Chapter 53: A Clash of Tigers

Lu Chuan could tell that Fifth Brother clearly felt proud of Fang Yuan.

Over on the side, Fang Yuan was still waiting for Lu Chuan to speak about how to split the money between husband and wife. Lu Chuan said, “Let us split it evenly between husband and wife, is that okay?”

It was almost instinctive now, like when speaking to his own parents, he even added a habitual “is that okay?”

Fang Yuan curled her lips into a smile. She was thinking the same thing. “Okay. Since we are going to sort things out clearly, then in my share I will give Fifth Brother a portion. These past few days, it was thanks to Fifth Brother helping me, otherwise I could not have done this.”

Lu Chuan felt a little bitter. In Fang Yuan’s heart, the weight of him and Fifth Brother was like this.

Wuhu immediately laughed. “Cut that out. I am not splitting things like that with you. If there is a chance in the future, little brother-in-law and I will split it fifty-fifty. None of your business.”

Fang Yuan said, “That is in the future. You have not even married yet. You should save some private money. I am doing this for who? Besides, what you did is worth it.”

Lu Chuan could already see it clearly. Fifth Brother was being coaxed into smiling from ear to ear by Fang Yuan. Even without money, he was still happy.

His own wife did not seem foolish at all.

Wuhu grinned broadly. “My marriage is my parents’ concern, you do not need to worry. Listen to me, this cannot be done like this. You can think of me, buy me good food with your money, that is fine, but you cannot handle things this way.”

Lu Chuan understood immediately. If these small financial arrangements got out, Fifth Brother would end up in a difficult position. “We will listen to Fifth Brother. We brothers should think long term, not care about short term gains.”

Wuhu laughed. Everyone understood each other.

Fang Yuan looked at the two of them and said in confusion, “Is he generous, or are you stingy? I cannot figure it out.”

The two men just laughed and did not explain anything to her. In any case, what the three of them said could not be spread outside.

What Wuhu said was not nonsense either. In the past few days, Fang Eldest Brother had been going out to social dinners every night. People were constantly encouraging him to become a subcontractor on his own.

There were even more people pushing Fang Eldest Brother to work independently. These people had their own motives. Lu Chuan was still a student. No matter how well he was doing now, they could not rely on him to lead them in making big money.

Since they had already offended Old Sun, if Fang Eldest Brother only did this one job and stopped, no matter how much money they earned it would be useless. In the future, they would have nowhere to make money.

So many people were persuading Fang Eldest Brother to go independent. It was all for survival.

Everyone was also saying behind his back that without that student boy, what did he matter? Without Fang Eldest Brother, who would even give face to that student boy? Especially Fang Fourth Brother, who was the most enthusiastic in stirring things up.

With all these people pushing, even if Fang Eldest Brother had no ideas before, he would eventually start having them. The Fang family brothers all had a pursuit of money.

It was only a matter of time before Eldest Brother became tempted. Wuhu knew this would happen.

He was simply giving Fang Yuan a warning in advance, afraid that her straightforward personality would prevent her from seeing the hidden currents.

If the siblings fell out later, it would not matter much. They were family, connected by bones even when broken. Arguments would pass.

But if the young couple broke apart over this, and Fang Yuan suffered, Wuhu would not accept it. Who knew whether Lu Chuan would resent Fang Yuan over it.

Before the money was distributed, the construction site atmosphere had been quite good. Who would have thought that after the money was paid out, the atmosphere would turn strange?

Not only the sharp Lu Chuan, even Fang Yuan had noticed something.

If Wuhu and Lu Chuan had not intervened, Fang Yuan would already have gone to argue with Fang Eldest Brother. Letting others push Lu Chuan around like this was truly shameful behavior for Fang Tiger.

In the final days of wrapping up the work, those workers naturally formed groups around the elder brother-in-law and did not take Lu Chuan seriously anymore.

Some even openly excluded him verbally, as if they wanted to push Lu Chuan out as the contractor.

Lu Chuan pretended not to notice. In his heart he thought, my authority is not enough, so they do not trust a student boy. There was no one to blame for that.

He called the workers to load the mixer onto the truck and handed the deposit slip to Wuhu. “Fifth Brother, sorry to trouble you to go settle the accounts.”

Fang Yuan immediately came over. “I am going too.”

Lu Chuan said, “This thing has not left your sight even once. Just let it go this time.”

Fang Yuan said, “That is not acceptable. That is five hundred yuan of mine. I have to watch it.”

Now even Fifth Brother was not fully trusted. Wuhu did not waste words and pulled Fang Yuan into the truck. “Fine, we are leaving.”

He was far more straightforward than Lu Chuan. That was Fang Yuan’s personality. You had to let her feel at ease.

Lu Chuan began leading the manager to inspect and finalize the work. The quality was excellent. The manager did not deliberately make things difficult or pick faults.

Lu Chuan really handled things well. “Old brother, there is still some leftover material here. Give me a place and I will have it moved over for you. It will make things more comfortable.”

The manager was delighted. “This is really good. Young man, you do things without calculation, honest and straightforward, but still thoughtful.”

Lu Chuan just smiled. With so many people working, this was nothing.

The manager looked at Lu Chuan and joked, “How is it? From what I see, your position as contractor does not have much support.”

Lu Chuan smiled lightly, unconcerned. “As long as the work is good, whether I have support or not does not matter.”

The manager said seriously, “To be honest, your elder brother-in-law does have ability and loyalty. But if he were to take full control, it might not necessarily be better.”

Lu Chuan could not respond. Family matters, even if embarrassing, had to stay within the family. That was what his father-in-law had said a few days ago, probably after hearing rumors outside.

The manager continued, “Little brother, I will be honest with you. Once you have a system in place later, I have good work here. I will only trust you, this young man. But we are talking contracts in black and white, not brotherhood.”

As he spoke, he glanced toward Fang Eldest Brother surrounded by a crowd.

He had no intention of dealing with Fang Eldest Brother.

The two of them understood each other without saying more.

Lu Chuan understood immediately. This olive branch was directed at him alone.

However, without Fang Eldest Brother holding things together, this manager might not have been so polite or so quick to settle accounts. Lu Chuan knew this well.

But he seized this opportunity. He had the ability to make the manager view him differently. His ambition was no less than Fang Eldest Brother’s.

After seeing the manager off, Lu Chuan arranged the finishing work and discussed with Fang Eldest Brother about clearing the site.

Fang Eldest Brother’s expression darkened.

The group of workers nearby became impatient, showing clear displeasure at Lu Chuan interfering too much.

Fang Eldest Brother stayed silent on the side, neither stopping them nor speaking. He was watching his brother-in-law make a fool of himself, and also testing his strength.

Lu Chuan smiled and said to the workers, “I pay wages, you do the work. I am not asking you to work for free.”

Someone immediately started arguing. “I have never heard of people who build walls also cleaning up courtyards. You are just a student boy. What do you take us for?”

Others chimed in, saying they were paid to build walls, and as long as wages were paid, there should not be so many demands. They were workers, nothing more. Work is work.

Without Fang Eldest Brother or Lu Chuan speaking, the workers had already started arguing among themselves.

End of Chapter 53.