Chapter 131: The Design Department (Part One)

Qin Ye and Lin Han instantly blew their top.

“Checking notes after each major class is a responsibility we owe to everyone,” Zhou Xianlong said expressionlessly. “You’re here at Hui University to study, not to go on a company-paid vacation. If you don’t take your classes seriously, how can you expect to educate students properly when you return? Anyone who doesn’t complete their notes today will have one point deducted from their teaching score. There will be random checks in the future.”

“You waiting for me here?”

Five minutes later, Qin Ye and Lin Han left the classroom, grumbling and complaining at each other through clenched teeth.

“S9527! I solemnly warn you, from today on, I’m cutting ties with you!”

“Heh, what kind of position is that? Since you stuck a real eye on me, I’m supposed to get ganked?”

“Heh… who’s the idiot late to class, begging me to open the door?”

“Did I tell you to move? If I told you to streak naked, would you do it? How can such a big guy have a brain as barren as my chest?”

They argued back and forth while having lunch together. After eating, Lin Han made a call, put his phone away, and said, “Alright, I’ve arranged it. You go by yourself; I’m not coming with you.”

“So soon?” Qin Ye was surprised.

“My efficiency is top-notch,” Lin Han scoffed. “Three years ago, an old designer at Tenglong Real Estate bought a haunted house and paid me 200,000 yuan to deal with it. I just called him. No need to go to the design institute. A large company like Tenglong Real Estate has its own internal design department. Just go straight there.”

Qin Ye was remarkably well-behaved the entire afternoon.

No… the whole class was well-behaved. Everyone took notes seriously, listened attentively, and actually gained quite a few insights.

When the afternoon bell rang, Qin Ye packed up his books and took a cab to the designated location.

Tenglong Real Estate wasn’t in the city center. Its headquarters, serving four surrounding provinces, was located in the high-tech zone of Daishan City. It took over thirty minutes by car to get there.

It was a silver-gray building. Qin Ye called Sun Kangliang from the car. By the time he arrived, Sun Kangliang was already waiting downstairs.

“Young Master Qin, what an honor to have you come in person. You truly grace us with your presence,” Sun Kangliang shook his hand enthusiastically. “If you have business, you could’ve just called. Why bother coming all the way here?”

“Isn’t it because I’m poor?” Qin Ye joked casually, feeling his personality splitting even more.

The adult world was truly exhausting.

Especially for businessmen—words had to be measured: not too many, not too few, always maintaining the right balance. If you understood, you understood; if not, they’d think you were incompetent… Damn it, at least back in the underworld he could command storms and enforce violence. Here in the living world, he had to play along with them.

“Young Master Qin, you flatter me,” Sun Kangliang laughed heartily and led Qin Ye upstairs. They stepped into an empty elevator, and he lowered his voice: “You said on the phone you wanted to talk to our design department?”

Qin Ye sought out Sun Kangliang first because he wanted to handle the blueprints and materials at once. Besides, Sun Kangliang was a shareholder with real authority—better to have him around in the design department. It would make things easier.

“It’s a matter related to some land,” Qin Ye glanced at Sun Kangliang. “Interested?”

Sun Kangliang smiled: “How big?”

“Five square kilometers of comprehensive development. Planning to draw up some blueprints.”

Sun Kangliang’s eyes lit up.

Five square kilometers… definitely not a small area!

“No wonder Young Master Qin is eager for money. To be honest, the company offered 1.5 million yuan for this. I also owe you thanks—a 100,000 yuan red envelope,” he said casually, not dwelling on the matter.

No need to show too much concern now, lest the negotiation price skyrocket later.

Just enough to acknowledge it. Anyway, since he was in the design department, he’d get a quick look and roughly know the contents. If there’s profit, there will be more chances to negotiate.

They rode the elevator up to the sixth floor, which finally stopped.

Stepping out, they entered a large space enclosed by glass walls. Inside were neat rows of desks and chairs, dozens of computers, and along one corner, a line of unfamiliar machines quietly drafting blueprints.

The entire room was very quiet, with only occasional whispers.

Qin Ye had already told Sun Kangliang who to find. Sun picked up the phone and spoke briefly. Seconds later, a thin man around fifty with graying hair walked out.

“President Sun,” he nodded to Sun Kangliang without much interest. But upon seeing Qin Ye, his expression shifted, and he bowed deeply.

“You must be Mr. Qin? Mr. Lin has already spoken to me,” he said, patting his pants and pulling out a pack of cigarettes, gesturing toward a reception area. “Shall we talk over there? Mr. Qin, please share your requirements. No matter how troublesome, we will fulfill them.”

“This is Deputy Chief Designer Li. Mr. Qin, if you don’t mind, just call him Old Li,” Sun Kangliang said with a smile. “Your blueprint fee can be reported directly to finance. No need for company transfers.”

Qin Ye did not refuse. The other party’s intentions were clear—they wanted to hitch their wagon to him. Nowadays, in Daishan, the provincial capital city, paranormal events were rare, but everyone had their standards. For these talented and extraordinary individuals, tens of thousands of yuan for blueprint fees was small change.

Compared to Qin Ye’s move on Tianxi Fourth Street, why would Sun Kangliang be worth millions?

The three entered the reception area—small private rooms furnished with compact sofas, a tempered glass table, and a pot of greenery. Simple but neat, neither exquisite nor ugly.

They sat down. An employee brought tea. Qin Ye sipped lightly and spoke in a low voice, “Here’s the situation: I have a piece of land under development. You can imagine it as a flat wasteland; I’ve already ordered leveling. There’s no water source. I want to build a community that can accommodate one million people. Can you draw such a blueprint?”

Old Li pondered, frowning slightly. After a few seconds, he relaxed and said, “It’s difficult... Assuming fifteen households per floor, three people per household, thirty floors, and ten buildings per community, that community can hold 13,500 people. But... the land occupied would be nearly 100,000 square meters.”

He pushed up his glasses, grabbed a sheet of paper, and quickly wrote: “One square kilometer equals one million square meters. Five square kilometers equal five million square meters. A community of 100,000 square meters holds 13,500 people. So if you build communities over five square kilometers, you can only accommodate 675,000 people. And the actual capacity will likely be one-third less.”

“What do you mean?” Qin Ye frowned. He wanted to build a large community once and for all, so he wouldn’t have to worry about ghost outbreaks for a long time.

Given the construction speed in the living world, one community takes about two years to build. Even if ghosts worked nonstop, it would take roughly a year.

Wrong... Without the Six Realms cycle, he couldn’t control the ghosts’ minds. Humans get weary. If ghosts worked two-thirds of the day, that would be excellent. So, he estimated one community would take about a year and three to four months.

Then what?

How many ghosts would be needed each year? Would he have to come running every time? Would Yama become a real estate agent in the future?

That’s why he wanted a one-time solution. But he hadn’t expected his plan wouldn’t work. Five square kilometers couldn’t be entirely built into communities—many buildings unique to the underworld also needed construction.

Old Li sketched on the paper: “Think about it—if the entire area is communities, what about the roads inside? What about the roads outside? Roads are the most common oversight in engineering, and many novices neglect to plan for them. For such a large community, at least one-third of the area is roads. That means the final buildable area shrinks by at least a third.”

“And green belts, public facilities... According to current architectural ratios, half the area is buildings, half is other facilities. Even if five square kilometers were all communities, the maximum capacity would be around 340,000 people. And that’s optimistic... There are also hidden land uses—community service centers, machine rooms, monitoring rooms, courier stations... I estimate about 300,000 is the most accurate figure.”

Qin Ye pondered deeply before asking, “What if we build ancient Chinese-style architecture instead?”

“That would be even less!” Old Li said firmly. “Replicating ancient styles is feasible, but no matter how much, traditional Chinese architecture requires a lot of wood. This limits height and area, otherwise beams and walls can’t bear the weight. Of course, you could mention the Yellow Crane Tower, but sorry, I can’t design at that level. The provincial design institute can’t either; I was recruited from there before. You’d probably have to ask the National Design Institute, and it must be the ancient architecture department.”

Silence fell.

Qin Ye furrowed his brow and lightly tapped the sofa armrest. After a long pause, he asked, “Then what kind of ancient-style buildings can you design?”

He was considering whether to mix modern and ancient styles in the new underworld. But quickly dismissed the idea.

The underworld had existed in China for thousands of years. It was a spiritual anchor and a mark of identity.

What kind of nonsense would it be to fill it with modern skyscrapers?

Build it!

Ancient China it is! That’s the true visage the Chinese nation should uphold! Blindly chasing internationalization is meaningless. This is the underworld of China—not a city above ground! No pursuit of international underworld rankings! He didn’t believe that if the old Yama King could build it, now with modern technology, he couldn’t!

He wanted to display his own Great Wall in the underworld!

Old Li thought for tens of seconds before confirming, “Four stories.”

“Four stories of ancient Chinese-style buildings, with a base area of 10,000 square meters—that’s my limit.”

Without prompting, he continued: “That’s about the footprint of a slightly larger building today. For ancient Chinese style, one key word is grandeur.”

He took a long breath. “Back then, I wanted to build such a building, but modern China emphasizes international styles. What I learned in university has never been used again. But I still remember my teacher saying: the world’s most luxurious style is ancient Chinese style!”

“Why do some families’ antique-style renovations look bad? Because they’re too small.”

“Ancient Chinese grandeur requires large spaces to look right. Under 100 square meters, it feels cramped and oppressive. The red wood, the intricate carvings—all feel congested in small spaces. The bigger the space, the more open and grand.”

He seemed a bit excited, tapping his pen firmly: “So, if I design this community, each floor will only house six or seven households. After all, the original purpose of apartment buildings was to house the most people in the least space, which has nothing to do with the elegance and comfort of Chinese architecture.”

Qin Ye nodded deeply.

Now, he faced a problem.

The underworld’s first priority was livelihood: clothing, food, housing, and transportation. Food and clothing were assured, but housing came first.

To appease the spirits, the first building had to be a community.

But according to Old Li, that meant going the route of high-end, boutique ancient Chinese-style communities!

(The end of this chapter)