HLM – Chapter 125 Highway Opens to Traffic

The pointer aligned with the Heart of Mystery. Wang Bo tapped it lightly, and the words “Mysterious Heart” appeared. The drawplate split open, revealing a light green box.

The box was about ten centimeters long, ten centimeters wide, and five centimeters high. It was divided into ten compartments, each roughly the size of Wang Bo’s fist—just enough to fit one Territory Heart per slot.

Seeing this, Wang Bo understood. This Mysterious Heart was specially designed to store Territory Hearts, one per slot. With this, he no longer had to use the Territory Hearts immediately upon obtaining them. He could store them for future use.

In early April, as the autumn winds swept across New Zealand, as the maple leaves on the Southern Alps turned a fiery red, and as the green trees and lush grass began to yellow, the long-awaited Highway 8 finally opened to traffic—something Wang Bo had been looking forward to for half a year.

The government was determined to get this highway built. They hired the best road and bridge construction company in Oceania and started construction from both ends simultaneously, saving half the construction time.

Wang Bo had assumed that such an important highway opening would warrant at least a ribbon-cutting ceremony from the government.

But nothing of the sort happened—not even a notice. Only the news reported on it, with all the major New Zealand media covering the completion of Highway 8.

Although the highway was now passable, it wasn’t yet fully completed. It was only open to traffic; many sections still needed work. It wouldn’t be considered truly complete until at least the end of the year.

But for Wang Bo, the ability to drive on it was enough—because traffic meant people, and people meant the town’s popularity would gradually grow.

The construction of the third-level road was also almost done. Compared to Highway 8, it was much simpler to build. However, Porter’s construction company wasn’t that strong, so it took longer to complete.

Together, the two roads formed a T-junction. On either side of their intersection lay two vacant plots of land—the prime commercial locations for the town.

He had already constructed two modular buildings there, one big and one small. The larger building covered about 500 square meters, and the smaller one about 400.

According to his plan, the larger building would become a supermarket, and the smaller one a fast food restaurant. Once the town’s popularity picked up, they’d definitely be profitable.

Since no one else was coming to invest, Wang Bo decided to do it himself. He still had money, and opening a supermarket and a fast food place was entirely within his capabilities.

The money from selling Sacred Hymn was used up: about 17 million went into building the third-level road, and about 5 million into constructing the water and electricity system.

However, he had only paid 75% of the road costs so far, and just a 1-million deposit for the water and electricity system, which had only just started. That left Wang Bo with over 8 million in hand.

Given the current town population and vehicle flow, a full-scale supermarket wasn’t the best choice. So Wang Bo decided to start with a convenience store and expand later as the population grew.

This called for a professional manager. Conveniently, Barbara’s husband, Anderson Cage, had once been a senior executive at Carrefour in Auckland—he could help.

Wang Bo readily hired Anderson, offering a weekly salary of $1,500 NZD and a year-end bonus tied to business performance. Anderson was satisfied and agreed to manage the store.

This job was very important for Barbara’s family. Relying solely on her income from painting wasn’t sustainable. She was a moderately known artist, but sometimes couldn’t sell even one or two paintings in a month. Their household budget was often tight.

After taking the job, Anderson hosted a small barbecue party at home, inviting Wang Bo and his crew over for drinks and to discuss the job.

Handing Wang Bo a beer, Anderson said, “Boss, if it’s just a convenience store, then we don’t need to redecorate—the building’s current interior is good enough. But I’m guessing your real goal is a supermarket, right? In that case, we should renovate first.”

Wang Bo took a swig and replied, “That’s your call, buddy. I hired you because I trust you. Just do what you need to do, and come to me for funding when needed.”

Anderson was deeply moved by this trust. He knew that Wang Bo was aware of his past—including his missteps in gambling. Hiring him was already a great favor, but continuing to trust him was an even greater kindness.

Besides renovation, the convenience store needed two more staff. Since it would be open 24 hours, and New Zealand operated on a three-shift, eight-hour system, Anderson could handle one shift himself, but two others were still needed.

Anderson handled this himself. With his past as a Carrefour executive, he had good connections. He called a manager in Carrefour’s HR department and quickly got two suitable resumes. After finalizing the pay, he brought the candidates to town.

Both applicants were from the small town of Omarama, around twenty years old—young, energetic, and able to work night shifts. Perfect for the convenience store.

By mid-April, after light renovations, recruitment, and installing shelves, the convenience store was nearly ready for stocking and opening.

Anderson truly had experience in supermarket management. Initially, Wang Bo thought renovations weren’t necessary. In his memory, supermarkets—aside from the all-yellow Xiao Huang chain—were just big open spaces with shelves.

But Anderson’s vision for the store was far more complex.

First, he divided the interior by function. Based on the building’s volume, proportions, and facade scale, he planned out areas for fruits and vegetables, dried goods, gifts, snacks, and more.

Wang Bo walked through the layout and felt a bit dazed. “Sh*t, Anderson, your layout feels like a maze!”

Anderson chuckled, “I did that on purpose, boss. You see, once people step inside, they tend to lose their sense of direction. At that point, they forget how far they’ve walked or how long they’ve been shopping.”

He pointed at several corners and added, “We’ll place discount items at these spots. Even if customers don’t need them, when they get here and see a deal, their instincts kick in and they’ll likely buy something.”

Wang Bo thought it over and had to admit—it made sense. He gave him a thumbs-up, saying, “Nice work, buddy. You really know your stuff!”

Anderson smiled humbly. “Actually, it’s not my idea. Carrefour’s always done it this way. If you’ve been to the Carrefour in Auckland, you’ll notice that unless you follow the floor arrows, you can’t even find the exit. That way, customers end up walking the entire store and buying all kinds of things they didn’t originally plan to.”