When Woolley's carriage left Greendo Manor, he was in a good mood, because after some sweet talk, Tina nodded and agreed to his request - to wait, to wait without being swayed by Lady Leah.
As for what he was waiting for, Wu Lai did not explain, so Tina understood, felt shy, and was happy in the direction that Wu Lai expected.
After the carriage left Greendo Manor for a distance, Wu Lai looked at Siban Oak with a smile: "How is it?"
"Madam Leah should be tempted, Master Wu Lai, but the land of Greendo Manor is not particularly good. Are you sure you have thought it through?" Siban Oak asked with a smile.
"That is the land left by my father. He was a hardworking man. You may not know that when he took over Glyndwr Manor, the land of Glyndwr Manor had almost been sold out. It was he who brought Glyndwr Manor back to life. As his son, I have the obligation to continue it all for him. Of course, these lands will eventually belong to Eton, the son born to Lady Leah and my father." Wu Lai said.
"But young master, you must own land. Smart citizens will not exchange all their wealth for money and houses. They know that accumulating food is the key to maintaining the continuation of the family. There will always be famine, won't there?" said Sibanok.
"You're right. I accept your suggestion, and I will complete this task in a very short time." Wu Lai smiled and continued, "Let me tell you about my father. I don't know why, but the longer he has passed away, the more I miss him. But in my impression, he is obviously not a qualified father or a good person. His wisdom is used to calculate, to calculate others and himself."
"I have to say, young master's father is very similar to my father, so I can conclude that your father and my father have at least one thing in common, and that is that they both love their sons very much. Young master, my father was like a villain during the last period of his life, but he gave me everything he had." An expression of emotion appeared on Sibanok's face.
Wu Lai was stunned, because he suddenly felt that his alcoholic father Simon seemed to have really devoted all his love to him, the love of a father for his son.
"Maybe you are right. Maybe he really is that kind of person, but I didn't pay attention to it at the time." Wu Lai's voice became lighter.
Siban Ok smiled slightly: "Master, one day, you will be a father. Believe me, being a father is not an easy thing. Fathers will always be misunderstood by their children, and in many cases, this misunderstanding can create distance between relatives."
Woolley nodded. "I would like to erect a statue for my father, like other civic families do, and put statues of people worth remembering in the living room. But I also feel that this seems a bit inappropriate, because I want to be able to commemorate more than just him."
"Then build a few more statues, and when the White Stone Building is completed, place them in the garden or pavilion. Just like the young master said, there is often more than one person in this world who is worth commemorating. By the way, I haven't heard the young master mention your mother. May I know this?" asked Sibanok.
"I'm very sorry, I don't want to talk about her. To be honest, I have no impression of her at all. Besides, she has been dead for a long time." After Wu Lai finished speaking, he was silent for a while, and then continued, "I didn't start the topic well, so let's end it like this. By the way, from tomorrow until I leave Seneca for Assyria, teach me everything you think I need to know, okay?"
"Oh, no, young master, there are so many things you need to know, and time is too tight. I can't guarantee that I can do this, but I think we can start from the origin of the Assyrian territory. That will help you have a clearer understanding of the situation of the territory. What do you think?" Sibanok asked with a smile.
"Good idea." Wu Lai nodded.
Sibanok soon became busy. On the one hand, he was busy teaching Wu Lai, and on the other hand, he was also arranging the purchase of land for Wu Lai - this was obviously not an easy job, because the weather had been good for several years, and the nobles in Seneca City knew that Wu Lai was rich, so the prices they offered were often a bit high, even beyond Wu Lai's expectations.
In order to complete this task before the Winter Festival, Siban Oak worked very hard. This was also a good opportunity for him to get familiar with the Seneca aristocratic circle. Inspired by his elegance and sincere words, and with the influence of Woolley, Siban Oak finally facilitated the first land transaction on the eleventh day after accepting this matter - he bought a barren mountain twenty miles west of the city from the Seneca Tupan family.
No one knows what the Tupang family's intention was in selling this barren mountain, but this barren mountain is indeed barren - except for a few hundred sparsely scattered pine trees on the top of the mountain, the rest of the area is a mixture of piles of rocks, shrubs, grass and thorns, and has never been cultivated.
Wu Lai was very happy to harvest this barren mountain, because although it was barren, the mountain was big enough. According to visual observation and comparison with the deeds, the highest point of the mountain reached 1,700 cubits, and it was about ten miles to circle the barren mountain. In other words, the average diameter of the mountain reached about three miles, which could hardly not be called a big mountain.
In everyone's eyes, the only redeeming feature of this barren mountain is the large stone wall on the south side of the mountain, which means that a quarry or something can be built here. However, Wu Lai's focus is not on this. What he is interested in is the terrain and water source of this barren mountain.
The three sides of this mountain are steep cliffs. Although the south side of the mountain is flat, it is a large stone wall. Even the path leading up the mountain is carved out of the stone wall. Under such conditions, the Tupan family, who has no shortage of money or land, naturally would not bother to cultivate it.
There are water sources in the barren mountains, and more than one, this is what Malone said - when Sibanok asked to verify this matter, Malone was one of the executors. He found a total of four water sources and reported that the water was sweet.
Even though it was a barren mountain, it was not cheap because it was big enough, at least in the eyes of other nobles. In order to obtain this barren mountain, Wu Lai paid 46,000 gold coins, and had to pay a transaction tax of 2,300 gold coins. However, he paid the money without any hesitation.
The Tupang family was very happy when signing the contract, but they soon regretted it because they suddenly felt that Wu Lai would not be interested in this barren mountain for no reason, and since he was willing to buy it at such a price, he might be able to make several times the purchase price from this mountain.
But more nobles thought that Wu Lai had done a stupid thing - after calculations, they came to the conclusion that even if Wu Lai could completely reclaim the barren mountain within five years, the grain he could harvest each year would not be able to buy more than three hundred gold coins. In other words, Wu Lai would never be able to make a profit from this barren mountain in his lifetime.
When the discussion reached Lady Leah's ears, she was anxious and angry, and then she hurried to Baishi Building. But what surprised her was that Wu Lai seemed to have expected her to appear and knew her purpose.
"Give me all the manors and lands. I will be responsible for your aristocratic life and guarantee the happiness and joy of Tina and Eaton." Woolley handed a draft contract to Mrs. Leah who had just sat down.
Madam Leah frowned, but her eyes involuntarily swept to the eye-catching clauses on the draft contract.
Finally, Madam Leah walked out of the Baishi Building with a smile on her face. Her smile was filled with ease, happiness, and relief.
"Gauguin, go to the treasury and get four thousand gold coins, then send them to Glyndwr Manor. Pick up Madam Leah, Tina, and Eton for dinner." Wu Lai smiled and instructed Gauguin who had just walked in, "Family dinner, let's have hot pot."
On the side, Sibanok was copying the draft of the contract with a smile - this was the final version reached after a tit-for-tat discussion between Madam Leah and Wu Lai. Before the "family dinner" mentioned by Wu Lai began, it would become a formal contract.
Mrs. Leah was very happy throughout the dinner. She raised her glass frequently to celebrate the return of Greendo Manor's "investment" in Woolley and the upcoming grand occasion of Greendo Manor.
"They will be so jealous." Mrs. Leah said drunkenly, "I will have a beautiful building soon."
"That must be the case." Wu Lai said with a smile.
Tina on the side glanced at Wu Lai lovingly, and using the cover of the dining table, she gently kicked his ankle.
Wu Lai cleared his throat and raised his glass: "We are a family again."
"Yes, a family!" Mrs. Leah stood up staggeringly with a wine glass in hand. She looked drunk, but also very charming.
"From today on, I will be responsible for you and make decisions for you, and you have to obey me." Wu Lai seemed to be talking to himself, or to Mrs. Leah or Tina, because when he said this, he looked out the window.
Outside the window is the deep night sky.
That night, Lady Leah was drunk, she was chattering, her cheeks were red, and she could hardly open her eyes. But she was still laughing, laughing easily, laughing proudly, even after the two maids helped her to bed, she was still laughing.
Soon, she fell asleep on the warm mattress. After a while, Tina came in holding Eaton. Seeing that her mother was asleep, she smiled and stopped Eaton from calling her, holding him and sitting on the big chair beside the bed.
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"It's great, we're a family again." Tina said in her heart.
In the small living room, Wu Lai was wiping his face with the hot towel handed to him by El. He had drunk a lot of wine today and felt a little dizzy, but it was obviously not time to rest yet, so no matter what, he needed to make himself more energetic.
Sibanok was sitting on a chair opposite Wu Lai, drinking slowly from a cup of hot water soaked with two slices of lemon peel.
"That's about it." After a moment, Woolley threw the towel to El and waved his hand to "drive" her out of the small living room.
"Master, from the conditions you offered to Greendo Manor, I can see that you actually care about them, not the land." Siban Oak said with a smile.
"I used to hate them, but in the end I didn't hate them anymore because there was no reason to hate them. There is no need to divide family members too much, and there is no need to become enemies. As long as my bottom line is not touched, I am unwilling to hurt or abandon any family member." Wu Lai said.
"The young master's broad-mindedness is worthy of admiration. Many tragedies in citizen families are caused by disharmony." Siban Oak nodded and said.
"To be honest, I also feel that now is not the time to leave. After all, Baishi Building has just started, and its pace is not steady. But since fate has called me, there is no reason for me to retreat. I regard going to the Assyrian Citizens' College as a charge into battle, and Baishi Building and Greendo Manor are my most solid backing. Only with the stability of these two places can I charge forward without distraction and smash into pieces and crush into dust anything that dares to stand in my way." There was a firm light in Wu Lai's eyes.
Siban Ok nodded approvingly: "Don't worry, Master. I will try to find you everything you need before you set off."
"Please." Wu Lai said with a smile.
The next day, the renovation of Glendo Manor began. It was a big project - the walls inside and outside the house needed to be painted, and the walls, fences, and canals all needed to be repaired. According to Lady Leah's opinion, the furniture, curtains, etc. in her and Tina's bedrooms should have been replaced long ago. Of course, more cloth and wool for making new clothes should be bought.
Wu Lai had no time to take care of the renovation of Glyndore Manor. Anyway, Madam Leah was no pushover and was no worse than Wu Lai in handling such matters. Therefore, Wu Lai spent most of his time with the two slaves who knew how to make glass. They were named Dutu and Balai, both in their early thirties, and were equally timid and cautious.
Soon, Woolley found an effective way to reduce the bubbles in the glass, which undoubtedly made him very excited, but he soon encountered a problem - the raw materials for making glass were scarce in the Seneca city-state.
Wu Lai handed the matter over to Klee, who was in charge of purchasing. He believed that there was no raw material that could not be purchased, and even if it was expensive, it was worth buying.
Dutu and Bale told Wu Lai that these materials can be found almost everywhere in Hulett's territory. After listening, Wu Lai sighed and said something that Dutu and Bale could not understand.
When Wu Lai was busy, Siban Ok was even busier than him—busy buying land and exchanging land. Because Wu Lai said that what he needed was a continuous piece of land, and it would be best if it was centered on the barren mountain and radiated around it, or at least close to the barren mountain.
By the way, in fact, the barren mountain has been given a new name by Wu Lai and written on the title deed - its new name is a bit strange, called "Daishan".
Ten days before the New Year, Sibanok finally had a few days to rest. After being busy for so long, he basically realized Wu Lai's expectations - in the west of Daishan Mountain, he bought and exchanged a total of more than 2,200 acres of contiguous land, of which wheat fields accounted for only 15% and the rest were sloping land close to water sources. These lands reduced Wu Lai's gold coins by more than 30,000.
"Master, we don't have enough manpower to cultivate it." said Sibanok.
"There will be." Wu Lai said, looking at the deed with satisfaction.