For those in the cooking trade, the kitchen was a place of strict rules.
No long hair, no long nails, no idle chatter, no distractions. Their sole rule was to prepare each ingredient carefully in its own appropriate way and get the dishes out without a hitch.
Whoever cooked the best food had the greatest say. Precisely for that reason, there was little reading of faces, flattery, or fawning here. To a cook, such vexing matters only affected the flavor of the food. True cooks would never distract themselves with these worldly concerns, displaying an aloof pride untouched by mundane affairs.
And that was exactly how they were now, wholly absorbed in preparing their dishes, paying no attention whatsoever to what was happening behind them.
The dark figure added something to the dozen or so pots on the newly built stoves, then put something into the well too. Only then did the figure leave, satisfied. Not a single person noticed any part of the process.
Outside the residence, joy filled the air. An endless stream of beggars came asking for wine or lucky money. They sat clustered together, looking for all the world like noisy little foals in a stable.
Despite these people's nearly intolerable behavior, the servants of the Wang Residence responsible for handing out money and gifts showed little reproach. They simply followed their young master's instructions, disregarding the expense and stopping only when everything had been distributed.
Male and female Bards sang blessings for the couple about to be joined in marriage. Members of the Fulin Taiyou People, who had learned many tribal dances from the Viking Tribes, swayed their short but agile bodies across the ground, drawing applause from the workers. A beautiful, fair-skinned female musician plucked a Three-Stringed Lute with nimble, delicate fingers, producing ringing