Chapter 870: Chapter 871 Endless Trouble
"Hey, Dongzi, how much did you give Xiaoqiang in the red envelope?" Li Gang asked curiously.
"One hundred thousand." Song Xiaodong said with a smile: "You wonât get less when you get married in the future."
"One hundred thousand..." Li Gangâs mouth twitched, he said: "You gave so much, how can I reciprocate when you get married, not to mention youâre going to have several wives, even if I sell myself, I canât afford to pay back."
Song Xiaodong laughed and said: "Then itâs one hundred thousand per person, you canât escape that."
Li Gang chuckled and said: "Then you better not notify me when you get married."
Soon after, Wang Xiaoqiang came upstairs again. As he was about to speak, Song Xiaodong immediately waved his hand and said: "If youâre going to be polite with me again, then I wonât recognize you as a brother."
Li Gang immediately followed with a grin and said: "Xiaoqiang, donât pretend now, Iâm still waiting for your big red envelope when I get married. If you refuse it, then how can I possibly accept it?"
Wang Xiaoqiang then repeatedly said: "Alright, alright, I wonât mention it anymore."
Before the three of them could exchange a couple of words, Wang Xiaoqiangâs phone rang again. He hurriedly answered, "Wife..."
The volume from Wang Xiaoqiangâs phone was a bit loud, and soon a womanâs voice came through, "Honey, my grandma said, a daughter leaving home should have a leaving-home fee."
"Leaving-home fee? Whatâs that?" Wang Xiaoqiang frowned.
"Itâs a tradition on my grandmaâs side of the family. You know, a lot of folks from her side are here, and if we donât follow their traditions, it feels inauspicious and really shameful."
"Oh... how much does it have to be?"
"Because Iâm the only daughter in the family, the amount has to be eighteen thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight yuan."
"That much again?" Wang Xiaoqiangâs brow furrowed into a knot.
The other end cooed, "Honey, think of a way please, weâre getting married tomorrow, you canât let a little over ten thousand yuan ruin our wedding."
Wang Xiaoqiang hurriedly said: "Alright, Iâll get ready immediately."
"Husband, I knew you treat me the best, muah, a kiss for you."
With a bit of coquetry from his wife, the knot on Wang Xiaoqiangâs brow untied, and he said with a chuckle: "Hehe, donât worry, I will sort it out for sure."
After hanging up the phone, Li Gang rolled his eyes and said: "Xiaoqiang, your in-laws are really good at bullying people, itâs so late in the game, why are they still coming up with endless demands?"
Song Xiaodong didnât mind such matters; what mattered most to him was that he didnât care about money, so asking for more money didnât bother him, and he said: "Gangzi, donât worry about it, after all, itâs all about the wedding, we have to respect different customs, moreover, the current marriage market favors women. With our country having fewer women than men, itâs only natural they have this kind of confidence."
Wang Xiaoqiang gave a dry laugh and said: "I have no choice, after all the trouble to find a wife, and weâre at this point already, I canât let tomorrow be unpleasant, right?"
Li Gang shook his head and said: "Xiaoqiang, youâve definitely got to keep your wife on a short leash."
"A wife is for pampering, about that you can ask Dongzi, if he pampers his wife or not?"
Song Xiaodong laughed and said: "Of course I pamper her, if my wife has any requests, I will definitely satisfy them."
Wang Xiaoqiang said with a sly smile: "See, even Dongzi does that. Gangzi, I know you want whatâs best for me, but itâs because you havenât met a woman that touches your heart. When you meet the woman you like, youâll understand how to pamper your wife."
Li Gang rolled his eyes and said, "I always feel that your pampering of your wife is a bit limitless. Alright, I donât have the experience, so I wonât say much. Of course, I hope you will live a happy life in the future."
Wang Xiaoqiangâs phone rang again, and it was his wife calling. After picking up, Wang Xiaoqiang cheekily said, "Wifey."
"Hubby... I forgot to tell you something else."
"Whatâs up, what else is there?" Wang Xiaoqiang quickly asked.
"Itâs like this, at the wedding ceremony tomorrow, my family will bring over two more kids. Have you prepared their red envelopes?"
Wang Xiaoqiang was already feeling nervous, but upon hearing this, he laughed as this was something he had already prepared for, saying, "Prepared. How could I forget that?"
"How much did you prepare for the red envelopes?"
"Two hundred per red envelope, right?"
"Only two hundred... Hubby, thatâs not okay. In our customs, giving two hundred is really embarrassing."
"Then how much? Arenât these just kids coming along? Does it really need to be a lot?" Wang Xiaoqiang furrowed his brows again.
"The more you give, the better it looks."
"Well... alright, letâs make it five hundred then. That should be enough, right?" Wang Xiaoqiangâs mouth twitched.
"That wonât do either. Over here, we give ten thousand per person."
At this point, Wang Xiaoqiang raised his voice in disbelief, saying, "Come on... ten thousand, giving ten thousand per red envelope to two kids escorting the bridal procession? Even tycoons donât do this, right?"
"Oh, donât worry. I know that customs are different where youâre from compared to my hometown. So, hereâs what weâll do: my mom will give me the money first, and tomorrow youâll give it to the two kids. Itâs just a formality, and in the end, the money will still go back to my mom. This way, we save face and donât spend extra, and I can get the money back from my mom later."
"I see... okay then," Wang Xiaoqiang reluctantly agreed.
"Hubby, donât be like that. Weâre not asking your family to give more money. Itâs just a formality. Besides, the money will eventually end up in our hands, right?"
"Alright, alright, letâs do it that way."
Listening to Wang Xiaoqiang on the phone, Li Gang grimaced, and Song Xiaodong also felt that Wang Xiaoqiangâs wifeâs family was really insatiable. But in this kind of situation, you really canât just say anything. You canât make it so Wang Xiaoqiang doesnât agree, and end up having an unhappy wedding. After all, it is just about spending a bit more money, if Wang Xiaoqiang doesnât have it, he would just chip in to help.
After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiaoqiang also shook his head and said, "Thank goodness Dongzi, youâre lending me money. Otherwise, Iâm afraid I really couldnât afford this wedding."
Song Xiaodong laughed, "Donât overthink it. As long as money can solve the problem, then itâs not a problem."
Wang Xiaoqiang chuckled, "Lucky to have a wealthy friend like you."
Li Gang snorted and said, "Look at you, still agreeing. Who knows what other tricks theyâll pull to get money from you next, they wonât stop until theyâve squeezed you dry."
Wang Xiaoqiang said irritably, "Can you not always be so discouraging?"
"The best thing would be if nothing else comes up." Li Gang shook his head.
The three hadnât chatted for a while when Wang Xiaoqiangâs phone rang once again. Li Gang rolled his eyes and said, "See, here it comes again."