Chapter 81: The Power of Conscience

Father Lu had stayed here for several days and had come to understand that his son and daughter-in-law did not have it easy. Money was never easy to earn.

He saw his son running all over the construction site, shouting for half the day until his throat was dry, not even having time to drink a sip of water.

His daughter-in-law, a woman, would pick up a shovel and join in the work whenever the site was short-handed, and it was painful to watch.

The eldest son’s family kept muttering that the eldest son was born with a rich destiny, but what kind of rich destiny was that? Was he just waiting for a pie to fall from the sky?

With just the way the second son and his second son’s wife worked, it would be hard not to become wealthy.

Of course, more than anything, as a father, he felt proud.

His own son had promise, so many people listened to his commands. In his entire life, he had never seen such success.

Father Lu was truly happy in his heart, but on the surface he did not dare to show it, nor did he dare to be too outspoken.

He also did not dare to discuss with his daughter-in-law about letting the eldest son come over to earn money together.

He did, however, see how hard his second son’s wife was working and once mentioned letting the third son come to help.

But Fang Yuan said, “He is just a child. Why should he suffer such hardship?”

Father Lu felt that this daughter-in-law was proper and considerate. In the countryside, children always had to suffer hardship no matter where they were.

Fang Yuan said, “My mother is alone at home, handling everything inside and outside. Xiao San can help her a bit at home.”

Lu Chuan said, “When Xiao San grows up later, we will find him a reliable job.”

Father Lu had not expected that the second son and his wife were already thinking so far ahead. As his father, he had never thought about such long-term plans for his sons.

Fang Yuan had also taken a liking to Father Lu’s character. He worked well and was very steady.

When she heard that this mixer was Fang Yuan’s, and that it had nothing to do with her son’s work and only earned rental fees, Father Lu specially spent money to buy a notebook and recorded every day’s working hours clearly and meticulously. The accounts were clear and transparent.

Fang Yuan thought to herself that this was exactly the kind of person she needed.

When Lu Chuan saw that notebook, his gaze toward Father Lu changed. Putting it nicely, this was being loyal to the task entrusted; putting it less nicely, it was siding with whoever benefited him, not even acknowledging his own son.

But Father Lu said that Fang Yuan’s matters were the real family business. He was not trying to take his son’s wages for himself.

Even Wuhu began to pick up on something. Outsiders like him and his brother-in-law were just earning money together, but this uncle was honest to a fault, clearly separating everything in his mind. It turned out they were the ones lowering the brother-in-law’s status.

The two brothers watched Father Lu diligently circling around Fang Yuan and the mixer, and they did not know whether to admire Father Lu or Fang Yuan more, wondering how this partnership even came about.

Mother Lu had twice sent over meat buns through someone, both times Fang Yuan’s favorite.

Her heart was entirely with her daughter-in-law and not a single word mentioned Father Lu.

The work was going smoothly, but unfortunately, it was that season when rain kept coming every few days. Every time it happened, Fang Yuan became especially worried.

She said, “I am from the countryside. I know crops need rain, so it is fine if it rains, but why cannot it rain at night and be sunny during the day? It is delaying work so much.”

Wuhu scratched his head. “Good thing you are not a landlord, otherwise you would work people to death. Everyone has a family, they all need to go back and rest anyway.”

Fang Yuan immediately said, “Can my team afford to rest? One day of work equals several people’s output.”

Father Lu also could not eat or sleep properly. “Exactly. If several grown men from one household are idle like this, would they not eat a family into poverty?”

Then he added, “Rain at night is actually pretty good. Look, we ordinary people have not forgotten our roots just for money. We do not exactly hope for rain, right?”

Wuhu thought to himself that Father Lu had no neutral stance at all in front of Fang Yuan.

Lu Chuan said, “It will not affect our project progress. Do not worry. If you are upset about this machine sitting idle, when I get paid later, I will make it up to you.”

Fang Yuan said, “Your money is still yours? That is all mine.”

Wuhu glanced at his brother-in-law and then at Father Lu, wanting to pull Fang Yuan aside and tell her to be more careful with her words.

At that moment, Father Lu said, “A man’s earnings go back to the family. There is no such thing as yours or mine. Fang Yuan decides how the money is spent. There is nothing worth arguing about.”

Lu Chuan said nothing at the time, but he was already holding back frustration. When the time came and he got his share, he would definitely show these two what it meant that his money was not even worth a mixer.

He even considered borrowing some money from Wuhu to save face.

He wanted them to see what he was capable of.

And then he realized there would be no such chance.

Fang Yuan, while working with him, had learned nothing else except bookkeeping and work accounting.

When Lu Chuan settled wages with the workers, Fang Yuan stood beside him in a very practiced manner, even taking out her notebook to compare it with his.

Wuhu was stunned. “You actually know how to do this? You never did this before.”

The key was that your math is not good, could you even calculate it correctly? He did not say it out loud, not wanting to embarrass his sister.

Fang Yuan said, “I did not know before because I did not need to. Once you need it, you naturally learn it. Besides, as long as I convert numbers into money, I can calculate accurately.”

Lu Chuan thought this was an obsession with money, almost like a miracle.

Wuhu exclaimed, “If your math teacher had turned all those formulas into money units, maybe you could have gone to university.”

Fang Yuan nodded. “During exams, the teacher should let me do calculations with money.”

Lu Chuan rubbed his forehead. That was enough. That teacher talk was useless. “That is just how you calculate.”

Fang Yuan nodded. “Fifteen times twenty five is hard for me to compute, but fifteen yuan a day for twenty five days is easy. If I pay others less, my conscience is uneasy. If I pay them more, I cannot sleep.”

Lu Chuan felt impressed. Wuhu was even more impressed. This mindset was truly unmatched.

On the other side, Father Lu truly admired his daughter-in-law. He said, “This is our Fang Yuan’s power of conscience.”

Wuhu turned and left immediately. Watching how Father Lu interacted with his sister was frustrating. At this rate, he would start thinking his mother did not give birth to Fang Yuan, but to a goddess, as if nothing could ever be wrong.

Lu Chuan also felt irritated. His father had been completely bewitched by Fang Yuan.

When Lu Chuan’s project was halfway done, he received half of the construction payment.

The client was very polite toward him, mainly because his workmanship was excellent and progress was fast.

The site management was also very different, making people think his construction team was highly professional.

Of course, the main reason was the good mixer equipment. That was Fang Yuan’s pursuit at work.

After paying wages, the two brothers sat together and split the remaining money, not leaving a single cent behind.

The main reason was that Lu Chuan could not stand being looked down upon by Fang Yuan and his own father. The way they looked at him made it seem like he had no real ability and could not earn much money.

Wuhu held more than a thousand yuan in his hands and felt unreal. “Is this money too easy to earn?”

He silently thought that this was enough for Lu Chuan to marry his sister five times over. This was too shocking.

He at least remembered that Lu Chuan did not like comparisons involving Fang Yuan, so he did not say it out loud.