Chapter 54: A Close Contest

Lu Chuan just smiled modestly and didn’t say anything more. The ones speaking up now were people who usually got along with Fifth Brother—they were giving him a way out.

Boss Fang had to save face for his own people. “Chuan, everyone’s been working hard these days. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Lu Chuan didn’t waste words. “Alright, everyone come over and check the accounts. Let’s settle the wages.” No one mentioned the cleanup work.

Boss Fang looked up and asked his brother-in-law, “Has the project payment come through?”

Lu Chuan replied, “Not yet. Fang Yuan and Fifth Brother went to the county. We managed to get some of the deposit back, so we’ll pay out whatever we have.”

Boss Fang fell silent. His brother-in-law was paying out of his own pocket—he’d have no grounds to complain.

In Boss Fang’s mind, he felt his brother-in-law was challenging him, and he’d lost—lost because of money.

What Boss Fang cared about was being the one to pay others. Now, it was his brother-in-law handing out the money.

On Lu Chuan’s side, the accounts were settled smoothly. People were honest in those days, and there were no disputes over the work.

Fang Yuan and Wu Hu came back with the money. Of course, the mixer rental wasn’t cheap, so there wasn’t much left.

Then, as agreed from the start, they settled up and handed out the wages. At this point, everyone was happy—no one was looking for trouble.

Fang Yuan frowned. “Weren’t we supposed to clean up the yard? Why are we paying out already? Looks like they’re about to leave.”

Lu Chuan replied lightly, “If they don’t want to do it, we’ll just tidy up ourselves later.”

The ones leaving were all people who usually hung around Boss Fang. Fang Yuan’s face fell—this was Boss Fang deliberately making trouble and not giving Lu Chuan any face.

She slapped the table, glaring, “So you’re all so high and mighty now? Don’t even want to earn money?”

Not giving Lu Chuan a chance to speak, she called out, “We need to clean up the yard here. Whoever wants to stay, five yuan for half a day.”

People with money in their pockets really do stand straighter.

Except for those who’d just made a fuss, everyone else stayed. There wasn’t much work left, it wasn’t hard—only a fool wouldn’t do it.

Fang Yuan lifted her chin at Lu Chuan, as if to say, “See? Didn’t I help you save face?”

Lu Chuan thought to himself, “Uh-oh, I’ve definitely offended my brother-in-law now. My wife’s temper really doesn’t let anyone get a word in.”

But he had to admit, she handled things decisively and was willing to spend money—a real improvement.

And she really was doing it for him, to help him save face. Lu Chuan grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

Wu Hu, seeing all this, was fired up too. He thought, “I’ve got to work hard—this is how you show some swagger. Look at people with money—they really are bold.”

Lu Chuan immediately felt less confident. “There’s not much left. It’s all gone to pay wages.”

Wu Hu clutched his pocket and left—he wasn’t about to be the sucker.

Fang Yuan snorted, “You think you can just run off? If I don’t have money, how am I supposed to pay everyone five yuan each?”

Boss Fang came over, face dark, and glared at Fang Yuan. “What are you making a fuss about? Got nothing better to do?”

He was talking to Fang Yuan, but also to Lu Chuan. This was using money to slap Boss Fang in the face.

When Old Sun was in charge, there was none of this nonsense. Wasn’t this just throwing money around?

Of course, he’d lost face and was unhappy. Now Boss Fang understood what it was like when someone else had a bit of money to show off.

He looked at Lu Chuan and Fang Yuan, his eyes dark.

Lu Chuan cheerfully followed behind Boss Fang. “Big Brother, once the work’s all tidied up, it’ll be easier to settle everyone’s wages. Makes it easier for us to speak up.”

Boss Fang was just as tough as Fang Yuan—they were cut from the same cloth. “He wouldn’t dare short us on wages.”

Could Lu Chuan say, “It’s for better cooperation next time”? He had to lay the groundwork for the future. But it was obvious Boss Fang wouldn’t want to hear it—he’d think Lu Chuan was just being bookish.

His brother-in-law was stubborn—he’d seen that clearly now.

Wu Hu tried to smooth things over for his brother-in-law. “It’s not that much work.” It was Fang Yuan who’d said it, so why was Big Brother getting mad at his brother-in-law?

A dozen or so people stayed to work—that was dozens of yuan. “Not much work”?

Boss Fang forced a smile. “I didn’t realize you were so flush with cash now.”

Fang Yuan, still loyal, sided with Fifth Brother. “Big Brother, I said it, and I have the money. I’m willing.”

Lu Chuan stared at Fang Yuan in shock. “Are you just trying to make things worse? Do you really not want to get along with Big Brother?”

Boss Fang glared at his sister. “Aren’t you something.” Then he left.

Lu Chuan called after his brother-in-law to help settle the wages, but Boss Fang ignored him.

Lu Chuan said to Fang Yuan, “That’s Big Brother. Wasn’t that a bit much?” He was afraid they’d really fallen out.

Fang Yuan asked bluntly, “Then tell me, what could I have said to make Big Brother happy?”

True enough—no matter what she said, Boss Fang wouldn’t be happy. This time, he’d lost face, and it was his own sister who’d done it.

Wu Hu said, “Don’t worry about it. No matter what Fang Yuan does, Big Brother won’t really get mad.” He wouldn’t dare, either.

Lu Chuan asked, “Why not?”

Wu Hu replied, “Why do you think? There’s only one girl in the family. Ever since she was little, if she got mad, she’d yell for Fang Xiao Hu all over town. If it were you, wouldn’t you be scared? If she’s upset, she might even hit Dad. Would you dare argue with her?”

Lu Chuan thought, “True enough. Now, Big Brother is called Fang Tiger outside.”

Fang Yuan said, “Alright, let’s go help clean up. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home.”

She’d long wanted Boss Fang to know his own limits. She’d been holding this in for a while.

Lu Chuan said, “Why don’t you go home and rest first? The mixer’s already been returned—you can relax now.”

Fang Yuan replied, “No way. The accounts aren’t settled yet—I need to watch the money.”

She really didn’t trust Lu Chuan at all. Lu Chuan felt just as hurt by her as by his brother-in-law.

Fine, money was more important than the mixer. When it came to money, Lu Chuan didn’t even dare try to persuade Fang Yuan.

Wu Hu tried to smooth things over for Fang Yuan. “That’s just how women are when it comes to running a household.”

Lu Chuan thought, “Fifth Brother thinks I’m naive. The women in our village aren’t like this. These days, there aren’t many women like my mother-in-law who run the house.”

Didn’t he see that even his mother-in-law knew to give his father-in-law face, always saying, ‘the men run the house’?

With so many people, the cleanup was done in just over two hours. People even felt embarrassed to take Fang Yuan’s five yuan wage.

That was Wu Hu’s time to shine. “Don’t be shy, everyone. If you stayed to help, that’s a favor to us, giving our brother-in-law face. Take what you’re owed.”

Lu Chuan didn’t step up—he knew this was Fifth Brother’s way of winning people over. These were all people who followed Fifth Brother.

In private, Fang Yuan pinched Wu Hu’s arm. “Why are you being so generous?”

Wu Hu grimaced. “You have to leave some room for people. We’ll have big things to do in the future. The ones who stayed to earn this money are the ones who went against Big Brother.”

You have to give people some easy money, or why would they support you?

Besides, both sides were competing—earning money here was all about face. This was their silent standoff with Fang Tiger.

Fang Yuan wasn’t thinking that far ahead. She just snorted and paid everyone, regretting that she’d been so generous. She hadn’t thought it through.

55."