Chapter 21

“Knock, knock, knock—”

Lin Li glanced at Lin Yilan, who was knocking on the door, and found it somewhat amusing. Back when they lived in the countryside, they never knocked; they would just shout loudly from outside.

It wasn’t that they were impolite—it was simply that in rural areas, knocking on someone’s door often went unheard inside for an entire day.

Lin Yilan clearly understood this too. After knocking for a while, she called out again, “Mr. Lai, I’m about to come in.”

Having said this, she waited over a minute, and regardless of whether anyone inside heard her or not, she pushed the door open and walked in directly.

She wasn’t knocking to get the attention of those inside, but to avoid giving anyone a chance to find fault with her. When she first arrived, many relatives of the Lai family openly displayed their displeasure toward her.

Lin Yilan didn’t necessarily have to secure this project, but she absolutely couldn’t afford to lose it because of these irrelevant people.

Passing through the kitchen, Lin Yilan entered the main room where the Lai family’s parents lived and immediately felt an atmosphere thick with awkwardness and discomfort.

“Mr. Lai, the measurements of the outer courtyard have been completed. We’re now ready to measure the rooms inside,” Lin Yilan explained to Lai Chengrong, then turned to look at the elderly Mr. Lai, who was sitting on the heated bed smoking his pipe.

“Mr. Lai, Mrs. Lai, which room do you think we should start with?”

After exchanging a glance with his wife, the elderly Mr. Lai withdrew his gaze and resumed smoking his pipe.

Seeing this, Lin Yilan smiled gently and shifted her attention to Mrs. Lai. Only after Mrs. Lai rose from the bed did Lin Yilan feel somewhat relieved.

She wasn’t interested in any family disputes, as long as they didn’t interfere with her work.

Mrs. Lai led Lin Yilan away from the main room, heading westward.

“Comrade Lin, the third son asked me to introduce you to our family’s situation, so I’ll tell you.

The western room and the main room just now belong to me and my husband.

The two rooms on the east side are where my eldest son lives. He has four children: the eldest is a boy studying in the county town, the second is a girl who should be working with her mother, the third is a girl attending elementary school, and the youngest, only four years old, is a boy playing outside with his second sister.”

As Mrs. Lai spoke, Lin Yilan swiftly took out her notebook and jotted down everything. Seizing this opportunity to understand the Lai family better, she naturally didn’t miss a word.

“Mrs. Lai, Mr. Lai should have introduced me to you already. I’ve come on his behalf to help build your family’s house. May I ask if you have any particular ideas about your future home?”

Lin Yilan’s politeness reminded Mrs. Lai that she was still a university student, which made her feel somewhat intimidated. But recalling what her eldest son had told her, Mrs. Lai straightened her back.

“Well, we don’t have many special requests. We just hope to build a comfortable home. Oh, and we want to spend as little money as possible—Chengrong earns money in the city, but it’s not easy.”

Lin Yilan carefully recorded Mrs. Lai’s wishes. She knew very well that when dealing with clients like these, to truly understand their needs, she had to ask thoroughly; otherwise, there would be repeated rework later with no clear cause.

People say one thing, but often can’t clearly express what they want.

“Mrs. Lai, have you and Mr. Lai or the elder brother considered how many rooms to build?

You and Mr. Lai would need one room, elder brother’s side at least three rooms—that’s four already. If you want storage rooms for miscellaneous items, rooms for grain, a cellar, and even a pigsty, all those need to be planned in advance.”

Before coming, Mr. Lai had told Lin Yilan that he and his elder brother lived separately, so this time, they were willing to build a new house together, hoping that sharing this would encourage the elder brother to care more for their parents.

Thus, Lin Yilan’s design included not only the rooms for the Lai parents but also for the elder brother’s household.

Mrs. Lai seemed unsure upon hearing the question. Her eyes clouded as she looked at Lin Yilan. “Oh, Comrade Lin, this needs to be discussed with the head of our household, my eldest son.”

Lin Yilan nodded knowingly, clasped her notebook, and took out a blank sheet of paper from her bag, handing it to Mrs. Lai.

“Please ask these questions when you talk with him. Thank you.”

“If you don’t understand anything, you can ask me.”

Mrs. Lai looked at the blank paper, nervously brushing her hand along her clothes before accepting it. “Thank you, Comrade Lin.”

So polite—this university student. No wonder everyone was eager to send their children to school.

Led by Mrs. Lai, Lin Yilan first measured all the rooms on the west side, then went to the elder brother’s house.

Only the measurements for the last main room remained. Glancing at her watch, it was nearly four o’clock—there was still time.

When she reentered the Lai family’s main room, fewer people remained; only Mr. and Mrs. Lai, the elder brother’s family, and two middle-aged men Lin Yilan didn’t recognize, presumably the second brother of Mr. Lai.

Lai Chengrong nodded at them as a greeting upon their arrival.

A quick scan revealed that although the older generation worked hard to mask their true feelings, the younger ones’ faces betrayed their impatience.

Lin Yilan, seeing this clearly at a glance, chose to focus on her work, turning her back to those inside to avoid stirring any family drama.

“Elder brother, what do you think?”

“What do you mean, what do I think? I’m still my parents’ son.”

“Sister-in-law, this isn’t right. It seems like all the good things have gone to your family, and then we won’t give money to our parents.”

“Hongying, such words will only hurt our parents’ hearts.”

“Sister-in-law, we have no choice. Chengjun and I have to pay tuition for three kids and also support our parents. Where would we have so much money?

Maybe, maybe we should take care of our parents ourselves.”

“That’s enough! Don’t say anymore. Can’t you see the elder brother and sister-in-law are upset? Go apologize to them.”

Lin Yilan and Lin Li struggled to maintain their expressions. Watching the drama unfold while working in someone else’s home was truly unpleasant.

One wrong move could cost them the project.

Just when they thought things would continue like this, the fire unexpectedly spread to them.

“Third brother, why don’t you hand the house-building project over to your second brother? He doesn’t ask for much. Whatever you pay this young lady, give double to your second brother. How about that?”

“Besides, the house is for our parents. You can trust your second brother more than outsiders. We’ll use the best materials.”

Hearing the second brother’s wife speak, Lin Li nudged his younger brother.

Lin Yilan gave him a helpless look. At this point, all they could do was focus on their work; the rest was beyond her control.

However, she doubted Lai Chengrong would hand the project to the second brother. If he wanted an unprofessional person, he would have found one long ago instead of seeking out a designer.

As expected, Lai Chengrong refused his second sister-in-law. “Second sister-in-law, I’m afraid I can’t agree to that. After years in business, I have one principle: leave professional matters to professionals.”

“Designer Lin is a student at the Industrial University’s architecture department. When it comes to designing a house, I trust her more.”

“Father, mother, elder brother, Lin has a few simple questions later. I hope you’ll cooperate. After all, getting you a nice home as soon as possible is my greatest hope since returning inland.”

“For all these years, I haven’t been able to care for you in person, and you probably thought I was dead. That is my unfilial fault. I hope you can forgive me.”

Overcome with emotion, Lai Chengrong knelt before his parents.

The Lai family patriarch flopped down behind his son with a thud.

Lin Yilan winced at the sound—it was sincere to the point of pain. She could almost predict his knees would bruise black by tomorrow.

Mr. Lai, seeing the scene, said nothing, put down his pipe, and helped his son up. Mrs. Lai stood tearfully beside them.

The elder brother’s family, along with the second brother and sister-in-law, immediately gathered around, sobbing quietly.

After everyone calmed and the atmosphere grew warm, Lin Yilan began her work under Lai Chengrong’s glance of instruction.

Earning this money was no easy feat. As the saying goes, “Good work is hard to find, money is hard to earn, and hardship is hard to swallow”—truly no lie.

Lin Yilan sat across from Mr. and Mrs. Lai with her notebook.

“Sir, ma’am, hello. I’m Xiao Lin. May I ask if you have any ideas about your future living arrangements?”

Mr. Lai rubbed the tobacco pouch on his waist, glanced at Lai Chengrong, then at Lin Yilan, and sighed deeply.

Not that he didn’t want to speak, but he felt that without facial hair, words lacked weight. Also, Lin Yilan was a girl, and though a university student, he found her somewhat unreliable.

After hesitating, he finally said, “We don’t have many ideas. Our home is fine as it is. You… just build a house that lasts longer.”

His words carried doubt and distrust, which Lin Yilan sensed clearly. She kept her expression unchanged and turned to look at Mrs. Lai.