What do you think about marriage?

During the seven-day National Day holiday last year, when I came back from Shanghai, whether I was at the station or on the train, I felt the same as the Spring Festival travel rush. The aisles on the train were crowded with countless people. Seat people. No, our small town is bustling with traffic and flowing, and it looks like a bustling place. Cars were beeping and honking, and every household in the shops along the street was turning on music. Did I mistakenly think it was the Spring Festival?

October 2 is an auspicious day marked on the calendar. In addition, it falls on a holiday, so there are even more weddings. Look at the queues in front of every hotel. You can tell by the vehicles with the word "Happy" on them, and the hotels are booked two months in advance.

I was also invited to attend my cousin’s wedding banquet last night. The wedding was arranged at the most luxurious hotel in our town. When I arrived at six o’clock, the guests at the banquet had almost arrived. The decoration was lively and festive. I looked around and there were about 20 tables. On each table were a carton of Chinese cigarettes, Kouzijia wine, Sprite, orange juice, fruits... etc. I heard from the chat at the same table that this table was not 1,288 yuan with tobacco and alcohol.

In everyone’s anticipation, the host has invited the bride and groom to walk onto the stage. The music sounds at the right time. Photographers are following to take pictures. The golden girl sprinkles flowers in front. We also take out our mobile phones to take pictures. It was a sacred moment for the couple. Then four elders from both sides were invited to come on stage. The couple served tea and bowed, and there were rounds of warm applause from the audience. When the host invited the elders of the groom to come to the stage to speak, I could clearly see the eyes of my uncle and aunt were filled with tears. Full of tears, choked with sobs several times and unable to speak...?

Facing the fact that their son has completed a lifelong event, parents are of course full of excitement, joy and happiness. They can relieve the burden on their hearts and at the same time also It means that they have finally raised their children into adults, fulfilling a kind of responsibility and mission!

On the way back, I heard that my aunt was so anxious that I couldn’t sleep for my cousin’s wedding. I had been asking for money from everywhere six months ago, and *** borrowed more than 200,000 yuan. There are even a small number of loan sharks with two-point interest. Expenses such as engagement gifts and wedding photos cost about 200,000. A wedding banquet with 24 tables of cigarettes and alcohol is only 50,000, and a wedding is 10,000. After all, my cousin does not bring a house when he gets married. It cost nearly 300,000. The 300,000 yuan they originally paid for a down payment on a house in their hometown county last year had already depleted their family's savings, and they still had to pay off the mortgage. For a family in the countryside where the uncle cultivates some fields and occasionally does some small work on the construction site, the son's marriage is a journey out of wealth and back into poverty! Over the past year, the couple has been worried and exhausted a lot about their son, but they still said that as long as their son gets married successfully, it doesn't matter how hard or tired they are, as long as they are happy. , their mood must be mixed. ?

In many places in rural areas, the trend of people comparing with each other is getting more and more intense, and the price of betrothal gifts is also soaring. In order to satisfy the so-called vanity and face, the amount of betrothal gifts required by the woman is rising, and the amount of betrothal gifts required by my sister-in-law is not excessive. Yes, some other families want houses, cars, bonuses of more than 150 yuan, gold, platinum jewelry, and meeting gifts from the woman’s relatives and elders, all of which are Chinese cigarettes, and at least two bottles of wine are more than 150 yuan, and wedding banquets All relatives must be picked up and held in a grand ceremony in the city. If there are relatives who are far away, they must open a hotel of several grades. All the children of the woman's relatives must receive no less than 400 yuan in red envelopes.

All these rising costs far exceed the rate of increase in farmers' income. Some media have reported using data that with the development of the economy, farmers' income has increased 25 times, but the amount of wedding gifts has increased. 100 times.

The villagers even vividly express their feelings with the metaphor of "getting married in one year and paying off debts in ten years". If it is a family with a strong financial background and a family without disasters, then asking relatives to borrow it will be a good idea. They can barely cope with it, but some families have elderly members who have been sick and have spent all their savings. If they want to hold a wedding for their son, they will really have to deal with it. How many young men can only "sigh in anticipation of getting married", and many people complain about the "sky-high price of betrothal gifts". "If an ordinary family has two sons, in order to marry a daughter-in-law, they will owe a lot of debts and be poor for the rest of their lives.

< p>The most distressing thing is that in some places, the high bride price, various wedding expenses, and even the tragedy of an old couple's family being driven to desperation...

A man from Xinshao County, Shaoyang, Hunan He committed suicide after killing his fiancée and his mother. Local police insiders revealed that the man's fiancée was pregnant. The case was caused by a dispute over the wedding gift. It was a human tragedy because of the dispute over the wedding gift. suicide.

The media has also reported a lot about this kind of thing in Dangshan, Anhui. There are more men than women, and the honest parents are frugal. They have worked hard to save their hard-earned money since their son was 16. When his son got engaged, he spent all his money. After losing all their savings, facing the approaching wedding date, the mother-in-law asked for a bride price, and the son who was working outside could not bear the pressure and chose to jump off the building...

Such a tragedy is heartbreaking enough and serves as a warning to many people!

What caused such a mother-in-law and such a sky-high price of betrothal gifts is worthy of our reflection...

Qi Fan Qi Wei Journal