As the year ends and the Lunar New Year approaches, the question of “When will you get married?” remains a haunting inquiry for many, especially for those who have passed the age of marriage. This is also true for Nguyen Q, the protagonist in our story. At 29 years old and having found his significant other, he thought he had finally escaped his long singlehood and was ready to settle down. However, after a shocking dowry demand from the bride’s family, it seems that Q might be heading back to a life of eternal bachelorhood.
Specifically, the Vietnamese social media was recently abuzz with the information shared by Q. He met a girl online, and they hit it off very well, even sharing the same hometown and being compatible in age. Although the girl lives with her parents in China and rarely has the chance to return to Vietnam, they both decided to get married. Excited to escape his single life, Q was nonetheless taken aback when he saw the list of dowry gifts from the bride’s family, even after his fiancée had prepared him for it.
The requirements were quite simple: a dowry of 3 billion VND, an apartment, a 4K gold wedding ring—not just any jewelry—plus a car valued at no less than 500 million VND, along with fruits and ceremonial offerings like other families. It sounds simple enough, but preparing the total costs for this wedding would likely leave Q’s family in a tough spot. Of course, this is just the usual practice in China as shared by the girl, and how much her family actually demands is still to be seen. Although she reassured him that the money would belong to both of them in the future, she didn’t forget to remind him, “You better take care of this,” adding a bit of pressure.
Immediately, the post attracted significant attention from netizens, sparking a myriad of mixed comments. Most felt that the amount demanded by the bride’s family was outrageous, equating it to “selling off a daughter” rather than asking for a dowry. Some comments, taking a more rational approach, argued that if Q had such wealth, he would likely be living comfortably and have a line of attractive girls vying for his attention, rather than pursuing a girl he met online, especially one living far away in China.
However, the most common speculation among many was that this was merely a fictional story from a bored young man. With such a dowry demand, a regular guy with a long history of being single wouldn’t stand a chance. The online community shared a common sentiment: “If it’s too hard, just let it go.”