The day after he moved into his new home at the foot of Bigg Mountain, Woolley received a generous gift from the temple - he was granted the qualification to sign a contract in the name of the god Amon.

At the same time when Pompey went to the door and handed the silver medal representing the qualification to sign the contract to Woolley, under the high-profile propaganda of the temple, the news had already spread throughout the streets and alleys of Seneca City. Both nobles and civilians were discussing and speculating. Gradually, even slaves joined the discussion and speculation.

In less than half a day, Wu Lai became a household name, and outside his new home, which he named Baishi Building because the main body of the building was white, many people came to satisfy their curiosity.

"This Mikoyan has a really rich imagination." Wu Lai, who was sitting on the steps in front of the stone building, said to Caesar, who was squatting beside him with his cheek in his hands in a daze.

Caesar nodded quickly. Although he didn't know who Mikoyan was or what imagination was, he knew that when the master spoke to him, he should listen carefully and express himself, such as nodding.

Neptune stood not far from the door and frowned. The comings and goings of people outside and some unbridled discussions made him feel uneasy. Soon, he walked back to Wu Lai and suggested in a low voice: "Master, old Neptune suggests that you raise the wall a little higher and make the door thicker. It would be best if you could replace the gate with a larger one..."

"Good job, Neptune." Woolley said with a smile, "Your suggestion is very good, but you don't have to pay attention to the people outside the door, because they will all leave before dark. Now, you'd better take a good look at my house and see where it needs to be reinforced or raised, and then tell me. You don't even have to consider keeping it in its original appearance. As long as the final repairs are completed, it can be as strong as a small fortress. I need such a home, because I may have many enemies in the future. If my wall is too low, they can easily jump in."

"Are you serious, my master? If so, I will definitely build it for you according to the strength of the fortress." Neptune said.

"I'm serious." Wu Lai nodded. "Neptune, I knew from the layout of Greendo Garden that you are a great expert. I am happy to learn everything you are proficient in. After you perfect the White Stone Building, I hope you can become my teacher. Please don't doubt my sincerity."

A hint of emotion and surprise flashed across Neptune's eyes, then he nodded seriously, turned around and left quickly.

"He's 60 years old, but still has all these muscles and is still clever and deft. He's amazing." Wu Lai sighed, glanced at Caesar who was still holding his chin in a daze, smiled bitterly and shook his head, "You look like Zhang Fei, but you don't have a beard. You look like Lu Bu, but you look too stupid. Sigh, I don't know how to describe you."

Caesar nodded subconsciously, and suddenly asked shyly: "Master, how long is it until lunch time?"

Woolley sighed and gave Caesar a light kick on the calf.

That night, after discussing the house renovation plan with Neptune, Wu Lai once again counted his assets under the candlelight. In addition to the White Stone House, the purchased food reserves and some household necessities, he still had 22 gold coins and 261 silver coins on hand. After deducting the nearly 1,200 silver coins needed for repairs, there was not much money left.

Where should I start? Under the candlelight, Wu Lai frowned. After a long time, his brows slowly relaxed, and joy and determination emerged in his eyes. Then, he quickly spread out a piece of parchment and took out a sheep-fat graphite pen to sketch on it.

Two days later, in the morning, when the first carriage carrying large stones for the renovation of the White Stone Building appeared at the door, Wu Lai called the driver over and said, "Excuse me, can you find me a stone that is more than ten cubits long, wide and high? The kind with a very dense texture?"

The driver thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

"Name your price." Wu Lai's face was full of smiles.

In the evening, after cooking dinner and counting the stones in the yard, Neptune just walked to the door of the inner house, and Woolley handed him a piece of parchment with some patterns drawn on it with a smile.

"Neptune, can you use your stonemasonry skills to transform several large stones into the objects above? Please note their dimensions," asked Woolley.

Neptune looked at it carefully for a while, then nodded affirmatively: "Master, as long as I have the right tools and a stone with a dense texture, I can make the real thing exactly like the pattern, but I want to ask, what are they?"

"Unfortunately, there are no names for them in the existing vocabulary of this world, so I can't tell you." Wu Lai smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Oh, so it's the master's ingenuity. That's great, master. You have undoubtedly inherited the advantage of Master Simon - good at thinking." Neptune said.

Wu Lai was stunned. What a clever idea! It was just a deduction and calculation based on memory. How could it be related to inheritance?

Neptune did not notice Wu Lei's expression, but continued to immerse himself in the sheepskin drawing, not only because of the shape of the pattern: "Master, your drawing method is amazing, I can understand it at a glance. May I ask, what is the purpose of this horizontal straight hole?"

"Used to thread the connecting shaft." Wu Lai never thought that the perspective drawing method he had only learned a little could be called "magical". At the same time, he also felt the lack of vocabulary in this world - he had to rack his brains to piece together the existing vocabulary to barely answer Neptune's questions.

"What about these?" Neptune pointed to a few patterns on the corners of the parchment. "They look like oars to me. Look at the markings here. Are they made of wood?"

"Yes, I remember you were pretty good at carpentry, weren't you, Neptune?" Woolley asked.

"Of course, my lord." Neptune smiled, his face full of pride.

"That's great. It's a waste for you to stay in Glyndwr Manor. Believe me, Neptune, it won't be long before you can earn your freedom with your outstanding work. You know what I mean." Woolley said with a smile.

"Really? Master?" Neptune shuddered in surprise and almost dropped the parchment in his hand.

"I am very serious." Wu Lai tapped his nose. "Although I am not yet thirteen years old, I am no less cautious about my promises than an old noble."

Neptune looked at Wu Lei seriously for a while, then nodded vigorously: "My Lord, please forgive my doubtful look just now, but that was not because I doubted your promise, but because I wanted to know how such a firm generosity and courage could exist in your young body..."

"Shut up, old Neptune. Don't let me hear the flattering tone you learned from the minstrels. I hate this kind of pretense." Woolley said half-jokingly, and stretched out his hand to call Caesar who was working hard to move stones, "It's time for dinner."

"Okay, master, but the bread for lunch is a bit rough. Is it because old Neptune's cooking skills are not good enough?" Caesar asked with a simple face.

"No, that's because you didn't pound the wheat into the finest powder," Woolley replied.

"I have used my greatest strength." Caesar said quickly.

"I'm sure of that, otherwise how could the pestle for pounding wheat break? Thanks to you, we can all taste sawdust in our dinner tonight..." Wu Lai sighed and walked towards the dining room first.

Within two days, there were thirty more slaves in the White Stone Building. According to Neptune's plan, these slaves hired from other estates will stay in the White Stone Building for about forty days. During this period, these slaves who know a little about stonemasonry and plastering will, under his command, repair the White Stone Building to make it as solid and safe as Woolley expected. The slaves who come here will also be paid ten to fifteen silver coins according to their work performance. Of course, it will not be them who will take the reward in the end, but their masters. However, this does not mean that they will not gain anything. Woolley has already told Neptune that the daily bread and salt powder will be given to these slaves at double the general employment standard. In other words, at least in these twenty days, these slaves will have enough to eat every meal.

Just as Neptune was busy assigning tasks to the hired slaves, Woolley leisurely walked out of the door and headed straight for the temple.

When Wu Lai appeared at the door of the temple, Pompey happened to be seeing off a nobleman who was walking out from inside. The two smiled at each other as soon as they met.

"Priest Pompeii, it's been a long time since we last met. I missed you so much." Wu Lai said.

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"Woleglindo, I feel the same way. Besides, you seem to have grown a little taller." Pompey said.

"These pickled venison are said to be good stuff from Assyria. There are more than 20 kinds of spices used for pickling. Priest Pompeii, please accept them." Wu Lai handed the small package in his right hand to Pompeii. Seeing that Pompeii was a little hesitant, he raised the small package of the same size in his left hand and said, "I have prepared two packages in total. This one is for Archpriest Mikoyan. Is he busy now?"

"His High Priest is in the prayer room. Please follow me." Pompey took the pickled venison with a smile.

It was not known whether it was the effect of the pickled venison or whether Mikoyan wanted to see Wu Lai in the first place, but Wu Lai had just sat in the small reception room of the temple for a while when Pompey came in and informed him that he could go to Mikoyan's high priest's room.

As soon as Wu Lei entered the high priest's room, Mikoyan, who was sitting upright on the chair, stretched out his right arm to him: "Wu Lei Grindo, come here, come to me."

Wu Lai hurried over and bowed respectfully. After a slight hesitation, he sat on the stool in front of Mikoyan's feet, raised his face and put on a harmless smile: "Your Excellency High Priest Mikoyan, I am here today to listen to your teachings."

"Teaching?" Mikoyan laughed and said, "I thought God had summoned you to my side."

"That's true." Wu Lai said with a smile, "But before that, I would like to ask the High Priest a few questions."

"Ask." Mikoyan patted Wu Lai on the head and said with a smile.

Wu Lai nodded: "My first question is, if I make something that can increase the speed of pounding wheat by dozens or even hundreds of times, can I use it to pound flour for others to make money?"

Mikoyan was startled, then asked, "Dozens of times? Can you be more specific?"

"Yes, Your High Priest. In most manors, one or several strong slaves are arranged to pound flour. Under normal circumstances, a slave who is familiar with pounding work can only pound out two to three hu of flour in a whole day, and the quality of the flour cannot be guaranteed. The thing I am about to make can at least pound out three hundred hu of flour in the same amount of time, and the high quality of the flour can be absolutely guaranteed." Wu Lai replied.

Mikoyan's heartbeat suddenly quickened: "Please continue."

"I can't go on." Wu Lai showed his childish cunning, "Your Excellency the High Priest, you haven't answered my question yet."

Mikoyan was stunned again, then smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying: "Cunning little Wu Lai, you already know the answer yourself, just tell me directly, what do you need the temple to provide you with?"

Wu Lai chuckled and said, "Your Excellency the High Priest, you should know that this kind of thing has never appeared in Seneca City, Assyria, or even in this world. Whoever owns it is equivalent to owning an inexhaustible treasure house. Of course, the prerequisite is to be able to hold it firmly in your hands and not let others touch or own it. I call this method 'monopoly'. I wonder if Your Excellency the High Priest agrees?"

Mikoyan nodded.

Wu Lai went on to say, "Once this thing comes out, it will definitely attract the interest of the Senate, the Council of Nobles, the First Citizen, and the Archon of the City-State. But firstly, I, Wu Lai, have never had any contact with them, nor have I received any help from them. Secondly, the original idea of ​​making this thing came from an accidental flash of thought. It felt like a god was enlightening me, so I came to you."

"Well said. Any great creation comes from God's revelation, and I think this thing you mentioned is certainly included." Mikoyan's face was full of smiles. "Then, little Wu Lai, I can understand your words just now as that you are willing to donate this thing to the temple for free to thank God for his grace, right?"

"No." Woolley shook his head. "That's not what I meant."