Chapter 11: Arrangements

Green had lived in the Imperial Capital his entire life and had seen his fair share of grand spectacles, so he quickly regained his composure. Instead of looking at the item on the table, he stared at Zhao Hai with gleaming eyes and asked, "Young Master, can you use magic?"

Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "You know I cannot use magic. Anyone who drinks the Water of Nothingness loses the ability to use magic. This is just a special ability; it has no offensive power, it only allows me to store some items."

Green nodded, looking slightly disappointed. He then turned his gaze to the table and saw the radish. He was stunned for a moment, then immediately picked it up, examined it carefully, sniffed it, and finally took a bite. After nodding, he placed the radish back on the table and turned to Zhao Hai. "Young Master, this is a Magic Radish, a very common type of magical vegetable."

Zhao Hai was taken aback. "What do you mean by 'magical vegetable'? Are there other types of vegetables?"

Green nodded. "Yes, Young Master. Vegetables on the Ark Continent are divided into two types. One is ordinary vegetables, which are generally only eaten by commoners or slaves. Nobles, however, usually eat magical vegetables. These vegetables contain a certain amount of magical energy and can only grow in particularly fertile soil with careful cultivation. The Magic Radish is one such vegetable, though it is the most common. The current market price is about one silver coin per jin."

Zhao Hai quickly did the math in his head. He currently had 80,000 jin of radishes. At one silver coin per jin, that would be 80,000 silver coins, or 8,000 gold coins. This was far better than selling them to the Space, which only offered 500 gold coins—equivalent to a little over six copper coins per jin. Comparing the purchasing power of this world to Earth, selling them to the Space was like getting pennies on the dollar, while selling them to the people here would fetch a price nearly twenty times higher. Any fool would know which deal to take.

At this moment, Green picked up the radish again and said, "But this Magic Radish is a bit strange. I have never seen one this large on the continent, and its flavor is far superior to a regular Magic Radish. Young Master, where did you get this?"

Zhao Hai didn't answer him, but instead asked, "Do Blue-Eyed Rabbits eat the leaves of this thing? When we buy Magic Radishes, do we buy them with the leaves attached?"

Green shook his head. "If we buy these Magic Radishes, we don't take the leaves. The leaves don't taste very good, but they are a favorite food of the Blue-Eyed Rabbits. Why does the Young Master ask?"

Zhao Hai stood up abruptly, his face full of joy as he paced back and forth twice. "Heaven has not forsaken me! Heaven has not forsaken me! This is great. With this, I can build a ranch."

Seeing Zhao Hai's reaction, Green felt a wave of fear. He didn't know what had come over Zhao Hai and worried he had gone mad. "Young Master, Young Master, what is wrong? Please don't scare this old servant."

Zhao Hai snapped out of it, looked at Green, and laughed heartily. "Grandpa Green, don't be afraid. I'm just too happy. By the way, Grandpa Green, tell me, is this Magic Radish easy to sell?"

Seeing that Zhao Hai was fine, Green felt relieved and nodded immediately. "It is easy to sell. There aren't many wars on the continent right now, and people have decent incomes. Many commoners will buy some magical vegetables to eat, and since the Magic Radish is the cheapest of them all, there are many buyers."

Zhao Hai nodded, sat down, and gestured for Green to sit as well. "Grandpa Green, I have 80,000 jin of these Magic Radishes on hand. You must find a way to sell them. The price doesn't have to be high, but they must be sold as quickly as possible. Then, use the proceeds to buy Blue-Eyed Rabbits—the more, the better. The mountain we live on has many abandoned dwarf mine tunnels; we can convert those into burrows for the rabbits. That way, we will have a steady income in the future."

Green was stunned. He stood up, his expression agitated. "Young Master, did you say 80,000 jin of Magic Radishes? How could you possibly have so many?"

Zhao Hai shook his head. "Don't worry about that for now. Just get this done as quickly as possible. Find a large buyer and tell them I have plenty of Magic Radishes—about 80,000 jin every two days. Tell them I can supply as much as they need."

Green stammered, "Young Master, are you serious? Do you really have that many? Where did you get them?"

Zhao Hai smiled. "You don't need to worry about that. Just handle this as quickly as you can. Be fast, but keep it low-key. Don't let people find out that these are coming from us. Can you do that?"

Green calmed down. Although he didn't know where Zhao Hai got the radishes, he assumed it had to do with the ability Zhao Hai had mentioned. He immediately replied, "Rest assured, Young Master, this old servant can manage that. I will go make the arrangements immediately."

Zhao Hai nodded and called out to Green, who was about to leave. "Grandpa Green, tell the slaves to stop worrying about the supplies and go clear out those mine tunnels immediately. We need to get them ready in the shortest time possible. We are going to raise a lot of Blue-Eyed Rabbits. I will take care of the supplies, so don't worry."

A glint of light flashed in Green's eyes; he had gained a new understanding of Zhao Hai's ability. Even though Zhao Hai said it had no offensive power, the fact that he could store so many items and provide so many Magic Radishes was already extraordinary.

Green nodded immediately. "Rest assured, Young Master, I will arrange it. Wood, Stone, from now on, protect the Young Master at all times. I will be away for a few days. Merine, Meg, keep an eye on the slaves and make sure they complete the tasks the Young Master has assigned in the shortest time possible. Do you understand?"

At this moment, Green finally displayed the dignity and capability of a head steward of a great noble house. He had arranged the most important matters in the shortest time: first, Zhao Hai's safety; second, the work priorities; and third, the purchase of the rabbits. It was clear he intended to handle the third task himself.

Merine and the others had been stunned into silence. They truly hadn't expected Zhao Hai to have such secrets. Now, jolted by Green's command, they snapped back to reality and acknowledged the order. Green then walked out quickly.

Zhao Hai watched Green's retreating figure and nodded. It seemed Green wasn't as clueless as he thought. The reason he had spent all their money when they first arrived at the Black Waste was likely for the reason he had suspected: to ensure Adam had no money to spend and would stay put. But it seemed he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

Once Green had left, Merine turned to Zhao Hai. "Young Master, you must be hungry, right? You haven't eaten since this morning. I'll go prepare something for you immediately." With that, she headed toward the kitchen.

Zhao Hai quickly said, "Grandma Merine, don't bother. I ate half a Magic Radish this morning and I'm still full. I can't eat anything else."

Merine shook her head firmly. "How can that be? You can't be full just from eating that. Wait a moment, Young Master, I'll go make something right away. It won't take long."

Seeing he couldn't stop her, Zhao Hai quickly added, "Grandma Merine, take this Magic Radish to the kitchen as well and use it for cooking."

Merine acknowledged him, picked up the half-radish, and went into the kitchen. Meg stood by Zhao Hai's side, while Wood and Stone stood behind him, one on each side.

Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile bitterly at their behavior. He knew that whatever he said, Wood and Stone wouldn't listen; those two were stubborn and only took orders from Green. He didn't say anything else, but turned to Meg and said, "Meg, go get me some Koya. I'm a bit thirsty."

Meg acknowledged him and turned toward the kitchen. However, as she passed behind Zhao Hai, she snuck a glance at him before hurrying into the kitchen.

Zhao Hai sat there, feeling bored. There were still too few people in the castle he could talk to—only Green and his group. The slaves couldn't hold a normal conversation with him yet; if he tried, he might just scare them. So, Zhao Hai was left to sit there alone.

He had wanted to talk to Wood and Stone, but they were the type who lacked any real intellect, so there was nothing to talk about. He could only sit there, bored and lost in thought.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before Meg returned with a pot of Koya. After pouring him a cup, she retreated behind him and remained silent. This left Zhao Hai feeling quite stifled, but he didn't know what to say to Meg, as the things Adam had done to her in the past made him feel very awkward in her presence.

Merine was quick. Before long, Zhao Hai's breakfast was ready. Similar to a Western-style breakfast on Earth, Merine had prepared bread, meat porridge, and a few fried eggs. Of course, these weren't chicken eggs like on Earth, but eggs from a Tier 1 magical beast native to the Ark Continent called a "Dirt Chicken."

Zhao Hai turned to Merine and the others. "Grandma Merine, you all should sit down and eat too. You have a lot to do after this, so you don't need to keep me company."

Merine nodded. This time she didn't argue, as she knew they really did have a lot of work to do. So, Mason and Meg went back to the kitchen to get a few more portions of breakfast and ate with Wood and Stone.

After breakfast, Zhao Hai didn't return to his room but went to the living room on the first floor, sitting there and sipping his Koya. He knew that once Green had everything arranged, he would come to report to him, so he wasn't in a hurry.