Chapter 63: Chapter 63: I’ve Been Pretty Free Lately

After leaving Qin Yangyang’s house, Lin Jiang drove back to the noodle shop.

He filled the water, added the Delicious MSG, and with that, his task was complete.

"Brother Jiang, you’re here."

Just as he finished with the water, Yang Tao arrived.

Lin Jiang nodded. "How’s it going? Are you getting used to the workload?"

"I’ve adjusted. It’s way better than being an installation worker."

"You worked in a hotel before, so you must have some experience with preparing the soup base, right?"

"I did, but it’s been so long that I’ve pretty much forgotten it all. The only skill I haven’t lost is how to cook the noodles."

"I’ll teach you how to prepare the soup base now. You have a foundation, so you should pick it up quickly."

"You got it."

For the next hour, Lin Jiang personally instructed Yang Tao on how to prepare the soup base. The latter was a very fast learner and quickly grasped the key points.

"Stay behind after your shift tonight and practice. Don’t be afraid to waste ingredients, just go for it," Lin Jiang said. "Once you get good at it, I’ll raise your salary to 7,000 next month."

"Thanks, Brother Jiang."

"It’s what you deserve. No need to thank me."

While the two were talking, Li Yuanyuan walked over.

"Brother Jiang, Spring Harmony Noodle Shop closed down. Shouldn’t we raise our prices back up?"

’Lin Jiang thought for a moment. Although he could be considered middle class, running a shop was business, not charity. Now that his goal was achieved, there was no need to keep the prices low.’

"First, restore the original prices for takeout orders on both platforms. Then, post a notice saying that dine-in prices will return to normal in three days. Give everyone a grace period. Our reputation and credibility are very important, so we need to handle the public-facing side of things gracefully."

"I get what you mean, but the problem is..."

"I’ve made it perfectly clear. What’s the problem?"

"I only went to middle school for a year. There are some words I really don’t know how to write."

Lin Jiang was speechless.

"Fine, I’ll do it."

Lin Jiang didn’t leave right away. He took a piece of paper, wrote a notice about restoring the original prices, and posted it on the door.

The customers who came to eat saw the notice about the prices returning to normal, but no one said anything. They all felt it was perfectly normal, as long as the prices weren’t being raised beyond the original.

Just then, a taxi pulled up outside the small shop. Chen Jingjia, wearing a mask and sunglasses, got out of the car.

Before she had taken more than a few steps, she saw Lin Jiang working by the entrance, diligent and focused.

’Looks like I guessed right. Lin Jiang isn’t really rich after all.’

’There’s definitely something fishy about the house.’

’If he really bought a house in Century Triumph, he’d be a bona fide hundred-billionaire.’

’What kind of tycoon, after making it big, would keep doing this kind of dirty, tiring work?’

’Even though I haven’t figured out what’s going on yet, it must be a misunderstanding. I was just being too anxious.’

Having seen the scene she wanted to see and learned the information she wanted to know, Chen Jingjia hailed another taxi and left.

At that moment, Lin Jiang came out of the shop and got into his car, which was parked not far away.

He turned on his navigation and headed for Dao Yi Design.

The firm’s design was very avant-garde. The street-facing walls were made entirely of glass, but you couldn’t see inside from the outside.

Lin Jiang didn’t know anything about design, but the overall look was certainly impressive, even if he didn’t quite get it.

After he parked the car, the female receptionist at the entrance came out to greet him.

"Hello, sir. Are you here for renovation services?"

Lin Jiang glanced at her. She seemed a little familiar, but he didn’t think much of it.

He nodded in response.

"Commercial or residential?"

"Residential. And I’d like to see your best designer."

’He still had 25 million sitting on his card. Besides, the house was already finely furnished; it only needed minor alterations and new appliances. He might not even be able to spend the entire budget.’

’So!’

’He had to find the best designer!’

"Please have a seat, sir."

The receptionist led Lin Jiang to a sofa, poured him a glass of warm water, and held an iPad in her hand.

"Well, sir, every designer at our company is excellent. Here is our list of designers, you can take a look."

"Okay."

He took the iPad from the receptionist. It had a dedicated app, and when he opened it, he saw a list of designers with their introductions.

The photo on the first page was of a middle-aged man with a shaved head, dressed in casual clothes.

Below it was his profile. He was the owner of Dao Yi Design and had won many awards.

Following that were many of his design portfolios, all with on-site, real-life photos.

His style was very diverse, ranging from modern minimalist and natural wood to the solid wood style favored by middle-aged tycoon bosses. He seemed to have no weaknesses.

"I’ll go with him."

"Well..." The receptionist tucked her hair back and said, "Sir, the thing is, our President Qi is no longer taking on new projects. I hope you can understand."

"Alright."

Lin Jiang swiped to the next one. This time, it was a woman.

She had a mature, melon-seed-shaped face, and her long, wavy hair gave her a sophisticated and commanding presence, though her makeup was a tad heavy.

The woman’s name was Liang Shuhuo. Her resume was just as impressive, with quite a few awards to her name. She was also a partner and the design director of the firm.

’She’s probably second-in-command, right under the boss.’

In contrast, her style was more specialized, focusing entirely on modern, avant-garde designs.

Afterward, Lin Jiang looked at some pictures of her past projects, and they were all very much to his taste.

"I’ll go with her."

"Sir, the thing is, Director Liang has certain requirements. The property’s floor area can’t be less than 200 square meters, and the budget can’t be less than 2 million. Perhaps you could consider our company’s other designers? They are also very outstanding and have also won many awards."

’With 25 million on hand, he couldn’t even spend it all if he tried. If he wasn’t going to pick the most expensive option, what was the point?’

"It’s fine. I want her."

Lin Jiang handed the iPad back, not wanting to look at anyone else.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

The receptionist took the iPad and left. She went up to the second-floor office area and knocked on the door of Liang Shuhuo’s office.

Compared to her photo, Liang Shuhuo’s everyday appearance was less aggressive.

She wore light makeup, and her gray, form-fitting skirt paired with a women’s blouse made her look fresh and competent.

"Director Liang, there’s a client downstairs who’s asking for you to handle his design."

Liang Shuhuo put down her Apple Pencil and glanced at the receptionist.

"Asking for me again? It’s only the beginning of the month, and there must have been at least a dozen people who specifically requested me."

Liang Shuhuo was a little annoyed. Many people just saw that she was famous and requested her without considering anything else, only to complain about the price and then let the matter drop.

’She really didn’t want to waste her time on this sort of thing.’

"It’s mainly because your reputation is so great. All sorts of people want to try their luck."

"Did you tell him about my design standards?"

"I did, but he still insisted, so I had no choice but to come get you."

After saying that, the receptionist asked tentatively, "Should I find an excuse to turn him away? It probably won’t work out anyway, and it would save you the time."

"I’ll go take a look. I’m a bit tired of working on this design anyway. I’ll go down, get rid of him, and count it as stretching my legs."

"Mhm."

Liang Shuhuo stood up, twisted her waist, stretched her arms, took another sip of water, and then walked downstairs in her high heels.

"Director Liang, that’s him."

After coming downstairs, the receptionist said, looking at Lin Jiang’s back.

"Alright, you can get back to work. Leave him to me."

"Mhm."

The receptionist left. Liang Shuhuo walked over to Lin Jiang and sat down opposite him.

"Hello, sir. I’m the design director at Dao Yi Design. My name is Liang Shuhuo."

As she spoke, Liang Shuhuo extended her hand, and Lin Jiang shook it.

"I heard from Xiaoxue just now that you’d like me to design your house."

"Your portfolio is a cut above the rest, so you’re the one I’m interested in."

"But recently, I’ve been..."

RING RING RING—

The ringing of a phone interrupted Liang Shuhuo.

"Sorry, I need to take this call."

"No problem. Go ahead."

The caller was Zhao Fangfei. Lin Jiang guessed it was probably about the property deed.

"Mr. Lin, the property deed is ready. I went ahead and picked it up for you. Where are you now? I can bring it to you."

"No need to trouble yourself. I’m discussing the house renovation with a designer right now. I might have to go to the site in a bit."

"That works too. I’ll deliver the deed to you there later."

"Oh, right. I wanted to ask, for the houses in Century Triumph, there aren’t any restrictions on alterations like knocking down walls, are there?"

"I’m not too sure about that. I’ll ask around for you in a bit."

"Okay, see you in a bit."

Liang Shuhuo: ???

’Century Triumph!’

After hanging up, Lin Jiang looked at Liang Shuhuo.

"Sorry about that. You were saying? What about recently?"

"I, I..."

Liang Shuhuo nervously tucked her hair back.

"I’ve been quite free recently..."