Chapter 44: You Really Can’t Say Things Carelessly

Fang Eldest Brother was unhappy. His brother-in-law had only studied for a couple more years than him, so how had he become better than him? Didn’t he have any pride? “Mom, I’m the eldest brother-in-law.”

Wang Cuixiang said, “Your father is still the father-in-law. What I said applies to him too.”

Fang Dalen said, “You woman, I respect educated people. But when it comes to ability and brains, how could I be worse than him? I’ve eaten more salt than he’s walked roads.”

The Fang brothers were all unconvinced and nodded along. Combined, the lot of them had to be better than this brother-in-law.

Wang Cuixiang sneered and said to Fang Dalen, “Your son-in-law said that all the villages around here recognize your meat stall and won’t buy meat from anyone else.”

Fang Dalen raised his chin. “The truth. My son-in-law wasn’t wrong. I don’t need to be too proud about it.”

Fang Xiaohu led his brothers in agreement. “Nothing wrong with that. Our dad really is well-liked.”

Wang Cuixiang rolled her eyes. “Are there any other butcher shops in the village? Huh? There’s only one.”

They had been played and were still acting foolishly. Were they stupid or not?

After saying that, she glared at the dim-witted father and sons, then stormed off angrily. She blamed herself for forgetting to give her children some brains when she gave birth to them.

She blamed herself for not being more selective when choosing a husband, and affecting the next generation.

The only ones left were Fang Dalen and his sons, dejectedly trailing behind their wife and mother. Fang Dalen was even comforting himself. The son-in-law was impressive, he had even managed to fool him.

Fang Eldest Brother thought to himself, I’d better not deal with my brother-in-law in the future. He’s no good. All the brothers were thinking the same thing.

Pretty boys never had good intentions.

Things were much simpler on Lu Chuan’s side. He coaxed Fang Yuan, telling her not to feel bad about the money and just have a little faith in him.

Fang Yuan sighed. What else could she do? The money was already gone. For once, Fang Yuan took the initiative to grab Lu Chuan. “Your brain really works well, right?”

Lu Chuan blushed awkwardly. It seemed inappropriate to admit that himself. He shyly glanced at Fifth Brother beside them.

Fang Yuan said, “I let you rest properly last night and didn’t bother you. That didn’t affect your brain, right?”

If his brain stopped working, the money would be gone. Fang Yuan was genuinely worried.

Those two sentences made Wuhu so embarrassed that he fled the area. He would have to talk to Fang Yuan later. She really couldn’t say just anything in front of others. Even he was blushing from hearing it.

He had just seen his brother-in-law blush too.

The husband and wife, who had not thought much of it, called Wuhu back so Lu Chuan could put Fang Yuan’s mind at ease. He began explaining everything to Fang Yuan and Wuhu, writing and drawing in a small notebook, laying out every detail of the money clearly.

After a long explanation, Lu Chuan looked at the still-confused Fang Yuan and helplessly summarized, “So we won’t lose money.”

She understood the last sentence. As for why they wouldn’t lose money, she did not understand.

Fang Yuan and Wuhu stared blankly at the notebook. Lu Chuan blinked. “You can read, right? You know how to do arithmetic, right?”

The two nodded. They had both gone to school before, but neither had amounted to much. Otherwise, their father would not have become so excited upon getting an educated son-in-law.

Lu Chuan frowned. “Then you should be able to understand it. These calculations are pretty basic, not difficult.”

Fang Yuan muttered, “I understood it.”

Wuhu naturally added, “But that doesn’t stop us from not understanding it.” He said it with complete innocence and confidence.

Lu Chuan rubbed his chest, feeling sorry for the teachers who had taught them. In the end, he condensed everything into a sentence they could understand. “Anyway, we won’t lose money.”

Fang Yuan’s focus was not on that. “Can we make money?”

Wuhu stared eagerly at the educated man’s notebook. He cared about that question too. Not losing money and how much money they would make were two different issues.

Lu Chuan answered with certainty. “Yes. As long as things turn out close to my calculations, we’ll make a profit.”

Fang Yuan felt this man really talked in circles and never got to the point. “How much?” The important thing was how much.

Lu Chuan thought, How can that be stated so precisely? After making a conservative estimate, he said, “Definitely more than the deposit you advanced for me.”

Wuhu’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot. This job was originally going to take over twenty days. But after you got this machine, my brother said it’ll definitely be finished in half a month.” Half a month to earn five hundred yuan, where could anyone find a deal like that?

Lu Chuan raised an eyebrow at Fang Yuan. “See? With this mixer, we save five days of labor costs. Worth it, right?”

Fang Yuan stroked the mixer. “The deposit alone was over five hundred yuan.” Did he think that was cheap? What was there for him to be proud of?

Then she added, “Can this thing really do that much work and make money?” After all, she had never seen it with her own eyes.

Lu Chuan explained carefully. “Mechanization naturally saves more effort and time than manual labor.”

As Fang Yuan touched the mixer, it truly opened a new world to her. “If I’d known earlier, why would I bother finding a man? Finding a mixer would make more money than a man.”

Wuhu and Lu Chuan both stared blankly at Fang Yuan. How could she say something like that? What exactly was going on in her head?

After talking for so long, this was the only conclusion she had reached?

Had her thinking gone completely off track?

Lu Chuan did not think he was inferior to a mixer, but in terms of working, he really was not as capable as one. Why did that feel so frustrating?

Looking at Fang Yuan seriously, he said, “It can’t cook for you.”

Fang Yuan answered directly, “Your cooking isn’t very good either.”

Lu Chuan clutched his chest. That really hurt.

Wuhu was even more direct. “It can’t have children with you.”

Fang Yuan looked at Lu Er. Fortunately, she did not say anything.

After all, that thing really couldn’t have children.

But after hearing those words, Lu Chuan’s face turned red. Since someone had brought it up, should that matter be put on the agenda?

He kept glancing at Fang Yuan, but unfortunately she was not thinking about it at all, nor was she blushing.

All she said casually was, “This thing is really valuable.”

Her train of thought had absolutely no intersection with Lu Chuan’s.

Lu Chuan had no way to ask what she thought about having children.

Turning to look at Wuhu, this eldest brother-in-law who had been born only a few minutes before his wife, Lu Chuan wondered whether Wuhu had stolen his wife’s nutrition in their mother’s womb. Otherwise, why didn’t Fang Yuan’s brain seem to work very well?

Then again, this eldest brother-in-law did not seem much smarter than Fang Yuan.

Then Lu Chuan’s thoughts drifted even further. He started thinking that any future children absolutely had to take after him. Miraculously, his face became even redder.

After all, that involved an ancient and primal issue.

For the entire evening, Fang Yuan circled around the mixer. The brother and sister discussed it enthusiastically together and did not spare Lu Chuan even a single glance. Of course, whenever they did not understand something, they still asked Lu Chuan. “So it just needs electricity? Do you know how to use it?”

Lu Chuan taught them how to operate it, explaining everything in detail.

The two listened attentively. Unfortunately, they were afraid of wasting materials. Otherwise, they would have wanted to try it themselves.

Fang Yuan asked Lu Chuan, “How do you know all this? You’re not just making it up, are you?”

Lu Chuan replied, “If I rented it without knowing how to use it and only displayed it as decoration, wouldn’t that be wasting money?”

Fang Yuan nodded. That made sense. “This big thing is really great. It can even make money.”

Lu Chuan understood. In Fang Yuan’s eyes, anything that could make money was good and capable.

He studied well, was a university student, and everyone outside praised him. Yet Fang Yuan never took it seriously. Of course, the exception was when she had fought to marry a university student.

To Fang Yuan, apart from being able to step on Lu Feng a few times, he seemed to have no other use.

That realization was something Lu Chuan found hard to swallow.