Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Follow-up arrangements.

They told Fangfang when they were planning to have a second child.

Liu Suqin no longer has the idea that "the older ones must help take care of the younger ones."

If the siblings have a good relationship, they can support and care for each other. If they really can't get along, they can just treat each other as ordinary relatives. After all, they are siblings who grew up together from the same mother. No matter how bad the relationship is, they will not actively hurt each other - the premise is that parents and elders do their job well.

Netizens have said that conflicts between children are mostly due to the lack of moral integrity of the elderly. Liu Suqin decided to be a virtuous parent and let the children decide their own affairs. She is only responsible for keeping things between them.

Liu Suqin said the same thing to Lin Nanjiang.

Whether the second child is a boy or a girl, it's the couple's responsibility; the daughter has no obligation to help care for her siblings. The family doesn't lack the resources, and there's no need to compromise one child to achieve happiness. Whether or not she's a big sister, Xiao Fangfang's life won't be affected, nor will she lack care and companionship. After all, there are so many people in the family, and they can't take care of everything. There's also her mother and Aunt Zhang. If even they're too busy with the younger ones to care for the older ones, then they can hire an aunt to take care of Fangfang's food, shelter, and transportation.

If there are not enough rooms at home and you don’t want to move, you can spend a little more money to buy the house upstairs or downstairs and connect them to make a duplex.

In short, any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem.

Lin Nanjiang didn't quite understand, but it was always right to listen to his wife. Besides, compared to the second son who didn't even exist, the daughter he raised was his treasure. Just thinking about his daughter being so wronged because of this matter that she lost her little pearl behind their backs, Lin Nanjiang's heart was torn. He immediately formed a united front with his wife and took the initiative to undertake the arduous task of brainwashing his mother-in-law and others.

It's not enough for the two of them to make their attitudes clear, they also have to change the minds of the people around them to ensure that no one says nonsense in front of their daughter.

Liu Suqin praised him highly for his meticulousness and happily gave him the task.

This is a long-term task that can be done slowly and subtly. The most urgent thing is to inform Xiao Fangfang first. We all say that we should be open-minded parents. When planning to increase the population, all family members must be informed of such a major event.

Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang did not ignore Fangfang just because she was young. On the contrary, after they had discussed it, the first person they told was the little one.

Of course, they can be so open and honest because both the couple know that their daughter will not be too opposed.

Maybe Qian Juxiang couldn't do anything about Liu Suqin, so she couldn't help nagging at her granddaughter. Or maybe seeing that Uncle Quansheng and Aunt Ahui both had little brothers, Xiao Fangfang was a little envious. She ran over several times to ask her parents when they would give her a brother.

Liu Suqin always answered seriously, saying that her parents were too busy with work and had no plans for this in the near future. Once they started preparing, they would notify Fangfang as soon as possible so that she could also be prepared to be a big sister.

Lin Nanjiang would touch his daughter's little head with a smile and jokingly ask why it was a brother. Wouldn't it be better to have a sister?

Because she didn't get a positive answer those times, the little girl just dealt with it casually, saying that it was okay for her younger brother or sister, as long as they all listened to her.

This time, mom and dad finally figured it out. Little Fangfang cheered happily, then blinked her big, sparkling eyes and told her dad earnestly that she still wanted a brother. "Because I'm mom's sweetest little cotton-padded jacket, if I have another sister, she'll definitely love to cling to mom like I do, and then dad will be too lonely. So I'd rather have a brother, so that dad will have someone following him wherever he goes."

Before Lin Nanjiang could be moved by his daughter's thoughtfulness, he saw her grinning and said, "From now on, Daddy will sleep with my brother, and Mommy will sleep with me. How wonderful it is."

The smile on the old father's lips froze instantly. He suddenly wasn't so looking forward to the second child anymore, and he didn't even want this big one.

This is not a little cotton-padded jacket, it is clearly here to collect debts.

No matter what Xiao Fangfang's motives were, her expectation for her younger brother was real. During that period, she would ask her parents every now and then if there was any news about her younger brother. Later, she even watched them carefully check in for fitness, for fear that if she missed exercising even once, her younger brother would be gone.

The children have been holding on for months, looking forward to it so much, and finally received the good news. This is not how they should behave.

Lin Nanjiang realized something was wrong and immediately put his daughter back on the ground. He asked casually, "Fangfang, do you already know?"

Xiao Fangfang looked up and explained clearly, "Yesterday morning, Daddy wasn't home, and Mommy told me she might be pregnant."

Lin Nanjiang: ...

Wow, he, the father, is not the first one to know about it.

Lin Nanjiang was a little upset. He coughed to cover up his embarrassment and said, "Oh, I'm glad you know. Go on painting. Dad won't bother you anymore."

After saying that, he quietly left the room, but didn't notice the moment the door closed. His precious daughter sat back on the floor almost happily, picked up the drawing board and continued the practice just now.

Lin Nanjiang helped his daughter close the door, and when he returned to Liu Suqin, he began to whimper in protest, and then received an impatient kick from her.

"I worked so hard to carry and give birth to a child for ten months, and you're complaining here? You're taking advantage of me and still acting like a spoiled brat."

Lin Nanjiang was so frightened that he plopped down on the sofa, putting on an attitude of "I've been begging for mercy" and smiling at her ingratiatingly, "By the way, wife, you're pregnant now, so leave the house building to me. You just stay at home and take care of the baby."

Liu Suqin regained her composure and said, "I've thought about this too. My top priority is definitely taking care of the baby. The photography studio and the beauty salon won't take up much of my attention, so I can still take care of both. But I can't handle the construction of the house at the construction site. I guess I'll still need you to keep an eye on it, but your job won't be easy..."

"I'm fine. I'm not moving bricks myself. Can't we just hire a construction team? But when we renovated before, we always worked directly with design companies. They had familiar or even their own renovation teams, fully staffed, and could arrange everything without us having to worry about it. But a rental building in an urban village shouldn't require any design, right? If we go directly to an outside construction team, are they reliable?"

Liu Suqin nodded. "Sure. The master who renovated my beauty salon before was very responsible and had good skills. I heard that he has taken an apprentice and started his own business. We can just contact him directly. If that doesn't work out, Brother Liang can also introduce someone to us."

Lin Nanjiang breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Let the workers do the work. The worst that can happen is that I'll have to make a few more trips to the construction site to supervise. It won't be a big problem."

"Going to the construction site more often is not enough. You also have an important task, which is procurement. The cost of cement and building materials is a big expense. If we don't keep a close eye on it, we will end up wasting money." This kind of construction is the most treacherous. Embezzlement and taking kickbacks are small matters. The only thing they are afraid of is that some workers will take advantage of the fact that their boss has no energy to manage things and embezzle privately, smuggling building materials out to sell for money. They think this is just a small amount of money, but for some people who are used to stealing, a mosquito is still meat, no matter how small it is. They can make a fortune and immediately run back to their hometown to live a carefree life for a few months. When the money is gone, they can start over at another construction site, without any cost.

This kind of example was told to her by Lin Nanjiang in his previous life.

Liu Suqin touched Lin Nanjiang's well-trained and strong forearms and suggested, "I have an idea. My second brother also does this. Since we have to pay people to do the work anyway, why not ask him to come over and work for a few months? I can also pay him a salary to help watch over the construction site. What do you think?"

"That's great! Second brother is also a craftsman. With him watching over us, we don't have to worry about the workers cutting corners. He also has a deeper understanding of the building materials market than we do, so he won't be easily fooled." The more Lin Nanjiang spoke, the better his wife's suggestion seemed to him. Finally, he slapped his thigh and said, "If Second brother is willing to come, he can directly be the person in charge of the construction site. He can do more or less work, and as long as he manages the entire site well, he will be a great help."

Liu Suqin smiled and said, "Then discuss it directly with him."

But she felt that her second brother would be more inclined to her plan, to directly become the site supervisor or something like that. Her second brother would most likely refuse in fear and trepidation. After all, he had never even been a contractor, let alone a manager.

Lin Nanjiang didn't notice the meaningful look in her eyes, and enthusiastically picked up the phone to call his second uncle. As expected, he was politely declined. After several more calls to persuade him, Brother Liu agreed to come and work for them for a few months. According to Liu Suqin's plan, as an experienced bricklayer, he would be paid 1,500 yuan a month, and another part-time job as a supervisor would pay him 500 yuan, which added up to 2,000 yuan a month.

Of course, the wages at the construction site are not that high. Those who have a skill, such as carpenters, bricklayers, etc., can earn about 30 yuan a day. If the boss is generous, he can give them a monthly salary of 1,000 yuan. Those who have no skills and can only do odd jobs are called laborers, and a monthly salary of 500 or 600 yuan is not bad. However, Lin Nanjiang told his second uncle that he is a senior master who can guide his workers, and he came all the way from his hometown to help, so paying him 1,500 yuan is a normal level.

Just like that, Brother Liu Er was already grinning from ear to ear on the other end of the phone, "Really? Two thousand a month combined? That's almost as much as my salary for half a year."

He could still vaguely hear Second Sister Liu's joyful voice on the other end, muttering something about paying off debts. Lin Nanjiang exchanged a few polite pleasantries before hanging up the phone. Turning to Liu Suqin, he joked, "Look how polite our second brother is! I wanted to give him a higher salary, but he wouldn't agree."

Liu Suqin thought so too. Among all the brothers and sisters, her second brother and sister-in-law were the most active and hardworking. They created wealth with their own hands, but were overtaken by other brothers and sisters. Not to mention her and Liu Ping, her eldest brother and sister-in-law also did a great job in breeding under her advice.

At the beginning of summer vacation this year, when there was not much work in the fields, my eldest brother personally sent a few children to Shenzhen to play, and took the opportunity to tell them the good news. He said that with the accumulation of last year, the scale has been expanded this year, and it is estimated that the total annual income will exceed ten thousand.

This does not include the harvest from farming. Their harvest this year is also good. Brother Liu and his wife insist on taking care of the family's fields, and only hire people to help during the busiest days. Excluding these expenses, they can still earn more than 2,000 yuan from farming, making them a well-off family.

Brother Liu's voice trembled as he spoke of these incomes. He had never dreamed that farming and sideline businesses could be so profitable. This was only the second year of his experiment. Once they gained experience and settled down, wouldn't it be easy to earn 20,000 or 30,000 yuan a year? That would be better than working in a big city.

Liu Suqin was of course very happy for her elder brother, and she once again promised that if he needed help, he could just ask, and she would support him in contracting the barren mountain reservoir.

But sometimes when I talk to my parents about my other brother from my hometown, I can't help but sigh. My second brother, who is the most hardworking, has to be at the bottom of the list. This world is really unfair.

She wasn't quite up to the task of helping the world, but since she had helped her eldest and younger brothers, she naturally wouldn't forget her second brother if she had the chance. She just needed to fulfill her duty. Seeing Lin Nanjiang's eagerness to help the poor, Liu Suqin comforted him, "Second brother's visit this time is also an opportunity. Let him see more and learn more. With some experience in overall management, he can learn to be a small contractor after returning, or take in a few apprentices, and his income will be much better. Even if he doesn't learn anything, at least a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan is solid. After working for a few months, it should be enough to pay off the debt for building the house."

Lin Nanjiang nodded, "That's true. As long as the foreign debt is paid off, my second brother's family will be completely stress-free and will have a prosperous future."

Liu Suqin smiled again. "Speaking of which, should I ask my eldest and second brothers if they'd like to come and work for a few months? Although they don't have any special skills, they're very hardworking and willing to learn how to lay bricks from my second brother. If they're offered a salary of 1,000 to 1,500 yuan, it's good extra money."

Lin Nanjiang was very pleased to see his wife caring so much about his brothers. He told her with a smile, "Last time when I called to say I couldn't go home for the New Year due to some matters, I heard Grandpa mention that my eldest and second brothers seemed to be planning to buy a tractor together. During the slack season, we could haul goods for other people to earn some extra money. We don't lack business."

Although Liu Suqin mentioned these two uncles out of a desire to return a favor, she was mostly relieved to hear that they were also preparing to start a side business. "That's great. Tractors can not only help people transport goods and attract customers, but they are also good helpers for farming. My eldest and second brothers are already capable, and with a tractor, they can probably farm a few more acres."