Chapter 17
"Teacher, the Huayuan residential project you are in charge of has a leak in the exterior facade that is affecting the south-facing bedroom. Look, this is a picture of the wall I took."
Yoda returned the data from yesterday's measurements and the leaky wall he found on his return to the teacher in charge of the project.
"Teacher" is the company's standard term for designers. All interns have the same work: fragmented and miscellaneous, which anyone can assign outside of their regular daily tasks. Beyond that, there is no teacher-student relationship.
The other person glanced at Yoda, somewhat surprised. After all, this was outside his arrangements. Taking the photos Yoda had taken, they saw that there was indeed a leak.
The project hasn't started construction yet; we just need to reinforce the waterproofing here later.
If you only discover this later in the process, it's not impossible to make changes, but it will be quite troublesome.
Nobody likes trouble, and surprisingly, the designer's expression softened considerably towards Yoda, who had helped him alleviate some of his burdens. He asked Yoda's name, nodded, and left.
Yoda was used to this attitude. The internship pay was too low, and he was busy every day doing mundane things like measuring rooms, coordinating construction, and checking on-site.
Some of the interns who came with him had left, but some more had arrived. Yoda himself couldn't remember exactly how many people there were, let alone the others.
Over time, everyone comes to realize that interns are not stable. Younger designers might interact more with familiar interns, but for older interns like this, completing their work is more important than conversation.
Everyone has their own things to do, and no one has time to teach Yoda and the others. Some people feel that time is being wasted day by day, and they see no hope, so they choose to leave. But others see it as a form of training and persevere.
Yoda didn't think too much about it. Even now that he's woken up, he finds that the world seems to be moving faster, and everyone wants immediate results and clear rewards for their work. But Yoda still lives at his own pace.
In Yoda's opinion, everyone who enters this industry has to go through an internship, so he should just focus on doing his job well.
Even though she sometimes felt that during her internship, after solving the problems caused by her initial unfamiliarity with the work, she was just constantly repeating the same tasks.
Although the internship is important and has a significant impact on the final renovation result, Yoda sometimes wonders if every job in the world is meaningful, and what the meaning of this job is for him.
However, such doubts were quickly put to the back of their minds.
Life is finite; there is no time for meaningless questioning.
Zhou Liu saw that Yoda had handed in his work, so he didn't go over. The two of them had developed a tacit understanding through their monotonous daily work; it didn't matter who handed in the work, since the rest of the work would be the same anyway.
"Strange, has Old Wang taken the wrong medicine? Last time I went to return the map to him, he had a really long face, but why is he being so polite to you today?" Zhou Liu waited until Yoda came back and no one was around before he dared to complain.
"Maybe it's because I went back to check the site yesterday and found some leaky walls, so he thinks I'm alright?" Yoda pondered. Aside from that, the two had no other interaction. "Why are you calling him so old? Did he offend you?"
Zhou Liu waved his hand, "That's just a respectful way of addressing me. After all, there aren't many designers over forty. Most of them have changed careers, haha." He clicked his tongue in amazement at Yoda, "No wonder, who wouldn't like you to work more? I can't do that. This salary is only enough for me to maintain a basic living. Every minute and every second of the rest is just draining my energy."
She then complained, "Last night I pushed my bike home, and it was a real struggle to walk through the floodwaters. I even ruined a pair of shoes. This morning, I put them on and walked a few steps before I realized they were incredibly smelly. It's unbelievable; I'm starting to wonder if I walked through a septic tank yesterday."
The awful smell of shoes soaked in rainwater is something I can instantly recall without even thinking about it. Luckily, the first thing Yoda did when she got home yesterday was to soak and clean the shoes. Otherwise, they would have had to be thrown away.
Zhou Liu cried out that he'd been tricked. He regretted slacking off. Now, before he'd even received his salary, he'd already ruined a pair of shoes; it was practically like working on a loan.
Yoda glanced at the other person, a pang of sympathy in her heart. In their youthful ignorance, she and Shixing had once strolled in the rain. But all that romance was shattered by the stench of their shoes fermenting overnight.
Having learned a painful lesson, even though I was already quite tired after parting ways with Shixing last night, I still struggled to get up and fix my shoes before daring to rest.
Seeing Zhou Liu so dejected, Yoda could only comfort him: "Hang in there a little longer, the future is bright."
Zhou Liu sighed, "It's been so long, and we're still doing this basic work. I think we're not doing an internship, we're being forced into labor." Where is the bright future? All we can see is a winding road.
Yoda picked up the notebook in his hand and shook it, indicating to the other person that it was time to go, and that it was just another day of work. Zhou Liu took a deep breath and followed Yoda, muttering, "Let's go, let's go."
Another long day has come to an end. Unlike before, Yoda looked at the steaming hot pot in front of him and hesitated: "Is this really the right thing to do?"
This is a newly opened hot pot restaurant. Yoda and Zhou Liu were originally just there to do the final touches on the project.
Yoda chose to intern at a renovation company with a great reputation in the industry, which allowed him to secure many restaurant renovation projects. These included various chain stores, franchise stores, and restaurants of all names, all of which required a unified renovation style and design.
Towards the end of a renovation, there are always some miscellaneous tasks and odds and ends, which are perfect for beginners like Yoda to learn and practice. Of course, that's Yoda's perspective. From Zhou Liu's point of view, once the project is completed and the payment is settled, the remaining miscellaneous tasks aren't worth the designer's trip, so he assigns them to handle them.
Yoda carefully checked each item. The curtains were the correct size, with no light leakage and smooth sliding, completed; the cabinets opened and closed smoothly, the door gaps were even, there was no visible misalignment, and the cabinets were free of dents, completed; all the automatic sliding plates for safety protection of the sockets were working properly, and all the panels in the back kitchen had splash-proof boxes installed, completed.
After Yoda inspected all the miscellaneous items, he discovered that Zhou Liu, true to his word, had already established a preliminary friendship with the shop owner through his silver tongue, and even received a free tasting meal for the new shop's opening.
Yoda looked at the various dishes on the table. Basically, everything the restaurant had was on the table. Even if some dishes were only partially served, it was still too much for two people. Yoda glanced at the staff on the other side, who were already eating enthusiastically. They certainly weren't going to share with their table. "We can't finish this," he said.
Zhou Liu put down his phone. "It's okay, there's still one person left."
Yoda was relieved. He had witnessed Zhou Liu's appetite while the two of them were traveling around; he was a true glutton. If another person of similar size came along, these would definitely be consumed.
"What did you say? You've arranged so much for us!" Although Yoda knew Zhou Liu was good at socializing, this was too much. Both of them were here for the first time, and Yoda had only walked around the venue once, yet Zhou Liu had already won over the boss.
Zhou Liu tried to appear calm, but couldn't help showing off as soon as he opened his mouth: "I just praised the interior design of his shop and told him which design would make his business better. When a shop just opens, the owner definitely wants to hear these kinds of things. After this combination of tactics, he took the initiative to arrange this table for him."
Seeing Yoda's admiring expression, Zhou Liu continued to show off. "Take the storefront for example. The red lettering is eye-catching, not to mention that red evokes images of spiciness and heat. Before people even see the store name, they'll immediately realize there's a hot pot restaurant here. If they want to eat there, they'll naturally be drawn in."
"Most importantly, his storefront is the most eye-catching in the area, with a striking color. Other stores use long strip panels for their storefronts, which fade over time. His storefront uses diamond-coated panels, which are corrosion-resistant and newly made, so it's naturally more attractive than the surrounding stores."
Zhou Liu gestured for Yoda to look at the interior decoration of the entire shop: "Look, from the doormat at the entrance to the partition curtain hanging from the ceiling, to the napkins and the oil-resistant aprons, everything is printed with the shop's logo."
"I didn't even notice until you pointed it out." She had been checking the interior design, but since the soft furnishings were fixed and there wasn't much to check, Yoda hadn't paid attention. It's also because there are so many shops like this that it's easy to overlook them.
"The goal is to incorporate these elements into every detail so that customers remember the taste and the restaurant's logo while dining. Even if you don't consciously try to remember them, your subconscious will make this restaurant your first choice for the next time you want to eat this flavor."
Yoda nodded; these were indeed basic design theories. What was remarkable was Zhou Liu's vivid and expressive delivery; every sentence seemed to say, "Design it this way, and the business will surely boom."
No wonder the boss is so generous. That little mouth of hers is like a lucky cat sitting right across from you. Putting everything else aside, just listening to that boasting makes you feel good.
Lucky Cat-Zhou stood up and waved his hand. "Here."
Yoda watched Zhou Ying huff and puff as she walked in, saying, "Why did it have to be so far? If there's not enough to eat, you'll have to reimburse me for the bus fare."
Zhou Liu quickly showed off to the other party, pointing to the entire table of dishes and saying, "Look at all this, it's definitely worth the fare."
Yoda watched the incredibly familiar exchange between Zhou Liu and Zhou Ying, his fingers moving back and forth between the two: "You two... know each other?"
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