HLM – Chapter 137 Hiring for the Ranch

At the beginning of May, as temperatures began to drop, the construction of the third-tier road was nearing completion.

Wang Bo had already spoken to Porter and Xiangni in advance. Since new buildings were going to be constructed on the estate, their construction company could handle the work. They were familiar with each other, and Porter had given him a reasonable quote, so Wang Bo handed over the building project to the “Pastoral Hermit Construction Company.”

Currently, there were several active construction sites in the town: the No. 8 Highway was in its final stage of improvement; the third-tier road was wrapping up; the modular houses were still under construction; and Tan Yinhong’s Tangren Company was in charge of installing the water and electricity systems. The town was evolving rapidly.

In Wang Bo’s plans, the residential area of the town wasn’t a priority—first, the office building for the bank needed to be built.

Town development in New Zealand was relatively simple. Outside of major cities like Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin, it was rare to see high-rise buildings. Whether commercial office buildings or residences, most were two- to three-story structures. Anything taller than three stories was considered a high-rise and had limited market appeal.

Moreover, this country was prone to earthquakes, making tall buildings unsafe.

So, construction wasn’t overly difficult. The bank’s office building would also be a two-story structure, though a vault needed to be excavated below—this was the trickiest part. But Porter had promised it could be completed in no more than a month.

As the third-tier road entered its final phase, the Pastoral Hermit construction crew began transitioning toward the building projects. The bank office building, located next to the convenience store, was about to break ground.

With projects starting all over town, money was in high demand. The funds from the Christie’s auction hadn’t yet arrived, so Wang Bo turned his attention to the ranch.

The beef and lamb from the ranch sold well. Every day, a few people from the nearby town would come to buy a few sheep or partner up to buy a whole cow. The income wasn’t significant, but it was better than nothing.

However, what troubled Wang Bo was that this business was very time-consuming. Bowen couldn’t manage it alone, and even with little Hani helping out, it still wasn’t enough.

He had no choice. Bowen came to Wang Bo and suggested, “Boss, with a ranch this size and so many cattle and sheep, you need to hire professional cowboys to manage it.”

Wang Bo had already spent most of the money from the Saint Poem auction and still had to make a second settlement with Tan Yinhong’s Tangren Company. He wanted to save some money, so he asked, “Is it really necessary?”

He felt that with good ranch management, he didn’t need cowboys running around on horseback.

But Bowen nodded seriously. “Cowboys don’t just herd cattle and sheep. More importantly, they oversee the livestock. For instance, right now we have two Holstein cows about to give birth. That requires constant attention from the cowboys.”

Wang Bo didn’t know about this, so he checked the ranch records—and sure enough, two Holstein cows had massively swollen bellies.

Since he had to hire cowboys, the next question was: how many?

Bowen was the expert here. He explained, “On average, one cowboy can manage about 1,500 sheep or 250 cattle. But since we practice free-range grazing, it’s more demanding, so they can handle fewer animals.”

After some calculations, he recommended, “It’s best to hire four to five cowboys. Not just for the current needs—when the ranch expands in the future, these guys can serve as the core team for further recruitment.”

Wang Bo nodded in agreement. Time to hire some cowboys.

The Maori rancher Motak, who had bought cattle and sheep from Wang Bo, could help with recruitment—but most of his contacts were Maori. Wang Bo didn’t want to hire Maori cowboys. Though they were great at ranching, they often had discipline issues.

New Zealand is known as a country riding on the back of sheep. Wang Bo thought that in such a place, it would be easy to find a few diligent cowboys.

But it turned out not to be easy at all. Very few white cowboys were willing to work in Sunset Town. He contacted a headhunting company, but the results were disappointing.

The job ads had been out for three or four days, yet no cowboys had shown up. Wang Bo was puzzled and called the headhunting company, irritated.

The recruiter was helpless and explained, “Mr. Wang, given the conditions of your ranch, recruitment is a bit difficult. Please be patient.”

Wang Bo was stunned. “My conditions aren’t good? I’ve looked into cowboy salaries in New Zealand—normally around 4,000 dollars a month, right? I offered 4,500 monthly, plus year-end bonuses. That’s not attractive enough?”

The recruiter smiled wryly. “The pay is good, but isn’t your ranch located in the middle of nowhere? You might not know this, but such remote ranches are the most dangerous. They’re often targeted by criminal gangs, so safety becomes an issue for cowboys.”

“Also, your ranch is far from town, which means living there isn’t convenient. These guys like going to bars and drinking—are there any entertainment venues near your ranch?”

Wang Bo sighed. He had to admit—the recruiter wasn’t wrong.

He asked if the recruiter had any ideas, but they had little to offer. Even higher pay didn’t help. New Zealanders loved enjoying life. If they couldn’t enjoy life while earning money, why bother working at all?

Wang Bo gritted his teeth. He didn’t believe that salary couldn’t attract cowboys. If 4,500 wasn’t enough, then 6,000! And if that didn’t work, then 8,000!

Bowen laughed when he heard Wang Bo’s plan. “If you’re willing to pay that much, why hire local cowboys at all? I can get you a few top-notch cowboys from Texas—wouldn’t that be better?”

Hiring American cowboys was actually quite appealing to ranch owners—not because American cowboys were exceptionally skilled, but because they were foreigners.

Local ranchers preferred to hire local cowboys first—people they knew. If none were available, they’d consider foreigners.

Ranches aren’t like other businesses. They often house thousands or tens of thousands of livestock, and it’s impossible for the owner to keep an exact count.

So if a cowboy had questionable morals and stole a few animals each day, the rancher might not even notice until serious losses had occurred.

But with foreign cowboys, there was less concern—they had no local networks or channels to sell stolen animals, which made them less of a risk.

Wang Bo asked Bowen how much it would cost to hire cowboys from Texas. Bowen casually replied, “Around six thousand. I’ve got a few buddies currently out of work. I can call them over—they’re all good.”

Hearing that, Wang Bo gave him the green light. “Alright. Call your buddies and bring them over. Monthly salary: six thousand. Year-end bonus. Two paid vacation periods per year. How’s that?”

The cowboy grinned confidently. “No problem at all, boss. Leave it to me—I’ll have them here in no time!”