Chapter 165: Yanjing Hukou
"So what should I do now?" the woman asked, posing the most classic question on this stream.
Many people called in with problems, hoping Zhang Zhe would give them some advice.
"I forgot to ask you." Zhang Zhe steered the conversation back to the topic of her position in the marriage market. "How old are you this year?"
"I was born in ’97."
"Twenty-eight, huh? Then you definitely need to start worrying." Zhang Zhe nodded, a bit curious. "When you were younger, what was the betrothal gift price? Two million?"
"No, it’s always been 1.5 million."
"So your parents just naively think you can only be happy if you marry a man who can cough up 1.5 million in cash?"
"..." The woman didn’t know how to answer Zhang Zhe’s question, but her silence implied that this was a consensus she had reached with her parents.
The reason was probably something she couldn’t conveniently share.
Zhang Zhe didn’t dwell on it and moved on:
"Are you currently working in Yanjing? And for the future, do you plan to settle down in Yanjing, go back to Wenzhou, or head to Italy?"
"I want to stay in Yanjing."
"But I don’t have a Yanjing household registration. I want to find someone who does, but the ones who have a Yanjing registration and are from a similar family background are basically locals, and locals don’t do the whole betrothal gift thing."
[What is she even rambling about? Just say you’re dreaming, why don’t you?]
[Yanjing locals are unwilling to pay a betrothal gift. Only guys who can’t get a wife have to rely on that. It’s like buying a wife, and people will gossip about a marriage like that for a lifetime.]
[Pick one: the money or the registration.]
[If you want the registration, spend money on a master’s or a PhD, but I get the feeling she isn’t smart enough for that.]
[You can’t get the household registration just by marrying someone, can you? Anyone know the details?]
"Your situation..." Zhang Zhe mused for a moment, then said, "I actually have a solution."
"Brother Zhang!" the woman asked, pleasantly surprised. "What is it?"
"With your current qualifications, you can’t get a Yanjing household registration, right?"
"Right. And it seems marriage doesn’t work anymore either." The woman was clearly concerned about this. "I’m definitely going to build my career in Yanjing, and my parents’ business is here too. But anyone who’s lived in Yanjing knows how inconvenient it is without a household registration."
"I’ve considered getting registration in Jinmen, but I still prefer Yanjing."
"Okay, then it’s settled." Zhang Zhe began to analyze the situation for her. "Sister, look. A Yanjing household registration was already worth 500,000 back in 2013."
"It’s 2025 now. Valuing it at 1.5 million isn’t too much, right?"
"That makes things much simpler. Just find a guy with a Yanjing household registration, one who’s on the same social level as your family, and sign an agreement with him."
"You’re 28 now, right? So the agreement will state that you can’t divorce for 17 years, ensuring you can get your Yanjing household registration when you turn 45. If he breaches the contract, he has to compensate you 1.5 million."
[You can do that?]
[Streamer, you’re an idea machine!]
[The problem is, an agreement like that isn’t legally binding, right?]
[Divorce is an absolute right. This kind of agreement is useless.]
[He can divorce her if he wants, he just has to pay up. You can’t expect to get all the benefits for yourself.]
"Will that really work?" The woman sounded hesitant. "Something about it just feels... weird..."
"Of course it’s weird. It’s a pure transaction."
"But there’s no other way. Your family won’t budge until they see that 1.5 million. I can’t understand it, but I’m genuinely trying to find a solution for you."
Zhang Zhe’s tone was also one of helplessness. While everyone on the matchmaking scene talks about matching social status, you’re usually supposed to find someone you like first, then discuss marriage and negotiate the terms based on both families’ circumstances.
Who just ignores the family background and sets a non-negotiable betrothal gift amount right from the start?
Is it an entry fee or something?
A normal person would adjust the amount based on their partner’s specific situation. If you meet someone exceptional, you might only need a symbolic amount!
"Sister, if you trust me, go out there and date. Attend all sorts of matchmaking events, or have people introduce you to someone."
"In short, when it comes to matchmaking, you need to find someone you actually like first, *then* you talk about marriage."
"The impression you’re giving me right now is that as long as a man has decent prospects, you don’t care if you’re compatible. If he gives you that 1.5 million betrothal gift, you’re willing to marry him. Your own family’s background and all that are just being used as evidence that you’re worth that price."
"That’s really not how it works..."
After speaking, Zhang Zhe let out a long, exhausted sigh. Whoever ended up falling for this woman was in for a real treat.
"Okay, I get it." The woman’s response was a bit noncommittal. It was hard to tell if she had really taken any of it to heart.
But judging by the bullet comments, most of the audience believed:
She probably understood, but she wouldn’t change.
Zhang Zhe believed it too.
This was Xiaohongshu. He trusted the judgment of the "sisters." When it came to identifying one of their own, the "sisters" were the absolute authorities.
...
After hanging up the call, Zhang Zhe went to check his private messages.
In just that short time, dozens more private messages had flooded in, all with different complaints:
"Men can’t be stepfathers, and women can’t be stepmothers, so as a divorced woman, are you, the streamer, telling me to just die?"
"I’ve been watching your stream for a week, and every day you put down the women who call in. As long as it’s a guy, you say he can find someone. Do you get some sick pleasure out of this?"
"So what if she wants a one million betrothal gift? If you can’t afford it, don’t marry her. Is it necessary to attack her for it?"
"Male-pandering streamer. Disgusting!"
"It’s hard to imagine why a man like you can be a Matchmaker. In your eyes, a woman wanting to find a good man is just making a wish?"
"..."
Zhang Zhe was a little bewildered after reading them.
’Is the attack power on Xiaohongshu this low nowadays? Is it because my stream is too obscure that even the online mobbing lacks any real punch?’
’How boring!’
Zhang Zhe pursed his lips and, amidst the flood of vitriolic private messages, finally found a normal one:
"Brother Zhang, I just dumped my girlfriend. Can you help me analyze if I did the right thing?"
"Is [Bald Qiang Liu Neng] here?" Zhang Zhe decided to give this normal-sounding dude a chance. "If you’re here, get on the call."
"Tell everyone your story."
The guy was indeed in the stream. A moment after Zhang Zhe called him out, he appeared on the list of users requesting to join the call.
Once the man was on the call, Zhang Zhe didn’t have him jump right into the breakup story. Instead, he had him introduce himself first:
"First, tell us about your personal stats."
"Emotional counseling isn’t my specialty. We can let the ’sisters’ in the stream help you analyze it in a bit."
"Don’t worry, the ’sisters’ on Xiaohongshu are famous for being biased. If they all say it’s your fault, that means you did the right thing."
"What if they all praise me for doing the right thing?" the man asked curiously.
"That would mean the number of normal people in our stream is growing," Zhang Zhe said with a laugh. "Anyway, I’ve only been streaming for less than half an hour, and I already have dozens of people cursing me out in the background."
"Just get ready for your own special treat."
"After this call, you’re guaranteed to have private messages cursing you out."
"I can understand women scolding me, but the crucial thing is that some men scold me too. Maybe their psychological gender is female."
[HAHAHA, do guys actually flame the streamer?]
[I think you’re pretty normal, Brother Zhang. It’s the people flaming you who are abnormal.]
[Why are you even talking about this, streamer? You think we’re going to pity you?]
[If you ask me, he should just randomly pick a viewer to get on the call and let them comment too.]