The first person on the right is Thomas Harper's daughter, Grace Harper, followed by Henry Harper's eldest daughter, Julia Harper, George Harper's youngest daughter, Little Lily Harper, and finally William Harper.

At the The Harper Family dining table, except for the seats of honor, men sit on the left and women on the right. Originally, William Harper should have sat on the left, but the big table wasn't long enough, so he had to move to the right, joining the women of the The Harper Family.

There was also a small table, where the wives of George Harper and Henry Harper, Bennett and Sullivan, sat with their heads lowered, waiting.

If you are not a member of the The Harper Family, even if you enter the The Harper Family household, you are not qualified to sit at the main table.

At the main table, only those with the surname Harper are ever seated.

With Samuel Harper and Thomas Harper present, the dining table was always rather quiet. If these two didn't speak, the descendants would all keep silent—this was the rule.

Samuel Harper gave a light cough and said, "Let's eat."

With that, Samuel Harper was the first to pick up a small piece of lettuce, chewed it, and gently frowned, but didn't say anything.

Once Samuel Harper moved his chopsticks, everyone else followed suit, and the bamboo chopsticks began to move over the small dishes.

William Harper felt a pang of anxiety, suddenly recalling that he had been busy talking with Grace Harper just now, and in a moment of carelessness, had actually served this overcooked lettuce dish.

He snuck a glance at Samuel Harper, and seeing that Samuel Harper had no intention of blaming him, William Harper secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ptui!"

Alice Harper made a bitter face and spat out a piece of lettuce onto the table in front of him, glaring fiercely at William Harper across the table. Alice Harper quickly lowered his head and gulped down his porridge.

"Uh...

The lettuce is overcooked, but this kid Le is really something."

Alice Harper's father, Henry Harper, smiled as he tried to excuse his son.

The The Harper Family has strict family rules, and Alice Harper's behavior at the table just now was already improper. Henry Harper, afraid that his father Samuel Harper would blame his grandson, pretended to casually shift the responsibility onto William Harper.

"It is overcooked."

George Harper nodded, glanced at the downcast William Harper, and said calmly, "Chang Kong, you need to be more careful next time."

"Understood, Uncle.

Tomorrow I will cook the dishes well and won't let you lose your appetite."

William Harper kept his head down, a flash of anger in his eyes, but his voice remained gentle.

Clang!

William Harper's paternal grandfather, Thomas Harper, slammed his porcelain bowl down heavily and suddenly shouted angrily, "Cooking, cooking!

All you know is cooking!

A dignified man of the The Harper Family, only putting effort into such lowly tasks—what future can you possibly have?"

He paused, and seeing William Harper hanging his head in silence, he slapped the table again and scolded, "You knew there would be important guests today, yet you show up all dirty, not even bothering to change into clean clothes. You have no sense of propriety!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Thomas Harper even threw down his chopsticks, snorted coldly, and stood up.

Thomas Harper's outburst was rather sudden, with no warning at all. Everyone looked at each other in astonishment, putting down their bowls and chopsticks, staring at him in a daze.

Alice Harper, who had glared fiercely at William Harper earlier, now looked gleeful at his misfortune. Edward Harper, Charles Harper, and Julia Harper acted as if it had nothing to do with them, not even glancing at William Harper, but instead looked curiously at Thomas Harper, not understanding why he was so furious over such a trivial matter.

George Harper and Henry Harper sat upright, their expressions serious, while their wives, Bennett and Sullivan, sitting at the small table beside them, lowered their heads slightly, faint, hard-to-detect smiles on their faces.

Only Little Lily Harper, sitting next to William Harper, timidly tugged at the corner of William Harper's clothes, her eyes full of sympathy.

"Father!"

Grace Harper stood up, looking fearlessly at Thomas Harper, and said angrily, "If Chang Kong weren't unable to gather elemental force, he wouldn't be inferior to anyone!

As a direct descendant of the The Harper Family, Chang Kong already works hard enough cooking for everyone every day. An occasional mistake is understandable—do you really have to be so angry with him?"

"Ahem..." Samuel Harper, who had been quietly drinking his porridge, finally looked up, put down his bowl and chopsticks, but didn't stand up. He looked at Thomas Harper and frowned, "Third Brother, it's precisely because Chang Kong can't gather elemental force to become a Tianshi that I let him handle the daily meals, since his cooking is excellent.

I just wanted to give him something to do. After all, he can't cultivate, so this keeps him from being bored.

If you don't like it, I'll find someone else to replace him. Why get so worked up?"

"He's all thumbs, and I don't like his cooking anyway!"

Thomas Harper glared fiercely at William Harper, flung his hand, and left. Only when he reached the door did he mutter under his breath, "Xiao Zhou's cooking is delicious, that's who I like!"

"Haohong, starting tomorrow, let Xiao Zhou continue to handle the daily meals."

Before Thomas Harper's figure had disappeared, Samuel Harper called out to his eldest son, George Harper.

"Understood, Father."

George Harper nodded in agreement, glancing unintentionally at the silent, downcast William Harper, a trace of displeasure in his eyes.

"The city lord should be arriving soon. Finish eating quickly and go to Qingyan Mountain to prepare for the trial.

Whoever is late will be locked in the Ice Cave for three days!"