Chapter 40: The Power of Trust

As soon as he turned around, Boss Fang came over and saw the supervisor. “Hey there, old pal! My brother-in-law is still young. If he’s done anything to offend you, please forgive him.”

The supervisor forced out a reply after a long pause: “No, no, it’s nothing. The young man was just joking.”

But Lu Chuan couldn’t let this turn into a joke—opportunities like this didn’t come easy. “I’m not joking. Here’s the thing, big brother: this job you’ve got is a bit tricky, and you haven’t been able to find suitable workers. I was thinking, since our brothers have decent skills and it’s easy for us to find people, maybe we could take on the job together. I’d only just started to bring it up, but you didn’t believe I could rally enough people, so I brought my big brother here to show you.”

The supervisor already didn’t want to deal with this group, knowing they were with Boss Fang, but he didn’t want to offend Boss Fang either. With what Lu Chuan just said, he was basically put on the spot.

If he didn’t give a proper answer, there’d be no deal, and Boss Fang wasn’t someone you could just brush off.

Boss Fang, on the other hand, was even more anxious than the supervisor. How did such a big deal get settled so quickly? He didn’t have that kind of ability.

He pulled Lu Chuan aside. “Take on the job? We don’t have what it takes for that!”

Lu Chuan replied, “Big brother, don’t worry. As long as the pay is right, this will be easier than hauling bricks. We can do what we’re capable of ourselves, and for the rest, we can just hire people. Isn’t it easy for you to find folks you know?”

Boss Fang frowned, burning with anxiety. His brother-in-law didn’t know the gravity of the situation. “This is deep water. Not just anyone can make money taking on jobs like this.”

Lu Chuan felt a little weak in the knees under his brother-in-law’s imposing presence, but he gritted his teeth and insisted, “As long as the supervisor doesn’t try to cheat us, and we get the same rates as the last crew, we’re sure to make money.”

Lu Chuan was counting on his brother-in-law’s reputation. Who would dare mess with Boss Fang? The job would go smoothly, and the supervisor wouldn’t dare shortchange Boss Fang.

If he didn’t seize this chance, Lu Chuan would be turning his back on money—and he needed money badly. He had to grab this opportunity with everything he had.

Boss Fang frowned, clearly unhappy with Lu Chuan’s actions. “You’ve only been here half a day. What do you know? You don’t understand the situation.”

Lu Chuan thought, I may have only been here half a day, but I need money, so of course I’ve thought about this more than you all have. This morning, he’d noticed plenty of people slacking off.

He knew he couldn’t pull this off on his own—he didn’t have his brother-in-law’s authority or enough clout.

Lu Chuan patiently explained to his brother-in-law, “Big brother, I’ve seen it. You guys are just going through the motions, working without much care. There are several spots where work is bottlenecked.”

His tone was conciliatory, but he’d already put his brother-in-law on the spot.

Boss Fang was annoyed. “If you take on the job and hire people, it’ll be the same story.”

Lu Chuan said, “Big brother, trust me—there’s real money to be made here. But I’ll need your support. I don’t have much influence, so people won’t trust me.”

Boss Fang was still hesitating. For him, it wasn’t just about profit or loss—if they really took this job, they’d be offending the previous contractor, and then who would they work for in the future? That would cut off their livelihood, and his brother-in-law’s reputation wouldn’t help. He wasn’t about to go along with Lu Chuan’s reckless plan.

Fang Yuan looked at Lu Chuan, then at her big brother, then reached into her pocket and made her move. “Big brother, if you’re worried about losing money, I’ll pay your wages myself. Even if we lose out, it’s just some labor lost. I have money.”

Boss Fang had never seen anyone so bold. She’d only been married a few days and was already offering to cover any losses. “Don’t mess around. What do you know?”

Fang Yuan replied, “I have money.” She pulled out an oiled paper packet from her pocket and opened it to reveal a stack of cash. No matter what era, people with money have confidence.

And Fang Yuan knew her big brother well—he was the type who wouldn’t act unless he saw a sure thing.

The Fang brothers all stared wide-eyed. Fang Wuhu pulled Fang Yuan aside. “Where did you get that money?”

Fang Yuan said, “Don’t worry about it. Big brother, even if we lose, you won’t be on the hook.”

Fang Yuan wasn’t the type to worry about consequences. She didn’t know if they’d make money, but she did know that the foreman on a construction site had real authority. Now Lu Chuan was stepping up to be the foreman—she had to support him.

She thought to herself, This brain of his really works when he’s had a good rest. I’ll have to make sure Lu Chuan gets plenty of rest in the future.

Lu Chuan looked at Fang Yuan and felt truly trusted. The way he looked at her changed.

Boss Fang scolded, “Nonsense! Put that away. This isn’t just about money.” But seeing the cash, he started to reconsider.

He glanced at his brother-in-law, then at Fang Yuan’s determined face. If he refused, he’d embarrass his brother-in-law, and Fang Yuan would probably kick up a fuss.

He turned to Lu Chuan. “You go negotiate. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it. If we lose money, so be it—I’m not short on cash.”

That’s what he said, but before he saw the money, he hadn’t agreed. Lu Chuan understood that well.

If things worked out today, it was all thanks to Fang Yuan’s trust—she made it possible. The key was that she was willing to spend money for him. When a husband and wife work together, opportunities arise.

Lu Chuan grinned at Fang Yuan, then turned to Boss Fang. “Thank you, big brother.”

The two of them went over to negotiate with the supervisor. Lu Chuan greeted him with a smile. “About this job, my big brother knows what’s involved—we can handle it. But you can’t shortchange us on the pay. We’re stepping in to help you out. To be honest, by taking your job, we’re offending the previous contractor.”

The supervisor saw Boss Fang coming over and knew there was no easy way out. “Yes, yes, but… I just don’t want to put Brother Fang in a tough spot.”

Lu Chuan could tell he was trying to dodge responsibility, so he reassured him, “Brother, just say what’s on your mind—we’re all on the same side here. If we agree, we’ll draw up a proper contract. If we don’t finish the job as required, you can hold us accountable according to the contract.”

That sounded reasonable, but even so, no one wanted to mess with the Fang brothers.

With the previous contractor, the supervisor could at least argue. With the Fang brothers, he wouldn’t even dare raise his voice.

Lu Chuan added, “Of course, if we do the job well, you have to pay us according to the contract. That way, both sides are protected.”

Boss Fang nodded. He’d made up his mind—he was just backing his brother-in-law’s play, but he wasn’t going to put his own money in.

The supervisor saw Boss Fang nod and looked like he was about to cry—there was no way to refuse now. “Well, that does make things clear, but… but…”

Lu Chuan looked at the supervisor’s face. “Brother, is there something you can’t say?”

The supervisor glanced at Boss Fang and fell silent. It wasn’t that he couldn’t say it—he just didn’t dare.

At this point, Boss Fang was sharp enough to know not to get involved. He led his brothers away, leaving the supervisor and Lu Chuan to talk privately.

The supervisor said, “Young man, you’ve put me in a tough spot. That’s Boss Fang—he’s got a whole crew of little tigers behind him. If he decides to play hardball, what could I do?”

Lu Chuan replied, “Brother, that’s not fair. My big brother is a reasonable man. Besides, that’s what contracts are for—we’ll stick to the agreement.”

The supervisor said, “Forget contracts. Those things don’t mean anything to the Fang family.”

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