Chapter 65: When Skill Falls Short, Luck Fills In

When they heard that construction would start in the county town tomorrow, Wu Hu started to feel bad about the travel expenses. “If I’d known, why did we bother hauling this thing home? We should’ve just left it in the county to save on transport costs.”

They’d spent a lot today, and seeing so much money leave their hands, Wu Hu was still feeling the pain. Every bit saved counts.

Fang Yuan said, “That’s nothing to worry about. If we hadn’t brought it home, who would know we have this thing? Who would come to our place to rent it? The money was well spent. Tomorrow, when we haul this thing to the county, I’m going to have someone drive it around our village first.”

Wu Hu grinned, “Fang Yuan’s gotten clever—good idea. That’s how it should be.”

Lu Chuan just looked at Fang Yuan, thinking she really had a knack for spending money wisely.

That night, if Wu Hu hadn’t stayed outside in the yard with the concrete mixer, Fang Yuan would’ve insisted on keeping it company herself.

Lu Chuan was a bit exasperated—did he need to build a new house just for the mixer? Otherwise, his wife wouldn’t even come inside.

Early the next morning, all the Fang brothers came to see the machine. What they really thought, only they knew.

Fang Yuan, letting bygones be bygones, spoke up, “Big Brother, I bought this. If you need it on your construction sites, just come to me. Since it’s family, I won’t ask for a deposit, but you’ll still have to pay rent.”

Eldest Brother Fang didn’t look too happy. “Fine, this thing is reliable. My brother-in-law is still in school, so it’s good for the family to have this extra income.”

Lu Chuan just listened quietly, not saying a word even as his brother-in-law took jabs at him.

Second Brother Fang didn’t say anything either, but kept glancing toward the main house.

Fourth Brother wasn’t so reserved. He asked directly, “Fang Yuan, where’d you get so much money? This thing isn’t cheap.”

Fang Yuan replied, “I have money. Didn’t you know?”

Even Third Brother couldn’t hold back, “Honestly, we didn’t know. You’re good at saving, huh? This thing must’ve cost a lot.”

They all had a rough idea of how much money Fang Yuan had, and it definitely wasn’t enough to buy this machine.

Wu Hu, who’d always been close to Fang Yuan, jumped in, “Fourth Brother, what are you getting at? Want to know if Fang Yuan took money from the family? If you have something to say, just say it.”

He laid it all out in the open, standing up for Fang Yuan and, at the same time, taking a jab at Eldest Brother.

Fang Yuan’s face changed at that. “What does it matter to you if I took money from the family? It’s none of your business.” She didn’t feel she was in the wrong at all.

Lu Chuan was surprised Fang Yuan could be so blunt. He looked up at her, stunned.

Fang Yuan continued, “What are you looking at? Mom and Dad’s money is theirs to give to whoever they want. Who are you to complain?”

If she hadn’t taken the money, that would be fine. But she did—wasn’t she feeling guilty?

Wu Hu and Lu Chuan both looked at Fang Yuan, thinking, “How does she dare?”

But Fang Yuan didn’t think it was a problem. She was living her own life now—why worry about her parents’ money? She took it, and that was that.

Wu Hu coughed, “Alright, let’s not get sidetracked. Fourth Brother, I’ll tell you straight—I gave my money to Fang Yuan, and I helped scrape together a bit more from outside.”

With that, the brothers had no more doubts. Wu Hu had always been devoted to Fang Yuan, so it wasn’t surprising he’d help her borrow money.

Eldest Brother Fang put on a big-brotherly air. “I’ll ask around and see if anyone else needs this thing. The sooner we pay back the outside money, the better. If it’s not enough, I’ll get some from your sister-in-law.”

He really did act the part of the eldest brother—except when it came to money, he was a bit stingy.

In short, you could borrow his money, but you couldn’t share in his money. Lu Chuan understood now—his big brother just wanted to be the leader.

Fang Yuan was about to say something, but Wu Hu stopped her. The brothers didn’t think much of it, assuming Wu Hu just didn’t want Fang Yuan to say something unpleasant.

Everyone was eager to make money, so they soon left. Even though this machine could earn money, they couldn’t afford to buy one themselves.

Fang Yuan asked, “Why’d you stop me? You think I’m afraid of them?”

Wu Hu replied, “If you say too much, it’ll just make things awkward for Mom and Dad. Don’t ask why, and don’t say you’re not afraid. Just let things be for now. When we get paid, we’ll pay Mom and Dad back first.”

Fang Yuan said, “You don’t have to tell me—I already know.” She just couldn’t stand the way her brothers acted.

Lu Chuan felt guilty. “We’ve made things hard for Mom and Dad.”

Wu Hu said, “No need to feel bad. This is between us brothers and our parents.”

Lu Chuan felt a bit left out, but for now, getting to the county to work was more important.

Wu Hu quickly gathered a crew, showing he was just as capable as the eldest brother.

Lu Chuan noticed some of the young guys were good workers and dependable—the kind who’d put in real effort.

They were the same guys who’d helped him on previous jobs, so it was clear Wu Hu already had connections with them.

Wu Hu had a good eye for people.

When the group arrived at the county construction site, they felt a bit nervous—the project was pretty big.

One young guy pulled Wu Hu aside, “Bro, do you think they’ll trust our skills for this job?”

Wu Hu was nervous too, but put on a brave face. “My brother-in-law’s a college student. If he says we can do it, we can. You’ve got to trust him.”

Truth be told, the clients probably wouldn’t have looked twice at their little rural crew, just a handful of guys who looked pretty rough. But they had equipment.

As soon as they arrived, they started unloading the concrete mixer. There weren’t many of them, but they made a lively scene. If they could unload equipment, they must be able to handle the job.

Back then, few construction teams had their own concrete mixers, so having one meant you could be trusted. The clients figured maybe they had more workers coming later.

It was just a stroke of luck—both sides were a bit unsure, but the project started anyway.

The truth was, Lu Chuan and the others were in a hurry to unload the mixer because they wanted to save on transport costs. It wasn’t that they were totally confident about the job.

Once work started, no one had time to worry about whether they were up to it. If they were short-handed, they’d find more people.

They’d already taken the job—if they couldn’t handle it, they’d figure something out. They were all young and quick learners.

More people kept coming to Wu Hu looking for work, so as their crew grew, their confidence grew too.

Lu Chuan saw that they really could handle the job, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he go look for someone to sign the contract—something to guarantee the work.

At first, without a contract, Lu Chuan had been cautious, worried their little team might not be able to handle such a big project.

Fang Yuan had only one thing on her mind: with her concrete mixer, she’d never be short of work. As long as the mixer kept running, she’d keep making money—enough for five people.

As for how Lu Chuan’s project would turn out, Fang Yuan didn’t really care. That was between Lu Chuan and Wu Hu. She just focused on her mixer.

It wasn’t that she was missing the forest for the trees—she was just focused and practical.

Lu Chuan and Wu Hu made things clear: with a formal contract, brother-in-law and brother-in-law would split the profits fifty-fifty.

As for Fang Yuan, she made it clear she wouldn’t get involved. “The mixer is mine. If you use it, you pay me. But I won’t ask you for a deposit.”

Lu Chuan hadn’t expected that even within one family, things would be divided so clearly.

He looked at Wu Hu, feeling a bit embarrassed—he felt he’d let Wu Hu down, after all the help he’d given them.

66."

"Chapter 66: This Wasn’t the Result He Wanted