Chapter 41: The Vow

Recommendations have been made, so there's no need to run around naked anymore. I'm happy. I hope everyone will collect and click more; as long as you all provide support, Mingming's updates will also be vigorous.

Those slaves were not stupid, and almost every one of them knew how to cook. When they were under other slave owners, every time it was time to eat, the overseers would randomly select two people from their ranks to cook, so these slaves were quite familiar with cooking.

Additionally, making rice was extremely simple, so in a short while, the slaves had filled all seven field stoves with rice. Zhao Hai also took out several large copper basins and gave them to the slaves to use as pot lids.

These field stoves did not have specialized lids, and they didn't need them. Everyone knew that even regular armies wouldn't use these types of field stoves; they were only used by slaves. And for slaves, providing them with a bite to eat was considered good enough; no one cared about whether the food was delicious or not.

However, those slaves had never made soup before; they didn't know how to do it. The food they had eaten under previous slave owners was even worse than what they had here with the Buda family. Under other owners, they sometimes had to eat things like rice bran or moldy rice. Because of this, many slaves died on the continent every day. But to a slave owner, the death of a slave was nothing significant—they could just buy more.

Thus, the slaves were currently staring blankly at the vegetables and fruit oil. Ju, of course, understood how they felt; after all, she had once been a commoner and knew a bit about simple cooking.

Ju walked to an empty pot, picked up the fruit oil, and poured it into the pot. Only then did Zhao Hai seriously notice this fruit oil for the first time. The oil was slightly yellowish and very clear. He had heard it was pressed from a fruit with a very high oil content, which was grown in many places on the continent, making the oil very cheap.

Once the oil was hot, Ju put the vegetables in and gave them a simple stir-fry, then poured some water into the pot and threw in two pieces of salt. Once the water boiled, the soup would be ready.

This was the simplest kind of soup, requiring almost no skill and no seasonings—just a bit of coarse salt. This was already the best treatment a slave could receive.

On the continent, salt was not cheap. Nobles generally used refined white salt, which was very fine, similar to refined salt on Earth, whereas the coarse salt used by slaves was very cheap, though it contained many impurities.

Even so, except for being with the Buda family, these slaves could not eat salt every day. Most slaves were only allowed to eat salt once every three days if they were lucky; average slave owners only gave them salt once a week, and in small quantities.

Lately, Zhao Hai had been busy with matters inside his Space and the future development of the Black Soil Wasteland, so he wasn't very aware of the slaves' living conditions. He didn't sense anything wrong with what Ju was doing; he assumed all slaves on the continent lived this way, and perhaps the slaves at his place lived even worse since they didn't have as many resources to provide.

Watching Ju make that simple soup, Zhao Hai couldn't help but sigh. Meg, standing beside him, asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Young Master? Is there a problem? Is there too much salt? Should we reduce it?"

Zhao Hai looked at Meg in confusion and said, "Too much? How could it be too much? They only used that tiny bit of salt in such a large pot. How could it be too much? I was just thinking that our Buda family is still too weak; we can only let them eat such simple food. Once we have money in the future, I will definitely let them eat meat."

As soon as Zhao Hai finished speaking, he felt that everyone's gaze toward him had turned strange. The slaves were looking at him as if they had seen a ghost, leaving Zhao Hai wondering what was happening.

He looked at Meg in confusion and whispered, "Meg, what is it? Did I say something wrong?"

Looking at Zhao Hai, Meg couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She knew that although the Buda family had slaves in the past, Zhao Hai had never left the Imperial Capital and had never had contact with slaves, so naturally, he didn't know what kind of life they led. She could only explain the slaves' living conditions to him in a low voice.

Zhao Hai listened blankly. For someone born into a modern society, raised under the red flag, and born during the era of reform and opening up, the life Meg described was so far removed from his own. It was like how people who experienced the old society could resonate with the opera *The White-Haired Girl*, while those of the post-80s generation found it hard to relate because they lacked that experience; no matter how detailed it was in books, it could never compare to firsthand experience.

Once Meg finished explaining the slaves' situation, Zhao Hai turned back to look at them, his eyes filled with sympathy. He sighed and said, "Don't worry, everyone. I do what I say. Sooner or later, I will let you eat meat—and you'll eat it every day, every meal, until you're sick of it. I swear in the name of the Buda family."

Zhao Hai was a kind person. Although he had been a shut-in on Earth, most shut-ins were somewhat timid and, aside from a few exceptions, were actually very kind people. Perhaps their social skills were lacking, but that didn't mean they were perverts; in fact, many shut-ins simply couldn't stand the darkness of the world and chose to lock themselves in their own worlds. Zhao Hai was that kind of person.

After arriving on the Ark Continent, Zhao Hai's identity had changed. He was a noble; he had a territory and over a hundred slaves to support. A single word from him could decide the life or death of these hundred-plus people. This added a sense of responsibility to him. He believed that making these people live better was his responsibility, which was why he was so dedicated to developing his territory and why he made such a promise.

The slaves all knelt on the ground in excitement, kowtowing to Zhao Hai as they cried, "Thank you, Master, for your bounty!"

Even though they hadn't actually received anything yet, Zhao Hai's words were enough. The nobles of the continent had a very strange tradition: they did not swear oaths lightly, and even when they did, they generally wouldn't swear in the name of their family. Even if they swore in the name of a God, they might occasionally break their word, but they would never break an oath made in the name of their family.

It was precisely because of this that the slaves believed Zhao Hai. They believed that an oath sworn in the name of the family would surely be fulfilled one day.

Meg opened her mouth but said nothing. She had been managing these slaves for the past few days, and to be honest, she felt great sympathy for them as well, so she did not oppose Zhao Hai's words.

Just then, Merlin's voice drifted over: "Young Master, it's time to eat."

Zhao Hai nodded, glanced at everyone, and then said to Meg, Ju, and An, "Meg, Ju, An, let's go inside to eat."

Ju and An had intended to stay and eat here, but seeing Zhao Hai's expression, they didn't say anything further and followed the two into the house. Mutou and Shitou also followed them inside.

Once they entered the house, the slaves actually felt more at ease. Although Zhao Hai had always been very kind to them, to these slaves, Zhao Hai was still their master. Having him present made them feel uneasy.

When Zhao Hai and the others entered the house, sure enough, Merlin had already prepared flatbreads and a soup. Zhao Hai had actually wanted to eat rice, but looking at Merlin's expression, there was likely no hope for that today.

The square table in the room only had four chairs, but Zhao Hai casually took three more from the warehouse so that seven people could sit. Although the table wasn't as large as the one in the castle dining room, it was sufficient for seven people to eat.

After Zhao Hai had everyone sit down, he picked up a knife and fork and began eating the flatbread Merlin had made. He actually didn't want to use utensils, but unfortunately, Merlin would not allow it.

Truth be told, the flatbread made this way had a unique flavor and tasted quite good. Zhao Hai and the others slowly finished their dinner. By the time Merlin cleared everything away and the group went outside, the slaves had already finished eating.

The field stoves were still there, but they had clearly been cleaned. The slaves seemed to have eaten their fill; they were all sitting there, looking quite lethargic.

Zhao Hai knew that people tend to feel sleepy after eating, and these slaves were likely the same. He didn't tell them to get up, but as he glanced at the trash on the ground, he frowned slightly.

This was his Space. Although Zhao Hai wasn't a neat freak, he didn't want his Space to be made filthy, but for now, these things could only remain in the Space.

Seeing the trash, Zhao Hai couldn't help but look up at the top of the Space. The surroundings were still misty and obscured, but fortunately, he didn't see any black smoke drifting in the sky. It seemed that making fires inside the Space did not have a significant impact on it.

Zhao Hai turned to Merlin and said, "Grandma Merlin, I think you all should rest in the house. They've just eaten and are feeling sleepy, so let them rest for a bit."

Merlin glanced at the slaves and saw they indeed looked listless, so she could only nod and say, "Alright, then let's rest for a while. But we don't need to go into the house; resting outside is fine."

Zhao Hai quickly said, "Grandma Merlin, Meg, Mutou, Shitou—come inside with me for a moment. I have something to show you." After saying this, he opened the door to the thatched hut and entered.

Although Merlin and the others didn't know what Zhao Hai wanted to show them, they obediently followed him inside. They knew that they were far from understanding this Space as well as Zhao Hai did; in this Space, it was best to follow Zhao Hai's lead in everything.

(End of Chapter)