In many parts of the world, splitting the bill is considered perfectly normal when on a date, however, it feels a little strange that an elderly Chinese have been ‘going Dutch’ for over 30 years of their marriage.
Going Dutch is a term that indicates that each person participating in a paid activity covers their own expenses, rather than one person in the group paying for the incurred cost of the entire group.
Spilting the bill goes beyond finances for this couple, but they still split all their house chores, even the food in their refrigerator.
For Mr. and Mrs. Chen in Tianjin, China, dividing everything into equal half from finances to even eggs in their fridge has been the norm for as long as they can remember.
The two were once featured in the news for their unusual “going Dutch” lifestyle before, but the story resurfaced on Chinese media and it has since sparked more reactions.
According to Chinese media, this special couple do not even share a bed, as the husband sleeps elsewhere.
Everything in their house, down to the plastic wash basins, are split between them, so are the chores and the food items.
For example, if a light bulb goes out, Mrs. Chen has to ask someone to change it, because her husband will not do it unless it’s on one of his designated ceiling lamps.
The refrigerator is split down to the number of eggs, in which they each have their own shelves.
Mr Chen said;
We take turns cooking and cannot use each other’s cooking utensils. Sometimes after I cook, she suspects that I stole her eggs.
On her part, Mrs Chen noted that their unique arrangement is a consequence of her husband’s selfish behavior.
According to her, ever since they were young, her husband always kept all the things he bought for himself, never sharing them with her.
She then decided to give him a taste of his own medicine by choosing to go Dutch ever since.
Interestingly, the couple attribute their peaceful marriage to this system, as they do not fight over finances or house chores.
This view was considered very controversial on Chinese social media, with the vast majority of reactions suggesting that a ‘going Dutch’ system is not ideal in a marriage.
