There isn’t much difference between the countryside and the city when it cos to picking up the bride.
The first hurdle is the gate being blocked by family and friends asking for Red Envelopes. If the Red Envelopes aren’t sufficient, the gate basically won’t open.
And Du Heng and his group were now stopped at this first hurdle.
"Senior Brother, let’s climb the wall," Wu Buwei, who was behind Du Heng, suggested a terrible idea.
As soon as Wu Buwei finished speaking, Du Heng actually turned his head to look at the nearby courtyard wall.
He considered himself a good-tempered person, but today, these demands for Red Envelopes were genuinely making him angry.
Six thousand six hundred yuan, sixty-six Red Envelopes. The amount in each Red Envelope varied; so contained one yuan, others four or five hundred. They were slid under the door crack, and how much each person got was all down to luck.
But no matter what, how many people could even crowd around a two-ter-wide door? Weren’t sixty-six Red Envelopes, totaling over six thousand yuan, enough?
Which family prepares so many Red Envelopes when picking up the bride? Wasn’t that generous enough?
However, the voices of dissatisfied won and children could be heard from inside.
This instantly reminded Du Heng of a term: "shaking down the wealthy."
The old earthen wall beside them was just a little over two ters high, not too tall; a few strong young n could easily hoist themselves over it.
But listening to the cackles and continued demands for Red Envelopes from behind the courtyard wall made Du Heng’s temples throb.
He knew all too well how shaless those people behind the door could be. If these young n dared to jump down, they’d undoubtedly be torn to shreds by them. Those won wouldn’t care one bit that it was a joyous wedding day; after all, it wasn’t *their* daughter getting married. All they wanted were Red Envelopes.
So might say, "Oh, the ones blocking the door are our own people, our various aunts and relatives; they wouldn’t act like that."
But what was infuriating was that these very people were often the most shaless.
What now? Du Heng couldn’t make the call on sothing like this. He could only turn to Zhuo Yue, hoping the groom could co up with a plan.
But the groom, Zhuo Yue, just looked back at Du Heng in a panic and stamred, "Heng, quick, give them more Red Envelopes!"
Du Heng gave the clueless fellow a helpless look. Hadn’t he noticed that they were already out of Red Envelopes?
"All the Red Envelopes have been stuffed in already," Du Heng said softly. "We’d originally planned to save a few for the bridesmaids after we got in, but now those have been stuffed in too."
"Then... then... then what do we do?"
"That’s what I’m asking you. What do *you* think we should do?" Du Heng said, gesturing to the nearby wall. "Want to climb over? A few of our young n could get in, push those people aside, and open the door from the inside."
"No, no..." Zhuo Yue quickly shook his head.
"Then what do you think we should do?"
Hearing Du Heng question him like this, Zhuo Yue fell silent, rely lowering his head to stare at the bouquet in his hands.
This display was agonizing for Du Heng to watch; the frustration was almost indescribable.
Accompanying the young n to pick up the bride were two elders, commonly known as the "old male relative for picking up the bride" and the "old female relative for picking up the bride."
However, when Du Heng looked over at them, both subconsciously averted their gaze.
Both were distant relatives, connected by so tenuous tie. They had been chosen for this role because their zodiac signs were compatible with the bride and groom. Their duty was to enter the house, go through the formalities and observe the customs with the bride’s father, and that was it. They wouldn’t get involved in anything else.
If any awkward situations arose, they didn’t want to be held responsible.
So, when Du Heng saw them avoiding his gaze, he gave up on asking for their opinions.
He then turned to the young n he’d brought. "Did you all bring any Red Envelopes? Co on, let’s pool whatever cash you have."
The young n didn’t hesitate, each one starting to empty their pockets.
When it was all pooled, Du Heng had the most, over six hundred yuan. The others only had one or two hundred yuan each. After all, these days, few people carried much cash on them.
Even so, Du Heng managed to scrounge up nearly two thousand yuan.
Du Heng put all this money into Red Envelopes and held them out to Zhuo Yue. "Zhuo Yue, this is all we have now. If they still don’t open the door after we send these in, then you listen to your brother. We turn around and go back."
When Du Heng said this, he deliberately raised his voice, not only so Zhuo Yue could hear clearly but also so the people inside the door could hear.
But this young man, Zhuo Yue, really had so issues with his personality, which in turn affected his judgnt and behavior.
The mont Du Heng finished speaking, the young man looked anxious, completely missing the signal Du Heng was giving him with his eyes, and was about to argue.
Fortunately, Du Heng was quick-witted and swift; he clapped a hand over Zhuo Yue’s mouth and whispered, "Listen to . I guarantee I’ll get your bride ho for you."
After calming Zhuo Yue, Du Heng continued in a loud voice, "Listen to your brother. Later, your brother will introduce you to so young, pretty nurses from the Hospital. Your brother is the Dean of the Hospital. I know those girls well—good character, good family background, pretty too. I’ll definitely find one that satisfies you and your family.
"Alright, it’s settled then... What money? If this works out today, then this is a Red Envelope. If it doesn’t work out, then we won’t be relatives anymore. And however much we sent in, they’ll have to return that much!"
Du Heng signaled Zhuo Yue again not to be anxious. Then, he slid a few more Red Envelopes through the door crack. However, he only pushed in three—totaling 600 yuan—keeping the rest in his hand.
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