Chapter 40: Rice

Zhao Hai felt incredibly frustrated. It was his first time seeing anyone eat rice like this. Although this grain wasn't exactly white rice, it was close enough. The thought of what beautiful, fragrant white rice could be turned into this made Zhao Hai feel like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

He also understood why Merlin wouldn't make rice for him to eat; it was likely because these people simply didn't know how to cook it. If they did, the rice produced would certainly not be tasty, which was why only slaves on the mainland were fed this kind of grain.

Just then, he noticed a large stove where the fire had only just been lit and no oil had been added yet. Zhao Hai couldn't help himself; he immediately walked over and said to a female slave who was about to pour oil, "Wait a moment, don't pour the oil yet."

Seeing Zhao Hai's expression, the female slave thought she had committed some error and immediately knelt down, saying, "Please, Master, punish me."

This caught Zhao Hai off guard, but he quickly regained his composure, shook his head, and said, "I'm not here to punish you. You didn't do anything wrong. Now, listen to me: don't pour the oil into the pot yet. Use a basin to wash all this rice. Looking at this pot, it looks like it can hold about one basin of rice. Wash the rice thoroughly, pour out the water, and then put the rice into the pot." As he spoke, Zhao Hai pulled out a copper basin.

The female slave didn't know what Zhao Hai was planning, but she immediately took the large copper basin from his hands, filled it with rice, went to the spring to wash it thoroughly, and then brought it back and poured it into the pot.

Zhao Hai continued, "That copper basin was more than half full of rice. Go and get a basin of water equal to the amount of rice, and pour it into the pot." The female slave obediently went and fetched a basin of water, pouring it into the pot. Zhao Hai had her fetch another basin, and after both were poured in, the pot was nearly full. He then had her fetch a bowl of water and pour that in as well. Only then did he find a larger copper basin in the warehouse, invert it over the pot, and instruct the female slave to tend the fire underneath.

Zhao Hai simply wanted to make them a meal of rice. Making rice is actually quite simple. Back on Earth, Zhao Hai had lived alone, so he was quite skilled at cooking rice. The ratio of rice to water is roughly one to two—one pound of rice to two pounds of water is about right. However, for a pot like this, one needs to add more water because the fire is fueled directly by wood, making the heat quite intense. Thus, Zhao Hai intentionally added an extra bowl of water and did not let the female slave use high heat, instructing her to keep a steady, gentle flame under the pot.

Meg and the others watched Zhao Hai intently. They had boiled grain with water before, but back then, they treated the grain like a vegetable—an ingredient for a soup rather than actual rice. Consequently, they had never truly seen what proper rice looked like.

It didn't take long to cook the rice. Before long, the fragrant aroma of the rice began to waft from the pot. It should be noted that the rice from this land was grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers; it was pure, green food, so the flavor was naturally exceptional.

The slaves had bowls for eating, though they were made of wood, with each person receiving a set. Aside from the pot, each person had only one wooden spoon, but it was sufficient.

One field stove for ten people, one wooden bowl, one wooden spoon, and one wooden cup—this was the entirety of the slaves' possessions. Even so, the slaves felt very happy, as they hadn't even possessed these basic items before.

While Zhao Hai was staring at the pot of rice, Merlin walked out of the thatched hut and approached him, saying, "Young Master, come take a look. How do I light the cooking utensils in this kitchen?"

Startled, Zhao Hai followed Merlin into the hut. He hadn't paid much attention to the kitchen utensils before, but looking at them now, he was stunned. The kitchen was filled with electrical appliances: electric rice cookers, electric griddles, electric woks—everything was electric. What left Zhao Hai speechless was that there was no way to tell where the wires were connected; all the wires were hidden within the thatched walls, with switches located on the appliances themselves.

However, Zhao Hai knew how to use all of these. He glanced at what Merlin was trying to make and was speechless once again. He had thought Merlin was going to make pancakes or stir-fry something, but it turned out Merlin was trying to make a pizza—the kind where the filling is placed on top of the dough.

Clearly, however, his version of pizza was different from the pizzas Zhao Hai had seen before. It was far from the beautiful pizzas of Earth; it was simply dough shaped into a flatbread with vegetables and ham placed on top.

Zhao Hai felt helpless. He was from China, where Chinese cuisine is world-renowned. Since arriving in this world, he hadn't had a single decent meal. He thought he was going to have pancakes today, only to end up with this thing that was neither quite a pizza nor quite a pancake.

Nevertheless, Zhao Hai showed Merlin how to use the appliances. Since they were all electric, they were much more convenient, and Merlin learned quickly.

Seeing that Merlin could use the utensils, Zhao Hai didn't linger in the kitchen. As he turned to leave, the aroma from the pot of rice he had prepared grew even stronger, making it impossible not to sniff the air.

As soon as Zhao Hai emerged, Meg immediately approached him and whispered, "Young Master, that smell is wonderful. How did you make it?"

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Didn't you see? It's just rice and water. The rice itself has a natural scent; as long as you add the right amount of water, you can make fragrant, soft, and delicious rice. This is much better than just stir-frying the grain. Then, we can use some oil and vegetables to make a soup, and we'll have a beautiful meal. It's much better than what they are currently making."

Merlin looked at Zhao Hai with eyes full of admiration. "Young Master, you know so much. You are truly amazing."

Zhao Hai couldn't help but blush. It wasn't that he "knew so much"; this was something everyone knew in China, yet here, it was treated as a great achievement.

Zhao Hai walked over to the field stove where the rice was cooking. Listening to the sounds from inside, he felt it was almost done. He picked up a cornstalk from the ground and used it to nudge the copper basin covering the pot. With a *clang*, the basin fell to the ground, and a cloud of hot steam burst from the pot. Zhao Hai couldn't help but take a step back. Along with the steam came an even more intense aroma of rice. It was so fragrant—even more so than the rice he had eaten on Earth—that it made his mouth water uncontrollably.

Once the steam dissipated, the rice finally revealed its true appearance. It wasn't snow-white as Zhao Hai had imagined, but rather slightly yellowish, though it looked glistening and oily, and the smell was incredible.

Unable to resist, Zhao Hai took a spoon from the warehouse, scooped up a mouthful of rice, and slowly put it in his mouth. Meg wanted to stop him, but he was too quick; by the time she moved, the rice was already in his mouth. Meg and the others couldn't help but stare at him.

Zhao Hai felt a fresh, clean fragrance fill his mouth. As he chewed, the rice was incredibly elastic, soft, and delicious. He couldn't help but close his eyes, slowly swallowing the rice. When he opened them, he saw the slaves and Meg staring at him. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Zhao Hai said, "Don't all stare at me. Go ahead and eat. If the fried rice you made earlier wasn't good, don't eat it; we can just make this rice instead."

The slaves didn't move immediately. Seeing them looking eager yet hesitant, Zhao Hai realized it was because he was there; they didn't dare to act recklessly. He smiled slightly and turned to Meg. "Meg, let's go inside. There is plenty of rice here anyway. If they don't like the fried rice, they can just make more of this."

Meg was a clever girl and understood his meaning immediately. She nodded and said, "Alright, Young Master. Let's go inside and see how Grandmother's meal is coming along."

Zhao Hai smiled to himself. He was finding himself liking this perceptive, gentle, and kind girl more and more. The two of them walked into the thatched hut.

Ju and An did not follow; they wanted to stay outside to taste just how delicious this rice truly was. Once they saw Zhao Hai and Meg enter the house, the slaves immediately crowded around the field stove. They took turns eating, and in no time, the large pot of rice was devoured. Everyone praised the food as they ate.

Once the pot was empty, the slaves looked at one another and immediately poured out the leftover fried rice that had been in the pot, starting over to wash and cook new rice.

However, in the pot of the first person who had made the rice, a thick layer of scorched rice—*guoba*—remained at the bottom. They had never seen anything like this before. One curious slave scraped the crust up, held it to look at it, and sniffed it. The slightly burnt aroma of the rice was even more enticing. Finally, unable to resist the temptation, he took a bite.

As soon as he bit into it, his eyes lit up, and he quickly took a second bite. Since the field stove pot was quite large, the crust was also large, shaped somewhat like a small shield. One person naturally couldn't finish it, so the slave shared the crust with those around him. Before the second batch of rice was even finished, they were already full.

Zhao Hai, Merlin, and the others had actually been peeking through the cracks of the thatched hut door to watch the slaves. Seeing that they were about to make a second batch, Zhao Hai immediately pushed the door open and walked out. He said to the slave, "Making seven pots of rice should be enough for everyone. Use the remaining three pots to make soup. When the rice is ready, the soup will be ready too, and everyone can enjoy both rice and vegetables together."

Hearing this, the slaves realized Zhao Hai had been watching them the whole time. They felt a bit embarrassed, but they immediately followed his instructions. They were now utterly in awe of this master, and they felt incredibly grateful.

Many people actually wept while eating the rice. In their entire lives, they had never tasted anything so delicious. Not only them, but even their families had never eaten anything this good. They were truly overwhelmed with emotion.