Three days before his birthday, Wu Lai moved back to the White Stone Building. Although most areas of the White Stone Building had not been completed, the main building where he lived had been built. Although many of the carvings on the outer walls of the main building had not been completed, only the final polishing and finishing process remained.
The main reason why Wu Lai was in a hurry to move back was that Mikoyan had clearly pointed out that Wu Lai could no longer use the temple as a place to negotiate business and make friends with nobles. According to Mikoyan's original words: "Wu Lai, you really treat the temple as your own home."
It should be specially pointed out that Mikoyan did not show any unhappiness when he said these words, but Wu Lai still decided to "withdraw" from the temple as quickly as possible, because he really did not want Mikoyan to interfere in some of his affairs. For example, when he helped Huber realize his dream and made a fortune, Mikoyan took away the introduction fee of 200 gold coins very rudely.
Of course, Woolley would not object to Mikoyan's doing so. After all, his printing house needed customers like Huber, and the more the better. But the problem was that after Huber quickly became famous, the so-called "poets" introduced by Mikoyan later made Woolley disgusted. During a casual chat with Pompeii, Woolley once complained: "I really don't understand how they can ruin poetry to this extent?"
"Then just ignore them." Pompey said with a smile, "But actually I have a question, if their poems are really so bad, why did you agree to print them?"
I have no grudge against gold coins, and I need lots and lots of them, the more the better." Woolley replied.
"You already have a lot of gold coins." Pompey smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I believe that if you want, your gold coins can almost cover an entire room."
"Huh? Your suggestion is good. I will try it someday." Wu Lai laughed.
Although he was disgusted, Wu Lai did not delay making money. When May came, the number of gold coins he had temporarily unused exceeded 150,000, forcing him to set up a room next to his bedroom to store these gold coins. Fortunately, he did not develop the habit that Pompey thought he would do - looking at the gold coins before going to bed every day.
The fourteenth birthday was a very important event for the Assyrians, especially the nobles, because the Assyrian Code clearly stated that citizens who were fourteen years old and commoners who were sixteen years old would be eligible to sign a contract.
Wu Lai had long been qualified to sign contracts, which was granted by the temple. Although there was no precedent, Wu Lai's turning fourteen meant that he had officially obtained the qualification to sign contracts. At the same time, it also meant that he would lose the qualification to sign contracts granted by the temple. This sounded a bit confusing and seemed to have no effect on him, but in fact it was not the case - before, at the instruction of High Priest Mikoyan, Wu Lai could enjoy the lowest tax rate for any contract he signed, but now, he had to pay taxes according to normal standards like other nobles. Therefore, Wu Lai felt that time passed too quickly.
Wu Lai didn't care whether he celebrated his birthday or not, but there was one person who cared a lot - Tina.
Ever since she received the gift from Wu Lai on her birthday, Tina hoped that she could also give Wu Lai a presentable gift on his birthday. However, when she shyly asked her mother for advice, Mrs. Leah told her that with Wu Lai's current financial situation, he might not be interested in ordinary things, and Greendo Manor did not have unusual items. It would be better to organize the birthday party for him, saving him time, effort, trouble and worry, which would make him happier.
Tina happily accepted the suggestion, and then spent some time asking her mother about the process of the banquet and the things that needed to be paid attention to. But when she thought she had fully mastered them and excitedly went to Wu Lai to talk about it, Wu Lai shook his head and said that he had no plans to celebrate his birthday at all because he was too busy.
Tina burst into tears at that moment, her eyes looking pitiful and tearful, because she had never expected Wu Lai to refuse, and he refused so straightforwardly without considering her feelings at all.
As soon as Tina cried, Wu Lai softened his heart. His refusal was not because he was unromantic or did not understand Tina's thoughts, but because he felt that celebrating a birthday was not that troublesome. Moreover, he did not want a large group of petty nobles to surround him and flatter him - from Tina's narration, this scene seemed to be the focus of her design.
Wu Lai sighed for a while after softening his heart, then took out a purse from his arms, and then counted out thirty gold coins from the purse and handed them to Tina: "Okay, Tina, if you think such a birthday party is indispensable."
Tina took the gold coin and burst into laughter.
"Oh, why do you have to make yourself look like the hostess?" Wu Lai said to himself as he watched Tina leave happily.
When Tina happily told her mother about Wu Lai's attitude and the gold coins, Madam Leah hesitated for a moment and said, "Tina, Wu Lai's birthday party is very important. I have thought it over and it would be more appropriate for me to take care of it myself. Just give me the gold coins."
Tina pouted because she felt that if she let her mother take care of it, Wu Lai might misunderstand her.
"Tina." Madam Leah frowned, "Do you think you can do better than me?"
Mrs. Leah had said so much, so Tina had no choice but to obey - at this moment, there were still two days left until Wu Lai's birthday.
Feeling that time was running out, Lady Leah took the gold coins from Tina and immediately rushed to the Baishi Building. As she walked towards the main building, fanning herself to avoid the dust from the construction site, her heart was touched by the grandeur and scale of the Baishi Building, causing her heart to become chaotic and unable to stop.
Tina, oh, Tina, you can't let this slip away. Lady Leah slowed down her pace, her lips trembling a little, and from time to time she stole glances at the construction sites on both sides of the main road, where there were residential buildings under construction, many stonemasons wielding hammers and chisels vigorously, more child slaves were carrying, and a huge wall as high as thirty cubits surrounded everything.
"Master, it is said that the construction cost of Master Wu Lai's house is tens of thousands of gold coins." Seeing that Madam Leah's pace slowed down, Druid, the butler of Madam Leah, guessed some of her thoughts.
Lady Leah was startled, then nodded: "I've heard that too. Everyone says that this house will be ranked among the top five in the Seneca City-State after it is built."
"Oh, if Master Simon were here, he would be very happy." Druid said with a sigh.
"Who said it wasn't?" Lady Leah sighed and quickened her pace slightly.
After a few pleasantries, Lady Leah explained her purpose and began to read out the names of the nobles she thought Woolley needed to invite to the banquet.
Her serious yet smug and boastful expression suddenly made Wu Lai lose interest in his birthday party. He interrupted Mrs. Leah and said, "No, I guess Tina must have misunderstood me. I said that I just want to celebrate my birthday with my family. Obviously, the people you just mentioned are not my family, especially since you mentioned Quentin. He dared to show up in Seneca City? Has Doggie stopped bothering him?"
Madam Leah's face suddenly turned ugly.
"Okay, I know what you and Tina intended, but I don't need a banquet to show off myself now." Wu Lai looked at Mrs. Leah seriously, "In my opinion, Eton, Tina, you, and Gauguin, Nelton, and Hippo around me are my family. Quentin is not included. Besides, I'd rather stay alone than be hypocritical and polite with those citizens."
Mrs. Leah was silent for a moment, then said, "Wooley, you are Simon's pride. If he were still alive, you might not think so."
"I still think so." Wu Lai replied, "I know my father. He has been working hard to gain more wealth all his life. He has been eager to break away from the category of minor nobles and gain recognition and admiration from more people. Unfortunately, he failed to do so. I could have helped him do it, because when I was five years old, I had planned everything I am doing now, but I chose to remain silent and wait, because I know that once you and my father Simon control as much wealth as I do now, what awaits you must be a catastrophe. So, don't take this as my cold-bloodedness. To be frank, you who are obsessed with money can't see the rules of this world at all. What is the slave era? The slave era is the law of the jungle. Without sufficient strength, you will be eaten up without leaving any residue, and the people who eat you are often the ones who exchange cups and laugh with you at the banquet."
Lady Leah pursed her lips, her heart was filled with shock. For a moment, she even had the illusion that the man standing in front of her was not the elegant young man Wu Lai, but a noble general who was decisive and dignified.
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"So, listen to me, give me the birthday family dinner I want, and remember to bring Eton," said Wu Lai.
Madam Leah nodded subconsciously.
Two days later, Wu Lai's birthday dinner was held in the large dining room of the main building of Baishi Building. In this dining room that can accommodate nearly 100 people, Wu Lai, Lady Leah, Tina, and Eton, accompanied by their butlers, had a very sumptuous family dinner. While the butlers frequently toasted Wu Lai to express their admiration, loyalty and blessings, the slaves in the mill, paper mill, printing house, woodworks, armory and construction site were given a rest and a large amount of meat as a reward. The workshop craftsmen who had been allowed to have female slaves as companions even received wine and companions to accompany them all night. On the construction site, the slaves belonging to Wu Lai happily stuffed and chewed meat in their mouths amid the envious eyes of the hired slaves in other manors, because the meat on their plates was more than twice that of the hired slaves.
"Alas, the luckiest thing in my life is to become the master's slave. Before coming to Baishilou, I could only eat meat two or three times a year, but now, I have one meal every three days. I remember that in the workshop where I worked before, there was a ten-year-old boy who was hung up and whipped thirty times for stealing the master's dried meat. He was so painful right after being whipped that he died. It's not worth it when I think about it. If he could have the same luck as me, he wouldn't have died, right?" A slave said this to a hired slave from another manor while eating.
Wu Lai in the restaurant could not hear these words. He was in a good mood today and drank quite a bit of wine. He did not stop until he felt his body was shaking and his vision was blurry.
"That's all for today, bye, Eton." The drunken Wu Lai waved his hand and stumbled out of the restaurant. "Hippo, Hippo, go check if the bath water is ready for me?"
After watching Wu Lai's back walk out of the restaurant, Tina pouted and lowered her head, looking a little unhappy. Mrs. Leah glanced at her daughter, and suddenly something happened to her. She pretended to yawn, and then asked Gauguin, "Gauguin, where is the guest room? I'm exhausted."
Gao Geng was startled, thinking that Master Wu Lai didn't seem to have asked the guests to stay overnight.
Seeing that Gauguin was hesitant, Mrs. Leah asked again. When Gauguin saw that Hippo was not there, he had to call three female slaves from the living room to lead the way. He personally accompanied them to the guest rooms in the south wing of the main building and waited until Mrs. Leah and her party had chosen their rooms before he said goodbye and left.
"Is Madam Leah going to have any new plans?" Gauguin thought to himself as he walked towards the bathroom, and suddenly he felt as if he had done something wrong.
The door of Wu Lai's private bathroom was ajar, but Gauguin did not dare to knock on it because from behind the door came the sound of the pool being stirred, mixed with Hippo's intermittent and suppressed moans.
The young master has grown up. Gauguin pondered in his heart, then turned away tactfully.
After a while, Wu Lai's voice came from the small bathroom: "Did you remember? If you did, then let's start. I'll repeat it one last time. When you massage, you must press the acupuncture points. Don't press randomly like you did before. If you misfire, you'll be the one who suffers."
"I understand, Master Wu Lai, but what is 'accidental discharge'?" Hippo's voice was also heard.