Chapter 106: None of Them Are Any Good

Fang Yuan was delighted when she heard the news. “If we can get the house built, that would be great. When Lu Chuan comes back for the New Year, he’ll have a new house to stay in.”

Old Man Lu was tempted too, but he was only tempted—he couldn’t actually do it. “If we wait until after the autumn harvest to build, it’ll be too late. We won’t finish in time.”

Wu Hu, who had been listening in, offered a suggestion. “If we lay the foundation now and build after the harvest, we should be able to make it. Otherwise, let’s just start building now.”

But Old Man Lu, for once, stood his ground. “What’s the rush? It’s better to wait until next year to build.”

He was thinking that after the autumn harvest, they’d have more money on hand.

The second son and his wife had already brought home a lot of materials, and most of the money had been spent. With the money from the harvest and what he’d saved up, they’d be able to build the house.

In the countryside, building a house doesn’t cost much in labor since everyone helps out. Old Man Lu wanted to pay for the house himself.

As for Wu Hu and the others, if they were building regular houses, there wouldn’t be so much work, and they wouldn’t make much money either.

Wu Hu said, “Uncle, why not take advantage of the good weather and build now?”

Old Man Lu replied, “You’re just as impatient as Fang Yuan. Building a house is a big deal—you can’t rush it.”

The others didn’t say another word, but everyone had their own thoughts.

Fang Yuan, who never overthinks things, simply said, “Then we’ll listen to Dad.”

Wu Hu then started discussing with Fang Yuan, “You’re already married, and I need to get myself a wife too. I’ll talk to Mom and Dad about where I should build my house. I’m thinking I should get it built soon. Otherwise, if I just leave those materials at home, I won’t feel at ease.”

Fang Yuan asked, “What’s there to worry about? You can’t eat or drink building materials.”

Wu Hu replied, “Big brother, I won’t even mention him—he’s all about saving face, even if it means suffering. Second brother doesn’t even have a courtyard wall yet. Third brother wants to build an extra room. As for fourth brother, let’s not even talk about him. If I don’t use those materials to build my own house, they’ll all end up using them.”

Fang Yuan had to admit, Fifth Brother was thinking ahead. If the brothers used up the materials, what could he do? “But can you even go back home?”

They knew their own brothers best—none of them were easy to deal with. But the problem was, they couldn’t do without Wu Hu. If he went home to build, he wouldn’t be able to earn money.

Wu Hu just laughed. “Why would I go back? I’ll look for Big Brother. Isn’t he building houses for people now?”

Even honest Fang Yuan knew this was a bit shameless. “Aren’t you afraid Big Brother will get mad at you?”

If Big Brother built the house for him, how would they talk about payment? Would he charge or not? Either way, it’d be a headache for Big Brother.

Wu Hu brushed it off. “I’m giving him work—what’s wrong with that?”

Fang Yuan, for once, was the voice of reason. “You can’t do that. What if Dad gets upset?”

Wu Hu asked, “Then what should I do?”

Fang Yuan replied, “We’ll build our house the same way everyone else does. When the time comes, we’ll all build together.”

Wu Hu said, “But none of us are home—it’s a bit tricky. Maybe it’s better to just spend a bit more money.”

Fang Yuan laughed. “Fifth Brother, don’t call me slow, but I’m sure I’ve thought of something before you did—Fourth Brother is definitely going to come looking for you.”

Wu Hu didn’t want to talk about that. Their fourth brother was like a reincarnation of Shen Gongbao, a troublemaker through and through. “Don’t jinx it. I just hope he doesn’t start eyeing my stuff.”

Fang Yuan said, “I think it’s fine. If he really wants your things, don’t forget to have him help build my house too.”

Then she added, “Mom and Third Brother can manage things at home, but not outside.”

They didn’t bother hiding their conversation from Old Man Lu, who just pretended not to hear.

People always said the five tigers of the Fang family were all fierce in their own way. Old Man Lu thought, with sons like these, their father-in-law must be proud. Any one of them was worth several of other people’s sons.

Of course, when the brothers fought among themselves, it was a headache. Each had their own schemes.

Still, being a bit cunning was good—it meant they could get things done. If they were too honest, like their eldest, it was worrying. He only schemed against his own brothers, but outside, he was a pushover.

In the end, what Fang Yuan said came true—Fourth Brother showed up.

But he wasn’t after Wu Hu’s materials; he was interested in Wu Hu’s business.

He wanted to join Wu Hu and make money together. Wasn’t that just trying to get a free ride? The nerve!

Wu Hu thought, If I let you get involved, I must be out of my mind.

Their fourth brother didn’t have any other skills, but he was a master at stirring up trouble. Without him, nothing would get messed up.

Back when Big Brother and their brother-in-law were making money together, Fourth Brother was the loudest troublemaker.

He was the type who, when he saw money, forgot all about family. If he’d come to Wu Hu, it meant Big Brother must have already been tricked by him.

Fourth Brother started off on the wrong foot. “Fifth, we’re brothers. Me helping you is better than letting outsiders in.”

See? He was already trying to stir things up.

Wu Hu said, “Fourth Brother, come on. We all know each other too well. Remember how you drove brother-in-law away from Big Brother? You and Big Brother are brothers too, but that didn’t stop you from falling out.”

Fourth Brother’s face darkened. “Don’t mention Big Brother. He’s an idiot. Everything was going fine, but he insisted on dragging his brother-in-law along. If he was actually useful, I wouldn’t say anything, but all he does is boss people around at the construction site—he acts even more high and mighty than me, his own brother.”

Wu Hu thought, You probably wanted to boss people around yourself.

Fourth Brother continued, “Fifth, we’re the closest brothers. We’re definitely closer than the others.”

Wu Hu replied, “If that’s the case, are you closer to me than to Fang Yuan? We were together in Mom’s belly.”

Fourth Brother said, “We’re all brothers, aren’t we?”

Wu Hu said, “Fourth Brother, it’s exactly because we’re real brothers that we shouldn’t get mixed up together. You said it yourself before: ‘Two tigers can’t share one mountain.’”

Fourth Brother immediately got angry. “What, you want to hog everything for yourself?”

Wu Hu didn’t back down at all. “I hunted this down, so I’ll eat it however I want. Don’t try to push me around.”

He added, “Let me make this clear—this goes for you and even Big Brother. I’m from the Fang family too; I’m a tiger as well. I protect what’s mine. If I’ve got meat in my mouth, I’m not sharing it.”

Fourth Brother blew up. “You’re something else, Fifth. No sense of family at all. Fang Wu, I’m telling you—”

That’s when Fang Yuan walked in. “Fourth Brother, don’t be mad. Fifth Brother didn’t mean it like that.”

Fourth Brother snapped, “What’s it got to do with you, girl? He’s no good, and you’re even worse!”

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