HLM – Chapter 848 The Stables Are Built

Wang Bo had indeed never considered such a thing. The carpenter further explained: “On the way, I met a very enthusiastic police officer who thought I was a tourist, and he guided me to see the herds of horses, deer, and even large lizards.”

“But that area has thick grass and lots of trees. I realized it would be very difficult for tourists to move around in there. In fact, they don’t need to move at all. With observation decks, they can just stay on top and watch through binoculars—comfortable and safe.”

Wang Bo looked at the design drawings. On the paper, he roughly sketched a structure resembling an ancient Chinese bronze tripod, with curved supports underneath and railings on top.

“The upper part can be square, circular, oval, or even triangular. The supports can be designed as animal legs, wooden pillars, or cylindrical shapes. Different observation decks will have different appearances—it will be very beautiful.”

Wang Bo rubbed his chin, then nodded: “I think you’ve found a good idea. Let’s do it. You handle the wood purchase and just give me the bill later. As for the labor cost, how much was it for you before?”

The Serbian carpenter, honest as ever, replied: “I wanted this to be a gift for the town, so the labor fee can be waived as long as you provide the wood.”

Wang Bo never fussed over money. He said: “Think of another gift for the town. This project is too large. You may have only planned to make a few, but I’ve thought it over—I want to build fifty observation decks for the wildlife park.”

“Wildlife park?” the carpenter asked curiously.

Wang Bo realized he had spoken too quickly and quickly explained: “Oh, it’s a scenic area. Since there are many animals, I named it the wildlife park.”

The carpenter thought for a moment and said, “Calling it a zoo might also work.”

Wang Bo called over Kidd and entrusted him with the project. The labor cost would follow New Zealand’s standard, piecework-based pricing—1,500 per observation deck.

A double blessing arrived in the afternoon when the president called him: “Hi, Wang, how have you been? Did the tropical cyclone cause major damage to the town?”

This was a sad topic. Wang Bo sighed: “The losses are severe. It’s already a scar in my heart. You really shouldn’t have brought it up.”

The president laughed heartily: “Hahaha, but I did it on purpose. I think you’re a strong warrior. The town only lost some buildings in the disaster. Rebuilding is all it takes, right?”

Wang Bo replied: “You’re mistaken. I’m not a warrior. Rebuilding? That’s easy for you to say! Doesn’t it cost money?!”

“I know it costs money, which is why I brought it up on purpose. You’ve made a big sum recently—the fund had its first success on the international stage. Your 250 million investment yielded about 14 million.”

Wang Bo perked up. That’s quite a return.

“This is only the initial stage, so the yield is still a bit low. It will increase over time,” the president said confidently. “Think about it: should the profits be reinvested in the fund or withdrawn?”

Wang Bo had money on hand, and the ranch would soon produce another batch of cattle and sheep. He wasn’t short on funds, so he decided to reinvest in the fund.

However, his money was rapidly decreasing. The town had many construction projects, and naturally, there were many expenses.

In early December, the stables supervised by Malong were finally built, and the horse-riding grounds would start later.

Building a horse ranch was expensive. Wang Bo hesitated a bit, as he wasn’t particularly interested in horse racing.

Previously, he had learned that horse ranches require hundreds of acres of land and various tracks: sand tracks for training, grass tracks for hobby riding, rubber tracks, and water tracks.

Additionally, multiple training rings must be built, obstacle training and competition grounds, small stands, and various equestrian facilities.

For a town like Sunset Town, the horse ranch couldn’t just be for training—it should also be accessible to tourists.

Then the project scope expanded even further: visitor reception rooms, tea rooms, restaurants, game rooms, lounges, screening rooms, multifunction halls, and so on…

Thinking further made Wang Bo’s head ache.

New Zealand has the most developed and advanced horse breeding system in the world, and stables are a crucial part of that system.

For horses, the stable’s construction, location, and ancillary facilities are extremely important. When building stables, one must consider terrain, surrounding environment, wind direction, water source, drainage, disease prevention, and traffic.

But that’s all the considerations needed. Though New Zealand’s secondary industry isn’t large, it is very developed. Houses use modular construction, and stables can use similar methods.

The stables were located on the edge of the wildlife park. Wang Bo chose this spot to attract wild horses without disturbing them and to allow for future expansion of the ranch.

The ranch wouldn’t be much smaller than the wildlife park; he couldn’t let it encroach on the park’s land.

Of course, he also chose this location because the terrain was flat, ideal for construction.

Wang Bo knew that a good location is crucial for designing and building stables, ensuring easy management and providing a safe, comfortable environment for the horses.

When choosing the site, he consulted Malong and hired equestrian experts from Auckland. Their unanimous advice: the stable should be dry, flat with a slight slope, sheltered and sunny in winter, facing prevailing winds in summer, and avoid direct sunlight.

Now, more than ten stables had been built along the edge of the wildlife park, made of beautiful walnut wood and coated with sunproof varnish, gleaming under the sunlight.

The new stables varied in style: in addition to traditional stables, there were American-style barn buildings. New Zealanders prefer to raise horses as naturally as possible.

As seen on TV, the stables had rows of horse stalls with a passage opposite, accommodating more than ten horses.

There were partitioned stalls. Wang Bo saw the first one, and Malong explained: “This is for pregnant mares or sick horses. If a horse coughs, falls ill, or contracts a contagious skin disease, we must isolate it from healthy horses.”

Outside the stables, there was a storage room for hay, carrots, tack, and other supplies.

At the center of the stable complex, there was a washroom.

As the name suggests, the washroom is for cleaning the horses. It is equipped with hot and cold running water, infrared drying lamps, and rubber non-slip floors.

Seeing Wang Bo’s interest, Malong said: “If you like, we can continue expanding—adding a horseshoe brushing area, trimming room, and grooming room, and so on.”