Chapter 19: Selecting Crops

Zhao Hai led the group back into the house, and Merlin and the others naturally followed. Upon reaching the living room, Zhao Hai motioned for Merlin to sit down, but Meg stood silently behind him. This time, however, she did not lower her head; instead, she stared blankly at Zhao Hai's back.

Zhao Hai had regained his composure. Although Meg's electric shock had involuntarily left an impression of her in his mind, he had too much to do right now to rush into romance. The entire future of the Buda family rested on his shoulders; his primary concern was the survival of these hundred-plus people.

Merlin, now accustomed to Zhao Hai's way of handling things, did not decline and sat down. Looking at him with excitement, she asked, "Young Master, what do we do next?" She had begun to unconsciously seek his guidance.

Zhao Hai thought for a moment and said, "Grandma Merlin, in a moment, please go outside and select the best farmers. Have them plant those ten acres of land. Ask them what is most suitable to plant at this time. By the way, do we have seeds?"

Merlin nodded. "Yes, we have many seeds on hand, but most of them are for grains and common vegetables, and they are best suited for mountain cultivation. The soil outside is so good; it would be a waste to plant those things there."

Zhao Hai nodded. He turned to Merlin and asked, "Grandma Merlin, let's start a fire to cook. The weather is still a bit cold; what do the slaves use for warmth at night?"

Merlin looked troubled. "Young Master, at the time, we only thought about buying practical items. For cooking and heating, we used magic stoves in the manor, but we have too few magic crystals now, so we cannot use them. Currently, we are using dead wood and dry grass from the mountains for cooking and warmth."

Zhao Hai nodded. It was clear that Merlin and the others, who had always lived in the upper echelons of the nobility, while working hard to prepare, were unaware of the old Chinese saying regarding the "seven necessities of opening a door": firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea.

These seven things are closely related to daily life, especially the first four—firewood, rice, oil, and salt—which are absolute necessities. The fact that firewood ranks first demonstrates its importance.

Because they had always held high positions, they were not well-versed in such matters. Although Merlin and the others had brought many supplies, they were underprepared for the simplest and most vital necessity: firewood.

The main reason was that the Black Earth Wasteland was truly barren; even the grass grew with difficulty. This was something Merlin and the others had not anticipated.

The Ark Continent was densely populated, but its landmass was even larger. Here, firewood was not considered a precious commodity. People used crop stalks from the fields or branches from the woods. Wealthy families used charcoal, and nobles typically used magic stoves powered by magic crystals. No one ever worried about firewood; even the poorest would not suffer from a lack of fuel.

However, in the Black Earth Wasteland, firewood had become a luxury. Only small, stunted trees and wild grass grew here, and there was nothing else useful. Merlin and her group realized that although they had prepared extensively, they had failed to prepare for the most inconspicuous item on this continent—an item that the Black Earth Wasteland specifically lacked.

Seeing that Zhao Hai remained silent, Merlin had to ask, "Young Master, what do you want to plant in the outside land?"

Zhao Hai was pondering this himself. He had several types of seeds suitable for the outside: wheat and forage grass would work. He had cabbage seeds, but it was the wrong season. Wheat and forage grass weren't ideal either; forage grass was useless for his current needs, and while wheat was good, it didn't produce much firewood, and its yield wasn't particularly high. Zhao Hai didn't want to focus on improving their quality of life yet; he had to solve the Buda family's survival problem first.

That left him with only one choice: corn!

Corn was a great crop, and one Zhao Hai was very familiar with. It wasn't that he had farmed it himself, but many rural areas around his former city grew it. Corn not only had a high yield, but more importantly, it was a major source of firewood. In many northern rural areas even now, corn stalks were the primary fuel for winter.

However, he only had enough corn seeds to plant two acres, and this improved land was ten acres. It wasn't nearly enough.

Zhao Hai frowned as he tallied his available resources: a total of 200 Space Gold Coins (which could not be used outside the Space), six bags of forage grass seeds (enough for six acres), two bags of cabbage seeds (two acres), two bags of wheat seeds (two acres), two bags of corn seeds (two acres), and one season's worth of radishes in the warehouse. He could sell the radishes for 500 gold coins, but the coins could not be taken out of the Space.

Furthermore, he could expand the Space by another two acres, but that would cost 200 gold coins. If he expanded the land, he would be left with nothing.

Seeing Zhao Hai frowning in thought, Merlin remained silent. She knew there was no use in pressing him. She simply hoped that this Young Master, who had been creating miracles lately, could create another one.

Meg was also staring at Zhao Hai, lost in thought. She found that he was particularly charming when he was thinking; that sense of depth fascinated her.

After carefully calculating his options, Zhao Hai finally settled on a plan. He turned to Merlin and said, "Grandma Merlin, please organize the people to clear out the mine later. We need to get the mine ready as soon as possible. Tomorrow, I will improve another ten acres of land and then tell you what to plant. I am going to rest now." With that, he stood up and walked toward his room.

Although Merlin didn't know what his plan was, she chose to trust him. Zhao Hai had performed exceptionally well recently and had even acquired a power she couldn't understand. She believed he would find a way.

Mutou and Shitou followed Zhao Hai to his room, but Meg did not. She went with Merlin to organize the slaves to clear the mine; Merlin could not handle the workload alone.

Zhao Hai returned to his room as quickly as possible. After having Mutou and Shitou keep watch outside the door, he immediately entered the Space.

The Space remained the same. Although the soil and water had been upgraded, there was no visible change from the outside. Zhao Hai inspected the area carefully and found that the Space Soil and Space Water had not changed or diminished due to the land improvement, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Improving the land outside had many benefits for him. If the Space were to suddenly disappear one day, he would still have vast tracts of land outside so he wouldn't starve.

But for now, he was in the accumulation stage, and the existence of the Space was of greater help. If improving the land caused any negative changes within the Space, it would be a net loss.

Looking at the radishes, which were nearly ripe, Zhao Hai whispered, "Sell the radishes in the warehouse."

A prompt from the Space sounded: "Are you sure you want to sell the items in the warehouse?" "Confirmed," Zhao Hai said deeply. The prompt replied: "Selling the items in the warehouse has yielded 500 gold coins, which have been placed in your gold coin bag. Your warehouse is now empty. Please work hard at farming."

Zhao Hai had no choice. He had originally intended to leave the nearly ripe radishes in the field to see if they could produce seeds, but it seemed too early for such an experiment. What he needed now were gold coins and useful items; the experiment would have to wait.

Zhao Hai's current assets were: 700 gold coins, six small bags of forage grass seeds, two small bags of cabbage seeds, two bags of wheat seeds, and two bags of corn seeds.

After calculating his current holdings, Zhao Hai immediately commanded, "Reclaim land."

The Space prompt sounded again: "Reclaiming new land requires Level 3 and 200 gold coins. You have met the requirements. Do you wish to proceed now?"

"Yes," Zhao Hai said firmly. As he spoke, a ripple passed through the Space. The mist surrounding the land flickered, and after a flash of light, a small patch of empty land appeared next to the original ten acres.

Zhao Hai inspected the newly reclaimed two acres, which were no different from the original land in the Space. He immediately commanded, "Plant corn in the field."

Seed bags, shovels, and water buckets worked in unison to begin planting corn on those two acres; this was exactly as Zhao Hai had planned.

Zhao Hai knew about corn. Unlike radishes, which are grown for their roots, corn is grown for its seeds. Once the corn matures, the seeds mature. Just as one could save radish seeds, one could do the same with corn. By using the two new acres for corn, he would gain both corn seeds and corn stalks to use as firewood.

Planting one acre of corn requires roughly three kilograms of seeds, and the yield is about one ton. This meant that by planting two acres, he could obtain at least 4,000 catties of corn. If these could all be used as seeds, he could eventually plant over 600 acres. It was an incredibly profitable venture.

Zhao Hai only hoped that the corn in the Space wouldn't be like the corn back on Earth, where saved seeds were far inferior to purchased ones. If the corn in the Space could truly be used as seed, it would solve his biggest problem. He could grow radishes in the Space to generate money, and grow corn outside to provide both fuel and food, laying a foundation for his future development.