Chapter 16: Proportion

Zhao Hai casually threw the water ball into the spring in the space. Since this water was not poisonous and the water quality was quite good, he let it return to its origin.

Then, Zhao Xin turned his gaze to the pile of black soil that had not yet been processed. The pile of black soil was not very large, only about half a meter high.

Now, Zhao Hai already knew that he could use the soil and water from the space to transform this black soil. However, he did not rush to transform it. He wanted to conduct an experiment to find the best transformation plan.

After looking at the pile of black soil for a while, Zhao Hai said in a deep voice, "Shovel, divide it into ten equal parts."

As soon as Zhao Hai gave the order, before the shovel could act, the black soil on the ground automatically divided into ten equal parts. Seeing this, Zhao Xin could not help but be delighted. It seemed that as long as something entered this space, it could act according to his will. This was truly excellent.

Thinking about this, Zhao Hai decided to conduct another experiment. He said in a deep voice, "Space, calculate the optimal ratio of space soil and space water for improving black soil."

"Exceeds authority, unable to calculate!"

"Damn, relying on heaven and earth is not as good as relying on oneself. I still have to do it myself to be well-fed and well-clothed." Zhao Hai cursed inwardly, filled a bucket with spring water, and picked up a small shovel to scoop a shovel of space soil.

The reason Zhao Hai wanted to calculate this ratio was that he was afraid that if he used too much space soil, the soil in the space would decrease. If that happened, it would be a loss.

Now, the space was Zhao Hai's greatest support. If the space was destroyed, all his plans would be in vain, and he would return to the state of being poor and waiting to die on this dead land.

Considering this, Zhao Hai wanted to calculate the optimal ratio of space soil and space water needed to transform black soil. This way, he could not only better improve the black soil but also avoid using too much space soil and space water.

Although the space was basically the same as the game Zhao Hai played, it had become his last reliance. He could no longer act casually like in a game; every step needed to be carefully calculated.

First, Zhao Hai sprinkled space water on the black soil, carefully observing the changes in the black soil while carefully calculating the ratio of the two.

When the space water fell on the black soil, it was like the immortal dew from the willow branch bottle of Guanyin. The black soil immediately changed. The black soil, which was like oil sand, gradually lost its oil-like blackness and turned into a color characteristic of black soil. The sand-like particles inside also slowly disappeared, turning into ordinary soil.

After the small pile of black soil was completely transformed, Zhao Hai carefully calculated that the ratio was about 15 to 1, meaning that one-fifteenth of the water volume could transform a pile of black soil.

Zhao Hai was quite satisfied with this result, as it indicated that the space water had a strong ability to transform black soil. Then, he sprinkled space soil on another pile of black soil. This time, the changes in the black soil were different from when using space water. The black soil transformed with space soil looked even more fertile, but the ratio of space soil to black soil was 10 to 1.

Zhao Hai then turned to the third pile of soil and used space water and space soil in a 9 to 1 ratio to transform the black soil. The result was successful, but the transformed black soil was no different from the one transformed with space water.

Then, he tried an 8 to 2 ratio, a 7 to 3 ratio, and a 6 to 4 ratio, and the results were the same. When he tried a 5 to 5 ratio, the black soil became as fertile as the one transformed with space soil. The 6 to 4 ratio and the 5 to 5 ratio showed no significant difference.

By now, Zhao Hai no longer needed to conduct more experiments. Using a 6 to 4 ratio of space water and space soil for transforming black soil was the most reasonable, as it would not cause too much waste and the transformed black soil would have the best quality.

With this experimental result, Zhao Hai was very satisfied. He put the bucket back in place and returned the soil to the ground, then left the space.

Back in his room, Zhao Hai sat quietly, organizing the gains from this trip to the space. The land had been upgraded, and he could start farming. He had found the best ratio for transforming black soil. Now, he should start preparing to transform the black soil. It was already April, and if he did not act now, he would miss the farming season.

Although Zhao Hai could not distinguish between the five grains, he still understood these basic facts: spring planting and autumn harvest. Now was the beginning of spring, and it was time to start farming.

Currently, he had 200 gold coins, six bags of pasture seeds, two bags of cabbage seeds, two bags of corn seeds, two bags of wheat seeds, and 80,000 pounds of radishes stored in the warehouse. This was his current capital.

Fortunately, all the seeds could be taken out of the space and used. This meant that as long as he improved the land outside, he could plant the seeds produced in the space.

While thinking about these things, Zhao Hai walked out. He needed to measure the land as soon as possible to start the transformation. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Mu Tou and Shi Tou standing at the door, guarding it. It seemed that no one had come to look for him.

Zhao Hai nodded at the two and said, "Mu Tou, go find a rope and a ruler. We need to measure the land." Although Mu Tou and Shi Tou did not know why Zhao Hai was doing this, they responded and immediately went to find the items.

Since they were going to the black soil wasteland, where there was nothing, Green had prepared almost everything needed for daily life, including the most abundant food, seeds, and various daily necessities. Items like ropes and rulers were naturally prepared in large quantities.

However, Mu Tou did not rush to find the items. Instead, he turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Young Master, it's almost lunchtime. Grandma Melin has already returned to prepare lunch for you. Let's wait until after lunch to go."

Zhao Hai was taken aback and looked at the sky. Indeed, it was already noon. With Mu Tou's reminder, he felt a bit hungry. He nodded and said, "Alright, let's wait until after lunch." Then, he led the two to the castle's dining room.

As soon as the three arrived at the dining room, they saw Melin and Meg arranging the tableware. Seeing Zhao Hai, Melin hurriedly bowed and said, "Young Master, you're up. I was just about to have Meg call you for lunch."

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "I'm up, Grandma Melin. In the afternoon, don't let the slaves clean the cave. We'll do it tomorrow. Instead, prepare a ruler and a rope. We need to measure the black soil outside, marking each ten acres. It's almost time for spring plowing, so we need to act quickly."

Melin's face turned grim as she said, "Young Master, the black soil outside cannot be cultivated. Although we bought a lot of seeds, those seeds are for planting on the mountain. Planting them in the black soil would be a waste. Measuring the land would be useless."

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Don't worry, Grandma Melin. I have a way to improve the black soil outside, making it fertile and suitable for cultivation. You just need to measure the land."

Melin's eyes lit up, and her voice trembled with excitement. "Young Master, are you serious? You really have a way to improve the land outside? To make it suitable for cultivation?"

The Black Soil Wasteland was the largest plain in the entire Aksu Empire, covering one-third of the empire's total area. However, it had never been counted as part of the empire's land because it was a dead land.

But if this land could be cultivated and crops could grow, what would happen? It would become the richest and most coveted place in the entire Aksu Empire.

Although the Ark Continent was a magical civilization where people valued magic, martial arts, and magic crystals more, agriculture was the foundation of any country, an indisputable fact.

People need food to survive. No matter how strong your magic or martial arts, you still need to eat. Even if a country were very wealthy, it could not rely entirely on other countries for food, as that would be a matter of national survival. If a country did that, it would be close to its end.

If all the land in the Black Soil Wasteland could be cultivated, it would undoubtedly become the granary of the entire continent. There would be no other place on the continent as flat and suitable for cultivation as the Black Soil Wasteland.

The most important reason for Melin's excitement was that, to ensure the Budan family had no chance of a comeback, Emperor Aksu Abayo, under the witness of the temple's envoy and envoys from other countries, reached an agreement with the Budan family. Under the witness of the gods, the Black Soil Wasteland would become the permanent fief of the Budan family.

Do not underestimate this agreement. With the witness of envoys from other countries and the approval of the temple, it had the witness of the gods. Anyone who dared to violate this agreement would be considered disrespectful to the gods and would face attacks from all forces on the continent and punishment from the gods.

Moreover, this agreement had a special feature. Due to the witness of envoys from other countries, even if the Aksu Empire were to fall and other countries ruled this land, the Black Soil Wasteland would still belong to the Budan family. No empire, including the temple, had the right to reclaim it.

Imagine what would happen when Zhao Hai completely improved this land. Zhao Hai would obtain the largest fief on the Ark Continent, and it would be a permanent one that no one had the right to reclaim!

How could Melin not be excited? If Zhao Hai really improved the land, the Budan family would become the richest and most powerful family on the Ark Continent.