HLM -Chapter 1187 Taking a Break

The four of them first needed to find a place to stay. Wang Bo had experience in this regard—when he first came to New Zealand, he had Charlie’s help to find a hotel.

He had temporarily rented a BMW X6 SUV. Zhang Rui remarked, “Do you really need such a fancy car?”

Wang Bo glanced at it and said, “This car is fancy?”

Qingyang, putting his arm around Zhang Rui’s shoulder, said, “Come on, bro, you have no idea how much money Wang Bo has now. Driving this car is barely lowering his style.”

Wang Bo laughed and gave him the middle finger. “Get lost.”

But it wasn’t an exaggeration. The whole town was speculating about just how much money he had. Soon, he would have another major project underway: once the airport renovations were complete, cooperation between Sunset Ranch and the Arab tycoons would begin.

Driving around the streets, Wang Bo asked, “Where are you planning to set up the office? And where are you planning to stay?”

Zhang Rui sighed. “To be honest, bro, I’m completely in the dark about this place. I came here because of you. Without you, I wouldn’t dare to come.”

Wang Bo smiled. “So I’m your babysitter now, huh?”

Qingyang said, “You might as well have come for me. Besides being less wealthy than Wang Bo, knowing fewer people than him, and being worse at bragging, what’s my weakness? Take Auckland, for example—I know it better than him.”

Wang Bo said, “Keep bragging. You’re still no match for me at bragging. Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing now?”

“Bragging? How am I bragging?”

“Let me give you an example: do you have my looks? My physique? Eight-pack abs—you got that? A studly waist—you got that?”

Qingyang blinked. “Can we not talk about bodies?”

Zhang Rui and Li Xing laughed. “Let’s first go over Auckland’s layout. Wang Bo’s right—I need to decide where to stay.”

Qingyang said, “Auckland is quite an interesting city, with a very diverse population. People tend to stick together in communities. For example, the southeast has a large Pacific Islander and Mexican population.

“To the south, the South and West districts are mostly Maori and Pacific Islanders. You shouldn’t go there—the Maori are fierce, and you never know when you might provoke someone and get beaten half to death.”

“The North, Central, and East districts are better. Many Chinese and other Asians live there. In the 1990s, many Taiwanese immigrants lived in the Central district, while the East district had mostly Taiwanese and Hong Kong immigrants. After 2000, more Chinese immigrants gradually moved into the Central and East districts.”

Zhang Rui didn’t hesitate. “Then I should go to the Central or East district? No, show me the North Shore. Our company might want to set up an office there.”

The North Shore of Auckland is a newly developed area, about 5–10 minutes from downtown by car—assuming no traffic.

“What about traffic?” Zhang Rui asked.

Qingyang looked at him disdainfully. “I don’t even know where to start, man. Traffic is traffic everywhere. Once Auckland is jammed, you’re going nowhere.”

Zhang Rui helplessly gave a middle finger to himself and joked, “So New Zealand has traffic jams too? I heard before coming that some areas are desolate, with nothing for miles, so I thought I wouldn’t even find places to hang out.”

“That’s true in general. But you’re in New Zealand’s largest city, so you won’t have trouble finding fun places,” Wang Bo said.

They drove into the North Shore district and circled around. Qingyang found a Chinese-run hotel online.

After all, the North Shore is a developing economic area—not as bustling as the Central, East, or South districts. Many places are still construction sites with dust in the air, but that means it has good potential for future development.

Wang Bo approved of Zhang Rui setting up an office here.

The hotel, called “China Star,” followed a theme-hotel style. The rooms had a Chinese vibe, with lots of porcelain and Chinese paintings. Wang Bo noticed the attention to detail—the corners of each room had large red Chinese knots, adding to the authentic feel.

Zhang Rui’s English wasn’t great, so staying at a Chinese-run hotel was convenient. That was the plan—but when they went inside, the owner greeted them in fluent English.

Qingyang approached to talk and returned saying, “Bad news, Brother Rui—the owner is from Hong Kong, and he’s been in New Zealand for years. His English is way better than his Chinese. Should we bail?”

A staff member came over and greeted them in fluent Mandarin: “Hi, guys! Where are you from? The boss asked me to welcome you.”

Hearing the fluent Mandarin, Zhang Rui smiled and chatted with the staff member, ultimately deciding to stay there.

The hotel wasn’t large, and the price wasn’t cheap—120 NZD per night.

Qingyang frowned. “This expensive?”

The owner smiled apologetically. “Sorry, boss, it’s peak tourist season, so prices are higher—supply and demand.” He switched to English after that.

Wang Bo asked, “Can we rent short-term? How much for a month?”

“All stays, daily or monthly, are the same price. But since we’re all Chinese, three thousand NZD is fine,” the owner said.

Three thousand NZD for a month? Qingyang shook his head. “We could get a three-star hotel for that.”

Wang Bo thought the hotel was nice—clean, quiet, with taxis at the entrance, convenient for Zhang Rui—so he paid for a month with his card.

Zhang Rui quickly protested, “Don’t bother, Wang Bo. I can expense it.”

Wang Bo said, “Then keep the reimbursed money yourself. Since we just arrived in New Zealand, you don’t need to spend on food or lodging—I’ll handle it.”

Qingyang said, “I’ll handle the food.”

Li Xing said, “Then I’ll handle transport—and security. Leave the tough stuff to me.”

Zhang Rui chuckled. “Then what about entertainment?”

“Get lost!” Three middle fingers went up.

After putting down their luggage, Zhang Rui stayed to rest while the other three went out for lunch. Finally reunited, they wanted a proper meal together.

Wang Bo cherished his friendship with his classmates. He handed the town affairs to Vice-Mayors Bowen and Charlie. With them in charge, he could be a hands-off mayor.

Over the next two days, the four explored Auckland’s scenery. The city had no shortage of mountains and water, so Wang Bo treated it as a holiday, enjoying himself thoroughly.

Of course, evenings were for Eva, with video calls the whole time.

Father Bo was unhappy about this—his wife was pregnant, and Wang Bo was out having fun. Every time they called or video-called, he’d scold Wang Bo.