Chapter 156: Still Need to Hit the Books

"Huh? Why is all my sand soaked?"

Lü Songyan quickly forced a smile to appease him. "Didn't you notice? It's been raining outside. But don't you worry, the cement didn't get touched at all. Look for yourself if you don't believe me."

The flat-topped man walked over and inspected all 18 bags of cement. Sure enough, there were no signs of moisture, which finally put his mind at ease. He turned around, frowning, "Well, the sand got rained on..."

"Boss, sand isn't afraid of water, is it? Don't you need to add water when you mix cement anyway?"

The flat-topped man curled his lip. "That's not how it works. Sand has to be sifted before use. Fine sand and cement are for laying tiles, while coarse gravel is for the base layer. Once it's drenched by rain, it cakes together into lumps and becomes impossible to sift!"

It was true that sand easily formed clumps when meeting water, but it wasn't strictly unsiftable. Besides, sifting sand was the job of the masons, not the laborers. The flat-topped man was purely picking a fight out of nothing, trying to find an excuse to dock their pay.

"Boss, it's the middle of summer. With the windows open, this sand will dry in half a day. There was nothing we could do about the rain!"

The flat-topped man shook his head. "Old brother, that's not how you look at it. Originally, if I had hired five or six guys, the job would have been done in an hour and we wouldn't have caught the rain. You insisted on hoarding the work all by yourself and let my sand get rained on. You can't just walk away without taking responsibility, can you?"

Behind them, Xiao Cheng and Lü Qi had heard everything, and both young men frowned deeply.

"What kind of responsibility do you want?"

"The 18 bags of cement are fine, I'll pay for those as agreed. But as for the sand, if I can't use it, it's worth zero to me. Either you take the money for the 18 bags of cement and leave, or you sift all this sand for me right here on the spot, and the 200 yuan will be yours, every last cent!"

Lü Songyan started to grow anxious. This was blatant bullying, but since the other party was the client, he couldn't afford to flip out.

"Boss, sifting sand is a job for the mason's apprentices and is included in the masonry work; it's not something we're supposed to do! Besides, people only sift as much as they need at the time. Sometimes they use coarse sand, sometimes fine sand—there's a science to it. Even if I sift it all out now, it won't be convenient for them to use!"

"It's true that masons are responsible for that job, but that's for dry sand! What am I supposed to do if the mason master charges me extra because the sand is wet and hard to sift?"

"Boss, you saw it yourself, two cubic meters of sand! Over sixty bags! The three of us made more than sixty trips back and forth, and this is a six-story walk-up! We're just trying to earn some honest hardship money..."

"Don't give me that! Nobody's money blows in on the wind. How can I pay for sand that's useless?"

Standing behind, Wen Xiao Cheng had already heard enough. He stepped forward and said to the flat-topped man, "What's the meaning of this? Are you saying you'll pay for the cement, but the money for the sand that the three of us broke our backs carrying up for you—you're just planning to stiff us?"

The flat-topped man curled his lip. "I agreed to give you 200 yuan based on carrying cement upstairs at 3 yuan a bag—that's 54 yuan for the 18 bags. As for the sand, I wanted dry sand. Either you sift and dry the sand for me, or don't even think about getting that money!"

By this point, Lü Qi also lost his temper. Furious, he barked, "The windows were open, and you were sitting inside—didn't you know it was raining? The heavens sent the rain, and you're blaming us for it?"

Xiao Cheng waved a hand to signal Lü Qi to let him handle it, then turned to the flat-topped man. "You said you didn't want wet sand—why didn't you say anything while we were carrying it up?"

"I wasn't paying attention! Anyway, wet sand is useless to me. If you're not satisfied, carry it back down!"

Even Lü Songyan was getting worked up now. "Boss, we had an agreement beforehand. Physical laborers have it hard enough..."

"You have it hard, but do I have it easy?! The cement is fine, but forget about the sand. Either you dry it and sift it clean for me, or get the hell out! Stop nagging me with this nonsense. It's useless!"

Lü Songyan's lips trembled with anger. He genuinely wanted to grab the flat-topped man by the collar and ask if his conscience had been eaten by dogs. But he wasn't a single man anymore; he had a wife and children depending on him to bring money home. With an entire family pressed upon his shoulders, sometimes a man had no choice but to bend his back and lower his head.

"Fine, I'll sift it!"

A sifter was leaning against the wall. Lü Songyan propped up an incline with a stool and reached for a shovel to start sifting the sand. But the moment the sifter was set up, Lü Qi kicked it flying with a single blow. When had the indomitable Lü ever suffered such humiliation? He pointed right at the flat-topped man's nose and shouted, "Sift my foot! Do you take us working men for pushovers?"

Seeing this, Lü Songyan quickly pulled his son back, glaring and scolding, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"He... he's bullying us too much!" Tears welled up in Lü Qi's eyes.

Seeing this development, the flat-topped man felt secure in his position. He squinted and pointed at Lü Qi. "Let's get one thing straight: you got my sand all wet and I didn't make a fuss about it, so what if I'm bullying you, goddammit? A couple of grunts—what? You dare lay a finger on me? Just try and hit me!"

Xiao Cheng had wanted to step in for a while now, but after all, this was someone else's family business, and it wasn't his place to overstep. Yet seeing the situation now, he simply couldn't swallow it anymore. Bowing his head and taking this kind of abuse for a mere 200 yuan was not worth it!

"Listen here, boss, calm down. Isn't it just 200 yuan? Even if the deal falls through, the goodwill should remain. We're honest, hardworking folks—why are you pushing us around? How about this: we won't take your cement money either. We can't handle this job of yours, so you can go find yourself a better man to do it!"

With those words, Xiao Cheng bent down, hoisted a bag of cement from the wall onto his shoulder, and strode over to the window. Being a newly built residential complex, the area below was still an overgrown wasteland with not a soul in sight. Xiao Cheng let go, and the bag of cement plummeted straight down.

"Hey? My cement!"

Xiao Cheng smiled. "Your cement is right down there, safe and sound!"

Before the flat-topped man could lean out the window to look, two more bags flew down. Behind him, Lü Qi caught the spirit as well. Working together, he and Xiao Cheng each grabbed a bag and hurled it out. Though the rain outside wasn't quite a torrential downpour, the dense raindrops had merged into continuous streaks, and the puddles below were choked with countless bubbling splashes. As the heavy drops pounded against the cement bags, gray muddy liquid instantly began to seep out.

"Stop! Stop! My cement!"

"It's your cement—go carry it up yourself!"

Lü Qi's powerful frame was unstoppable, and Xiao Cheng had made up his mind to vent his pent-up rage. After standing frozen in shock for a long moment, Lü Songyan gritted his teeth and joined the bag-tossing brigade. In no time at all, all eighteen bags of cement in the room had been hurled down to the ground below. Soaked by the pouring rain, they were ruined beyond redemption.

"Damn it! I'm not playing your game anymore! Carry them yourself!"

"You... you aren't allowed to leave!"

"Boss, you're too polite. You still want to keep us for dinner? Some other time! We'll come back after you finish your renovations!"

A single sentence completely deflated the flat-topped man's arrogance. There stood two burly men—one old, one young—and even the slightly shorter adolescent didn't look like someone to trifle with. A wave of regret suddenly washed over him. Each bag of cement cost 20 yuan, and he had just watched 360 yuan get tossed out the window over a 200-yuan dispute! Ah, what a heavy loss!

The three men ignored him entirely. Brushing the dust off their hands, they walked straight down the stairs.

The rain was still falling. Because Lü Qi had an injury and needed to avoid getting wet, the raincoat was draped over his shoulders. Lü Songyan pushed the electric scooter, walking on the outermost edge against the driving rain. Xiao Cheng looked just as wretched, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Lü Qi. None of them spoke a word.

With the rain pelting their faces, their vision blurred. Even though they had vented their anger, none of their hearts felt any lighter.

"Son! You've got to study hard! Look at your father—if you don't study, no matter where you go, you'll always goddammit... end up getting pushed around!" Lü Songyan's final words were choked with a sob.

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Do you truly know the hardships and grievances your fathers endure out in the world?