Flipping tables, this matter has to be straightened out from the beginning.

From the start, the bride's parents strongly opposed this marriage.

Shen Jian is actually an excellent young man, tall and handsome, with a gentle and delicate personality. He was a college classmate of the bride, which is a point the bride's parents couldn't dispute.

The issue lies in Shen Jian's original family.

Shen Jian comes from a single-parent family.

His parents divorced when he was in middle school.

The reason was that Shen's father was not up to any good; reportedly indulging in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling all together.

Moreover, he was a very irresponsible father.

I experienced this deeply throughout the entire wedding process.

Principally, Shen Jian was given custody to his father, but in reality, it was his mother who raised him, as his father didn't really care for him.

Therefore, when the bride's parents learned about Shen Jian's family background, their first reaction was to oppose the marriage.

They patiently listed many reasons to their daughter, the first being the distance issue: If Shen Jian wanted to return home after graduating from university, this marriage could never happen a thousand times over; they absolutely wouldn't agree to their daughter marrying so far away.

The daughter immediately said that Shen Jian had promised to stay in Hangzhou to develop his career after graduation.

Then came the second issue: This was the most serious problem, Shen Jian's original family was so bad that it would definitely affect his personality, and his father's genes would influence him too. If he inherited his father's character and views, this marriage would be a tragedy.

To dispel her parents' prejudice, Manman arranged for Shen Jian to meet her parents several times so that his sincerity and excellence could alleviate their worries.

After five years of effort, her parents finally agreed to the marriage.

But rather than saying they consented, it was more like they compromised.

In this era, where everything revolved around the whims of the "godlike" younger generation, almost no parents could stand against their children's insistence on love, especially girls, especially girls from well-off, simple-minded families, who have an extraordinary adherence to love.

Once the marriage was tentatively confirmed, another problem arose.

By normal procedures, the next step would be for both parents to meet, hold an engagement ceremony, and discuss the bride price.

But there was no movement from Shen Jian’s side at all.

Even when it came to discussing marriage, Shen Jian's side remained silent.

Manman's parents had to proactively suggest that Shen Jian's parents come to Hangzhou for a meeting to discuss the wedding matters and set a specific date.

Shen Jian delayed for a long time, privately telling Manman, "I'm afraid my dad will fight with your uncle if he comes. Once he drinks, he forgets his kinship..."

Manman's parents were shocked for quite a while after hearing this from their daughter, "Why would they fight? It's a happy occasion for their children's marriage. What kind of father is this? Is this how rough and unrestrained Northeastern people are?"

But if the groom's parents didn't attend the engagement banquet, Manman's parents couldn't explain it to their relatives and friends, or the engagement banquet couldn't be held at all.

Manman's parents only have one daughter. Not only did they cherish her growing up, but their family is also very large, with many members. Even if they didn't hold an engagement banquet, it would be hard to justify not meeting the in-laws when the wedding is near in this ancient land of China!

Since ancient times, marriage has been a significant affair, a big deal!

Which groom’s parents don't come with a lavish bride price to seek marriage?!

How can this be so hasty?

Of course, Manman's parents didn't care about the bride price; their family condition was good as her mother was a high school Chinese teacher, and her father ran a hardware store. They were moderately well-off, not extremely wealthy, with only this one daughter. They had always said the bride price was just a formality to hush relatives and friends. It would be returned to the couple after the wedding, along with a generous dowry for their daughter.

In the end, Manman's mother even secretly told Manman that if Shen Jian's parents were too embarrassed to come due to a lack of bride price, she could front the money herself just to save face in front of relatives and friends.

No choice, saving face is a common weakness among us Chinese, especially when there are many relatives and friends, and the children's marriage becomes a focal point of comparison.

Young people may disdainfully brush it off— "I'm living my life, not living for others to see!"

But for parents born in the 70s, every wedding ritual is a matter of faith.

At that time, this issue almost canceled the wedding.

Shen Jian was adamant about not letting his parents attend.

And Manman's parents couldn't get past this hurdle.

In the end, Manman used Papi Jiang’s marriage view to brainwash her parents: "Papi Jiang has been married for five or six years, and their parents have never met, yet it’s been fine! Why stick to these old customs and outdated practices? I'm not living with his parents, nor am I going to live in the Northeast. So what's the big deal about meeting or not?"

In the end, Manman's parents compromised again.

No choice, again, when it comes to love, no parents can stand firm against their children.

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Romeo and Juliet, from ancient times to the present, from China to abroad, which ones succeeded?

They'd threaten to kill themselves at the slightest disagreement!

Of course, Manman's parents compromised because their daughter would continue living in Hangzhou after the wedding.

However, not meeting the in-laws made Manman's parents feel they couldn't hold their heads high in front of their relatives and friends for a while.

What kind of situation is this! The children were about to get married, yet the parents-in-law had never met!

Fortunately, the matter of buying a house later allowed Manman's parents to save some face.

Shen Jian's parents gave him less than 300,000 yuan to buy a house. We don’t know the exact amount, but it’s said that his mother contributed more while his father only gave a few thousand.

However, this amount of money is not enough to buy a house in Hangzhou.

Manman's parents filled in the gap.

They told others that the house was bought by their son-in-law's family, which, to some extent, saved some face.

Fortunately, their son-in-law is also very presentable, handsome, earns a high salary, and has a high emotional quotient. Every time he comes over, he enthusiastically does house chores, washing dishes and mopping floors, making Manman's parents beam with joy.

Well, let’s just focus on the person. As for the original family, let's just ignore it! Nothing can be perfect, and we can’t have all the good things, right?

This is a direct quote from Manman's mother, used to persuade Manman's father.

Manman's father was the strongest opponent of the marriage.

So, when Manman requested her parents attend the wedding in Siping, her father strongly resisted: "The kids have been together till now, haven't met anyone, haven't had a proper conversation, and I still have to personally send my daughter over?"

If it were me, I wouldn't go either. Isn't this double standards?!

When you wanted your in-laws to come, you quoted Papi Jiang, saying they had been married for years without their parents meeting. Now that it involves your own parents, you don’t bring up Papi Jiang?

Absolutely not going.

Manman's mother pleaded with him for half a year, from setting the wedding date to it rapidly approaching, and Manman’s father reluctantly agreed to go.

After all, they only had this one daughter.

But the entourage was only four people: Manman's parents, Manman's uncle, and the uncle's daughter (a cousin).

Reasonably speaking, Manman’s family is large enough to fill a bus, and they can afford to charter one.

But Manman’s father was afraid of losing face.

To this day, they still didn't know what the groom’s parents, their in-laws, were like. The groom's evasiveness made them anxious, worrying that any misstep might cause relatives and friends to mock them, turning them into a family gossip topic.

As it turned out, Manman’s father’s worries were justified.

Even Manman’s mother regretted bringing her brother along.