Chapter 535: Floor plan

After Gao Qiyuan left, Xu Haimin said: "Xinghui, you were actually a bit rushed. If I had bargained with him a bit more, maybe we could have gotten it for one or two thousand less."

Su Xinghui shook his head and laughed: "It’s fine. One or two thousand yuan is nothing. Isn't he your friend? Why make you offend a friend?"

Xu Haimin laughed. That was true. To the current Su Xinghui, although one or two thousand yuan was half a year’s salary, what did it really amount to? There was no need to be so calculating, like buying vegetables.

Su Xinghui added: "Uncle Xu, I have another matter I’d like your help with."

Xu Haimin said: "Whatever it is, just say it."

Su Xinghui said: "Later, let’s go back to that private house and measure the length, width, and other data of the house and courtyard. I’ll go home today and draw a simple exterior view and floor plan. How about you help me rebuild the house and decorate it?"

Xu Haimin laughed: "I thought it was something else. Aren't you just taking care of my business? Fine, I’ll take this project."

Su Xinghui said: "Uncle Xu, this project of mine isn't very big, so I need you to put in some extra effort. I plan to get married in this house."

"Getting married?" Xu Haimin said: "Then there’s nothing more to say. I will definitely help you build this house well and guarantee the quality!"

Su Xinghui said: "It’s because I trust you that I’m handing this small project to you. By the way, you cannot give me any special treatment regarding the cost. It should be what it is. I don't lack the money right now. If you set the cost too low, someone will write a report letter again."

Xu Haimin naturally understood what Su Xinghui meant. He also knew that the current Su Xinghui really didn't lack money. Therefore, there was no need for him to make an issue out of the cost. He decided in his heart that he would use the best building materials and decoration materials, and he wouldn't earn a single cent from Su Xinghui.

Xu Haimin said: "Fine, Xinghui, don't worry, I won't harm you!"

Su Xinghui took the money left over from buying the house out of his bag, handed twenty thousand yuan to Xu Haimin, and said: "Uncle Xu, take this twenty thousand yuan first as the first installment. After you calculate the cost and build the house, I’ll give you the remaining payment."

Xu Haimin didn't stand on ceremony. He accepted the twenty thousand yuan and wrote a receipt: "Keep this receipt for now. After I calculate the cost and we sign the contract, I’ll have the accountant issue you an official receipt."

Su Xinghui said: "Then let’s go measure the dimensions of that private house."

Xu Haimin drove the car and took Su Xinghui to the private house. He always carried a tape measure in his car. Su Xinghui used the tape measure to measure all the dimensions of the house and courtyard and wrote them down.

Su Xinghui said: "Uncle Xu, thank you! Could you please take me to Zhuangyuan Lane one more time?"

Xu Haimin drove Su Xinghui to the entrance of Zhuangyuan Lane. After getting out of the car, Su Xinghui laughed: "Uncle Xu, you’re a big boss, and I’ve troubled you for the whole morning."

Xu Haimin shook his head: "What does that count for? You go on in, I’ll wait for you outside."

Su Xinghui said: "No need for you to wait. You go back first. I’ll probably be inside for a while, and I shouldn't trouble you too much. It’s not very far from my house, I’ll just walk back later."

Xu Haimin nodded and drove off.

Su Xinghui entered Zhuangyuan Lane and arrived at Hou Guangbi’s old residence. Hou Guangbi was waiting for him there.

Seeing him arrive, Hou Guangbi said happily: "Xinghui is here. I’ve already called my friend at the World Bank. He gave me the contact information for the person in charge of the World Bank’s office in China, introduced me to the situation of this person, and said he would help me call him. Then you can go directly to find him."

Don't think that only China is a society based on connections. In fact, no matter which country you are in, connections and networks are very useful. With Hou Guangbi’s network, Su Xinghui’s request for a loan from the World Bank would go much more smoothly.

Hou Guangbi handed Su Xinghui a piece of paper. On it, written in elegant and beautiful small regular script, were the address and phone number of the World Bank’s office in China, as well as the name, age, and nationality of the person in charge.

Su Xinghui said: "Grandpa Hou, thank you!"

Hou Guangbi laughed: "A small matter."

Su Xinghui said: "Your calligraphy is truly excellent."

Hou Guangbi laughed heartily: "It can't compare to yours, but my calligraphy is also the result of decades of hard work. When I was young, I practiced regular script; if one character wasn't written correctly, the tutor would hit my palm."

Hou Guangbi wasn't exaggerating at all. In the old days, such scholarly families and wealthy households were very strict in the cultivation of their descendants. This was the reason why the Hou family could produce so many elites.

Su Xinghui said: "You are too modest; your calligraphy is better than mine."

Hou Guangbi shook his head: "I’m not being modest at all. I have limited talent in calligraphy, and I haven't put all my energy into it. My affairs are too busy, so my calligraphy has enough correctness but lacks spirit. Your calligraphy, however, not only has a deep foundation and a sense of weight, but within that weight, there is also spirit. This is the most rare thing—it’s the difference between a calligrapher-craftsman and a calligrapher-artist. I can only be a craftsman, but you can become an artist!"

Su Xinghui couldn't say anything more; he just laughed.

Hou Guangbi stood up: "Let’s go, let’s go eat at Dali’s house."

These days, Hou Guangbi had been eating at Hou Dali’s house. Now that Su Xinghui was here and it was lunchtime, he naturally wanted Su Xinghui to go eat together.

The two arrived at Hou Dali’s house. The fragrance of food was already wafting out. Hou Wenyong and Hou Wenhui were carrying dishes from the kitchen to the main hall. Seeing Hou Guangbi arrive, Hou Wenyong said: "Third Great-Uncle is here! I was just about to go call you for lunch."

Hou Guangbi laughed: "I called Xinghui over to eat. Do you have enough food?"

Hou Dali said: "Enough, enough!"

Hou Guangbi sat at the dining table and said to Su Xinghui: "Come, sit next to me."

Hou Dali quickly poured wine for Hou Guangbi. This wine was the specialty rice wine Su Xinghui had helped Hou Guangbi buy at Meng Hu Ling. It wasn't high in alcohol content but was very good for the stomach—perfect for the elderly. Hou Guangbi liked it very much and would drink a small bowl at every meal.

Hou Dali drank Pengwan Daqu with Su Xinghui. Although Hou Dali had received some shares of the Hou Group from Hou Guangbi after his trip to France and could now be considered a wealthy man, he still lived a relatively simple and plain life. He was drinking ten-year-aged Pengwan Daqu and hadn't bought the more expensive twenty-year-aged vintage.

Of course, these shares were also what Hou Dali deserved. When the Hou family fled overseas, they took almost all of their liquid assets with them. These assets also included the share belonging to Hou Guangji’s branch, so Hou Guangbi had always kept a portion for Hou Dali. This time, when Hou Dali went to France, Hou Guangbi returned these shares to him.

The meal was harmonious. After eating, Su Xinghui stood up to take his leave. Hou Guangbi originally wanted to keep him for a while, but Su Xinghui said he had things to do at home, so Hou Guangbi didn't insist.

Back home, Su Xinghui took out the dimensions he had measured at the newly bought private house and began to draw the exterior and floor plans. The building area of this private house was about 140 square meters. He planned to build a small two-story building. Both floors would have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The first floor would have two living areas and a kitchen, while the second floor would only have one living area and no dining room.

When Su Xinghui bought a house in his previous life, he had seen many residential areas and had many classic floor plans in his mind, which he could now put to use. He didn't want the exterior of the house to be too high-profile; he would just make it a normal, square, two-story building, which would also maximize space savings.

As long as the interior of the house was decorated well and was comfortable to live in, that was enough. Making it too high-profile would have a bad influence.

Su Xinghui drew two sets of floor plans for the first and second floors based on the classic layouts in his mind. He didn't need to mark precise dimensions; he wasn't a professional designer, after all. He just needed to provide the floor plans, and the rest of the work would be done by Xu Haimin’s people.

Since the floor plans were ready-made, Su Xinghui drew them very quickly—in less than an hour, he was finished. He called Xu Haimin, met with him, handed over the exterior and floor plans, and asked Xu Haimin to make professional design drawings based on these, build according to the drawings, and decorate.

Xu Haimin looked at the exterior drawing and didn't feel much—it was just a very ordinary two-story building. When he was still a small construction team, he didn't know how many houses he had helped build. However, after looking at the two floor plans, he felt a sense of pleasant surprise.

Xu Haimin nodded: "Xinghui, these two floor plans of yours are very trendy. I’ve been in construction for so many years and haven't seen them before."

In this era, the overall design thinking for floor plans was relatively backward. Some were still stuck in the "tube apartment" style—stable but boring. Upon entering, there was a hallway; inside the hallway was a large living room; at the end of the hallway were the kitchen and bathroom; and next to the large living room were three bedrooms in a row. This layout was truly too rigid.

But the floor plans Su Xinghui drew had three bedrooms and other functional rooms arranged in a staggered and orderly manner without wasting space. They really looked much more beautiful than the old-fashioned floor plans.

Su Xinghui laughed: "Is that so? I guess I’m showing off my meager skills before an expert?"

Xu Haimin said: "No, no, these two floor plans of yours are really good. If only they could be used in the residential areas we build."

Su Xinghui nodded: "No problem, feel free to use them if you want. If you like them, next time I have time, I’ll draw a few more floor plans for you to use in your newly built residential areas."

Xu Haimin was overjoyed: "That’s wonderful! I will pay you a design fee."