With Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie helping out, today’s lunch was exceptionally lavish. Ever since Ms. Jenny had brought Eunice to visit the house that time, whenever conditions allowed, Karon made a point of preparing every meal with care and refinement.0

The three main dishes were Dongpo pork, Su-style sweet-and-sour ribs, and crab roe lion’s head meatballs.[1] The three side dishes were chive-and-egg stir-fry, braised shredded tofu, and vegetarian chicken. The three cold dishes were cucumber salad, wood ear mushroom salad, and drunken shrimp. Last came a whole pot of old duck soup.0

When Tiz returned, Karon rang the bell outside the kitchen. He felt that he would definitely miss this moment in the future, both the sound of the bell and the lively scene of family members emerging from upstairs and downstairs to gather around the dining table once it rang. When he shook the bell this time, Karon closed his eyes, hoping to imprint the crisp sound firmly in his memory.0

Today, all three household hands and all three children were present, and having more people at the table naturally led to the variety and quantity of dishes increasing. After all, given the Immers family’s financial situation, it would not be easy to eat them into poverty under normal circumstances, unless family members started investing again like Uncle Mason once did.0

As expected, the most popular dish at the table was the sweet-and-sour ribs, given that the Swillen people’s fixation on sweetness was practically carved into their bones. The vegetarian chicken also received high praise, but Karon was surprised at how popular the drunken shrimp was, especially with Uncle Mason and Ron, who ate with great enthusiasm and showed no psychological resistance at all.[2]5

“Eat this, come on, one for each of you, it’s very laborious to make and definitely nutritious.” Aunt Mary placed a large meatball into each of the three children’s bowls.0

Tiz was still the first to lay down his knife and fork, though...0