Chapter 9 - Morning and Evening Have Only One Sky
Taking another turn around the space, there really didn’t seem to be anything happening. Zhao Hai left the space and lay quietly on the bed, constantly thinking about everything that had happened since he woke up.
Since learning he had transmigrated, Zhao Hai not only wasn’t a bit scared, but on the contrary a bit excited deep down. When he was on Earth, Zhao Hai was a nerd, with a small sum of author’s remuneration each month, living under a great deal of pressure.
But here was different. Here he was a noble, and even if he had been pushed aside, he still had his own fief. Even if it was a deadland, he still had some loyal subordinates. He could decide life and death for one hundred slaves with a word. He had a castle, people to wait on him, and most importantly, he had the spatial farm.
Even if he didn’t know how this spatial farm came about, as long as he had it, he didn’t have to worry about food, and could live good days, free and unfettered.
While thinking of this, he constantly thought about how to develop the farm in the future. But thinking about that right now was useless, he could only wait for the farm to level up one step.
But the farm had clearly undergone changes. Whether this was a good thing or not remained to be seen. Therefore, as long as he had the chance tomorrow, he would definitely take some of the black soil outside into the space, and take a look at whether he could use the spatial soil and water to remodel it. Moreover, he would accumulate funds as quickly as possible and buy some seeds from the space. Best would be if he also out some spatial water. Then, even if the space disappeared later, he still had his own land, the foundation for going on with his life.
While thinking about this, he unconsciously fell asleep again. In his dreams, he established a giant manor, taking up duty as a lord, spending his days quietly. That was beautiful.
Just as he was dreaming beautifully, a sudden voice echoed: “Radishes have matured, please collect them as soon as possible.”
Zhao Hai woke with a start, quickly entering the space, discovering that the radishes were already mature. One large white radish after another, crowding up and breaking the surface of the soil.
Zhao Hai couldn’t wait, quickly running over to the side of the field, digging up a large white radish in a couple of digs and wiping the soil off with his hands. Disregarding any dirt, he took a big bite.
Sweet and mildly spicy radish juice flowed down his mouth, and Zhao Hai couldn’t help sighing. This flavor really was good. When Zhao Hai was on Earth, he especially liked eating white radish. White radish tasted sweet, not like green radish which was always very pungent. And these white radishes grown in the farm tasted an unknown amount better than Earth radishes.
While Zhao Hai was chewing on white radish, he sized up the root in his hand. This radish was at least three catty heavy, counting as not small among white radishes. It was also straight, white and plump, looking very appetizing.
Zhao Hai burst into laughter from happiness, holding the radish and walking over to the thatched hut, where he picked up the collection basket and loudly shouting to the land: “Collect!” The radishes in field shot out as if scooped up by a giant hand, one by one flying out and falling into the basket. But the basket never filled. Zhao Hai bowed his head to look, discovering those radishes disappeared as soon as they entered the basket.
Before long, all the produce was completely collected. Zhao Hai inspected the barn, and sure enough, the radishes were all deposited inside, unexpectedly leaving behind numerous holes in the ground.
Zhao Hai didn’t sell these radishes, but rather again bought a bag of seeds. At the same time he ordered the little shovel to start turning the soil, then continued planting this bag of seeds as well. These seeds had just been planted when he heard a ‘ding’ sound, followed by a voice: “Congratulations on reaching level two, the system rewards you with two bags of white cabbage seeds, capacity for each bag, one field.”
Zhao Hai curled his lips: “Really stingy, delivering seeds that can only cover one field.”
After finishing his business, Zhao Hai left the space. Looking at the color of the sky outside, he discovered it was still very early, just a white smear on the eastern horizon.
At this time Green and the others still wouldn’t have woken up, and even those slaves would still be asleep. Zhao Hai was too excited to sleep, and sat in his room nibbling on that white radish he brought out from the space. He couldn’t have enough of that taste.
It was impossible for Zhao Hai to finish a three catty heavy radish by himself. He only ate half before stopping. But a strange thing happened. Zhao Hai felt as if there was a warm current in his belly, his whole body brimming with strength, not a bit of tiredness.
Zhao Hai stared blankly, something like this had never happened before. It seemed as if he hadn’t eaten a radish, but a stimulant, how come? Could it be this was ginseng instead of radish?
Thinking of this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help touching his nose, afraid he would have a nosebleed. But he discovered his nose was still clean, without any blood.
Zhao Hai laughed mockingly at himself. He was originally someone who indulged in flights of fancy, that’s why he frequently came up with notions that were ridiculous to others.
But he could still be sure that it wasn’t any illusion, because right now he still felt energetic, his eyes spirited, without a bit of sleepiness.
Such circumstances were a bit abnormal. He learned from Adam’s memories that he had drunk the Water of Nothingness. Even though it was said drinking the Water of Nothingness didn’t have any effect on people who hadn’t studied magic or battle qi, it would still make people feel very tired. Even relying on physical strength to become a warrior was impossible, so how could he feel such unending strength? There was only one possible cause for such a feeling: that radish.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help having even higher expectations of this radish. He at once put the radish away in the spatial barn, preparing to wait until he could go ask Green what this radish was.
Looking at the sky outside, it had already begun to grow light. But it was still very early, and everyone still hadn’t gotten up. Zhao Hai wasn’t shameless enough to go call them out either, but staying idly in the room was also too boring. So Zhao Hai slowly walked outside, thinking to properly take a look at his castle.
Leaving the keep, he slowly walked forwards, after passing a small courtyard, he was finally outside. The buildings outside the keep were extremely simple, paved with limestone, row after row of stone houses, behind which was a city wall. The wall was very high, more than ten meters. Walking over to the wall for a look, he discovered it was also very thick, close to four meters. The city gate was properly made from pig iron, four meters tall and sealed with a giant iron bolt. Above the city gate was a cranking mechanism, presumably for pulling open that iron bolt.
This mechanism was extremely clever, as long as you cranked the handle below the gate, the machinery above would turn, driving the iron gate bolt to seal the city gate, and the same when opening it.
Zhao Hai nodded, he hadn’t thought that this world’s engineering would already be at such a level. Looking all around again, without discovering anything. Besides the large pile of supplies still in the square, there was basically nothing else.
Looking at those supplies, Zhao Hai couldn’t help smiling wryly. It seemed Green really didn’t have the makings of a businessman, exchanging all their gold for these things. Could it be they didn’t know that gold could give birth to gold, whereas these things would run out one day?
It seemed Green wanted to turn this place into an isolated manor. Though when thinking about it, he had acted correctly. If it was that original Adam instead of the transmigrated Zhao Hai, he might be able to live a bit longer if he lived here. If he had the money to go running around outside, he would die very quickly.
Turning to the stone stairs next to the city gate, he slowly climbed onto the wall. These walls were made entirely from a kind of ash grey rock, and seemed extremely robust. The surface was also conserved very intact, and the battlements extremely tidy. There was basically no need for repair. On the four corners of the city wall rose archer towers that could protect the walls in all directions.
Zhao Hai turned his head to look inside the city walls. The inner keep walls were even a bit higher than the outer defenses, and there were a few arrow towers on top of those as well. It seemed this castle’s defensive capability really wasn’t hidden.
Turning around to look outside the city walls, there was a five meter wide moat. The water in the moat was very clear, it was apparently running water. Over the moat was a five meter wide drawbridge, suspended by arm thick iron chains, exceptionally heavy. The drawbridge was a giant iron frame, covered with wooden boards. The boards were very new, at one look one could tell they were newly replaced.
Starting from the city gate was a perfectly straight main road, also paved with stone, he didn’t know how far it stretched. It also didn’t seem to have been used in a very long time, and weeds grew everywhere.
Zhao Hai knew that this castle had been abandoned for countless years, and that was the road they came by. He believed that nobody would be leaving the castle for several months, and so that road would seem to stay that way.
Besides this road, everything outside the castle was black soil, on which not even a blade of grass grew. It seemed desolate, with a deathly stillness.
By this time the sun had already risen, the golden sunshine illuminating Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai stood on the city wall with his hands behind his back, looking at the just rising sun, and couldn’t help a heroic feeling, laughing out loud: “Fine, this castle, all of this is mine. Even if I’m just setting out here, just like the now rising sun, morning and evening have only one sky, I will let this sun illuminate all the land!”
Zhao Hai didn’t discover that, at some point, Green and the others had already gotten up, all of them standing below the walls, silently watching Zhao Hai standing on the walls, draped in golden light like a divinity, their eyes flickering with light.