HLM – Chapter 914 Jealousy

He called Bartier. Bartier had just taken his son home for the usual family gathering during Christmas, then sent him back to town and continued managing the fund accounts.

Wang Bo asked about the money. Bartier said that the international financial environment was unstable, and some big players from Wall Street had joined their group, so the profits had exceeded expectations.

Also, the money Wang Bo saw in the account was just the main portion—there were other funds not yet deposited, part of which belonged to him, roughly fifty million dollars.

In other words, out of the 250 million, they had earned 150 million for him!

However, the fund had mostly run its course, and the final yield was expected to reach around 80%. Another fifty million could still be earned before they would have to stop and dissolve the fund.

Wang Bo couldn’t help but exclaim, “Amazing, bro! You guys are basically printing money!”

Bartier laughed. “See, you’re overreacting. This harvest is just… decent. I once participated in a Thai baht shorting scheme, and in only two months, the profit reached 300%!”

Wang Bo gasped. A 300% profit? That meant if he invested 250 million, he could end up with a billion! That kind of return was terrifying.

After hanging up, he remained excited for a long time. No wonder people said that industry could ruin a country, while the stock market could make it prosper. He had never understood stocks and had never played the market, but after seeing this fund operation, he realized just how frighteningly profitable it could be.

Making money was addictive. You could mortgage a gold mine, do nothing, and still earn 200 million dollars. Wang Bo’s mind started itching.

He paced around his office, drank a cup of coffee, a bottle of lemon soda, and decided to call Bartier again.

Bartier asked curiously, “Anything else?”

Swallowing hard, Wang Bo said, “Buddy, after this operation, is there another project? I’ve got fifty million on hand. Let’s make it five hundred million and earn another round!”

Bartier paused, then said, “Wang, what you need to do now is grab a fishing rod and sit quietly by Lake Hawaii until evening. Then we’ll talk again.”

With that, the call ended. Wang Bo didn’t understand him, blinked in confusion, and tried to call back—but the phone was off.

The lure of money made him restless; how could he sit still?

Unable to stay in the office, he followed Bartier’s advice and went fishing at the lake.

The yacht reached the center of the lake. Wang Bo cast his line and looked at the sparkling green water. “Malop, look at the color of this lake. It’s green.”

“Yes,” Malop replied.

Wang Bo said, “Looks just like U.S. dollars! You’ve seen dollars, right? That green is just beautiful!”

Malop, unaware of his train of thought, explained, “The lake appears green because of how light is absorbed. You see, at different depths, light wavelengths are absorbed or reflected differently, which changes the color…”

Wang Bo had no interest in his scientific lecture. He wasn’t reading National Geographic. Right now, only the color of dollars mattered to him.

He had been fishing for a while with no bites. Thinking it was unusual, he reeled in his line—and then realized he had forgotten to attach bait!

The allure of money had clouded his mind, even for someone used to spending freely like him.

Fishing, though, was a relaxing activity, and it offered consistent, if small, rewards. Compared to hundreds of millions, it was negligible—but humans always focused better when immediate results were possible.

For Wang Bo, this principle worked especially well due to his strong small-farmer mentality.

Sitting under a sunshade, he caught a bucketful of fish, drained his phone’s battery playing with it, and as the weather cooled, the sun began to set.

January was late summer in New Zealand. February would bring autumn. The weather had been stifling at New Year, but in just a week, it had cooled considerably.

Taking advantage of the mild sun and mountain breeze, Wang Bo played with Little Wang and Zhuang Ding on the lakeshore.

Eva drove over. Dale cried, “Teacher, why didn’t you pick me up from school?”

Wang Bo looked at the sun. “It’s getting dark already?”

Eva scolded, “What’s wrong with you? Of course it’s getting dark! I waited at the school gate, thinking you were working overtime, and here you are playing.”

Back in the car, Wang Bo explained why he had come to the lake that day.

Hearing that an investment in a gold mine had generated two hundred million, Eva—who had never cared much about money—was shocked. “Oh my god, money is this easy to make now?”

Wang Bo said, “It feels almost dreamlike. I have a video call with Bartier tonight to confirm.”

After dinner, Bartier called via video. He chatted briefly with his son, then promised to return soon.

During the conversation with Wang Bo, he asked, “So, Mayor, do you still want to invest in another fund?”

Wang Bo said, “Honestly, buddy, I really want to! Making this much money without doing anything—you know how much this is? Sunset Town hasn’t earned this much in the past three years!”

The largest sum he had received before came from the antique auction.

Bartier said, “Looks like you fished too briefly and your brain hasn’t caught up. That’s normal. When I made my first profit in the financial market, I reacted the same way, rushing to invest all my money in the second round.”

“And then? Principal plus interest, all devoured by the market!” He laughed self-deprecatingly. “Gradually, I learned that to make money, you first have to control your desires. You have to do the same!”

Wang Bo said, “I thought you always made huge profits.”

Bartier laughed heartily. “If that were true, why would I manage banks? I could just be a free investor!”

“In fact, we made this profit with great risk. Remember at the start, when you called me, I always seemed exhausted? That’s because we were ambushed at first. If Wall Street hadn’t joined, our partnership might have ended long ago.”

At this point, Wang Bo saw a rare expression of helpless fear on the domineering CEO’s face.

Bartier finally warned, “After this fund operation, I won’t touch the market for at least a year. I’m satisfied!”

Wang Bo sighed. “I’m satisfied too… I just got carried away this afternoon.”