Woolley was somewhat shocked by the paper sales method introduced by Mikoyan in the Seneca Temple, because in addition to raising the price of each paper by half a silver coin, Mikoyan also set a limit of only 80% of the paper mill's output per day, and each buyer could only buy two sheets per day.

He is quite capable, Wu Lai said with a smile in his heart.

Half a month later, the daily output of the paper mill reached 60 sheets, and Mikoyan's daily income also exceeded 60. Just as he was happily counting the silver coins and looking forward to the future, the guard slave that Wu Lai had been waiting for for a long time arrived in the Baishi Building.

It was Pompey who brought the escort slaves to the White Stone Building. After seeing him off, Wu Lai turned and walked into the reception room, and then asked Gauguin to call the four escort slaves in one by one.

The first guard slave who walked in was a muscular middle-aged man with two ugly scars on his forehead.

"What's your name? How old are you?" Wu Lai asked with a stern face.

The middle-aged man knelt respectfully and said, "Master, my name is Ma Long, and I am thirty-five years old."

"You were a gladiator?" Wu Lai asked again.

"Yes, master, my gladiator career ended in Jacques City. Before that, I went to many places, but I stayed in Jacques City the longest, for almost four years. Before coming here, I served as a manor guard." Marlon replied.

"I've put a lot of thought into getting you to come here, so you have to guarantee your absolute loyalty to me," said Wu Lai.

"I can promise it, Master," Malone replied.

"Tell me, why did your gladiator career end?" asked Wu Lai.

"Because I was defeated by the dual-sword fighter Hekru, master." Marlon lowered his head.

"Heklu, is he the gladiator who was born in Assyria and is said to be worth a fortune and invincible?" Wu Lai had heard of this name.

"That's him, Master," Malone replied.

"Okay, let's end our conversation here for today. Let me ask you one last question. There are three people coming with you. Who of them do you like better?" Wu Lai asked.

Malone quickly gave the answer - black tiles.

So, Heiwa was the second one to walk into the reception room. He had just turned twenty years old and had the same strong muscles as Ma Long. At the same time, he had once been Ma Long's student.

The third person who walked up to Wu Lai was a tall and handsome man in his early twenties, with delicate features like a woman. His eyes were firm but with a hint of melancholy. When he looked at Wu Lai, a hint of disdain suddenly flashed across his face.

"Your name." Wu Lai frowned.

"Yanobu Ni." The tall and thin man answered.

"Buni? This is a surname. You are just a slave. How can you be qualified to use a surname and mention it in front of your master!" Gauguin behind Wu Lai shouted.

Yanoboni glanced at Gauguin and said nothing.

"Yano, kneel down and salute me." Wu Lai said coldly.

"I am a gladiator, and my worth is higher than the three of them combined." Yanoboni looked at Wu Lei with a hint of pride in his eyes, "I can call you master and serve you, but I refuse to kneel because I am a Hurlet and was born into a noble family..."

"Shut up!" Wu Lai's voice suddenly became unusually calm. "In my eyes, you are just a slave. Even if you are worth more than the three of them, even if your fighting skills are enough to defeat the three of them, before you let me see your loyalty and docility, you, Yanuo, are just a stupid slave who is not even worthy of bringing me a basin of water to wash my feet."

"How dare you insult a Hulet nobleman with such vicious words?" A hint of cruelty flashed across Yanoboni's eyes. "Even my previous master treated me with great courtesy, and you dared to humiliate me..."

"Shut up. It seems that you have really forgotten your identity." Wu Lai stood up, with a hint of teasing on his lips, "You want to attack me? Kill me? Do you dare?"

"Why shouldn't I dare?" Yanobuni said word by word, "But I won't lay hands on children. You can't keep me here. Send me back. That will be good for both you and me."

"It seems like you really don't like coming here." Wu Lai took two steps forward as Gao Geng tried to stop him, and said, "I don't want to see you again either. By the way, I want to remind you that you are weak."

Yanoboni frowned.

Then, his sight caught the sudden light in Wu Lai's eyes.

"Crack" - he heard this sound coming from his knee before he fell down in pain.

"I'm very sorry. I know you're surprised. I'm also sorry for your sudden disability, slave." Wu Lai took two steps back, sat back in his chair, turned his head and said to Gauguin, "Return him to Mikoyan and tell him that I'm very dissatisfied with this slave. If he can't find a replacement, he should return the money to me."

"Okay, master." Gauguin nodded quickly.

"Drag him out, and call the next person in." Wu Lai waved his hand impatiently. "I don't like to use force. Really, that would make me look rude."

Upon hearing this, Yanobuni covered his right foot, where the shin bone had pierced the flesh, gritted his teeth and endured the pain, with a flash of resentment in his eyes.

A moment later, the fourth guard slave came in. His name was Gudun.

…

The deterrent effect that Wu Lai hoped for was achieved. None of the three new slave guards dared to disrespect him, because they had learned about Wu Lai's cruelty through Yanobuni's miserable condition, and they also had such a suspicion - there must be a master hidden in this house. The reason for this thought was that Yanobuni, who called himself Yanobuni, did not reveal a word about the process of his injury.

But just when they were feeling a little uneasy about this, Wu Lai's reward was handed to them by Hippo - brand new clothes, boots, armor and weapons.

"The master said that he allows you to wear these at any time because you are trustworthy." Hippo said with a smile, "The master also said that you are welcome in Baishilou."

Ma Long and the other two looked at each other, then solemnly took the clothes and weapons. In the Assyrian territory, only the guards who were most trusted by their masters could wear weapons at all times.

As soon as Hippo left, Neptune appeared in front of the three people with a stern face: "Rest here for a while, Hippo will add the master's emblem to you later."

Ma Long and the other two nodded at the same time.

In the afternoon, Ma Long and the other two, who had just had their tattoos done, received an even bigger surprise - Gauguin told them that the host wanted to have dinner with them.

There was a reason for the surprise, because whether it was Ma Long, Heiwa or Gudun, they all knew that slaves would be allowed to have dinner with their masters only if they met certain conditions, such as if they had made contributions to their masters, or before doing something life-threatening for their masters.

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"That must be the case." When Heiwa said this, Ma Long and Gudun both understood what he meant.

But when the three of them sat down at the dining table with some trepidation, they found that they were wrong, because besides the three of them, dining with their master Wu Lai also included the slave girl named Hippo and his son Shiei. And seeing Hippo and Shiei's calm demeanor, they must have been accustomed to this way of dining.

"Eat." Wu Lai saw the turmoil in the hearts of the three people, and added, "I like to have someone accompany me when I eat. That way my appetite will be better."

"Thank you for the master's gift." Ma Long and the other two said in unison.

Wu Lai nodded and raised the object in his right hand: "You'd better get used to using this. This is called chopsticks. It's good for you to use it flexibly. At least you don't have to endure the grease between your fingers. In addition, you can only use your chopsticks on your own plates. I am a person who pays attention to hygiene."

"Yes, master." The three of them answered in unison again.

"You can eat whatever you want on the table, but not the wine." Wu Lai's eyes swept over the three people one by one, "I plan to buy another twelve young slaves in the next two days, eight of whom will become your subordinates and students. I hope that you can build a decent guard for me."

Heiwa and Gudun nodded quickly. Ma Long hesitated for a moment and asked, "Master, do you need them to join the battle?"

"No, I just need it for household expenses." Wu Lai laughed and said, "Although I am an independent noble, I am not yet an adult, so I don't need to enlist in the war."

While Wu Lai, Maron and others were eating and chatting, Mikoyan was covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, looking at Yakobni who was sitting against the temple column with disgust.

"Merciful High Priest, please send me back to Assyria. My previous master will pay you generously, I promise." Jacobuni begged.

"You are already like this, will your previous master still respect you?" Mikoyan scolded, "You made me lose a lot of gold coins, you fool, that's a lot of money."

"Your Excellency the High Priest, I promise to repay you double. If you can show mercy and send me back to the Hulit territory, I will give you twenty times the reward." Jacobuni said.

"Twenty times? That's a very tempting number." Mikoyan sneered, "But do you think that I, a great Assyrian high priest, would do such a stupid thing as colluding with my old enemy? Don't dream on. If you offend my friend Ulegrindo, you are offending me."

Jacoboni was speechless.

"Break his other leg, and then sell the Seneca city-state at will." Mikoyan ordered the two temple servants standing beside him as he left.

Jacobuni's pupils suddenly shrank.

The next day, Woolley stepped into the slave market with the first rays of morning sun. At noon, three slave traders brought twelve slaves to the White Stone Building. Gauguin was ordered to pick out four of them, and then sent the remaining eight, along with Ma Long and the other two, to the paper mill.

After lunch, the four slaves who were left behind were called into Woolley's gym together. When they walked into the room, the first thing that caught their eyes was Woolley's serious face and the huge black wooden board behind him.

"I think Butler Gauguin has explained the rules of Baishi Building clearly enough, so I won't repeat them here." Wu Lai said, "I called you here because I think you are suitable to be my assistants and complete a great cause with me. This cause comes from God's revelation and is also the best way for you to move towards freedom. I promise that when your work ability fully meets the requirements of this cause and you work hard for a certain number of years, I will grant you freedom. This number of years is not long, only ten years. Now, tell me, are you willing to accept my promise?"

"Yes!" the four young slaves shouted excitedly.

"Very good!" Wu Lai nodded. "Just sit on the floor and start listening carefully."

The four young slaves quickly sat down on the ground.

"In the next five days, the first batch of pine tobacco I purchased will be shipped to Seneca. Its processing method is..."

"…The crushing of graphite is a very important step. Its fineness determines success or failure…"

"…Camphor and gamboge are used for antiseptic, anti-wrinkle and deodorant…"