Chapter 42: Give It a Try

After Zhao Hai led the four people into the house, he walked up to the screen at the head of the bed. He touched the screen with his hand, and it lit up, the icons appearing on the screen once again.

Merlin and the others looked at the screen with a sense of wonder. To Zhao Hai, these were ordinary things, but to Merlin and her companions, they were truly miraculous.

Zhao Hai immediately clicked on the camera icon, and a 3D map of the castle appeared on the screen once more. Zhao Hai noticed that there seemed to be fewer green dots in the castle, particularly in the main keep, where no green dots could be seen at all.

Zhao Hai tapped on the location of the inner keep courtyard, where two green dots were still active, and the scene on the screen immediately switched to the inner courtyard.

Although the computer could only display things within a hundred-meter radius centered on the point where Zhao Hai entered the space, this range was by no means small. Since Zhao Hai had entered the space in the living room of the main keep, that location was not far from the courtyard.

The courtyard shown on the screen was not very large, representing only a portion of the inner keep courtyard, but it was still clearly visible on the screen that there was a serpentine magical beast and a humanoid undead creature in the yard.

Merlin and the others had been paying close attention to the screen, and upon seeing this, they were all momentarily stunned. Several of them leaned forward to examine the scene on the screen more closely.

After a long while, Merlin asked uncertainly, "Is this the inner keep courtyard?"

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "That's right, this is our inner keep courtyard. Those two are the magical beasts still active in the yard. It seems they haven't left yet, so we can't go out for the time being."

Looking at the screen excitedly, Merlin said, "What a wonderful thing! With this, Young Master, you will be even safer. You won't have to fear enemies attacking you anymore."

Zhao Hai gave a helpless, bitter smile. Currently, Merlin always put his safety first; no matter what happened, the first thing she thought of was always his safety.

Zhao Hai tapped the screen again, returning it to the 3D map view. Pointing to the green dots on the map, he said to Merlin and the others, "The green dots on this map are all magical beasts. The density of magical beasts on this map is much lower than yesterday. It looks like these beasts will retreat in a few days."

Having said that, he tapped on the living room location, and the scene immediately switched back to the living room. The living room was currently a complete mess; almost everything had been destroyed.

Seeing the state of the living room, Mutou couldn't help but curse under his breath. Zhao Hai's hand slid gently across the screen, and in a short while, he had looked through every room in the main keep. None were spared; the contents of almost every room had been destroyed by magical beasts or undead creatures.

The expressions of Merlin and the others turned grim. When they first arrived at this castle, there was nothing in it. All the daily necessities currently in the castle had been brought by them. It could be said that this castle had gradually become a lived-in home through their efforts, but now, everything had been ruined.

In a short while, they had scanned the entire hundred-meter radius. After returning the screen to the 3D map, Zhao Hai turned to Merlin and the others and said, "Grandmother Merlin, this is the current situation outside. We will have to rest in the space for a few days. During this time, please arrange things for everyone and teach them more literacy."

Merlin nodded and said, "Rest assured, Young Master. I know what to do."

Zhao Hai nodded and added, "I'll organize the warehouse in a bit. I saw that we brought quite a few common seeds from the mainland; I want to try planting some in the space."

Merlin froze for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Young Master, it doesn't matter if we don't plant those. They are just very ordinary seeds. Their grain yield isn't as high as corn, and the vegetables are very common—they aren't magic vegetables. Since we knew that in the Black Soil Wasteland, things can only be grown on Iron Mountain, we didn't buy any overly delicate seeds that wouldn't be useful. We only bought these most common ones."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Let's see what kind of seeds they are first. It's a waste to just leave them there; it's better to take them out and plant them."

Merlin shook her head. "Young Master, I don't agree with you taking those seeds out to plant in the space right now. You should focus on planting several seasons of Magic Radishes in the space. After all, magic vegetables are much more expensive and easier to sell than ordinary ones. Right now, the Buda family needs more funds. If you want to plant those seeds we brought, you can plant them on Iron Mountain. Those seeds are for very hardy crops and won't take up the land in the space."

Zhao Hai shook his head. "Grandmother Merlin, I don't actually intend to plant all those seeds in the space. You don't know, but the space has a specific characteristic: every time I bring something special from the outside into the space, the space upgrades. Originally, the space only had ten acres of land, but the last time I brought black soil from the Black Soil Wasteland and lake water from the mountain lake into the space, it upgraded. Each upgrade adds two acres of land. So, I want to try planting those seeds to see if the space can upgrade again. If it can, the land area of the space will increase once more, and we can plant even more things."

Hearing this, Merlin was stunned. "So that's how it is. In that case, it is worth a try. Young Master, if you harvest the Magic Radishes tomorrow, you can try planting those seeds. If the space can upgrade, that would be for the best."

Zhao Hai nodded and turned to Merlin. "Grandmother Merlin, tomorrow morning, tell them to clean up all the trash in the space and put it all in one place. When we leave the space, we will take it out to dispose of it."

Merlin nodded. "Alright, rest assured, Young Master. I will handle it."

Zhao Hai glanced at the room's furnishings and said, "Grandmother Merlin, I think we should tidy up the things in this room and add two more beds. You all can just rest in this house so you don't have to go out."

However, Merlin shook her head. "No, Young Master. We should rest outside and keep an eye on the slaves so they don't destroy the crops in the space."

Seeing that Merlin was truly unwilling to stay, Zhao Hai said no more. He knew it was impossible for Merlin and the others to rest in the same room as him; on this matter, Merlin would never yield. Thus, Zhao Hai could only turn and say, "Alright then. When I go out in a bit, I'll get a few beds from the warehouse. Oh, how about I set up a partitioned room next to you and Merlin? That would be more convenient."

This time, Merlin did not object. She also felt it wasn't ideal to sleep in the open air. Although the space was relatively enclosed, one must not forget there were over a hundred slaves here. Very few people would be comfortable sleeping and waking up under the gaze of over a hundred people.

Zhao Hai still had a few straw mats woven by the slaves, which would be just enough to partition two small rooms for Merlin and the others. This would allow Merlin, Mutou, and the others to rest inside; although they couldn't make a roof, at least people wouldn't be watching them wake up.

Seeing that Merlin did not object, Zhao Hai followed them out of the room. In this space, his word was law; if he didn't take things out from the warehouse, Merlin and the others wouldn't be able to access anything in it.

When Zhao Hai and the others went outside, they saw that the slaves had already woken up, and everyone seemed a bit more energetic. Zhao Hai didn't pay it much mind; people are usually sleepy right after eating, but they feel better after a while.

An immediately went to call the slaves over. Zhao Hai then brought out some wooden boards and partitioned two very small rooms next to the thatched house. Each room contained three large beds: one for Merlin, Meg, and Ju, and the other for Mutou, Shitou, and An.

Conditions were primitive now, so this was the only way. The reason Zhao Hai had Ju and An live with Merlin and Mutou was actually to demonstrate their difference from the slaves.

Although Ju and An had become servants of the Buda family and commoners, they still worked alongside the slaves on a regular basis. This would give the slaves the impression that although they had become commoners, nothing had really changed, which would dampen their motivation.

To ensure the slaves saw the difference between Ju and An and themselves, Zhao Hai made sure there were distinctions in both their meals and their sleeping conditions. This gave the slaves a goal to strive for; it was, in fact, a management strategy.

Although Zhao Hai had been a shut-in before and had never managed people, one must not forget that he was a bookworm. Even if he read mostly "idle" books, one cannot deny that books are books; even in idle literature, there are useful things. Most of what Zhao Hai knew, aside from a small portion learned in school, came from those books.

While the things seen in idle books might not always be true—sometimes they were just fabrications by the authors—one must remember that the books Zhao Hai read were web novels. The biggest difference between web novels and traditional novels is that anyone can write them, people from all walks of life. Sometimes, the novels these people wrote possessed a strong sense of professionalism, and such books were often more engaging. Zhao Hai liked this type of book and could learn many useful things from them.

Since arriving in this other world, the feeling Zhao Hai had was as if he were living in the fantasy novels he used to read, though this place was much more real. Zhao Hai knew clearly that if he died here, he would truly be dead. This was not a game, nor a dream; this was real life.

Everyone applies what they have learned to their lives bit by bit, and Zhao Hai was no exception. Although he didn't know if what he had learned was correct, he had to try. Only in this way can a person gradually grow mature, right?

(End of Chapter)