The six buffet tables were overflowing with food.
There were large platters of roasted chicken, steaming fish dishes, vegetable preparations, bowls of rice, freshly fried snacks, and trays of sweets. Servants moved between the tables, refilling empty dishes and carrying fresh pots from the cooking area.
Nearly two hundred people had gathered in the courtyard.
Some were already eating, while others stood in small groups, chatting and laughing. A few children had managed to gather near the dessert table, where they were trying to convince an older woman to give them another serving.
"Didn't you just take two?"
"Those were for my brother!"
"Then where is your brother?"
The little boy pointed towards a completely unrelated child.
The older woman narrowed her eyes.
"Go and find your actual brother first!"
The surrounding people burst into laughter.
