Chapter 117: A much better plan (2 of 2)
Translated by me, edited by drpetro.
A *clang ~* sound was made as the crystal tea mug in one of Wen Xiaowei's assistant’s hands dropped onto the ground.
He was the head of the Expo. After hearing the detailed plan from the outstanding architect, this head felt like he wouldn't be able to show his face in public anymore, as he would become everyone's laughing stock until the day he died.
An international exhibition, inside the gallery, there would be 300 some steel columns in display booths, and in the center of major pathways.
How were people going walk? How were companies going to advertise their products?
Walk S shapes to avoid the columns?
What would those international journalists and foreign VIPs think once they've seen this?
What if you added in a couple of girls, just to ridicule the expo some more, and had them do some pole dancing?
The expo grounds was placed in an internationally known park, so the head of the expo naturally had seen many weird thinking youngsters, doing some really, really, reallllly 'creative' actions in the park.
"Mr. Xiao you……" Wen Xiaowei right now was seriously anxious, he even changed the way he addressed people: "Can you think of another plan? Please? If we're to really install columns, then the expo this time……"
Xiao Jun helplessly shook his head. The sky art this time was designed by his studio. If there was a way, how could he not think about redeeming his studio?
"We…… Can only so some decorations to the support columns." Xiao Jun tremblingly wiped his sweaty forehead and said disappointedly: "The steel columns are a must. I’d rather be laughed at, then risk people getting injured."
"300 steel columns is a must. Maybe in some areas, we can switch for something more practical. For example, on pathways, we can place some kind of arch column over it."
"It’s just that I don’t know if we have the time to make so many arch columns……"
"Then we’re going to need some decorators to come make some decorations or to arrange some flowers……"
"I…… I need to ask the Mayor." Wen Xiaowei took a deep breath and went to make a phone call.
5 minutes later, Wen Xiaowei slowly walked back, completely pale faced.
"Go. Mr. Xiao can you please oversee the placement of these columns? Try your best to avoid the route of pedestrians and the activities of the booths."
"I’ll give park central a call to have them find smelteries to immediately begin working on the columns."
"Oh right, what’s the specific dimensions you need for the steel?"
"Two meter tall, roughly eight centimeters wide and eight centimeters thick. The top needs to be flat and ready for welding. The bottom needs to be secured……"
"It’s just that we have too little time, so the secured bottom is probably not going to make it, so we’re probably going to have to settle with welding it onto some plate steel then securing it to the ground with nuts and bolts.
Wen Xiaowei’s face became even paler. This kind of plan had him feel like he was in a small no name construction site.
He was just about to agree when he saw the nearby, sightseeing Ye Qing.
"Mr. Ye, Mr. Ye." Wen Xiaowei hurriedly walked over to in front of Ye Qing: "Mr. Ye, you’re in the mechanical field, so do you know of any way to make the columns appear more beautiful?"
"At least…… At least not having a base plate that's bolted to the ground."
"In a day’s time, we can only do things in segments. Use a hollow pipe for the base, have one end completely welded shut, drill a screw into the ground and screw in the column when it’s ready."
"The columns are going to get decorated, so you can easily hide the welding marks."
"Um……" Ye Qing thought: "You can use DN 80 galvanized pipes for the columns as its width and thickness should meet the requirements. These pipes are also very common in the market, and are very easy to make. If you can get a couple smelteries together then it’ll be pretty easy to reach the needed 300."
As the matter stood, even if Wen Xiaowei didn’t want to no matter what, he still had to use the contingency plan put forth by Xiao Jun.
Truly, what could be done in only a day’s time?
No other plan existed. Time to call some decorators to come and give the columns a much needed makeover.
At least getting ridiculed was better than having an accident happen and having to stop the expo mid way.
"Mr. Ye, we’ll tally up everyone’s destroyed equipment up and give out compensations as a whole. Please forgive us, as we're seriously too busy right now to do or think about anything else."
"Yes yes, I understand. Us participating companies will naturally cooperate with the expo administration."
Having confirmed an emergency plan, Wen Xiaowei, Xiao Jun, and the others immediately busied themselves in whatever they needed to do.
Everyone who was here for the fun had left. It was also approaching noon, with the heat non-stoppingly increasing, it had literally became like a sauna.
Ye Qing followed them out. Since it was lunch soon, he was prepared to bring Xiaohu and everyone else out for lunch as a reward.
Walking out of the giant gallery, Ye Qing took out the 3D camera from the car, and took a picture of the entire gallery.
This gallery’s outer appearance was full of modern and artistic values as its designs came from a group of world famous architects. Having taken this 3D picture, he could take it home and make a mini version of it to be his new office. [ED: Wow, so shameless…]
Since there was still a bit of time until lunch, Ye Qing, having taken this picture, was just like a pictureholic as he just couldn’t stop.
Because the expo park was filled with all kinds of special looking buildings.
Even the vegetation and the landscaping trees were tenderly taken care of by the park’s gardeners.
For example, the Huangshan Yingke pine that was on an artificial mountain in front of Ye Qing. The deeply green and straight pine looked as if it had grown out of the rocks with deeply entrenched roots.
The 3D camera could take pictures of anything physical and immediately produce a 3D version of it. After he finished photographing the buildings, Ye Qing then focused the camera lens directly at the pine.
The metal smelting center had the ability to produce vertical products. No matter if it was a ship hull, or any other kind of complex structure, as long as the product's blueprints existed, then making it was literally a piece of cake.
These trees were definitely unique in their own way, so if the metal smelting center could make a couple, and place them outside of the front gates, then that was definitely some showing off.
Among the people of Anhui province, there existed a piece of world renowned, exotic art that had been passed down for more than 300 years.
A piece of steel art!
Where the hammer was the brush, and the steel was the canvas.
In the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, there existed a giant piece of steel art of the «Yingke pine». Many foreign official had photo shoots in front of the piece of artwork, which was also why the Yingke pine had become a symbol of friendship for China.
But!
Who had ever seen a Yingke pine made of pure titanium alloy?
Ye Qing wanted to ask the world, who had seen one?
No one right? But Monster Heavy Industry has one. [Tl: well, at least soon.]
Ye Qing happily pressed the shutter button, and soon after a perfectly proportioned Yingke pine appeared in the inner memory of the 3D camera.
Then, Ye Qing, who had just taken the picture, immediately froze.
Just like having been struck by the wrath of the nine heavens.
The Yingke pine in front of Ye Qing suddenly reminded him of a very very important problem.
What if……
What if a completely metal Yingke pine, on par with a God’s work, was used to support the air conditioning units?
What kind of thought was this?
The main theme of exhibition were technical innovations and changes technologies could bring to everyday life.
Now look at the entire structure of the gallery. From the air conditioners, to the sky art, then to the light steel framework, they were all tailored around the theme of technical innovations.
If the steel tube pillars, which just looked like those rusty street pipes on the streets, were swapped out for these brand new, miraculous, and unheard of structures, then wouldn’t it become the exhibition's most talked about, most sought after topic?
The 300 steel pillars needed in the contingency plan would most definitely need a lot of colored ribbons, flower bouquets, peace symbols, and be decorated like those marriage rooms, just to cover up it's shamefulness.
Now what if they were swapped out for some powerful visually attracting trees like the Yingke pine, Buddhist pine, or Crepe myrtle trees?
The top portion of any tree was filled with forked branches like an umbrella. Those forked branches could totally become all kinds of supporting points, to support up those air conditioning pipelines.
If this plan was approved, then a single tree could totally replace dozens of supporting pillars. Not only would this reduce the number of pillars needed, it could even be placed as one pleases. It was practically like here's a good spot, boom, done.
Just think about it. When people first entered the gallery, the first thing they would see wouldn't be the welcoming messages, or all of those advertisements, but rather the ingenious replicas of scenic trees made out of pure metal.
Then how was this not the perfect combination of art and science?
How could this not promote our nation's traditional culture, to shock and awe all those foreigners into submission?
If aluminum alloy were to be used to make the branches and trunks of the trees, then with those much superior heat transfer properties, cold air from the air conditioners could be absorbed by those densely packed branches, and transmitted throughout the entire tree.
Then what kind of cool and refreshing experience would it be to walk under those trees in the blazing hot temperature of summer?