Chapter 40: Rice

Zhao Hai was so depressed. He had never seen anyone eat rice like this before. Although this rice wasn't like the rice he was used to, it was still similar. Just thinking about the white, fragrant rice being turned into this made Zhao Hai feel like he was about to break down.

He also understood why Mei Lin didn't cook rice for him. It seemed that these people simply didn't know how to cook rice. If the rice was cooked like this, it certainly wouldn't taste good, which was why on the continent, only slaves ate this kind of rice.

Just then, he saw a large stove where the fire had just been lit, and no oil had been added yet. Zhao Hai couldn't hold back any longer and immediately walked over to a female slave who was about to pour oil. "Wait a moment, don't pour the oil yet."

The female slave, seeing Zhao Hai's expression, thought she had done something wrong and immediately knelt down, saying, "Please punish me, Master."

This left Zhao Hai stunned, but he quickly regained his composure and shook his head. "I'm not going to punish you. You haven't done anything wrong. Now, listen to me. Don't pour oil into the pot yet. Use a basin to wash this rice. From the look of this pot, it can probably hold a basin of rice. Wash the rice thoroughly, then pour out the water and put the rice into the pot." As he spoke, Zhao Hai took out a copper basin.

The female slave didn't know what Zhao Hai was doing, but she immediately took the large copper basin from Zhao Hai, filled it with rice, and went to the spring to wash it thoroughly. Then she brought the rice back and poured it into the pot.

Zhao Hai continued, "This copper basin just held about half a basin of rice. Go and get the same amount of water and pour it into the pot." The female slave obediently went to get a basin of water and poured it into the pot. Zhao Hai had her get another basin of water, and both basins of water were poured into the pot, filling it almost to the top. Zhao Hai then had the slave get a bowl of water and pour it into the pot. He then found a larger copper basin from the warehouse, placed it upside down on the pot, and had the female slave start the fire under the pot.

Zhao Hai wanted to cook a pot of rice for them. Cooking rice was actually very simple. In the past, when Zhao Hai lived on Earth, he lived alone, so he was quite skilled at cooking rice. The ratio of rice to water was roughly one to two. For one pound of rice, you needed two pounds of water. However, with this kind of pot, you needed to add more water because the fire was directly under the pot and was quite strong. So Zhao Hai added an extra bowl of water and had the female slave use a gentle fire.

Megg and the others watched Zhao Hai curiously. They had cooked rice with water before, but they treated it like a vegetable, a side dish for soup, not as a main dish. So they had never seen what cooked rice looked like.

When the slaves ate, they had bowls, but they were wooden. Each person was given a set, and besides the pot, each person had only one wooden spoon, which was enough.

Ten people shared one field kitchen, each with a wooden bowl, a wooden spoon, and a wooden cup. These were all the possessions of the slaves. Even so, the slaves were very happy because they had never had these things before.

While Zhao Hai was staring at the pot of rice, Mei Lin came out of the thatched hut and walked to Zhao Hai's side. "Young Master, come and take a look. How do you light the kitchen appliances in this kitchen?"

Zhao Hai was taken aback and immediately followed Mei Lin into the thatched hut. He had never paid much attention to the kitchen appliances before. Now, he saw that all the kitchen appliances were electric: rice cookers, electric griddles, electric woks, and everything else was electric. What left Zhao Hai speechless was that the wires for these appliances were hidden in the walls of the thatched hut. There was a switch on the pot, and the wires were connected to something else.

However, Zhao Hai knew how to use all these appliances. He glanced at what Mei Lin was about to cook and was speechless again. He thought Mei Lin was going to make pancakes and stir-fry some vegetables, but it turned out Mei Lin was making a pizza, with the filling on the outside.

However, it was clear that this pizza was different from the ones Zhao Hai had seen before. It was far from as beautiful as the pizzas on Earth. It was just a flatbread with vegetables and ham on top.

Zhao Hai was helpless. He was from China, where Chinese cuisine was world-renowned. In this world, he had never eaten a proper meal. Today, he thought he would be eating pancakes, but it turned out to be this pizza that wasn't quite a pizza and pancakes that weren't quite pancakes.

However, Zhao Hai still explained how to use the kitchen appliances to Mei Lin. Since everything was electric, it was much more convenient, and Mei Lin quickly learned.

Once Mei Lin knew how to use the kitchen appliances, Zhao Hai left the kitchen and walked out. The aroma of the rice he had cooked was now even stronger, making people involuntarily sniff the air.

Seeing Zhao Hai come out, Megg immediately approached and whispered, "Young Master, this smell is so fragrant. How did you do it?"

Zhao Hai smiled and said, "Didn't you see? It's just rice and water. The rice itself has a natural fragrance. As long as you add the right amount of water, you can make fragrant, soft, and delicious rice. This is much better than just stir-frying the rice. Then, you can use fruit oil and vegetables to make a soup, and you can have a delicious meal. It's much better than what they usually cook."

Mei Lin looked at Zhao Hai with admiration and said, "Young Master knows so much, you're truly amazing."

Zhao Hai couldn't help but blush. He wasn't knowledgeable; this was something everyone in China knew. Here, it had become his achievement.

Zhao Hai walked to the field kitchen where he was cooking the rice, listened to the sounds inside, and felt that it should be almost ready. He picked up a corn stalk from the ground and used it to push the copper basin off the pot. The copper basin fell to the ground with a clatter, and a cloud of steam burst out of the pot. Zhao Hai couldn't help but take a step back. With the steam came an even more intense aroma of rice, which was more fragrant than any rice he had eaten on Earth, making him drool.

Once the steam had dissipated, the rice in the pot was finally revealed. The rice wasn't the snow-white color Zhao Hai had imagined but had a slight yellow tinge. However, it looked oily and smelled incredibly fragrant.

Zhao Hai couldn't resist and took a spoon from the warehouse, scooped up a spoonful of rice, and slowly put it in his mouth. Megg had wanted to stop him, but Zhao Hai's movements were too quick. By the time she tried to stop him, he had already put the rice in his mouth. Megg and the others couldn't help but stare at Zhao Hai.

Zhao Hai felt a burst of fragrant rice aroma fill his mouth. When he chewed the rice, it was elastic, fragrant, and delicious. He couldn't help but close his eyes and slowly swallow the rice. When he opened his eyes and saw the slaves and Megg staring at him, he felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Don't look at me, eat. If you think the stir-fried rice isn't good, we can make this rice again."

The slaves didn't move immediately. Zhao Hai saw that they were eager but hesitant, so he understood. They were afraid to act rashly because he was there. He couldn't help but smile and turned to Megg. "Megg, let's go inside. There's rice here, and if they don't like the stir-fried rice, they can make this rice again."

Megg was a smart person and immediately understood what Zhao Hai meant. She nodded and said, "Okay, Young Master, let's go inside and see how Grandma's meal is coming along."

Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile. He was increasingly fond of this considerate and gentle girl. The two of them, along with Mu Tou and Shi Tou, entered the thatched hut.

Ju and An didn't follow; they wanted to stay outside and taste the rice. Once Zhao Hai and Megg were inside, the slaves immediately gathered around the field kitchen, taking turns to eat the rice. In no time, the large pot of rice was completely finished, and everyone was praising it.

Once the pot of rice was empty, the slaves looked at each other and immediately dumped the stir-fried rice in the pot. They started washing the rice and cooking it again.

In the first pot where the rice was cooked, a thick layer of rice crust remained. They had never seen this before. One slave curiously picked up the rice crust, examined it, and smelled it. The slightly burnt rice aroma was even more tempting. In the end, he couldn't resist and took a bite.

That first bite made his eyes light up, and he quickly took a second bite. The pot used as a field kitchen was quite large, so the rice crust was also large, like a small shield. One person couldn't finish it, so the slave shared it with the others. Before the second pot of rice was even done, they were already full.

Zhao Hai and Mei Lin had been watching the slaves through the door of the thatched hut. Seeing that they were about to cook the rice again, Zhao Hai immediately pushed the door open and walked out. "Cook seven pots of rice, and that should be enough. Use the remaining three pots to make soup. Once the rice is done, the soup will be ready, and everyone can have both rice and vegetables."

The slaves, hearing Zhao Hai's words, realized that he had been watching them and felt a bit embarrassed. However, they immediately followed Zhao Hai's instructions. They were now deeply impressed and grateful to this master.

Many of the slaves were already in tears when they tasted the rice. They had never eaten anything so delicious in their lives. Not only them, but even their families had never tasted anything so good. They were truly moved.

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