Xu Milu knelt on a cushion woven from some kind of grass, shifting her legs slightly uncomfortably. Even the fruits and delicacies on the table failed to attract her attention.
The shock she felt from just moments ago, when the village chief, who had mistakenly thought Xu Milu was there to settle scores, led his entire family to kneel on the ground and beg her to forgive the two children, had not yet subsided.
After all, girls raised under the red flag have never heard of kneeling down to someone so easily.
But this also served as a reminder to Xu Milu that although the world seemed peaceful, it was not actually peaceful. The title of a five-star hunter could frighten a village chief into kneeling and apologizing, which shows that this is still a world where strength reigns supreme.
"I'm sorry to have frightened you, adults... These two ignorant children dared to disturb you. It was truly my fault. Fortunately, Lady Milu is kind-hearted and didn't hold those precious tortoise-shell black needle grasses against you—"
The village chief and his family sat around a low wooden table, with pale yellow straw mats spread around it.
Dried flowers and a few straw hats hung on the wall, creating a rustic and charming atmosphere.
From the outside, the main structure of the house is made of hay, but surprisingly, from the inside the walls are smooth as if they have been plastered with cement, and they have a kind of shimmering white light.
The village chief, who was keeping a close eye on Xu Milu, stroked his bushy beard:
"Are you not used to our way of resting here? Or do you need a comfortable blanket? Oni, go and get a blanket, the best one."
Zhili's mother, Oni, obediently lowered her head and soon brought out a brand new blanket, carefully placing it in front of Xu Milu. She seemed terrified and didn't dare to look at Xu Milu even once.
"Sir, please forgive these two children. They didn't steal the precious ingredients on purpose. Please punish me instead."
Although Xu Milu had never encountered such a situation, she knew that she couldn't appear weak in a completely unfamiliar village, so she imitated the calm expression of the protagonist in a TV drama and slowly said:
"There's no need to use honorifics with me. Your children did this to save their sister, which is good. Consider those black needle grasses as payment for guiding me."
These words indeed intimidated Ouni. She respectfully placed her hands on her forehead to express her gratitude, refilled Xu Milu's tea, and then retreated to the back room.
Zhi Mei is still a little weak and needs her mother's care.
The village chief squinted, also unable to discern Xu Milu's background, and gestured for her to try the pink fruit in the wooden bowl on the table:
"Please try this. It's a wind-blown fruit unique to our area. Although it doesn't have a capture rating, it's still delicious and a specialty of our fried village."
Xu Milu picked up a wind-blown fruit and examined it carefully.
The pink peel encases the juicy flesh; the skin is smooth and delicate, as if you could feel the abundance of the fruit with just a little pressure.
【Wind-blown peach: Non-toxic, edible, and sweet.】
"Mmm, delicious."
Although there was no star rating, Xu Milu couldn't help but sigh.
With a gentle bite, the texture of the wind-blown fruit is similar to that of a juicy peach, with every bite bursting with rich juice and the sweet sweetness of a juicy fruit.
This one is quite heavy, weighing almost a pound; it's practically a pitless peach.
"You've captured a valuable black needle grass this time, but we're unable to pay you the full amount upfront. So, would you consider paying us the remaining half next month? Or could we pay you with fried dandelions from the field?"
The village chief carefully took out a bag and placed it on the table. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Xu Milu did not seem to have any complaints.
Gourmet hunters are of noble status. Not only are they incredibly strong, but they also always manage to find valuable ingredients and work for large food conglomerates. Therefore, very few ordinary people would dare to provoke a gourmet hunter.
Few can afford to hire a high-level gourmet hunter, and many gourmet hunters are focused on finding rare ingredients and never accept commissions from ordinary people.
Previously, when Zhi Mei was seriously ill, the village chief went to the fried village to cooperate with several three-star gourmet hunters. They were not good-tempered, let alone able to sit at the same table and chat with them as kindly as Xu Mi Lu.
However, those people were either unwilling to accept commissions from ordinary people, or their star rating was not high enough to dare to accept commissions to collect black needle grass.
The village chief never expected things to turn out this way; he actually had his two grandsons invite a distinguished five-star gourmet hunter.
Xu Milu captured the precious five-star ingredient, Turtleback Black Needle Grass, and also brought a five-star Silverwing Flying Fish as a gift. The village chief did not think that his family's wealth was enough to hire a gourmet hunter who was at least five-star.
"Dandelion fried chicken strips? I remember that's a specialty of your village, a two-star delicacy?"
Xu Milu thought for a moment. Although she had given them some black needle grass that she had casually picked on the grassland, which was almost a business with no cost, it would seem strange not to charge them any compensation.
"Yes, our Fried Village is a collaboration between our two-star fried dandelion and Phuket's largest four-star hotel. This is an excellent dish that every tourist visiting Phuket will choose to try!!!"
Zhihe excitedly introduced fried dandelion to Xu Milu.
"Although fried dandelions are a two-star delicacy, they have very high cultivation requirements. They must be irrigated with snowmelt from the glaciers to grow into qualified fried dandelions. If you are interested, Lady Milu, we can take you to the fields to see them. My father is going to work in the fields this afternoon!"
Xu Milu was very interested in the proposal. She took the deflated money bag and tacitly agreed to the village chief's suggestion to pay her with fried dandelions.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
