After almost two months of peaceful days, Wulaito Mikoyan finally finished what he had done.

This time, even the always picky Wu Lai had to praise Mikoyan for doing a good job - he used roundabout connections to find an old nobleman who had been bankrupt for several years in the Nanjin city-state for Wu Lai, and this old nobleman happened to know where to buy slaves who knew how to make glass. In the end, the old nobleman came in a ox cart with a simple suitcase and two purchased slaves.

The old nobleman's name was Siban Oak, he was sixty-one years old, and he fit the image of a classical butler that Wu Lai had imagined - silver hair, thin but strong, his every move was in perfect accordance with aristocratic etiquette, he knew how to flatter but not excessively, in a word, he was very sensible.

Wu Lai met Siban Ok in the temple. When he saw the frost on Siban Ok's face and his old clothes and boots that were still neat, Wu Lai nodded with emotion and stretched out his hand to Siban Ok: "My name is Wu Lai Grindo, you can call me Wu Lai, nice to meet you."

Sibanok held Wu Lai with his slightly withered hand and bowed his head slightly: "Sibanok, hello to Master Wu Lai. I would like to remind you that I am here to serve you and I feel very honored to do so, especially with the recommendation of High Priest Mikoyan."

He's very good at talking, Wu Lai thought to himself.

After the greetings, the three of them sat down in Mikoyan's small reception room. Then, Mikoyan briefly explained the situation of Sibanok. After all, Wu Lai was the employer, and this matter could only be accomplished if Wu Lai was satisfied.

"So, the bankruptcy of Spanish citizens is due to family reasons?" Wu Lai asked after listening to Mikoyan's introduction.

"Yes, Master Wu Lai, I am ashamed. I made a foolish decision when I was fifty-four. I thought I had experienced true love again, but I didn't expect that she loved my property." Siban Oak said calmly as if he was telling someone else's story. "So after careful consideration, I gave her both my property and my love. Please forgive me for not saying her name. In addition, Master Wu Lai can just call me Siban. My current situation does not match the word citizen."

Wu Lai nodded, and after exchanging glances with Mikoyan, he asked, "Okay, Xiban, I have another small question. What kind of treatment do you need to be willing to become my butler?"

"From Master Wu Lai's words, I can tell that he intends to hire me. Since he is so sincere, I might as well speak frankly. First of all, I hope to retain my humble vanity while serving Master Wu Lai. Secondly, I am no longer suitable for managing money accounts. Finally, in addition to having a clean and independent room, I think I may also need clothes that match my status and a fixed salary every month." Siban Oak said, "If Master Wu Lai is willing to give me these, I will do my best to serve him."

"Anything else? I feel like you should have at least one more condition." Wu Lai raised his eyebrows, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Siban Oak pondered for a moment and nodded: "Yes, there is one more. The decline of the Oak family was caused by my father, but it was me who really destroyed it. Although I am bankrupt, I still own a hillside in Nanjin City. That is the cemetery of the Oak family. Six generations of the Oak family from the ancestor to my father are buried there. I hope that if I die one day, I can be buried there and stay with my ancestors."

Wu Lai was moved by Siban Oak's narration. After a slight hesitation, he nodded seriously and said, "Siban, I agree to your conditions. I am willing to make it clearer in front of His Excellency the High Priest. I promise to arrange a clean and tidy bedroom and bathroom for you in the White Stone Building, and to buy you clothes and accessories that match your citizenship. I will pay you 15 gold coins as salary every month, and you can get an additional 10 gold coins as a reward every three months. I will not arrange for you to manage money accounts, nor will I let you overwork. I need you to stay in the Seneca White Stone Building and use your experience and wisdom to entertain citizens and officials who are friendly to me, and to deal with citizens and officials who have bad intentions towards me. Your status will not be reduced by living in the White Stone Building, because I have just decided to hire you as my tutor, not my housekeeper. As for your last condition, I will definitely help you fulfill your wish at that time, and protect the place from being violated by anyone during my lifetime, but all this requires your loyalty and best efforts in exchange for me."

Sibanok slowly stood up and bowed respectfully to Wu Lai: "Master Wu Lai, please accept my respect. I am willing to serve you from the bottom of my heart and feel extremely honored."

"Since both of you agree, let's sign the contract." Mikoyan laughed and applauded.

The signing process was smooth and pleasant. Soon, Sibanok led the two slaves who knew how to make glass and followed Wu Lai back to the White Stone Building.

After handing the two slaves over to Gauguin, Woolley took Sibanok to visit the construction site and buildings of the White Stone Building with great interest.

"Master Wu Lai, the White Stone Building is magnificent. I dare say that no citizen in Assyria has a mansion as big as yours." Sibanok said.

"I believe this, but that's because there are too many people in Assyria, unlike Seneca, which has fewer people, so there is empty space everywhere," Wu Lai said with a smile.

"Master Wu Lai is very modest. The Baishi Building is large enough to accommodate a thousand people. By the way, where is that?" Xiban Oak pointed to the back mountain.

Wu Lai took a quick look and replied, "That is a training camp. My two bodyguards are training some slaves there for me. They will be used to protect my property and safety in the future."

Sibanok nodded thoughtfully, and after a moment's silence, he said, "I heard on the way here that the war will start soon. Unfortunately, Master Wu Lai is training some young slaves. If they were strong slaves and had good relations with the military, they could take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the war and make a profit. Many citizens do this, so after each war, many slaves will die, and many slaves will be freed. However, the citizens and nobles often benefit the most."

"I haven't thought that far. High Priest Mikoyan should have told you that after the New Year, I will go to the Assyrian Citizens' College." Wu Lai replied.

"High Priest Mikoyan mentioned it, Master Wu Lai, that the Assyrian Citizens' College is a holy place in the eyes of citizens, but once you enter there, you will have both opportunity and disaster in your grasp, so you must be careful." Sibanok sighed and continued, "To be honest, I also went there in the past, and ended up making enemies with people, implicating my father, and sowing the seeds of the family's decline."

"Thank you for telling me this. I will be careful. Actually, I wanted to object at first, but then I thought it might be a good experience to have," said Wu Lai.

"Master Wu Lai's words make sense." Sibanok smiled and nodded.

At lunch, Wu Lai summoned all the butlers to the White Stone Building for lunch, to welcome Xiban Oak and to formally introduce him to everyone. Wu Lai was very satisfied with Xiban Oak's kind attitude towards the butlers. Before this, he was a little worried that Xiban Oak would not be able to put down his pride in front of these civilian butlers and cause resistance from several butlers.

When he was not at Seneca, Woolley naturally hoped that the Whitestone Building would remain united, and he did not want to see any form or scale of friction or dispute.

In the following two days, Sibanok was allowed to visit all of Wulai's workshops. However, what impressed Sibanok most was not the products of these workshops, but their clean and tidy environment and the living environment of the slaves.

Two days later, he came to two conclusions. First, the slaves under Wu Lai lived a happy and fulfilling life. They had enough clothes and food. In addition to staple food, they also had dishes including meat and fish. Their working hours and rest time were very fixed, which was hard to see elsewhere. Second, the slaves under Wu Lai were both afraid and respectful of Wu Lai. Siban Ok observed this from the slaves' eyes. Their fear came from the bottom of their hearts, and their respect also came from the bottom of their hearts. Although he felt surprised, Siban Ok did not go into the details of the reason, because he felt that it was very impolite to do so.

The next day after the visit, Wu Lai took Siban Oak to visit Lady Leah at Greendo Manor. Lady Leah was very happy about Wu Lai's arrival, but she was also a little surprised by Siban Oak's appearance. However, after learning that Siban Oak was Wu Lai's tutor and tasting something from Siban Oak's elegant manners, she became more enthusiastic about Siban Oak.

Mrs. Leah and Tina warmly invited Wu Lai to dine at Greendo Manor and taste this year's new wine. When Tina pulled Wu Lai aside to talk in a whisper, Mrs. Leah smiled and moved closer to Sibanok.

"Siban, can I call you that?" asked Lady Leah.

"Of course, that's very appropriate, Mrs. Leah." Sibanok nodded with a smile.

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"Look." Madam Leah pointed to Wu Lai and Tina not far away, and asked Siban Oak to pay attention. "They are really a perfect couple, very well matched, right?"

Sibanok took a look and continued to smile and nod: "Mrs. Leah's description is very appropriate."

"You don't know, Siban, how much I want them to be together. Tina's heart is completely given to Wu Lai, and... Oh, I don't know how to mention it to Wu Lai again. He is an impulsive but somewhat naughty child. Oh, Siban, maybe you can help me make this happen. I will thank you, I definitely will. What do you think?" Mrs. Leah asked tentatively.

Sibanok pondered for a moment, then smiled and nodded for the third time: "I will seriously consider it, Madam Leah. Please believe me, I hope that Master Wu Lai can marry a beautiful and gentle wife, instead of hanging out with beautiful slave girls. An elegant citizen should not do that."

"Is Wu Lai hanging out with the slave girl?" Mrs. Leah's face changed.

"Madam Leah, this is just a metaphor of mine, and it may not be appropriate, but as far as I know, Master Wu Lai's private life is very pure. He is not keen on pleasure. Apart from regular bathing and exercise, he basically spends all his time on work." Siban Oak replied with a smile.

"Then I feel relieved. Many men will become indulgent and rude after being involved with female slaves. I don't want to see Wu Lai become like that. You should be able to understand." Lady Leah breathed a sigh of relief and said.

"Of course I can understand, Madam Leah, but please forgive me for being presumptuous. I don't think a real citizen would be like what you just described, because a real citizen must be elegant and restrained. I can proudly tell you now that Master Wu Lai fully meets the standard of elegance and restraint, which is rare, especially at his age. Whether in Nanjin or in Assyrian City, most children of his age are still addicted to play. Madam Leah, you should feel fortunate and proud of this." Siban Oak did not hesitate to praise Wu Lai.

Madam Leah nodded in agreement, but then sighed: "It's a pity that he no longer belongs to Glyndwr Manor. He is an independent noble and has his own unique emblem."

Sibanok smiled slightly and said in a lighter voice, "Madam Leah, if Master Wu Lai can maintain his current momentum for ten years, he will become a popular noble in Assyria. So, maybe you should change your mind. For example, consider letting Greendo Manor be attached to Baishi Building instead of worrying about Master Wu Lai's departure."

Lady Leah frowned: "Attachment?"

"That's right, it's dependence. Although I have just entered Baishi Building, I already have a general understanding of it. In Master Wu Lai's workshop, the income of the mill is used to cover the food expenses. According to the trend, Master Wu Lai will soon purchase a batch of new slaves. In that case, the income of the mill will soon be insufficient to support actual needs. In this case, it is undoubtedly not cost-effective to use money to buy food. Therefore, Master Wu Lai will need some arable land, and these are exactly what Greendo Manor owns." Siban Oak said.

Madam Leah was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly: "What you said makes sense."

"Madam Leah, as far as I know, Master Wu Lai has already begun to consider the issue of purchasing land, so Madam Leah must seize this opportunity." Siban Oak lowered his voice even more.