Chapter 66: National Server Whale
After ending the call, Zhang Zhe immediately sent the other person his WeChat information via private message.
He thought this girl, Xia Yi, was actually pretty great.
’The system really knows its stuff.’
At first, she spoke quickly and directly, which didn’t sound all that charming. But as they talked, he realized he might have just gotten off on the wrong foot with her.
She was actually a girl who could be fierce one moment and sweet the next.
She was emotionally stable, from a good family, smart and socially adept, and most importantly, she could cook. Even if the system hadn’t recommended her, Zhang Zhe would have wanted to get to know her.
And now, the system was strongly recommending her.
He had to add her on WeChat and try to arrange an in-person meeting soon.
[Host, I like this girl. Can you introduce her to me?]
[Seems like another well-behaved girl raised by a rich family.]
[Why are there so many guys in the live stream? Isn’t this Xiaohongshu? Men shouldn’t be here.]
[Who said I’m a man? Can’t a girl like other girls?]
"Why are my dear ladies fighting amongst themselves?"
Zhang Zhe looked at the bullet comments and chuckled. ’Arguing is so entertaining.’
"Let me make this clear: the Matchmaking Live Stream Room doesn’t offer same-sex services for now. So don’t bring up any improper requests. If you do, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see them."
"Alright, on to the last call for today."
"Hello~"
"Hello, Brother Zhang." The speaker was a man with a deep, resonant voice that carried a sense of world-weariness. "I’ve been following you all the way from another platform."
"I was in the queue over there this afternoon but didn’t get in."
"Oh, you’ve had a long day." Zhang Zhe could tell this guy was in a hurry. "Are you about to make a major life decision?"
"Yeah, yeah. You’re amazing, Brother Zhang. You could tell just from that."
"I just finished a matchmaking date, and now I’m considering whether or not to get married."
"HISS—" Zhang Zhe hadn’t expected such a momentous decision. ’This guy really trusts me.’ A
nd he called him Brother Zhang, so he had to give him a proper talk.
"Alright, I’ll help you analyze the situation."
"The ladies in the live stream can help you too."
Zhang Zhe had already discovered that his audience was made up of all sorts of people; there were even quite a few gold diggers.
So the analytical skills seen in the bullet comments weren’t half bad.
You just had to be careful not to get disgusted by the ones who were always spoiling for a fight.
"First, tell me about your situation."
"Okay, thank you, Brother Zhang. I started working right after graduating from vocational high school. I came back to my hometown the year before last, and I currently run a business making aluminum alloy doors and windows in our local county town."
"My annual income is about 150,000 a year."
"What are your personal stats?" Zhang Zhe gestured to the form. "What year were you born?"
"I was born in ’88, just turned 36. I’m 5’9", weigh about 176 pounds. I’m not handsome, but I’m not ugly either."
"Thirty-seven, and this is your first marriage?"
"Yes, first marriage." The man explained, "My family is from the countryside here in Ganbei. I used to be a migrant worker in Shencheng City, mostly around Longhua. There are a lot of factories there. You probably know it, Brother Zhang?"
"Of course." Zhang Zhe nodded. The infamous Foxconn was in Longhua. If you headed east from Shencheng North Station, you’d see large and small factories everywhere.
In fact, with that introduction, a clear picture of the man began to form.
The custom for people from his province was a high bride price and zero dowry. For someone from a rural family whose parents had no savings, it was impossible to get a wife locally.
Leaving for a faraway place to accumulate wealth through manual labor was pretty much the only solution.
"How much money did you save after all those years that you’re brave enough to come home and get married?" Zhang Zhe asked curiously.
[Bro, at your age, why are you even getting married?]
[It’s because he’s old. If he doesn’t get married, he won’t be able to hold his head up in the village.]
[Almost 40 and just now thinking about marriage.]
[You might as well just stay in Shencheng City for the rest of your life.]
"Not much, not much. I bought a 1300-square-foot apartment in the county town, and I just finished renovating it last year."
"What are housing prices like over there?"
"8,500 a square meter."
"How much? Are you sure that’s a county town?" Zhang Zhe scratched his head. ’This guy is a beast, buying such an expensive place in a county town.’
The man on the call thought Zhang Zhe was accusing him of bragging and laid his real situation bare:
"It’s true. I bought it in N Chang County. There are no new apartments here for less than 8,000 a square meter. If housing were cheaper, I would’ve been married long ago."
Zhang Zhe could tell the man was getting agitated and quickly reassured him. "I’m not doubting you, I just think that’s incredibly expensive. That apartment must have set you back a million, right?"
"More than that. The renovations cost another 350,000."
"Wait, your fiancée... she’s not asking you to add her name to the deed, is she?" Zhang Zhe asked, suddenly worried.
"Of course she is."
"Why? Is she bringing a 700,000 dowry?"
If the dowry were at least half the value of the property, adding her name would be a reasonable request.
Of course, that was the stuff of fairy tales.
The man gave a bitter laugh. "There’s no dowry. The custom here is that the dowry is, at most, a few quilts."
"Holy shit!"
Zhang Zhe gave a thumbs-up, straightened his back, and sat up ramrod straight.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be showing proper respect for the folks from Gan Province.
He had long heard that in some parts of Gan Province, no matter how high the bride price, the dowry was always just quilts. The quilts were especially thick—so thick that if you cried into them at night, no one could hear you.
Zhang Zhe had originally planned to ask about the woman’s basic situation.
But he changed his mind:
"First, tell me, what’s the bride price you’ve negotiated? You said you’re getting married, so you must have already agreed on it, right?"
"Yes, it’s been settled."
The man on the other end read from a list of conditions he had written down:
"First, a bride price of 288,000."
"A Xiaomi SU7, paid in full and registered in her name."
"Add her name to the house deed."
"I pay for the entire wedding banquet for both sides, which will be about 200,000."
"And that’s it."
[Do you really have to go through with this marriage?]
[Holy crap, that’s roughly 1.5 million in expenses!]
[To be fair, that bride price is considered normal where I’m from, but the woman’s side provides a dowry of at least half that amount.]
[If he were a little younger, even I would marry him.]
[What is everyone in the comments so surprised about? These terms aren’t even that good in N Chang, just average for a family.]
"Brother, the house, the car, the bride price... you earned all of that from working in Shencheng City?" Zhang Zhe was stunned. The man’s perseverance was incredible.
"Yes. I didn’t earn much; my own abilities are just limited."
"No, no, no, what you’ve done is already amazing," Zhang Zhe said sincerely.
Anyone who had worked in those factories knew. Not only was the work incredibly intense, but it was also a torment for both mind and body. That’s why many people, after earning some money, would engage in revenge spending.
Most young people couldn’t save any money when they first started.
To be able to save over a million, return to his hometown to buy property, find a legitimate business, and have a stable income—he had already successfully escaped his small village life.
But unfortunately, his mindset was still stuck in the past.
At least when it came to marriage, he was still a traditional "pay-to-win player."
His method of using a high bride price to secure a marriage was a strategy that was several updates behind the current meta, a gameplay style proven by countless cases to be extremely high-risk.
"All that money and all those assets, just to get married."
"Brother, what kind of person are you about to marry, exactly? Are you willing to share?"
"Yeah. She’s a math teacher in our county town, born in ’91, never been married, and has two younger sisters," the man told Zhang Zhe. "My parents are very satisfied with her and are urging me to get married quickly."
"At my age, still unmarried... my parents can’t hold their heads up in the village. But I myself... I’m not sure if I should go through with it..."