William was still pondering what modifications were needed when Sunday's voice interrupted his thoughts: "Sir, you have a visitor. I've retrieved previous video footage from the castle and identified the guest as Mr. Luther Daly from Daly Equestrian."
"Sunday, did you connect yourself to all the cameras in the castle?" William asked in surprise.
"Yes, sir. My program includes a function to recognize visitors and decide whether to open the door. So once I was activated, I took over all the cameras in the castle. I can basically handle any aspect of daily life."
Although Sunday no longer had the ability to learn autonomously, its intelligence was still very high. William was quite satisfied with the results of some tests earlier. Seeing on the monitor that Daly's car was nearing the castle gates, William whistled and walked lightly to the first floor. As he reached the castle entrance, Daly's car pulled up.
As soon as Daly got out of the car, he quickly approached William, who was standing at the castle door, and warmly shook his hand. "Mr. Devonshire, I've fulfilled your request. We've brought 47 Akhal-Teke horses. In two hours, three planes carrying the horses will land at London Airport. Do you have enough stables for them? If not, we'll have to temporarily house them at our company's stables."
William smiled inwardly at Daly's obvious hint. This guy was seeking credit, reminding William that once the horses were selected, the management of the castle's stables would be handed over to them.
Squinting at Daly's eager face, William said, "The stables have been expanded recently, so we can manage for now. But the task of managing the stables shouldn't be a problem for your company, right?"
Hearing what he most wanted to hear, Daly excitedly replied, "Of course, Mr. Devonshire. Our company can handle anything related to horses."
"Good. My people will inspect the 47 Akhal-Tekes, and as long as they meet my standards, I'll honor my promise and entrust the stables to you," William said with a smile. "By the way, why didn't attorney Anthony come with you?"
"Mr. Devonshire, the accountants who went with us to purchase the horses have returned to report to the accounting firm. Attorney Anthony is currently reviewing the expenses, and the professional horse appraisers you hired are waiting at London Airport for the horses' arrival."
"Hmm, please come in, Mr. Daly." William led Daly into the castle. After some polite conversation, the two sat down with coffee served by the servants and chatted about the horse-buying experience. When William learned that another 20-plus Akhal-Tekes would be arriving in London in the coming days, he did a quick calculation and was secretly pleased. "So, basically, I've bought up all the good horses on the market this year?"
Daly nodded proudly, smiling. "That's right, Mr. Devonshire. You won't find any high-quality mares on the market this year. We've acquired a total of 70 top-quality Akhal-Tekes, of which 60 are mares. Anyone else wanting to buy Akhal-Tekes will have to wait until next year's foals are available."
"It seems handing the task over to professionals was the right decision. Cheers." William raised his coffee cup, clinking it with Daly's. "I'm very pleased with your work. As long as the appraisers' inspections pass, I'll pay the full amount in one go."
"Thank you," Daly said, putting down his coffee cup. He was thrilled by William's straightforward payment approach. In the past, most horse transactions involved installment payments, and it was rare for someone like William to pay the full amount upfront. Daly enthusiastically added, "Mr. Devonshire, you're the most trustworthy wealthy man I've ever met. It's an honor for the Daly family to serve you, and we sincerely wish your family continued prosperity."
After discussing some additional details and scheduling a meeting in London to discuss the design of the stables, Daly took his leave.
After seeing Daly off, William put on a Bluetooth headset and asked, "Sunday, where's my mother right now?"
As expected, Sunday's voice came through the Bluetooth headset, "Sir, Mrs. Devonshire is currently at the stables."
William was elated. Having Sunday was indeed convenient. From now on, he could directly ask it for anything he needed. In a good mood, he drove a golf cart towards the stables to find his mother.
As he drove the golf cart, listening to the hum of the electric motor, he suddenly thought that having an electric scooter would make getting around even more convenient. Thinking about the future potential of electric scooters, William realized that this technology was still in its early stages. Once invented, the market potential would be enormous. Airports, factories, farms, and even for police patrols—electric scooters could serve as an excellent mode of transportation.
Moreover, with his current access to an intelligent system, why not use Sunday's intelligence to create a shared electric scooter service? With Sunday's control, after a customer finishes using a shared scooter, it could automatically return to the nearest station.
Considering how bike-sharing attracted so much venture capital in just a few years, William figured that a higher-tech electric scooter might be even more appealing to investors.
The only challenges would be payment systems and road safety. Perhaps he could experiment in the Aston Martin factory after taking it over. Once the technology was mature, it could be piloted at universities like Oxford. College students would likely be very receptive to this new mode of transportation.
The strategy would be to first dominate college campuses, then expand to factories, airports, logistics centers, and various outdoor venues. Eventually, users could download an app to summon a scooter at the touch of a button. The scooter would automatically come to the user from the nearest station. Even in the rain, the customer could end their ride and find shelter without wasting any money.
It could also be promoted to the police for patrol use. Riding an electric scooter would not only give officers a better vantage point to observe suspicious individuals but also save physical effort and reduce manpower costs—especially in England, where labor costs are higher than machine costs.
The more William thought about it, the more he believed in the potential of electric scooters. If they evolved into intelligent robots, they could even serve as smart logistics vehicles, replacing manual labor for parcel delivery in airports and logistics companies.
However, achieving these goals would require William to proceed step by step. But since building an electric scooter wouldn't be too costly, William spoke into the Bluetooth headset:
"Sunday, help me search for patents related to electric scooters and send them to my personal attorney, Anthony. Tell him to discreetly contact the patent holders, except for those related to batteries, and compile a report for me. After reviewing it, I'll let him know which patents to acquire."
"Understood, sir. The task has been accepted and is in progress. The information should be sent to attorney Anthony in about half an hour," Sunday's voice responded through the headset.
After giving his instructions, William cheerfully got out of the golf cart and entered the stables. As he stepped inside, he saw his mother, Lena, dressed in riding gear, training on a black horse in the central area of the stables.
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Ever since she got involved with horses, William's mother, Lena, developed an extraordinary passion for them. She spent most of her free time at the stables, riding her golden mare to practice equestrian skills or training for show jumping on the black horse, "Black Charcoal." This horse, originally named Devonshire II, was a black Arabian horse Lena had purchased, but William found the name Devonshire II unappealing and renamed it Black Charcoal.
As William stood by the field watching his mother train, Neil Jordan, the head horse trainer at the stables, cheerfully led the Red Hare over to him. "Good morning, Mr. Devonshire."
"Hello, Neil." After not seeing the horse for over ten days, William noticed how much healthier the Red Hare looked, thanks to the healing magic that had cured all its hidden injuries. He patted the Red Hare's head and said, "Hey, Red Hare, how have you been lately?"
The Red Hare, fond of William's presence, knew that being around him was beneficial. It whinnied happily and, upon reaching William, rested its head on his shoulder.
The Red Hare's affectionate behavior made William very happy. He patted its neck, took the reins, and despite being dressed casually, mounted the horse. With a light squeeze of his legs, the Red Hare shot out of the stables like the wind, galloping joyfully across the grass.
After riding for over twenty minutes, William spotted his mother riding Black Charcoal towards him. He pulled on the reins, bringing the Red Hare to a stop a short distance from his mother. As he approached, the Red Hare neighed repeatedly at Black Charcoal, intimidating the other horse so much that it backed away in fear.
Lena was displeased by this and quickly patted Black Charcoal's neck to calm it down. It took a few minutes before the horse settled.
"William, look at your troublesome horse. It's become the tyrant of the stables, bullying all the other horses," Lena complained.
Rather than being upset by his mother's words, William was inwardly pleased, though he dared not show it in front of her. He casually replied, "I'll discipline the Red Hare, Mom. By the way, I have some good news: tomorrow, Daly Equestrian will deliver 47 Akhal-Teke horses. Soon, our estate will be the only Akhal-Teke breeding base in England."
Lena shot William and the Red Hare a few glances, but there was nothing she could do about William's indulgence of the horse.
However, she was quite pleased to hear that 47 more horses of the same caliber as her golden Akhal-Teke would be arriving. Along with the five Akhal-Teke horses already in the stables, their family would soon have over 50 of these prized horses. To accommodate them, William had recently spent money to build several new stables. He also planned to transform most of the newly acquired 3,000 acres of land, excluding the land suitable for farming, into pastures. Near the river, he intended to build a dedicated horse farm for the Akhal-Teke horses.
To this end, William had laid off quite a few farmers. Under Neil Jordan's tactful handling, none of the laid-off farmers caused any trouble. They all quietly stayed in the castle town, waiting for William to start building the horse farm.
Appreciating the goodwill and understanding of the town's residents, William decided to offer jobs at the horse farm to the townspeople. He would first train them, then offer them trial employment. Those who passed would receive an annual salary ranging from £18,000 to £36,000, while those who didn't would have to find their own way.
With most of the castle town's people now working for William on the farm, pasture, or stables, the Devonshire family's influence in the town was greatly strengthened.
William had also heard that the town was considering a vote to rename itself back to Devonshire Town. This was a change he wholeheartedly welcomed. The town had been called Devonshire Town over a hundred years ago but was renamed after the Devonshire family fell into decline.
William planned to buy up as much land as possible outside the 3,000 acres he had already acquired and then employ people from surrounding towns. This would give him indirect control over the area. As long as more than half the local population worked for him, William would be the undisputed master of the region.
He wasn't concerned about making a profit from the land; what he wanted was influence.
Seeing that William was trying to brush her off again, Lena snapped, "Alright, I get it. You can go now."
Her bluntness almost made William choke. Since taking over the management of the castle estate and stables, Lena had become increasingly domineering. When she was displeased with William, she didn't bother hiding it.
Seeing the look of disdain on his mother's face, William could only shake his head helplessly. "Alright, Mom, I'll see you at dinner."
As he turned to leave, pulling on the Red Hare's reins, a thought occurred to him. He turned back and said, "By the way, Mom, aside from the 47 horses arriving tomorrow, there will be another 20 or so coming in a few days. Will we have enough staff to handle them?"
Lena's expression brightened, but she quickly became concerned. "We're definitely going to be short-staffed. The new hires are still in training. I'll have to hire some people from Daly Equestrian to help out. But William, I think we should stop after buying these two batches of horses. I've gathered some information, and the price of Akhal-Teke horses has already increased by more than 30%. If we keep buying, the prices will go through the roof. It's better to wait a year or two and see how the market develops."
William understood this logic well. Daly Equestrian had gone all out to help William in a blitzkrieg-style acquisition because they wanted to make a big profit while he was building the horse farm. In the future, large-scale purchases like this would be much harder to pull off. "Alright, Mom, you're in charge of this."
"Of course, I'm in charge. Who else has been managing these things? You'd better find me a good steward soon. It's getting tough for me to manage the castle and stables on my own."
William clapped his hands in agreement. "Mom, I want to find a good steward too, but it's not easy to find someone competent and trustworthy. If it's too much for you, you could hire a few stable managers and delegate the day-to-day tasks to them."
"That's a good idea. I'll start looking for stable managers right away. It might be hard to find a good steward, but I'm sure I can find some competent stable managers. I refuse to believe I can't find someone good if I offer a £120,000 annual salary. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll use money to crush them."
With that, Lena gave Black Charcoal a sharp whip on the rear, and the horse immediately bolted away from the Red Hare.
The Red Hare, having waited for William's command, was displeased. Without waiting for William to give any instructions, it chased after Black Charcoal. Within seconds, it overtook Black Charcoal and raced towards the stables.
William had not only healed all the Red Hare's hidden injuries with healing magic but also regularly nourished its body with natural magic. This had significantly improved the horse's sprinting ability and stamina. Over the past ten days, the Red Hare consistently completed 1,000-meter tests in under 70 seconds.
Upon learning this, Daly had been filled with regret, pounding his chest and lamenting that he had failed to see the Red Hare's potential. Why hadn't the horse been able to break 80 seconds when it was at his company or in Turkmenistan?
Now, with its speed, standing 1.61 meters tall, and its striking chestnut color, the Red Hare was an imposing sight. It had been years since such a fine Akhal-Teke horse had appeared. Neil Jordan, the Red Hare's head trainer, had mentioned to William that the horse could now fetch no less than £4 million.
Thinking about the potential for a few future champion horses from his estate, William couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.
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