Chapter 30: Out of Money Again
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At night, Zhao Hai asked Ju Buda to eat with them. Zhao Hai wanted to use this method to let Ju Buda be a role model for those slaves. He wanted those slaves to have new vitality and think of ways to change their current state of life. Only then could those slaves be more creative.
Ju Bida was very nervous. Although she was a commoner now, she knew that commoners were not qualified to eat with nobles, but Zhao Hai had called her to the main castle’s dining room, making her even more nervous.
However, when Merlyn brought the dinner over, Ju Buda was stunned. She was only a commoner in the past and had not seen what the food of the nobles was like, but she had heard that the nobles would have a full course served to them. They were particular about the order of the courses. The cutlery they used was made of gold and silver, so when Zhao Hai called her over to eat, she thought that she would experience such a scene.
But when she saw the dinner Merlyn brought, she really could not believe that this was their dinner. There was ordinary bread, soup, vegetables, and meat, and only Zhao Hai had meat. Such a dinner was not much better than what the slaves outside ate.
Zhao Hai also noticed Ju’s expression. Ever since Ju entered the dining room, she had been standing there nervously, not even daring to sit. Now that he saw Ju’s expression, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but smile and say, “Ju, come and sit. I’ve already given you the surname. According to the rules, you’re also a member of the Buda family. Don’t be so nervous. Sit.”
As he spoke, Zhao Hai gave Meg a look. Meg immediately understood what Zhao Hai meant. She walked to Ju’s side and smiled at Ju. “Sister Ju, sit down. The young master is very easy-going. We eat at the same table as the young master every day. The rules of the other nobles don’t work with the young master. You don’t have to worry.”
Ju knew Meg’s identity and knew that Meg and the others were retainers of the Buda family. Such people would have a high status in other places, at least much higher than commoners like them.
However, after the past few days of contact, Ju knew that Meg was a good person. Although she had been watching the slaves work, she had not beaten or scolded them. She had only told everyone what to do. Moreover, Meg was a girl, so Ju’s nervousness slowly eased.
After a while, Merlyn served dinner to everyone. She looked at the nervous Ju and smiled kindly. “Don’t be nervous. You are now a member of the Buda family. Don’t worry, the young master is a very good person. By the way, you said that you were a commoner? How did you become a slave?”
Perhaps it was Merlyn’s benevolent appearance that made Ju let go of the last trace of nervousness. She finally whispered how she had become a slave.
Zhao Hai and the others did not speak and listened quietly. Only after Ju finished speaking did Zhao Hai sigh and say, “With such nobles in existence, it’s truly a miracle that the world is not in chaos. Alright, Grandma Merlyn, let’s eat. Ju, you will be a retainer of the Buda family from now on. You will be paid monthly for your work. Tomorrow, you will follow Meg and learn from her.”
Although Zhao Hai was excited about Ju’s skills, he knew that Ju’s skills were not very helpful to them now. Instead of saying that Zhao Hai had taken a fancy to Ju’s skills, it was better to say that he had taken a fancy to her courage. No matter what the reason was, the courage she had to stand forward was worthy of Zhao Hai’s praise. Moreover, with a role model like Ju, he believed that those slaves would definitely work harder.
While eating, Ju kept stealing glances at Zhao Hai and the others, but she realized that they did not seem to have any abnormal behavior. They ate very naturally and did not look like they were having difficulty eating such a simple meal.
After the meal, Zhao Hai and the others went to the living room. Zhao Hai sat down and said to Ju, “Ju, I’ll get Wood and Rock to send you a bed and some bedding. Take good care of your brother. Follow Meg tomorrow morning. Do whatever Meg wants you to do. If there is no work, make grass curtains and send them to the people in the outer fort. The weather is still a little cold, let them hang the grass curtains on the window to block the cold.”
Ju immediately said, “Yes, Master.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Ju, you’re already a retainer of the Buda family. You’re no longer a slave. You don’t have to call me master. Just call me Young Master like Meg and the others. Wood, Rock, go and send bedding to Ju and An’s room. Ju, go back and take care of your brother.”
The three of them nodded and turned to leave. Meg and Merlyn stood beside Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai sighed and said, “I hope this matter regarding Ju can stimulate those slaves. Our Buda family is really poor now. If we can give those slaves more hope, we might be able to find some talents.”
Merlyn nodded. She also knew about the difficulties of the Buda family. Although they had bought a lot of supplies when they came to the Black Soil Wilderness, those supplies were mostly food and clothes. They had not bought anything that took up too much space. Otherwise, they would have given beds to those slaves.
Although they were no longer under the pressure of food, they were now constantly worried about the Carrion Swamp. The pressure was even greater than before.
In fact, Merlyn was confident in her and Meg’s skills. She believed that they could deal with the common magical beasts. Don’t forget that she was a level eight mage, and Meg was a level six mage. Wood and Rock were level six warriors. Their total power was quite high.
The reason why Merlyn did not dare to say anything to reassure Zhao Hai was because she was not confident in the current situation. What kind of place was the Carrion Swamp? It was one of the five forbidden areas on the continent. Even a level-nine great mage would not be able to escape unscathed, let alone a level-eight mage like her.
Although they did not have to enter the Carrion Swamp, if the magical beasts that attacked them were too strong, she could not guarantee that she could defeat them, so she did not dare to say anything to Zhao Hai.
At this moment, Zhao Hai suddenly stood up and turned to Merlyn. “Grandma Merlyn, I’m going to the Space Farm. The magic radishes are ripe. I have to collect them. Do you want to come?”
Merlyn shook her head. “Young Master, I won’t go. I have to clean the kitchen. Let Meg accompany you.”
Zhao Hai nodded and turned to Meg. “Meg, come with me to a place. That place is our Buda family’s greatest secret. Other than you, me, Grandma Merlyn, and Wood and Rock, no one else knows. Even Grandpa Grimm doesn’t know about it now, so you can’t mention it to anyone.”
Seeing that Zhao Hai was so serious, Meg did not know how to react. She could not help but turn to look at Merlyn. Merlyn nodded and said, “Meg, listen to the young master.”
Meg immediately nodded. “Yes, Young Master. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”
Zhao Hai nodded. With a thought, the two of them entered the Space Farm. Meg’s reaction when she entered the space was similar to Merlyn’s. The radishes in the Space Farm had already ripened, while small seedlings had grown out of the corn.
Zhao Hai explained the use of the Space Farm to Meg before collecting the radishes. Just like last time, he kept the radishes and the leaves separately.
Meg looked at the magical Space Farm and understood why her mother and Zhao Hai had said that this was the Buda family’s greatest secret. This was not only the Buda family’s greatest secret, but also their hope of revival. No wonder the two of them took it so seriously.
After Zhao Hai put away the radishes, he bought a bag of radish seeds from the shop. He had nearly 3,000 kilograms of corn and three harvests of radishes in his space, but he only had 50 gold coins left. Although he had a few bags of other seeds, it was not the time to plant those things, so he could only leave those seeds there.
After doing this, Zhao Hai turned to Meg and said, “Meg, this is the magical space I obtained. This is also the hope of our Buda family. You can’t tell anyone.”
Meg said seriously, “Don’t worry, Young Master. I know the severity of this matter. I won’t tell anyone.”
Zhao Hai nodded and said to Meg, “Let’s go out. There’s no need to worry about this place. It’s getting late. Go and rest early.”
With that, the two of them appeared in the living room again. At this moment, Wood and Rock had already returned. The two of them were not surprised by the sudden appearance of Zhao Hai and Meg. The two of them had already gone to the Space Farm and knew what was going on there.
Seeing that they were all here, Zhao Hai nodded and said, “Alright, everyone, go and rest. We still have things to do tomorrow. Meg, let Ju learn from you tomorrow.” Only then did Zhao Hai slowly walk to his room.
Zhao Hai had to think carefully about what to do next. He only had 50 gold coins left. Should he sell the radishes or corn for gold coins? He could also only plant corn on the ten acres of land where the radishes were planted.
He lay on the bed and thought about the Space Farm. He only had 50 gold coins left. He had to sell the things for money. Zhao Hai was more inclined to sell radishes. Before Grimm returned, radishes were not very useful. Moreover, he had already put away the radish leaves. Even if he sold the radishes, he did not have to worry about not having anything to feed the blue-eyed rabbits in the future.
There was still a lot of corn, and it was more useful than radishes. Not only could it be used as food, but it could also be used as forage and fuel. Zhao Hai did not plan to sell the corn.