Chapter 41: The Tigress

The manager complained to Lu Chuan, “I trusted you because I know you’re a university student, that’s why I was willing to talk with you. What you’re doing now, setting your old brother up like this, isn’t very decent.”

The problem was that if Fang Eldest Brother himself did not say he was backing out, the manager did not dare refuse either. He was stuck riding a tiger he could not dismount from.

The one being forced into this situation was not only Fang Eldest Brother, but also this manager. This university student did not do things the proper way.

This outcome was exactly what Lu Chuan wanted. “Old Brother, trust me, I can’t possibly cheat you in this matter. My eldest brother-in-law isn’t easy to talk to, so come to me instead. My wife even brought money with her, isn’t that sincerity?”

Lu Chuan waved Fang Yuan over. Fang Yuan trotted over. “What can I do?”

Lu Chuan said, “Take out the money and let Old Brother have a look.”

Fang Yuan glared at him. How could money be shown to just anyone?

The manager did not dare provoke the Fang family’s tigress. “No need, no need. I already saw it just now. How about this, Little Brother, I won’t fool you. And you can’t fool your old brother either. I’ll write the contract with you, and I’ll tell you this much. How you do the job, and who you do it with, has nothing to do with me.”

What he meant was that he would not deal directly with the Fang family’s five tigers. He was avoiding risk.

Looking at the bare-chested elder brothers-in-law behind him, Lu Chuan was actually afraid too. But for money, he was willing to take the risk. “Fine. For all these miscellaneous matters later, I’ll be the one communicating with you, Old Brother.”

That was not what the manager meant, so he immediately clarified. “What happens between you and the Fang brothers afterward, I won’t interfere with, and I won’t know about it either. I have never dealt with the Fang brothers. I’m dealing with you because you’re a university student.”

That was clear enough. He would not provoke the Fang family’s five tigers. He could not afford to.

Lu Chuan said, “Fine, we’ll do it your way, Old Brother. But what about the price?”

The manager replied, “Don’t worry about that. I might dare cheat you, but I wouldn’t dare cheat Fang Tiger.”

So my brothers-in-law actually have a use like this.

The manager gestured a couple of times toward Lu Chuan before speaking. “Your eldest brother-in-law won’t be able to stay in the dark about this for long. You can go ask around. The price I’m giving you is an honest one.”

Lu Chuan trusted the reputation of his brothers-in-law. “No need to ask around. I trust you, Old Brother.”

The two men left together to sign the contract. Things went more smoothly than anyone could have imagined. When timing, location, and people all aligned, opportunities simply appeared.

Fang Yuan had her own way of measuring things. Her eldest brother had been on construction sites for so long and had never thought about becoming a boss. Yet Lu Chuan had only arrived for half a day and had already become one.

Who had the better brain? Wasn’t that obvious?

She had already decided that in the future she would listen to Lu Chuan. People with simple minds did not suffer from decision paralysis.

When Lu Chuan returned holding the contract, Fang Yuan carefully put it away. Lu Chuan had said this was money, something they would use later when collecting wages from the manager.

Fang Yuan stored it even more carefully. “Why do I feel like he doesn’t want to deal with my brothers?”

Congratulations, your instincts are correct. But the only reason they had gotten this job was because of the reputation of those brothers-in-law.

Lu Chuan knew that if he told the truth, Fang Yuan would definitely lose her temper, so he changed the subject. “I heard Mom call Eldest Brother Little Tiger. Why do people outside call him Tiger?”

Fang Yuan said, “My eldest brother is a big tiger. Mom can call him Little Tiger, but other people don’t dare. Don’t go calling him that randomly.”

I’d have to be crazy to call my eldest brother-in-law Little Tiger. I don’t even dare call him Tiger.

Fang Yuan said, “Can we really make money? My money won’t get lost, right? But even if it does, I won’t feel bad. Half of it belongs to your family, and half belongs to that immoral woman.”

Lu Chuan laughed. Fang Yuan truly had a big heart. That was more than five hundred yuan, and she supported him just like that.

Lu Chuan’s mood became especially good. Since childhood, not even his parents had trusted him this much or been this willing to support him. Of course, there was pressure as well.

Life had forced his hand.

If he did not take risks, he could not earn money. Without money, he could not continue his studies or support his wife.

This first step of the young man from the Lu family taking charge of a household was a true do-or-die gamble.

While Lu Chuan negotiated with his eldest brother-in-law, securing the job was only the beginning. He still needed his eldest brother-in-law’s help organizing workers and finding people.

To be honest, Lu Chuan felt confident. He did not think they would lose money. He had observed that the workers here simply did not put much effort into their work.

Replace them with people willing to work hard, and things would definitely be different.

Fang Yuan was ruthless in her own way. Even losing money was better than not daring to try at all. The young couple were truly like a bald man and a blind man charging ahead recklessly. They dared to speak and dared to act, looking every bit the part.

The only person under real pressure was Fang Eldest Brother. His younger sister and brother-in-law had only just begun their married life. If they ended up burdened with such a huge debt, he would not be able to avoid responsibility.

Wuhu was also worried about Fang Yuan. Looking at his brother-in-law, he felt the man looked like someone who would squander money. He thought to himself, In the future, half of my spending money will go to this girl. No matter what, I can’t let her suffer.

So when the Fang brothers saw the contract, they immediately left. They had heard that their brother-in-law had even agreed to a deadline. They could not afford to waste any time.

Only Fang Yuan and Lu Chuan remained at the construction site.

Fang Yuan asked, “Now that you’re the foreman, what do you do?”

Lu Chuan looked around the site. “Keep an eye on things. We’re responsible only for labor, not materials. The materials here should be about enough. If they end up short while they’re under our watch, it wouldn’t look good. When doing business, you have to keep your word.”

Fang Yuan asked, “What if they aren’t enough?”

Lu Chuan replied, “These things are all calculated. A major shortage is impossible. If it’s only a small shortage, they’ll deliver more to us.”

Looking at the courtyard full of sand and cement, Fang Yuan felt uncertain. “How do you know they’re all calculated? Are you better than my brother?”

Lu Chuan replied, “I asked around. Normally, how many bricks are needed per square metre, how much mortar and sand, how many workers are required, all of that has figures attached to it. The differences don’t vary much.”

Lu Chuan did not explain in detail. The reason people dared sign fixed-price construction contracts was precisely because they had already calculated all these things.

Fang Yuan found it strange that such things could be calculated. Wasn’t it simply a matter of using however much was needed?

Lu Chuan reassured her. “I really haven’t wasted this half day. I’ve been thinking hard about all of this.”

If Fang Yuan had not pushed him so urgently, Lu Chuan would never have dared be this aggressive. He would have wanted to observe for several more days at least.

But his wife had been looking down on him.

And the opportunity had come at exactly the right moment. There had been no time to think further.

Lu Chuan added, “Besides, I’ve carried bricks on construction sites before.”

They had both grown up poor. Although he had only been here half a day, he already had prior experience.

Fang Yuan snorted twice through her nose. Who knew whether that was true? The stubborn ones were always the first to get themselves killed. She preferred preparing for the worst.

“Anyway, if we lose money, then we lose money.”

Lu Chuan immediately shut his mouth. This was a matter of trust.

He could not rush things. He had to let Fang Yuan see his abilities for herself.

Then again, even when she did not fully trust him, she still supported him so strongly. Lu Chuan naturally interpreted this as love.

Surely Fang Yuan liked him, and liked him blindly at that.

As a result, Lu Chuan became shy. Boldly holding Fang Yuan’s hand, he wandered around the construction site and had her help memorize how many materials and pieces of equipment they had.

Fang Yuan was focused entirely on using her brain and listening to Lu Chuan speak. She did not even notice that her hand was being held. “How could I remember all that? But I’ll keep watch here. Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, wasting things is one thing, but taking them away is absolutely impossible. We can’t lose face like that.”

Lu Chuan asked Fang Yuan, “Why is wasting them acceptable?”

Fang Yuan replied, “Because I can’t tell when things are being wasted.”

She said it with complete confidence.