HLM – Chapter 1041 Free Men

The flashing lights dazzled, screams pierced the air, ET boards stretched in rows, and many people were holding glow sticks. Although the weather prevented the glow sticks from shining properly, they still added to the atmosphere.

The four members of the Sunset Band were on stage, breathing heavily. Sweat glistened on each of their foreheads, and Ready’s white T-shirt was soaked through.

Stage performances were no simple task; they were exhausting. Wang Bo had seen before that some singers needed to do fitness training in preparation for concerts, but he hadn’t fully understood until he observed a band performing up close.

The singing was loud, the atmosphere hot. The Sunset Band performed six songs at the host’s stage—two from their album, two that were fan favorites, and two they had written themselves but were left off the album.

After performing all six songs in one go, they were quite out of breath.

However, the next part of the event didn’t require much physical effort, so they gave their all. Normally, when singing in bars, they had to pace themselves because of the many songs they performed each night.

Another reason they gave such a strong performance today was the fans’ reactions—they finally felt what it was like to hold a concert, even though this was just a modest outdoor event.

Sometimes, people were simply easy to satisfy.

Next came the album signing and release. The four members stood in a row, signing albums for fans queued up to buy them.

They had underestimated the turnout. They had expected selling four or five hundred albums to be a success, but with more people arriving, there were already about 1,400–1,500 albums to sell, all with long queues of fans waiting.

Wang Bo looked at the long line and the row of pens beside the four band members, and couldn’t help but show a worried expression: “Damn, they’ll probably cramp their fingers after signing all these!”

The cost of producing one album was 5 NZD, which was relatively high due to the effort involved in the recording process. Normally, it could be done for one or two dollars.

The album, titled The Roar of the Song, was sold for 6 NZD each. Wang Bo had explained clearly on stage: 5 NZD covered the cost, and 1 NZD went to charity, which would be pooled into a charitable fund.

Charlie, standing nearby, said, “From today’s event, you should take away two lessons: one, the town needs a large square to host events; and two, the Sunset Band is bound to become popular.”

Wang Bo nodded. “Construction on the square has already started. The design plans are complete, and once the crew and equipment are ready, it can be built in two months.”

This was one advantage New Zealand had over other places—construction could continue even in winter.

The album sales event was surprisingly successful. Of the first batch of 5,000 albums, more than 2,800 were sold in one go, leaving only 2,200 remaining.

Almost everyone who attended the event bought an album, and households in Sunset Town also purchased one because Wang Bo had organized a promotion: buy one album, get one pound of pork.

Any meat produced by Sunset Ranch was expensive, including pork. Sales channels were no longer an issue; Ye Qipeng’s Northern Agricultural and Grain Group was willing to handle all the pork distribution.

The event ran from noon until evening before finally ending.

Local media such as Otago City Daily, Otago Music News, and New Zealand Music News stayed until the end to conduct a special interview with the Sunset Band.

These media outlets would run full-page features on the band. Other outlets, including New Zealand Herald, New Zealand National TV, Google News – New Zealand, and Yahoo News – Music, also agreed to report on the band.

All day, the four members of the Ryan family were immersed in happiness and excitement. By the end of the interviews, Ready’s voice was slightly hoarse. Wang Bo quickly handed him a box of throat lozenges.

With a lozenge in his mouth, Ready continued enthusiastically: “Boss, I think we need a manager, don’t we?”

Hill said, “The boss can be our manager—he’s my manager.”

Hill had played a big role in promoting the band during this event. He had included the Sunset Band in his novel. His book The Notes was nearly finished, and attention was high; almost all of New Zealand’s readers were waiting for the finale.

So far, he had sold many copyrights and earned over 2 million NZD.

For internationally renowned authors, this income was nothing. For example, J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, earned hundreds of millions of euros from a single book’s rights.

But New Zealand was a small country with a limited entertainment market. Wang Bo and Hill sold only domestic rights, such as film, audio, and publication. Earning 2 million NZD was already a high figure.

Moreover, Hill’s book could still earn more through comics and TV adaptations. Wang Bo controlled the rights and could collaborate internationally, which could multiply the revenue.

While chatting, Ready asked Hill, “Hey, big author, when’s your new book coming out?”

In the past, if someone called Hill a “big author,” he might have thought it was sarcastic. But now he could say it with confidence; at least in New Zealand, he was a leading figure among the new generation of writers.

Hill scratched his head. “The Notes will finish in two weeks. Then I’ll take a break over winter, and in spring I’ll release a new book. This one’s fantasy—I’m sure it will shock everyone!”

“I hope you write a new Lord of the Rings,” Wang Bo sincerely wished.

Hill teased, “How about The Sunset King instead?”

“That would be perfect,” Wang Bo laughed. “But there’s no rush. Tonight, we’re throwing a celebration party for the Sunset Band. I bet they’re about to become big!”

“And our contract?” Ready asked eagerly.

Initially, Wang Bo had bailed the four of them out for a total of 640,000 NZD. Based on their previous monthly income of 20,000 NZD, the contract required at least 32 months of work.

This was a decision that made them regret it every night. They didn’t expect the Sunset Town bar to be so popular and that they could earn back the bail money in just a few days.

From the contract alone, the four could not breach it. Although the bar was profitable, it didn’t rely entirely on them. In the past few months, they had been busy producing the album, yet the bar business remained strong.

The four realized this and were somewhat frustrated, realizing their personal charm wasn’t as overwhelming as they thought.

Looking at the four eager faces, Wang Bo smiled: “Alright, our contract is over. You are now free men.”