Chapter 242 The ceremony is completed
Different places have different wedding customs. The custom of eating "descendant buns" during weddings is said to have originated from the Manchus during the Qing Dynasty. However, no one has verified the specifics.
In the past, when life was tough, we couldn't even afford to hold a banquet, let alone all these elaborate things. We kept our celebrations very simple.
Life is better now, and the Sheng family is well-off. Last night, while we were making dumplings, someone mentioned something...
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuzhen agreed. After all, marriage is just about having a good time and wishing for good fortune. That's how this bowl of half-cooked dumplings came about today.
When everyone laughed like that, Zhou Qinglan understood what was going on, and her face immediately turned bright red, too embarrassed to know what to do.
The half-eaten dumpling in my mouth—I can't eat it, and I can't spit it out.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Shuzhen quickly took out a handkerchief and told Zhou Qinglan to spit out the half-cooked dumpling. Then she took the bowl of undercooked dumplings away as well.
It is said that the longer the newlyweds sit in the "blessing" position, the better. Since it is not yet time for the ceremony, most of the people helping out and watching the fun are in the new house looking at the new bride and giving them ideas to tease the newlyweds.
These young people at the forest farm have quite a few tricks up their sleeves. Someone brought over a crumpled apple and tied it with a rope.
The bride and groom were forbidden to use their hands; they were to bite the apple with their mouths.
The two bit each other, and the person holding the rope pulled it up, causing the bride and groom to kiss.
Everyone in the room burst into laughter, and some even whistled and screamed—good heavens, they almost blew the roof off!
Zhou Qinglan's face was almost as red as a red cloth, and Sheng Xiping's face also turned red from the teasing.
"Alright, you guys aren't married yet. Be careful Xiping holds a grudge and comes up with all sorts of ways to mess with you when you get married."
When Wang Jianshe saw this, he felt that things had gone a bit too far, so he quickly stepped forward and stopped the few who were still coming up with bad ideas.
“Yes, yes, there’s still a lot of work to be done outside. Master Li is calling for help. Let’s go help out.” Chen Weiguo stepped forward to smooth things over.
Those few troublesome young men thought about it and worried that Sheng Xiping and his group would cause a ruckus when they got married.
So those few boys who were jumping around the most lively all wilted and quickly went out to work.
The troublemakers had all left, and Zhou Qinglan breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that these people would cause too much trouble and have a bad influence.
After all, she is a teacher now, even though the students are not present at the moment and are all in class.
But what if someone goes home and tells the students? That would be terrible. How could she expect the children to listen to her after that?
All the mischievous young men went out, and Zhou Minghua, Wang Zhongjing, Tang Bin, and others from the Zhou family who came to escort the bride were invited to the east room to chat.
At the new house, only Zhou Qinglan's aunt, maternal aunt, Li Xue, Wang Lin, and others were there with her.
Liu Yujiang and Liu Yuhe's wives also came today, and they're here to keep their families company in the new house.
The two little children from the Liu family took off their shoes and crawled back and forth on the kang (a heated brick bed).
In the past, this was considered a "bed-pressing boy rolling around on the kang," and he would have been given a red envelope.
Nowadays, people aren't allowed to be so particular, and there are no red envelopes to receive, but Sheng Xiping still grabbed a lot of candy and stuffed it into his two nephews' pockets.
What do three- or four-year-olds know? They're happy when there's something delicious to eat, and they grin from ear to ear.
After a while, someone outside said that the ceremony was about to start and asked the bride and groom to come out.
Sheng Xiping then helped Zhou Qinglan down to the ground, and the two came out of the house and stood in the courtyard.
The Sheng family's courtyard wasn't too small, but at this moment, apart from the area where the head chef was cooking, the entire courtyard was filled with people.
On the outer wall of the east room hangs a portrait, with a large red "double happiness" character below it.
Under Da Zhanglu's guidance, Sheng Xiping and his companion stood in front of the portrait.
On the east and west sides, there were rows of chairs, where the bride and groom's relatives and friends were sitting.
Da Zhangluo works in the forestry station's propaganda department. His surname is Zhao, and everyone calls him Da Zhao.
This man has quite a bit of artistic talent; in previous years, he was always the host for any performances or similar events organized by the forest farm.
"Dear friends and family, today is the joyous occasion of the wedding of Comrade Sheng Xiping and Comrade Zhou Qinglan."
First of all, on behalf of the Sheng and Zhou families, I would like to express my gratitude to all the relatives and friends who came to witness the ceremony and offer their help. Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the wedding of the two of you.
Da Zhao has a nice voice, quite magnetic. As soon as he opened his mouth, the courtyard immediately fell silent.
The wedding proceeded smoothly under the guidance of Da Zhao.
Wang Jiachuan, as the officiant, and Zheng Xianyong, as the witness, both spoke at the front of the room, offering their blessings to the newlyweds and making requests, hoping that the couple would support each other and make progress together.
Afterwards, Sheng Xiping and Zhou Qing, the newlyweds, bowed three times to the portrait on the wall and thanked their relatives and friends present. The wedding ceremony then came to an end.
"Thank you to all our relatives and friends for your support. I hereby announce that Comrade Sheng Xiping and Comrade Zhou Qinglan are officially married as revolutionary partners."
From now on, the two will support each other, learn together, and make progress together. This was Da Zhao's concluding remark.
"Now, please give the warmest applause to the newlyweds, wishing them a happy marriage, a long and happy life together, a harmonious relationship, and many children."
A wave of applause erupted in the courtyard in an instant, with everyone smiling and clapping enthusiastically.
"Alright, to express our gratitude for the kindness and blessings from all our relatives and friends, the Sheng family has prepared fine wine and food to entertain you all. Please take your seats and wait a moment; the banquet will begin shortly."
All that preamble has been pointless; what everyone really cares about is when the feast will begin.
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