HLM – Chapter 78 DIY Toolbox

The town was finally starting to get on the right track. Wang Bo found himself becoming increasingly busy—on one hand, he had to plan for the town’s development, and on the other, manage the ranch.

But what preoccupied him the most was the draw wheel, which hadn’t activated in over half a month.

At present, the draw wheel had turned a vibrant emerald green, much darker than its usual pale hue, clearly indicating it had stored up a significant amount of lord’s energy.

Yet—it still wouldn’t activate!

In the days spent managing the ranch, Wang Bo had collected a good number of wild bird eggs, including wild chicken and duck eggs. He planned to set up an unmanned roadside stall, which could earn him a little money on the side.

Unmanned stalls are quite common in New Zealand, especially near farms and ranches. Farmers would set up a small stand by the roadside, place produce on it with marked prices. If passersby were interested, they could take what they liked, calculate the price themselves, and drop the money into a cash box.

The farmers would come around at the end of the day to collect the money and restock the goods. It was a convenient way to serve travelers and open up another sales channel.

Wang Bo had already bought egg trays some time ago. The reason he hadn’t acted on this earlier was that traffic on Highway 8 hadn’t picked up yet. With so few cars passing by, placing eggs there would’ve been pointless.

But after two months of roadwork, the section of Highway 8 near the town was mostly open. Vehicles had begun to pass through from time to time. It was easy to imagine that once the road was fully operational, it would become a major traffic route.

Though Cowboy had a bit of a chūnibyō (edgy, overly dramatic) personality, he certainly lived up to the Texas cowboy reputation for being multi-talented—he was great with hands-on DIY projects. Of course, that required tools.

So, at the end of January, the two of them drove to the small supermarket in Auckland to buy tools.

DIY culture is big in New Zealand. Mainly because labor costs are high, men have developed the habit of doing things themselves. Plus, DIY is genuinely fun—so it became quite a trend in the country.

The supermarket had all sorts of DIY toolboxes. Wang Bo bought the most comprehensive one, which cost $1,500. It came in two cases, a main and a secondary. They couldn’t even fit in the SUV’s trunk—they had to be strapped to the roof.

The toolbox was well-stocked. When Wang Bo checked it out, it had tweezers, hammers, wrenches, pliers, all in a variety of sizes.

There was also a soldering iron, multimeter, carving knife, hatchet, hammer, wire strippers, locking pliers, hacksaw, tape—just about everything imaginable. If he could think of it, they had it covered.

Since they were already in Auckland, Wang Bo figured he might as well drop by and visit Eva—it had been a while since they’d seen each other.

But when they pulled up in front of Eva’s townhouse, they saw the little loli (Dale) playing with two young boys. She had money in hand, looking excited, probably about to go buy something fun.

As the SUV drove past, the wind kicked up and blew the money from her little hands. Her round, dumpling-like face scrunched up in frustration as she toddled after it on her short legs to retrieve it.

Bowen opened the car door just as the money fluttered to the ground at his feet. Picking it up, he asked, “Dale, where’s your sister? Your brother-in-law’s here to see her.”

Wang Bo gave him a kick—when was this guy ever going to be cured of his chūnibyō nonsense?

The dumpling-faced little girl blinked her big eyes at Bowen. She didn’t answer, just held out her hand and said sweetly, “Big brother, can you give Dale her money back first, pretty please?”

Bowen found her so adorable that he couldn’t help teasing her. He said, “Tell me where your sister is, and big brother will give you your money.”

The little loli stubbornly shook her head, her big eyes brimming with tears, on the verge of crying. Wang Bo waved his hand and said, “Stop teasing the kid. Give it back to her.”

Bowen pulled out a one-dollar bill and handed it to her. “Here you go.”

The little girl shook her head. “That’s not Dale’s money.”

Bowen laughed and pulled out a five-dollar bill. “What about this one?”

She still shook her head. “That’s not Dale’s either. Dale doesn’t want it.”

Bowen nodded approvingly. “Such a good kid. May Father God bless your purity and honesty. Here—take both anyway.”

But the little girl slapped his hand away angrily and shouted, “Give me back my fifty dollars!”

Bowen smirked, “Heh, nope. Not giving it back.”

“You’re a bad guy! A bad guy!” She puffed out her chubby cheeks and started tugging at him. “I’m calling the police on you!”

Wang Bo pulled out his shiny police badge. Bowen cooperatively handed over the money. Wang Bo shook the bill and asked, “Dale, where’s your sister?”

The little loli stared at the money, eyes glued to it. “She’s at home.”

Wang Bo handed her the money, then picked her up and walked into Eva’s townhouse.

Sure enough, Eva was doing some housework. Seeing Wang Bo carry Dale in, she looked surprised. “Wang? What brings you here?”

Wang Bo said, “Had some errands to run in Auckland today, figured I’d drop by and see you. Hey—how’ve you been? Haven’t seen you in over three weeks.”

Eva took Dale from him and invited him to sit down. Wang Bo glanced around the room.

The living room was simply but warmly decorated. The wallpaper was mostly pink. On the west side stood a long sofa, and on the east, a TV cabinet and bookshelf. A coffee table sat in the middle, and scattered around were plush toys and dolls—clearly Dale’s.

Eva asked Wang Bo what he wanted to drink. Wang Bo politely said water was fine. Bowen asked if there was any coffee. Dale overheard and eagerly volunteered to fetch cups and make some coffee.

“My little sister seems to like you,” Eva said with a gentle smile.

Seeing her smile, Wang Bo’s heart skipped a beat. “She’s great—Dale is a really adorable kid. I like her too.”

Dale started making coffee, poured a glass of cold water for Wang Bo, and walked over. “Brother, have some water.”

“Where’s your manners?” Eva lightly frowned, her tone slightly stern.

Dale blinked, set the cup down again, and corrected herself: “Uncle, have some water.”

Wang Bo quickly smiled. “No, no, just call me brother—really, that’s polite enough.”

Eva said, “No, she should say please!”

Wang Bo froze for a moment, then awkwardly said, “Please call me brother?”

Eva burst out laughing. “I was talking to Dale, not you. Dale, when you speak to your brother, you should say please.”

“Oh…” Dale reluctantly agreed. She pouted her chubby lips and said, “Please, brother, have some water.”

Soon the coffee was ready. Dale toddled over with her short little legs, carefully carrying the cup with both hands like a waddling penguin.

She set the coffee down, patted her chest proudly, and said, “Brother, please have some coffee.”

The cowboy was quite satisfied with her politeness. He took the cup and sipped twice. Dale looked at him expectantly. “Well? Is it good?”

Bowen’s mischievous side surfaced again. He winked at Wang Bo and Eva, signaling he was about to mess with her. Then he put on a drowsy expression, groaned, and said, “It’s good… but… but what did you put in it? Why… do I feel… so… dizzy…”

As he spoke, he pretended to collapse onto the couch.