Chapter 21: The Problem with the Lake Water

In the evening, Zhao Hai woke up. By this time, it was already quite dark. Mei Lin and the others had also returned. To save resources, they generally did not go out at night. Even without using magic stones for lighting, using torches or oil lamps still required oil. Now, they had to save every bit of resources.

When Zhao Hai woke up, it was already quite dark. The slaves had already eaten their dinner. The remaining time until they went to bed at night, they could freely move around the castle. There was no need to worry about them escaping; it was good to let them relax a bit.

Now, the slaves were sitting in the courtyard of the castle, chatting. Compared to other places, their life here was like heaven. They could eat their fill every day, did not have to do too much heavy work, and had enough rest time. They really liked this kind of life.

Originally, when they came here, they were still somewhat desperate. Although they were slaves, they had heard about the Black Earth Wasteland. Nothing grew here, only a barren mountain, and it was next to a corpse swamp. Such a place was a dead end, and they always thought that they would starve to death here.

But they did not expect that although they had only been here for two days, they could clearly see that their master was truly capable. He could use magical means to turn the infertile black soil into fertile farmland. They no longer had to worry about starving to death.

These people were just slaves; they had never seen anyone use magic. In their impression, mages were omnipotent, and magic was incredibly powerful.

Better living conditions, treating them like commoners, the temptation of being able to leave their slave status, and the incredible magic—these things combined were enough to make these slaves loyal to Zhao Hai. Invisibly, a strong cohesion formed. Now, these slaves were no longer passively working; they were thinking about working harder to leave their slave status as soon as possible.

Zhao Hai quietly stood at the castle, watching the slaves outside. He really wanted to go up and chat with these slaves, but he also knew that now was not the time. These slaves had always been oppressed; they would be very nervous when they saw nobles. Not to mention chatting, they would probably kneel down and not even dare to raise their heads.

It was easy to change a person's status, but it was difficult to change their mindset. That required a long process to gradually change their thoughts. Therefore, Zhao Hai did not contact these slaves for now; the timing was not right.

Doing anything required a gradual process. Being too hasty might ruin things. Even if successful, it might lead to an unstable foundation.

Undoubtedly, the completion of land improvement and the hope of leaving their slave status made these slaves' lives full of hope, no longer the lifeless state they were in when they first arrived.

Zhao Hai liked seeing the slaves behave this way. Only those full of hope could be creative and maximize their abilities.

At this moment, a knock on the door sounded, and Zhao Hai immediately came to his senses. He said in a deep voice, "Come in."

The door opened, and Meg stood at the door, looking at Zhao Hai and saying, "Young Master, dinner is ready. It's time to eat." Mu Tou and Shi Tou still stood outside the door, guarding for Zhao Hai.

Zhao Hai nodded. He knew it was about time to eat. However, he really felt bad. These past two days, Mei Lin and the others had not only been busy managing the slaves but also cooking for him, which was very tiring.

Although Zhao Hai knew how to cook, he did not dare to do it. Don't forget his identity; he was now a spoiled noble who had everything served to him. How could he cook? His spatial ability was understandable, as this was a continent where magic and martial arts coexisted, and all kinds of extraordinary people existed. His abilities were not particularly outstanding, but if he suddenly knew how to cook, it would raise Mei Lin and Meg's suspicions.

When they arrived at the dining room, they found that Mei Lin and the others had already set the table. There was bread, some vegetables, a piece of meat, and a soup.

To be honest, a Chinese person born and raised in China really couldn't get used to this food. However, there was no choice. Even if Ye Hai wanted to eat Chinese food, no one could make it, and he himself could not make it either, for fear of raising suspicions.

After eating a few bites, Zhao Hai said, "Grandma Mei Lin, I think we were too hasty today. We shouldn't improve the land here tomorrow."

Mei Lin was taken aback and looked at Zhao Hai in confusion, "What's wrong, Young Master? Why do you say that? Can't we improve the land anymore? If we can't, what should we do?"

Zhao Hai understood her concern and immediately said, "Grandma Mei Lin, I think you misunderstood. It's not that we can't improve the land, but we can't improve it near the castle. Think about it, our strength is still too weak. If those guys find out we can turn this place into arable land, will they let us off? We'll be finished."

Mei Lin had seen many storms. Today, she was just overwhelmed by the joy of improving the land and didn't think about these things. Now, after Zhao Hai's reminder, Mei Lin immediately understood. Zhao Hai was right. If the old nobles of the empire found out they could improve the land here, they would certainly come to deal with them, and they would be finished.

Although the Buda family had signed an agreement with the empire, that was only if the Buda family had an heir. If a noble family had no heir, the noble title would be reclaimed by the king, and the fief would also be reclaimed.

A man without talent is not guilty, but a man with talent is. This was the principle.

Mei Lin put down her knife and fork and nodded, "Young Master is right. We were too hasty, only thinking about improving our lives and forgetting that the old nobles might not let us off. What do you think, Young Master?"

Now, Mei Lin was increasingly valuing Zhao Hai's opinions. In the past few days, Zhao Hai had indeed done a lot, and everything he did was well-organized. Combined with his unique abilities, Mei Lin and the others had unconsciously regarded Zhao Hai as the mainstay.

Zhao Hai also put down his utensils, gently wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said, "We still need to improve the land, but not around the castle. It's too obvious. Anyone who comes in can see it, making it easy to be discovered. I want to find a place that is very hidden and can be improved. It doesn't need to be too large, just a thousand acres or so, which should be enough to meet our needs here. This way, it won't be easily discovered."

Mei Lin nodded, "Young Master is right. Tomorrow, I'll send people to look for a suitable place. Young Master, do we still raise the blue-eyed rabbits and scaleless fish?"

Zhao Hai said firmly, "Yes, we must raise them. The scaleless fish are easy to raise, and no one will notice. The blue-eyed rabbits are even more important. They will think we are making a last-ditch effort and won't pay much attention."

Mei Lin nodded, "Alright, but there is a problem with the water. I noticed that there seem to be no fish in our moat, and even in the lake in the mountain cave, there are no fish. This seems very strange."

Zhao Hai was taken aback. He had never thought about this before. He was just a homebody, not a professional fisherman, so he hadn't noticed this at first. On the contrary, Mei Lin, a water mage, had noticed it.

Zhao Hai was puzzled. Logically, the moat and the lake in the mountain should have many fish. The water quality was fine, which he had already analyzed in his space. Why were there no fish?

Zhao Hai asked Mei Lin in confusion, "Grandma Mei Lin, do you know why? The water is fine; I've analyzed it. It's a very good water source, completely suitable for fish to live in. But now there are no fish, which doesn't make sense."

Mei Lin frowned and said after a while, "There are usually only two possibilities for no fish in the water. One is that the water is toxic and unsuitable for fish to live in. The other is that there is a fierce aquatic monster in the water that has eaten all the fish. If the water is not toxic, as Young Master said, then the only possibility is the second one, that there is a fierce aquatic monster in the water."

Zhao Hai thought carefully and found Mei Lin's words very reasonable. He remembered a news story from Earth where two fierce carnivorous fish entered a fish farmer's pond and ate all the fish. There might be a similar monster here, which would be a troublesome matter.

Seeing Zhao Hai frown, Mei Lin knew what he was thinking and comforted him, "Young Master, this is not difficult to solve. If the water is toxic, it would be hard to deal with, but if there is a monster in the water, we just need to find and kill it."

Zhao Hai, however, smiled bitterly. His thoughts were the opposite of Mei Lin's. If the water was toxic, he could easily detoxify it with his spatial water. But if there was a monster in the water, it would be very troublesome.

Seeing Zhao Hai still frowning, Mei Lin couldn't help but smile, "Young Master, don't worry. If there is a monster in the water, I will definitely find and kill it. It won't affect your fish farming plans."

Zhao Hai was taken aback by Mei Lin's words and then suddenly understood. This was not Earth. On Earth, it would not be easy to go into the sea to kill a deep-sea monster, but here, on the Ark Continent, there was powerful magic, and Mei Lin was a powerful water mage. She might really have a way to eliminate the monster in the water.