Chapter 40

Calling Li Jun was something the three of them had agreed on yesterday, so Qian Ke added, “Director Lin also knows Li Jun.”

Qiao Xinyi, of course, agreed—it was all to help her after all.

“Then you two go find a place to sit over at the affairs office. I’ll go find Director Lin,” Qian Ke said. “It’ll be off work soon.”

While Qian Ke went to look for someone, Qiao Xinyi and Fu Qingshan returned to the office and borrowed some chairs from the staff. Qiao Xinyi also went to borrow paper, pens, and a ruler. Then, sitting cross-legged, she chatted with Fu Qingshan while writing and drawing on the paper.

At first, Fu Qingshan thought she borrowed the paper and pens to do calculations or take notes, so he didn’t pay much attention. But when a building floor plan appeared vividly on the paper, it was hard for Fu Qingshan not to notice.

“You can actually draw architectural design plans?” Fu Qingshan was genuinely shocked now.

“That’s not difficult,” Qiao Xinyi said, multitasking—chatting but mostly focused on drawing. In the 21st century, she normally used a computer for such design drawings, but since this era didn’t have computers, she had to draw a simpler version by hand.

Seeing Fu Qingshan’s amazed expression, Qiao Xinyi tapped the file folder. “All the data and labels are from the land information documents. I memorized everything.” She tapped her head. “The land is only so big, so the design space is limited. I plan to rent out the whole building once it’s built, so I decided to standardize the layout to uniform 30-square-meter one-bedroom apartments.”

Qiao Xinyi adopted the common 21st-century business hotel architectural style to maximize space utilization. The only modification was the corridor design. For ventilation and lighting, the corridors she designed were open to the sky and connected the entire building through this passage.

Qiao Xinyi also had a small Western-style house—if she were to live anywhere, it would definitely be there.

She had already finished the drawings for floors two through five. Seeing Fu Qingshan’s interest, she handed it over to him and bent her head to start drawing the first floor.

Qian Ke and Lin Long came in laughing and chatting, catching sight of Qiao Xinyi hunched over, writing and drawing.

Qian Ke stood beside Fu Qingshan, curious, and asked, “What is she drawing?”

“She designed that five-story building herself,” Fu Qingshan said, nodding at the paper in his hand.

Hearing this, Qian Ke and Lin Long immediately leaned in, speaking in unison, “Let me see!”

Qiao Xinyi’s drawings were clear and easy to read, with all data marked. Qian Ke and Lin Long were from the Urban Construction Department, so they naturally understood the plans.

Because they understood, both were shocked and gaped in surprise.

“Isn’t this just as good as the drawings our unit’s technicians and surveyors make?” Lin Long asked Qian Ke.

Qian Ke nodded vigorously. “Director Lin, look at Qiao Xinyi’s design. It’s amazing—no space on that plot is wasted! I honestly didn’t expect a building could be designed like this.”

Qian Ke did some quick calculations. “According to Qiao Xinyi’s design, the first floor can have ten rooms, and floors two through four can have a total of forty rooms.”

“Yeah,” Qiao Xinyi said, “I originally wanted to mix in some two-bedroom units, but after thinking last night, I gave up. The 30-square-meter one-bedrooms are just right and don’t require adjusting the wiring layout.”

Qiao Xinyi showed the three of them the floor plan she had just finished for the first floor. 

“Look, this is my design for the first floor.” 

Lin Long glanced at it and said with a “hmm,” “You’re planning to have storefronts on both street-facing sides of the first floor? Nine storefronts in total on both sides—isn’t that a bit too many?” 

Lin Long warned Qiao Xinyi, “Storefronts aren’t as easy to rent out as apartments. Most places are state-owned now, and I haven’t heard of any units wanting to expand. It’s not like decades ago when storefronts could be rented to individuals. Nowadays, if the government doesn’t need the storefronts, they’ll just sit empty.” 

“Also, although the atmosphere isn’t as tense as before, building so many rental units all at once still carries a big risk,” Lin Long quietly said to Qiao Xinyi, using just three words—capitalist. No one could guarantee those times wouldn’t come back, and these past years everyone had been living in fear. 

“I know,” Qiao Xinyi nodded. “Anyway, I don’t have enough money to build it all at once. Even if I did, building and decorating this building would take at least over a year.” 

“So even if I had enough funds, the building wouldn’t be ready for rent until before next year’s Spring Festival,” Qiao Xinyi said. “When construction starts, just tell the workers that if anyone asks what’s being built here, keep it quiet. Just say some unit is building something.” 

Lin Long calculated and agreed: if everything went smoothly, it really would take more than a year. Qiao Xinyi’s advice was good—keeping a low profile and not spreading rumors would definitely be safer. 

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll instruct my people, and I won’t tell them whose land it is,” Lin Long reassured Qiao Xinyi. He could guarantee that none of his subordinates were the type to blab. 

“Do you have some particular idea about the storefronts?” Qian Ke asked quietly. 

“I predict the government policies will loosen up. Although it looks like the storefronts might not rent out now, who knows what will happen in a few years,” Qiao Xinyi said. “As far as I know, there’s a market on the outskirts of our provincial capital where villagers sell their home-grown fruits, vegetables, or eggs. This market happens every ten days, and the authorities basically turn a blind eye.” 

This market had only appeared in the past couple of years. A few years ago, even the slightest hint of it wouldn’t have been allowed, unlike now when it gets lively every ten days. 

“I have a feeling that private businesses will eventually be allowed. So those storefronts will be useful sooner or later,” Qiao Xinyi said, patting her bare head with a smile. “Of course, this is just my analysis. You can listen, but if you think I’m talking nonsense, don’t say it to my face. Complain behind my back all you want—I can’t hear you anyway.” 

Fu Qingshan and the others laughed. Qian Ke and Lin Long were deep in thought about Qiao Xinyi’s analysis, while only Fu Qingshan was still looking at the floor plans she had just drawn. 

He asked her, “How do you arrange the sides that don’t face the street?” 

When Fu Qingshan asked, Qian Ke and Lin Long also looked up at Qiao Xinyi. 

“Both sides are open underneath, leaving space for tenants to park bicycles,” Qiao Xinyi explained. “If all these apartments get rented out, that’s forty families—there has to be a place for bicycles.” 

“You really think ahead,” Qian Ke gave her a thumbs-up. “We’re not complaining about you; we’re praising you right in front of you.” 

If it were someone else, who would care where tenants park their bikes? That space could be turned into a few more rooms to rent out for a bit more money. 

“Oh, right,” Qiao Xinyi took back the plans for floors two to four, pointed at the balconies on the drawings, and asked Qian Ke with a smile, 

“I’m building the first floor right on the ground, but my open balconies on the second floor stick out a little—does that matter?”