"Well, two buses might not be enough. Hurry and get another one. The whole village is coming, and many people from Eden's grandmother's side are also attending."
"And tomorrow, we've arranged for twelve people to block the door. Prepare a red envelope with 666 dollars for each. It's a good omen and looks impressive!"
"Oh, and prepare a big red envelope with 10,000 dollars for the master who matched your horoscopes and chose the auspicious date. We owe him thanks. Without his approval, we wouldn't be willing to let our daughter marry you!"
John silently cursed beside me, calling them shameless.
A plan suddenly formed in my mind.
They cared about appearances, right? Tomorrow, I'd make sure their entire family lost face!
Suppressing my anger, I replied as gently as possible.
"Okay, Mom, I understand. Is there anything else?"
"Yes, tomorrow you must have your parents give Eden a 50,000 dollars fee to change her form of address. Our precious daughter will be part of your family, so you must show enough respect!"
"And add Eden's name to the title deed of your house as soon as possible. Make sure it's notarized to give her half. Our daughter can't afford to gamble. Marrying you and bearing children is a matter of life and death!"
I sneered and agreed.
After hanging up, John burst out cursing.
"Are they out of their minds? How dare they increase demands at the last minute? Didn't you already pay a dowry of 200,000 dollars?!"
Yes, my parents had exhausted their life savings to buy a new house, and the dowry and banquet money equaled my annual salary.
I could afford the additional demands from her mother since my small internet company was doing well, having saved over 600,000 dollars in two years.
Half of this money was meant for the wedding, and I planned to let my parents keep the rest for emergencies.
After all, they were getting old and didn't earn much.
Eden's mother agreed to our marriage because she saw me as a potential success.
Moreover, during our two-year relationship, I often brought expensive gifts to her home.
All just because Eden's mother wanted to show off to the widow next door.
The widow's son-in-law often parked his BMW in front of Eden's house, and whenever Eden's mother asked him to move it, the widow would mock her for not being able to afford such a car.
The two often quarreled, forming a deep grudge.