Chapter 244 Mingzi Lights a Cigarette
The young people at the two tables in the west courtyard of the Sheng family were not so civilized. They knew that the bride and groom would come over to toast later, so they discussed how to make things difficult for them.
The bride is supposed to light cigarettes for her relatives and friends, but these young men will dip the cigarettes in vegetable soup or water, making them wet and unable to light, so the bride has to keep lighting them.
Some people secretly replaced the low-alcohol liquor with high-alcohol liquor, waiting for Sheng Xiping to come and offer him a toast, so that they would use the high-alcohol liquor to toast him.
I have to get Sheng Xiping drunk so he can't go to the bridal chamber tonight.
Accompanied by a large group of people, Sheng Xiping and Zhou Qinglan arrived at the West Courtyard. Before they could even enter the courtyard, they were stopped by Chen Weiguo's younger brother, Chen Weimin.
"Brother Xiping, come here, I want to say a few words to you."
Looking at the boy in front of him, who had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and outstanding appearance, but was missing a leg and an arm and hopped on one leg, Sheng Xiping felt sorry for him countless times.
This child is intelligent and capable; if he had good health, he would definitely have a bright future.
It's a real shame, it was all for nothing.
"Weimin, what's wrong?" Sheng Xiping walked to Chen Weimin's side and asked gently.
Chen Weimin then quietly told Sheng Xiping all the terrible ideas he had overheard in the room.
"Brother Xiping, can you help your wife think of a way to stop them from making a mess of things?"
"Weimin, thank you. I understand. Don't worry."
"By the way, why didn't you come inside to eat?" Sheng Xiping patted Chen Weimin on the shoulder and asked him.
“My mom said I should eat with the next group of people, there’s no rush.”
The Chen and Sheng families were old neighbors and had always gotten along very well. When Sheng Xiping got married, Chen Weiguo and his parents were busy with all the preparations and went through a lot of trouble.
Zhang Shuzhen said that it wouldn't matter if a few children ate, and that all the children should come and eat at the feast.
Xu Xiuxiang disliked her children for being naughty and unruly, so she wouldn't let them eat first and made them wait until the second time.
Sheng Xiping nodded, "Okay, then go find Xi'an and Xikang to play with, and don't forget to eat later."
Aside from the forest farm leaders and guests from the bride's family, most of the guests at the first gathering were forest farm employees who came to give gifts.
The second group consists of the helpers, the children, and Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang.
Sheng Xiping whispered a few words to Chen Weimin, then returned and accompanied Zhou Qinglan into the courtyard.
As they walked, Sheng Xiping whispered in his wife's ear, telling her to be a little more assertive and not to be shy.
For the first three days of marriage, there should be no distinction between superiors and inferiors. Does this mean that only the newlyweds are allowed to tease the newlyweds, but the newlyweds are not allowed to tease them?
Zhou Qinglan nodded in agreement, and the two followed Da Zhao into the house.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the bride and groom have come to thank their relatives and friends. Please fill your glasses with wine," Da Zhao said as he entered the room.
"Hey, wait a minute, shouldn't the bride light us a cigarette first?" the group of people in the room said with wicked grins.
"Oh, right, that's right." Da Zhao nodded. There was indeed such a rule, but no one had mentioned it over there.
Immediately, someone took out a cigarette and put it in their mouth, while Sheng Xiping took out a matchbox and handed it to Zhou Qinglan.
Zhou Qinglan took a match out of the matchbox, lit it, and offered it to the other person to light their cigarette.
But the cigarette was wet; how could it possibly light?
"Oh dear, sister-in-law, you're not doing well at all. You can't even light a cigarette."
"From now on, my brother Xiping won't be able to light a cigarette even if his sister-in-law tries to light it for him. What are we going to do?"
Someone glanced at Sheng Xiping and deliberately made a mocking remark.
"Don't rush, take your time," Sheng Xiping said with a smile, gently comforting Zhou Qinglan.
The match in Zhou Qinglan's hand had gone out, and the cigarette still hadn't been lit. She wasn't in a hurry; she just smiled at the people.
"Wait a minute, I'm going to find something."
As she spoke, Zhou Qinglan went out of the house and searched the kitchen. Sure enough, she found some chopped sesame seeds next to the stove.
Zhou Qinglan took Mingzi into the house, lit it with a match, and then held out the Mingzi to the other person to light their cigarette.
The cigarette was wet; even if you used a censer, you couldn't light it unless you dried out the moisture inside.
Zhou Qinglan wasn't in a hurry, and just used Mingzi to roast the tobacco.
It should be noted that Mingzi is made from pine wood buried in the soil. Most of it rots away, leaving behind the part rich in pine resin, which forms a wood similar to amber.
This substance was later known as amber wood or northern agarwood.
What happens when you burn wood rich in pine resin? If the pine resin doesn't burn completely, it will produce a lot of black ash.
The other person had a cigarette in his mouth, and the cigarette was burning right in front of him. Where could the black ash go? Before long, the man's hair and face were covered with a layer of ash.
Those people were dumbfounded; none of them expected Zhou Qinglan to use this trick.
Well, you just had a banquet and nothing happened, but you've turned yourself into a stern-faced judge like Bao Zheng. That won't do.
"Oh dear, sister-in-law, no need to light it anymore, no need to light it anymore." The other person quickly stepped back to avoid the black ash that kept floating upwards.
"No, I need to practice. What if your brother Xiping wants to smoke someday? I can't be so embarrassed if I can't even light a cigarette."
Zhou Qinglan was not about to let it go so easily; she was determined to light the other person's cigarette.
"Oh, it's alright, it's alright. Brother Xiping has hands and feet, can't he light a cigarette by himself? No need, no need," the other person said awkwardly.
Zhou Qinglan regretfully took back Mingzi, and snorted inwardly.
Luckily, the boy reacted quickly; any later and her hand would have trembled, and she wouldn't have just been covered in soot.
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