Chapter 41: Vow

Those slaves were not fools, and almost all of them knew how to cook. In the past, when they were with other slave owners, every time it was mealtime, the overseers would randomly select two people from their ranks to cook, so these slaves were not unfamiliar with cooking.

Moreover, cooking rice was very simple, so it didn't take long for these slaves to fill seven pots with rice. Zhao Hai then took out a few large copper basins and gave them to the slaves to use as pot lids.

These field stoves did not have dedicated pot lids, and they didn't need them. Everyone knew that even regular armies wouldn't use these field stoves; only slaves did. For slaves, just having something to eat was good enough, and no one cared whether the food tasted good or not.

However, the slaves had never made soup before; they didn't know how to do it. In the past, when they were with other slave owners, the food they ate was even worse than what they got at the Buda family. Sometimes, they could only eat things like rice bran or moldy rice. Because of this, many slaves died every day on the continent. But for slave owners, the death of a slave was not a big deal; they could just buy more.

So now, the slaves were all staring at the vegetables and fruit oil, puzzled. Kiku, of course, understood the slaves' feelings. After all, she used to be a commoner and knew a bit about simple dishes.

Kiku walked to an empty pot, picked up the fruit oil, and poured it into the pot. This was the first time Zhao Hai seriously noticed the fruit oil. The color was slightly yellow and very clear. It was said to be made from a fruit with a high oil content, which was widely cultivated on the continent, making the fruit oil very cheap.

After the oil heated up, Kiku put the vegetables into the pot and gave them a quick stir. Then she added some water and threw in two pieces of salt. Once the water boiled, the soup was ready.

This was the simplest soup, with almost no technique involved, no seasonings, just a bit of coarse salt. This was the best treatment slaves could get.

On the continent, salt was not cheap. The refined salt used by nobles was very fine, similar to the refined salt on Earth. The coarse salt used by slaves was much cheaper, but it also contained a lot of impurities.

Even so, except at the Buda family, these slaves didn't get to eat salt every day. Other slave owners usually let them eat salt every three days, which was considered generous. Most slave owners only gave them salt once a week, and in small quantities.

Zhao Hai had been busy with the matters in his space and the future development of the Black Earth Wasteland, so he wasn't very familiar with the slaves' living conditions. He didn't find anything wrong with what Kiku was doing, thinking that all slaves on the continent lived like this, and that the slaves here might even have it worse because they didn't have enough resources to provide for them.

Watching Kiku make the simple soup, Zhao Hai couldn't help but sigh. Meg, standing beside him, asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Young Master? Is there a problem? Did they use too much salt? Should we reduce it?"

Zhao Hai looked at Meg in confusion and said, "Too much? How could it be too much? They only used a little bit of salt in such a large pot. I was just thinking that our Buda family is still too weak, and we can only provide them with such simple food. When we have money in the future, I will definitely let them eat meat."

As soon as Zhao Hai finished speaking, he felt that everyone was looking at him strangely. The slaves looked at him as if they had seen a ghost, making Zhao Hai confused.

He looked at Meg in confusion and whispered, "Meg, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Seeing Zhao Hai's expression, Meg sighed inwardly. She knew that although the Buda family had slaves, Zhao Hai had never left the capital and had never interacted with slaves, so he didn't know what kind of life they led. She had to explain the slaves' living conditions to him in a low voice.

Zhao Hai listened in a daze. For someone born in a new society, raised under the red flag, and who had experienced the reform and opening up, the life Meg described seemed so distant. It was like how people who had experienced the old society could resonate with operas like "The White-Haired Girl," while people of the 1980s found it hard to resonate because they lacked that experience. No matter how detailed the books were, they couldn't compare to personal experience.

After Meg briefly explained the slaves' living conditions, Zhao Hai turned to look at the slaves with sympathy in his eyes. He sighed and said, "Don't worry, I will keep my word. One day, I will let you eat meat, and not just once, but every day, every meal, until you get tired of it. I swear this by the name of the Buda family."

Zhao Hai was a kind person. Although he was a homebody on Earth, homebodies were often timid and kind. They might lack social skills, but that didn't make them perverted. In fact, many homebodies, like Zhao Hai, couldn't stand the darkness of the world and chose to isolate themselves.

After arriving on the Ark Continent, Zhao Hai's identity changed. He became a noble with a territory and over a hundred slaves to support his life. His words could decide the fate of these people, which gave him a sense of responsibility. He believed that making these people's lives better was his duty, which is why he was determined to develop his territory and made such a promise.

The slaves, however, were all moved to tears and knelt down, bowing to Zhao Hai and saying, "Thank you, Master!"

Although they hadn't received anything yet, Zhao Hai's words were enough. On the continent, nobles had a strange tradition: they didn't make vows lightly, and even when they did, they rarely used their family's name. They might break vows made in the name of a god, but they never broke vows made in the name of their family. This is why the slaves believed Zhao Hai's words and trusted that his vow would come true.

Meg opened her mouth but said nothing. She had been managing the slaves for the past few days and felt sympathy for them. So, she didn't object to Zhao Hai's words.

At that moment, Merlin's voice came, "Young Master, it's time to eat."

Zhao Hai nodded, looked at everyone, and said to Meg, Kiku, and An, "Meg, Kiku, An, let's go inside to eat."

Kiku and An had wanted to stay and eat there, but seeing Zhao Hai's expression, they didn't say anything and followed him inside. Mu Tou and Shi Tou also went in.

Once inside, the slaves felt more relaxed. Although Zhao Hai had always been kind to them, they still saw him as their master. His presence made them feel uneasy.

When Zhao Hai and the others entered the house, they saw that Merlin had already made some flatbreads and a soup. Zhao Hai actually wanted to eat rice, but it seemed unlikely today.

The table in the house had only four chairs, but Zhao Hai took out three more from the warehouse, making it possible for seven people to sit. The table wasn't as large as the one in the castle's dining room, but it was enough for seven people to eat.

After Zhao Hai had everyone sit down, he started eating the flatbreads with a knife and fork. He actually didn't want to use them, but Merlin wouldn't agree.

Surprisingly, the flatbreads had a unique flavor and tasted quite good. Zhao Hai and the others slowly finished their dinner. Merlin cleared the table, and when they went outside, the slaves had already finished eating.

The field stoves were still there, but they had been cleaned. The slaves seemed to have eaten their fill and were sitting there, looking rather listless.

Zhao Hai knew that people often felt sleepy after eating, and he assumed the slaves were the same. He didn't ask them to get up but noticed the garbage on the ground and frowned.

This was his space, and although Zhao Hai didn't have a cleanliness obsession, he didn't want it to be dirty. However, the garbage had to stay in the space for now.

Seeing the garbage, Zhao Hai looked up at the sky in the space. The surroundings were still misty, and he couldn't see clearly, but he was relieved to see no black smoke in the sky. It seemed that burning a fire in the space didn't have much of an impact.

Zhao Hai turned to Merlin and said, "Grandma Merlin, I think you should rest inside. They just ate and are sleepy, so let them rest."

Merlin looked at the slaves and saw that they looked very listless. She nodded and said, "Alright, let's rest for a bit. But we don't need to go inside; we can rest outside."

Zhao Hai quickly said, "Grandma Merlin, Meg, Mu Tou, Shi Tou, come inside with me. I have something to show you." He then opened the door to the hut and went inside.

Although Merlin and the others didn't know what Zhao Hai wanted to show them, they obediently followed. They knew that they were far less familiar with the space than Zhao Hai and should follow his lead.