HLM – Chapter 876 Impression of Sunset Town

Some people indeed came to ask Wang Bo about it. He shrugged and said, “Of course, Lake Hāwea has abundant fishery resources, so it’s perfectly normal to catch them easily.”

Everyone has pride, especially Kaplan’s group, who saw themselves as social elites. They could not tolerate having their achievements dismissed.

The deputy general manager named Kaminski said, “That’s impossible! If that were true, then Lake Hāwea would be a paradise for anglers. It should already be famous throughout New Zealand!”

Wang Bo had been waiting for someone to say this. He wanted to take the opportunity to set up a bet—pick a random person to compete with them in a fishing contest, with the luxury bus as the wager.

Just as he was about to bring it up, Kaplan stopped Kaminski and the others. Smiling, he said, “Sunset Town and Lake Hāwea have long been famous across New Zealand. Even those brainless fools in Australia know about it.”

After he said this, the whole group burst into laughter.

New Zealanders are very proud of their country. But it is small—and unfortunately, its neighbor Australia is a big country. Even more unfortunately, the most famous place in Oceania is Australia.

As a result, many foreigners don’t understand New Zealand at all and think it’s part of Australia. New Zealanders absolutely hate this misconception.

But because this belief is widespread and scattered, they can’t effectively correct it—so they target Australia instead.

Coincidentally, Australians don’t think highly of New Zealanders either. New Zealanders think Australians are reckless and ill-mannered, while Australians think New Zealanders are backward, inbred, and childish hillbillies.

Both countries have jokes targeting each other.

Australians ask: Why is New Zealand’s crime-solving rate so low?

The answer: Because New Zealanders are products of inbreeding—everyone has the same DNA, so modern forensic tools are useless.

Similarly, New Zealanders have a joke: What’s the difference between Australia and yogurt? 

The answer: One of them is essential for life.

That was why everyone laughed when Kaplan made a malicious joke at Australians’ expense.

Wang Bo felt a bit awkward and said, “Isn’t that a little discriminatory toward Australians?”

Kaplan replied confidently, “How could it be? You think calling Australians fools is an insult? No, that’s the truth. I’ll tell you a fable if you don’t believe me.”

“A Fijian, an Australian, and a New Zealander were caught smuggling rum into an Arab country. They were sentenced to death, but it was later reduced to life imprisonment.

“Then, on the king’s birthday, they received amnesty. They could be released after being whipped twenty times. The king allowed each of them to make one request before the punishment.”

Kaplan looked at Wang Bo and asked, “Can you guess what the Fijian asked for?”

Wang Bo shrugged. “I guess he asked for anesthesia.”

Kaplan laughed. “No, he asked to have a pillow tied to the place where he’d be whipped. As you know, whipping is extremely severe. After five lashes, the pillow broke apart.”

He continued, “Next was the Australian. Guess what he asked for?”

Wang Bo really didn’t want to play this childish guessing game, but he had to entertain the guests. He guessed, “He asked for anesthesia this time?”

Kaplan smirked. “Australians aren’t smart enough to ask for that. No—he asked for two pillows!”

“After ten lashes, the pillows tore apart too, and the Australian was screaming miserably.”

Wang Bo laughed helplessly. Kaplan clearly had strong opinions about Australians.

“Lastly, the New Zealander. He made two requests. First, he asked to receive forty lashes. Do you know what the second request was?”

Wang Bo recalled a similar joke and said, “He must have told the king to tie the Australian to his back for the lashes!”

Kaplan looked at him in surprise. “Wow, you’re a clever one. That’s exactly what he said! Hahaha!”

Wang Bo could only smile weakly.

The group caught a large number of fish, shrimp, and crabs—enough to make lunch.

Wang Bo sent them to Kobe’s restaurant, where they enjoyed dishes prepared by a top chef.

The fish, shrimp, and crabs from Lake Hāwea were known as one of Sunset’s Four Delicacies—not that he was bragging. Tourists genuinely used that term now.

The town’s Four Delicacies were:
– the beef and lamb from the ranch,
– the fish, shrimp, and crabs from Lake Hāwea,
– the vegetables from the garden,
– and the coffee from Qin Café.

Eva had once told Wang Bo that first impressions are formed during the initial encounter. In other words, Kaplan’s group would form their impression of Sunset Town on their first day.

So in the afternoon, he took them into the Glowworm Cave.

Before entering, he said deliberately, “This is the tourism project our town is about to launch—our treasure. After you see it, please evaluate the impact it could bring to our town!”

The glowworm cave was no longer the same as before. Wang Bo had arranged for inspection, renovation, and protection.

For example, deep inside the cave was an underground lake—well, more like a water pool, since it was less than ten acres. Now, small cold-light rafts were placed on the water. Visitors could board them and enjoy the experience on the surface of the lake.

Before entering the cave, Wang Bo confiscated everyone’s phones and cameras and instructed the children sternly not to shout inside.

His mysterious behavior piqued the group’s curiosity—and annoyed a few who thought he was being dramatic.

But when they entered the cave and saw the dazzling, galaxy-like glowworms, no one complained again. Everyone was stunned.

Just as Wang Bo expected, some people instinctively reached for cameras, while someone gasped, “My God, I’m standing under the stars!”

When they boarded the rafts and drifted across the water, the view changed again. Kaplan exclaimed, “I feel like we’re within the starry sky—I’m part of it. This is too dreamy! I dreamed of this countless times as a child. Today, my dream finally came true!”

The group stayed inside for more than an hour—even without any entertainment, with no topics of conversation. Staying that long was impressive.

After an hour, Wang Bo led them out of the Glowworm Cave. Almost everyone was reluctant to leave.

Kaplan said, “Let me go back in for a bit, mate. The past year has been too stressful. Before Christmas, let me stay in paradise and cleanse my soul!”