Xia Hongxia hadn’t even completed middle school, lacking even a graduation certificate.

Xia Hongbing had physical strength and knew farming.

What did these qualifications amount to in Pengcheng?

Being literate and having strength were the most basic qualifications. Even in the countryside, most people of Xia Dajun’s generation had attended literacy classes – though they lacked formal education, they could recognize common characters and write their own names.

Hong Kong enterprises were foreign capital – how could anyone easily enter Cheng Rong Group’s Pengcheng branch?

Ah Hua felt Xia Dajun was being excessive.

He had saved the Young Master’s life, and in return, the Young Master had given him money, work, and treated his injuries.

The Young Master had done right by Xia Dajun.

Even for the driver who died in the attack, Du Zhaohui had only agreed to take care of his son. It wasn’t possible that one person’s death for Du Zhaohui meant supporting their entire family! Even when martyrs died for the country, the government only provided jobs for their widows and care for their children. Unless the martyr was unmarried, government-arranged jobs never extended to their relatives!

Xia Dajun wasn’t even a martyr, and his shamelessness truly shocked Ah Hua.

After some thought, Ah Hua decided not to discourage Xia Dajun further.

“The company’s projects in Pengcheng are under construction. Though the sites are outsourced, I can ask if they’re still hiring. If your brother has strength, he can work at the construction site. As for your niece, if she’s cooked back home, we could arrange for her to cook at the site.”

This way, he wouldn’t need to trouble the Young Master or awkwardly force these two into the company. If others found out later, no one could fault his actions.

If it was construction site work they wanted, why did Xia Dajun need to worry? Pengcheng had so many construction sites – wouldn’t it be easy for Xia Hongbing to find work as a laborer?

Xia Dajun mumbled:

“My brother could also serve the Young Master-“

Ah Hua couldn’t bear to listen anymore and interrupted:

“Who the Young Master employs isn’t for me to decide. You’ll have to propose that to him yourself!”

Damn, this Xia Dajun was too presumptuous.

Xia Hongbing had no qualifications – he couldn’t be an assistant, only a follower or bodyguard for the Young Master.

Either way, positions around Du Zhaohui were limited. Ah Hua had worked hard to become the head bodyguard, yet Xia Dajun shamelessly wanted to bring his brother in as a bodyguard. Ah Hua wanted to say that in terms of skill, neither of the Xia brothers was his match. Ah Hua was properly trained in martial arts for many years, while the Xia brothers were just farmers with brute strength… But Ah Hua wasn’t foolish enough to cultivate his competition.

Xia Dajun’s requests weren’t just troubling Ah Hua; he was taking Ah Hua for granted!

Ah Hua usually didn’t think much of his status, constantly reminding himself that others’ respect and face-giving came solely from Young Master Du Zhaohui.

But Xia Dajun’s pretense of ignorance was unbearable.

When Ah Hua stopped responding, Xia Dajun became afraid.

“Ah Hua, Brother Hua! Don’t be angry. Construction site work is fine – I’ll have them start there first, and maybe change later when there’s a chance. I’m not good with words, please don’t take offense.”

Xiao Yu was right – without returning to the Young Master’s side, he had no say.

Xia Dajun considered himself close to the Young Master, having survived two near-death experiences with him. This Ah Hua came later, yet now outranked him. Xiao Yu had told him that if Ah Hua disagreed, he should quickly back down and accept whatever work Ah Hua arranged.

Ah Hua hadn’t intended to make things difficult for Xia Dajun but now felt disgusted by his seemingly honest man act.

His expression changed slightly as he forced a smile:

“We all work for the Young Master, we’re colleagues. I won’t hold it against you! I can still speak up about the construction site work. You’ve met the current contractor – it’s Boss Ke who helped find your brother’s family.”

Xia Dajun didn’t understand these connections.

Boss Ke seemed powerful in Yangcheng, and now he was working for the Young Master too.

But he had met Boss Ke – a friendly young man. Having Hongbing and his daughter work at Boss Ke’s construction site meant Boss Ke would look after them.

Xia Dajun immediately thanked Ah Hua sincerely.

Ah Hua waved his hand:

“It’s nothing. Have them start work tomorrow.”

Xia Dajun reluctantly left Du Zhaohui’s residence.

When he reported the night’s events at home, Old Lady Xia screamed: “Who says this shows respect? Calling you over late at night, then Du Boss falls asleep – he’s just toying with you!”

Old Lady Xia couldn’t criticize the family’s pillar of support, so she blamed Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu was also puzzled.

Du Zhaohui used to value Xia Dajun highly, but in just a few months, he had pushed him aside.

If Xia Dajun couldn’t be Du Zhaohui’s confidant, how could she complete Liu Tianquan’s assigned task? Even setting aside Liu Tianquan’s business, if she was to live with Xia Dajun, Xiao Yu didn’t want a man who might lose his job at any moment.

Old Lady Xia’s scolding didn’t bother Xiao Yu at all.

She gathered her spirits to comfort Xia Dajun: “Bosses are all like this. Maybe the messenger was delayed, and you arrived too late after Du Boss had fallen asleep. Don’t be discouraged, Dajun. The fact that Du Boss thought of you shows he still values you.”

The same words sounded better coming from Xiao Yu’s mouth.

Xia Dajun felt he couldn’t live without Xiao Yu.

Compared to Xiao Yu, his mother was truly harsh and ignorant… Actually, Old Lady Xia had always been this way, but Xia Dajun never noticed before.

The whole family had stayed up waiting for news of Xia Dajun’s late-night visit.

Xia Hongbing had thought his second brother would get him a job with the Hong Kong boss – prestigious and well-paid, something Xia Hongbing would have eagerly accepted. But his brother hadn’t even seen the boss, so the job prospects were likely gone. By midnight, Xia Hongbing was yawning constantly.

Wang Jingui still held onto hope: “Second Brother, what about the jobs for Hongbing and his daughter?”

This had been arranged, and Xia Dajun was grateful he’d followed Xiao Yu’s advice to secure the jobs first and change later.

“I didn’t get to see the Young Master, but someone else helped arrange the jobs. Hongbing will work at the construction site, and Hongxia will help with cooking. Remember Boss Ke from Yangcheng? He’s managing the site. They’re all familiar faces, so Hongbing and his daughter won’t be taken advantage of!”

…

“What did you say?”

Ke Yixiong thought he had misheard.

Cao Liu suppressed a laugh: “Ah Hua, from Du Boss’s side – we have to return his favor. He said to arrange work at the site for the Xia family.”

It was truly like the sheep he’d caught – no matter how far it ran, after twists and turns, it still ended up in his hands.

Cao Liu wanted to laugh.

Boss Ke had used the foolish Xia family to connect with Du Zhaohui.

After helping Du Zhaohui smuggle Xia Ziyu to Hong Kong, Du Zhaohui kept his word and gave Ke Yixiong some construction projects. Ke Yixiong was transitioning from Yangcheng gang leader to construction contractor, and in this business, he had natural advantages. Beyond working on Du Zhaohui’s projects, he’d bought trucks to monopolize construction waste removal from nearby sites – in just over a month, he’d already had several violent confrontations with local thugs in the business.

There were wins and losses, but for now, Ke Yixiong’s side had the upper hand!