Chapter 33: A Sudden Inspiration

Although they were busy, smiles were etched on their faces—the kind of smiles filled with hope for life that made one feel they were living with vigor and purpose.

Zhao Hai couldn't help but let a smile touch his own lips. He turned and walked to the area where the corn stalks were kept, placing the stalks he had gathered that morning back onto the ground.

Zhao Hai had no intention of keeping secrets from these people. They were slaves of the Buda family, branded with the family's mark, a brand that would never fade in this lifetime. Their fates were inextricably linked to the Buda family, so there was absolutely no need to hide anything from them.

The slaves seemed to have somewhat adapted to Zhao Hai's various miraculous displays; thus, when they saw him producing so many corn stalks, they showed no particular reaction.

Zhao Hai glanced at a female slave carrying corn stalks and said, "These can be used to pave the ground or to start fires. But remember, you must be careful when making fires to avoid causing a blaze. Also, these stalks are still a bit damp; it's best to let them air out before spreading them."

The female slaves hurriedly complied, but this time they didn't rush to kneel. It seemed Meg had communicated well with them.

In truth, Zhao Hai had misjudged this time; the credit didn't actually belong to Meg. Although Meg was a servant, one must not forget that she was, after all, the daughter of a high-ranking official of the Buda family. Even before the Buda family's decline, few in the entire household would dare show her disrespect. Her status was far higher than that of the commoners, and since she had rarely interacted with them, she naturally wouldn't know how to communicate with slaves, whose status was even lower than commoners.

The reason for this shift in the slaves' attitude was entirely due to Ju. Although Ju had once been a commoner, she had been a slave for several years, and she now bore the Buda family's brand. Even though Zhao Hai had restored her status to that of a commoner yesterday, in the eyes of the other slaves, she was much easier to approach than Meg.

Most importantly, although Ju had regained her commoner status and moved to a different room, she still worked and joked alongside them, making it easier for the slaves to accept her.

Slaves were the lowest class on the entire continent; sometimes, they were treated worse than a master's pet dog. It was said that if a noble's dog died on this continent, a hundred slaves might be executed to accompany it in death, illustrating just how lowly their status was.

Because of this, slaves were extremely wary of anyone with even a slightly higher status or any connection to the nobility; they never believed a word spoken by anyone associated with the aristocracy.

Ju's status was unique. She was a slave, yet she had been restored to commoner status, and she had always been honest and easy to talk to, which allowed the slaves to accept her so quickly.

When women work together, they naturally chat, and slaves were no exception. As Ju worked with them, they naturally asked her about Zhao Hai. Ju didn't hide anything and told them everything, which left the slaves quite astonished; they truly hadn't expected Zhao Hai to be so easy to talk to.

Similarly, Ju had learned from Merlin that Zhao Hai disliked people kneeling before him at every turn. She had passed this on to the slaves, and combined with Zhao Hai's gentle behavior over the past few days, their wariness had diminished significantly, so they no longer knelt to salute him.

Zhao Hai didn't mind. To be honest, as a modern person, even after accepting all of Adam's memories, having people kneel before him every day felt very unnatural. However, to avoid criticism from Merlin and Green, he accepted it. Now that the slaves no longer knelt whenever they saw him, he actually felt more at ease.

Zhao Hai returned to the courtyard with Merlin. When Meg and the others approached to pay their respects, Zhao Hai waved them off, telling them not to bother. He walked to an empty space beside the courtyard and released the stone he had just stored in his spatial dimension.

He then watched Meg and the others weaving straw mats. Clearly, these slaves were accustomed to such work; their hands and feet were incredibly nimble. Even those who hadn't known how to weave before learned very quickly. In contrast, Meg was far inferior to the slaves in this regard.

They were all sitting on the ground, each with a large pile of straw beside them. Merlin had the largest pile, which almost completely obscured her.

Seeing Merlin's appearance, a phrase suddenly came to Zhao Hai's mind: "Borrowing arrows with straw boats." He remembered that Zhuge Liang had used straw men at the front and real people at the back to borrow a vast number of arrows. Wait, straw boats? Straw boats!?

Zhao Hai slapped his hand hard. He had finally thought of what to use to make a boat: straw. He remembered seeing a news report back on Earth about someone making a straw boat to attempt to conquer the Pacific. While he didn't know if that madman succeeded, one thing was certain: straw could be used to make a boat!

Zhao Hai paced excitedly in circles. If a straw boat could truly be made, the boat problem would be solved, and someone could tend to the land in the canyon.

The thought made him even more excited, which startled Merlin, who was standing beside him. She didn't understand why Zhao Hai had become so agitated just after glancing at her. Merlin hurriedly asked, "Young Master, Young Master, what is wrong?"

The sudden call from Merlin snapped Zhao Hai back to reality. He glanced at the others and saw, as expected, that everyone was staring at him. This made him feel a bit embarrassed. He quickly said, "Grandmother Merlin, please call Meg and Ju to the living room; I have something to discuss with them." Having said that, he walked briskly toward the living room of the inner castle.

Although Merlin didn't know what Zhao Hai was planning, she knew he must have thought of something good. She hurried to fetch Meg and Ju and followed him toward the inner castle's living room.

Zhao Hai had already arrived in the living room, pacing back and forth and habitually rubbing his forehead. Hearing footsteps, he stopped and saw that Merlin and the two others had arrived.

Seeing them enter, Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Come, sit. I have something to say." The three approached him but did not dare to sit down.

Zhao Hai smiled slightly and sat down first, then waved his hand. "Come, sit." They followed his instruction, though Ju sat furthest back with her head bowed.

Zhao Hai looked at the three of them and said, "I just suddenly thought of a way. Grandmother Merlin, we need a boat right now. Someone needs to tend to the land in the canyon, but we have too few resources to build a proper boat. Just now, seeing Merlin weaving straw, it occurred to me—could we weave a boat out of straw?"

Merlin and the others were stunned; even Ju lifted her head. This was the first time they had ever heard of anyone using straw to build a boat.

Merlin asked uncertainly, "Young Master, would that actually work?"

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "It will, it definitely will. However, this kind of boat will require a lot of straw. We must pack the straw tightly and use plenty of rope to tie it securely. I looked at the grass on the mountain; it is very tough, so it should be fine for making a boat. Here's the plan: Meg, you and Ju take the others and try to make a prototype. Don't worry if it doesn't work; there is plenty of wild grass on this mountain. We can try several times until we get it right."

Seeing Zhao Hai's confidence, Merlin couldn't say much against it. On second thought, even if the boat failed, the only loss would be some straw and rope, which wasn't a big deal.

Zhao Hai continued, "Meg, come to the study with me. I will draw a design for the straw boat, and you can follow it." With that, he headed upstairs, and Meg quickly followed him.

Once upstairs, Zhao Hai used his memory to sketch a rough design of a straw boat. The boat wasn't overly complex; it looked somewhat like an Arabic dhow, with the bow curving high and the stern relatively flat, a thick bottom, and the middle tightly bound with rope.

Zhao Hai had only seen pictures of such boats on a computer and had only a vague memory of the shape, so he could only draw it as a reference for Meg and the others.

When he finished drawing, he handed the paper to Meg and said, "I remember the boat looking roughly like this. Try making it this way first to see if it's possible. It's fine to try several times."

Meg acknowledged him and left with the drawing. Once she was gone, Zhao Hai found himself unsure of what to do next. Suddenly, his eyes fell upon the books in the room, and his eyes lit up as he began to examine them closely.

Fortunately, although Adam had been a profligate, he was still a noble, meaning he had been taught to read from a young age. Zhao Hai could recognize all the characters in these books.

Strangely, while the spoken language on this continent was Chinese—and though some pronunciations differed slightly, the differences weren't significant—the written script was very different from Chinese characters. Fortunately, he had inherited Adam's memories; otherwise, he truly would have been illiterate.

Zhao Hai scanned the books in the study. There wasn't much useful; there were only a few miscellaneous journals, some history books, a few obvious military treatises, and some books regarding magic and battle qi.

He first picked up a history book, but reading it made him feel dizzy. This wasn't a history book at all; it was a collection of myths and a Bible, written in such obscure and difficult language that it gave him a massive headache.

After reading only two pages, Zhao Hai tossed the history book aside and picked up a miscellaneous journal. This journal wasn't incorrect; it was more like a personal travel diary, recording a vast amount of information about the customs and traditions of the continent, as well as various legends. It was exactly to Zhao Hai's taste, and he began to read it intently.

Seeing that Meg had been gone for a long time and Zhao Hai had yet to emerge from the study, Merlin felt puzzled. She went to the study door and found it wasn't even closed; Zhao Hai was sitting inside, reading a book with great focus.