Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 209 Return Our Hard-Earned Money
Li Ruru spoke up first, "Uncle Da, since I said I would repair the bridge in the village last time, I will not go back on my word."

“But that will cost a lot of money,” Pan Dayan advised. “You’re just saying that; who will take it seriously?”

Well, they've even prepared a reason for her to refuse.

Hai said, "Then you contribute a portion, and the other villagers should also contribute a portion. We can't let everyone just take advantage of you."

Li Ruru said, "As you can see, many trucks carrying goods are coming to our village. We can't be without a bridge."

She then said to Lü Da, "I'll leave the road repair to the village head."

He glanced at Chu Xiu as he spoke, thinking that if he personally went to ask his father, the county magistrate, the matter might be resolved more quickly.

Lu Da said, "Then let's do this: Aru will pay part of the money for the bridge repair, and we'll take the rest from our share of the profits. I'll report the road repair to the magistrate myself."

Pan Dayan pouted and said, "Dividends? We're in the red right now."

Fang Xingzhi said, "At today's pace and progress, we might make a profit tomorrow."

Li Ruru insisted on paying for the bridge repairs herself. After the group finished discussing it, it was already dark when they got home.

Li Ruru prepared a simple dinner and then called Chu Xiu out alone.

The two sat by the spring, chatting and drinking.

Chu Xiu asked, "Aunt Li, I heard Chaochao say that the beer will take a few more days to ferment, so..."

He pointed to the cup in front of him, and Li Ruru lied, saying, "This is what was left over from before."

“Aunt Li, I’ve already talked to Uncle Da about building the house. The two yards on either side will be ours from now on.”

To the left was Xiao Yishan's courtyard, so he naturally had no objection.

The land on the right was vacant, and he obtained the land deed for less than an ounce.

He then pulled out a drawing from his pocket. "Take a look. Is there anything that needs to be changed?"

Li Ruru glanced at him, patted his head and said, "I trust you. I'm entrusting you with full responsibility for this matter. I don't have any expertise in repairing bridges."

Chu Xiu patted his chest and said, "You've come to the right person. I'll have someone come over tomorrow. Don't worry, it's just a bridge to repair, it'll be quick."

He took a big gulp of beer, smacked his lips, and said, "As for the road repair, I'll write to my dad, so Aunt Li doesn't need to worry."

Li Ruru turned to look at him incredulously and asked, "How did you know I was thinking about this?"

Chu Xiu shrugged. "Is there even a question? Aunt Li is a reincarnated bodhisattva, she's just too kind-hearted."

Li Ruru patted his shoulder, "You always have such a sharp tongue."

She doesn't consider herself that noble; whether it's building roads or bridges, it's all for her own business convenience.

It just happened to be convenient for the people of Chenjia Village.

The next day, Chu Xiu took Xiao Wu out early in the morning.

Soon, a dozen burly men appeared in Chenjia Village, bustling about by the bridge.

On the other side, before the workshop even opened, a large crowd had already gathered at the entrance.

When He Dajiao, who was in charge, saw Li Ruru and Lü Da coming over, he immediately shouted, "Give us back our money! Give us back our hard-earned money!"

Lu Da asked with a dark face, "Who owes you money? What nonsense are you spouting, you son of a bitch?"

It seems he went too easy on them last time. This kind of scourge should be expelled from the family tree and driven out of the village.

He Dajiao said excitedly, "We worked here all day yesterday, and you didn't pay us. Doesn't that mean you owe us money?"

"You heartless bastard, give me my money back!"

Lu Da was about to curse with a dark face when Fang Xingzhi pulled him aside and quietly slipped him a stack of documents.

Lu Da glanced at it, then spread it out for everyone to see: "He Dajiao, open your dog eyes and see what's written on it."

He Dajiao opened his eyes wide, but after looking for a long time, he still couldn't understand anything.

He can't read!

Li Ruru said loudly, "This is the contract. Everyone signed it yesterday. We agreed that the wages would be settled monthly."

Some people shouldn't be making a fool of themselves by taking things out of context.

He Dajiao knew he was in the wrong, but he couldn't stand seeing Li Ruru doing well, especially now that she had opened a workshop. When Li Ruru's family bought cattle, he thought Li Ruru was going to compete with him for the business of taking people to the county town.

Unexpectedly, she started a business selling konjac tofu, and because she had helped Zhao, she stopped riding in his oxcart.

During the torrential rain, he and his son Mingming blocked the water at Li Ruru's house, and her house collapsed.

But Li Ruru is still alive, and now she's indirectly cursing him in front of so many people.

He stubbornly insisted, "I don't care, give me my money back, give me my money back!"

He shouted loudly, and several men next to him echoed him, while others gathered around to watch the spectacle.

When the contract was signed yesterday, Lü Da and Fang Xingzhi explained the terms to everyone. Considering that some people were illiterate, they read it to everyone twice.

In addition to the payment method, everyone also signed a confidentiality agreement, promising not to reveal the methods for making maltose, sesame candy, and beer.

What was originally a well-thought-out plan turned into a headache for Lü Da when he encountered the unreasonable He Dajiao.

Peipei emerged from the crowd and handed 25 coins to He Dajiao.

She smiled and said, "Uncle Big Foot, please keep this payment."

He Dajiao was surprised that he actually got the money. She stretched out her other hand and said, "And my son's wages, He Xiaotou."

Fang Xingzhi found the contract between the two men from a stack of contracts and said, "Since you want to withdraw, then this contract is null and void."

With a rip, the torn paper flew all over He Dajiao's face.

He Dajiao's face darkened. How could this person be so insulting?

If you're going to tear it, then tear it; why throw it in someone's face?

Li Ruru secretly covered her mouth and laughed, recalling how Fang Xing had kicked someone over the wall with one kick.

In comparison, throwing a few scraps of paper is really nothing.

Peipei gave He Dajiao another 25 coins, and Chaochao said, "You've been fired."

He Dajiao happily counted the money, thinking, "So what if I'm fired? It's no big deal."

Li Ruru said, "Anyone who is dismissed will never be rehired by our workshop."

She glanced at the crowd and said, "Does anyone else want us to pay back the money? If so, step forward now. If not, everyone get to work."

Although everyone wanted to receive their wages every day, they realized it was impossible.

The workshop has only been open for one day, and it probably hasn't even made back its costs yet, so how can we pay their wages?

Moreover, the wages for carrying heavy loads in the county town were not settled daily, but once a month.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhao suddenly said, "Who knows if this workshop can last a month? You'll regret it if you don't get a single penny back."

Yesterday, she brought her three sons to the workshop to register, but Fang Xingzhi refused them for various reasons.

She was furious. Why could others earn 25 coins a day, while her three sons didn't even qualify?

The Chen family members stared intently at Fang Xingzhi, their minds replaying his hurtful remarks from the previous day.

"Chen Dagang, Chen Bingxiao, are you cripples? We don't take in cripples, especially those with hereditary cripples."

The two had been trampled by Li Ruru's horse, and Zhao Shi was reluctant to spend money on medicine, so she just told them to bear with it and it would pass.

They endured the pain for several days, but their legs still ached, so they walked with a limp.

"Chen Ertong, you're as fat as a barrel, which doesn't meet our requirements."

"Chen Sanbao, oh my god, if you don't speak, I'll think you're a monkey. You're totally not a match."

“We will not accept Chen Jingang and Chen Jintong because of their wicked intentions.”

The Chen family was furious, but Fang Xingzhi stood straight behind Li Ruru, his eyes smiling, as if he had forgotten what happened yesterday.

Li Ruru thought no one would believe Zhao's nonsense, but she didn't expect that someone would actually be foolish enough to back out.

Moreover, this person was someone I knew all the time.

(End of this chapter)