Chapter 64: The Question of Who's in Charge

Back then, Fang Yuan and Wu Hu made things clear: “You and Lu Chuan can handle that project together. You split the money between yourselves—I don’t want any part of it, and I won’t get involved. But you do have to use my concrete mixer.”

What she meant was: what’s yours is yours, what’s mine is mine—let’s not mix things up.

Of course, Wu Hu knew exactly what Fang Yuan was thinking. “Alright, alright, you really are Old Fang’s little sister. All a bunch of sly foxes.”

Fang Yuan replied, “It’s just not suitable to mix things together. I’m doing this so we don’t become strangers in the future. What, you don’t recognize me anymore?”

Wu Hu snorted, “You’re greedy and ruthless, and you’re even turning the tables on me.”

The two of them were arguing so much, they’d already forgotten about Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan said, “Alright, you’re talking like we’ve already bought it. We don’t have much money, and there’ll be plenty of places we need to spend it. Otherwise, why don’t we just buy a used one?”

Wu Hu sucked his teeth—still no money. “You wish! Where are we supposed to find one?”

Fang Yuan ignored the two of them. “It’s my money, so I get to decide. Why buy a used one?”

Isn’t the answer obvious? Because they don’t have enough money.

Lu Chuan said, “If it doesn’t work, we can just rent one for now. When we have more money later, you can buy whatever you want, new or used.” He really wasn’t just trying to placate Fang Yuan—after all, whether they had money or not, and how to spend it, was all up to her.

Wu Hu said, “Fine, if your husband wants to spoil you, it’s none of my business.”

Then he added, “Let’s not talk about this. Lu Chuan, you go to the county to check out the job. I’ll go recruit people. Tomorrow, we’ll start work.”

Lu Chuan said, “I’m good on my end. Sounds like we can handle the job. But what about you, Wu Hu? Can you get people to come without Big Brother’s connections? Should we ask him to help?”

Wu Hu felt this was his chance to show off in front of his brother-in-law. He patted his chest, “You don’t get it. If I can’t get people, then you can go ask Big Brother.”

With that, he dragged Fang Yuan away, leaving Lu Chuan to ride his bike to the county. If things looked good, he’d try to sign the contract.

Fang Yuan asked, “Is it hard to find people?”

Wu Hu answered easily, “Your man laid a good foundation. What’s so hard about it? People have already come to me, saying whenever Lu Chuan has work, they’re willing to follow him.”

Fang Yuan really didn’t get it. “Why? I thought they were all really close with Big Brother.”

Wu Hu said, “That’s something I just learned myself. Being close doesn’t matter. When people work for Big Brother, he pays them based on how close they are to him. That doesn’t last—everyone thinks someone else is getting paid more. And everyone thinks they’re special to Big Brother, but in the end, he just ends up offending everyone.”

Fang Yuan said, “I see. So Big Brother gave them a deal, but no one appreciated it. He’s not shrewd enough.”

Wu Hu thought to himself, Are you really in a position to say that? But he just said, “Do you get it now?”

Fang Yuan replied, “Yeah, you can’t pay people like that. We’ll do it Lu Chuan’s way—everyone gets the same. Doesn’t matter how close you are, you get paid for your skills.”

Wu Hu mainly wanted to lead everyone to make money together. Once you make money, then people trust you.

When they got home, they saw Fang Daleng toss over a bankbook.

Fang Daleng glared at Wu Hu. “What are you looking at? It’s not for you, and don’t you dare tell anyone. Your mom said not to.”

Wu Hu curled his lips. The reason he got along so well with Fang Yuan was because he’d always followed her around since they were kids, and their dad always gave her extra treats. He got the benefit too.

Even now, it was still the same. If he were the one short on money, the family definitely wouldn’t be so generous.

Fang Yuan beamed as she picked up the bankbook. “Dad, no need to go borrow a pig anymore. Mom’s come around.”

Wu Hu’s face turned dark. Listen to these crazy ideas: “Mom’s just been scared by you two.”

Fang Yuan pulled Fang Daleng over and at least knew to say something nice. “Dad, I’ll buy you wine in the future.”

Fang Daleng said, “Of course. My daughter’s wine—never gets you drunk.”

Fang Yuan dragged Wu Hu off, not even waiting for Lu Chuan to come home, and headed straight for the county.

In Fang Yuan’s words, “If you’ve got money, buy it quick. The sooner you buy it, the sooner you can start making money.” She really never thought about the consequences.

Only Wu Hu was worried for her. This was a big deal—was it really okay to just do it like this? “You really don’t need to discuss it with your brother-in-law? Don’t want to think it over? What if… what if there’s no work later?”

This wasn’t a small sum—over two thousand. What if they didn’t make any money?

Fang Yuan said, “Let’s just buy it first.”

She was thinking, what if Lu Chuan disagreed? Then they’d just end up arguing. If she bought it first, they could always find work for the mixer later.

She added, “Didn’t you want to get into this business? Once you have the mixer, you don’t have to worry about people not coming to you for work. After all, you’ll be the only one in the area with equipment—people will be lining up to talk to you.”

Wu Hu heard this and thought it made sense. Even Big Brother’s projects wouldn’t be as smooth as his own in the future.

He started pedaling his bike even faster—had to spend the money before his brother-in-law got back and tried to stop them.

So when Lu Chuan came back from checking out the job, he waited at home half the night, only to see this big piece of equipment arrive. The job wasn’t even confirmed yet, and they were already nearly a thousand short at home.

Honestly, for a young couple who’d just started their own household, it was a bit much to handle—made him anxious.

Fang Yuan was all excitement. “Look, look, it’s ours!” She didn’t feel the burden at all—just full of hope for the future.

Lu Chuan rubbed his chest. There were so many things about his wife that were extraordinary. “You really bought it?”

Fang Yuan said, “Of course! This is what we’ll rely on to make a living from now on. You’d better treat it well.”

Her eyes were shining—full of hope. Lu Chuan was in awe. Who else could be as determined and fearless as Fang Yuan? She never worried about the consequences.

When things were out of his control, Lu Chuan could accept it quickly. He looked at Fang Yuan, worrying for her. “Can you even sleep tonight?”

Fang Yuan thought about it—she really was a bit excited. “I’ll take my blanket and sleep right next to it.”

Lu Chuan nodded and muttered, “With so much debt, I couldn’t sleep even in bed.”

Fang Yuan said, “Come on, it’s not that much. I’ve still got over two hundred left for emergencies.”

That’s why she borrowed an extra two hundred—what’s there to be proud of? Lu Chuan just looked at Fang Yuan, feeling like he was watching the river flow away, never to return.

He told himself: just go with the flow.

Fang Yuan looked at Lu Chuan too. He looked as tense as a sow about to give birth.

She told herself: well, if things get tough, we’ll just muddle through.

Wu Hu saw the mood wasn’t great, so he took the blame. “Brother-in-law, this is my fault too. I should’ve stopped her.”

Lu Chuan thought, This is between husband and wife—nothing to do with Wu Hu. “It’s fine, Wu Hu. Actually, it’s just that I couldn’t find the money. Otherwise, I’d have wanted to buy this thing too. I checked out the job—it’ll last a month. Renting this thing would be a huge loss.”

Wu Hu, hearing this, forgot all about the mixer. “Really? I’ve already found the workers. We can start anytime.”

65."

"Chapter 65: When Skill Falls Short, Luck Fills In