A king came to the village and had lunch at the village chief's house, according to normal circumstances, the village chief would definitely be very happy and entertained with kindness. There is no doubt about it.

What's more, the villagers are simple and can entertain guests from afar, let alone the king.

Village Chief Shi’s behavior is somewhat strange.

Tao Xingde, perhaps not expecting that the king would eat in the village, couldn't help but feel a little panicked and said quickly: "King, what is your identity? How can you sit with the common people and have dinner? In the eyes of a humble minister, let's go back to the city first."

Xiao Yuan was very thoughtful. When he heard this, he glanced at Tao Xingde and smiled at the village chief and said, "Is this request of my king too much?"

"No, no, no, the king defeats the villain. If you can entertain the king, that is the blessing that the villain has cultivated in his lifetime." The village chief explained in a hurry.

As he said that, he subconsciously glanced at Tao Xingde.

Then, after a forced intent, he could only say: "Then, the king, I am afraid that the humble house will be simple."

"Where, village chief, you are polite." Xiao Yuan smiled again.

Seeing that he was about to visit the village chief's house, Tao Xingde frowned secretly, but said on his face: "King, since that's the case, the empress asks to prepare some wine and food. After all, the best ingredients in the village are hard to cook without rice."

But Xiao Yuan refused directly: "No need, just eat simple food. What people eat on weekdays, we will eat today."

"This..." Tao Xingde swallowed. Seeing that Xiao Yuan had made up his mind, he could not say anything else, so he could only respond and then glanced at the county magistrate.

Afterwards, the group came to the village chief’s house.

As soon as he entered the door, the village chief nodded and smiled dryly at Xiao Yuan, then shouted in the room: "Old woman, old woman, come and have a distinguished guest, go and prepare..."

The village chief is actually not old and looks over thirty years old, but it is normal for local people to call their own wife and old women.

Soon, a village woman came out. She was wearing thick clothes and linen, with visible patches on her clothes. She seemed to be busy with housework and had an apron around her waist.

After coming out, when he saw Xiao Yuan and others, he was obviously embarrassed and hurriedly wiped his hands on the apron, then said, "Oh, are you here?"

"You woman, you are so rude, and you haven't seen the king or the county magistrate." Village Chief Shi reminded.

"Ah?" The woman didn't expect that the king would come here. She was shocked at first, and then she was about to kneel down.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuan stepped forward to stop her and said calmly: "Madam, don't be too polite. We are disturbing us this time."

"This, this." The woman was immediately at a loss.

Village Chief Shi winked at him and told her to go down quickly. Then he smiled dryly: "The king is really a traitor. What's the wife? She's just a rough wife."

Xiao Yuan smiled, and the village chief hurriedly reached out after the woman left: "Please rest in the house for a while, the villain will go get some tea."

"We don't have to be too polite, we'll be more casual." Xiao Yuan nodded and then looked at the environment here.

Ordinary houses are not brick and stone houses, and the yard is also surrounded by fences. Logically speaking, if the people's livelihood is really rich, a village chief's family will have some livestock such as chickens and ducks, but Xiao Yuan did not see these.

In the kitchen.

The woman was looking anxious and looked at the village chief and said, "What should I do? What should I do with my family to entertain the king."

"Is there nothing left?" the village chief also asked anxiously.

"There are still some wild vegetables, but the rice jar has already reached the bottom. You should think of a solution." The woman said.

"This, alas!" The village chief walked back and forth in a hurry and said, "Take out all the things you can do first, and I'll find a way."

"Okay, then hurry up. If the king arrives at home, if he cannot entertain all his heart, it will be a crime for the people." The woman said.

After explaining here, the village chief also thorned the bullet and brewed the tea.

Several people were sitting in the yard with a wooden table waiting for the tea to be served. The village chief also smiled dryly and said, "Master, don't dislike some rough tea."

"Nothing, this is good." Xiao Yuan was still peaceful and also invited everyone to have tea.

The village chief stood aside and said tentatively: "The king sat down for a while, the woman was preparing lunch. The villain would go out to make some wine and go back immediately."

He said this, but in fact he wanted to go out and find a way to borrow some food.

Xiao Yuan first thought about it, then smiled and said, "No need, we don't drink, so village chief Shi will be busy first."

"This." The village chief dared not say anything more, so he could only look at Tao Xingde for help.

Seeing this, the latter immediately said, "King..."

But as soon as he started, Xiao Yuan had raised his hand slightly to interrupt him.

Tao Xingde could only swallow what he wanted to say.

Time passed slowly. After drinking tea, Xiao Yuan sat bored and walked out of the village chief’s house. Seeing that the smoke from cooking was rising from the various families in the village, he subconsciously said: "Shijia Village is peaceful."

Liang Yuan was beside him and couldn't help but say, "King, why do I always feel that although this village chief is honest, it's a little weird."

Hearing this, Xiao Yuan shook his head slightly and said, "He is not a strange thing, he has no things to entertain guests at home, and he is just a little short of money."

"Then, the king still..." Liang Yuan was puzzled.

Xiao Yuan said: "In the memorial, Tao Xingde said that even the people in the state are rich in livelihood and every household has surplus food. What we have seen on the surface is indeed the case. Since this is the case, that village chief should not be able to afford to eat."

Speaking of him, he accidentally discovered that a little boy, six or seven, was sitting by the earthen wall not far away, stuffing something into his mouth with his dirty little hands, making it difficult to chew.

The child was wearing a thick coat and had multiple patches. He looked dark and thin, but his eyes looked extremely bright.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but walk over, squatted down in front of the little boy, and asked with a smile: "Little boy, it's already noon now, aren't you going home for dinner?"

"Dad said that there is a distinguished guest today, so let me play by myself." The little boy said silly and while speaking, his eyes were full of curiosity about Xiao Yuan.

"Dad? Where do you live in?" Xiao Yuan asked again.

"That's my house." The little boy pointed his hand at the village chief's house.

Xiao Yuan followed the point, frowned slightly, and then looked at the boy's food.

"What's this?"

"Is this?" the little boy held something in his hand like a plant rhizome, "This is the root of the loess."

"Can this be eaten?"
Chapter completed!