Assistant Architect

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

_______________________

_______________________

Before Zhang Siyi had time to react, Gu Yu first spoke:“Are you awake?”

With a muddled head, Zhang Siyi responded with a sleepy"Hmmmm". With facial contours cast in shadow from the bright lights behind, hesaw the figure of Gu Yu standing above him.

“Did you sleep all right? “Gu Yu’s voice is alittle hoarse.

Zhang Siyi sat up, his brain was still dull, and hecouldn't figure out the situation: “Okay, what time…”

“It’s almost nine o’clock,” Gu Yu stood up andsaid, “I bought you breakfast and woke you up. Go wash your face and comeand have something to eat.” He then left the room.

Shit! It’s almost 9: 00? Doesn't that mean it’s almosttime to work? Zhang Siyi quickly put on his socks and shoes and went to thebathroom.

When the cold water splashed his face, Zhang Siyi felt invigoratedand excited, but something wasn't quite right. Now that he was awake, his mindwas processing the events that just transpired.

Gu Yu was going to ask him to get up for breakfast. Hewas not awake, but then he woke up. Then, thinking about what woke him up, thesensation he felt was of something soft touching his face. And when he openedhis eyes, he and saw Gu Yu face cloaked in shadow right above him. Gu Yu was veryclose, and it was not like the type of distance that a boss would call for hissubordinate to get up…

If he didn’t wake up at the time? What was he doing? ZhangSiyi’s head is in a cloud, and the whole person has a very strange feeling.Thinking that Gu Yu may have touched him, he neither feels sick or weird, butinstead he felt nervous, shy and a kind of anticipation.

Feeling confused he further thought about the situation.How could Gu Yu touch him? Maybe he was trying to wake him up vigorously! Itmust be that Zhang Siyi has confused his dreams with reality.

After washing his face, he went back to his desk. On thelarge discussion table Zhang Siyi saw a series of small breakfast bags. Hegrabbed one with soy milk and buns, then went to his seat. He noticed ZhuHongzhen next to him with dull eyes staring off into space and slowly biting aroast chicken rice ball and chewing it mechanically. "You stayed up all night?"

Zhu Hongzhen gave a simple “hmm” sound. Inthese last three days, his normally round and shiny fat face is like a whitebone sucking away the essence, dry and dull.

Bi Lele wore a blanket on her back and was sleeping on herdesk. Yuan Zhicheng was also sleeping on his desk with his chin poking out ofhis blanket. Many non-project team colleagues have come to work in the morningand saw the clear evidence for their overnight stay. Sympathetic staff membershave expressed their condolences.

Trying to stay quiet, Zhang Siyi tipped-toed over to seethe text on Bi Lele’s screen. This move woke her up. Zhang Siyi quickly raisedhis hands and made a surrender: “Sorry, I woke you.”

Bi Lele rubbed her eyes and said Feebly, “It’s allright, I didn’t fall asleep much, and I didn’t finish it at all.” Withthat, she grabbed the mouse and continued working.

Zhang Siyi looked at this girl who usually jokes aroundand loves gossip and sees a very tired, unkempt, quiet girl instead. The wholeperson exudes an indestructible energy from the inside and out just like beingcriticized and still refusing to accept it. Zhang Siyi exhausted spirit alsofeels the sway of Bi Lele determination.

"Do you want to see it?" Bi Lele smiled and showed ZhangSiyi the results that have been completed.

Okay!” Zhang Siyi pulled over an office chair.

Bi Lele started from the beginning. The first one showsthe urban texture map of Z City which is adjusted to blue gray scale. There areblack graphics to enhance the text. There is a small white line and a row of Englishin bright colors. It has a very dignified, clean-cut look. Then there is poeticquote, a guideline related to “water”, accompanied by the artisticlandscape of Bi Lele –

Water is the source of life,

Water is a symbol of wealth.

A field of water protectionwill be green around，

Two mountain Pai send theyouth to come.

City, born of water.

Zhang Siyi saw that when hetranslated yesterday, there was no such thing as “a water-protecting fieldwill be green, and two mountains will be sent to Qinghai.” He asked:“Did you add these?”

Bi Lele: “No, after youwent to sleep, the boss came over and looked at it. He asked me to add it and saidit is Wang Anshi’s poem, expressing the relationship between water andhomeland.”

Indeed, Z City has a majorwater way effecting the surrounding land. Because of serious water pollution,there are large areas of farmland surrounded by sewage. The leading portdivides the plot and fragments the land. It makes people want to sigh.

The two poems Gu Yu includedadded a finishing touch, not only making the scrolls more poetic, but alsodirectly presenting their vision of the new district to the audience. Sureenough, after the introduction, the next big picture is the aerial view of theplan they made.

A total of 250 hectares ofland has been layout in an orderly manner. Under the renderings of therendering company, the whole area is surrounded by clouds and the atmosphere ismagnificent. The leading port is surrounded by blue waves.

Zhang Siyi shocked: “it'samazing…

Bi Lele perked up at thecomment and her tiredness seem to fade: “Although there are no flowers, weare not bad, right?”

Zhang Siyi noddeddesperately: “I think it looks better than the daffodil!”

Bi Lele laughed and said:“Ha ha ha, I like your honesty!” She went on, and there were quite afew colleagues around who came closer to watch.

From the initial planningbackground

After the bird’s eye view,the formal planning content is next and highlights the history of urbandevelopment starting from the initial planning background. It also includes theprospect of regional planning and the analysis of the regional state of affairs.Zhang Siyi saw that the photos he took were also put in and the color wassketched by Yuan Zhicheng. His heat jumped at the parallel display.

Then there is the planningfunction strategy, which mainly locates the plot attributes and major systemsof the area. Followed by the specific urban design with spatial structure,landscape design, ecological design etc… Also included is the developmenttiming, which is very logical in its implementation. Last, is the detailedblock design and architectural style control which is where Zhang Siyi’sresidential land plan is included.

At the end of the text, thecompany's background and all the members involved in the project wereintroduced

Chief Designer: Gu Yu(national first-class registered architect)

Tong Heyi (Dr. Architecture)

Planning consultant: xxx(registered town planner）

Landscape planning: Chen xx

Designers: Ji Feiyu, BiLeLe, Zhicheng, Zhu Hongzhen, Zhang Siyi……

—————————————————————————————–

Aah! aah! aah! aah!……!

Zhang Siyi’s eye locked ontohis name in the group of people and felt such happiness. Zhang Siyi has a senseof satisfaction and accomplishment, he is not nothing and is also helpful tothe team!

Although Bi Lele quicklyturned the page over, it still couldn’t dispel Zhang Siyi’s feelings – his nameappeared in such a big project! Zhang Siyi imagines himself holding thePulitzer Prize trophy to the peak of life that day, flowers! Applause! Flash! Headheld high!!!

Wait, Zhang Siyi noticed ChildLabor's name is also there.

He asked Bi Lele: “Isthis not the plan of our group? Why is Tong Heyi also named as a chiefdesigner?”

Bi Lele turned back andglanced at it. “Yeah, we've been involved together. It is reasonable tosay that people in B Group should also be written after our names. Hey, this isnot the point, the text is more powerful. It's also a gimmick. I used to beasked to write a bunch of names of people who didn't participate in theproject."

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Bi Lele: “The importantthing is that after winning the bid, the bonuses are all in our group,hehe!”

Zhang Siyi was also excited.He asked Lele: “If there is, how many bonuses will there be?”

Bi Lele: “I don’t know.It is said that there are 800,000 bonuses for this bid. If the bid is 20%, itwill be sent to the project team separately. There will be at least one or twothousand for each person.”

“Ah! One or twothousand! A lot!” Zhang Siyi excitedly rubbed his fingers. With the salarythat he earned the rent for half a year is not used!

Bi Lele laughed at him:“Wait, there is more! The winning bid is only the beginning. It does notinclude the subsequent design fees.”

Zhang Siyi: “What isthe design fee?”

Bi Lele: “This is a bigpiece of land and there are many phases of development. Now is only theplanning phase. The subsequent phases will also need architectural designs.Even though it's not a guarantee, because you already won the bid, the chancesto win for other phases of the project increase. There are many things you cando later. It's the tip of the iceberg!"

After Zhang Siyi heard BiLele explanation, he was on cloud nine. Anyway, he was a small salted fish. AsSu Yuan said before, the company recruited him to start work. They didn'texpect him to hold up the fort alone.

As she spoke, the last pagewas displayed. With the same color palette as the cover, there were three Englishletters: End

Colleagues who watchedbehind them burst into applause. Everyone was full of confidence when they sawsuch a perfect bidding plan.

Bi Lele was both moved andemotional: “Tomorrow the bid starts and there are many details thathaven't been finished.”

Zhang Siyi asked, “Likewhat?”

Bi Lele flipped through thepages and rattled off a bunch of issues: “Ji Feiyu found a renderingcompany to do the night scenes, but they haven't come out yet. The boss justfinished the development capacity control last night. I have to P-Map, ah rightalso the ecology of the landscape. The water treatment plan needs to be put in….”

Bi Lele in a hurry shepulled up her sleeves and said: “No more talking! I must do it! Or it willbe too late!” She had not slept all night, and in the morning, she hadsquinted on the table for a little while, but now she was completely invigorated.

Zhang Siyi was anxious toask: “Is there anything I can help?”

Bi Lele: “ah? Then youtranslate the two poems that the boss added. Also, there was a map of the roadsystem before. There are several placeswhere the colors are not right. You help me change it. Lu Qiao helped before,but he went to sleep and hasn’t returned yet.”

Zhang Siyi was infected byBi Lele’s attitude of excellence, and he was full of fighting spirit:“Give it to me!” Maybe Lu Qiao did not follow the color of Bi Lele’scolor palette yesterday. Although it is similar, it looks a bit strange, likethe difference between genuine and pirated. When Zhang Siyi used software toadjust it, he also found out that Bi Lele’s color and matching techniques arevery good. Her talents, such as planes and advertising design, may have apromising future.

After breakfast, Zhang Siyi helpedwith various tasks all morning that he felt out of breath. He never worked sohard. If he went to college with the same mindset as today…. No, no, no, don’tthink about it. Stupid, the past can no longer comeback, and even if it was backagain, the environment was so stress-less it was hard to find such greatmotivation. It's really right to come here, Zhang Siyi thought happily.

With his intense focus,Zhang Siyi finally finished, only to realize that he had been holding back theQueen of the morning. After sending the picture to Bi Lele, he rushed to thetoilet, pulled down his trousers and sat down on the toilet relieving hisbladder. Suddenly sitting, he was feeling so comfortable… Now that he wasthere, he was feeling a little lazy and didn't want to get up. Zhang Siyisuddenly heard a voice from far and near –

“Gu Yu, have you workedovertime in the whole group yesterday?” Is this voice a Chief?

“… Hmmm.” Thisis Gu Yu.

The director sighed andsaid: “I have told you that the selection is already fixed. The designinstitute does not want a conservative standard design, so I advise you not tofight too hard. The power of seventy or eighty is enough.”

Gu Yu seems to be silent fora while, then said: “I know.”

Chief: “Well, I can seeyour ability and hard work, but sometimes don’t be so stubborn…”

The two talked a few morewords, Zhang Siyi sat in the cubicle. With the current atmosphere he dares not comeout.

Default? The standard? Whatdoes this mean? Who has chosen this bid?

So, all of them were kept inthe dark, toiling for this big half month just to be a cannon fodder forpeople? Are you sure you will lose? And Gu Yu knew all this but didn’t sayanything!?

Zhang Siyi instantly fellfrom the brilliance of glory in the clouds to the bottom of a cold pit. He wasshocked. When he didn't hear any sounds outside, he stood up on numb feelinglegs and opened the door. He saw Gu Yu standing in front of the sink facing hisdirection, surprised. “You have heard it."

Zhang Siyi: “…”It was very unexpected to see Gu Yu still standing there. Zhang Siyi doesn'tknow why he didn't leave before or say anything. Watching Zhang Siyi appearfrom the stall gave Gu Yu a surprise.

Zhang Siyi wanted to pretendhe didn't hear anything but could not. Blood drained from his face and heaccused Gu Yu: “Why hide from us?”

As soon as the remark cameout, the anger in Zhang Siyi’s belly poured up, and the thought that a group ofthem were still scrambling to do their best, foolishly looking forward to thefinal victory, he suddenly felt that Gu Yu was too much.

Gu Yu looked at him andexplained, “What matters is the process, not the result.”

Zhang Siyi hurriedly said:“Even if you know the result, if you let us do it, we will do itwell!”

Gu Yu said: “That isnot the same, letting and wanting are two different things.”

Zhang Siyi was choked by theremark, and suddenly roused his voice with anger: “So you’re not keepingit from us? Look at us work hard, full of hope, and then slapped in the faceagain. How many times will be able to return after feeling so disappointed?"

Gu Yu opened his mouth torefute, but was speechless for a moment.

Zhang Siyi: “Then Iwould rather fail in the initial group competition!”

Speaking of this, hesuddenly remembered the back of Tong Heyi sad departure at the meeting thatday, he asked: “She already knew?” What the director told you onHalloween was not a conflict in creative design, but news of an internal bid,right? She didn't just leave because of the mood, you didn't want to give updirectly and took over the project!"

Gu Yu is silent. His face isvery white with shades of blue under his eyes.

Zhang Siyi don’t know where hegot the guts to confront Gu Yu. He dares question his boss so loudly.

Maybe it was because of allthe hard work he and his coworkers have put into the project and maybe hewasn't afraid, but he just wanted to release his emotions. He did not expect tohear a satisfactory answer from Gu Yu’s mouth.

Unexpectedly, Gu Yu wassilent for a long while, and suddenly asked him: “Why are you doingarchitecture?”

Zhang Siyi was asked, whatdoes this matter have to do with building?

Gu Yu also asked: “Ifyou don’t win the bid, do you think that this half-month has no meaning?”

Zhang Siyi raised his voice,anxious: “Of course, but I don’t want to work hard for a false goal!”

Gu Yu staying calm responded:“Building this road, is not what you do this moment. The results can beseen in the next moment. This bid is not our end. If you are rushing to win thebid, it is not called hard work, but called utilitarian heart.”

Zhang Siyi is so angry-damnit. He wants to refute, but, damn it, Gu Yu is too eloquent!

At this moment, someonecame, and the two did not stand in the toilet to continue the confrontation. Angry,Zhang Siyi's legs carried him out one step at a time. He imagined that on eachand every step he was stepping on Gu Yu.

Returning to the office,seeing everyone still immersed in work, like a group of fanatics who have beenbrainwashed by the sales organization, Zhang Siyi has another painful feeling.Everyone is drunk, and I am alone. Mourning his misfortune, he sighed.

Moments later, Gu Yu sent amessage: “Don't talk about this matter with the others. It will affect themorale of everyone.”

Zhang Siyi gnashed his teethand knocked on the keyboard: “I didn’t intend to say it.” – He didn’tunderstand at all, since the results were all fixed, what's the point!? How iseveryone going to stay calm afterwards?!

Gu Yu said again:“Tomorrow, I will bring Ji Feiyu and Bi Lele to Z City. If you havenothing to do, you can go home this afternoon. You have worked many hours ofovertime. You should have accumulated enough time for a holiday. Go think aboutthings."