HLM -Chapter 1349 A Skyscraper Rises

Old Wang could tell at a glance that the Icelandic horses couldn’t be bothered to take the Falabella ponies seriously.

He could understand why. Icelandic horses were mounts of heroes— their ancestors weren’t bred for transport or racing, but to follow their masters in defending their homeland and resisting pirates. In their eyes, Falabellas were probably nothing more than oversized rats. Lowering themselves to bicker with “rats” would be an insult.

The opponents they truly acknowledged were the Australian miniature horses. The little horses charged at each other while running, or reared up on their hind legs and kicked with their forelegs, occasionally even taking a bite.

In the distance, other miniature livestock—mini donkeys, mini zebu cattle, and the like—stood watching the great battle with curiosity.

Up in the trees of the animal paddock, several sail-backed lizards sprawled across the branches, watching with great interest as well…

The scene was utter chaos, and Old Wang was completely dumbfounded.

He hurried out and shouted, “Marlon, stop watching the fun! Damn it, what’s going on here? Go break them up, now!”

Marlon walked over and said, “Boss, didn’t you say tourists come first? The visitors love watching the ponies fight. Hahaha, this is hilarious—I’m laughing my head off. These little pudding-sized things are actually copying people and throwing punches!”

“If you need to pee, go to the toilet, shithead! I told you to serve the tourists, not to listen to them about everything!” Old Wang snapped angrily. “Hurry up and separate them! What if something happens?”

Whether it was the miniature horses or the Icelandic horses, all of them had been bought by him at a high price. He had no intention of letting them get hurt because of a fight.

Marlon said casually, “You’re overthinking it, boss. Their fighting isn’t even as fierce as first-grade kids with radish heads. They’ve been at it for a while now and none of them has backed out— that tells you there’s basically no real damage.”

The tourists nearby were watching with great excitement:

“These bald little horses are pretty good! Look at those footwork moves—just like boxers.”

“But the miniature horses have the advantage. There are more of them.”

“What’s with those dog-sized horses? Everyone else is fighting and they’re just goofing around?”

“That’s insulting dogs. Dogs have way more combat power than that.”

Marlon was right—tourists did enjoy watching. But Wang Bo couldn’t let this continue. He asked, “Is there any way to separate them?”

“That’s easy,” Marlon said. Old Wang noticed a hint of regret in his eyes—clearly, this guy also wanted to keep watching the ponies fight.

Marlon walked into the stable and led out Tuhao Jin and the Black Horse King, then patted their rumps and let them run into the chaotic group of ponies.

Tuhao Jin was domineering and majestic, while the Black Horse King was tall and imposing, radiating authority. The brawling ponies were like kids who’d just seen the teacher—whether Icelandic horses or miniature horses, they all turned tail and ran.

Only the Falabella ponies kept chasing after others, still eager to fight…

After the herds were separated, Wang Bo asked what had happened.

Marlon explained, “The Icelandic horses are new here, so they were rejected by the miniature horse herd. Both sides actually have decent tempers—at first, they just didn’t mix.”

“A little earlier, they all went to fight over a particularly lush patch of grass, and that’s when the conflict started. It began with a few horses biting each other, and slowly turned into an all-out war.”

Wang Bo shook his head. “So whose fault is it mainly?”

“The miniature horses,” Marlon said. “They’re like those rough Aussie blokes—strong territorial instincts and more irritable tempers.”

That gave Wang Bo a solution. “Take the Icelandic horses away for now. Move them to the ranch and raise them there for a while. Once they’ve grown stronger, bring them back.”

Obviously, the Australian miniature horses were like collaborationist troops—bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Wang Bo had never seen them dare to provoke wild horse herds.

Once the Icelandic horses were taken away, peace returned to the animal park.

With that matter settled, the old year was also coming to an end, and a new New Year’s Day was approaching.

Sunset Town was gradually becoming a party town. Even on ordinary days, many businesses and residents organized parties here, so on New Year’s Eve, the authorities naturally had to host a grand celebration.

Wang Bo completely delegated the work—this kind of thing no longer required his attention.

What he needed to focus on was building a brand-new office complex. With the population reaching ten thousand, Sunset Town’s government departments had to be fully established.

The Management Committee, Supervisory Committee, Audit Committee, Education Committee, Budget Committee, Community Services Committee, Public Healthcare Committee, the Police Department, the Tax Bureau, and even a local court!

Having a local court meant that in the future, legal matters in Sunset Town wouldn’t need to be handled in Oak City. The town would gain a degree of judicial autonomy.

For this, he had to contact Thomas Wesley, the head of road engineering at Layton Company’s New Zealand branch. The Lakeside White Tower had been their work, and Wang Bo was very satisfied with it.

Porter’s engineering company mainly handled road projects. Although his firm had participated in the villa district construction, the main work had been done by other construction companies.

When Wesley heard that Wang Bo wanted to build a landmark government office building, he was first delighted, then worried. “Is this a good idea? Won’t it be resisted by your voters?”

In many parts of New Zealand, iconic buildings are government offices, but that’s because those buildings were constructed long ago, when the country placed great importance on the prestige of local governments.

Nowadays, however, voters don’t want to see their tax money used to build skyscrapers for civil servants to enjoy.

As a result, newly built government office buildings tend to be quite plain.

But Wang Bo didn’t need to worry about that. He waved his hand and said, “I’ll fund it myself. I won’t use taxpayers’ money. Just provide the design proposal with peace of mind. Remember—I want a landmark building.”

“Absolutely no problem!” Thomas said, overjoyed.

After seeing Thomas off, Wang Bo started contacting his classmates to check their travel arrangements.

He sent a message in the group chat: Everyone, come out. When can you get here?

Zhou Haojie: Holy crap, isn’t this our Mayor Wang(shock)? Mayor Wang, busy with ten thousand chickens a day, finally has time to show up? Am I seeing things? Is this really Mayor Wang(shock)?

Su Dongdong: Old Zhou, you’re definitely seeing things. Too much essence leakage after marriage. I told you—less jerking off, less screwing, eat more. Just look at you(sigh).

Zhou Haojie: I’ll believe your nonsense. I’m not chatting with someone as filthy as you.

Wang Bo, helpless: Stop fooling around. When are you guys arriving? I need to prepare a welcome banquet.

Na Qingyang: Hehe, Old Wang, actually I made a new group. I’ve already counted everyone’s arrival times, and the arrangements are all ready.

Wang Bo: (Angry) You guys actually abandoned me?

Fan Dong: (Disdain) Who abandoned who? Who ran off to Iceland for a couples’ world? We couldn’t even get through to you on the phone for days.

Wang Bo: (Wronged) There was no signal in the mountains where I was. Then I went out to sea—no signal at all. Anyway, hurry up and get your asses over here. I really miss you guys.