Not long after Zhang Tie had sat down, the servants of Jiang Manor began serving dishes to the banquet tables in an unbroken stream.
Generally speaking, after the dishes had been served on an occasion like this, Elder Jiang would wash his hands in the golden basin onstage, say a few words, then come down and take the seat of honor at the main table. After a round of toasting and drinking, today's golden-basin hand-washing ceremony would come to a perfect conclusion.
Among the crowd seated at the surrounding tables, the moment the dishes were set down, Zhang Tie picked up his chopsticks and began eating. Grease and gravy splashed everywhere as he ate with immense delight.
"Eat! If you wait any longer, it'll get cold. It's perfect now, nice and hot!" Zhang Tie said to the people at his table with a mouth stuffed full of braised venison. As he spoke, his chopsticks continued sweeping across the table in every direction.
Among the more than two hundred banquet tables, Zhang Tie was the first person to lift his chopsticks.
Everyone else stared at Zhang Tie, unable to tell whether he was truly foolish or simply ignorant of etiquette. At a time like this, even if anyone were to start eating, it should be Elder Jiang after he came down from the stage. How could a guest seated below be the first to move his chopsticks? The people below were eating while Elder Jiang was washing his hands in a golden basin above? Did he really think Elder Jiang's hand-washing ceremony was some opera troupe performing onstage for them to watch while they ate?
Two servants of Jiang Manor standing not far from Zhang Tie were about to walk over. Yet for some reason, when Zhang Tie glanced at them,