Chapter 627: Birthday (Part 2)

“Your mom and Yurou have been busy in the kitchen all afternoon. The guests have arrived, so why don’t you go in and help them out?”

Lin Jianguo patted the last piece of tape firmly, climbed down the ladder, and dusted off his hands.

Lin Feng stood there, giving an awkward smile.

He had spent countless days and nights in the nightmare world, and he hadn't paid attention to the dates in the real world for a long time. He didn't remember his nineteenth birthday at all.

"Okay, I'll go in now."

He pushed open the door.

The living room was brightly lit, and gift boxes were piled high on the coffee table. Everyone stood up as soon as they saw him enter.

"Lord!"

Lin Feng waved his hand and laughed, "Sit down, sit down. Don't call me 'Lord' today. Just make yourself at home. Anyone who calls me 'Lord' again will be punished with a drink."

Tie Dun was the first to grin: "Then what should I call him? Brother Lin?"

"Just call him Xiaofeng," Lin Jianguo said casually as he followed in from behind.

Tie Dun opened his mouth, but couldn't bring himself to say "Xiao Feng".

He hesitated for a long time, finally managing to utter only "Feng..." before swallowing the word "brother" that followed.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Feng Qingyan slammed her hand on the table, saying, "Brother Tiedun, you've finally met your match!"

Lin Feng smiled and shook his head, then turned and went into the kitchen.

Wang Xiulan was standing in front of the stove wearing an apron, and the pork rib soup in the pot was bubbling away, filling the room with the aroma of meat.

Su Yurou was chopping vegetables beside her, her knife skills were nimble, and the bamboo shoots were neatly arranged on the cutting board.

"You're back?" Wang Xiulan asked without turning her head. "Take that dish out of the table, don't stand there."

Lin Feng responded and picked up the plate to leave. After taking only two steps, Wang Xiulan added, "Peel the garlic while you're at it; there are a lot of people here today."

"Okay," he replied.

In the nightmare world, he can mobilize thousands of troops with a single word; here, he can't even slack off once.

Su Yurou glanced at him as she chopped vegetables, her lips curving slightly, but she didn't say anything.

Lin Feng took the plate out, served the dishes, and came back. Su Yurou had already put the garlic in a small bowl and handed it to him.

Lin Feng took it, stood by the stove, and began peeling garlic.

Halfway through peeling the sauce, the curtain was lifted, and Feng Qingyan entered, carrying a jar of homemade chili sauce with a red ribbon tied to the glass bottle.

"My lord! I made it myself! It's not too spicy, shall we use it now?"

"I told you not to call me lord today." Lin Feng took the chili sauce, turned it over and looked at it. There was a small note on the bottle with crooked handwriting that read, "Feng Family Secret Recipe, one bite and you'll remember it for a lifetime."

"You wrote this yourself?"

"The calligraphy was done by Qing Shuang, but I seasoned the flavor myself!" Feng Qingyan said confidently. "I've tasted it, and I guarantee it's delicious. It's just that I cried several times while cutting the chili peppers."

Su Yurou chuckled beside her: "Of course it's spicy if you don't wear gloves when you cut chili peppers."

"Wearing gloves is soulless!"

The dishes were served one after another: braised pork, steamed fish, pork rib soup, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, cold black fungus salad, sweet and sour lotus root slices, and Wang Xiulan's specialty, steamed pork ribs with rice flour.

Feng Qingyan's jar of chili sauce was placed in the very center, like a treasure on the table.

Everyone sat down in a circle, and Tie Dun finally found his little spot. He sat down carefully, and this time the chair didn't make a sound.

He breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to Wang Wu beside him, "This chair is sturdy."

Lin Jianguo clapped his hands: "Alright, everyone's here, let's eat!"

Everyone sat around the dining table.

Wang Xiulan served the last soup and said to Lin Feng with a smile, "Xiao Feng, you're nineteen now, make a wish."

Lin Feng was taken aback.

Make a wish?

In the nightmare world, he was ruthless and decisive, and he always took what he wanted himself.

Making wishes... seems like something from a past life.

But looking at the steaming home-cooked dishes in front of him, at his parents' expectant eyes, and at his comrades-in-arms beside him...

He suddenly realized that this moment was more precious than any victory.

"good."

He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together.

There were no grand aspirations mentioned.

I just hope that there can be more days like this, and that they can last longer.

"Happy birthday!"

The crowd shouted in unison.

Lin Feng opened his eyes and blew out the candle.

The lights came back on.

Lin Jianguo raised his glass.

"Today is my son Lin Feng's nineteenth birthday."

"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come."

Everyone raised their glasses: "Happy birthday, Lord!"

May the lord have smooth sailing and be invincible in the future!

The protagonist smiled and picked up his wine glass.

Thank you everyone.

"It is my honor to know you all."

"This glass is for everyone."

Everyone drank it all in one gulp.

Tiedun couldn't wait any longer and stuffed a piece of braised pork into his mouth, muttering indistinctly, "It's so delicious! Auntie's cooking is amazing!"

Zhao Hu nodded: "This sweet and sour fish is even more authentic than the ones I used to have at fancy restaurants in Chengdu!"

Feng Qingyan kept recommending her chili sauce to everyone, insisting that everyone try a bite.

Jiang Zhaoyue and Jiang Yelan exchanged a smile and picked up their chopsticks.

Lin Feng sat between his mother and father, looking at the table full of dishes and the room full of people, and suddenly felt that the scene was both strange and familiar.

He hadn't been like this in a long time—no battle reports, no deployments, no enemies, just eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing.

Life is nothing more than a bowl of hot soup, a table of home-cooked dishes, and a group of people willing to eat with you.

"Thank you everyone," he said softly.

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "You're too kind, Lord!"

"We're all one family!"

"We'll come every year from now on!"

Outside the window, the night was gentle.

Inside, the lights were warm and inviting.