Chapter 177: Champion at Making Trouble

On the third day of the new year, Fang Yuan and her husband spent the whole day at home, chatting and laughing with Lu’s parents, keeping them company.

By the fourth day, they were off to the county to check on their work—really busy, with no time to worry about family matters. Who are Lu Laoda and Li Meng compared to making money?

As for Gong Er’s business, Fang Yuan didn’t care much. She’d already vented her anger, and that was that.

But there was a change when it came to work.

Wu Hu suddenly announced that he wasn’t afraid of hard work and was willing to run back and forth between the provincial capital and the county. Until they had a solid footing in the provincial capital, he wasn’t about to let go of the territory they’d secured in the county.

That wasn’t what he’d said before. Wu Ge had always insisted that the provincial capital was the priority, and they could drop the county work at any time.

Lu Chuan was puzzled. Why the sudden change of heart? Wasn’t this just making things harder for himself? “Wu Ge, that’s not what you said before the new year. What changed?”

Something was off. Who had influenced Wu Ge’s decision?

Wu Hu’s face was dark. “Brother-in-law, do you think I’m short-sighted?”

Lu Chuan replied, “No way, Wu Ge. You always look at the long-term. Wu Ge, there’s no need to get angry with anyone and make yourself suffer. It’ll just get in the way of our plans to get rich.”

Wu Hu grumbled, “But I feel like Fang Laoda tricked me. He’s always scheming. When Si Hu was making waves in the countryside, he just watched and said nothing. I thought he was being generous, but now I realize he was eyeing our county jobs.”

Laoda’s calculations were too deep, and Wu Hu was genuinely upset. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt.

Lu Chuan didn’t want to get involved in this, so he just listened to Wu Ge vent.

Wu Hu, still fuming, continued, “He let his brother-in-law stir things up, and what did Laoda do? I finally get it—he let his brother-in-law mess with us. Er Ge and San Ge already said a few days ago that they’re done working with him. They just want to earn their wages in peace. Tell me, isn’t Laoda being a jerk? I can’t just let him take advantage of us like this. It’s infuriating.”

He added, “Even if I don’t say anything, I have to stand up for Er Ge and San Ge.” Wu Hu wouldn’t have said all this to Lu Chuan if he weren’t really angry.

Lu Chuan avoided talking about Fang Laohu and instead considered things from Wu Ge’s perspective. “But Wu Ge, isn’t this going to be exhausting for you, running to the provincial capital and all?”

Wu Hu replied, “We don’t even have any real work in the provincial capital yet. Fang Yuan and Wanshun can get started first. Once there’s work, I’ll drop the county stuff. I know what’s important.”

That brought the conversation back to the eldest brother-in-law. Lu Chuan said, “Wu Ge, Laoda is still family.”

Wu Hu retorted, “But he’s too calculating with his brothers. He used his brother-in-law to mess with us all. Everyone wants to make money, but you can’t play dirty tricks behind people’s backs. Brother-in-law, don’t get involved in this. Just focus on the provincial capital.”

Lu Chuan, who didn’t really have a say in this, said, “Alright, as long as you don’t wear yourself out, Wu Ge. Don’t let this grudge get in the way of our real business. Fang Yuan is still counting on you to rent her that big crane.”

At the mention of Fang Yuan, Wu Hu’s tone softened. “Don’t just promise her anything. That’s not something you can just buy on a whim.”

He said that, but his attitude was clearly indulgent. The way he talked about Fang Yuan was completely different from how he talked about Laoda—Lu Chuan could tell Wu Ge was willing to spoil her.

Lu Chuan smiled, “Alright, but when the time comes, you’ll have to hold her back a bit.” With just a few words, he’d shifted Wu Hu’s attention back to the provincial capital.

Wu Hu snapped out of it. “I don’t want to talk to you. I’m not clever enough—I always end up falling into your traps.”

Lu Chuan denied it. “Wu Ge, we’re brothers. I’d never scheme against you.”

Wu Hu smirked. Whether or not there was scheming wasn’t up to Lu Chuan to say—he’d fallen into enough traps already. “Let’s go. While you’re still home, come with me to the county to check on the work. If we get things sorted out, we can start after the Dragon Heads-raising Festival, and I can go work in the provincial capital with you guys for a while. If you’ve checked it out, I’ll feel more confident.”

All this just to vent his anger and stand up for Er Ge and San Ge—meanwhile, they might not even know what he’s doing.

Lu Chuan knew Wu Ge was loyal to his brothers. “Alright.” And so the two of them got busy.

They only had one meal at home on the fifth day of the new year; the rest of the time, they were out working. By the seventh day, Wu Hu had secured contracts for at least three projects.

Even if Fang Laohu tried to pick up the leftovers, all that was left were scraps.

At dinner, Wu Ge made a point of showing off, and the look on Fang Laoda’s face was clearly annoyed.

But Fang Laoda kept his cool. If things didn’t work out in the county, he still had the countryside—building houses for villagers didn’t pay much, but it was still work.

But Wu Hu’s real mischief was introducing Si Hu to county jobs, letting him make a name for himself in the county first.

As long as Si Ge could establish himself, it wouldn’t be so easy for Fang Laoda anymore.

Fang Laoda was frustrated. All the brothers knew Si Hu was a troublemaker, and now Wu Hu had suddenly teamed up with him. Had Wu Hu lost his mind?

Wu Hu didn’t mince words with Si Hu. “Can you handle these jobs? However you do them, it’s got nothing to do with me. Whether you can establish yourself in the county is up to you. Just do a good job and don’t cause trouble.”

Si Hu was even more clear-headed than Wu Hu. “I know what I’m doing. If Fang Laoda hadn’t used his brother-in-law to mess with people, you wouldn’t have given me these jobs. You just want me to annoy him.”

Fair enough—he got it. Wu Hu realized he’d been worrying for nothing.

Wu Hu said, “Do whatever you want with it.”

Si Hu replied confidently, “I don’t have a brother-in-law dragging me down. How could I do worse than Fang Laoda?”

Just from that, it was clear Si Hu was only good for making trouble for Fang Laoda. He couldn’t really compete with him. If he hadn’t figured out by now that the brother-in-law was useless, then he was hopeless.

Fine, Wu Hu accepted it. As long as he could annoy Fang Laoda, that was enough. At least he’d vented his anger. The way he looked at Si Ge was full of frustration.

Wu Hu just couldn’t stand how smoothly Fang Laoda played his tricks.

When Fang Yuan and Lu Chuan returned to the village, Lu’s father was pacing around the cement mixer in the yard. “This big machine has been sitting here for over two months. There’s still more than a month before work starts. I’m getting anxious. Maybe I should go to the provincial capital with you?”

Lu Chuan said, “Just rest at home. Once work starts, you won’t have a break all year.”

Fang Yuan agreed, “A few days won’t make a difference. Just take this time to recharge.”

She turned to Lu Xiaosan and said bluntly, “Don’t just learn to suffer losses—grow a brain. It’s embarrassing otherwise.”

Lu Xiaosan grinned sheepishly. He wasn’t as clueless as his second sister-in-law thought. “Don’t worry, Second Sister-in-law. Si Ge treats me alright.”

He still hadn’t realized how cunning Si Ge was, and he was saying good things about him. Fang Yuan said, “That just means you haven’t learned your lesson yet.”

Lu’s father said, “Alright, alright, off you go now.”

178."