Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 21
The double bun turned into a high bun, the eyebrows were slender, and the hair on the cheeks and neck was smoothed... The face in the bronze mirror gradually lost the youthfulness of a girl, exuding the brilliance of a bride. .

Zhu Niang looked at the mirror in a daze and was just at the mercy of Aunt Chunhua.Until the sound of crackling firecrackers came from outside, Hexiang reminded from the side: "The groom has come to pick up the bride, and it's time for the bride to scold the matchmaker."

Zhu Niang then woke up from a dream and sang quickly: "Oh! Matchmaker, you are not good at being a matchmaker. If my daughter doesn't want you to be my daughter, you will give birth to a son to be a thief and give birth to a daughter to be a prostitute. How can you be a prostitute?" The money you buried is used to support a turtle woman. You have passed away as a turtle woman, and you have such a vicious heart that you send a woman to the king of hell."

Folk songs criticizing matchmakers can be found everywhere. That’s because aunts and wives are all despised professions.However, the Dan family's scolding of the matchmaker is not really a scolding. It mainly expresses the bride's unwillingness to leave her parents' home. The harsher the scolding, the more filial it is to show the filial piety of the married daughter.

After hurriedly singing "Criticizing the Matchmaker", Zhu Niang stood up and left from the bronze mirror, and came to the aft cabin window to stand on tiptoe and look out.In the night, Lin Hai's last boat moved from far to near, and somehow it gradually became blurry.

After the last boat arrived at Da Hengqin Island, the groups of relatives and friends of both men and women started singing songs.The groom's side were all strong young men, and the bride's side were all unmarried young girls. They were all Dan people invited by Shibi from Shalitou Village.

Fighting songs are the highlight of the wedding ceremony and cannot be omitted in any case.Lin Hai's wedding team set off at midnight, not because of the long journey, but because the duel had to be fought from midnight to dawn.If it is too easy for the groom to win, it will inevitably appear that the Shi family's marriage is too hasty.

The content of this fighting song is also varied. Some are questions and answers similar to guessing lantern riddles, and some are follow-up sentences similar to drinking orders. In fact, they are often some ready-made words and phrases. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if they couldn't get it right?

Towards the end, the content of the battle songs became the groom's vow to express his loyalty to the bride, which is similar to the questions that the bridesmaids asked the groom when the wedding was called in later generations.

Just listen to the girls of the Dan family singing on the two-masted ship: "Excuse me, your groom, what does it matter if you love your lovely wife? My wife loves you deeply and is determined to be your good wife."

The young men on the last boat replied: "I swear to God and my heart, the groom loves his wife in his heart. He will take care of her in this life and be determined to be a good husband."

The girls sang again: "No matter what you say, you will reap melons if you sow beans. Now I believe he is a good boy, but I am afraid that he will pick up flowers again in the future."

The young men sang back: "Please don't worry, there is nothing to be afraid of. The groom is a good boy and takes care of his family. He has nothing to do with eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, and he has no intention of messing around with others."

The other side continued to sing: "I would like to ask your groom, how capable you are? How will you live with your wife in the future? I hope the scale will be fine."

This side replied: "The groom's skill lies in walking on the sea, and the love between husband and wife should be the same. It is difficult to push the rocks on the beach with a rapid current, and it is difficult to separate the water with a sharp knife."

They sang like this for half a night, and when it was daylight, the other end of the Guangzhou boat finally stopped singing. This meant that the man had won the duel, and then it was time for Lin Hai, the groom, to appear.

For the last time, two small boats covered with pine branches and red silk were put down on the boat. There were two big red lanterns hanging in front of the boat, with the words "Lin Mansion Welcomes the Marriage" written on it.Lin Hai, dressed in red and wearing a No. [-] scholar hat, jumped onto the boat surrounded by the Chen brothers and waved to everyone with dignity.

Eight people also jumped on the small boat behind, each holding eight kinds of musical instruments, including strings, harp, flute, pipe, flute, gong, drum, and cymbal. They were called the Eight-tone Team.The Eight Music Team's boat followed the groom's colorful boat, playing suonas, gongs and cymbals all the way.

Accompanied by loud and festive music, Lin Hai stepped onto the Guangzhou boat where the bride was. There was a red umbrella in front of him. He needed money to open the umbrella before he could move forward. Then there were various items such as uncle money, joint money and so on. After defeating six generals in five levels, he finally came to Zhu Niang.Lin Hai used the tail of a folding fan to pick up a bunch of keys and handed them to Zhu Niang.Zhu Niang also took the key with the tail of the folding fan, her eyes under the red hijab were already a little hazy.This passing process means that after marriage, the bride takes charge of the family affairs. From this moment on, she is already a member of the Lin family.

Lin Hai took Zhu Niang's red wedding dress and returned to the colorful boat where she received the bride.The last part of the wedding reception is bumping the boat. The two groomsmen step on the sides of the boat and rock it from side to side. The newlyweds support each other and stand firm on the boat.

When Zhu Niang arrived on the last boat, according to the rules, she had to worship the gods first, then serve tea to her parents-in-law and get them face wash.Lin Hai did not live in a high hall, and his ancestral tablets were not erected, so these were all reduced.

After doing some symbolic housework, Lin Hai sent Zhu Niang back to Guangzhou.Then the bride will stay at her parents' house, and return to the groom's boat in the evening to hold the wedding banquet, and then worship the heaven and earth before entering the bridal chamber. These are no different from those on land, except that the Dan family's bridal chamber is on the boat.

At this time, everyone had been busy all night and was already hungry. Floating mats were set up on the decks of the two ships, allowing everyone to feast.

Generally, Dan households have to line up rows of boats to hold a banquet, and if there are many guests, they have to set up tents on the water, so many people have to squat down to eat.But today, the newlyweds are so proud. The decks of the two large ships are packed with everything, and with the eight large sampans connected together, there are more than 30 tables, which is more than enough for everyone to sit down and eat.

In the evening, just before the official wedding banquet was about to begin, a galley suddenly came over.

The ship was painted red and black, with a long and narrow hull, no bow and stern, a hard sail with stays at the stern, and twenty wooden oars on each side.The rowers in both rows were all dressed in high-end sportswear, with strong bodies and fierce expressions. At first glance, they all looked bad.

The galley lowered its sails and anchored next to the last ship where the wedding banquet was held. A lean man with a mustache walked out of the cabin and shouted with all his strength: "Shimanzi! Where is Shimanzi?"

Shi Manzi was Shi Bi's nickname when he was under Li Zhongguo, but no one calls him that anymore.Shi Bi was sitting on the main table in the poop building when he heard someone calling this name. His face flashed with green energy, and he left the poop and came to the deck.

When he saw the man with the mustache on the galley, he was surprised and said, "Commander Jiang, why is it you?"

Military Advisor Jiang laughed and said: "What are you talking about? Why can't it be me? Shi Manzi, I haven't seen you for two years and you are now the head of the family. Congratulations! Today, your sister is coming out of the cabinet. After hearing the good news, the head of Li family sent brothers to express his congratulations. .”

It turned out that this military advisor Jiang was Li Zhongguo's son-in-law. He had studied crookedly for several years, and he was also considered Boss Li's dog-headed military advisor.After Commander Jiang waved, two big men came out of the cabin carrying congratulatory gifts.

Boss Li is so well-informed?Shi Bi suppressed the doubts in his heart and put on a smile to welcome him: "Thank you, Master Li. Thank you, Commander Jiang. Commander Jiang, please come and take a seat."

However, Military Advisor Jiang waved his hand: "Brothers, I won't drink the Qixin Wine. Master Li asked me to ask you, Shi Manzi, since you are going to return to the ship of the Master, when do you plan to take all the brothers to drink Qixin Wine?"

(End of this chapter)