"Coming, coming."
Su Guihua wiped her hands and hurriedly opened the door to greet them.
A man and a woman stood outside the door. The man had a bulbous nose, a face full of acne, a slightly chubby figure, and an average appearance. The woman next to him was slender, wore black-rimmed glasses, had freckles on her cheeks, and looked proud.
It was none other than [ Su Xiao ] and [ Feng Xiaodie ].
Feng Xiaodie said coldly, "Hello, Auntie."
"Oh, Xiaodie, you just said you'd come, why did you bring these things?" Su Guihua was overjoyed and took the milk and fruit from Feng Xiaodie's hands. "Please come in, please come in."
Su Xiao praised from the side, "Mom, Xiaodie originally wanted to buy you two high-end health supplements as a gift, but I told her we have everything at home, so there's no need to spend money. I just bought some milk and fruit."
"It's the thought that counts, not the gift," Su Guihua said with a broad smile. " Xiaodie's journey from so far away is the greatest gift she could give me."
In stark contrast was Su Wei standing next to him, his brows furrowed and his expression strange. During the National Day holiday, when his son Su Xiao visited Feng Xiaodie's parents, he had prepared a gift worth tens of thousands of yuan.
Zhonghua Cigarettes, Wuliangye liquor...
When Feng Xiaodie came to meet her boyfriend's parents, she only brought a box of pure milk and a basket of fruit, which looked to be worth no more than 100 yuan. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was visiting a sick person.
It's obvious they don't value it.
Feng Xiaodie bowed, her eyes conveying a sense of respect behind her black-rimmed glasses. "Hello, Uncle."
"Alright, alright, please sit down." Although Su Wei was displeased, he still maintained appearances and invited her to sit down, asking, " Xiaodie, how are the elders in your family?"
"Everything is fine."
As Feng Xiaodie looked around the room, she asked with a puzzled expression, "Uncle Su, is this the house where you two live?"
"No," Su Wei said with a smile, "This is the wedding room that Xiao's mother prepared for you two. After you get married, you two can live here peacefully."
"A wedding room?" Feng Xiaodie's eyes widened.
Su Wei tensed up, realizing he'd said something wrong, and quickly added, " Xiaodie, you know I'm a nouveau riche, not very educated. Please forgive me if I said anything inappropriate."
The words "nouveau riche" struck a nerve with Feng Xiaodie. She adjusted her glasses, her expression softening slightly. "This house has good natural light; it would be suitable as a wedding home, but it looks a bit small."
Su Wei's lips twitched violently. It turned out that his future daughter-in-law hadn't taken a liking to the size of the house. But this was a standard four-bedroom apartment of 120 square meters. Any bigger and it would be a 160-square-meter luxury four-bedroom apartment.
You simply can't buy it without three million.
"However, Uncle, if I marry Su Xiao, you two probably won't be staying in the bridal chamber, right?" Feng Xiaodie said matter-of-factly.
"We sold our house back home a long time ago. If we don't come to live in your wedding room, where will my wife and I live? Sleep on the streets?" Su Wei didn't say this out loud, but only dared to complain to himself.
Just then Su Guihua came over with fruit, smiling, and said, "Oh, Xiaodie, don't worry about it. Your aunt and uncle have lived in a self-built villa in the countryside for most of their lives, so they're not used to living in an apartment building."
"When you marry Xiaoxiao, even if you beg us to stay in your bridal chamber, we won't come."
The emergence of self-built villas in rural areas.
Feng Xiaodie's eyes lit up instantly. She immediately took Su Guihua's arm and said warmly, "Auntie, Su Xiao and I's home is your home too. You can stay as long as you want. We'll take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die."
"Look at Xiaodie's filial piety, and then look at you, all you do is squander money." Su Guihua pushed Su Xiao's face with her index finger. "You should be secretly happy to have such a virtuous woman as your wife, Xiaodie."
Su Xiao lied without batting an eye, saying, "Mom, it's not like I haven't been filial to you. When I was working, I bought you abalone and shark fin soup quite often to show my respect."
Su Wei, standing next to him, got goosebumps all over. His wife and son's acting skills were so superb that he had to admit defeat. They even lived in a self-built villa in the countryside and ate abalone and shark fin.
Do you really think your family is nouveau riche?
Su Wei lit a soft Yuxi cigarette to calm himself down and asked, " Xiaodie, what do your parents do for a living?"
"My mother is a high school physics teacher, and my father is—" Feng Xiaodie deliberately drew out her words, "... the mayor of Feng Family Town, Kunshan City!"
"The mayor of Feng Family Town?" Su Wei's fingers trembled as he held the cigarette. He was quite familiar with Feng Family Town; he had even worked there with a construction team doing renovations before. For an ordinary citizen like him...
The town mayor is a high-ranking official. Although he is only a section-level cadre at the grassroots level, he is the head of the township government and has a lot of influence.
Su Wei's forehead was sweating, and he couldn't help but feel guilty.
He's currently posing as the owner of a renovation company, but if the town mayor's father becomes suspicious and investigates him secretly, his identity as an ordinary renovation worker will be exposed.
Feng Xiaodie pushed up her glasses and said with a smile, "Uncle, Aunt, besides visiting you two, I'm also here on behalf of my parents to discuss the wedding dowry with you again."
Su Wei felt a tremor in his heart and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Feng Xiaodie did not continue the conversation about his father, the town mayor.
"188,000, right? Uncle has already prepared the bride price."
According to the wedding customs of Kunshan City, once the bride price is given to the bride's family, the marriage is basically a done deal.
Feng Xiaodie shook her head. "It's not 188,000."
"How much is that?" Su Wei was stunned.
Feng Xiaodie said, "288,000."
"288,000?" Su Wei was shocked. They had clearly discussed a bride price of 188,000 during their phone call. Why was Feng Xiaodie suddenly raising the price? Was this his parents' idea, or something else?
You see, the family had already emptied their nephew's savings fund to buy a wedding house for their son, Su Xiao, and now they were broke. Where were they going to borrow that suddenly extra 100,000 yuan for the bride price?
" Xiaodie, Auntie understands. A dowry of 188,000 yuan is too much for you. You are young, beautiful, and have a master's degree. Your father is the mayor of a town, and your mother is a highly respected middle school teacher. Raising you has not been easy for them."
Su Guihua feigned concern, forcing out two crocodile tears, "Auntie will absolutely not skimp on the 288,000 yuan dowry. Your parents can rest assured. Once you marry into our family, Auntie and Uncle will treat you like their own daughter."
"Auntie, you're so good to me."
Feng Xiaodie was just putting on an act; she genuinely hadn't expected Su Xiao's mother to agree so readily. The slight doubt she had about the family's financial situation completely vanished once the 288,000 yuan dowry was settled.
Feng Xiaodie and Su Guihua hugged each other, just like a biological mother and daughter.
"Come here right now."
Su Wei called Su Xiao to the door and lowered his voice, "What exactly happened?"
Su Xiao touched his neck, his eyes darting around, and said, "Well... my mom borrowed 100,000 yuan from relatives back in our hometown."
"Nonsense!" Su Wei cursed. "Our family's reputation has long been ruined by your selfish mother. Which relative would lend us money? Tell me the truth, did you ask Hanghang for money?"
"Hmm." Su Xiao crossed his arms and said nonchalantly, "This morning, my mom found out that Xiaodie wanted a dowry of 288,000 yuan, so she borrowed 100,000 yuan from Su Hang."
"I knew it all along." Su Wei was trembling with anger. He had been tormented by emptying his nephew Hanghang's 2 million yuan upbringing fund, and now he had borrowed Hanghang's gaming team signing fee.
This is downright parasitic behavior.
Their entire family lived off their nephew Su Hang!
He was about to lose his temper.
The doorbell rang.
"Aunt, Uncle, I... I'm back."