Assistant Architect

Chapter 16: Gathering

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That night, Zhang Siyi was curious about housing prices, so he took out the business card of the intermediary and called.

“Mister, where do you want to buy a house. What size are you looking for? There are different prices in different locations for similarly sized homes. I’m mainly responsible for the area around your company. The market is pretty saturated so there aren’t new houses, but there are good second-hand homes....” The person also carefully askes, “Do you live alone, or are you planning on buying a wedding room?”

Zhang Siyi did not understand the market, and thought about his own situation, then responded: “Of course, I live alone, and the marriage is still far away. I want something near CBD with an area of about 100 square meters.”

The agent enthusiastically said: “Oh! Then I have two sets of houses that meet your conditions. One set is a subway house in a community. The total price is less than 8 million. The location is...”

“What! What do you say?” Zhang Siyi thought he had heard it wrong and interrupted him. “Eight million?”

Intermediary: “Yes, this is the second-hand housing prices, the average price of each unit is seventy thousand, an area of one hundred......”

“Sorry, I am not interested, we will talk again in another day!” Zhang Siyi was so scared that he hung up the phone and shouted “Shit”!

Fu Xinhui raised his eyes and said, “What happened?”

“A set of 100 flat houses for 8 million! Oh, my God!!” With his current salary, Zhang Siyi would have to stop eating and drinking for a hundred years before he could afford a place like that. It is simply too crazy!

Fu Xinhui looked at him strangely: “You want to buy a house?”

Zhang Siyi: “No way, but you may be able to afford it! At noon, I came across a sales agent. We exchanged business card. I was curious, so I asked.”

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Fu Xin-Hui peered at the card in Zhang Siyi’s hand and scolded: “Idiot! Don’t casually give your business card to others! An intermediary no less? Are you not afraid? You will be harassed with phone calls in the future!”

“It’s impossible ...” that’s when Zhang Siyi’s phone rang again.

Zhang Siyi: “...”

Fu Xinhui: “...”

Even though Zhang Siyi hung up the phone on him, the intermediary was not discouraged, and steadily called for the second time. Once connected, he continued to say warmly: “Mr. Zhang I found a house that is perfect for you. The area is small, but the price is less than six million. Think about it! This house is very close to the supermarket and you can buy it directly...”

“I have no money!” I’m not thinking about it! Sorry! Don’t call me again! “Zhang Siyi hurriedly finished and hung up the phone. He placed the phone number on his blacklist with a sigh of relief. It will be ok.”

Without saying anything Fu Xinhui looked at him with pity.

Since Zhang Siyi probationary period was over and he was promoted to a full staff member, he found a reason to ask his friends out for dinner again. This time he dares not make a mistake and he confirmed ahead of time that he would not be working overtime.

A total of 5 classmates returned to China and lived in Haicheng. In the past three months, surprisingly, there has not been a single member who has gathered together. Thus, when Zhang Siyi called everyone to initiate a proposal, they all eagerly agreed and decided in advance.

At this moment, Zhang Siyi and Fu Xinhui discussed the best way to meet.

The five of them have their own ideals so it’s hard to pick the right restaurant. The Cantonese restaurant selected by Fu Xinhui last time was said to be excellent, but in their eyes, it was nothing new. Most Chinese restaurants in the UK are Cantonese cuisine so they are sick of eating it.

Fu Xinhui thought of a 5-star restaurant he has been to in Haicheng. There are a lot of people on the waiting list to get in. Knowing the expense, Zhang Siyi doesn’t think he can enjoy it.

Zhang Siyi was annoyed: “I haven’t received my paycheck yet. I am very poor now. I can’t afford high-end luxury.”

When the words were finished, his cell phone rang again.

Zhang Siyi glanced at it and saw that it was a strange call. He thought he already put the intermediary on the blacklist. He pressed the answer button with a watchful face and heard a gentle and sweet female voice: “Hello, is this Mr. Zhang Siyi, from Borderless architectural design firm?”

Zhang Siyi cautiously: “Yes, it’s me, who are you?”

Female voice: “We are xx credit service company. Do you need to apply for a loan soon? Once the bank issues your money, we guarantee that there are no fees and no charge......”

Zhang Siyi: “...” Fuck!

He hung up the phone again and put the number on the blacklist. A little afraid Zhang Siyi said: “That intermediary actually gave my phone to the credit company!”

Fu Xinhui smirked: “Idiot, do you think your business card was just sent to an intermediary?” This is the era of big data. Your phone number has now been exposed to the full Haicheng service platform: insurance company, medical company, used car company and so on. Tele-marketers will call you all the time. Take my advice and quickly change the number.”

Feeling forlorn, Zhang Siyi said: “I just got a whole box of new business cards printed. how can I change it now? Ahh!”

Fu Xinhui laughed at him again, then he switched to their initial discussion. “What if they came over. We can go to the supermarket and buy something to make ourselves. We used to do this a lot in the UK.”

Zhang Siyi slapped his thigh and quickly asked in the group. The two girls had seen the photos of their homes and had never had the chance to visit them. This idea immediately won their approval.

The house they rented was on the 20th floor in a prosperous place, and the transportation was convenient. From the balcony, Jingnan Road can be seen. There is a commercial building and an old house with the unique taste of Haicheng. The scenery is excellent.

However, asking someone to come over to a place lived in by three boys is a bit of a problem.

The places where the boys live are definitely not as clean and careful as the girls, especially Zhang Siyi. Since he started working, he didn’t have much time to take care of his private life.

In his room is a single sofa he bought from IKEA. Initially, he thought that he would have a place to sit and read and think about life, but the results in less than two weeks, is not what he thought. The sofa has become the place where he piles his clothes. It has never reflected its value as a “seat.”

Zhang Siyi regarded this as an opportunity to clean up. Friday after work, he came straight home and started a different kind of ‘overtime’ work. He was busy for the night cleaning up, doing laundry, putting and his clothes away. The process was tedious, but the sense of accomplishment after the completion of it is also fulfilling. The clean and refreshing environment will make Zhang Siyi’s sleep better.

Since he was accustomed to it, saturday morning Zhang Siyi got up early. He went to get Fu Xinhui up even though he normally sleeps in. He also called Jiang Hai and the three went to the grocery store together. They also went to a flower shop to select a few decorations and flowers.

In the living room, there is a melodious and exotic jazz tune. The coffee table is covered with a tablecloth of the same color as the sofa. There is plum colored, Australian decoration in the middle of the table. Surrounded by a beautiful circle of color, slender vials with scented candles on top stand tall. There are fresh cherries too.

This is an arrangement from boys who studied architectural design. There is nothing bad to say about the display. Even if they can hold off bathing for a month, when the situation comes, they too can be very romantic.

At eleven o’clock he girls arrived. When they came inside, they marveled at the room., “Oh my god, you boys are living the high life, aren’t you?” Su Yuan and Ren Mengyu looked around the bourgeoisie room and took out their mobile phones to take pictures. Posting the pictures to their respective social media accounts, they received all kinds of envy.

Su Yuan: “I don’t think I want to know how much the rent of this place is! Ten thousand?”

Fu Xinhui shrugged: “We each pay 4,000 for the apartment.”

Su Yuan said: “I only earned seven thousand after tax. If four thousand goes to my living expenses, then how will I be able to afford clothes and cosmetics?”

This sentence also struck Zhang Siyi’s nerve. Although he has been employed for one month, his paycheck isn’t issued until the 5th. He hasn’t received a penny.

Depressed, Zhang Siyi inexplicably remembered the phone number of the loan company. Could it be that he had to borrow some money to spend money?

No, no, no! Zhang Siyi! That’s all lies! I Can’t Believe it! Just as he is thinking his ridiculous thoughts, the cell phone rang again. Stunned, Zhang Siyi instinctively went on alert.

He tentatively answered the phone call. There was an unfamiliar voice on the other side: “Hello Mr. Zhang, we are xx international English training institutions. Do you want to improve your foreign language skills? It will make you more competitive in the workplace.”

It may be that this past week he received too many harassing calls, so he was fed up with the harassment. Zhang Siyi yelled into the phone in English: “I’m the one that graduated from a University in the UK and have not spoken English ten times in a month since returning to China!”

“Oh? Really? Is Mr. Zhang interested in coming to our training school as a part-time teacher? If you don’t speak English for a long time, you will start to forget!”

“...forget English, my ass!” Zhang Siyi slammed the phone and put another number on the blacklist.

Su Yuan looked at him in amazement: “What’s the matter with you, eating dynamite?”

Fu Xinfei laughed on the edge of his seat: “Ignore this fool. He gave his business card to an intermediary, so he has been receiving harassing phone calls all week. He’s on the verge of collapse.”

Su Yuan. “......”

“Oh hey, my business card!” Zhang Siyi rushed back to his bedroom and grabbed two new business cards then proudly gave it them. With Zhang Siyi’s business card in view people are naturally going to start talking about their work.

Su Yuan’s job is at a foreign office and the work is very similar to what they have learned before. She must check design materials, create various analysis charts, draw diagrams, and occasionally translate foreign texts. She had been going home on time every day as there is no overtime.

Zhang Siyi admired: “Hey, this is what normal internationally educated students should do. Why do I have to spend my days drawing toilets!”

Su Yuan laughed: “No, this is not the area we are good at.”

“Yes” Zhang Siyi nodded vigorously. He was frustrated over his work assignments. He thought once he became a full staff member, his tasks would change. Ever since the issue of using templates was brought to Gu Yu attention, he was doing the same thing for the past two days. He is starting to think that his job will only consist of these types of tasks.

Su Yuan wondered: “Is it because your boss graduated from a domestic university and treats you with the requirements of a domestic graduate?”

When hearing from Su Yu, Zhang Siyi is stunned. Is it really the right choice for him at Borderless?