the factory immediately to return this batch of cabinets. They should then be re-modified according to the correct specifications, have the edges sealed, and then shipped back for installation.
He apologized to the customer, explained the reason, and offered a reduction in the cost, which was of course offset by the designer's design fee.
Yoda knew that feeling guilty wouldn't solve the problem, so he composed himself, grabbed his tools, and headed straight to the site to remeasure. The previous data had been inaccurate, and Yoda no longer dared to trust the data stored in the computer.
Sure enough, there was a problem. After taking actual measurements, it was discovered that it wasn't just because the dimensions were too large. In some places, thicker baffles that Yoda had specifically requested to keep the cabinet panels flat were not installed.
If it were just a matter of slightly more or less than the required standard, Yoda would still wonder if she had stayed up all night drawing and gotten dizzy, resulting in an inexplicably extra three centimeters when submitting the draft. But this significant difference in size was definitely someone deliberately sabotaging her, though she couldn't understand why anyone would do such a thing.
The company computers are all provided by the same company, and Yoda doesn't usually lock his office when he's working. Anyone in the company can come in and make changes when he's not there.
The reason it's definitely someone from the company is because this project is the largest; Yoda checked the data for all the other projects and there were no problems. This one is unique, indicating that the person who took action is very familiar with the designer's projects.
Yoda and Designer Wang solved the problem first. Yoda expressed his suspicions, and the two reported it together and waited for the results, but there was no feedback for a long time.
Zhou Liu heard from somewhere that Yoda was greatly affected by this incident and was still waiting for the company's decision. His voice was hoarse as he said, "I'm sorry, Yoda. I've hurt you."
Yoda chuckled: "What's it to you? You've been gone for ages."
Zhou Liu said, "I might know who did this."
Yoda frowned: "How did you know? Who was it?"
Zhou Liu mentioned a name, and Yoda recalled that it was a designer at the company, though he wasn't very familiar with him. "I don't even know him, why would he want to harm me?"
Zhou Liu felt guilty: "Because of me, he probably felt that we were close before, and that I would tell you things, so he wanted to get rid of you."
Yoda couldn't sit still any longer. Before, she only felt that there was something wrong with Zhou Liu's dismissal, but since Zhou Liu didn't say anything, Yoda couldn't keep asking. Now she had to find out the truth.
Zhou Liu kept explaining on the other end, "I guessed it was him, but I had no proof. I tried to get information out of him to provide evidence to help you, but he has blocked me now. It's all my fault; if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been targeted."
Yoda calmed down: "Don't panic, what exactly happened to you back then?"
Zhou Liu sighed and recounted everything in detail. "One day, I was complaining at the company that my salary was too low, and someone told me I could earn some referral fees by taking orders online and then subcontracting them to others. I figured I was just killing time, and it wouldn't hurt to just do it on my phone, let the company people do the orders, and it'd even help me get some more customers." Zhou Liu sighed, but later he realized that things weren't as simple as he thought.
After bringing a few orders to the company for others to complete, he stopped caring about the follow-up matters. He felt that he was just helping to introduce clients, and once he received his referral fee for each order, that was the end of his business.
He hadn't expected that there was an internal chain within the company that encouraged people to steal clients for personal gain, forming an entire industry chain from front-line sales staff to designers and senior management. Whenever someone came to the company to sign a contract, the sales staff would subtly suggest that the customer sign the contract privately. Even some of the designers' ideas were plagiarized.
Zhou Liu scratched his head and said, "When I found out, I had already joined them in a daze. When the company found out later, I was the only one who was pushed out. That's when I realized that they had brought me in in the first place so that someone else would take the fall."
Yoda sighed, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Zhou Liu said, "I don't know what to say. I also have problems with this matter. I was too greedy and wanted to make more money, which led me to get involved. So there's nothing to say about being fired. I just didn't expect that recently, it seems that because I went too far, the company has become aware of it and is in a hurry to cover it up, which is why they took action against you."
Knowing why, Yoda wasn't so troubled. Instead, he comforted Zhou Liu, "It's okay, I'll just be careful."
Zhou Liu said anxiously, "But I'm worried that, given their personalities, they're targeting you now because they think you're more familiar with me. They won't let it go until they get rid of you. I'm sorry, Sister Yoda, it's all my fault. If I had behaved myself back then, none of this would have happened."
Thinking about the compensation Yoda might have to pay, which would basically mean all the work he'd done during this time was for nothing, Zhou Liu couldn't help but feel upset.
Yoda said to him, "You're not the one in the wrong, those people are. What does it mean to be law-abiding? You're doing this so you can have a better future. Don't worry about me, I've already spoken to the company. They're hesitant to act, so I'm sure they won't dare to be so blatant again."
Yoda's words of comfort eased Zhou Liu's anxiety, but he still couldn't help feeling a little worried and told Yoda to be very careful.
Since Yoda's data was maliciously modified last time, Yoda has become even more careful to protect himself.
"Another out-of-town project?" Yoda frowned as he looked at the recent projects. Even though they were all design projects, there were good and bad ones.
Local projects with easy-to-communicate clients are definitely good projects. It's not that out-of-town projects are bad, but designer Wang is a senior employee with an older age and elderly family members to care for, so he's rarely assigned out-of-town jobs. After all, on-site measurements and communication are very inconvenient.
However, it can't be said that the company's arrangements are problematic. After all, the market is highly competitive now, and having orders is always better than being idle.
"I can handle these out-of-towners." Designer Wang was quite open-minded. After settling things at home, he planned to visit several places in one go to complete the preliminary work in one go.
He knew Yoda was unwell, so he didn't let Yoda go out. Moreover, his design habit was that he had to see the site himself and couldn't rely solely on other people's descriptions.
Because of his long slumber, Yoda was already considered relatively old when he came for his internship. Despite the gossip from others, Designer Wang, though initially silent, consistently took good care of Yoda. Originally, as a design assistant, no one would have objected to Yoda going alone. Even though both of them faced inconveniences going out, Designer Wang volunteered, and Yoda knew it was out of consideration for him.
"There's a local one here, you can start working on it. With your current skill level, you could easily do independent design work."
Yoda nodded and watched him leave.
"Is this some kind of scam?"
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