Before September 2023, when Zhonghua cigarettes were still hard currency, a classmate asked me in advance about buying some for his wedding. At that time, the market price was 400-410. I suggested he stock up now at 400, saying prices would definitely go up by Chinese New Year and they'd be hard to find. He said it was fine and told me to handle it when the time came.

A week before his wedding, he asked me for 30 packs, and they had to be local ones. I said why so many? I only had ten packs. I'd have to find the rest from other people at 420 per pack. He agreed. After finding enough, he asked me to deliver them, saying he'd give me a red envelope. It was 100 kilometers round trip, so I said okay.

After delivery, he initially said he wouldn't pay yet. I said this was all money I advanced upfront. Then he said, "Wasn't the price supposed to be 400 like you mentioned in the summer?" I replied that prices were different then and now. He then claimed we agreed on that price, and accused me of taking advantage of his urgent need and inability to buy elsewhere to raise the price. He kept coming up with excuses. Finally I said, "Fine, 400 it is."

After settling the payment, when he got married, I didn't attend—I had another classmate deliver the gift. Days later, he said he had leftover Zhonghua to return. I said the ones from my own home I can take back, but the ones I found from other people's homes can't be returned. After that, I stopped contact with this classmate.