Jasper explained casually.
“Alright, are you going to Coreana in a couple of days? Can you take me with you?” Henry grumbled.
“The amusement park will be completed in two months, and the Southface River Project will have already held its topping out by then. You should keep an eye on the amusement park and not go anywhere for these two months.” Jasper immediately rejected Henry’s request.
Henry himself knew he had his duties to tend to, but he was so used to being rebellious that his force of habit caused him to resist this little. However, he had no choice but to obey Jasper upon hearing his displeasure.
…
The next day, Jasper met with Grant and his team in the hotel.
“Mr. Laine, forgive me for being forward, but you’re so much younger than I imagined.”
Grant, who was one of America’s most well-known architects, was already past 60. He had met countless successful people, but they were all around his age.
Grant Morgan had thought his mysterious order from an Eastern country was from some rich kid who came from a prestigious family. He had not expected Jasper to have built his empire from the ground up.
He sighed in admiration as he gazed at Jasper, genuine respect and appreciation shining in his eyes.
Jasper smiled as he shook Grant’s hand and said, “Mr. Morgan, thank you for your praise. I’m a big fan of Sky Theatre, the building in Sauof which you designed some time ago. In my opinion, you’re the only architect who has succeeded in fusing both modernities with tradition among all other world-known architects.”
People were supposed to praise each other. Grant was obviously pleased with Jasper’s flattery as he said politely, “You’re a very likable man, Mr. Laine. I think we’re going to enjoy working with each other.”
Smiling, Jasper invited Grant to take a seat as he said, “Henry Law has already explained the conditions of the surrounding terrain to you via email. May I know how long it will take for you to come up with a first draft for the design, Mr. Morgan?”
The expression on Grant’s face turned serious as he said, “Mr. Laine, what you want to design is the tallest building in the world. A building that’s at least 630 feet tall will pose a huge challenge to any architect. It’s not an easy feat.”
“But a design fee of 1.2 billion US dollars is not cheap either, is it? Furthermore, every architect dreams of designing the tallest building in the world. Wouldn’t you want to put your best foot forward for that, Mr. Morgan?” Jasper asked as he laughed lightly.
Grant had an excited expression on his face as he said, “It’s indeed tempting, which is why we rushed all the way here last night. We’ll be conducting site visits this time. Do you have any other specific requests, Mr. Laine?”
Jasper said calmly, “I won’t have much time because I’ll be traveling to Coreana tomorrow. But I do have one request. It’s to do what you do best, Mr. Morgan. I want you to combine both modernities and tradition. I want a skyscraper that the entire world will marvel at.”
Grant said probingly, “This is a huge building that will require a lot of resources. Based on my team’s experience, we estimate that it won’t be possible without at least 15 billion Somer Dollars.”
Jasper massaged his temples. Grant’s statement had hit him where it hurt.
He had calculated the amount of money it would take to construct the building, and 15 billion Somer Dollars was only a modest estimate. In his past life, the construction of Waterhoof City Financial Tower had used a total of 17 billion dollars, while Jasper’s estimation was around 18 billion dollars.
This was just for the outer shell of the building. A tuned mass damper that needed to be used in reducing the building’s vibrations would already cost two billion dollars.
The cost required to purchase equipment and furnish the buildings would require at least another seven billion dollars.
An investment that cost nearly around 25 billion dollars was not something the average person could take part in.
Thus, Jasper realized that he was out of money!
