Assistant Architect Chapter 58

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 58: Assistant

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Having only discussed Lu Qiao'splan while they were in the car before arriving, Zhang Siyi was very worried hewouldn't be able to present the plan to its full potential. His impression ofthe experience today was relatively profound.

Reporting on actual work is verydifferent from presenting projects in University. While studying, the professorwill pay great attention to the design ideas and process in order to guide thestudent's thought process in the right direction. However, officials are moreconcerned with the product and the costs associated with it. It's apparent thatmany times a decision is solely based on personal preferences and not based onits appearance or something that is practical and efficient. But no matterwhat, Zhang Siyi keeps in mind the words that the teacher said during his study;if your speech can’t attract your audience, then your design is equal tofailure.

Zhang Siyi was very attentive tohis audience while making the presentation. While each image was being projected,he made proper eye contact with the officials and looked for any reactions fromthem. If they seemed slightly distracted, Zhang Siyi could guess it wasn't asinteresting, so he would quickly move onto the next image. With this method,the audience was in rapt attention and he successfully introduced both designplans without interruptions.

Just after speaking, thedirectors did not directly express their views. First, they asked Zhang Siyiquestions. The first two questions were raised by the Secretary for theConstruction Bureau. They were directed at Lu Qiao and Zhang Siyi’s plan. Theproblems were simple, so Zhang Siyi answered them one by one without problem,but then Secretary Wang asked a difficult question that stumped him.

Director Wang took the a-shapedoffice building designed by Zhang Siyi and frowned. “I feel that this isnot high enough. Can you make it higher?”

Hearing Secretary Wang's amateurquestion, Zhang Siyi wanted to vomit blood. He feels extremely irritated, butZhang Siyi knows that the Secretary isn't trying to purposely antagonize him.He had the greatest urge to drop the whole notebook of plans on the man's fat,bald head. Thinking to himself: "Your fucking building area is so big! Ialready gave you several additional layers and it's not enough! How high do youwant it to be!?"

Zhang Siyi took a deep breath tocenter his thoughts. Just as he was about to say, "can't