After lunch, Pompey walked into the White Stone Building.

"Pompeii, my friend, I have finally got you here. Please take a seat, please take a seat." Wu Lai warmly welcomed Pompey into the reception room.

"Wu Lai, you have grown a lot taller. If I just look at your height, I would think you are an adult." Pompey said with a smile.

"There's still a long way to go. How old am I?" Wu Lai laughed and pulled Pompey to sit on a chair next to the wooden box. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "I've heard you say before that your family runs a ranch on the Katilina grassland and raises many cattle, sheep and horses?"

"Yes, the Bersais family has been running the ranch for generations, but you also know that I am not a core member of the Bersais family." Pompey replied.

"It doesn't matter much. I just want to ask, what is the quality of the horses of the Berses family?" asked Woolley.

Pompey nodded and said, "Both the war horses and the powerful horses are first-rate in the Assyrian territory. Although I am reluctant to boast about this, it is indeed the case."

"But I also heard that the horse business in the Katirina grassland has not been doing well for many years," said Wu Lai.

"Yes, it's mainly because these war horses are only suitable for fighting in flat areas. You know, now the battles between Assyria and Hurlit are usually only carried out in canyon areas. After both sides cleverly blocked those passes, the war horses are hardly useful anymore." Pompey sighed.

"Whoever said that the canyon is not suitable for horse fighting is just a self-deceiving misunderstanding." Wu Lai said with a chuckle.

Pompey shook his head firmly. "That's not the case, Wu Lai. You are still young and have never seen a war. The canyon has a complex terrain and the ground is bumpy. Even the best riders are not sure if they can sit firmly on the horse under such terrain conditions. Moreover, control is only one aspect. The bumpy terrain can also cause great damage to the horses, such as the horseshoes. If a horse's hooves are worn out or cracked, the best outcome is to be abandoned in the mountains to fend for itself."

"Wow, that's really pitiful, but I have suddenly developed an interest in horses recently, both war horses and power horses, so the purpose of inviting you here today is to ask you to take me to the Katilina grassland and buy a batch of horses." Wu Lai said with a smile.

"Woole, this interest can't bring you any profit." Pompey shook his head and advised, "The reason why the price of horses in the Catiline grasslands keeps falling is because no one wants them. In Seneca City, people prefer to use cows or mules. What's more, you are talking about a group of horses. You don't even have a place to graze them. There are mountains all around."

"Can't you take a leave? Do you want me to talk to Mikoyan?" Wu Lai asked disapprovingly.

Pompey was silent for a long time, then nodded with a wry smile: "Okay, since we are friends, I will go with you."

"I heard that in addition to horses, cattle and sheep, there are also many skillful carpenters in the Katilina grassland. Is this true?" Wu Lai asked happily.

"Yes, there are many carpenters in the city of Katili. Although there are few trees in the Katili grassland, it is precisely because of this that the carpenters in that area have learned how to make the best use of wood." Pompey replied.

"I believe this will be a wonderful trip, Pompeii." Woolley stretched out his right hand.

"But I find it hard to convince myself to believe it." Pompey smiled bitterly again as he held Wu Lei's right hand.

…

Five days later, Wu Lei's carriage drove into the Katilina Prairie. Such a speed undoubtedly made him feel like he was wasting time, but what could he do? In such an era, it was already very good to have such a road that could accommodate carriages and connect Seneca City and Katil City.

Standing by the river valley at the entrance of the grassland, Wu Lai could vaguely see a mountain range stretching from northeast to southwest. Pompey introduced that this was the Catilina Mountains, which were not very high but very wide. This mountain range was the dividing line between the Catilina grassland and the Catilina Plateau. It was worth noting that the natural conditions in the south and north of the mountain were very different. To the north of the mountain was a wavy plateau exposed to the cold and dry north wind, while to the south of the mountain was the Catilina grassland with fertile soil, good water and abundant pasture.

The city of Qati is located deep in the grassland. After hundreds of years of construction, it has become a huge city that can accommodate two million people. Among the city-states in the Assyrian territory, it is second only to the city of Ashur and the city of Pok.

The Berses family lived in the city of Qati. They were a prominent family here. Like other Qati nobles, most of their wealth came from animal husbandry.

Soon, Wu Lai felt Pompey's marginal position in the Berses family. After Wu Lai explained his purpose, the enthusiastic Berses people immediately took him to a pasture more than ten miles away from the city. During the whole process, they seemed to have forgotten Pompey's existence. When they kept bragging to Wu Lai about how good their horses were, Wu Lai caught a trace of loneliness in Pompey's eyes when he accidentally looked back.

"Oh, that's great, but I should make one thing clear first. If it weren't for Pompey's enthusiastic recommendation, I would never have thought that there would be better horses in the Catiline grassland than in the Namchius grassland." Wu Lai said immediately.

Sifu, the leader of the Berses tribe, was startled when he heard this. He quickly turned around and looked around. After finding Pompey, who had been squeezed out of the crowd with some effort, he waved at Pompey with a smile on his face: "Oh, Pompey, my good nephew, what's the matter? Why did you run over there? Come here, your friend just mentioned you, come quickly."

"Okay, Uncle Sif." Pompey agreed and gave Wu Lai a grateful smile.

After looking at five herds of horses in a row, Woolley visited the cattle farm and sheep farm of the Berseth family. It was not until nightfall that he returned to the Berseth family's estate accompanied by everyone.

After three rounds of drinks, Sif patted Wu Lai's shoulder with a smile and said, "Wu Lai Grindo, no one in the Berses family is as capable as you at your age. Hehehe, by the way, how many horses do you plan to buy this time? What kind do you want? Don't be polite, tell me, I promise to give you the most reasonable price."

"Really? That's great, but I have a small request. I hope the person who negotiates the price with me is my friend Pompey. If that's the case, I don't mind buying a few more war horses, even though they are not cheap." Woolley replied with a smile.

Sifu was stunned, but he quickly regained his smile and said, "No problem at all. It's settled. Your friend, my nephew Pompey, will negotiate this deal with you on behalf of the Berses family. I promise."

Wu Lai nodded with a smile on his face. From that moment on, more and more people came to Pompey to drink and get close to him.

Soon, Pompey became drunk in a trance.

The next morning, Pompey, pale from a hangover, walked into Wu Lei's room. After hesitating for a while, he said with a wry smile: "Wu Lei, thank you for your kindness yesterday, but I still have to say that this will not be a good deal. I understand their nature and what a ranch is. Judging from yesterday's situation, the horses in the ranch are almost saturated. That's why they are so enthusiastic."

"Are you reminding me that I can lower the price?" Wu Lai asked with a smile, "Did your uncle Sifu talk to you last night?"

"That wasn't a chat. It was an order given to me. After learning about your identity as a favored one, Uncle Sif thought this was a good opportunity." Pompey sat down on a chair and put his right hand on his forehead. "He even told me the reserve price. Wu Lai, what should I do now?"

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"Just tell me Siver's bottom price." Wu Lai said seriously.

Pompey was stunned, then shook his head hesitantly: "The key to the problem is not here."

"Then where is it? Pompey, I am very serious about buying horses." Wu Lai said, "Putting aside this business, I especially hope that you can get the support of the Berses family. Only with their support and help can the door to the temple be opened for you. Of course, there is also my support and help. I know that you are a priest with firm faith, but you should know that faith alone is not enough to spread the glory of God. You need me, and you need your family even more. A person is always weak, even if he has wisdom and courage far beyond ordinary people. If you believe in me, then please don't reject my kindness, because we are friends. I hope to see you in the temple in the future, just like you said, 'I hope to receive news that you have entered the noble meeting in the future.'"

Pompey was silent for a long time and nodded heavily.

"Now, please tell me the reserve price," said Wu Lai.

"Each war horse is worth twenty-six gold coins, and each powerful horse is worth four gold coins and thirty silver coins," said Pompey.

Wu Lai nodded, smiled and said, "You can go report to Sifu and tell him that I have reached an agreement. I will buy 100 war horses at the price of 28 gold coins each, and 400 power horses at the price of 5 gold coins and 20 silver coins. All horses must be between four and six years old. If the Berseth family can guarantee the quality of the horses, I promise that this is only the first and smallest order."

"Wu Lai, this is a huge sum of money." Pompey was a little surprised. He thought that Wu Lai would just come to buy dozens or hundreds of strong horses for reclaiming wasteland like other small nobles. He didn't expect that Wu Lai would buy so many horses at one time.

"It's not much. One hundred war horses cost 2,800 gold coins, and four hundred power horses cost only more than 2,130 gold coins. Although I'm not rich, I can still afford it." Wu Lai said with a smile.

Pompey was stunned for a while, then asked hesitantly, "Wulley, is there a secret compartment for gold coins in your carriage?"

"You have a very rich imagination." Wu Lai smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Pompey believed that Wu Lai could come up with 5,000 gold coins. Although he didn't know much about Wu Lai's speed in making money, Pompey could infer a conclusion from some clues - Wu Lai's three major workshops could bring Wu Lai a considerable income every day.

But now Wu Lai really couldn't take out five thousand gold coins, because although his carriage was luxurious and exquisite, it really didn't have a secret compartment to hide gold coins, not to mention five thousand shekels of gold coins. If converted into the weight unit "jin" that Wu Lai was accustomed to, the total weight of this gold coins would have exceeded three hundred and ten jins.

"Here are 100 gold coins as a deposit for the purchase of horses." Wu Lai took out a heavy purse from the bag beside the bed and handed it to Pompey. "Let your Uncle Sifu prepare the sales contract and write four additional clauses on it. First, the Berses family must guarantee that the horses of the specified quality in the contract will be delivered to the designated location at the time specified by Wu Lai Gelindo. Second, the Berses family will collect the payment for the horses when the horses purchased by Wu Lai Gelindo have been delivered to the designated location within the specified time in full accordance with his requirements. Third, if the horses are damaged during transportation, Wu Lai Gelindo has the right to refuse to accept the damaged horses. Fourth, the fodder needed by the horses during transportation and the food and lodging expenses of the transporters shall be borne by Wu Lai Gelindo. Okay, these are the four items. You need to explain them to your Uncle Sifu in particular. The fourth item was something you struggled to get from a miser like me."

"Fortunately, you are a noble, Wu Lai, otherwise, I would not dare to believe you." Pompey took the purse.