31: Chapter Thirty-One: A Bizarre!

"Heh, that time, a knife really did slash my backside—it truly opened my eyes!"

Zhao the Second couldn't help but laugh as he said this, a kind of self-deprecating laugh filled with helplessness and absurdity.

"Damn it, that was truly a wedding I'll never forget in my entire life."

Breaking a wooden stick with a casual flick of his hand, Zhao the Second tossed it slowly into the campfire. As sparks danced lightly, he continued:

"At the time, I was hired to be the MC for an all-day wedding, which would normally go for 1,200 yuan at the market rate. This couple came to me and started haggling desperately from the very beginning. They wore me down for a good half a day, wheedling and picking at everything, until they forced the price down from 1,200 to 800 yuan.

Back then, I hadn't had any work for nearly twenty days and had no income; my living expenses were almost gone. Thinking that earning a little was better than nothing, I gritted my teeth and agreed, feeling completely stifled."

"After taking the job, I didn't dare to be careless at all. I spent several days ahead of time going over the schedule with the couple, revising the script, and running around. I handled every detail perfectly, just waiting for the wedding day to finish hosting smoothly and earn that 800 yuan of hard-earned money.

When the wedding day finally arrived, I got up early, tidied myself up, and gave it my all throughout the whole process. Just as the proceedings were about to begin and I was ready to go on stage, the bride's mother reached out and blocked me, looking completely righteous."

"She opened her mouth and demanded that I give the couple a 1,000 yuan red envelope. She claimed that weddings are all about joy and good fortune, and according to their local customs, the MC must give a gift to the couple to share in the good fortune, and it couldn't be less than 1,000! I was completely stunned and stood there, not knowing how to respond for a moment."

"What the hell? There's such an absurd thing?" Guo Kui couldn't help but curse, his fists clenching until they creaked.

Zheng Jing also shook his head and said, "That is truly ridiculous. You did the work, put in the effort, didn't earn a single cent, and even had to pay out of your own pocket? I've never heard of such an absurd logic in this world."

Zhao the Second gave a bitter smile and took a sip of liquor from his aluminum lunchbox: "Who's to say it isn't? My first reaction was that she was just trying to liven up the atmosphere or making a joke... But I never expected that she was actually serious!"

"I patiently explained to her that there's no such thing as an MC giving a gift to the host family; I was there to work and earn money, not to eat at the banquet. But the couple and a whole bunch of their relatives all chimed in, insisting that this was the rule. They didn't think there was anything wrong with what the bride's mother said; instead, they turned it around and criticized me for being ignorant, stingy, and heartless, saying that as an MC, I wouldn't even give them this much face. Damn it all, I was the one providing the labor, yet in the end, I became the one who was unreasonable?"

"That day, I didn't get to host, didn't earn a single cent, and was scolded in public. I was filled with an unspeakable sense of humiliation, and looking back, I just find it absurdly funny."

"It was this one incident that extinguished all my thoughts and hopes for the outside world. From then on, I couldn't be bothered to deal with outsiders, and I didn't want to cope with these petty, unreasonable, and troublesome matters. I gradually stopped wanting to talk, didn't like socializing, and became reticent. I simply threw away everything from the outside and followed my brother into the mountains for Gold Panning. Although Gold Panning in the mountains is quite hard, at least I don't have to look at anyone's expression or suffer that kind of humiliation."

After hearing Zhao the Second's story, everyone fell silent.

It was clear how deep a shadow that absurd wedding had left in his heart for it to make the usually quiet and reserved Zhao the Second pour his heart out like this today, remembering it so vividly and holding it in for so long.

Guo Jianjun sighed and patted Zhao the Second on the shoulder: "Second, it's all in the past. Such unreasonable people are the minority, after all; don't take it to heart."

Listening to the past that his brother had never told him about, Boss Zhao's eyes darkened slightly, and his voice deepened: "It's all in the past. Just focus on making money."

Guo Kui also chimed in with a rare, serious tone: "From now on, we brothers will stick together for Gold Panning, and we won't have to take that kind of crap ever again."

Zhao the Second waved his hand gently, a relieved smile tugging at his face as he raised his lunchbox to clink it against theirs in the air: "It's fine, it's fine. That's ancient history. Looking back on it now, it's just a joke. I've moved on long ago; this little bit of nonsense can't affect my mood at all..."

The night grew deeper, the campfire gradually faded, and the men grew tired of talking.

The bottle of Erguotou was completely finished, and the bowls and chopsticks on the ground were tidied up.

Having spent years traveling in the mountains, everyone was extra careful and cautious.

Guo Jianjun and Boss Zhao stood up, used a wooden stick to scatter the open flames completely, sprinkled the prepared dry soil over them, and pressed it down firmly to extinguish the campfire completely, eliminating any risk of a forest fire. Only after finishing all this did they return to the vehicle to prepare for rest.

Zheng Jing originally thought that after a tiring day, he would surely fall asleep as soon as he lay down.

But he was wrong, terribly wrong...