My "academic genius" persona is so convincing!

"This project is settled."

Xue Lin waited for news for the next few days. When Chen Hui delivered the message to him, he felt neither sadness nor joy.

Many might find this project somewhat aimless or abstract, difficult to accept. However, if viewed as a valuable experiment or a novel architectural design, its value is immense, far exceeding its immediate appearance. In most cases, the combined elements constitute a truly innovative architectural design, considered exceptional by many. Therefore, Xue Lin naturally felt a great sense of accomplishment. He smiled faintly, saying nothing more, and showed no smugness. After all, securing this project was largely due to the architectural design institute. Without their backing, he might not have been able to secure such large projects on his own. So, he likely relied heavily on the institute, and specifically on Chen Hui. After all, Jinling University holds an exceptionally high position in China.

"You'll be designing this project from now on. The two templates and two formalizations we designed earlier are just for reference. Whatever personnel you need, or how many assistants you require, I'll arrange them for you. The design institute will also fully cooperate with you. Once you've finished this, we'll make a draft. As for the many revisions that may be needed later, we'll study those. Also, I'll send you the contact information of the person in charge there. You can contact him directly. Whatever requirements he has that need to be addressed, you can get that information from him."

Xue Lin nodded naturally, without saying much. He could glean some insights from these two points. Furthermore, his architectural philosophy seemed to be gaining acceptance. This caused a slight sigh to cross his face. It seemed there were still people who understood art, but it wasn't just about understanding art. The various architectural styles of amusement parks generally reflected a pursuit of innovation and change; they weren't simply a matter of listing out existing ideas. After all, amusement parks were still relatively new in China. They couldn't possibly be the same as traditional architecture.

Building an amusement park or some abstract architecture on top of traditional buildings might present some problems. Even if you have a lot of ideas, some people might find it inappropriate, feeling that traditional buildings shouldn't be desecrated, destroyed, or given novel or creative features. This is quite normal, as most people are conservative. As for you considering yourself radical, that probably just means your ideas haven't been challenged, and your aesthetic concepts haven't been affected. Most of the time, trying to change the very foundation is very difficult.

"No need. I'll have my two graduate students work on the design as well, and that should be enough. If we design together, it will also help train some talent for the design institute. They should be able to do some design work too, and I'll teach them. I think it's perfectly normal to combine all these things. Everyone wants to solidify various architectural concepts, and there are quite a few categories of architecture. It would be best if everyone could benefit from this and all these aspects could be listed out."

Xue Lin simply smiled faintly. To him, these two graduate students were considered valuable assets. While they currently had several projects, even with profit sharing, their individual shares wouldn't be substantial. However, if this 5 million yuan project could be successfully completed, the outcome would be entirely different. As for research, they could continue working on it. They could also contribute to this large project. After all, Xue Lin only had these two people at his disposal. If they performed well, Xue Lin didn't plan to recruit anyone else. Of course, he would still need to assess their capabilities. If they couldn't, it would simply be a waste of time.

However, he didn't dwell on it much. Since the two were now under his supervision, he was confident he could train them. He wanted them to participate in various fields of architecture. Only through involvement could they develop a natural feel for all aspects of architecture. After all, architecture and architectural design were the most crucial aspects. There were also issues he oversaw, such as structural mechanics and functional building materials. All of these combined were quite novel. Ultimately, architectural design was the most fundamental element—the blueprints. If one couldn't even understand or design blueprints, it would be difficult to achieve anything significant in any field of architecture.

While various branches of architecture can produce one or even several academicians, architectural design academicians make up a significant proportion, as blueprints are the most fundamental element. Therefore, Xue Lin felt that these two graduate students were capable of undertaking this important task. Without much hesitation, he accepted the assignment.

"Your two graduate students are fine. I'll see how they are, assign them some tasks, and see if they can finish them. As for what comes after that, who can say for sure? You two go and research it first. I'll go and talk to them first, since they've prepared a lot of material."

"it is good."

Xue Lin readily agreed, and as for the blueprints, he quickly retrieved them.

"For the next period of time, we'll focus on this. Of course, this only refers to this one drawing. Once this drawing is completed, we can move on to other projects, or we can combine them. I know your time is also very valuable, but during this period, everyone should focus on this drawing. As for those projects, when you're publishing papers, just do them one by one. We can take our time with this drawing; we should have plenty of time, about two months. I think it shouldn't be difficult to complete this drawing in two months. As for the salary for this drawing, I think it should be quite substantial."

"It must be at least several hundred thousand, maybe even over a million."

Xue Lin smiled faintly. For him, the combined design fee for these two drawings was actually quite substantial.

Based on market design fees, it would be at least tens of millions. He could easily share some with these two graduate students. Of course, he might only get about a third of that after the initial investment, but that would still be more than enough. Therefore, he felt it was best to share the money and have everyone complete the work when the time came. As for whether the two of them had the ability, Xue Lin had no doubt. He had previously involved them in some projects, and they had seen some of his previous designs; he had even mentored them bit by bit.

If those two graduate students were truly incompetent, they probably would have left long ago. Xue Lin now believes their abilities are more than sufficient, and they have a very good chance of completing the project within two months. As for the other projects, they can't stop either; projects can support people, whether it's the funding or the subsequent benefits—these are all advantages a project can bring. Not to mention, the thesis alone is enough for promotions. As for the rest, Xue Ting feels somewhat indifferent. Most of the time, they are researching how these things are done. And as for architectural design, two months should be more than enough time to complete it.

"No way, Brother Lin, you're letting us make this? This is your specialty, we might not be able to achieve that effect. Or if you have any ideas, we should be able to implement them easily. But producing a finished image in two months, that's probably too difficult. Just thinking about it makes me feel a lot of pressure."

He wasn't afraid of difficulties; rather, the object was simply too bizarre. In Xue Lin's eyes, it was merely an extremely innovative piece, or rather, an abstract architectural design based on an artistic concept—a very well-designed blueprint. But to the other two, it was like a monstrous flood. They had never heard of this architectural style before, and they found it difficult to adapt to its various concepts.

Now, Xue Lin can design a blueprint in a few days. Putting aside everything else, just looking at the blueprints for that castle, they felt that if they were to design it, even with Xue Lin's explanations or drafts—Xue Lin had even explained it once and drawn it himself—it would probably take them quite a while to draw it again, even if they were to simply copy it.

It wasn't that they were afraid of difficulties, but rather that they were worried about delaying the deadline if they couldn't finish. A large project like this definitely had many deadlines and templates. Therefore, communicating with the client and ensuring Xue Lin's ideas were met would require constant improvement and a considerable amount of time to adapt. They felt that if they couldn't handle two months, it would cause serious problems.

"Don't worry about that. I'll design it with you all. Let's all work together and try to finish it in two months. If we can't finish it, it's not a big deal. After all, if we really can't finish it, we can apply for an extension. I've given you two months, and the higher-ups have given me five months."

"But I think five months is too long. If we can finish it as soon as possible, then we should finish it as soon as possible. Of course, if there are any problems, you can come to me directly. I can explain the general design concept to you first, and then you can design it yourselves, just treat it as a game. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves. I will personally revise your drawings. I am quite fast at revising drawings. You can design something simple first, and I will send you some ideas and suggestions later. You can follow my ideas or think outside the box yourself."

Of course, Xue Lin felt that these two people might not have thought as thoroughly as he had, and he had a relatively clear understanding of such abstract concepts. If these two could create something of their own, then Xue Lin would naturally approve of it.

Or, to put it another way, if the two of them create something very ordinary, they can then improve it into a highly design-oriented, abstract concept, which is perfectly normal. Most abstract concepts originate from highly design-oriented, or rather, ordinary, designs. In other words, even if they design something ordinary, they can deconstruct it, extract its essence, and then assemble it into something entirely new. That's roughly it; there's nothing particularly special about it.

So Xue Lin didn't think much of it; as long as these two could handle it, she'd take care of everything else. The two men's eyes lit up after hearing this. They hadn't expected Xue Lin to give them so much time, or rather, to provide them with ideas and concepts. Xue Lin provided them with the thought process and some suggestions; they only needed to design it, and then Xue Lin would personally revise it. They had seen Xue Lin's sharp eyes; she could spot even the smallest flaws. Of course, most of the time, Xue Lin would also revise their papers, marking the changes and having them review them again.

Most of the time, they were amazed after reading his work. Xue Lin could even spot and correct the smallest details. It could be said that most of their submitted papers were unfinished. But after Xue Lin's corrections, they were almost perfect. Now, with Xue Lin's words, they could naturally unleash their full potential.