“Mom, you cooked so much by yourself!” Ste eximed and said, “You must have been working nonstop since you sent lunch over to me.”


    “This is a special day and I am happy to be busy too. Actually, it’s not that hard to make all these. The cold appetizers aren’t difficult to make. There are 68 Dark Shadow members in total, right?” Suzi asked.


    “Yes, they are the elite soldiers from the Special ForcesandAnthony used to take care of them personally. Hebecame the next Chief of the Special Forces after Jasper left the military base. Everyone from the Dark Shadow followed Jasper and left the military base together at that time,” Ste said as she cut the cherry tomatoes that had been soaked in the water.


    “What? All of them?” Suzi had never been interested in military affairs, so she did not know much about it.


    “They all left around that time. However, Anthony is his good friend and he needs many men when he became the new Chief. Therefore, a hundred Dark Shadow members went back to follow Anthony. Anthony had slowly added more and more people into the Dark Shadow over the past two years. Jasper has kept 68 of them with him, including Elvis,” Ste exined.


    “Yes, I’ve asked Elvis about it before. He said that there are 68 members in total. I have prepared five tables,one table could amodate fifteen people,” Suzi said.


    “Thank you, Mom. Thank you for cooking so much food for all of us. It’s a pity that the chef whom we have hired thest time has returned to his hometown to celebrate the holiday andit is not safe for us to go out and eat either. I’m sorry to trouble you, Mom,”Ste apologized.


    “Silly child, it may be difficult, but I am happy. These people are all my children. It does not matter if I have to work a little harder,” Suzi said with a smile.


    “Yeah, but wouldn’t it take a lot of time to serve all the food together?” She was a little worried.


    “Not to worry. I have taken out the massive food warmers that your father had bought in the past. We’ve never used them before, and I don’t even know why he bought them,” Suzi pointed at the food warmers and said.


    Only then did Ste realize that five rectangr boxes had appeared in the kitchen. They looked like bigger versions of a pressure cooker.


    She opened the five boxes and took a peek at each of them.


    There were pork sausages in the first warmer.


    There were freshly-baked trouts in the second warmer.


    The third warmer was filled with creamy mashed potatoes.


    There was caramelized broli with garlic in the fourth warmer.


    Andst but not least, the fifth warmer was filled with aromatic tomato soup.


    “Mom, I can’t believe that you have made all these. When did you start making them?” Ste asked in surprise.


    “I started to make some of them at noon. I’ve already whipped up some cold sds as appetizers. Once they start digging into the sds, I’ll switch on the warmers and serve the dishes for each table. It won’t take long because they are all basically already cooked,” Suzi exined.


    Ste’s heart was full.


    “Mom, you are really amazing. I did not expect the meal to be so sumptuous,” Ste sighed.


    “I have already prepared some vegetarian dishes in case there are those with dietary restrictions. Just let me know beforehand so that I could prepare them in advance instead of having them wait.”


    “Mom, I have an idea. Why don’t we just serve everything together? That way, you wouldn’t have to tire yourself much and everyone could also enjoy the dinner together,” Ste suggested.


    “That’s a good idea. I also noticed that you’ve caught a lot of fish today. I was thinking of making them into fish nuggets and deep-frying them. That way, everyone would have something to snack if they feel peckish. Should we get some crackers and cheese too?I think that the supermarket is still open. I could drop by and get more food too.”


    “I’ll clean the fish and cut them into pieces. I’ll prepare enough foreach table. This makes it fair for everyone.”


    “Great! I’ll head out first then. I have to go before the supermarket closes lest our n goes in vain,” Suzi took off her apronquickly.


    “Mom,please be careful,” Ste said.


    “Okay,” Suzi went outhurriedly.


    Ste had just finished cleaning all the fish and she began slicing them into bite pieces.


    Because there were too many pieces, she could only fry them batch by batch.


    She had made deep-fry batter before, so this was an easy task for her. All she needed werecornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, and water.First, she measured the dry ingredients urately andbined them in a mixing bowl.


    After that, she took out another mixing bowl and added milk and water into it. She gave it a stir so that the liquid would blend well.


    Next, she slowly stirred the milk mixture into the dry ingredients until the batter became smooth and creamy.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    She sprinkled some cayenne pepper into the batter so that the fish nuggets would be a little spicy.


    Finally, she dipped the bite-sized fish pieces into the batter and ced them into the boiling oil in the pan. Soon, the fish nuggets were ready to be served. Ste realized that there was still time, so she decided to deep-fry some fries as well.


    At this moment, Elvis came into the kitchen and said, “Mrs. Milton, I’ve arranged for three people to stand guard. The guards are still in position, including myself. There are 65 soldiers in total. If you are too busy, perhaps I could lend you some help.”


    “It’s okay.I can handle it,” Ste looked at the time. It was already 5 p. m. “What time did you tell them toe for dinner?”


    “Around 5. 30 p. m. If dinner is not ready by then, I could always ask them to wait.It’s alright.”


    “That’s enough time. Now, help me serve the cold appetizers. There are five tables in total, and fifteen people could sit at one table,” Ste said.


    Elvis scratched his head and said, “I don’t see any tables outside.”


    “Oh, right, we haven’t set up the tables. The tables and chairs are all in the storage room. There are more than a dozen banquet tables, which are quite big,” Ste recalled.


    These were bought when Jasper’s father passed away.


    “But, will there be enough space outside?” Elvis asked worriedly.


    “It should be enough. You just need to move the sofa to the other side and lean it against the wall, then there will be enough space.”


    “Okay, I will get two soldiers to do it,” Elvis then left the kitchen.


    Ste soon heard the sound of a car approaching the manor, and she too left the kitchen.


    Suzi had returned. She smiled and asked Elvis, “Young man, please help me take the things out of the car.


    Elvis walked to the trunk and looked at the food in there. He sighed and said, “Madam Shine, why does it look as though you had brought the whole supermarket back?”


    “I just followed Ste’s instructions. We will be having quite a feast tonight, and I even bought some crackers, crisps, and cheese! There are different vors of ice creams too,” Suzi smiled as she said. Then, she took the things out from the trunk and handed them to Elvis.


    “I see. I have not had such a good meal in a long time. My tummy is already grumbling!” He then brought the dishes into the kitchenhappily.


    Ste also helped to carry the rest of the groceries into the kitchen.


    Elvis was responsible for setting up the tables. He ced a tablecloth on each table and served the dishes ordingly.


    Apart from the cold appetizers and the five dishes that had been prepared by Suzi earlier, there was also newly-added finger food such as buffalo wings, nachos, and onion rings.


    Ste and Suzi were busy ting the dishes one by one.


    It did not take much time as they were both extremely skilled.


    At this moment, they heard the orderly footsteps of soldiers approaching, and it reminded them of the time when Jasper used toe home after spending the whole day in the military base. Their hearts tightened and they quickly ran out to take a look.