Chapter 186: Stepping Up a Level

Once the eldest’s construction site started up, Fang Daleng quickly noticed what was going on.

Now, the third brother was working with the eldest, earning a laborer’s wage. The eldest looked after the third, maybe gave him lighter work, and the third was learning a trade from a skilled craftsman—so you could say he was earning “apprenticeship money.”

As for the eldest’s brother-in-law, he was just running errands. How much he made was entirely up to the eldest; he didn’t have a single share in anything.

Scratching his head, Fang Daleng said to Wang Cuixiang, “Say, if the eldest had sorted out his brother-in-law like this earlier, would the second, third, and fourth have still broken off with him?”

Wang Cuixiang didn’t even look up as she replied, “Your whole life, the only thing you’re good at is dealing with pigs.”

Fang Daleng protested, “Woman, why do you have to talk like that? What did I do? I’m talking about the eldest’s business.”

Wang Cuixiang said, “You didn’t do anything, just not as smart as your son. If the eldest wasn’t always up to tricks, would he have been able to hog all the profits?”

It took Fang Daleng a while to figure it out, then he said, “He really is my son.”

Even if what he did wasn’t exactly decent, you had to admit he was capable—ruthless with money, ruthless with food, no brotherly sentiment, and could be absolutely cold-blooded.

Wang Cuixiang added bluntly, “You’re not as capable as him.” Her own husband might be tough, but he was honest and simple, not as scheming as their sons.

Fang Daleng said, “At least the eldest has found his footing now. That’s a lot better than before the New Year, when just looking at him made me anxious. Now that he’s not supporting that brother-in-law, I feel at ease.”

Then he added, “Maybe I should tell Fang Yuan that her eldest brother isn’t as dumb as she thought—she’ll be happy about that.”

Wang Cuixiang snorted. Not necessarily. That girl of yours has already written the eldest off as a bad guy.

Fang Daleng mainly worried about the third: “Do you think the third will be alright? Should we help him figure out a way forward?”

Wang Cuixiang said, “A craftsman will never starve, no matter what. Don’t worry.”

Fang Daleng muttered, “That brat really is ruthless.” No need to ask, he was definitely talking about the eldest. Then he said, “Do you think the other brothers know?”

Wang Cuixiang replied, “Can’t say for the others, but your fifth is as sharp as a monkey—just missing the fur. Sooner or later, he’ll figure it out.”

Fang Daleng, ever the concerned father, asked, “Do you think the second, who isn’t even that clever, can really do business?”

Wang Cuixiang thought Fang Daleng was all brawn and no brains, softer-hearted than a woman: “If you can do it, so can the second. Don’t worry.”

Fang Daleng didn’t feel insulted by his wife’s sarcasm. He nodded, thinking she made sense.

So, things were pretty settled in the Fang family. All the sons had found their paths. Fang the eldest had gone through a lot, but in the end, he hadn’t lost his sense of duty, and he’d made plenty of money.

Fang the fourth might not be as cunning as the eldest, but he was resourceful and shameless enough to stick with the “Five Tigers” and never lacked for work.

By Labor Day, both Fang the eldest and Fang the fourth were riding motorcycles. Fang Daleng was so happy he couldn’t stop grinning.

Even though none of them could help him haul pigs, just seeing them succeed made him proud. His sons’ abilities were his pride as a father.

The Fang family’s Five Tigers were now famous far and wide. Everyone greeted Fang Daleng with a smile, and he knew it was thanks to his sons’ achievements.

No matter what the sons were like at home, to outsiders, Fang Daleng’s boys were all capable—each one as impressive as the next.

At this point, Fang Daleng would say, “That’s nothing. My youngest even owns a house in the provincial capital.” Now that’s a new level.

But the eldest wasn’t feeling so great. He’d just bought a motorcycle and thought he’d caught up with his brothers, but they were still on the same level as him. Then, suddenly, someone shot ahead, leaving him in the dust. How could he possibly be happy?

Wang Cuixiang watched as Fang Daleng bragged about their youngest while the eldest stormed off with a dark face. She was exasperated.

This man never knew how to read the room. Good thing he never thought about living with the eldest and his wife—otherwise, just for being so tactless, the son would have kicked him out.

Over in the provincial capital, ever since the second day of the second lunar month, the Five Tigers and Fang Yuan had been leading people doing odd jobs on construction sites—just piecemeal work.

Fang Yuan also had to arrange for people to do small repair jobs on houses, just to keep everyone busy.

It wasn’t until Labor Day that Lu Chuan and his classmate Zhang Wei finally landed a proper small project.

It might have been “small” to Zhang Wei, but to Lu Chuan and the Five Tigers, it was a whole new level.

The work was simple, not very technical, but there was a lot of it: building the perimeter wall for a residential complex, including the foundation and some small facilities inside.

The Five Tigers immediately wrapped up their work in the county and stopped taking new jobs. Any leftover clients were referred to the fourth brother—how much he could take on was up to him.

The Five Tigers brought all their people to the provincial capital, determined to give it their all.

Lu Chuan spent his whole Labor Day holiday on this. It was the first time he and his brother had taken on a job like this, and they were a bit nervous.

Zhang Wei was just flipping the project for a profit, but out of friendship, he didn’t take much off the top.

The Five Tigers, for this job, practically turned into Zhang Wei’s personal escorts, following him around the site every day.

Fang Yuan’s cement mixer was promptly absorbed by the Five Tigers. They said, “You’ve already made a year’s worth of money from it. I’ll buy it from you at cost price. If you weren’t my own sister, I wouldn’t be this generous.”

Fang Yuan wasn’t too happy: “Why not just use mine? Wouldn’t that be better?”

The Five Tigers replied, “Your husband owns half, and your brother owns the other half. You really don’t need to keep making money off us.”

So Fang Yuan had no choice but to give up her little business. She’d hoped to make it a long-term thing.

From then on, the cement mixer belonged to the Five Tigers and Lu Chuan. Without her five brothers earning money for her, Fang Yuan felt empty and uneasy.

Lu Chuan tried to comfort her: “Don’t forget, I still have a share in it. At least you’ve still got two and a half men making money for you.”

But Fang Yuan just couldn’t cheer up.

Meanwhile, Old Lu didn’t bring the cement mixer to the provincial capital. Instead, he and Lu Xiaosan bought a new one back home.

The two of them got along well with Fang the eldest and Fang the fourth, and they just kept doing their own business.

Even though Lu Xiaosan wasn’t working with the fourth brother anymore, he still made money off him, and their relationship was as good as ever.

They actually got along pretty well—that was Lu Xiaosan’s real skill.

Lu Xiaosan hustled for jobs for their cement mixer everywhere, while Old Lu looked after the machine and helped out as needed. It was a perfect arrangement.

Fang Yuan invested all her money into her own repair shop. Now, when customers came in for repairs, she always had the common spare parts on hand, making things much more convenient.

At the repair shop, a master led two apprentices. The monthly payroll was over 500 yuan, with the master alone costing more than 300.

There was no choice—pay less and you couldn’t keep a good master. Even at this rate, Master Liu wanted a raise, or he wouldn’t stay.

Fang Yuan grumbled all the time: “It only costs 200 yuan to get a wife in the countryside, but your wages are enough to marry a new one every month.”

Master Liu would get red in the face with anger. “At my age, with a happy family and grown kids, why would I want a new wife every month? Are you crazy?”

He couldn’t argue with Fang Yuan, so when Lu Chuan came home, he’d pull him aside and complain half the night. Even a pay raise couldn’t keep him.

187."