Chapter 184: Chased by Money

Lu Chuan had figured it out: when it came to Fifth Brother’s money, he could buy whatever he wanted—it was his call. As long as Fifth Brother liked it, that was all that mattered. “It’s fine, Fifth Brother. Once it warms up, it’ll be better.”

Wu Hu (Fifth Tiger) nodded, “That’s true. But it’s really convenient, you know. Riding this, I can get to so many places in a day. When we’re in the provincial capital in a few days, I can keep an eye on both the construction site and the residential area.”

Hearing Wu Hu praise it so much, Fang Yuan started to waver. She looked at Lu Chuan, “Why don’t you get one too?”

Wu Hu spoke up before Lu Chuan could, “I don’t have any money left!”

Wu Hu knew about their financial situation. If they wanted to buy a bike, where would the money come from? He had to protect his own wallet.

Lu Chuan said, “I don’t need one. If I need to go anywhere, I’ll just ask Fifth Brother to take me. We need to save our money to buy you a crane.”

Fang Yuan was delighted by his words. This man was reliable. “That’s how life should be. I’ll listen to you.”

Lu Chuan really understood—this was probably the only time she’d listen to him. If he’d suggested they buy one too, he’d probably get a playful punch from his wife.

Wu Hu started to realize something: so basically, he’d bought this bike for the two of them, and now he’d have to drive them around too. Why did it feel like he was getting the short end of the stick?

Wu Hu asked uncertainly, “My bike’s a good buy, right?”

Fang Yuan and Lu Chuan both nodded, but only half-heartedly. They weren’t very impressed, but as long as Fifth Brother liked it, that was enough.

Wu Hu asked, “You two aren’t ganging up on me, are you?”

Lu Chuan grinned, “Fifth Brother, I think I’m the one being left out here.”

Fine, Wu Hu thought. Fang Yuan was closest to him anyway, so he let it go. “In the future, if you want to ride, just hop on. If you want to drive, go ahead.”

Fang Yuan gave Lu Chuan a thumbs up—nice, problem solved.

Lu Chuan whispered in Fang Yuan’s ear, “I’m not being cocky, but we’re the closest. Once Fifth Brother gets a wife, she’ll be the closest to him.”

Fang Yuan replied, “I believe it. After all, you let me spend all your money. As for his money, I have to help him save it—he won’t let me spend it.”

Now that’s what you call a hardcore way of showing affection.

Lu Chuan said, “Don’t worry, I’ll earn more money for you. All of it for you.”

So in the end, Fang Yuan was the real winner—she’d sorted out both of them in one go.

Fang Yuan helped Fang Daleng clean up the newly bought shop, got it ready, and rented it out. Honestly, having one more shop didn’t feel any different.

Most of their time was spent working at the construction site. It was too cold to do any major work, so they just took care of odd jobs that no one else wanted.

The good thing was, at least they had work to do, and could make a bit of money. Fang Yuan said, if things started off well in the new year, it was a good sign.

Lu Chuan called his classmate Zhang Wei over, and they spent their days hanging around the construction site. Fifth Brother was even busier, running between the county, the provincial capital, and the countryside.

Fang Yuan said, Fifth Brother’s bike was convenient, but it sure burned through money—gas every day.

When the real work started, Lu Chuan and Fifth Brother were in the provincial capital, but still hadn’t found a suitable job.

Everything was scattered—there was money to be made, but it was exhausting.

Fang Yuan was the first to find a new way to make money. It started when two construction vehicles broke down at the site and needed to be moved to free up space.

Fang Yuan offered up her family’s empty courtyard—they had the space.

Because she was always at the construction site, she saw everything that happened. She figured, since the yard was empty anyway, renting it out for a couple of days would bring in some money.

The construction team brought in a mechanic, and they all ate and stayed in Fang Yuan’s courtyard.

The vehicles were in bad shape and needed parts that had to be bought, so repairs took a while.

During that time, some people saw the mechanic and the broken vehicles in the yard and assumed it was a repair shop, so they came over wanting repairs.

Fang Yuan, keeping an eye on things at home, noticed this and realized it was a way to make money.

She talked to the mechanic, asking him to stay a few more days and take on more repair work, figuring she could make a little extra on the side.

She was just providing the space anyway—the yard was empty otherwise. At first, she just wanted to collect some rent.

After five days, Fang Yuan realized this was a real money-maker. So she and Lu Chuan found a new business direction.

The couple kept the mechanic on, paid him a monthly wage, and put up a sign for a repair shop in the yard.

Lu Chuan took care of all the paperwork—not that there was much red tape in those days.

Fang Yuan didn’t want Lu Chuan to get cold, so she borrowed Wu Hu’s motorcycle and ran errands for two or three days. Soon, the repair shop was open for business.

Fang Yuan told Fifth Brother, “If your bike ever breaks down, bring it here. No labor charge for you.”

Wu Hu scowled, “Can’t you wish me some good luck? This is a new bike—it’s not going to break.”

Wu Hu realized he couldn’t compete. It was like money was chasing after Lu Chuan and Fang Yuan, while he was the one spending it on a bike, and they were making it with a repair shop.

They both bought courtyards, but theirs was making money. Now it was a repair shop. Wu Hu was honestly a little jealous.

Even Lu Chuan’s classmate Zhang Wei was surprised, “That’s it? You just opened up like that?”

Lu Chuan replied, “The yard was already there, and we can scrape together a few months’ wages for the mechanic. Doesn’t seem like there’s much else to spend on.”

They didn’t have any equipment—the mechanic brought his own tools. When you thought about it, it was kind of amazing.

Most people wouldn’t dare open a shop like this. But Fang Yuan did—she was bold. She saw a chance to make money and just went for it, never worrying about what could go wrong.

Lu Chuan even said, “It was a bit rushed.”

Zhang Wei thought, “A bit rushed? That’s an understatement.” But Fang Yuan said, “The mechanic has the skills. If we need parts, we’ll just go buy them. What’s so hard about that?”

And honestly, that’s how it was for everyone back then.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have brought in a mechanic to fix things. Having a place like this made things much more convenient for everyone.

You could leave your car in the yard and wait a few days for parts—easy enough.

Fang Yuan would come back morning and night to keep an eye on the repair shop, and it didn’t interfere with her work at the construction site.

When Wu Hu went back to the county, Wang Cuixiang saw what he’d bought and couldn’t help but scold him for being wasteful, “You bought this piece of junk?”

Wu Hu thought his bike was pretty cool. “It’s flashy!”

Wang Cuixiang replied, “Yeah, it’s flashy all right—flashing in the wind. Why don’t you freeze to death out there?”

Fang Daleng, on the other hand, was happy for his son. He immediately had him take him for a spin around the village. If he couldn’t show off the courtyard in the provincial capital, at least he could show off his son’s bike—the first of its kind.

Especially with the sound of the motorcycle—you could hear it from far away. The father and son were both pleased.

Fang Daleng did have one complaint, though: “Shame it can’t help haul pigs.” That was his only gripe about the bike—everything else was great.

Wu Hu’s bike wasn’t meant for that anyway. He just chuckled at Fang Daleng, thinking, “Good thing I bought the motorcycle.”

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. Happy National Day! Wishing everyone: happy travels and no traffic wherever you go!"