Chapter 33: A Sudden Inspiration

Although they were busy, their faces were all filled with smiles, the kind of smiles that brimmed with hope for life, making one feel that they were living with great vigor and that their days were full of promise.

Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile as well. He turned and walked to the place where the corn stalks were stored, and then placed the corn stalks he had collected that morning in the field.

Zhao Hai had no intention of hiding anything from these people. They were slaves of the Budan family, their bodies already branded with the mark of the Budan family, a mark that would never fade in their lifetimes. Their fates were already intertwined with the Budan family, so there was no need to hide anything from them.

The slaves seemed to have adapted to Zhao Hai's various miraculous actions. So when they saw him bring out so many corn stalks, they didn't react much.

Zhao Hai glanced at the female slave holding the corn stalks and said, "These can be used to cover the ground or to start a fire, but remember, be careful when starting a fire to avoid causing a fire. Also, these corn stalks are still a bit damp, so it's best to dry them before spreading them out."

The female slaves quickly responded, but this time they didn't rush to kneel down. It seemed that Meg had communicated well with them.

Actually, this time Zhao Hai was wrong. The credit for this change wasn't due to Meg. Although Meg was a servant, don't forget that she was also the daughter of the Budan family's chief steward. Even when the Budan family was not in dire straits, few people in the entire Budan family dared to show her any disrespect. Her status was much higher than that of the common people, and she had not interacted much with the common people, so she naturally wouldn't communicate much with these slaves, who were even lower in status than the common people.

The transformation of these slaves was entirely due to Kiku. Although Kiku was once a commoner, she had been a slave for several years, and now she bore the mark of the Budan family. Even though Zhao Hai had restored her to the status of a commoner yesterday, in the eyes of the slaves, she was still more approachable than Meg.

Most importantly, although Kiku had been restored to the status of a commoner and had moved to a different room, she still worked and joked with the other slaves, making it easier for them to accept her.

Slaves were the lowest group of people on the entire continent. Sometimes they were even treated worse than the dogs their masters kept. It was said that when a noble's dog died, they would kill a hundred slaves to accompany it in death, showing just how low the status of slaves was.

Because of this, slaves were very wary of anyone with a higher status or any connection to the nobility. They never trusted the words of anyone associated with the nobility.

Kiku's status was unique. She was a slave, but she had been restored to the status of a commoner. Moreover, Kiku was always very honest and got along well with the other slaves, which is why they accepted her so quickly.

When women gather, they naturally chat, and this is true even for slaves. When Kiku worked with them, they naturally asked her about things related to Zhao Hai. Kiku didn't hide anything from them and told them everything, which surprised the slaves greatly. They never expected Zhao Hai to be so easy to talk to.

Similarly, Kiku learned from Meg that Zhao Hai didn't like people kneeling before him all the time. So Kiku told the other slaves, and combined with Zhao Hai's friendly behavior over the past few days, their wariness decreased significantly, so they no longer knelt before Zhao Hai.

Zhao Hai didn't mind. To be honest, as a modern person, even after accepting all of Adam's memories, he still found it very uncomfortable to have people kneeling to him all the time. But to avoid being criticized by Meg and Green, he had to accept it. Now that these slaves no longer kneeled to him as they used to, he felt more at ease.

Zhao Hai and Meg went to the courtyard. When Meg and the others were about to bow, Zhao Hai waved his hand to stop them. He walked to a vacant spot in the courtyard and took out the stone he had stored in his spatial ring.

Then Zhao Hai turned to watch Meg and the others weaving mats. Clearly, the slaves were accustomed to this kind of work, and their hands were very nimble. Even those who didn't know how to weave before learned quickly. In contrast, Meg was far less skilled than the slaves.

They were all sitting on the ground, with piles of grass around each of them. The pile of grass next to Meg was the largest, almost blocking her from view.

Seeing Meg's appearance, Zhao Hai couldn't help but think of a phrase: "Borrowing arrows with straw boats." It seemed that Zhuge Liang had once used straw dummies to borrow arrows, with the real people hiding behind them. Wait, straw boats? Straw!?

Zhao Hai slapped his hand, finally thinking of what he could use to make a boat: grass. He remembered a news story from Earth where someone had made a straw boat to conquer the Pacific Ocean. Although he didn't know if the person succeeded, one thing was certain: a boat could be made from grass!

Zhao Hai excitedly walked around the room a few times. If the straw boat could be made, the problem of the boat would be solved, and the land in the canyon would have someone to take care of it.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hai became even more excited, which startled Meg, who was standing next to him. She didn't understand why Zhao Hai became so excited after just looking at her. She quickly said, "Young Master, Young Master, what's wrong?"

Zhao Hai was brought back to his senses by Meg's call. He turned to look at the others and saw that everyone was looking at him, which made him feel a bit embarrassed. He quickly said, "Grandma Meg, please call Meg and Kiku to the living room. I need to talk to them." Then he quickly walked to the living room inside the castle.

Although Meg didn't know what Zhao Hai was up to, she knew he must have thought of something good. She quickly called Meg and Kiku and led them to the living room inside the castle.

Zhao Hai was already in the living room, pacing back and forth, his hand habitually touching his forehead. When he heard footsteps, he stopped and saw that it was indeed Meg, Kiku, and the others.

Seeing the three of them enter, Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Come and sit down. I have something to say." The three walked up to him but didn't dare to sit down.

Zhao Hai smiled and sat down first, then waved his hand and said, "Come and sit down." The three sat down as instructed, but Kiku sat the farthest back and kept her head down.

Zhao Hai looked at the three and said, "I just thought of a way. Grandma Meg, we need a boat. The land in the canyon needs to be taken care of, but we don't have enough resources to build a boat. I saw Meg weaving grass just now and suddenly thought, can we make a boat out of grass?"

Meg and the others were taken aback, even Kiku lifted her head. They had never heard of anyone making a boat out of grass before.

Meg uncertainly asked, "Young Master, will that work?"

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "It will, it definitely will. But this kind of boat will require a lot of grass, and the grass must be tightly packed. Use a lot of ropes to tie it securely. I saw the grass on the mountain, and it is very strong, so it should be suitable for making a boat. Here's what I suggest: Meg, you and Kiku lead the others to try making one. Don't be afraid if it doesn't work out. There's plenty of wild grass on the mountain, and we can try several times until we get it right."

Seeing Zhao Hai's confident demeanor, Meg didn't say anything. She thought about it and decided to go along with it. Even if the boat didn't work out, they would only lose some grass and ropes, which wasn't a big deal.

Zhao Hai continued, "Meg, come with me to the study. I'll draw a picture of the straw boat for you, and you can follow it." Then he walked upstairs, and Meg quickly followed.

In the study, Zhao Hai drew a rough sketch of a straw boat based on his memory. The boat wasn't very complicated, resembling an Arab slipper with a high front and a relatively flat back, a thick bottom, and tightly bound with ropes.

Zhao Hai had only seen pictures of the straw boat on the computer and roughly remembered its shape. Now he could only draw it as a reference for Meg and the others.

After Zhao Hai finished drawing, he gave the paper to Meg and said, "I remember the boat looking something like this. Try to make it according to this design. It's okay to try several times."

Meg responded and took the drawing, then left. Seeing Meg leave, Zhao Hai didn't know what to do next. Suddenly, he looked at the books in the room and his eyes lit up. He carefully examined the books.

Fortunately, although Adam was a spoiled son, he was still a noble, so he had learned to read from a young age. Zhao Hai recognized all the words in the books.

Strangely, the language spoken on this continent was Chinese, and although some places had slightly different pronunciations, the differences were not significant. However, the writing was very different from Chinese. Fortunately, he had inherited Adam's memories, or he would have become illiterate.

Zhao Hai looked through the books in the study. There wasn't much useful information, only a few miscellaneous notes, some history books, a few military books, and some books about magic and martial arts.

Zhao Hai picked up a history book and started reading. However, he soon felt dizzy. This wasn't a history book at all, but a mix of mythology and the Bible, with obscure and difficult language, making it hard for Zhao Hai to understand.

After reading two pages, Zhao Hai threw the history book aside and picked up a miscellaneous note. This note wasn't bad; it was like a personal travel diary, recording a lot of information about the customs and legends of the continent, which suited Zhao Hai's interests. He started reading it seriously.

Seeing that Meg had been out for a long time and Zhao Hai hadn't come out of the study, Meg felt puzzled. She went to the study door and saw that the door was open, and Zhao Hai was sitting inside, reading a book very seriously.