Chapter 117: The Road to Success

Wu Hu: “This is about vision, Fang Yuan. You need to keep up with us, otherwise, in the future, we won’t need you or your mixer. My brother-in-law and I are partners; we made this decision together. You…”

Fang Yuan turned her head and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?” She looked ready to turn hostile at the slightest disagreement—this wasn’t something to joke about.

Wu Hu immediately softened his tone. “You need to learn more from my brother-in-law, listen to our opinions. Both of us think it’s important to broaden our horizons.”

Lu Chuan thought to himself, So this is all the fight Wu Hu has in him? That’s not going to cut it.

Fang Yuan wasn’t stupid either. “If we go to the provincial capital, the two of us will have to split up. Who’s going to keep track of the work here? And how are we going to find people over there?”

Wu Hu said, “What’s the problem? These days, we don’t even have to go looking for people—they’re lining up to come to me for work. And as for keeping track, don’t you have your uncle? Or do you not trust me?”

Fang Yuan replied, “The way you put it, it does sound doable. But are you sure you can find people willing to go to the provincial capital?”

Wu Hu said, “Don’t worry about that. Who’d want to stay in the county when they can go to the provincial capital to work? That’s a real chance to gain experience.”

Fang Yuan said, “You’d better find the people first, then talk.”

Wu Hu boasted, “No kidding, just a word from me and they’ll all come running.”

Fang Yuan went off to clean her mixer—she had to wash it thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Wu Hu was busy arranging for manpower. Anyone he brought along had to be trustworthy, so he had to give them a heads-up first.

Those who stayed behind also had to be reliable, able to handle things and take care of the details. Just like Fang Yuan said, nothing about this was simple.

Lu Chuan came over to help Fang Yuan wash the mixer. Fang Yuan asked, “Was this your idea?”

Lu Chuan replied, “It really is an opportunity. If we can get established in the provincial capital, we can have kids whenever we want.”

Fang Yuan said, “If you weren’t always so busy, we could have a kid right now.”

Was that something to just blurt out? Lu Chuan’s face turned bright red. “Don’t shout that out.”

For Fang Yuan, having a child was simple—she just wanted one.

But for Lu Chuan, it wasn’t just about having a child, so every time the topic came up, he’d get all flustered. That’s the difference in their mindsets.

Lu Chuan really was a step behind Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan glared at him, hands on her hips, and kicked him to the ground. “What use are you to me?”

Lu Chuan was dumbfounded. Was his only purpose to have a child?

Wu Hu walked in and saw his brother-in-law looking embarrassed. “What’s going on?”

Lu Chuan quickly got up from the ground. “Nothing, Wu Hu. I just slipped.”

Wu Hu was very considerate. Even though they weren’t married yet, he understood what was going on. He put his arm around Lu Chuan and said, “Women have tempers. You have to coax them. These things have to be mutual, you know?”

Could Lu Chuan tell his brother-in-law that he wasn’t willing?

Honestly, with the way Fang Yuan and Wu Hu got along, if he ever said he wasn’t willing, Wu Hu might just tie him up and deliver him to Fang Yuan.

That wasn’t impossible. So Lu Chuan just let Wu Hu believe what he wanted.

The next morning, the three of them got on the bus to the provincial capital. Fang Yuan immediately frowned. “See? I told you this job isn’t worth it. We haven’t even started, and we’re already out the travel expenses.”

Wu Hu said, “You never want to put money up front for anything. Think about your big crane—if we stay in the county, even if you have the money to buy one, you’ll never get to use it.”

Fine, Fang Yuan said nothing more. For the sake of the big crane, she’d put up with it.

Lu Chuan gave Wu Hu a thumbs up. When it came to handling Fang Yuan, Wu Hu was the expert. Why hadn’t he thought of using the big crane to win her over?

But the trip was still tough—the bus was way too crowded.

Lu Chuan shielded Fang Yuan as best he could, but that just meant he ended up pressed against her more often, and his face stayed red the whole way.

When they got off the bus, Wu Hu looked at his brother-in-law with concern. “It wasn’t easy for you to go to school, and now look at you—your face was red the whole trip.”

He added, “Brother-in-law, have you ever had a doctor check out your temperature and complexion? Why are you always so flushed? Don’t neglect your health—if you’re sick, you need to get treated.”

Lu Chuan blushed even harder. There was no way to explain this. “It was crowded and hot. That’s just how I am.”

Wu Hu said, “Don’t take it lightly, brother-in-law. I’m counting on you to take on the provincial capital with me.”

Lu Chuan said, “Don’t worry, Wu Hu. I’m fine, really.”

Wu Hu turned to Fang Yuan. “You need to pay more attention, too. Don’t just think about making money all day.” Wu Hu really worried about his brother-in-law’s health.

Fang Yuan turned away. She couldn’t say much, but after all their time together, she could more or less read Lu Chuan’s looks during the trip. She turned away and ignored both of them.

Wu Hu said, “See that temper? Brother-in-law, Fang Yuan just has a tough personality.”

Lu Chuan snuck a glance at Fang Yuan, his face even redder. “It’s fine, Wu Hu. I get it.” He put on an innocent act.

Good thing Fang Yuan didn’t hear, or she’d definitely have called him out for talking big but never following through. When it came time to have a kid, he always dragged his feet.

Lu Chuan didn’t mind Fang Yuan’s eye rolls. He was thinking about long-term stability, not just momentary happiness.

He took his brother-in-law and wife to eat first, then arranged their lodging. Knowing Fang Yuan’s personality, Lu Chuan took them to see the construction site and explained the job before anything else.

Wu Hu felt a bit dizzy looking at the place. It was huge, and yet his brother-in-law called it a “small job.” Impressive. “We can handle this.”

Fang Yuan nodded too. The place was big, and there was work everywhere you looked. “The pay isn’t much, but at least it’s steady.”

Wu Hu said, “Exactly. Back in the village, we have decent work, but in another ten days or so, once it freezes, everything shuts down. Here, the work lasts—doesn’t it get too cold to work?”

Lu Chuan was happy—this was exactly what he valued. He stayed humble. “As long as you think it’s good, Wu Hu. I was worried I’d just be making trouble for you.”

Fang Yuan always got straight to the point. “How did you land such a big job?”

Lu Chuan replied, “A classmate introduced me. His family is in this business. He took the job first, then passed it on to us for a cut.”

Fang Yuan asked, “Male classmate or female?”

Wu Hu’s ears perked up. Both brothers were on alert.

Lu Chuan stifled a laugh. So Fang Yuan did care about him after all—she went straight to the key question. “Definitely a male classmate.”

Fang Yuan had nothing else to ask. She didn’t care about anything else.

Wu Hu took a liking to the building site. “I’ll go back tomorrow and bring people over. While there are still workers here, we can learn from them.”

The two brothers smiled—they were on the same page.

Lu Chuan saw that Fang Yuan looked satisfied, so he said, “Wu Hu, let’s go eat.”

Wu Hu said, “I’ve been hungry since we got off the bus.”

Fang Yuan said, “Let’s go. I’m hungry too.”

Wu Hu nudged Lu Chuan. “Were you afraid Fang Yuan would get upset and not eat, so you brought us here to check out the job first?”

Lu Chuan replied, “Can’t hide anything from you, Wu Hu.”"