Zhu Xiaoyu's mother-in-law, nad Wang Lijuan, was a woman with a beefy face who stord into Zhu Xiaoyu's newly prepared marital ho. Her expression was rich with contempt, disgust, and helplessness.
By her side was a scrawny old man and a girl—this girl was Ye Wei, the one who had waited for him for a full four years.
"Mom!" Ye Wei shook Wang Lijuan's arm, "You know Xiaoyu's situation. To buy this wedding house, we've borrowed all the money we could. This is truly his limit."
"Shut your mouth!" Wang Lijuan pointed at the girl and said, "If it weren't for your current pregnancy, which we can't terminate, do you think I would agree to this marriage? Marrying a cripple? Why don't you just marry a beggar? I've introduced you to so many outstanding n, but you just couldn't be satisfied, insisting on marrying a poor soldier?"
Wang Lijuan pointed at the wall full of honor certificates and dals, "Are these things of any use? A veteran soldier, with that bit of salary plus disability subsidies, only earns a few thousand yuan a month. The son of General Manager Wang I introduced to you last year, his family is in real estate, earning tens of millions of yuan a year. Are you out of your mind?"
"Even though General Manager Wang's son isn't that good-looking, and even if you don't like him, the son of Director Zhang is quite handso and now works in the bureau. He makes around two hundred thousand a year. The key point is his high social status!"
Zhu Xiaoyu's parents were also in the house discussing so details, but in front of their daughter and future in-laws, the woman showed no consideration for Zhu Xiaoyu's dignity.
She wasn't wrong. Although Zhu Xiaoyu had many honors, society is pragmatic. His inco in this eighteenth-tier city was barely enough to avoid starvation.
Although the benefits from his unit were decent, with housing provident fund and social security being quite substantial, compared to local civil servants, his inco was still a bit lacking—rely three or four thousand yuan a month in hand.
She had ntioned before that the price for a table at the Jiangnan Spring Hotel was 1888 yuan, which was already considered quite low in the wedding market. But the other hotel she demanded, for a basic banquet table, cost 3888 yuan.
In Dongji City, which wasn't very large, locals would know the standard of Jiangnan Spring Hotel just by inquiring a little.
But this was already Zhu Xiaoyu's limit.
Wang Lijuan's demands really were high, with a bridal price of at least 188,888 yuan, a full set of 'five gold' jewelry, and a living space of at least 120 square ters required.
How could a family as ordinary as Zhu Xiaoyu's et such demands?
Even though it's just an eighteenth-tier city, the price for a better location in Dongji City also revolves around twenty thousand yuan per square ter. Even in slightly less desirable locations, you can't escape a price of thirteen to fourteen thousand yuan per square ter.
Zhu Xiaoyu had brought out all of his savings and pension to barely cover the down paynt. As for the rest, it was his parents' money saved for their old age.
But even so, it was still a far cry from Wang Lijuan's requirents. If it weren't for Ye Wei being six months pregnant, at a point where termination was no longer an option, she would never have agreed to this marriage.
Zhu Xiaoyu's parents were trembling, clearly trying very hard to suppress their anger.
Indeed, their son was disabled, but he was also their greatest pride. He was injured for the country, for the people—he deserved everyone's respect!
But they dared not retort. After all, with his condition, it wasn't easy to find a good girl in this realistic society. Since Ye Wei didn't mind his disability, even if it ant swallowing a major grievance, they had to endure it!
"Mom," Zhu Xiaoyu said through gritted teeth, "I know I've wronged Weiwei, but our family really has no money left."
"Of course I know you have no money left," Wang Lijuan said sarcastically, "But don't you still have another house? At current prices, that could be sold for seven or eight hundred thousand at least."
Wang Lijuan's expression seed to be considering the children's future, "In-laws, considering your age, isn't everything we do for our children? You could take two or three hundred thousand and build a small villa in the countryside. With the rest, we could have a grand wedding and even buy a car for the kids. Wouldn't that be good?"
"No!" Zhu Xiaoyu imdiately responded, "My parents have worked hard their whole lives; all they have left is this house. It absolutely cannot be sold!"
"Fine," Wang Lijuan sneered, "then don't you even think about taking my daughter away!" She said, "Let's go, we're going ho!"
"Mom!" Ye Wei struggled, but she wasn't as strong as Wang Lijuan and could only cast a helpless look towards Zhu Xiaoyu.
"Son... maybe we should just buy this house..." The empty house now only had Zhu Xiaoyu and his parents left in it.
"Dad, Mom, there's no negotiating this!" Zhu Xiaoyu said, "I'll figure sothing out. I still have a few friends who I've been close to since childhood. Even if I have to beg them, I must borrow the money!"
...
"How do I look in this suit?" Zhang nglong asked, repeatedly checking himself in the mirror while wearing a brand-new suit.
"You look great, so vain!" Lu Yiyao said as she sat in front of the dressing table where an international makeup artist, invited by special arrangent, was finishing her makeup for the day.
"Today, no matter what, my brother must be given proper respect!" Zhang nglong said, "Hong Yi, have you taken care of everything I asked you to?"
"Mr. Zhang, everything is taken care of," Hong Yi replied, "Several leaders from Dongji City are willing to serve as witnesses for Mr. Zhu's wedding."
With Zhang nglong's help, Dongji City now boasted the largest integrated circuit automation base in the country, achieving in just a few months what used to take a year in GDP.
Not only that, but the construction of the high-speed rail leading to the provincial capital was also underway with great enthusiasm.
The local officials' achievents had been unanimously praised by their superiors, and even by next year, several leaders from Dongji City were expected to be promoted.
Most of these achievents could be credited to Zhang nglong.
When they heard that Zhang nglong's best friend was getting married and that Zhang nglong would be there in person, they knew they had to make ti to serve as wedding witnesses, no matter how busy they were.
"What about the gift I prepared?"
"Mr. Seville and his assistants worked overti for a week and have already finished that set of wedding dress and suit. It was delivered this morning; I've arranged for soone to send it over in advance."
"The other gifts you prepared have also been air-freighted over. Their wedding is officially starting at 6 pm, and we won't miss it."
"That's good," Zhang nglong nodded.
"Mr. Zhang, how much cash gift do you plan to give?" Hong Yi asked, "Even if you two are best friends, you can't skip the wedding gift."
"Hmm... let
think," Zhang nglong said, "I'll give 8888."
"Ah?" Hong Yi was startled, "Mr. Zhang, isn't that a bit stingy?"
Who was Zhang nglong? The world's richest man! The ruler of Earth! A large portion of the wealth around the globe belonged to him, either directly or indirectly.
Even his casual bets with people started at a hundred billion US Dollars. So why was he offering only this much for his own brother's wedding? Could this be so special agreent they had from the past?
After all, for a normal friend, the number 8888 is already not small, and when Zhang nglong and Zhu Xiaoyu first got to know each other, he was just a kid from an ordinary family.
"Did I say I was giving 8888 in Huaxia currency?"
"8888 US Dollars?" Hong Yi pondered but still, that wasn't much. According to Zhang nglong's usual habits, even if he didn't give 888.8 billion, giving 88.88 million was basic, right?
"I was talking about Bitcoin!"
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