Chapter 86: The Bride Price!

A bride price of 200,000 yuan.

A 300,000 yuan Audi.

Just the car and the bride price alone totaled 500,000 yuan.

And a house in the city center? For a 110-square-meter home, the down payment alone would cost another 500,000 yuan!

The Han family was just an ordinary household. Where would they find this much money so easily?

Shen Fei couldn’t help but sigh deeply. In today’s society, having a house and a car had become prerequisites for marriage. Even bride prices had inflated to tens of thousands due to rising costs.

But no matter how distorted these standards were, shouldn’t people at least consider the financial situation of the other party’s family?

Take the Han family, for example.

After Han Jian was laid off, he had been working as a security guard. Zhang Xiulian, on the other hand, cleaned offices for a company.

Their combined income barely amounted to 8,000 yuan per month.

As for Han Lixin, although his monthly salary approached 10,000 yuan, after expenses and the money he spent on Li Li, there wasn’t much left to save.

It was clear how unrealistic a million yuan was for the Han family.

When Zhang Xiulian and Han Jian heard Li Li’s demands, their hands froze mid-action.

Beside them, Han Lixin’s face darkened.

Even though he usually obeyed Li Li’s every word, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

After all, they had initially agreed that all she wanted was a house.

“Li Li, that’s not what you said before,” Han Xinyan frowned slightly.

Hearing this, Li Li immediately became displeased.

“Sister Xinyan, that’s unfair of you to say!”

“What I’m asking for is nothing compared to what my friends are asking for when they get married! Do you think everyone’s like you, marrying a gambler for nothing and even bringing money into it?”

Her words left Han Xinyan feeling embarrassed.

“Li Li, your family only asked for a house at first…” Zhang Xiulian cautiously interjected.

“I did say that, but can you actually afford it? My demands are much more reasonable now!” Li Li said matter-of-factly.

“What, are we supposed to thank you now?” Han Jian said, visibly annoyed.

“That’s right, Uncle! Let me break it down for you. A 100-plus square-meter house in the city center costs at least 2.5 million yuan, right? Now I’m only asking for a 200,000-yuan bride price, a 300,000-yuan Audi, and a house down payment of 1 million. Isn’t that being generous?”

Li Li sneered.

“If you really considered Lixin’s family background, you wouldn’t be making such unreasonable demands! And you two have been together for years now!”

At this point, Shen Fei suddenly spoke up.

“If you truly cared about Lixin’s family situation, you wouldn’t be asking for so much. Besides, haven’t you been together for several years now?”

Zhang Xiulian turned sharply, glaring at Shen Fei.

“What business is this of yours? Who invited you here anyway? All these dishes, and you still have the nerve to open your mouth!”

Shen Fei shrugged helplessly and went back to eating.

Seeing that Shen Fei stopped talking, Li Li turned her ire on him instead.

“You think my demands are unreasonable? Let me ask you, did Sister Xinyan consider your family’s situation when she married you? And what did she get in return? She doesn’t even have her own house; she’s still renting. When you were abusing her, did you think of any of this? I’m practical! My parents didn’t raise me to suffer like that!”

Li Li’s words left Zhang Xiulian and Han Jian even angrier.

To them, this was all Shen Fei’s fault. If Han Xinyan hadn’t married that useless man, their lives would have turned out completely differently!

Realizing her parents’ growing resentment, Han Xinyan quickly interrupted, “Stop talking nonsense! Eat your food!”

“Pfft!”

Li Li snorted coldly to express her disdain for Shen Fei.

Shen Fei just nodded and quietly stayed out of the argument.

Suddenly, his phone started vibrating in his pocket.

When he saw the name “Jiang Rou” on the screen, he hesitated for a moment.

“Ayan, I need to take this call.”

Before Han Xinyan could respond, Zhang Xiulian angrily barked, “Go take it! And don’t bother coming back after!”

Ignoring her, Shen Fei got Han Xinyan’s approval and headed to the balcony to answer the call.

The dinner table fell silent for several seconds.

Finally, Han Lixin broke the silence.

“Li Li, don’t you think your demands are a bit much? I’ve been with you for so many years. Even if we get married, I wouldn’t act like Shen Fei!”

Growing angrier, Han Lixin stared at Li Li and spoke harshly,

“Marriage is about building a better life together! I’ll give you the bride price, but we should work for the house and car together. Emptying out my parents’ savings? What kind of man would that make me?”

Li Li, who was used to Han Lixin always bending to her will, couldn’t handle being challenged.

“If you’re going to talk like this, why are we even getting married? If you’re like this now, won’t it get worse after marriage?” she cried.

“If you want to marry me, you’ll give me what I asked for. If not, plenty of other people want to marry me!”

Zhang Xiulian and Han Jian quickly stepped in.

“No, no! Lixin, apologize to Li Li right now!”

“Li Li, don’t take it to heart! This is all just talk. How about this? We’ll give you the 200,000 yuan bride price, and we’ll pay the house down payment too. As for the car…”

Years ago, the family had been compensated 300,000 yuan when their house was demolished. Over the years, Zhang Xiulian and Han Jian had managed to save another 150,000 yuan. Including the 500,000 yuan Shen Fei had given them, they had 950,000 yuan in total.

But that final 50,000…

“Li Li, we’ll get the car for you too, but can we do it on a loan? Don’t worry, we’ll handle all the costs!” Zhang Xiulian said gently, afraid of upsetting Li Li any further.

“Mom! Dad!”

Even Han Lixin, who had spoken up so harshly before, now had tears in his eyes.

Seeing their compromise, Li Li put on a reasonable expression and said,

“Uncle, Auntie, Lixin, I’m really not being greedy! My parents care about me, and they’re worried I’ll suffer after getting married. Can’t you understand that?”

“Understand my foot!” Han Lixin muttered under his breath.

“Li Li, go get Lixin a bowl of soup. I’ll talk to him,” Zhang Xiulian said, quickly trying to smooth things over.

“Alright!” Li Li agreed happily, now that she had gotten her way.

Meanwhile, on the balcony, Shen Fei, who was on the phone with Jiang Rou, hadn’t noticed that Li Li was in the kitchen nearby.

“Alright, Miss Jiang, let’s not beat around the bush. One property costs 12 million. In total, that’s 840 million!”

“If they’re willing to buy, fine. If not, the deal’s off!”

His words landed directly in Li Li’s ears.