Chapter 82: Knowledge Within and Knowledge Beyond

Looking at the money, the two brothers felt uneasy. They had never earned so much money before, nor had they ever seen such a situation.

This was only half of the project. As for the future, Lu Chuan thought further ahead. “Fifth Brother, do not go spreading this around. I do not feel steady about it either.”

Wuhu did not think as far ahead as Lu Chuan, but he was more ruthless with money. “Do not worry, I will not tell anyone.”

Lu Chuan said, “Also, Fang Yuan should first use this money to repay her parents. Her parents will definitely have things clear in their minds.”

Wuhu said, “Ahem, brother-in-law, listen to me on this. Let us just say this is money pooled between the two of us. The workers have not even been paid yet.”

These two, when put together, were both full of schemes.

Lu Chuan raised an eyebrow. What was Fifth Brother trying to do? Even if they discussed this with him, he could not make the decision anyway.

Did Fifth Brother not understand his position in the family, or was he doubting Fang Yuan’s position in the family? Was he trying to test him?

Wuhu felt that his brother-in-law would understand his meaning, so he spoke frankly. “Brother still does not have a wife. Our parents have several sons.”

Fine, so the brother-in-law had already become cautious toward his parents and in-laws. But Lu Chuan was even more cautious, guarding against Wuhu trying to catch both fish and rabbit in one net and trick him in the process.

Lu Chuan smiled shyly and said awkwardly, “I do not make the decisions. Fifth Brother, you should discuss it with Fang Yuan.”

Wuhu’s face instantly darkened. “Useless. What can I even expect from you?”

Lu Chuan thought to himself that if he agreed, Wuhu might not be happy either, and he might end up the one getting blamed. Did he think he was stupid?

Before the two of them could settle anything, Fang Yuan had already taken over the money. Not even a single cent could be off; she would ask if anything was missing.

Wuhu watched as Fang Yuan accounted for everything with zero errors, and his surprise was even greater than receiving a thousand yuan. “Nothing is missing, I gave it all to you. Payment for five workers.”

Lu Chuan could not stand hearing “raising five grown men.” “Fifth Brother, watch how you speak.”

Fang Yuan did not even have time for Lu Chuan. She happily held the money earned from her mixer and could not stop smiling.

Lu Chuan looked a bit dazed. It seemed money alone was not enough; his wife cared more about the mixer.

Then he felt a bit unwilling. He earned more than the mixer, so why did Fang Yuan not smile at him like that?

Over there, Fang Yuan generously took out twenty yuan and handed it to Father Lu. “Dad, this is your wages for the past few days.”

Father Lu quickly stepped back. “We are family. Why talk about this? Whose money am I earning? I cannot take your money.”

Fang Yuan said, “Dad, take it. You still have to support Mom and Xiao San. I do not feel at ease leaving this machine to others. From now on, I will leave it to you. I will pay you wages. It will not be as much as brick moving, but it is easier work and stable. It is definitely better than farming at home.”

Father Lu flushed red and waved it off. “You do not need to pay me. What is this becoming?”

Fang Yuan said, “If not, I will find someone else.”

Father Lu immediately took the money. “Money cannot go to someone else.”

Wuhu watched from the side and said only one thing. “Our Fang Yuan really belongs in your family. Look at this, it feels like she was born into it.”

Lu Chuan was happy to hear this. It was only right that she was family.

“Fang Yuan, take the money Fifth Brother and I split. First use it to repay Mom.”

Fang Yuan glanced at him. Did he need to say that? She had already put the money away.

“It is quite a lot. I still feel like it is unreal.”

Lu Chuan said, “We will definitely earn more in the future.”

Fang Yuan asked, “You are not going to school anymore?”

Lu Chuan immediately went silent. School still had to be attended.

Wuhu said, “It will not affect his studies. This project is just ours. What brother-in-law does, I cannot do. But I can manage things and bring in workers. In the future, this money will be split between me and brother-in-law.”

Lu Chuan said, “Fifth Brother, then am I not just getting free money?”

Wuhu said, “Dream on. Your wife has to be here helping too.”

Wuhu was not stupid either. What he could do, Lu Chuan could also do. But what Lu Chuan could do, he could not. So this brother-in-law was indispensable.

The group went back to the village to repay debts. Of course, Wuhu also had things he wanted to discuss with Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan nodded. “I understand keeping wealth hidden. But our parents cannot know either?”

Wuhu scratched his head. “You also know, our parents have many sons.”

Fang Yuan understood immediately. “Fine, I will listen to you. This money is considered borrowed from you. If it is kept at home, Mom might lend it to others.”

Wuhu smiled. “From now on, brother-in-law, the three of us will not split up.”

Fang Yuan thought that if Lu Chuan went to school and Wuhu still wanted to share profits with them, then he must be deliberately pulling them along.

“What do you want?”

Wuhu said, “What do I want? What could I want? We grew up in the same mother’s belly.”

Fang Yuan asked directly, “So what do you want?” She knew well that when someone understood another person too well, there must be a motive.

Wuhu said, “Why do I have to want something? Fine, I do. I want your husband to have a future.”

Fang Yuan said, “Can that compare to earning money?” Her worldview was still limited to money.

Wuhu said, “Look at you, so inexperienced. Do not let brother-in-law hear that.”

Fang Yuan said, “So what if he hears it? I am the only one who can be dissatisfied with him. He does not dare be dissatisfied with me.”

Wuhu almost said, where does your confidence come from, but held it back. Of course, if Lu Chuan dared to dislike Fang Yuan, he would not accept it either.

After calming down, he returned to the topic of money. “Look, the village is small, the township is small. Even the county is only so big. We have been here so long that I have almost walked through the entire county. There is not much space. How long do you think this work can last? Even if we rebuild the whole county, how much money is there?”

Fang Yuan said, “So you want to rebuild the county? Can you even use my mixer?”

Wuhu looked at her in silence, feeling exhausted. It was impossible to communicate.

“I am not saying I want to rebuild the county. That is not my point.”

Fang Yuan said, “All your ‘big’ talk does not matter to me. I do not care about anything else. As long as you can use my mixer, that is enough.”

Wuhu rubbed his forehead. “I am saying that in such a small area, there are many people taking work. In the future, more and more people will come. There will be even more than we know.”

Fang Yuan’s eyes lit up. “So my mixer will never be out of work.”

Wuhu slapped his thigh. “Do not mention your mixer anymore.”

Without talking about the mixer, Fang Yuan lost interest. Her face dropped. “Then speak.”

Wuhu said, “This business was started by brother-in-law. I am following him. His vision will only get wider, things beyond our current understanding. If we follow him for a few years, we will not suffer losses.”

Fang Yuan nodded. So Fifth Brother was thinking about the future.

Wuhu continued, “You have also learned quite a bit. Your bookkeeping is good. Go learn more from brother-in-law, how to calculate this and that. Think of it as the siblings working together. I will carry things for a few years. I can wait.”

With brother-in-law guiding from afar, Wuhu felt this plan was workable.

Fang Yuan summed it up in one sentence. “You are quite generous.”

Then she added, “Do you think I should save money and buy a few more mixers?”

Wuhu fell silent completely. First, it was impossible to argue with her. Second, they had not even finished repaying this money yet.

What would they buy it with? Whatever money the brother-in-law earned would be spent immediately. How were they going to explain that at home?

Most importantly, his own money was in Fang Yuan’s hands. If she turned everything into mixers, how would they ever get wives? He was worried sick.

From now on, he would never again say his brother-in-law was wasteful. His own sister was far more wasteful than his brother-in-law. She simply could not save money.