Family Night Banquet

Blackbeard sat on the throne, while Lin Qi perched on the raised tail of the Black Tiger throne. Enzo was helpless. Iron Hammer and Butcher Knife were rough men, and Blackbeard wasn't exactly a man of manners, so no one bothered to get him a stool. Thus, Enzo struggled to move a large oak chair from a dining table onto the raised platform, to have a heart-to-heart talk with Lin Qi and his father.

As he moved the oak chair, Enzo realized how heavy it was. Carved from a single piece of oak, the chair weighed several hundred pounds. However, Lin Qi's ancestors, to make these chairs more durable, had actually fitted an inch-thick iron plate underneath to prevent excessive wear from friction with the ground.

Therefore, this single chair weighed a staggering seven to eight hundred pounds. Even with Enzo's strength, it took considerable effort to budge it.

Ironically, while he toiled to move the chair, Iron Hammer and Butcher Knife, who possessed the strength to move it with ease, could only mock him with hearty laughter. Blackbeard and Lin Qi laughed so hard their eyes crinkled into lines. Enzo's face turned red, and he felt like a complete idiot for following Lin Qi here.

This family, by all appearances, was not normal!

Blackbeard was running for Mayor of Dunkirk and planned to become a provincial governor in the future. His primary focus was on annual administrative funds and tax revenue! Bandits were indeed bandits. It was hard to imagine what kind of ruin he would bring to a province if he became an administrative governor of an Empire province.

Perhaps the servants of the Black Tiger Family would transform and be reorganized into the Empire's regular legions? Then, the Dragon Cavalry and Copper Hats swarming the streets would become the murderers and arsonists of Lin Qi's family? They would break down doors and pillage while shouting, "In the name of the Empire's royalty!"

The thought of that terrifying scene sent shivers down Enzo's spine.

It was truly exciting and sensational. If Blackbeard were to somehow obtain a noble title and stand in the imperial court in the future, it would be incredibly amusing. It was hard to imagine what the Empire would become if someone like him became a high-ranking official.

The sounds of pots and pans clattering drifted in from outside, accompanied by the rich aroma of spices and meat. The servants of Lin Qi's family were preparing the welcoming banquet. Lin Qi's return coincided with the "Feast of the Kitchen God." According to Western Continental customs, the Feast of the Kitchen God was a major festival to worship the Kitchen God, where the entire family would gather to feast and drink.

This also marked the beginning of the "winter hibernation" for the people of the continent. From this day on, blizzards from the Northern Odin Icefield would rage across most of the continent, and people would rarely go out, staying indoors to endure the long, cold winter. Essentially, for any family with some means, the Feast of the Kitchen God also signified the start of a series of winter banquets.

After all, what else was there to do during the long winter besides feasting at home?

Temporarily setting aside the mayoral election, Blackbeard meticulously inquired about what Lin Qi had been doing for the past three years. Although Blackbeard had his own intelligence channels, and The Cripple's Shop would send some news about Lin Qi back to Dunkirk every few days, there were many things Lin Qi had done that even The Cripple could not uncover. Therefore, Blackbeard asked Lin Qi about his experiences over the years in great detail.

Lin Qi, in response to his father's questions, dodged and weaved, constantly lamenting how "poor," "down on his luck," "lacking money," and "short of cash" he was. Blackbeard's face turned a dark purple, and seeing the smoke billowing from his nostrils, he desperately wanted to slap Lin Qi to the ground and kick him a few times.

Amidst the uninformative conversation between the father and son, along with Enzo, the banquet preparations were nearly complete.

As it was the first time the young master, Lin Qi, had returned home in three years, the Feast of the Kitchen God banquet at the Lin Qi family's residence this year was exceptionally grand. Not to mention the other dishes, the main course alone consisted of thirty roasted whole lambs! Complete with heads and tails, roasted to a golden brown, with fat dripping down, seasoned with a generous amount of spices from the East!

In the high-class taverns of Berely, such a roasted whole lamb would sell for a sky-high price of two hundred gold coins. It wasn't just the lamb that was expensive; the spices sprinkled on it were even more valuable! These spices, originating from the East and having traveled tens of thousands of miles across the sea to the Western Continent, were worth over ten gold coins per handful!

In addition to the roasted whole lambs, there were large, tender steaks, roasted geese, and roasted chickens neatly arranged on large silver platters. Suckling pigs, propped up by pure silver forks, were arranged in a row, looking as if they were marching in formation.

Furthermore, there were various rare poultry.

The nobles of the Empire particularly favored consuming various rare waterfowl, such as black swans, white swans, mallards, and larks. At the Lin Qi family's banquet, at least forty different types of waterfowl were served. The aroma was intoxicating, so rich it almost formed visible clouds.

Hundreds of fierce-looking, burly men attended the banquet. These were all old members of the Lin Qi family, elders who were qualified to be present in the banquet hall. In other areas, there were a dozen or so smaller banquet halls where other residents of the ancestral home, including servants and maids, were feasting heartily.

A single banquet hosted over three thousand people, a scale comparable to the imperial banquet held by the Emperor of the Empire at Victory Palace.

And that wasn't all. While everyone was feasting, at least several hundred stout men were guarding various checkpoints outside the ancestral home. Describing the Lin Qi family's ancestral home as a "dragon's lair and a tiger's den" would not be an exaggeration.

After Blackbeard recited a seemingly solemn prayer to the Kitchen God, he raised his massive pure gold goblet and announced the start of the banquet.

Hundreds of burly men in the hall raised their goblets and cheered in unison, "Long live Blackbeard!" They then roared in unison, "Welcome home, young master!" Amidst a cacophony of shouts and laughter, these men downed the wine in their goblets.

Among these men, dozens of clearly pure-blooded orc warriors were particularly eye-catching. In other parts of the Western Continent, orcs were relentlessly hunted. However, in the Lin Qi family's ancestral home, these orcs and humans clinked glasses and drank together, feasting and carousing as if they were one big family.

Lin Qi, accompanied by Enzo, each carrying a barrel of wine, went around toasting the elders of the Lin Qi family. "Uncle So-and-so," "Cousin So-and-so," "Aunt So-and-so," "Auntie So-and-so"... all the elders were rough-looking individuals covered in scars, but upon seeing Lin Qi, they all displayed kind smiles.

Each time, they only let Lin Qi take a small sip. However, for Enzo, they unceremoniously poured him a large bowl every time.

Thus, less than fifteen minutes after the banquet began, Enzo was completely drunk and collapsed.

An hour later, Lin Qi also, tipsy, fell to the ground.

Blackbeard shook his head and carried Lin Qi out of the banquet hall.