Chapter 106: Chapter 106 Confirming the blueprint, willful boss
Chapter 106: Confirming the Blueprint, Willful Boss
The four design drawings from the prospective partners all had their merits. Yun Zijin found it difficult to make an immediate choice. She turned to Meilin for input. "Meilin, what do you think?" she asked.
As a professional assistant, Meilin appropriately shared her opinion: "If your budget is sufficient, Miss, I'd recommend Lu's design." The proposal from Lu's designers was an amusement-park-style orphanage. It included the large entertainment facilities Zijin wanted, plus carefully planned living spaces for children and staff—an aspect Zijin deeply cared about.
For safety reasons, they concentrated all residential buildings in a secure area, separated from the entertainment zone by green belts and walls. This way, the orphanage wouldn't look out of place among the park-like facilities. The biggest downside was cost. Following Lu's design might push labor, material, and other expenses into nine or even ten figures.
If Zijin hadn't grown up in the Red Star Orphanage, no one would spend so much money expanding an orphanage without expecting anything in return beyond a good reputation.
After hearing Meilin's explanation, Zijin made her decision. She looked up at Lu Yunque and the others. "What does Miss Yun decide?" Sheng Hao asked. "After careful thought, I'm choosing Lu's blueprint. But no one else should feel discouraged.
I plan to renovate and expand more orphanages or welfare homes in the future, so your designs might still be useful. I'll ask for your help again." Since she had established a charity foundation, she had no intention of stopping with just the Red Star Orphanage. Others around the country might be her next targets.
A faint smile appeared on Lu Yunque's lips. Though Li Yuecheng and the others were a bit regretful, they respected her decision. "Then we look forward to our next collaboration," they responded, not too upset at the outcome.
"By the way," Fu Ze interjected, "does Miss Yun's foundation accept third-party donations?" But Zijin shook her head. "At this time, the foundation is funded solely by me, so we're not accepting outside donations." She'd set it up partly for convenience in fulfilling her system's spending tasks.
If money was parked in a foundation account rather than her personal account, it counted toward her consumption total. As soon as her tasks required it, she could just transfer the funds each day before midnight, meeting the quota and reaping the rewards—all while helping others.
Hearing her answer, no one pressed the matter. "Mr. Lu, I'd like your designers to coordinate with the construction team on possible issues during construction," Zijin said, emphasizing she wanted everything done perfectly. "Money's no issue. I just don't want any corner-cutting."
"That's our responsibility," Lu Yunque replied. "Even if you hadn't mentioned it, we'd arrange discussions between the designers and the construction team."
"That settles it, then. With the design selected, the orphanage expansion can truly begin. Let's finish here. I'd love to treat everyone to dinner tonight. How about it?" Zijin had a visible look of relief and joy now that the blueprint was finalized.
"Sounds great. Where shall we eat?" Li Yuecheng asked immediately. He certainly didn't mind a free dinner with "Sister Zijin."
"It's up to you. Pick a place," Zijin said. Food in the Imperial Capital wasn't her strong suit, so she preferred them to decide.
Li Yuecheng thought for a moment. "Let's try Yunheyuan. Old Lu, can you make a reservation?" He promptly pushed the responsibility to Lu Yunque. Yunheyuan was owned by a notoriously willful boss. One had to call him personally to reserve, and even then, getting accepted depended on the chef-owner's mood. Lucky diners might get in the same day, but unlucky callers would be turned away. It was just that sort of place.
"No guarantee they'll accept," said Lu Yunque in a mild protest. "If even someone connected to me can't secure a reservation, who else can?" Li Yuecheng bantered back, referencing a small "inner circle" rumor. Zijin stayed quiet, letting them decide. Sighing, Lu Yunque took out his phone, found Yunheyuan's owner's number, and dialed.
The line rang for some time before a voice picked up: "Hey! State your business, or get out!" "I'd like to bring people to your place for dinner today," said Lu calmly. "Oh? We rarely get calls from Mr. Lu. Tell me who you're bringing first, and then I'll decide," the man on the other end replied lazily.
Seeing an opening, Li Yuecheng grabbed the phone from Lu. "Brother Zhou, we're coming with twenty-one people—and Sister Zijin is with us! You know, the one you've wanted to meet. So get ready, we'll be there soon." "Twenty-one, huh… how many men vs. women?"
"More men than women, but you'd better prepare enough. We're traveling as a group!" said Li Yuecheng, then gave the phone back to Lu Yunque. Zijin couldn't help wondering about the need for separate greetings.
"Huh, twenty-one…" The man on the other side paused. "Alright, come on. I'll cook, you bring the ingredients. No supplies, no meal. That's the rule. Don't dawdle." And he hung up. The chef-owner's typical willfulness displayed itself once again.
"We have to supply our own ingredients?" Zijin raised an eyebrow. "Yes," said Li Yuecheng, not surprised. "This is exactly how Brother Zhou runs things. If we want him to cook for so many, we have to handle the shopping ourselves."
"Alright," sighed Zijin, a bit stunned by how capricious this chef was. "At least we know the drill. Let's go, then." Li Yuecheng assured her, "Don't worry, Sister Zijin. We men can handle the errands. You ladies just enjoy the meal." And with that decided, they headed out to gather ingredients for the night's dinner at Yunheyuan, prepared to humor the willful boss.
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