Thinking of this, Zhao Hai flashed and entered the Space again. He didn't really like having others watching while he was in the Space, but to reassure Meirin and the others, he had to bring them in to take a look. The Buda clan still had to rely on them for now.
This time, Zhao Hai let Meirin and Meg know about the situation in the Space to give them more confidence. The crises in the Carrion Swamp were coming one after another; if Meirin and the others lost hope, then everything would be over.
Once inside the Space, Zhao Hai immediately sold the radishes. This time, it was three seasons' worth of radishes, totaling 1,500 gold coins. Added to the 50 gold coins he already had, he now had 1,550 gold coins in his hands. If he used these to plant radishes, he could plant enough for ten seasons.
It wasn't that Zhao Hai didn't want to save seeds from the radishes, but radishes were different from corn. When they matured, the main edible part was the root, and he didn't know if the Space would allow them to produce seeds. Furthermore, even if they did produce seeds, the quantity would be very small, far less productive than corn, which was why Zhao Hai hadn't used them for seed saving.
In any case, selling the radishes could earn a good amount of money, and selling them outside would earn even more. Once Green returned, they could go sell the radishes, and then he could buy some books about the continent's plants. That way, he could decide what to plant himself. Right now, he knew too little about the plants on the continent to develop anything.
Zhao Hai had no other choice. Having sold the radishes now, he could harvest another season tomorrow. Anyway, he had told Green he only had 80,000 catties of radishes, and one season's worth was enough for the time being.
However, although he had over 1,500 gold coins, it wasn't really enough. The radishes could be harvested three times a day, meaning the money he had would only last for three days. After three days, he would have to sell radishes again.
Zhao Hai felt quite helpless. His level was too low, so even if he wanted to buy higher-level seeds, he couldn't. He could only wait. At this rate, he didn't know when he would be able to upgrade the Space.
After coming out of the Space, Zhao Hai lay on the bed and fell asleep shortly after. He had also discovered that he seemed to be able to sleep a lot lately. He had clearly slept in the afternoon, yet he could still fall asleep at night; it was truly incredible.
Early the next morning, Zhao Hai was woken up by the sound of the radishes in the Space maturing. Upon entering, he saw that not only the radishes but also the corn was about to mature.
Zhao Hai immediately harvested the radishes and bought another bag of radish seeds to plant. He checked the corn; it would be ready in a few minutes. Not wanting to go out, he washed his face and rinsed his mouth with the water from the Space, then waited inside.
Looking at the corn, Zhao Hai was truly craving it. He used to live in the north, and although no one treated corn as a staple food back then, eating it occasionally was quite good. However, the corn back then was all high-yield varieties, not as tasty as the waxy corn from the past. Plus, most of it was grown with chemical fertilizers, so the taste was far inferior to those grown with farm manure. That was why Zhao Hai only ate it occasionally.
However, once when Zhao Hai visited his relatives in the countryside, he had eaten something delicious: cornmeal flatbreads cooked in a large iron pot. They were delicious, truly delicious.
Those cornmeal flatbreads were completely different from the ones bought in the city. Although the cornmeal was coarse, the bread was very fragrant. With vegetables stewing at the bottom of the pot, the bottom of the flatbreads would soak up the vegetable broth, and one side would develop a crispy, reddish-brown crust. Taking a bite, you could taste not only the fragrance of the cornmeal but also the charred, savory flavor of the crust, and the parts soaked in the vegetable broth were even more fragrant.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hai couldn't help but salivate excessively, feeling as if he couldn't stop. He came back to his senses, hurriedly swallowed twice, and gave a bitter smile.
Although he had eaten corn grits porridge and cornmeal flatbreads, he didn't really know how to process them. He only knew that processing corn grits was relatively simple—just remove the skin and the germ. Cornmeal was more troublesome; you had to process the corn into grits first and then grind it into meal.
On Earth, processing corn was a very simple matter. You just found a grain processing plant, turned on the machine, and it would be done in a while.
But that wouldn't work here. There were no such pulverizers here, so there was no way to process the corn.
Zhao Hai sighed. Just then, the Space's notification sound rang again—the corn had matured. Zhao Hai immediately harvested the corn and replanted the two mu with corn again. Then, he stared at the cornfield in a daze. The yield of this corn was high, but the processing was a problem. He really wondered how people ate corn in the past.
Suddenly, Zhao Hai had a flash of inspiration. He realized a problem: corn must have appeared long before pulverizers and flour mills. In the years without machines, did people just boil the corn kernels to eat? People back then weren't that stupid, right? So how did they process corn?
Zhao Hai paced around the Space a few times, habitually rubbing his forehead, thinking about how people in the past processed rice and flour.
Suddenly, Zhao Hai slapped his forehead. He finally remembered two things. He had only seen people use them on TV, never having used them himself, nor had he seen people in the countryside use them nowadays, which was why he hadn't thought of them immediately.
A millstone and a hand-mill!
Yes, that was it. When Zhao Hai visited his relatives in the countryside, he had seen a millstone, though it was one that had already been dismantled. No one used that stuff in the countryside anymore. But out of curiosity, he had asked what the millstone and hand-mill were for, and only then did he learn that they were used for milling rice and flour in the past.
The most important thing was that the main materials for these two things were stone and wood. Stone was easy enough; although there weren't many stones available for mining in the mountains now, it should be enough to make a millstone and a hand-mill. And not much stone was needed, nor did it require high-quality material. The small trees growing on the mountain would suffice.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hai couldn't stay still any longer. He immediately came out of the Space. Looking at the sky outside, Meirin and the others should be up, so Zhao Hai pushed the door open and walked out.
As soon as Zhao Hai came out, he saw Meirin and Ju carrying copper basins, heading toward his room. Seeing Zhao Hai come out, Meirin was stunned and quickly said, "Young Master, why are you out? You haven't washed up yet."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "It's fine, I got up early and already washed. Ju, is your brother better? Is he up?"
Ju had been standing behind Meirin with her head lowered. Hearing Zhao Hai say this, she quickly said, "Thank you for your concern, Young Master. An is already better and is waiting outside to pay his respects to you."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Why be so formal? What 'pay respects'? Let's go, let's go to the living room first. You call An over; I have something to ask him."
Meirin and Ju were both stunned, but they didn't say anything. They both responded immediately and followed Zhao Hai toward the living room.
In the living room, Meirin put down the copper basin and stood behind Zhao Hai, while Ju went outside to call An.
The inner castle was divided into the main castle and the servants' quarters. The main castle was where Zhao Hai and the others lived, while the servants' quarters were small houses behind the main castle. Currently, Ju and An lived in the servants' quarters. Although they were now commoners and had been granted a surname by Zhao Hai, their status was still far behind Meirin and the others. Meirin and the others were trusted confidants, while Ju and An could only be considered ordinary servants.
Before long, Ju led An in. An actually looked quite good; he was very tall, just a bit thin, but he looked sturdy.
He no longer had that dying look, but he still kept his head down, not daring to speak much.
Ju walked up to Zhao Hai and said with her head lowered, "Young Master, An is here."
Zhao Hai nodded, looked at An standing not far away, and smiled, "Call him over. No need for such formalities; I have something to ask him."
Ju immediately called An over. As soon as An reached Zhao Hai, he knelt down with a thud and kowtowed, "An greets the Young Master. Thank you, Young Master, for saving my life."
It seemed Ju had already instructed him before he came, which was why he called Zhao Hai "Young Master" instead of "Master." Zhao Hai nodded and said, "No need to be so formal. You are now a member of the Buda clan; saving you was the right thing to do. Stand up and answer me."
An kowtowed again and said, "Thank you, Young Master." Only then did he stand up, but he still kept his body half-bent and his head lowered, not daring to look at Zhao Hai.
Seeing An's posture, Zhao Hai couldn't help but frown. He didn't like people acting like this toward him; it was the look of a groveling servant, and he didn't like it. Zhao Hai said in a deep voice, "An, lift your head. You must remember, you are now a member of the Buda clan and a commoner. In the future, whatever you do represents the face of our Buda clan. Don't always hunch your back and look like a servant; that will make people look down on our Buda clan."
Seeing that Zhao Hai seemed angry, Ju and An both knelt down and kowtowed to Zhao Hai simultaneously, "Please punish us, Young Master."
Zhao Hai felt so helpless, he could only say, "Alright, stand up. Don't kneel at every turn." Seeing them both stand up, An's back straightened a bit more. Zhao Hai then continued, "An, I ask you, do you have some skills as a stonemason?"
An quickly said, "Yes, Young Master. My father was a stonemason, and I have learned some stonemasonry skills. Although I am not very proficient, I can still make ordinary things."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "That's good. In a while, I will draw two designs. See if you can make them. If you can, organize people to mine some stones immediately and make what I need as soon as possible."
An's heart tightened, but he bowed and said, "Yes, Young Master."