Chapter 23

Hearing this, Lin Yilan’s eyes narrowed slightly, though her face remained fixed in that same harmless smile.

"Ma’am, I’m afraid I cannot help you with that. Mr. Lai did not put me in charge of the construction; I am only responsible for the design of your house. Everything else is outside my scope."

Seeing the confusion and displeasure on Mother Lai's face, Lin Yilan continued to explain, "To put it simply, Mr. Lai only asked me to draw up the plans for what your future house will look like. As for how it gets built or who gets hired, that is entirely up to Mr. Lai."

Mother Lai finally grasped the young comrade's meaning: if she wanted to secure wages for her second son, she would have to ask her youngest son herself. Thinking of her youngest son’s current demeanor, Mother Lai felt a shiver of apprehension; she always felt he was no longer the same person he used to be.

"Young Comrade Lin, look, we don’t understand these things. Is there any way you could put in a good word with our youngest for us?"

"The second son is his own flesh and blood, his own brother. They will need to support each other in the future. Lin, you have siblings too; surely you can understand the feelings we parents have."

Lin Yilan looked at Mother Lai with a beaming smile and said kindly, "Ma’am, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but I’m really not in charge of this, so I can’t be of any assistance."

"However, as you said, the second brother and Mr. Lai are brothers, and you are his mother. It is much more appropriate for you to speak to him than for an outsider like me, isn’t it?"

Seeing Mother Lai’s face darkening, Lin Yilan maintained her friendly and polite smile. "Of course, I understand your perspective, Ma’am. After all, it’s only natural to feel more at ease using your own family for your own home—"

Noticing Mother Lai’s expression soften slightly, she continued, "It’s just that it’s truly inappropriate for an outsider like me to meddle in your family affairs. What if Mr. Lai were to misunderstand the second brother because of it? What if this caused a rift in their brotherhood?"

"Some things are better handled between brothers."

Seeing that Mother Lai was still hesitant, Lin Yilan held her arm gently. "Ma’am, I know you’re doing this for Mr. Lai’s sake. You want to bring these brothers, who haven’t seen each other in so many years, closer together so they can help each other in the future. But precisely because of that, you should be the one to talk to him. If an outsider like me were to intervene—even if I were lucky enough to succeed—would Mr. Lai remember that the second brother came to help build the house?"

"And would the second brother be grateful to Mr. Lai, or to the outsider?"

Lin Yilan exhausted her eloquence, detailing every possible negative consequence of her intervening with Mr. Lai. Fortunately, she had anticipated this after learning about the project and had prepared herself well. See, it was coming in handy now.

Although she wanted to refuse Mother Lai directly, she feared it wouldn't be effective, so she resorted to "nonsense literature," repeating the simple truths everyone already understood until Mother Lai was thoroughly worn down.

Mother Lai felt dizzy from the young girl's chatter, but she clearly heard the last point. After thinking it over, she realized the girl was right. It really wasn't good for an outsider to stick their nose in.

The second son already harbored resentment toward the family over the construction. If he were hired through an outsider, wouldn't he feel even more like his younger brother looked down on their family? And if it truly caused a rift between them, that would be a disaster.

"Fine, fine, then don't say anything to our youngest about this."

"Comrade Lin—no, Designer Lin—please just forget everything I said just now."

Lin Yilan raised her hand to her lips and made a zipping motion. "Don't worry, Ma’am. My lips are sealed."

***

Mother Lai beamed with relief and said bashfully, "That’s good. Look at me, delaying you two from heading back."

Lin Yilan kicked up her bicycle stand. "It’s no trouble at all. Well then, Ma’am, we’ll be off."

Once they were clear of the Lai courtyard and reached a flatter country road, they immediately began to pedal. Lin Li couldn't help but ask about what had just transpired. "That woman was trying to get you to help her second son earn some wages on the construction, wasn't she?"

Lin Yilan nodded. "Something like that. But she guessed wrong; Mr. Lai didn’t give me that job."

Lin Li pursed his lips, not believing she didn't know better. "I have a feeling that if he approves your design, he’ll likely ask you to help with the construction too."

Lin Yilan narrowed her eyes, feeling the sunset breeze of autumn. The cool air swept away the day’s heat. "If he asks me to supervise the site, that’s fine. But that would be extra pay. I’d actually welcome it—it’s just another chance to make more money."

Lin Li couldn't fathom where his younger sister’s sudden, intense desire for money had come from. Before this, he had always thought his fourth sibling was the most ambitious about earning, but it seemed his fifth sibling was no slouch either.

"If... well, if they have too much drama, just do the design and leave it at that."

Looking at her third brother’s back, Lin Yilan’s gaze softened. She knew he cared about her. Given her past tendency to avoid trouble and stay away from messy situations, he probably found it hard to understand why she would take on this job.

It was precisely because her family loved her so much that she was so desperate to possess the power to protect them. She gripped the handlebars tightly, steering firmly in the direction she desired.

"Don't worry, Third Brother. You know me—when have I ever gone looking for trouble!"

***

"Mr. Lai, my design is ready. Will you need me to supervise the site during construction?"

After handing over the design, Lin Yilan went back on her own words.

Mr. Lai glanced at the drawings and set them aside. "Of course. I believe that if you are willing to be on-site, your design will be executed much better."

Lin Yilan nodded thoughtfully. "However, Mr. Lai, as you know, the scale of this project is not large. Even with bad weather, it should be finished in half a month at most. If we follow the construction methods used in Hong Kong, it might drag out for quite a while."

"And I am still a student..." She glanced at Mr. Lai, letting him understand the implication.

She didn't actually know the construction cycles in Hong Kong, but she could guess that international standards likely followed the payment methods of her past life. Even if not identical, they were probably similar. If she were paid based on project progress, she would have to front some of the costs as the contractor. She had no money, and she didn't want the headache.

From what she had gathered recently, Mr. Lai was likely returning to Hong Kong soon. What would she do if she couldn't collect the final payment? But if she landed the construction contract, she would definitely make much more than just doing the design. Why else would so many contractors in her previous life become wealthy after just a few projects? For the sake of money, Lin Yilan was willing to take on the hassle.

Mr. Lai understood her meaning perfectly. He looked at her deeply before picking up the design again.

***

Whether or not to let Lin Yilan oversee the site depended on the quality of her work. He needed to see if she was worth the extra salary.

Watching him, Lin Yilan understood. She picked up her coffee and took a sip. The familiar bitter-sweet taste made her feel as if she had been transported back to her working days in her past life.

The quiet environment brought her back to reality. The cafe was sparse, with fewer than five people in the nearly 100-square-meter space. But those who could afford to run a cafe at this time didn't care about such things.

In the tranquil air, the sound of pages turning was crisp and clear. As Mr. Lai finished the last page, Lin Yilan set down her cup.

"Miss Lin, are you used to the coffee?"

Facing the unexpected question, Lin Yilan touched the handle of her cup. "It’s alright. I actually enjoy the aroma of coffee—it has a mellow, sweet richness to it."

Mr. Lai returned the designs to the envelope and tapped it with his finger. "Miss Lin, I had consulted some Hong Kong designers about building a home for my parents. I saw their drafts and thought they were quite good—I even considered using them directly. But my wife warned me that conditions on the mainland are different, and that their designs might not work here, so I came to the mainland to find a designer. I was quite regretful at the time."

"Now that I think about it, if I hadn't listened to my wife, I would truly have regretted missing out on such an excellent designer."

Anyone would be happy to hear their client praise them, and Lin Yilan was no exception. She tried to keep her lips from curling too obviously, settling for a subtle, slight smile.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Lai. You are too kind. I still have much to learn."

Mr. Lai took a sip of his coffee. "Miss Lin, too much humility is just pride in disguise. You should acknowledge your own excellence when you’ve done a good job."

"I like this design you’ve made for my parents' home. I will pay the design fee as we previously agreed."

He took an envelope from his bag and handed it to her. "As for the construction, I’m afraid I can’t confirm that just yet. How about this: I’ll give you a call in a little while."

Lin Yilan took the envelope, counted the money, and nodded. "That works. We’ll talk then."

After some light conversation, Lin Yilan took her leave.

Stepping out of the cafe, she headed toward the bank. The design fee was over two hundred, plus the measurement fee, totaling over three hundred. With over thirty ten-yuan bills in her pocket, she was a bit of a "little rich woman" in this era.

But if she could land the construction contract, she would have even more money. She wouldn't have to be so anxious about taking on future projects, and she could even consider other ways to make money.