Chapter 38: The Strength Fang Yuan Gave

Fang Yuan felt that Lu Er had no ambition at all. When it came to making money, naturally you should go where the money was greater. “You don’t even know how to compare? How can you be so lacking in ambition?”

Lu Er thought to himself, I got into university, you know. Will I be shoveling sand with a large shovel in the future? What do I need that kind of ambition for? That would be neglecting my proper work.

Besides, I could learn to handle a large shovel, but can he get into university? Your eyes are always fixed on other people. Do you have any judgment at all? This woman really doesn’t think straight.

Unfortunately, there was no reasoning with Fang Yuan, so he could only stew in silent frustration.

Still, there were benefits. Holding in that frustration while working, he felt the shovel in his hands become much lighter.

Lu Er thought irritably, this could be considered strength that Fang Yuan had given him.

Fang Yuan was not pleased with Lu Chuan either. He was weaker than other people even when shoveling sand. What could anyone expect from him?

When it was time for lunch, Lu Chuan noticed something. “I think there’s not even anyone selling food around here. It’s hot, and there isn’t even anyone selling ice pops.”

Fang Yuan looked around as well. This man’s brain really did have something in it. It wasn’t wasted letting him nourish his brain for a night.

But it would not be easy to make big money from this. “I could sell ice pops, but how many people are there here? The money from a few ice pops wouldn’t earn as much as you make working. As for cooking, I can’t do it. Can you?”

Lu Er shook his head and spoke honestly. “Cooking for you is one thing. Selling food to other people is different. This crowd might not give me any face.”

The husband and wife looked at each other and fell silent. Neither of them could earn that money.

Fang Yuan said, “Then wasn’t all that thinking a waste?” Her eyes were full of resentment. Letting him get a good rest last night had been for nothing.

Lu Er paused. He really understood the meaning behind Fang Yuan’s look. “Let’s keep watching. It’s only been half a day. There’s no rush.”

Fang Yuan had an impatient temperament. “You only have two months in total before you go to school. It’s only half a day and there’s no rush? Are you planning to observe for two whole months? If not, then just earn money honestly and learn from those people handling the large shovels. At least they earn a skilled worker’s wage.”

Lu Chuan felt as though he could not even swallow his lunch anymore. This woman was such a mood killer.

Over there, Fang Yuan’s brothers saw the couple discussing things together and began talking privately.

“You know, Little Sister and Brother-in-Law seem pretty good together. She even accompanies him when he comes out to carry bricks.”

Fang Eldest Brother glanced over. “They just got married. The novelty hasn’t worn off yet. Fang Yuan isn’t the clingy type. Don’t start making a fuss.”

Wuhu was the first to nod. When it came down to it, he understood Fang Yuan best. Wasn’t that exactly right?

He looked sideways at this brother-in-law. As expected of someone who had gone to school, there was something a little strange about him. How had he managed to coax his sister? They could actually sit together and chat peacefully?

Wuhu said, “I wonder what a university student and our sister can even talk about. Can the two of them really have anything in common?”

Fang Eldest Brother kicked him. “Now that you have a brother-in-law, all of you need to act more mature. Don’t let people look down on us.”

The brothers all agreed. Their eldest brother possessed absolute authority in the family. They had all grown up being disciplined by him.

However, the brothers noticeably edged closer to the young couple. They all wanted to hear what the two of them were talking about.

Fang Yuan said, “Otherwise, I’ll carry bricks with you. Two people earning money is better than one.”

Lu Chuan spoke frankly. “If our whole family comes out to carry bricks, how much money can we make? How much can we earn in two months? Will it even cover half a year’s university expenses for me?”

Fang Yuan frowned. She hated vague statements like that. If he asked her, how would she know?

“What do you mean? Speak plainly.”

Lu Chuan’s face darkened again. “We’re not short of the little bit of money you could make carrying bricks. One more person carrying bricks won’t accomplish much.”

Fang Yuan had never seen anyone so incapable yet so arrogant. He acted even more conceited than his father.

She picked up her lunch tin and left. “Fine. You’re capable. If you don’t need me, then you don’t need me.”

Lu Chuan was not in a good mood either. Back then, although the family had been poor, he studied well. His tuition had been fully waived, and he had scholarships. He had not cost the family much money.

But university required money. Even Lu Feng knew that university would cost money, so he had taken advantage of the situation and split the family.

Now there was a wife as well. He could hardly ask his parents to support his wife for him.

At the very least, he was now a married man. He understood that he had to support a family. As a result, whenever there was any opportunity to make money, Lu Chuan wanted to seize it.

Because he needed it.

Meanwhile, the Fang brothers watched the entire process of their sister and brother-in-law arguing.

They had been getting along perfectly well just moments ago, and then suddenly they were fighting. It had happened far too quickly.

Fang Sihu was worried. “What do you think? Which side are we supposed to support? Should we beat up Brother-in-Law?”

Wuhu was the one with some brains. “Are you stupid? Or would you rather see that bratty girl carrying bricks with us?” This was not the time to argue. Given Brother-in-Law’s attitude, they absolutely had to support him.

Fang Sihu said, “Then we’re just going to watch him make our sister angry?”

The brothers all looked toward Fang Eldest Brother. This question really was difficult.

“Big Brother, what do you think? We brothers need to have a position. Otherwise Brother-in-Law will look down on us.”

Fang Eldest Brother glared at them. “Don’t meddle. Otherwise people will say the Fang brothers bully others by relying on our numbers.”

In other words, they would stay out of it.

Fang Sihu, who never hid what he was thinking, said, “Then in the future, whenever he makes our sister angry, we’re not going to do anything?”

Fang Eldest Brother kicked Sihu. “Are you stupid? We’ll deal with the future when it comes.”

Their position would change according to the circumstances.

Wuhu nodded in agreement. As long as his sister liked him, then he was their brother-in-law.

While they were talking, the workers who had finished lunch and were resting suddenly started causing a commotion. Lu Chuan ran over to where his brothers-in-law were. He had never seen anything like this before.

Fang Eldest Brother reassured his brother-in-law. “It’s nothing. This kind of thing happens every few days. They’re demanding their wages.”

Lu Chuan craned his neck to look over there. “We’re not worried? Shouldn’t we go demand our wages too? The money isn’t guaranteed?”

Fang Eldest Brother said, “What is there to be afraid of? There aren’t many people who dare owe money to us brothers.”

He was quite confident about the matter. He had no need to cause a scene.

Lu Chuan looked hard at his eldest brother-in-law several times. Having brothers-in-law like this really was an advantage.

Wuhu said, “If things really get out of hand, work might stop, and we’ll all have to rest. The main thing is that it’ll delay earning money.”

As Lu Chuan watched the excitement, his mouth never stopped moving. “Why? It looks like only that one person is making a fuss.”

Fang Eldest Brother said, “That’s Old Sun, the labor contractor. He’s the one who recruited all of us. He holds our wages, and he also gets a cut from the property owner. He profits from both sides. He’s quite crafty. Otherwise this wouldn’t be happening. It’s not necessarily that he’s not making money. He probably just wants to pressure the property owner a bit.”

Lu Chuan said, “If there were proper procedures, there shouldn’t be this kind of trouble. Wouldn’t it be enough to follow the procedures?”

Fang Eldest Brother sneered. His brother-in-law really was a scholar. “What procedures? This kind of work is always like this. If you can work together, then you do. If not, you take your workers and leave. This isn’t a major construction project.”

Lu Chuan nodded. So none of it was very formal.

While chatting with Fang Eldest Brother, he said, “Big Brother seems familiar with all these workers.”

Fang Eldest Brother replied, “I can talk with all of them. We brothers all want to move into skilled trades. We can’t spend our whole lives carrying bricks for other people.”

Lu Chuan understood. No wonder this group was always looking longingly at the people handling large shovels.

No wonder Fang Yuan kept staring at them.