"It's not that I disagree, but the dowry they're asking for is too much. I'm just a wage earner, how can I afford it?" Lu Fei said weakly, his whole body like a frost-bitten eggplant.
Liu Yifeng, seeing Qiangzi anxiously looking on, quickly asked, "How much dowry are they asking for?"
"They want two hundred thousand in dowry, and they want a new house bought and registered in their daughter's name, saying it's for future security.
Two hundred thousand in dowry alone would kill my mother, let alone a house. Buying a house these days costs at least four to five hundred thousand, plus the banquet expenses. It's impossible to get married without seventy thousand.
As you know, the money I usually earn is all spent by Wu Qian. I don't have ten thousand yuan on me.
My parents are simple farmers. It was already difficult enough to raise me and my younger brother. Asking them to come up with seven hundred thousand for my wedding now isn't asking for their lives?"
After listening to Lu Fei, Liu Yifeng felt that the woman's family was simply asking for the moon. "We don't oppose a dowry. After all, it's not easy for parents to raise their daughters.
But no one's money grows on trees. Two hundred thousand in dowry, and buying a house for their daughter, how could they even ask for that?"
"I also said that I can't afford this money. The dowry can be at most one hundred thousand.
As for the house, I promise to work hard after we get married and save up for the down payment. When we buy a house, I will definitely add Wu Qian's name to it. But they just won't budge. Aren't they pushing me to a dead end?"
"This family is too much. When I married my wife, my family was dirt poor. My mother-in-law only symbolically accepted six thousand yuan in dowry and gave a lot of gifts.
Although the dowry has increased a lot since then, two hundred thousand is still too much, isn't it?" Qiangzi listened from the side and was also very annoyed.
This wasn't marrying off a daughter; it was practically selling her.
As long as the man was willing to work hard and treat his daughter well, wasn't that more important than the dowry?
Otherwise, if she married a lazy, unmotivated man who would just squander everything, no amount of money would last.
And they had all seen how Lu Fei treated Wu Qian.
To be honest, they always felt that Wu Qian didn't deserve Lu Fei, but as brothers, seeing how much Lu Fei liked Wu Qian, what else could they do but offer their blessings!
But they never expected the woman's family to ask for such an exorbitant dowry, truly treating their daughter as a priceless treasure.
It wasn't them bragging, but if Wu Qian left Lu Fei, who else would spoil her like a princess?
But now wasn't the time to talk about this. Liu Yifeng asked, "Lu Fei, what did Wu Qian say?"
Actually, the dowry issue could be resolved. As long as Wu Qian agreed, insisting on marrying only Lu Fei, her mother might back down. After all, parents couldn't control their children forever.
Lu Fei sighed again. "What else could she say? She listens to her mother about everything!"
"If that's the case, then you shouldn't marry her. There are plenty of good women in the world. You can't force your parents to death just to get a wife?" Liu Yifeng knew it would be difficult for Lu Fei to give up on Wu Qian.
But honestly, he didn't see much love for Lu Fei in Wu Qian.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have made things so difficult for Lu Fei regarding the dowry.
"But the key issue now is that Wu Qian is pregnant. If I don't meet her mother's demands, she'll get an abortion. I can't just stand by and watch my own flesh and blood be gone?"
Hearing that Wu Qian was pregnant, the two of them couldn't help but glance at each other. This child came at such a convenient time, didn't it?
Qiangzi reached out to Liu Yifeng, signaling for him to hand over his phone so he could speak.
Liu Yifeng immediately handed him the phone. "Lu Fei, this woman can use a child to threaten you. Do you think she can be a good mother?
Since she doesn't want the child anymore, then let her have the abortion.
If you compromise with this sky-high dowry for the sake of the child today, believe me, she'll make you die for her in the future!"
"You're exaggerating, aren't you? No matter what, Wu Qian wouldn't make me die?" Lu Fei felt that Qiangzi was being a bit too dramatic.
"I'm just using an analogy. The point is, if you compromise this time, you'll compromise forever. How tiring will your life be?
Even if you want to marry her for the child, where will you get the dowry money? Where will you get the money for the house?" Qiangzi still hoped Lu Fei would be more realistic.
Marriage wasn't child's play. Once two people started a family, it would be a mess of trivial matters.
This was precisely what Lu Fei was troubled about. "I've borrowed from all my relatives, and I've only managed to borrow a hundred thousand yuan. Together with my parents' savings, we can only come up with about two hundred thousand.
For the remaining five hundred thousand, I want to borrow from Yifeng. He was raising crayfish and growing sweet potatoes before, right? He should have made some money."
Upon hearing that he wanted to borrow money, Liu Yifeng took the phone back. "Lu Fei, it's not that I can't lend you the money. I just hope you'll seriously consider your marriage. Although Wu Qian is beautiful, she's definitely not the wife and good mother type. Your future will be very tiring!"
"If she wasn't pregnant, I might have reluctantly parted ways with her. But now that she's carrying my child, I can't do something like that," Lu Fei said.
"She's just holding you captive, that's why she's asking for such a high dowry."
"But what can I do? I can't be irresponsible for the fruit I've grown myself, can I?
Yifeng, I've truly exhausted all my options for borrowing money, otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you. If it's convenient for you, please lend it to me. If not, it's fine. I won't be angry. I'll think of another way then.
But don't worry, I will definitely pay you back. I'll write you an IOU, specifying how much I'll repay each year! If I fail to do so, you can sue me in court." Lu Fei said.
"We've been brothers for so many years. Talking about suing is too serious.
Since you sincerely want to marry Wu Qian, then I wish you happiness in your marriage and a long life together.
Send me your account number later, and I'll transfer the money to your account." Liu Yifeng was willing to lend money to Lu Fei, not because he was rich and didn't care about the fifty thousand.
It was because Lu Fei's character was worth fifty thousand. When he was working and had no money, he had borrowed money from Lu Fei for emergencies, and Lu Fei had lent it to him without hesitation.
Although the amount wasn't much, Lu Fei wasn't earning much back then, yet he helped him to the best of his ability, which touched him deeply.
Their relationship was such that they didn't need to contact each other every day, but they were always there for each other when help was needed.
Now that Lu Fei needed money, he would naturally help him without hesitation within his capabilities. He now only hoped that Wu Qian would live a good life with Lu Fei.
Lu Fei hadn't expected Liu Yifeng to agree to lend him fifty thousand yuan so readily, which moved him greatly. "Good brother!" Everything was understood without words.
"Then send me your card number on QQ, and I'll transfer it to you shortly. Qiangzi and I are waiting to drink your wedding wine!
And when your son is born, we'll give you a big red envelope!" Liu Yifeng said with a smile.
"Who knows if it'll be a boy or a girl? But whether it's a son or a daughter, I'll love them as long as they're mine. You'll definitely drink yourselves silly then!" Lu Fei was overjoyed at the thought of becoming a father soon.
After chatting for a few more minutes, they hung up the phone.
Qiangzi, seeing that Liu Yifeng was going to lend so much money for Lu Fei to get married, felt it wasn't very reliable. "Yifeng, don't you think it's a bit too sudden that Wu Qian agreed to Lu Fei's proposal?"
"What's so sudden about that? It's quite normal to get married when you're pregnant." Liu Yifeng didn't think too much about it.
However, Qiangzi felt something was not quite right. "I don't know why, but I feel like their marriage is happening too suddenly."