Chapter 38: Literacy

Zhao Hai didn't want to know what was happening outside the thatched hut; he trusted that Merlin and the others would handle it. He was truly exhausted and just wanted to get a good night's sleep.

After taking a quilt from the warehouse and spreading it on the bed, Zhao Hai immediately lay down and fell asleep within minutes. He was simply too tired. Because he had consumed the Water of Void, his body could not handle even moderate physical exertion, let alone the tension of today's situation.

The slaves outside the hut had also rested. Since this was a rare opportunity to rest, they naturally didn't complain. Furthermore, the soft quilts spread on the ground were much better than dry straw. Before long, the entire area fell into silence, and even Shitou and Mutou, who were standing guard at the door for Zhao Hai, sat on the ground to doze off.

More than two hours later, Merlin and the others woke up. Merlin quietly walked to the front of the hut, opened the door to glance at Zhao Hai, and seeing that he was sleeping soundly, she quietly closed the door again. She looked at the slaves and noticed that some had already woken up and were sitting there, unsure of what to do.

Although Merlin could teach them to read, she didn't intend to do so right now. Teaching them would require making noise, and she didn't want to wake Zhao Hai.

However, Merlin did notice that the radishes she had planted before sleeping had already sprouted. This surprised her greatly; it was her first time seeing how plants grew within the Space, and the speed was simply too fast.

Merlin couldn't help but squat by the field to watch the newly sprouted radish seedlings. The seedlings were very robust, and the soil condition was excellent; one could tell at a glance that they were very healthy.

Meg followed Merlin's lead, squatting beside her and whispering, "Grandmother, why did these Magic Radishes sprout so quickly? I heard people say that magical vegetables are very difficult to grow, so why is it so easy here?"

Merlin smiled slightly and said, "The Young Master told me long ago that growing crops in this Space would significantly shorten the maturation time, but I didn't expect it to be this short."

"What you call Magic Radishes is called a radish in my Space. It is the lowest grade of crop in the Space, and a new season matures every eight hours," Zhao Hai's voice drifted over leisurely.

Merlin and Meg were startled. Turning around, they saw that Zhao Hai had already come out and was standing behind them. Merlin hurriedly stood up and asked, "Young Master, is what you say true? Can these Magic Radishes really mature in eight hours?"

Zhao Hai nodded and pointed to the corn nearby that had already grown ears. "See that corn? The value of corn in the Space is higher than radishes. From planting to maturity, it takes fourteen hours."

Merlin and the others couldn't help but look in the direction Zhao Hai was pointing. The corn was still in its growth stage; the leaves were a deep, dark green, looking incredibly vigorous.

Zhao Hai turned to Merlin and said, "There is enough food in the Space for now. It's best if we stay in the Space for a while longer before heading out, to avoid encountering those magical beasts again."

Merlin nodded. "Yes, the Young Master is right. We don't have to worry about food in the Space, and it won't rain. It's fine for everyone to sleep on the ground outside; staying here for a few days is no problem."

Zhao Hai nodded, then glanced at the slaves who had woken up and were standing respectfully looking at him. He sighed and said, "Grandmother Merlin, you can teach them to read in a while. Mutou and I will go build some field stoves to use for cooking later."

Feeding over a hundred people was no easy task. Although Zhao Hai had moved all the supplies from the warehouse into the Space, to provide enough food and drink for everyone, he would need to set up large pots. There wasn't much in the Space, so he could only build simple field stoves.

Merlin looked at the slaves and said, "Young Master, let them do it. It won't take much extra time anyway. You just need to bring out the supplies; you shouldn't have to do everything yourself."

Zhao Hai glanced at the slaves and had no choice but to nod. If he made the slaves learn to write while he built the stoves, he feared they would be too intimidated to learn anything at all.

Seeing Zhao Hai nod, Merlin immediately organized people to start digging the stove pits. Fortunately, Zhao Hai had loaded all the supplies from the castle warehouse into the Space, so they were not lacking tools.

To feed over a hundred people, they didn't actually need to dig too many field stoves; about ten would suffice. The pots they used were field pots with built-in stands. These were specifically chosen by Green and the others; knowing they were coming here, they had prepared many such iron pots—firstly for use on the journey, and secondly for the slaves to use.

In fact, many slave owners used such field stoves because they were the simplest. No matter where the slaves were sent to work, as long as two people carried the pot, they could cook directly at the worksite, which saved a lot of time.

The ten field stoves were quickly set up, but they couldn't be used yet. Zhao Hai had to wait until the corn matured to have firewood in the Space; otherwise, they would have to burn the timber they had purchased, which would be a waste of good material.

Currently, Zhao Hai lacked everything and didn't know when Green would return. Only after his return could they go out, sell the radishes, exchange them for gold coins, and then buy timber and other supplies. The timber they had now was their only stock, and Zhao Hai didn't want to waste it.

Zhao Hai inspected the set-up stoves, nodded, glanced at the slaves, and then turned to Merlin. "Grandmother Merlin, the corn won't be mature for another two hours. During this time, please teach everyone some characters. I'm going to the house to rest for a bit."

Merlin nodded, and Zhao Hai walked into the house. Watching him enter, Merlin said to the slaves, "Don't be anxious. In about two hours, the corn will be mature, and then we can eat. During these two hours, you will learn to recognize characters from me..."

Before she could finish, the slaves began to buzz. It was common knowledge on the continent that slaves could not read; no slave owner would teach them. Therefore, for a slave, literacy was a sacred thing. Hearing that Merlin was going to teach them, all the slaves were shocked.

Merlin said sternly, "Quiet."

The slaves immediately fell silent, each looking at Merlin with an excited expression. Merlin continued, "Our Buda family is different from typical nobles. The Young Master is a merciful person. I have just received his permission: if anyone learns well and recognizes many characters during this process, the Young Master can grant them freedom from their slave status. Do you understand?"

This made the slaves even more excited. It was already a blessing that Zhao Hai allowed them to learn, but now it was said that if they learned well, they could become commoners. To these slaves, this was like a windfall from heaven, accompanied by a bonus for eating more. Where else could they find such a good thing?

Seeing their reaction, Merlin continued, "Because current conditions are limited, I can only teach you some simple characters. In these two hours, I will only teach ten characters, but I require you to be able to both read and write them." Having said that, she took out several sheets of white paper and brushes, wrote one character on each sheet, and taught them how to pronounce and write each one.

Since they had no blackboards, she had to use white paper. Because there were so many people, she wrote only one character per sheet so that the characters were large enough for even those sitting in the back to see.

Meg stayed by Merlin's side, watching the people study intently, including Ju and An. Although Ju and An had been commoners before and could have gone to school, their families couldn't afford the tuition, so they had never attended. Given this opportunity, how could they let it pass?

Meg had attended schools in the Empire before, but they were noble schools. She found that these slaves were completely different from the students she had seen. The noble students treated school as a form of torture; they were listless during class and became overjoyed the moment school ended, wishing they could stay home and play every day. Adam had been exactly like that.

But these slaves were entirely different. While learning characters, their expressions were filled with excitement and intense focus, as if they were terrified of forgetting. Since they had nothing to write with, they traced the characters on the ground with their fingers. Their level of dedication deeply moved Meg.

Mutou and Shitou were also watching. Although they weren't particularly bright, they had learned to read because they were adopted by the Buda family. However, they hadn't been as serious as these slaves when they learned. Firstly, they were young; secondly, they weren't very smart and had to repeat characters many times to remember them; and thirdly, it had come too easily to them.

When things are obtained too easily, one often fails to cherish them. That was the case with them. They had learned alongside Adam, who was not a bright person himself. Although he was smarter than the two of them, Adam disliked learning, so he also had to repeat characters many times. Because of this, the two of them had only managed to learn the characters through sheer persistence. Now that they had matured and become smarter, seeing the slaves' behavior made them feel somewhat ashamed.

Merlin naturally saw this as well. She suddenly realized how correct Zhao Hai's decision was. Without literacy, these slaves lacked culture; even if they wanted to contribute to the Buda family, their limited abilities would prevent them from being of much help. But once they could read, their future assistance to the Buda family would be much greater. Currently, the Buda family needed every member to exert their maximum strength to help the family prosper. Thus, she taught them with utmost seriousness.

(End of Chapter)