HLM – Chapter 1047 The Little Steamboat Goes Woo-Woo-Woo

Actually, no matter what the price was—so long as it wasn’t outrageous—Wang Bo was not going to give up on these steam-powered wooden paddleboats.

With Lake Hāwea, the White Tower on the shore, and these wooden paddleboats, the “Let’s Row the Oars” scene that Eva loved could now be perfectly recreated.

The arrival of the paddleboats was perfectly timed: the White Tower Hotel had just opened. It had seven floors, each decorated in a different theme—African tribal, South American flair, European aristocratic, Asian mystique, Chinese grandeur, and so on.

Hani suggested that Wang Bo register a company to manage all these industries under him.

Indeed, as Sunset Town grew more prosperous, his businesses multiplied, and his revenue streams increased as well. Especially once the airport was operational, the Christmas Park opened, and the farm began producing grains, his industries would only get more numerous and more complex.

Wang Bo felt that was a good idea. Hani also proposed a general manager— Juan, who had never been formally assigned a role in Sunset Town.

Originally, Juan had been placed beside Hani as a counterbalance, preventing the inspector from doing anything behind the mayor’s back. But thanks to little Hani, Hani now treated Wang Bo almost like his liege. Life in Sunset Town was comfortable and well-paid, so Hani firmly stood on Wang Bo’s side, making Juan’s original role unnecessary.

Thus, Wang Bo registering a company and putting the finance-trained Juan in charge was perfect. After all, Juan had been participating in Sunset Town’s construction decisions and was skilled in personnel management.

Wang Bo had similar thoughts. He called Juan over and said, “You’ll handle the company setup. We’ll name it Sunset Glory Co., Ltd.”

After that, Sunset Town began a new round of recruitment.

Of course, Juan handled all of it. He was very happy to take on the job—this meant he was now truly one of Wang Bo’s trusted men.

Moreover, the little nurse Rosalie, whom he was deeply infatuated with, valued wealth and status. Once Juan became the general manager of Sunset Glory Co., Ltd., both his income and position would be vastly improved.

That night, the wheel spun, and Wang Bo drew a Level-2 Soul Core. He gave it to Tuhao Jin, since the horse was about to compete in the grand New Zealand horse racing tournament.

He had drawn several of these recently—Queen, the chubby cat brothers, all had been upgraded to Level 2. Only Commissar and Little Meng, the latecomers, were still Level 1.

As for Level-1 Soul Cores, he had drawn plenty— even the little white ox had gotten one.

Treading Waves White Horse was the most perfect of the five boats. Schroeder claimed it was a gift for Sunset Band, but that was definitely not the truth. ACT Records must have bought it earlier and had it refurbished for some undisclosed plan.

That was why this boat sold for only 125,000, while the other boats—much more poorly decorated and in worse condition—were asking nearly the same price. Naturally, Wang Bo wasn’t willing to buy them at that rate.

The paddle steamer had to be lowered into the lake using a crane. Bowen contacted a large crane company in Auckland, and it took an hour and a half to get the boat into the water.

Boom!

Even though the crane operator handled it as gently as possible, the steel arm was fifty meters long—there was no way to truly “place” the boat lightly. When the vessel entered the water, it created a huge splash and a thunderous noise.

Ospreys sunbathing outside their lakeside huts were startled, diving into the water one after another. When they resurfaced, each had a fish or shrimp in its beak, conveniently grabbing a meal.

Operating this kind of boat was very simple—much simpler than a modern vessel. It had no complicated systems, no array of instruments. One only needed to control the steam pressure and turn the helm.

New Zealand had no shortage of boat operators. With its long coastline, booming maritime industry, and people fond of boating, skilled drivers were everywhere.

Juan’s recruitment went smoothly—the steam paddleboat driver was one of the first positions filled. It did not require a captain, first officer, or second officer; a single driver and two service staff were enough to run the boat.

Once the steamboat steadied on the water, the acting captain boarded and began igniting and pressurizing the steam engine.

After all, this was the 21st century—steam paddleboats were nothing like those of the 18th century. They no longer required manual coal-shoveling; a mechanical arm did that job.

In that sense, the boat was fairly modern.

From lowering the boat into the lake to getting it running took another half hour. Then the central smokestack began puffing away, the thick smoke rising as the two side paddles swept the water in unison, pushing the boat across the lake.

Once he confirmed everything was working, Wang Bo brought Eva, Dale, and the others on board.

Unlike his yacht, this boat was designed for tourists and had a large capacity. At fourteen to fifteen meters long, it could carry forty to fifty passengers.

As with most paddle steamers, most of its space was taken up by the steam engine. The remaining area was converted into a dining room and lounge. The bow deck and both sides were fitted with fishing spots for anglers.

A few days earlier, the Treading Waves White Horse had also been sent to a shipyard, where Wang Bo had it lightly refurbished—waxed and polished floors, decorative wall pieces, medieval European-style dining furniture, thick carpets in the lounge, and a movie screen installed. Now the vessel looked entirely new.

Wang Bo happily wandered through the interior inspecting everything. Zhuang Ding ran around laughing, while the little snow fox kept its head down searching for food. Those two were the busiest.

But staying on this boat wasn’t very comfortable. Wooden paddleboats had a flaw—their balance was poor. Calm waters were fine, but once there were waves, anyone prone to seasickness would suffer.

Dale didn’t get seasick, but after staying for a while she gladly disembarked and refused to get back on, claiming it was torture.

Her little girlfriend Anila nodded along—she did get seasick, and the few shakes earlier had almost made her vomit.

After the relay race incident at the sports meet (the kiss), the two girls’ bond had grown even stronger.

As they grew older, although Dale grew closer to Ron and Little Si, the nature of their friendships had begun to drift apart. She started wanting a close girlfriend, while the boys became increasingly obsessed with sports.

Little Si and Ron also wanted to get off the boat. The wind was strong, but when Dale asked, “Is this what tough guys are?” the boys became stubborn and refused to leave.

Wang Bo sat inside the inner circle of the deck lounge. There was a glass windscreen above him, and the sunlight shining through warmed him comfortably. Even though the boat swayed a bit, he still felt very relaxed.