Chapter 31: Millstone
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At the thought of this, Zhao Hai entered the Space Farm again. When he was in the Space Farm, he really did not like others watching from the side, but in order to reassure Merlyn and the others, he had to bring them into the space to take a look. The Buda family still had to rely on them.
Zhao Hai let Merlyn and Meg know about the situation in the Space Farm to increase their confidence. There was one crisis after another in the Black Soil Wilderness. If Merlyn and the others lost confidence, everything would be over.
After entering the Space Farm, Zhao Hai immediately sold the radishes. He sold the three batches of radishes and got a total of 1,500 gold coins. In addition to the original 50 gold coins, he had 1,550 gold coins. If he used these gold coins to plant radishes, he could plant radishes ten times.
It was not that Zhao Hai did not want to get seeds from the radishes, but radishes were different from corn. When they matured, the edible part was mainly the roots. He did not know if the Space Farm would allow the radishes to bear seeds. Moreover, even if the radishes bore seeds, the amount would be few. They were far less productive than corn, so Zhao Hai canceled the plan.
In any case, he could earn a lot of money by selling the radishes. If he sold them outside, he could earn even more. As long as he waited for Grimm to return, he could sell the radishes. At that time, he could buy some books about plants in the continent. This way, he could decide what to plant. He knew too little about plants in the continent, so he did not even have a correct direction to develop towards.
Anyway, he could harvest another batch of radishes tomorrow. He had also told Grimm that he only had 40,000 kilograms of radishes on hand, and a harvest of radishes was enough for now.
However, although he had more than 1,500 gold coins, this money was not enough. The radishes could be harvested three times a day. In other words, the gold coins he had were only enough for three days. After three days, he would have to sell the radishes again.
Zhao Hai was very helpless. His level was too low. Even if he wanted to buy some high-grade seeds, he could not. Therefore, he could only wait. He did not know when the Space Farm would level up.
After coming out of the Space Farm, Zhao Hai lay on the bed and fell asleep. He also realized that he seemed to be able to sleep very well. He had clearly slept in the afternoon, but he could still sleep at night. It was unbelievable.
The next morning, Zhao Hai was woken up by the Space Farm’s notification regarding the radishes maturing. He went to the Space Farm and saw that not only the radish, but even the corn was about to ripen.
Zhao Hai immediately put away the radishes and bought another bag of radish seeds to plant. He looked at the corn and saw that it would ripen in a few minutes. Zhao Hai did not want to go out either. He washed his face with the water in the Space Farm and rinsed his mouth before waiting.
Looking at the corn, Zhao Hai was really hungry. He had lived in the north before. Although no one treated corn as a staple food at that time, it was very good to eat it occasionally. However, the corn at that time was high-yielding and was not as delicious as the waxy corn. In addition, most of it was planted with fertilizers, and the taste was far inferior to using manure. Therefore, Zhao Hai did not eat it often.
However, on the rare occasions Zhao Hai went to visit his relatives in the countryside, he had eaten good corn. They used large iron skillets to make corn pancakes. They were delicious.
The corn pancake was completely different from the corn pancakes bought in the city. Although they were very thick, they were very fragrant. The bottom half of the pancake was covered in vegetable soup. When one took a bite, not only did it have the fragrance of cornmeal, but also the fragrance of the crust. The places where the vegetable soup was stuck were even more fragrant.
At the thought of this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but salivate. He quickly swallowed his saliva and smiled bitterly.
Although he had eaten corn porridge and corn pancake, he did not know how to process this thing. He only knew that the making of the corn porridge was relatively simple. He just had to remove the hull of the corn. The cornmeal was even more troublesome. He had to remove the hull of the corn, then grind them into cornmeal.
If it were on Earth, it would be very easy to process corn. They just had to find a food processing plant and start the machine.
But it could not be done here. There was no grinder here.
Zhao Hai sighed. At this moment, the Space Farm notification sounded again. The corn was ripe. Zhao Hai immediately collected the corn and planted them across the two acres again. Then, he looked at the corn field in a daze. The yield of this corn was high, but this processing was a problem. He really did not know how people ate corn in the past.
Suddenly, Zhao Hai realized a problem. Corn must have appeared long before machines like the grinder. In the years when there were no machines, did people directly cook corn kernels to eat? The people at that time were not so stupid, right? Then how did they process corn?
Zhao Hai walked around the Space Farm a few times and touched his forehead habitually, thinking about how people had processed cornmeal in the past.
Suddenly, Zhao Hai slapped his forehead. He finally remembered two things. He had only seen people use these two things on television, but he had never used them before. Moreover, he had never seen the people in the countryside use them, so he did not think of it.
Roller and bedstone!
Yes, these two things. When Zhao Hai went to his relative’s house in the countryside, he saw a millstone. However, it was a millstone that had been dismantled. No one used it anymore in the countryside. However, because of his curiosity, he had asked what it was used for. Only after asking did he know that this bedstone and roller were used to grind grains.
Most importantly, the main materials for these two things were stone and wood. Although there were not many stones in the mountain that could be mined, there should be enough to make them. There were not many stones to use, and there was no need for good materials. The small trees growing on the mountain were enough.
At the thought of this, Zhao Hai could not stay any longer. He immediately came out of the Space Farm and looked at the sky. Meg and the others should be awake. Zhao Hai immediately pushed the door open and walked out.
As soon as Zhao Hai came out, he saw Meg and Ju walking into his room with a copper basin. Seeing Zhao Hai come out, Meg was stunned and quickly said, “Young Master, why are you out? You haven’t washed up yet.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “It’s okay. I got up long ago and washed myself. Ju, is your brother okay now? Is he up?”
Ju was standing behind Meg with her head lowered. Hearing Zhao Hai’s words, she quickly said, “Thank you for your concern, Young Master. He is fine now. He is waiting outside.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Why are you being so polite? Let’s go to the living room first. Call An over. I have something to ask him.”
Meg and Ju were stunned, but they did not say anything. The two of them immediately agreed and followed Zhao Hai into the living room.
In the living room, Meg put down the copper basin and stood behind Zhao Hai, while Ju went out to call An.
The inner fort was divided into the main castle and the servants’ rooms. The main castle was where Zhao Hai and the others lived, while the servants’ rooms were some small houses behind the main castle. Now, Ju and An lived in the servants’ rooms. Although they were already commoners and had been given the surname by Zhao Hai, their status was far inferior to Meg and the others. Meg and the others were trusted subordinates, while Ju and An could only be considered ordinary retainers.
After a while, Ju led An in. An looked really good and was very tall. He was a little thin, but he looked very sturdy.
He no longer looked like he was on the verge of death, but he still lowered his head and did not dare to speak.
Ju walked to Zhao Hai and lowered her head. “Young Master, An is here.”
Zhao Hai nodded and looked at An, who was standing not far away. He smiled and said, “Call him over. There’s no need to be so formal.”
Ju immediately called An over. As soon as An arrived in front of Zhao Hai, he knelt down and kowtowed. “An greets Young Master. Thank you for saving my life.”
It seemed like Ju had already told him before coming, which was why he called Zhao Hai Young Master and not master. Zhao Hai nodded and said, “You don’t have to be so polite. You’re already a member of the Buda family. It’s only right to save you. Stand up.”
An bowed again and said, “Thank you, Young Master.” With that, he stood up, but he still bowed and lowered his head, not daring to look at Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai frowned when he saw An’s expression. He did not like people doing this. This was the resemblance of a slave. Zhao Hai shouted, “An, raise your head. You have to remember that you are a member of the Buda family now and a commoner. If you go out in the future, you will represent the face of our Buda family. Don’t always bow and look like a servant. That will make people look down on our Buda family.”
Seeing that Zhao Hai seemed to be angry, Ju and An knelt down and kowtowed to Zhao Hai. “Young Master, please punish us.”
Zhao Hai was impatient and could only say, “Alright, stand up. Don’t kneel for no reason.” Seeing the two of them stand up and straighten their backs, Zhao Hai continued, “An, let me ask you, have you learned masonry?”
An quickly said, “Yes, Young Master. My father was a mason. I’ve learned some skills. Although I’m not very proficient, I can still make ordinary things.”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “That’s good. I’ll draw two patterns later. See if you can make them. If you can, I’ll immediately organize people to mine a few stones for you to make what I want as soon as possible.”
An’s heart tightened, but he still bowed and said, “Yes, Young Master.”