When he thought about this, he could feel the changes that Qingman had brought to him and his family. His love and respect for Qingman deepened. He walked up with a smile and greeted everyone.
When he arrived, everyone in the hall gathered around him, including Qingman and Xiaojia, Ji Fei and Li Jianmin, Xiaojia's mother, Mrs. Ji, and her husband, Wang Jie. There was also an old man in his sixties. He was dressed casually, but no one knew what he did.
The entire Plum Blossom Hall was centered around Li Rui.
Ji Fei shook Li Rui's hand first and introduced the old man to him. "This is Old Zhang, a retired officer from our bureau. He lives in the same neighborhood as us and is often in charge of wedding ceremonies. He is the emcee, prime minister, and witness. Today, I specially invited him to host the ceremony."
Li Rui hurriedly shook hands with Old Zhang and thanked him. He thought to himself, 'Today's ceremony is quite formal.'
Ji Fei said, "Let's have the ceremony first, then eat."
While Li Rui was listening, he saw a square table by the north wall of the hall. In the middle of the table, there was a statue of Guan Yu. In front of the statue, there were three plates of offerings: pork, fish, and eggs. They represented the three types of offerings. There were two of each type, which meant that two people were swearing to be sworn brothers. In addition, on the table in front of the square table, there was an open bottle of red wine and an empty bowl. Next to it was a thin book covered in gold. No one knew what it was for. On top of the book, there was a carbon pen and a box of ink pad.
Old Zhang called him and Ji Xiaojia together and explained the ceremony. "We are already in a new era, so we won't follow the old customs of our previous life. For example, in our previous life, swearing to be sworn brothers was like cutting off a chicken's head and burning yellow paper. You had to kill a live chicken to drink its blood. But we are holding a ceremony in a five-star hotel. You can't even bring a live chicken in, let alone kill a chicken. Haha, so we will use red wine to replace the chicken's blood. Also, in our previous life, we had to prick our fingers and drip blood into the wine. But you two are delicate, so you can't bear to do that. Also, it's not hygienic, so we won't prick your fingers. We will use red wine to replace the blood. You two don't have any objections, right? "
How could Li Rui and Ji Xiaojia have any objections? They just wanted to finish the ceremony as soon as possible. Hearing this, they both said that they had no objections.
Old Zhang continued, "How are we going to be sworn brothers later? Like this: See that Golden Orchid Book on the table? You two, each of you will tear a page and write your name on the Golden Orchid Book according to your age. You have to write on each page, which is equivalent to writing two copies. After you finish writing, you have to put your thumbprint on each page. The preparation work is considered complete. Then, the ceremony can begin. See the statue of Guan Yu on the table over there? After a while, each of you will hold an incense stick in your hand and take your Golden Orchid Book to burn incense for Master Guan. After you burn the incense, I will pour a bowl of red wine and bring it to Master Guan's statue. First, sprinkle three drops on the ground to worship the gods. Then, each of you will drink a sip according to your age. The rest will be placed in front of Master Guan's statue. I will say a few words to you. You will bow to Master Guan Yu a few times, then bow to each other. Is there anything else you don't understand? "
Li Rui nodded and said, "I understand. Then I will have to trouble you later, Uncle Zhang."
Old Zhang smiled and waved his hand, "Don't mention it. Since you are here today, you are not an outsider."
Ji Xiaojia blinked her delicate eyes and looked at Li Rui, saying, "Brother, we're sworn brothers after all. Why don't we swear a blood oath? That way, we'll appear more sincere. Isn't it just pricking your finger with a needle? It's not a big deal. Just treat it as going to the hospital for a blood test. "
Li Rui widened his eyes and looked at her in disbelief. He thought to himself, "You brat, you really know how to find trouble. Uncle Zhang already said that there is no need to be so pedantic and feudal. Why do you still want to do it? You dare to prick your finger with a needle, don't you feel pain? " He didn't want to, but he couldn't object verbally. If he really did, it would seem that he wasn't sincere. He could only force himself to change the shock on his face into a smile. He squeezed out two words from between his teeth, "Okay … Ah!" But his heart was already hurting so much that it was dripping blood.
When Old Zhang heard this, he was also a bit surprised. He smiled and said, "Xiaojia is quite brave. Then let's prick it. I brought the needle over anyway. Later on, I will use a lighter to heat the tip of the needle. It can be considered disinfection."
Li Rui was speechless when he heard this. He looked at Ji Xiaojia and thought to himself, "You brat, aren't you not afraid of pain? Let's see if you cry when I prick you later."
On the side, Ji Fei, Li Jianmin, Lu Qingman, and the others laughed as they looked at the siblings. No one thought that Ji Xiaojia's suggestion was too bloody.
Old Zhang walked to the table and tore off two pieces of the Golden Orchid Book. He gave one to each of them. Li Rui and Ji Xiaojia leaned over the table and wrote their names on the two pieces of Golden Orchid Book. Then, they pressed their thumbprints. The preparation work was done.
Old Zhang took out a bunch of incense from his bag and gave each of them a bunch. Ji Fei came over with a lighter and lit the incense for the two. The siblings held the incense and the Golden Orchid Book. Under Old Zhang's guidance, they walked to the statue of Guan Yu and respectfully lit the incense.
Old Zhang had already poured a bowl of red wine. He walked to the side of the two and first put the wine bowl on the table. He went back to his bag and took out a box of embroidery needles. He took out the sharpest and thinnest needle. He held the needle handle with his left hand and lit the lighter with his right hand. He heated the needle to disinfect it. He then walked back to the siblings and asked with a smile, "Which one of you wants to go first? Xiao Rui is the big brother. Why don't you go first? "
Li Rui said, "Uh … I haven't washed my hands. I'm afraid it's a little dirty. I'll wash my hands first and come back." Ji Xiaojia followed and said, "Aiya, I haven't washed my hands either. I'll go too. Hehe."
The siblings looked at each other and laughed together. They turned and walked to the washroom. There was a washroom in the banquet hall. It was just a few steps away.
After washing his hands, Li Rui took the needle from Old Zhang's hand. Under everyone's gaze, he picked out his left pinky finger. He held the needle in his right hand and gently pricked the pad of his pinky finger. Bright red blood flowed out.
Ji Xiaojia sucked in a breath of cold air. Her face showed a pained expression. She seemed to be regretting it.
Li Rui put his left pinky finger on top of the wine bowl and held it upside down. He used his left thumb to press on the needle hole. A drop of blood fell into the wine bowl and slowly melted into the dark red wine. He laughed and looked up at Ji Xiaojia opposite him. He said with a smirk, "It's your turn. I'll prick it for you!"
Ji Xiaojia smiled bitterly and said, "Can you not prick it? It hurts just looking at it." Although she said that, she still handed her finger to him. Like him, she also chose the pinky of her left hand that she didn't usually use.
Li Rui wanted to viciously stab Ji Xiaojia and let her know the pain of her rotten idea, but in the end, it was just resentment. She was his sister, how could he have the nerve to be so ruthless? Therefore, he just pricked her lightly to ensure that she would bleed.
After the siblings finished taking their blood, Old Zhang picked up the bowl of blood wine and sprinkled three drops on the ground. Then, he handed it to the siblings. After each of them drank a mouthful, he placed the rest of the wine in front of Guan Yu's statue. Then, he said, "Guan Yu's name is Guan Yu's name. Today, Li Rui and Ji Xiaojia are sworn siblings. From now on, we will share blessings and hardships together. We will work together and support each other …"
After he finished his speech, he asked Li Rui and Ji Xiaojia to bow to Guan Yu. After that, they bowed to each other eight times (eight sworn brothers), and the swearing ceremony was over. In fact, the last procedure was supposed to be bowing to each other. However, Old Zhang took it upon himself to think that it was a waste left over from the previous generation. He replaced it with the modern bow. Anyway, it was just a ceremony. The most important thing was sincerity. The external form was not important.
After the ceremony, Li Rui and Ji Xiaojia looked at each other and smiled. They couldn't help but feel that their hearts were closer after this ceremony. They really felt like siblings. Especially after drinking each other's blood, it seemed like their blood had really merged. This was a very strange feeling. Only the two of them could feel it. The people who were watching the show couldn't feel anything.
Seeing that the ceremony was over, Li Rui walked back to Qingman's side and took his briefcase from her hands. He reached in and rummaged around for a while. He pulled out a beautiful and exquisite flat box. He looked up and smiled at Qingman. He put his briefcase on an empty chair and walked back to Ji Xiaojia. He handed the box to her and said, "Xiaojia, take this. See if you like it."
Ji Xiaojia guessed that this was a gift from him. She took it with a smile and untied the straps. She opened the lid and looked at the box. Immediately, her face lit up. She reached in and took out the jade bracelet. She played with it for a while and put it on her left wrist. She felt that it fit perfectly. She was very happy.
Ji Fei rebuked Li Rui and said, "Why did you buy a gift for Xiaojia?" Li Rui smiled and said, "In any case, we are sworn brothers. As her older brother, how can I not give her a gift?"
Mother Ji said, "This bracelet looks like it's made of high-quality jade. It's not cheap, right?"
When Ji Xiaojia heard this, she also looked at Li Rui. Li Rui smiled and said, "As long as Xiaojia likes it, what's there to be afraid of if it's expensive?"
When Ji Xiaojia heard this, she was very happy. She joked, "See, we have to become sworn brothers. Otherwise, why would my older brother Xiao Rui give me such a good bracelet?"
When everyone heard this, they burst into laughter. Ji Fei smiled and said, "Silly girl, then you don't have to do anything in the future. Just go around and become sworn brothers. Then you'll receive even more gifts."
Ji Xiaojia laughed foolishly for a while. After a while, she thought of something and gave her husband, Wang Jie, a look. Wang Jie understood and immediately took out a small rectangular box. He walked over and gave it to her.
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