Chapter 27: Five Thousand Jin a Day

Just as Zhao Hai was brooding over the issue of weapons, a voice suddenly rang out: "The corn has matured; please harvest it as soon as possible."

Zhao Hai froze for a moment but reacted immediately. He glanced at Merlin and said, "Grandma Merlin, the corn I planted has matured. I’m going into the Space to harvest it. Do you want to come?"

Since he had already taken Merlin into the Space before, there was no harm in bringing her along now. However, Merlin was neither wood nor stone, and he held her in high regard; even if he were entering the Space, he would always try to seek her opinion first.

Hearing Zhao Hai say this, Merlin also wanted to see his Space. She nodded and said, "Alright, Young Master, I would like to see the Space as well." With a thought from Zhao Hai, the two of them appeared inside the Space.

Because the radishes had only been planted that morning, they had only grown small leaves, but the corn was already fully mature.

The ripening of the corn was different from what Zhao Hai had seen in games. In games, even when corn was mature, it remained green. In the Space, however, by the time the corn matured, its leaves had already dried out. Nevertheless, the corn grew very robustly; the ears were nearly fifty centimeters long, and the kernels had burst through the husks, appearing golden-yellow and incredibly appetizing.

Merlin had clearly never seen corn before. Not knowing what to do, she simply stared at the corn in curiosity, unsure of where to start.

Zhao Hai walked joyfully to the cornfield, snapped off a large ear, and peeled away the husk. On the golden cob sat plump kernels. It seemed the yield would not be low; calculating based on this yield, these two acres could produce at least five thousand catties of corn. If they could all be used as seeds, it would be enough to plant a thousand acres.

Zhao Hai happily handed the corn cob to Merlin and said with a smile, "Grandma Merlin, look, this is corn. With simple processing, it can be used as grain. Although it might not be extremely delicious, it can keep us full. The corn from these two acres can produce over five thousand catties. If we use it all as seed, we can plant a thousand acres. In the future, we can harvest once every day, so we won't have to worry about food anymore."

Merlin took the corn cob, but her eyes remained fixed on Zhao Hai. "Young Master, are you saying that in the future, we can harvest over five thousand catties of grain every day?"

Zhao Hai nodded with a smile. He understood her thoughts. Five thousand catties might not seem like much for over a hundred people, but five thousand catties *every day* was a terrifying figure. Given that the corn in the Space matured in about fourteen hours, Zhao Hai felt that saying "five thousand catties a day" was actually an understatement.

Seeing Zhao Hai's expression, Merlin's face flushed with excitement as she repeatedly muttered, "Five thousand catties a day, five thousand catties a day."

Zhao Hai smiled faintly. "Alright, Grandma Merlin, corn isn't particularly tasty. We will plant other things later. For now, we are in a transition period, so we can only plant this."

Merlin snapped out of it and hurriedly said, "No, Young Master, don't plant anything else. Just plant this, just plant this! This is the highest-yielding grain I have ever heard of. Young Master, let's not plant anything else, just this!" She was so excited she became somewhat incoherent.

Zhao Hai laughed. "Fine, we won't plant anything else, just this. Grandma Merlin, don't get so worked up. Haha, there are many high-yield grains. Although they don't yield as much as corn, they taste better. Don't worry, I have a plan."

Only after hearing this did Merlin nod. "That's good then, Young Master. Let's get to work and harvest it. This grain needs to be threshed, right?"

Zhao Hai smiled slightly. "It's fine. In this Space, I have the final say." Having said that, he spoke in a low, commanding voice: "Harvest the corn. Separate the kernels, the stalks, and the cobs for collection."

"Corn cob" was actually a somewhat elegant term; in Zhao Hai's hometown, corn was called *baomi*, and the part that held the kernels was called *baomi huzhi* (corn silk/cob), which was also great for starting fires.

Zhao Hai wanted to see if the Space could accept such a complex command. If it could, he would be certain that the Space was entirely under his control.

Merlin looked at Zhao Hai in confusion, wondering who he was talking to, but what happened next left her dumbfounded. She saw a basket labeled "Collect" fly up, and then all the corn began flying into the basket.

In a short while, the corn from both plots was harvested. Before Merlin could even react, Zhao Hai walked quickly to the warehouse door, felt around the warehouse, and then, with a look of relief, let out a long breath and laughed loudly.

Following close behind him, Merlin asked, "Young Master, what are you laughing at? What is happening?" She pointed toward the empty plot.

Zhao Hai smiled. "It's nothing, Grandma Merlin. Didn't I tell you? In this Space, I have the final say. So, whether it's planting or harvesting, I don't have to worry about a thing."

Merlin said excitedly, "That's wonderful, Young Master! Then shall we plant this land right now?"

Zhao Hai nodded, but he remained very cautious. With a thought, a handful of corn kernels appeared in his hand—the very ones he had just put into the warehouse.

As soon as he took out the corn, the Space's prompt sounded once again: "Variety: Corn. Quality: Excellent. Can be used as seed. Can be taken out of the Space."

Zhao Hai's expression brightened. He let out a long breath and said solemnly, "Sow the corn." As soon as he spoke, a small shovel flew to the cornfield and began tilling the soil. Then, seeds appeared as if out of thin air, falling onto the ground, while a bucket began sprinkling water over the field.

Merlin watched in stunned silence. She truly had not expected Zhao Hai's Space to be so miraculous. Such magical abilities were something she had never even heard of, let alone seen.

Before long, the two acres were replanted. Zhao Hai nodded and walked over to the radish patch to check on them. He wasn't worried about pests; although in the games he used to play, the Space could spawn bugs, he believed that if real pests appeared, the Space would alert him.

Merlin stood by Zhao Hai's side, feeling incredibly happy. With this miraculous Space, it would be the simplest thing in the world for the Buda family to rise to prosperity.

Seeing that the radishes were fine, Zhao Hai stood up and turned to Merlin with a smile. "Grandma Merlin, let's go out." With a thought, the two appeared in the castle's living room.

Zhao Hai looked outside. They hadn't been in the Space for long, so nothing had changed on the surface. He nodded and turned to Merlin. "Grandma Merlin, let's go take out those corn stalks and cobs. With these, we won't have to worry about firewood anymore."

Merlin nodded quickly. "Alright, Young Master, follow me. Let's put them in the kitchen."

Zhao Hai shook his head. "No, Grandma Merlin. These things need to be dried thoroughly in the sun; otherwise, they will still be damp. Once they are completely dry, we can put them in the warehouse."

Merlin nodded. "Very well, then let's put them outside the castle. There isn't enough empty space inside."

Zhao Hai nodded and followed Merlin outside to the plot of land they had improved yesterday. This land could not be planted yet, so Zhao Hai planned to place the corn stalks and cobs there. Firstly, to prevent the improved soil from being blown away, and secondly, to mask the color difference between this plot and the surrounding land.

Looking at the corn stalks and cobs appearing on the empty plot, Zhao Hai turned to Merlin. "Grandma Merlin, we can just burn these for cooking from now on. Although they don't burn as long as wood, they are usable. If the slaves are cold at night, they can also burn these for warmth."

Looking at the two large piles of fuel, Merlin's face was full of smiles. She finally didn't have to worry about firewood anymore. She nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Young Master. You can leave this to me."

Zhao Hai nodded and checked the sky. "Grandma Merlin, it's getting late. Meg and the others might be back for lunch soon. After lunch, arrange for people to go stone quarrying. It's a pity we don't have a blacksmith; otherwise, we could use those iron tools to modify some weapons."

There were already few craftsmen among the slaves, and even fewer blacksmiths. Slave owners feared that if slaves learned blacksmithing, they might forge weapons to revolt, so they never allowed them contact with such things. Even if they encountered a slave with blacksmithing skills, that person was usually a former blacksmith who had been enslaved.

Merlin also knew that if those farming tools weren't modified, they might not be as handy as stone weapons. Furthermore, they lacked the fuel required to modify iron tools.

Zhao Hai led Merlin back into the castle. Merlin went to prepare lunch, while Zhao Hai sat alone in the hall, thinking quietly.

They were facing a massive crisis once again. If the magical beasts and undead creatures from the Rotting Corpse Swamp truly surged out, what would they use to stop them? Moreover, if those things appeared, his entire livestock plan would be ruined—that was his greatest concern.

Livestock farming held a significant weight in his future plans. It would be a great waste to give it up, but if he didn't, he couldn't raise anything with the threat of the Rotting Corpse Swamp looming. To establish a farm, it seemed he first had to solve the problem of the swamp.

But how could this problem be solved? Over the years, many experts had come to the continent, yet the Rotting Corpse Swamp remained one of the continent's forbidden zones. Could he rely on his Space? That didn't seem to help much. Zhao Hai was currently at a complete loss.

(End of Chapter)