With this commotion settled, everyone began preparing for dinner. The old woman had returned and took charge of the arrangements, though she felt even more awkward than before. The best food they had in the house was nothing more than corn and wheat.
This was a great blow to the proud old woman’s face, but she had to prepare the meal. She made the snap decision to boil the corn they had bundled up and wash their best wheat to cook as grain rice. It was a desperate attempt to save face, though I estimated that a single meal for our hundred-strong group would consume half their household’s grain reserves for the year.
As for me, I wasn't particularly picky; food was just food. But the hundred guards required meat, so I ordered them to dig a fire pit and cook their own food, preparing plenty of meat. The situation became quite awkward: the hosts were serving corn and wheat, while the guests were cooking meat.
Chapter 77