HLM – Chapter 89 The Pasture Guardian

Although Wang Bo had thrown the first punch, the young man’s side dropped the idea of suing him after facing Mueller the lawyer’s verbal onslaught. With that, the police mediated between both parties, and they went their separate ways.

Kobe looked utterly dejected. Sitting in the car with his face buried in his hands, he groaned,  “Oh God, what did I do wrong to deserve this punishment? My father’s legacy… this restaurant was his life’s work! And now, poof, gone with a single tweet!”

Charlie had already told Wang Bo about Kobe’s situation. Although Kobe often acted like he was rebelling against his father—he even shut down the restaurant and ran off to Asia earlier this year—their father-son bond was actually very deep. Raised by a single father, Kobe had grown up under his father’s care.

Wang Bo handed him a cigarette and said, “Isn’t there any way to salvage the situation? Like maybe talk to the review board or something?”

Bowen also chimed in curiously, “Yeah, this doesn’t make sense. Would the review board really revoke your restaurant’s rating just based on a complaint? What if it was a malicious setup on Twitter?”

Kobe didn’t explain. He just muttered, “There were other reasons,” and fell silent, smoking and gazing out the window with a gloomy look.

Charlie took him back to the castle and said, “Tonight let’s have some beers and reminisce about the good old days. That should cheer you up, yeah?”

Kobe sighed, “Sorry, Short Legs, I’m really not in the mood.”

“Well, I don’t care. Even if you’re not in the mood, you still have to talk to me!”

The imposing grandeur of the castle never failed to stun first-time visitors. In the dim moonlight, Kobe looked up in awe and exclaimed, “God, I never knew such a miraculous place was hiding right behind my restaurant!”

Zhuang Ding came dashing over, but Commander swooped down first and landed triumphantly on Wang Bo’s shoulder, proudly mocking: “Ah, ah! Slowpoke! So slow!”

Seeing the sharp-tongued parrot, Kobe’s curiosity was piqued. He reached out his chubby fingers to tease it, mimicking bird sounds, “Chirp chirp! Hey little guy, what’s your name?”

Commander gave him a disdainful look and said, “Ah, ah! Idiot! Dumbass, hopeless!”

Kobe looked confused. “What did it just say?”

Wang Bo chuckled awkwardly, “Uh, he said you’re handsome…”

“Ah, ah! Idiot!” Commander immediately switched to English and exposed Wang Bo’s white lie without mercy.

Kobe gasped, “Oh my God, your bird’s multilingual?!”

Wang Bo said awkwardly, “Just a few phrases.”

Commander opened his beak, ready to show off more, but Wang Bo shot him a stern glare. The bird huffed, flapped its wings, and grumbled, “Ah, ah! Hungry, hungry!”

Since Kobe was so upset, Wang Bo decided to handle dinner himself—no way he’d let Kobe cook in this mood. Opening the fridge, he found plenty of meat and vegetables. The veal that Motak had delivered was still untouched, perfect for a spicy boiled beef dish.

He sliced the meat and marinated it with starch, white wine, pepper, and salt. Before starting to cook, he opened the sandbox to check on the pasture.

The pasture was huge, with dense wild grass. Rabbits, pheasants, and opossums roamed freely. Wang Bo hoped to find some wild bird or pheasant eggs to make a dish.

But just as he zoomed in, a large bug suddenly leapt toward him, making him jump.

Wang Bo wasn’t easily scared, but this insect was enormous—about half the length of his palm—and its sudden appearance was quite startling.

It resembled an oversized grasshopper, with a brownish-gray exoskeleton, a fat belly, and powerful hind legs. Its tail curved slightly upward, giving it an almost valiant appearance.

On instinct, Wang Bo caught it for a closer look. Such a large grasshopper was rare. There were big ones back in his hometown too—locals called them “deng da shan” in dialect—but those were nothing compared to this.

He didn’t recognize the species, but its plump body gave him thoughts of deep-frying it. Still, uncertain if it was safe, he called Kobe over and asked, “Hey man, is this edible?”

Kobe glanced at it casually, but his eyes immediately widened. “Whoa, that’s a Giant Wētā! Where did you find this? My God, I’ve had enough shocks for one night! Short Legs, come look—this is a Giant Wētā!”

“What’s a Giant Wētā?” Wang Bo asked. Judging by Kobe’s reaction, this bug was clearly a rare find.

And it made sense. Ever since Wang Bo acquired the Heart of the Pasture, he monitored the land daily and had never seen such an insect.

Charlie rushed over. After taking a closer look, he was also stunned. “It really is a Giant Wētā? Wang, where on earth did you find this thing?”

Wang Bo lied, “I found it under a tree in the yard. What exactly is it?”

“This insect is called the Giant Wētā—arguably the largest insect species in the world. It’s nearly extinct and now only found on Little Barrier Island. I can’t believe some have survived here at the castle!”

Kobe added, “It’s a super-protected species in New Zealand. I saw the news—just this spring, the Auckland Zoo released 300 Giant Wētās into the wild to preserve their genetic diversity.”

Wang Bo asked, “Does it taste good deep-fried?”

“Are you insane?!”

“Kidding,” Wang Bo rolled his eyes at the two of them. “Still, you Kiwis are pretty weird. In our country, grasshoppers are pests. But here, they’re protected?”

Kobe explained, “They’re not the same. Grasshoppers are pests here too, but the Giant Wētā isn’t. It produces the largest insect feces in the world, which plays a crucial role in seed germination and plant growth. In short, if the Giant Wētā population can recover, New Zealand’s farms and pastures would thrive!”

Hearing this, Wang Bo quickly loosened his grip. Turns out this bug was beneficial to the pasture—he needed to protect it.

Thankfully, he hadn’t killed it, just kept it for show. Otherwise, he’d really regret it now.

At Kobe and Charlie’s insistence, Wang Bo agreed to release it. Outside the castle, he pretended to toss it into the grass, but in reality, he placed it back in the pasture.

He then continued exploring and discovered several more Giant Wētās. They weren’t social creatures and lived alone. The biggest one he found was over ten centimeters long—almost the size of a rat. It was shocking!

Besides discovering this beneficial insect, Wang Bo achieved his other goal: he found over a dozen nests of pheasant eggs.

After collecting the eggs, he went online to look up more info on the Giant Wētā.

No wonder it was so valuable. It was a “living fossil,” just like the giant panda. Its lineage goes back over 200 million years, and in all that time, it had barely evolved, retaining its primitive physical traits.

As Kobe had said, the Giant Wētā was a boon to the pasture. Not only did its droppings nourish the grass, but it also protected the pasture by bravely fighting off rodents.