Chapter 40: Rice
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhao Hai was depressed. This was the first time he had seen someone eat rice like this. Although this rice did not look like the rice he used to eat, it was similar. When he thought of how the white and fragrant rice was reduced to this, Zhao Hai felt like he was about to collapse.
He also understood why Merlyn did not cook rice for him. These people probably did not know how to cook rice at all. If the rice was cooked like this, it would definitely not be delicious. Therefore, only slaves ate such rice.
He happened to see a large stove being lit up and the pot was being heated. Zhao Hai could not help but walk over and say to the female slave who was about to pour oil, “Wait, don’t pour oil first.”
Seeing Zhao Hai’s expression, the female slave thought that she had made a mistake and immediately knelt down. “Master, please punish me.”
This stunned Zhao Hai, but he quickly came to his senses and shook his head. “I’m not punishing you. You did nothing wrong. Listen to me now. Don’t pour oil into the pot first. Use the basin to wash this rice. From the looks of it, this pot can probably hold a basin of rice. Wash the rice clean and pour the water out, then pour the rice into the pot.” As he spoke, Zhao Hai took out a copper basin.
The female slave did not know what Zhao Hai wanted, but she immediately took the large copper basin from Zhao Hai’s hand and filled it with rice. She went to the spring to wash it properly and poured the rice into the pot.
Zhao Hai continued, “Go and fill this basin with water the same amount as the rice. Pour the water into the pot.” The female slave went obediently and filled the pot with water. Zhao Hai asked her to pour the same amount of water again in the pot. The pot was almost full after being filled with two basins of water. Zhao Hai then took out a larger copper basin from the warehouse and covered the pot. Then, he asked the female slave to start the fire.
Zhao Hai just wanted to teach them how to cook rice. It was actually very simple. When Zhao Hai was on Earth, he lived alone, so he was very good at cooking rice. The ratio of rice to water was about one to two. One kilogram of rice meant two liters of water. However, for such a pot, he had to add more water because there was firewood below which meant the heat was quite high, so he added a bowl of water more. Moreover, he did not let the female slave increase the heat. He only used a steady fire to boil it.
Meg and the others looked at Zhao Hai. They had used water to cook rice before, but they used it as an ingredient for soup, so they did not know what cooked rice looked like.
It did not take long for the rice to be cooked. Before long, the fragrance of rice came from the pot. The rice in the pot was organic rice, free from any pesticides, so it would naturally taste good.
These slaves also had bowls for food, but their bowls were all wooden. Everyone was given a set. Other than the pot, everyone only had a wooden spoon, but it was enough.
One stove for ten slaves, and every slave was given a wooden bowl, a wooden spoon, and a wooden cup. These were all the assets of the slaves. Even so, the slaves were very happy because they did not even have these things before.
While Zhao Hai was staring at the pot of rice, Merlyn walked out of the straw hut and said to Zhao Hai, “Young Master, come and take a look. How do you light the fire in this kitchen?”
Zhao Hai was stunned and immediately followed Merlyn into the straw hut. He had not paid much attention to the kitchen utensils in the past. Now that he looked at it, the kitchen utensils were actually all electrical appliances like electric rice cooker, baking scale, and electric frying pan. Everything used electricity. What made Zhao Hai the most speechless was that he did not know where the wires were connected to. All the wires were linked to the wall of the straw hut, and there were switches on the appliances.
However, Zhao Hai knew how to use all these things. He looked at what Merlyn was going to cook and was speechless. Good lord, he had thought that Merlyn was going to make flatbreads and stir-fry vegetables. He did not expect that Merlyn was making something like a pizza.
However, it was obvious that this pizza was different from the pizzas Zhao Hai had eaten before. It was not as beautiful as the pizzas on Earth. She only made a dough and placed the vegetables and ham on it.
Zhao Hai was impatient. He was from China, and on Earth, China’s food was world-famous. In this world, he had never eaten a normal meal. He had thought that he would be eating flatbreads today, but in the end, it was something that was neither flatbread or pizza.
However, Zhao Hai still told Merlyn about the usage of the kitchenware. These things were all electric, so it was naturally much more convenient. Merlyn learned it immediately.
Seeing that Merlyn learned how to use these kitchen utensils, Zhao Hai did not stay in the kitchen. He turned around and walked out of the kitchen. At this moment, the smell of the rice in Zhao Hai’s pot became stronger, making people sniff.
Seeing Zhao Hai come out, Meg immediately went up and whispered to him, “Young Master, this smell is so fragrant. How did you cook it?”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Didn’t you see it? It’s just boiling rice with water. Actually, the taste of rice comes out as long as you boil it with a suitable amount of water. This is much better than stir-frying the raw rice. Then, you can make a delicious meal with nut oil and those vegetables. It’s much better than what they make now.”
Merlyn looked at Zhao Hai in admiration and said, “Young Master, you know so much. You’re amazing.”
Zhao Hai couldn’t help but blush. How could he know much? This was something that everyone in China knew, but now, it had become his credit.
Zhao Hai walked to the stove and listened to the sound inside. He felt that it was about ready. He picked up a corn stalk from the ground and pushed the copper basin on the pot with it. The copper basin fell to the ground with a clang, and a ball of hot air rushed out of the pot. Zhao Hai could not help but take a step back. Along with this ball of hot air was an even stronger smell of rice. This smell was too fragrant, much more fragrant than the rice Zhao Hai had eaten on Earth. Zhao Hai could not help but drool.
After the heat dissipated, the rice in the pot finally revealed its true appearance. This rice was not as snow-white as Zhao Hai had imagined. Instead, it was slightly yellow, but it was glistening and smelled extremely fragrant.
Zhao Hai couldn’t help but take out a spoon from the warehouse, scoop a spoonful of rice, and slowly put it in his mouth. Meg wanted to stop him, but he moved too quickly. By the time she wanted to stop him, he had already placed the rice in his mouth. Meg and the others couldn’t help but stare at him.
Zhao Hai felt a fragrant smell of rice fill his mouth. When he chewed on the rice, it was chewy and soft. He couldn’t help but close his eyes and slowly savor the taste. Only then did he open his eyes. Seeing that the slaves and Meg were looking at him, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but say awkwardly, “Don’t look at me, let’s eat. If the rice you cooked earlier doesn’t taste good, don’t eat it. Just cook another meal.”
The slaves did not move immediately. Seeing that they were eager to try but did not dare to move, Zhao Hai understood that it was because he was here that these slaves did not dare to act rashly. He could not help but smile and turn to Meg. “Meg, let’s go in. If they don’t like stir-fried rice, they can make this.”
Meg was a smart person and immediately understood what Zhao Hai meant. She immediately nodded and said, “Alright, Young Master, let’s go in and see if grandma has finished cooking.”
Zhao Hai couldn’t help but smile. He was liking this understanding and gentle girl more and more. The two of them pulled Wood and Rock into the straw hut.
Ju and An did not follow. They also wanted to stay outside and taste how delicious the rice was. Seeing that Zhao Hai and Meg had already entered the house, the slaves immediately surrounded the stove and finished the large pot of rice. Everyone cheered as they ate.
After finishing this pot of rice, the slaves looked at each other and immediately poured away the fried rice. They washed the rice again to cook it.
The pot from earlier had a thick layer of crust left in it. They had never seen this thing before. A slave took out the crust curiously and looked at it. Then, he sniffed it. The fragrance of the rice was even more tempting. In the end, he could not resist the temptation and took a bite.
His eyes lit up and he quickly took a second bite. This pot was not small, so the crust was not small either. It was like a small shield. Naturally, one person could not finish it. The slave distributed the crust to the surrounding people. Before the second pot of rice was ready, they were already full.
Zhao Hai, Merlyn, and the others had been watching the slaves from behind the door of the straw hut. Seeing that they were going to make rice for the second time, Zhao Hai immediately pushed the door open and walked over. He said to the slave, “Everyone, seven pots of rice are enough. Make soup in the remaining three pots. When both the rice and soup are ready, you can eat them together.”
When the slaves heard Zhao Hai say this, they knew that Zhao Hai had been looking at them. They could not help but feel a little embarrassed, but they immediately did as Zhao Hai said. They were really impressed with this master and were extremely grateful.
Many people were already crying when they ate the rice. They had never eaten such delicious food in their lives. Not to mention them, even their families had never eaten such delicious food. They were really too excited.