Since Arthur and his companions were too tall to move around comfortably inside Bag End, the task of moving the dining table and food to a more spacious room fell to the dwarves.
Fili, Kili, and Dwalin were the most diligent.
The other dwarves, quite skillfully, slipped into Bilbo's food pantry, chattering about what they wanted to eat.
A white-bearded, short-bearded dwarf named Dori came over with a teapot and asked, "Sir Gandalf, would you like a cup of chamomile tea?"
Gandalf stood leaning against the wall, to avoid interfering with the dwarves moving the table, and chuckled as he shook his head: "No, I'd like some red wine myself."
Thorin happened to be carrying a stool past them, and upon hearing the conversation between Gandalf and Dori, he immediately said, "I'll have a glass of red wine too."
Dori respectfully nodded to Gandalf and Thorin, then retreated with the teapot.
Bifur, the dwarf with a broken axe blade stuck in his head, said in dwarvish, "I want raspberry jam and apple pie."
His brother, Bofur, who wore a hood and had two long black beards, said, "And mince pies and cheese."
Bombur, the fattest dwarf, let out a burp and bellowed, "Preferably lots and lots of pork pies and salad too!"
"Good heavens, Bombur, you've already eaten an entire leg of lamb! It's bad enough you're not helping, but you're actually making them get food for you!" Gloin, who was busy moving ale barrels, couldn't help but scold him when he saw Bombur slowly licking a lamb bone clean.
Bombur's response to this was: "Burp—"
Yes, he let out a big, loud burp.
"Oh, goodness…" Gloin, passing by him, made a disgusted sound, covered his nose, and walked away, carrying a heavy barrel of ale.
"A few more eggs, good fellow! If there's any frozen chicken or pickled cucumbers, bring those out too!" Bombur ignored them and continued to shout loudly.
Gloin paid him no mind, and then, upon passing Arthur, immediately stopped, stood at attention, and happily greeted him: "Lord Arthur! We meet again!"
Arthur naturally still remembered the dwarf guard captain who had caused a small misunderstanding with him when he first arrived in the Blue Mountains, and returned his smile: "I hope you have a pleasant evening."
"Haha, of course!" Gloin replied happily, carrying the barrel away.
Bilbo, with an incredulous expression, walked over to Arthur at this moment and, looking at Gandalf standing opposite Arthur, said loudly and confusedly, "Why do these dwarves know what's in my pantry as well as I do?"
He was truly very confused, even feeling that it wasn't a group of dwarves, but a group of terrible thieves and robbers who had entered his home.
Judging by the dwarves' behavior, Bilbo's feeling was perfectly understandable.
Gandalf blinked and said nothing, while Arthur said to Gandalf, "Gandalf, you really should have told Bilbo in advance that these dwarves were also coming to the dinner. You know, not everyone can tolerate the dwarves' overly familiar nature."
Gandalf innocently said, "But I didn't have time to tell him about it yesterday; our hobbit stormed into the house and closed the door, shutting me out."
Bilbo pointed back and forth between himself and Gandalf in surprise, saying, "Me? But I invited you over for tea today! I didn't expect you to bring so many people! Look at the state of my kitchen now? Mud is being tracked all over the carpet!"
Then Bofur and Dori happened to walk past them and looked over after hearing Bilbo's shouting.
This made the hobbit, who was saying one thing but meaning another, immediately change his tune and say, "Oh, I'm not talking about you, I welcome you to my home, and in fact, I am doing so."
Then he immediately mumbled in a very low voice, "Of course, it would be even better if we knew each other."
Bofur smiled and said, "I know," then walked away.
This time, Dori held the red wine carafe and two small wine glasses that Bilbo had just placed on the dining table. He carefully poured the red wine into them, handing the small wine glasses to Gandalf and Thorin respectively.
Dori proudly said, "Sir Gandalf, Lord Thorin, this is a small glass of red wine, just as you requested. It has a rather fruity aroma."
Bilbo pointed at Dori, mouth agape, and whispered incredulously to Arthur beside him, "Arthur, did you see that! That dwarf is actually using my own treasured red wine to entertain my guests?"
Arthur also couldn't keep a straight face, and he deliberately glared at Gandalf.
Gandalf, however, averted his gaze, chuckled, took his wine glass, and clinked it with Thorin beside him.
The dwarves were quick and efficient, and soon bottles, dishes, forks, knives, cups, plates, spoons, and various foods and drinks were piled onto the long dining table.
Thorin sat at the head, Gandalf to his right, Arthur opposite Thorin, and Bernal and the others sat in their previous positions.
Of course, the dwarves also warmly greeted Bernal, Millison, and Igon, not neglecting them just because they didn't know them.
Bilbo sat somewhat huffily on a stool by the fireplace, nibbling small bites of a buttered bread roll he had rescued from the dwarves' plates, yet trying very hard to appear normal.
When Thorin saw everyone seated, he raised his mug of ale and smiled at Arthur.
He first solemnly expressed his joy and gratitude to Arthur, then loudly declared, "The feast has begun, everyone!"
Fili and Kili cheered together; "Good! The feast has begun!"
"Oh, it's just starting now, Bombur is already gnawing on his second leg of lamb!" Gloin exclaimed, looking at Bombur's unceasing mouth.
Bofur noticed Gloin's exclamation, looked at his cousin Bombur, and raised his chin: "Hey, Bombur, catch!"
Then he threw a peeled hard-boiled egg at Bombur's mouth.
Bombur directly opened his mouth, and the hard-boiled egg was precisely caught by his teeth, then chewed a few times and swallowed.
"Yay!!" Bombur let out a triumphant cheer.
The other dwarves, noticing the interaction between Bombur and Bofur, also slapped the table, making joyful sounds.
Except for Thorin, who silently watched it all, smiling as he ate the vegetable soup in front of him.
Bilbo moved closer to Arthur, looked at the boisterous dwarves, and asked, "Are they always like this?"
Arthur watched the dwarves throwing food as 'weapons' into their companions' mouths and subtly said, "Honestly, Bilbo, I think they've already reined it in quite a bit."
"Reined it in? Huh? I'm sure my ears aren't deceiving me? You call this 'reined—in—'?" Bilbo asked back, emphasizing the pronunciation.
Millison, sitting to Arthur's left, said to Bilbo with some sympathy, "Arthur is right. If you spend enough time with these dwarves, you'd know that if they weren't somewhat respectful of Lord Arthur's eating habits, they would probably already have their feet on the table, asking if anyone wanted another ale."
Bilbo's eyes widened, he pursed his lips, and looked up, seemingly deep in thought.
"Let's count down three, two, one, and drink this!" Dwalin shouted with a loud laugh.
The previously boisterous dwarves instantly quieted down. After Dwalin's countdown, they extended their mugs to the center of the table, clinked them with their companions, and began to drink heartily.
Each dwarf clinked their cups and guzzled down the ale, followed by a chorus of burps.
"Burp!"
Ori, the relatively thin and seemingly most quiet dwarf, let out the longest burp, earning applause from Fili and the others.
Bernal placed his empty wine glass on the table, and as he poured himself more, he raised an eyebrow at the dwarves, somewhat intrigued by their lively scene.
Fili and Kili happened to be sitting next to Bernal, so Bernal naturally struck up a conversation with Fili and Kili, asking if they had neglected their Battle Skills after returning home.
Gloin was sitting to Kili's left, and though two dwarves separated him from Bernal, it didn't stop him from raising his cup to Bernal and respectfully saying, "I heard from Fili and Kili that you are their Battle Skill teacher! I toast you!"
Fili proactively introduced, "Teacher Bernal, this is Gloin, our most outstanding guard captain in the Blue Mountains."
Gloin, however, laughed heartily, "That's past tense, Fili! Now, the most outstanding guard captains should be you and Kili!"
Bernal smiled and clinked his cup with the one extended towards him, taking a few sips.
After finishing his drink, Gloin said, "This is all thanks to you, Sir Bernal, and Lord Arthur. Without your careful guidance, Fili and Kili would probably still be greenhorns."
Kili laughed and exclaimed, "Why are you suddenly talking like my uncle Thorin!"
Gloin's brother, Oin, the dwarf holding the iron hearing aid, interjected into their conversation, "That's because Gloin's wife gave birth to a chubby son not long ago! He's a father now!"
Kili said in surprise, "Is that true?"
Gloin showed the loving smile of a father, took a pendant from his In arms, opened it to reveal a portrait inside, and showed it to Fili and Kili.
He said, "Look, this is my son! Isn't he short and wide, just like me!"
Kili asked, "What's this adorable little fellow's name?"
"Gimli, in an ancient language, this name means 'flame'!" Gloin laughed.
Bernal chewed on the name with interest, then showed a satisfied smile: "Gimli, flame… hmm, flame. Honestly, I really like this name. Flame, it sounds very good. If you don't mind, I hope I can be this child's Battle Skill teacher."
Gloin's eyes widened, looking at Bernal in disbelief, "Really?"
Bernal nodded, "I have no need to lie."
Kili excitedly clapped Gloin's shoulder and pushed him, laughing, "Hahaha, now I'm your son's senior!"
Fili, meanwhile, silently prayed in his heart that Gloin's son would be able to withstand Bernal's devilish teaching.
Bernal and the dwarves were having a great time, and it was the same for Igon.
He had long since raised his cup with Balin, the kind dwarf sitting beside him, and it seemed these two men, who looked the oldest, had many common topics.
"Sir Igon, your armor looks like it has many stories," Balin said with a smile, clinking his cup with Igon's.
After Igon drank his wine, he said, "Indeed, none of this armor is actually mine; I scavenged and pieced it together from battlefields."
Balin showed an interested expression: "Oh? Can you tell me more? I'm very interested in the stories of these armor owners."
Igon nodded, "Of course."
Although Millison was also caught up in the dwarves' boisterous banquet, she wasn't as completely relaxed as Bernal and Igon.
The dwarves ate and drank, chatted and talked, and time gradually passed, with the various delicacies and wines on the table rapidly diminishing.
Finally, the dwarves stood up and pushed their chairs back, signaling the end of the feast.
"Oh, it's finally over."
Bilbo, who had been anxiously watching the dwarves devour his food, finally breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward, ready to clear the dishes.
He tried to maintain a host's composure and politeness, asking, "Are you all full? I mean, if it's not enough, I think there might be some left in the cupboard,"
The dwarves all loudly and contentedly declared, "We are full, Baggins!"
Someone shouted, "Even Bombur is full, that means we are truly full!"
Then the dwarves all burst into laughter.
Thorin cleared his throat, and the dwarves immediately fell silent.
He said, "Help our generous host, Bilbo Baggins, clear the table and clean up here and the kitchen. Bifur, Bofur, play your clarinets. Fili, Kili, play your fiddles. And of course, Bombur, and you, remember to get your drum from the doorway. Let us play the dinner music for Bilbo Baggins."
Bofur, whose name was called, stood up and said, "Bombur ate too much tonight, he can't stand up anymore. I'll go get his drum from the doorway."
So the rest of the dwarves who hadn't been called stood up in response, cooperating with each other, skillfully stacking everything on the table like a circus act.
They stacked them high, and several tall towers made of plates, forks, teacups, and the like appeared on the dining table.
At this moment, Bofur brought the drum to Bombur, and this chubby dwarf exchanged glances with the other dwarves who had picked up instruments, and began to play the dwarves' song.
And the other dwarves directly lifted those tall stacks of dishes, with a quality balancing on top of the 'tower' of plates, maintaining balance, and walked towards the kitchen in tune with their companions' singing.
Bilbo's eyes widened at this sight, and he anxiously followed behind, shouting for the dwarves to be careful, careful, and even more careful.
"Chip the glasses, crack the plates!"
"Blunt the knives, bend the forks!"
"That's what Bilbo Baggins hates—!"
Of course, they didn't do any of those frightening things; everything was neatly tidied, sparkling clean, and done with lightning speed, as if it wasn't their first time doing such work.
Of course, Thorin did not participate in these matters, as his status was more noble.
Only after the dwarves' music ended did Thorin speak, "Alright, now we should discuss Bilbo Baggins joining our expedition."
Bilbo heard this and asked in confusion, "Expedition? What expedition?"