Cui Fuma

In the mid Ming Dynasty, a son-in-law named Cui emerged from Dongguan Village in Daizhou City. This is naturally the pride of the Cui family and the honor of the people of Daizhou. It is said that Cui Fuma was a poor man when he was young. His parents died and he had no brothers or sisters. It was his uncle who brought him up. Afterwards, in order to make a living, he had to go to other places to find work. One summer, he wandered to Baotou City, Inner Mongolia. He had just settled down and had no money to stay in a store. He slept in front of a shop at night. At dawn, he was awakened by someone and said, "Hey, young man, wake up quickly. My shopkeeper invites you to come into the store and have something to say." Cui Fuma knew very well that he was new here and had no relatives, so no one would take care of him. He hesitated and dared not enter. The person said anxiously again, "Customer, my shopkeeper really wants you to have something to say. I won't lie to you, let's go quickly." Seeing that this person spoke sincerely and that the shopkeeper had invited him, it seemed that there was no malicious intent, so Cui Fuma followed that person into the store. The shopkeeper was surprised when he saw Cui's son-in-law. He was a beautiful young man. He was tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his face was white and red. Although he wore shabby clothes, he was a talented man, just like the younger generation in his dream. The shopkeeper hurriedly asked his assistant to offer tea to Cui Fuma for meditation. Later, he asked, "Where do the guests come from? Why do they sleep on the streets?" Cui Fuma said that she came here from Daizhou to find work, and immediately, the shopkeeper agreed to hire him.
Why did the shopkeeper hire Cui Fuma so readily when there was no shortage of manpower on the cabinet? Originally, the shopkeeper had a dream last night. He rode a big tiger around Baotou City and ran for a long time until the sky was almost clear. The big tiger then carried him to the front of the shop. In the blink of an eye, the tiger turned into a handsome young man and fell outside the shop before going to sleep. The shopkeeper woke up feeling suspicious and tried to ask his assistant to go out and investigate. As expected, he encountered Cui Fuma sleeping. The shopkeeper thinks this person has a tiger sign, extraordinary, and must be a noble person. Take it in for now, maybe you can shine in the future.
This store used to be a grocery store, and there is also a bathtub in the backyard. Cui Fuma was settled in the bathtub to do odd jobs. Soon, he learned the art of foot repair. Every day, after a guest takes a shower, they ask Cui Fuma to have their feet fixed. And reminded him, "Don't touch the wart on my toe." Cui Fuma asked, "Is this wart useful?" The person said, "I am now a seventh rank official, relying solely on this wart. This is a wealthy wart." Cui Fuma said, "I have five wart on my feet, why did I end up in this situation?" He then showed the guest his wart. The guest looked at his five red bumps and exclaimed in surprise, "I have one black bump, but you have five red bumps. You are a nobleman in trouble, and you will definitely be a person of great fortune and wealth in the future." After a pause, the person tried to please him and said, "Hey, how about this? You can take on a job for me, and I promise to earn several times more than here. If you follow me, you may have great success." From then on, Cui Fuma became a tolerance officer for this seventh rank official.
Cui's son-in-law was on a business trip to the capital when he encountered the royal selection of his son-in-law. He stood in front of the imperial list for selecting a son-in-law, looked at it for a long time, and couldn't recognize a word. But as he chewed on the beans, the officer guarding the imperial list thought he was silently reciting the imperial list and approached him, asking, "Are you sure?" Cui Fuma replied, "I don't know a word." The officer happily said, "I've met someone with knowledge, and you don't know a word for so many words. Why don't you reveal the imperial list and choose a son-in-law? Judging from your handsome appearance, maybe you are the son-in-law. What? Just reveal it." So he removed the imperial list and asked the officers and soldiers to take him into the palace.
The palace is filled with lights and colorful decorations, and the sound of drums and music is extremely lively. On a square, there is a large colorful building in front, and below the colorful building, there are dozens of colorful canopies. Cailou and Caipeng are not far apart, and each other can see their activities clearly. I saw the princess dressed in colorful clothes and walking up the colorful tower surrounded by palace maids. In the colorful canopy, there are already over a hundred grandsons and grandsons, talented scholars and scholars who have come to participate in the election. Everyone stared helplessly at the colorful tower, watching where the princess's colorful ball was thrown. Everyone waited and waited, only to see the palace maids dancing gracefully on the colorful tower, occasionally singing pleasant songs, but without any intention of throwing colorful balls.
Around noon, I saw dozens of colorful canopies, each table filled with delicacies and delicacies from the mountains and seas. Everyone is free to sit down and eat as instructed by the eunuch. Most of these candidates are elegant and refined scholars, or scholars such as juren and jinshi. Start eating with Svenwen. Chew slowly, put down your chopsticks after taking a small bite, deliberately talk big and show off your charm. An hour has passed and the food on the table is still full. Only the table of Cui Fuma is an exception. He didn't have breakfast either, he just ate a few beans when unveiling the imperial list. At this time, his stomach was already empty and hungry. Seeing so many delicious dishes, he had already opened his food door wide. He ate meat in big gulps, drank in large cups, put down his chopsticks, picked up the wine cup, put down the wine cup, picked up the spoon, used the spoon, and picked up the large bowl. He kept eating and drinking, and besides, his desk mates were all strangers, so there was no need to say some polite words. He only lowered his head to eat. In no time, the food at the table had already been eaten up by him. He casually brought over the dishes next to him and wolfed them down again. He ate all the four bowls, eight plates, and sixteen plates on the table, and it seemed like he was almost done. He went to the table across from him and said, "You guys eat more, this fish is great." The people at the table all sneered at him, and one of them pursed their mouths and said coldly. He said, "Good food, rare appetite, rare alcohol tolerance." Another scholar immediately recited a limerick poem:
A hungry tiger sits on the dining table,
I ate cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks.
Fortunately, the dishes cannot be bitten,
Otherwise, they will all be eliminated.
Everyone burst into laughter. After the laughter, another person shook their head and chanted
Hungry men in the mountains and wilderness are often at ease,
Drinking heavily and eating heartily.
Without worries in my heart, my son-in-law,
I don't know why the brave warrior came?
Cui Fuma said, "Anyway, I can't choose my husband. It's worth having a round belly
As he was speaking, a eunuch hurriedly walked over and stood in front of Cui Fuma, saying, "The imperial decree has arrived. Please go to the Cailou." This sudden news made Cui Fuma and the people around him confused. He stopped his chopsticks and stared blankly at the eunuch, unable to speak for a moment. The desk mate's eyes widened, feeling that this was too sudden and strange. The eunuch repeated, "Please hurry up to the Colored Tower, Your Highness." Cui, your Highness, woke up from a dream and said, "Are you calling me? Is it true? Can't you make a mistake?" So, Cui, your Highness, went up to the Colored Tower and became your Highness.
It's really interesting. Choosing a son-in-law is not compared to literary talent, martial arts, poetry, songs, or swords and spears, but to eating. Whoever eats more, eats happily, and has a delicious taste is the husband of the horse. It may sound a bit funny, but those who know the inside story also think it makes sense. On the colorful tower, the princess's aunt accompanied her in choosing her husband's horse. Today was entirely my aunt's idea. Because when the princess's aunt was choosing a son-in-law, she chose a top scholar. Although he has a good reputation, the physical condition of the top scholar is extremely poor. He passed away shortly after getting married. The poor old princess spent most of her life as a widow, and she had tasted the taste of being alone in an empty room. She didn't want the little princess to repeat her mistakes, so she made the decision and chose a son-in-law regardless of other conditions, as long as she had a good appetite and a strong physique. So came the farce of hosting a banquet and selecting a son-in-law. Cui Fuma accidentally became the protagonist in this farce.