HLM -Chapter 1130 Surprised Backpackers (Part 3)

On the weekend, the four young people set out together for Sunset Town.

As soon as the car drove onto the Road of Birth Flowers, they all cheered. Driving between two dense clusters of flowers, glancing left and right, all they could see were bright, colorful blossoms—it naturally lifted their spirits.

Even more delightful was that as the car sped forward, the flowers kept changing, offering a constant sense of novelty so that the scenery never grew tiresome.

One girl, holding a DSLR camera, pointed it at the flowers, occasionally shouting: “Xú, stop the car! I need to take a photo!”

“Stop here for a moment. Look, what do I see—two bees collecting nectar!”

“Wow, such a beautiful cactus flower! It’s purple! I’ve never seen one before. I must take a photo.”

The young man in the front passenger seat said lazily, “Quiet, will you? Your name and your personality are completely different. Zheng Anjing? You’re never quiet.”

“Besides, it’s not like this is the first time you’ve seen these flowers. We didn’t come to Sunset Town this time to admire the Birth Flowers—we’re here to visit the lake.”

Pouting, Zheng Anjing said displeasedly, “Du Zewen, you’re always so boring. I don’t understand how Jiali manages to get along with you.”

Another girl in the backseat laughed and patted her, saying, “Anjing, don’t say that about Zewen. He’s right—we have a goal, so we should move toward it.”

“But that doesn’t mean we should ignore the scenery along the way, especially when it’s so beautiful,” Zheng Anjing said, looking at the riot of colorful flowers.

Xu Tao, driving, exchanged a glance with Du Zewen and both shrugged helplessly.

They had visited Sunset Town three years ago. At that time, Xu Tao and Zheng Anjing were a couple, while Du Zewen had been traveling with friends. They were all backpackers in New Zealand, combining travel with work.

Sunset Town had left a very good impression on them—whether it was scenery, food, or culture. After returning home, they stayed in contact, working together on immigration plans, and now they had all become new residents of New Zealand.

Over the past three years, much had changed. Xu Tao and Zheng Anjing had gone from being a couple to being married, and Du Zewen now had a girlfriend. Their first order of business after immigrating was to revisit Sunset Town.

The car raced forward until it finally entered Sunset Town. After parking, Zheng Anjing cheered again: “Wow! Come and see, come and see! What’s that? A Tui bird is drinking nectar from the flowers! I need to take a photo!”

Xu Tao smiled and nodded. Standing at the road’s entrance, he looked north and sighed, “We can’t see Lake Hawia anymore. Sunset Town has changed so much.”

Du Zewen shaded his eyes and looked north as well. What he saw was a beautifully constructed residential complex. The buildings weren’t tall, but they stretched in a continuous row, blocking the view of Lake Hawia.

“Before, when that complex didn’t exist, you could see Lake Hawia from here. Looking out, the grasslands were flat, the distant lakesides fertile, full of water and greenery. You can imagine how beautiful it was,” Du Zewen told his girlfriend, Song Jiali.

Song Jiali smiled dreamily. “Yes, I can imagine—it must have been beautiful.”

They arrived in Sunset Town around noon, just in time for lunch.

Song Jiali asked what they should eat. Zheng Anjing pulled out her phone and shook it. “Let’s check online, see what other travelers recommend, and pick something good and reasonably priced.”

Song Jiali, feeling a little embarrassed, said, “You two go ahead—my phone’s data is all used up.”

Zheng Anjing laughed. “No problem! The entire town has free Wi-Fi, even faster than 4G. Using the internet here is free.”

Song Jiali tried her phone and indeed, it connected instantly. She opened a webpage, and with a “swish,” it loaded immediately.

“Wow, so fast!” she exclaimed.

Du Zewen said, “The whole town is covered by a wireless network, something like a smart city system. Last time we came, Wi-Fi coverage had just started. The technology must be more mature now.”

Indeed, it had improved. Du Zewen hadn’t changed his phone in three years, and once connected to the Wi-Fi, a network terminal sent him a greeting:

“Hello, Mr. Du. Welcome back to Sunset Town. It has been 1,108 days since your last visit. Compared to then, the town has changed as follows…”

Xu Tao exclaimed, “They must have a whole team maintaining the town network. For tourists, this service is incredibly thoughtful.”

The message introduced the changes in Sunset Town—new streets, new shops, and new attractions. It also included recommendations for local restaurants, with options at different prices and for different tastes.

They eventually chose Hardys Fast Food. Zheng Anjing said, “It’s a bit of a pity to eat fast food in Sunset Town, isn’t it?”

Du Zewen laughed. “Not at all. Hardys has a premium set meal using chicken from Sunset Ranch. Only here in Sunset Town is it affordable—just thirty dollars per set.”

“Thirty dollars isn’t cheap,” Song Jiali said.

Du Zewen replied, “If you knew it cost 120 elsewhere, you’d see how cheap this is.”

In New Zealand, fast food sets are usually quite large. One set is enough for a couple.

The four of them spent a total of sixty dollars and left fully satisfied.

After licking her fingers, Song Jiali said, “Now I understand what ‘finger-lickin’ good’ really means. This meal was worth it.”

Xu Tao agreed, “Yes, I didn’t expect fast food to taste this good.”

“This is the best fast food,” a waitress said with a smile.

The four nodded in agreement. The waitress asked warmly, “Are you here on holiday?”

Zheng Anjing replied, “Yes, we plan to visit Lake Hawia this afternoon, and maybe go hiking if we have time.”

The waitress said, “That’s a great plan. The freshwater coral in Lake Hawia is beautiful. The  Bitào Dānfēng Trail has just opened, but it’s worth a visit.”

“Also, this way, you’ll have dinner sorted. Don’t forget to bring fishing rods—there are plenty of delicious fish, shrimp, and crabs in the lake that you can catch. Lakeside restaurants offer processing services, which will save you a lot of money.”

Xu Tao asked excitedly, “We can fish freely in the lake?”

“Of course, there are rules. You can get a fishing guide from a street kiosk, which lists allowed species, quantities, and sizes.”

Du Zewen was more interested in hiking. “What’s the story with the Bitào Dānfēng Trail?”

The waitress smiled. “It was named by the mayor’s wife. ‘Bitào’ describes the spring scenery, and ‘Dānfēng’ describes the autumn scenery. You can go see it—this season, you’ll enjoy the green waves and the pine breezes.”