Chapter 41: The Tigress

The manager complained to Lu Chuan, “I only agreed to talk to you because I trusted you were a college student. Now you’re putting me in a tough spot, that’s not very fair.”

The problem was, unless Boss Fang himself said he wanted out, the manager didn’t even dare bring it up. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

It wasn’t just Boss Fang who was caught in this bind—the manager was too. This college kid really didn’t play by the usual rules.

But this was exactly the outcome Lu Chuan wanted. He said, “Brother, trust me, I wouldn’t screw you over on this. My brother-in-law isn’t easy to deal with, but you came to me, and my wife brought the money. Isn’t that proof enough we’re serious?”

Lu Chuan called Fang Yuan over, and she jogged up. “What do you need me to do?”

Lu Chuan said, “Take out the money and show it to the brother here.”

Fang Yuan glared at him—how could you just show people your money like that?

The manager, for his part, didn’t dare mess with the Fang family’s tigress. “No need, no need, I already saw it just now. Here’s the deal, little brother, I won’t try to trick you, but you can’t trick me either. I’ll sign the contract with you, and I’ll talk to you about this job. How you do it, who you do it with, that’s your business, not mine.”

In other words, he didn’t want to deal directly with the Fang family’s five tigers. He was just trying to avoid unnecessary risks.

Lu Chuan glanced back at his shirtless brothers-in-law. Truth be told, he was a little scared himself, but for the sake of money, he was willing to take the risk. “Alright, from now on, I’ll handle all the details with you.”

But that wasn’t quite what the manager meant, so he clarified, “How you negotiate with the Fang brothers is your business. I won’t get involved, and I don’t want to know. I’m only dealing with you, because you’re a college student.”

He couldn’t have made it clearer—he wasn’t about to mess with the Fang family’s five tigers. He couldn’t afford to.

Lu Chuan nodded. “Alright, we’ll do it your way. But I’m not sure about the price.”

The manager said, “Don’t worry about that. Even if I wanted to cheat you, I wouldn’t dare cheat Fang the Tiger.”

Lu Chuan thought to himself, Wow, my brothers-in-law actually come in handy for something like this.

The manager gestured to Lu Chuan and said, “Your brother-in-law will find out about this sooner or later. You can ask around if you want, but I’m giving you a fair price.”

Lu Chuan trusted in his brothers-in-law’s reputation. “No need to ask around, I trust you.”

With that, the two of them went off to sign the contract. Everything went smoother than expected. When the timing, the place, and the people are all right, opportunity just falls into your lap.

Fang Yuan was weighing things in her mind too. Her big brother had been working on the site for ages and never thought of being a foreman, but Lu Chuan had only been here half a day and already took the lead.

It was obvious who was the smarter one. She decided that from now on, she’d listen to Lu Chuan. Simple-minded people don’t have trouble making choices.

Lu Chuan came back with the contract, and Fang Yuan carefully put it away. Lu Chuan told her, “This is money. We’ll need it to pay the workers later.”

Fang Yuan put it away even more carefully. “Why do I get the feeling the manager doesn’t want to deal with my brothers?”

Lu Chuan thought, Congratulations, you’re absolutely right. But if we got this job, it’s all thanks to your brothers’ reputation.

But he didn’t dare say that out loud—if he did, Fang Yuan would definitely flip out. So he changed the subject. “I heard Mom call your brother ‘Little Tiger,’ but everyone else calls him ‘Tiger.’”

Fang Yuan said, “My big brother is the real tiger. Mom can call him Little Tiger, but no one else dares. Don’t you go calling him that.”

Lu Chuan thought, I’d have to be crazy to call my brother-in-law ‘Little Tiger.’ Even a tiger wouldn’t dare.

Fang Yuan said, “We can really make money with this? I hope I don’t lose all my money. But even if I do, I won’t feel too bad—half of it’s for your family, and the other half is for that shameless one.”

Lu Chuan just laughed. Fang Yuan really was generous—over five hundred yuan, and she was willing to risk it all for him.

Lu Chuan was in a great mood. All his life, his parents had never trusted him or been willing to let him take risks like this. Of course, it was a lot of pressure too.

But that’s life—if you don’t take risks, you can’t make money, can’t go to school, can’t support your wife.

This was Lu Chuan’s first real step toward building a life for his own family—a leap of faith.

Lu Chuan still needed his brother-in-law’s help to get the job done and to find workers.

Honestly, Lu Chuan was pretty confident. He didn’t think he’d lose money. He’d seen how the workers here slacked off.

If he got a crew willing to work hard, things would be different.

Fang Yuan was tough—she’d rather lose money than not even try. This young couple really were a bold pair, daring to speak up and take action.

The only one feeling the pressure was Boss Fang. His little sister and brother-in-law were just starting out—if this turned into a disaster, he’d never forgive himself.

The other four tigers were worried about Fang Yuan too. They thought her husband looked like a spendthrift, and figured that half their pocket money would end up going to help their sister. No way were they going to let her suffer.

So as soon as the Fang brothers saw the contract, they left right away. They’d heard their brother-in-law had even agreed to a time limit—couldn’t afford to waste any time.

That left just Fang Yuan and Lu Chuan at the site. Fang Yuan asked, “Now that you’re the foreman, what do we do next?”

Lu Chuan looked around. “Let’s keep an eye on things. We’re responsible for the labor, not the materials. Looks like there’s enough materials here, but if anything goes missing while we’re in charge, it wouldn’t look good. We have to keep our word.”

Fang Yuan asked, “What if there’s not enough?”

Lu Chuan replied, “These things are all calculated. It’s impossible for there to be a big shortage. If we’re short a little, they’ll bring us more.”

Fang Yuan looked at the piles of sand and cement, feeling a bit unsure. “How do you know it’s all calculated? Are you smarter than my brother?”

Lu Chuan said, “I asked around. There’s a standard amount of bricks, sand, and labor per square meter. These things are all figured out, and the numbers don’t vary much.”

He didn’t explain in detail, but the reason they were willing to sign a contract for the job was because they’d already done the math.

Fang Yuan was still puzzled—she thought you just used as much as you needed.

Lu Chuan reassured her, “I really did rack my brains this afternoon, thinking it all through.”

If Fang Yuan hadn’t pushed him, Lu Chuan wouldn’t have dared to be so bold. He would’ve wanted to observe for a few more days. But he didn’t want his wife to look down on him.

And honestly, the opportunity came at just the right time—he didn’t have time to hesitate.

Lu Chuan added, “Besides, I used to work on construction sites, carrying bricks.” He’d had a tough childhood—he might have only been here half a day, but he already had experience.

Fang Yuan snorted, “Who knows if that’s true. It’s always the stubborn ones who get in trouble.” She was prepared for the worst. “Anyway, if we lose money, so be it.”

Lu Chuan shut his mouth. This was a matter of trust. He couldn’t rush it—he had to prove himself to Fang Yuan.

But looking at it another way, the fact that she was willing to support him even when she didn’t fully trust him—Lu Chuan couldn’t help but see it as love. Fang Yuan must really care about him, even if it was a bit blind.

Lu Chuan suddenly felt shy, but boldly took Fang Yuan’s hand and walked her around the site, asking her to help keep track of the materials and equipment.

Fang Yuan just listened to him, not even noticing he was holding her hand. “How am I supposed to remember all this? But don’t worry, as long as I’m here, wasting stuff is one thing, but letting it get stolen is another. I won’t let us lose face.”

Lu Chuan asked, “Why is wasting okay?”

Fang Yuan replied, “Because if it’s wasted, I won’t even notice.” She said it so matter-of-factly.

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