Chapter 34
Liu Si said to Youda, "Sister, let's join the group first and build up some popularity."
Yoda asked in confusion, "What group is this?" as he joined.
Liu Si said, "This isn't a firm anymore. Now it's divided into two factions. Everyone's saying that whichever faction has the most members will stay in the firm, and the others will have to leave and start their own businesses. Right now, we're all creating our own groups and calling for people to join."
Yoda asked in surprise, "Who said that? I don't know anything about it."
Liu Si exclaimed softly, "Such a big thing, you didn't know?"
Yoda truly had no idea; Shi Xing hadn't told her a thing.
Liu Si affirmed, "It must be that President Shi didn't want you to worry about him, so he didn't say anything. But now the firm is about to split up. Liu Si felt that this was a critical moment of life and death, and it was necessary to strengthen their own forces. Mainly, Liu Si was anxious, seeing more and more people joining the group on Li Chong's side, while there were very few on their side."
Originally, she and Wang Mian thought that since they would choose to side with Shi Xing because he was such a good person, others would think the same way. However, they did not expect that after the two of them stood up, they would find that only the two of them were the loudest, while everyone else remained silent, and there was no sense of a great momentum at all.
When Yoda joined, he found that the group only contained chat logs between Wang Mian and Liu Si. At first, they were discussing some design-related matters, but later it turned into an emoji contest.
Yoda found it amusing and took a screenshot, asking Liu Si, "What's going on here?"
Liu Si said embarrassedly, "It's because there are too few people in the group, and the people who join don't talk. Wang Mian and I saw that the group was not active, so we came up with this method: to go online at a fixed time every day and send some information."
Yoda asked curiously, "Is this even useful? Since we've already separated into groups, they won't know if you have any messages in the group or not."
Liu Si glanced around furtively and then said to Yoda, "Sister Yoda, you don't know this, but we have spies in their group, and our group is also in danger."
Yoda looked at the few people in the group and said, "It can't be that bad, there are only a few of you. Don't you all know each other?"
Liu Si thought about it and agreed, but still said to Yoda, "There's more to it. Actually, this is also a kind of metaphysics. They have a lot of popularity over there, and we can't fall behind. According to the Matthew effect, the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker. If our popularity can't keep up, then we'll slowly lower our morale. So we can't admit defeat, we must be strong."
Yoda didn't quite understand, but his attitude was absolutely supportive: "Okay, okay, so what do I need to do to join in?"
Liu Si: "Oh, it's okay. You just need to join in to boost popularity. Leave everything else to me. Don't worry, with me here, I definitely won't let Shi Zong lose."
Liu Si spoke with unwavering conviction and boundless enthusiasm, inspiring Yoda to solemnly declare, "Thank you for your hard work!"
Liu Si smiled and said, "Haha, it's not hard at all. We're sure to win this battle."
Yoda looked at Shixing's phone, wanting to ask him how he was doing, but then she thought that since he hadn't told her on his own initiative, he must be able to handle the problem.
Thinking about Shi Xing's overprotective nature, a thought began to take root in Yoda's mind. Now that her parents and friends' lives had returned to normal, she couldn't bear to see Shi Xing still traumatized by what had happened. Perhaps, maintaining a proper distance between them would be better for Shi Xing.
Thinking of this, Yoda put down his phone and turned to look at the design in his hand.
Although Yoda had worked on Wang's projects before, it was actually as an intern. This is Yoda's first time working as a designer's assistant. Therefore, Yoda wants to complete this project very seriously.
After working continuously for a week, Yoda handed the design to Designer Wang and waited for his approval.
This project is a villa design, a three-story structure. Yoda considered many methods to make it more comfortable to live in. Renderings were prepared for each construction step. It's fair to say that Yoda had nothing more to add before submitting the final product.
Unexpectedly, the first thing Designer Wang said after taking it was a question: "Why did you design it this way?"
Yoda explained, "This is to make the living experience more comfortable. Considering that the homeowner's family might be living there for three generations, a more convenient housing design is needed. Therefore, I..."
Before Yoda could finish explaining his design concept, Designer Wang tossed the design draft onto the table, rubbed his temples, and said, "I didn't ask you to explain how you designed it. I'm asking why you designed it this way. Did the homeowner tell you he needed these things?"
Yoda was a bit slow on the uptake and didn't understand what Designer Wang meant.
Designer Wang sighed and said, "The items you mentioned will make the design better, but the homeowner didn't request them. If you add things the homeowner didn't request, how do you calculate the design fee? In the end, the cost of the renovation exceeds his expectations, and you're just standing there explaining to the client like an idiot?"
Yoda hesitated, not expecting it to be from this angle. She earnestly told the designer, "I was thinking that if you agree to this design plan, I'll then communicate with the homeowner. Actually, even with the same renovation budget, if we can control costs well, this plan won't exceed the budget by too much, but the living experience will be much better."
Designer Wang waved his hand: "Don't do anything unnecessary. Design is a job. To do a job, you have to learn to interact with people, understand what others want, and what level we need to reach to complete the work. That's enough. Don't add your own subjective assumptions."
"Adding projects first and then discussing them with the homeowner is inappropriate. If he doesn't agree, all your previous designs will fail. The homeowner's costs are a factor, and our time is also a cost. Now that you're my assistant, one of the most important requirements is that you keep up with my pace. The time and energy that can be invested in each project is limited. If you waste your time on these things, our progress will be greatly delayed."
Designer Wang looked at Yoda seriously: "You know the company's performance evaluation mechanism. If we miss work, the projects we can do in the future will only get worse and worse, until we can't do it anymore and have to leave."
"The homeowner's requirement for this project is to achieve a satisfactory result within their renovation budget. You should create a rough plan based on their budget, and if they are satisfied, that's fine. It's not about ignoring the budget and doing it according to your own ideas. I've had this project with you for some time now. Although the plan you've given me is very good, from a project perspective, it's like I gave you a project, and you've spent a lot of time on it, but the completion rate is still 0%, right?"
Yoda lowered his head and said, "But I think designs should have their own ideas."
Designer Wang said, "Designers should have their own ideas, but you should have your ideas within the scope that others have given you, rather than doing everything based solely on your own ideas. I have some other small apartment case studies here, the ones you've done before. These are more urgent, so take them and work on these first. You don't need to work on this project anymore."
Yoda was somewhat disheartened, but seeing the designer's resolute expression, he refrained from revealing his true thoughts. After all, he had indeed been too idealistic and hadn't considered reality. Yoda picked up the drawings for the other projects, nodded, and walked away.
After Yoda left, designer Wang carefully reviewed the renderings of her design. It was indeed a very detailed and feasible plan. Because the plumbing and electrical systems for the villa project were quite complex, a separate plan was also prepared for the plumbing and electrical work.
It's clear they went to the site to observe the sunlight and wind direction. They didn't simply copy the design of other projects with the same floor plan; instead, they redesigned the layout of the laundry room and garden based on the location and orientation of this house. This ensures that the residents can enjoy ample sunlight while also having convenient access to the space.
Designer Wang couldn't help but nod. To be fair, he couldn't say the design was bad; on the contrary, it was a very mature design, but it wasn't practical for this project.
The homeowner's initial idea was that they had a limited renovation budget and didn't necessarily need as many well-designed features. After so many years in the business, he deeply understood one principle: anything not completed according to the company's contractual requirements constitutes a design that doesn't meet the company's standards.
He was originally going to throw away the useless design draft, but then he paused, thought about it, and decided to neatly stack the design draft and put it into his desk drawer.
Well, even though I won't need it, I'll keep it anyway. Several design drafts were already stored in the small drawer. After putting Yoda's design draft in, the drawer was closed, disappearing into the darkness along with the others.
Liu Si said to Wang Mian, "What should we do? Are we really going to lose?"
Wang Mian was also somewhat worried, but at this moment, his team's morale absolutely could not be low. He still put on a confident demeanor and said to Liu Si, "How could that be? You have to believe in our strength. The other side's prosperity is all a facade. In the end, we will definitely be the winners."
Although he said this, Wang Mian still felt a little uncertain. He had subtly inquired about things at the firm with Shi Xing recently, but the latter hadn't given a clear answer, only telling him to focus on his design work. Wang Mian was at a loss, and didn't want to tell Liu Si about these things, because he knew Liu Si was also a worrier. If he told her, she would definitely worry a lot, so it was better for him to bear the pressure himself.
Wang Mian thought to himself, "This is probably the price of being a mature person." Liu Si seemed to genuinely believe what he said; the worry she initially showed completely disappeared after Wang Mian finished speaking.
Wang Mian was somewhat proud, but alas, in the end, I still had to bear all the burdens.
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