HLM – Chapter 174 Crybaby Little Wang

After answering the call, Wang Bo was both amused and exasperated. “Of course I’m fine, I’m doing great. What’s wrong?”

He already knew what was going on—his parents must’ve just learned about the earthquake in the area he was living in. In fact, he had called home to assure them of his safety right after it happened, but they probably didn’t know about the earthquake at the time, so they hadn’t been alarmed.

Sure enough, his mother’s voice came urgently: “Your dad and I were out at sea, we just got back. We saw on TV there was an earthquake in your area! Dabao even said you’re trending online—what’s that about? Are you on fire or something?”

Wang Bo explained the situation, how the earthquake had unfolded, and how he and his dog had participated in rescue efforts. Indeed, he had become quite a sensation—not just on YouTube in the West, but also back home in China.

Or rather, it was Zhuang Ding who had gone viral. Wang Bo had merely caught the spotlight as the dog’s owner.

Once his mother confirmed that he was safe, she finally let out a sigh of relief, gave him a few more reminders, and handed the phone to Wang Bo’s father to have a word with him.

His father, being a man of few but steady words, calmly said that as long as Wang Bo was fine, that was all that mattered. But then he shifted gears and said, “Xiao Bo, why don’t you just come back? We’ve got a fishing boat now. You and I can head out to sea together—make a fortune, no problem.”

Wang Bo knew there was no way to explain some things, so he simply said, “Dad, I can’t do that. I’ve signed an employment contract here. I can’t just stop working just because I made a bit of money.”

After thinking it over, his father accepted that explanation. Wang Bo then repeatedly assured them that he would take good care of himself, finally easing his parents’ concerns.

Now that they weren’t worried anymore, the couple became cheerful again. They told him their recent fishing trip had gone well—after deducting fuel expenses, they’d still earned over 20,000 yuan.

Wang Bo didn’t lack money now, and neither did his family. But money couldn’t buy happiness. What mattered was that his parents were happy. And with a fishing boat and attention to the weather, their safety was reasonably secure. So this setup was just fine.

After hanging up, he resumed his conversation with Tan Yinhong. The residential area’s water and electricity systems had now been fully restored—and done quite well at that. This gave Wang Bo the idea to have Tang Ren continue overseeing related construction work.

Although water and electricity were back in the residential area, the commercial zones along the highway still had deficiencies. He wanted to take this opportunity to resolve them all at once.

Tan Yinhong readily agreed. Although the commercial zone had fewer buildings than the residential one, it stretched farther, which meant setting up two utility systems—still costing around five million NZD.

In other words, just getting a full water and electricity system up and running for the town would cost over ten million New Zealand dollars!

Wang Bo instinctively patted the wallet in his pocket—his ANZ Bank VIP card lay quietly inside. Lately, it felt like that card had lost a lot of weight.

With the new contracts signed, construction in the town resumed once again, bringing back its usual bustle.

For Wang Bo, the actual work had little to do with him—he only needed to inspect and make payments. After signing the contract, he had more free time.

His daily routine gradually took shape.

Every morning, he’d spend some time at the newly established Town Management Committee. It was just a small building with a sign, and his office was on the second floor. It had a large floor-to-ceiling window and looked quite decent.

Hani would report to him every day, briefing him on changes in the town and updating him on his work. He was very diligent. Juan was learning under him—though his skills were still lacking, his work ethic had improved a lot.

After sitting in the office for a while, if there was nothing to do, he’d head to the convenience store, drink coffee, and chat with the locals shopping there.

The little convenience store was his own. It was expected to be self-sustaining, but he didn’t really care about its profits. Under the pretext of “giving back to the townsfolk,” he sold everything to locals at wholesale prices.

Although he was giving up a small profit, he earned the goodwill of the town’s residents. From any angle, it wasn’t a bad deal.

Then came lunch. After eating, he’d return to the ranch or the castle. He never worked in the afternoons—there just wasn’t enough going on in town to justify staying at the office. It would only be a waste of time.

If he got bored, he played cards with Bowen and Juan. He didn’t understand the local card games, so he taught them how to play “Dou Dizhu.” When they got tired of that, he introduced them to Chinese chess.

During this time, the game system gave him another chance at a lucky draw. He won another Pet Heart, which was perfect for Little Wang, the liger.

The Nest Heart had already done an impressive job healing Little Wang. After lying on the carpet for over ten days, most of his injuries had healed except for the two hind legs that had been broken during the quake.

Even those legs had now fused, though he still couldn’t walk. He could only drag himself slowly across the carpet with some effort.

Before getting the Pet Heart, Little Wang had been very quiet. He seemed intimidated by his unfamiliar surroundings and rarely moved, except when Wang Bo came to feed him.

After getting the Pet Heart, the little guy became much more lively. Even though he still couldn’t stand or walk, he kept moving—grabbing the carpet with his front paws and dragging himself along like a toddler learning to crawl, getting faster and faster.

However, he was still timid. Anyone who bullied or scared him would bring him to silent tears.

And those who bullied Little Wang the most were the little princes—the Rottweiler pups. These little troublemakers didn’t fear anything. They didn’t know how terrifying a liger was supposed to be, and often bit at him just for fun.

After enduring their bullying for so long, Little Wang had developed a deep fear of them. Whenever he saw them, he’d panic and scramble away on all fours.

When Wang Bo saw this, he was utterly speechless.

In late June, when he returned from the office one day, the moment he stepped inside, he saw a big cat scrambling toward him at top speed, meowing desperately. He instantly understood: the little princes were bullying Little Wang again.

Sure enough, the little Rottweilers were bouncing behind him, barking joyfully. One even caught up and nipped Little Wang right on the butt.

Little Wang immediately buried his head into Wang Bo’s arms, his eyes brimming with tears once more.

Charlie, who had been playing on his phone, burst out laughing. “Wang, what is this creature you’re raising? I’ve never seen a big cat with such active tear ducts.”

Bowen chuckled as well. “Maybe it’s not a cat? Damn, this guy doesn’t look anything like a liger. I honestly thought it was just a fat cat.”

Wang Bo shot a glare at the Queen. Queen, who had been lazily sunbathing, let out two loud roars. The little princes instantly lowered their heads and quieted down.

Only then did Little Wang finally breathe a sigh of relief and snuggled against Wang Bo’s clothes like he was wiping away his tears.

Wang Bo was completely exasperated. “Little Wang, do you know your dad is a lion king and your mom is a tigress? How can you act so wimpy?”

Though timid, Little Wang possessed a Pet Heart—he was very intelligent and sensitive.

Sensing the reproach in Wang Bo’s tone, he glanced nervously at him, then lowered his head and buried his fuzzy face into his big paws.

No need to ask—he was crying again!