It’s four o’clock in the morning, and it feels so quiet. If humans stopped all commercial activities, maybe it would be similar to now. The streets would be empty and most people would be in their dreams, sleeping as peacefully as babies.
I saw an article by OFO Xiaohuangche some time ago, and I felt the cruelty of the commercial battlefield. Some people dream of changing the world, but I don’t want to change it. I just want to protect myself in this world, hiding in the dark and watching it like a thief, trying to find a little gap.
Every year has an annual record, and 2018 seems to be the year that many industries take a turn for the worse. We still achieved 50% growth, but that doesn’t mean we will be happy if we make money. I sometimes tell people that I really need to make some money and realize my dreams. But in fact, the money I make comes from realizing other people's dreams, not from farming or selling vegetables in urban life. These livelihoods seem inconspicuous. They may be dissatisfied with the current situation, but they should not be particularly disappointed with life.
I remember writing an article titled "The Stormy Sea" at the end of last year, but it was changed to "The Calm Sea" when it was published. Nowadays, time flies by like a flash. It seems that before I realize it, one year has passed and life only lasts for a few decades.
Since my debut, I have never left the residential design industry. On this cold night, I sometimes ask myself: If I had another place to go, would I still stick with it?
Most industries are just careers, and I have never considered what I am engaged in to be a career. Career needs to be responsible for the development of social economy or people's livelihood, while design needs to be responsible for the dreams of others. And they all have eager expectations for life, not just themselves, but also their children and family members. No matter how small a house is, it is still a home. Sometimes when I see their eager eyes, I don’t want to live up to it from the bottom of my heart. But there are always things that don’t go as expected, and no matter how hard you try, there are always flaws.
Just like Jiro Ono, the god of sushi, he is said to be the best sushi maker in the world but he still cannot satisfy the taste of all customers. If the sushi he makes is not delicious, the customers will just leave, and if my design is not good, others will say that you have destroyed my life and dreams. Meals are eaten every day and there is really only one house.
And I am just a person, an insignificant floating dust in the era who is running around and working hard for a living.
There are many higher-level professions in the design industry, such as hotel club planning or municipal environmental architecture. A steady stream of people will applaud and talk about those buildings. The design team involved can also preach like a leader in many lectures or venues, and receive honors and affiliations. I am indeed quite envious. They are creating value, and this value can be seen by many people and can be talked about to others everywhere. But none of them help others realize their dreams. There is an essential difference between commercial design and residential design. At this time, I was like a miner, telling others that one day I would dig out gold and return home in glory. And they laugh from the bottom of their hearts.
Regardless of the initial charge of 30 yuan/square meter ten years ago or the current price, it is still not easy to survive solely on design fees. Designers always have other income. When I talk to every customer, I will first promise: No matter what I accompany you to buy, or any recommendations, I have never taken a penny of money that is not my own in the more than ten years of business. I believe that few designers in Guangzhou or even the whole country dare to say this. Not only me, I also hope and believe that everyone in the team designs with care.
I sometimes share with many young designers that our residential design is the crown jewel. I swear by faith and conscience that I do think so. When guests decorate their own homes, their expectations will be much higher than when booking a hotel on Ctrip. And hotels only need comfortable and high-end, or considerate service and nothing more. As for my expectations for home, I once encountered a demand questionnaire that was filled with 7 pages of word text. The last sentence was: "We believe in you very much, but we can't control it so we just wrote so much. They are all what we thought of as a reference." This may be just a job, but when receiving these heavy expectations, the feeling and nervousness are indescribable. Their words are filled with trust and hope for designers, and at the same time, they are also filled with expectations for life. And when the two are combined, no matter how strong your self-confidence is, you always need to be as cautious as walking on a knife's edge.
Suppose I am just a shopkeeper selling wontons. Every time a customer comes in, I only need to serve a bowl of steaming wontons according to the previous process.
Some customers with particularly high expectations will complain when they encounter problems, which will indeed make some designers leave. This happens every year. I just watched some seats coming and going, and new faces appeared. They sat down with full expectations, gearing up and hoping to have a good time, but when they left, they were confused, confused, and even sad. I always liked to talk a lot in the past, but now I may just ask. Think about it again carefully, and if you are sure, that's it.
I can see everything, but I don’t want to leave.
The experience in 2018 is very rich. Due to some trial and error costs or shareholder reasons, I particularly need money, so I will work harder. There is a good harvest every year, but everyone’s definition of good harvest is different. Time is always passing, and some things are right and wrong. But everyone’s life experience is different, and right and wrong are always difficult to define.
If there was an alien machine standing in the wilderness in this world, it would give scores based on an unreasonable selection condition when everyone came close. People with high moral standards or famous people may not get high scores, and criminals or people who can only live in dark corners may not get low scores. This would be really good. The definition of right and wrong or good and evil is much simpler.
Once I went to a construction site and met a couple unloading cement. This should be a mundane scene, these things happen every day. But I watched a thin woman unloading half a truck of cement, tired but cheerful. She may think that this is her daily job. After unloading this truck of cement, the shop can earn two to three hundred yuan, which is not bad. Therefore, I have long been accustomed to the obstruction of community security, accustomed to the containment of urban management, and accustomed to the sideways glances of some snobbish eyes.
Asura is kind-hearted in nature and has a clear distinction between love and hate. He should also be one of the good paths. However, because of his persistent personality, irritability and aggressiveness, he is ultimately unable to cultivate the good path. We have seen some stories from Buddhist scriptures. Heaven and humans can also deceive. But at least, cultivating the path of Asura is not hypocritical.