HLM – Chapter 989 The Commander and Political Commissar Join the Ranks

The group of cowboys was busy decorating the hills and preparing food. Wang Bo went back to find Qingyang, wanting him to make a plan to mobilize the townspeople to catch possum on the grasslands.

As he approached the office, he glanced through the window and saw Qingyang and Li Xing sitting side by side, facing the window toward the street, their backs to him.

“You’ve been away too long. You’ve forgotten some of my hobbies. Really, Xingye, my chrysanthemums are so itchy…”

That one sentence froze Wang Bo in place just as he was about to open the door.

“My chrysanthemums, so itchy!”

The phrase echoed repeatedly in his mind. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Could Qingyang be… gay? No wonder he was so old and still single!

And what did he mean by “some of my hobbies you’ve forgotten”? Had these two gotten together back in college?

Wang Bo started thinking: if he had brought Li Xing to Sunset Town, had he inadvertently played matchmaker? Had he helped this pair of scoundrels—no, wrong—these two guys get together?

Li Xing’s voice sounded: “What do you mean ‘you’ve been away too long and forgot’? Back in college, you kept saying ‘itchy, itchy, itchy’ every day, but did you ever…?”

Wang Bo racked his brain. Had Qingyang openly shown his orientation in college? Impossible—they shared a dorm with bunk beds…

At this thought, he quickly adjusted his waistband. Hopefully, Qingyang hadn’t done anything to him in college.

Qingyang said, “Back then, conditions didn’t allow it. Me doing it in the dorm? The others wouldn’t like it anyway.”

There were four people in their dorm. Wang Bo knew the other two had girlfriends in college—they certainly didn’t like same-sex antics.

“I don’t get why they didn’t like it. Wang Bo, he’s a refined person,” Li Xing shook his head.

Outside, Wang Bo nearly cried. Keeping his virginity until college graduation had been no small feat, and these two guys had apparently had designs on him all along.

“But I don’t like chrysanthemums. They’re hard to care for. I prefer cacti and succulents—they’re much easier to maintain.”

Wang Bo froze. He remembered that in college, Li Xing had kept several potted cacti in the dorm.

Peeking out the window, he saw a few thriving chrysanthemums by the window they were facing…

Wang Bo pushed the door open. The two turned, surprised. Now the chrysanthemums in front of them were even more exposed—blooming and fragrant. Li Xing held a small pot containing a lush green cactus.

Relieved, Wang Bo asked, “You two… haven’t… been… gay?”

The two thought he was joking. Li Xing said, “If we were doing it together, it wouldn’t be fun with just two people.”

Wang Bo waved his hands frantically. “No, no! I’m about to marry Eva. My body is for her. You two go ahead if you want, it’s fine. I’ll leave now.”

Li Xing and Qingyang exchanged a bewildered glance. “What’s this guy on about?”

Wang Bo went to find Kid and handed over this task to him.

Kidd asked, “If the townspeople help catch possum, what will they get in return?”

Wang Bo said, “How about one yuan per possum?”

“No, that’s not fun,” Hani beside him shook his head. “You should offer items. Trade possum for beer, toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc. That makes it more interesting.”

Wang Bo said, “Isn’t money better? People can buy whatever they want.”

Hani wagged a finger. “Boss, you have no grasp of economics or marketing. Let me teach you. From a sales psychology perspective…”

“OK, Mr. Inspector, I know you’re experienced and knowledgeable. I’m glad to have a subordinate like you. But I don’t need to learn everything you know—otherwise, why would I still need you?”

“I understand. I won’t explain the principles. Here’s my suggestion: set up a reward gradient. Catch one possum, get this reward; five possum, another reward; ten possum, yet another. With this gradient, people will be more motivated to participate,” Hani explained.

Wang Bo considered it and nodded. “Makes sense. You guys plan it then. Let’s say one possum is worth one yuan.”

“No need to go that high. Fifty cents is fair; people will be willing to participate for small rewards,” Hani advised.

Kidd submitted the activity funding approval form, Hani approved it, and Wang Bo signed it. The budget was 100,000 yuan. He wanted to first catch 200,000 possum.

Though this wasn’t a huge number relative to the vast grasslands—just on the ranch, Wang Bo estimated the wild possum population at over 500,000.

The first priority was still the kea parrots. Wang Bo brought the commander and political commissar with him.

At the edge of the hills, he pointed to the colorful forested area. “There’s a large flock of parrots in there. You know parrots, right?”

The commander sneered, “Ah, a bunch of idiots!”

The commissar was much more obedient. “Parrots… birds… parrots… commander and commissar.”

“Right. But they really are idiots. Can’t compare to you. That’s why I want you to lead the team. Understand? Lead the team—be the big boss.”

The commander continued to snort, “Ah, how shameful! Ah, the commander is mighty!”

The commissar looked a little confused, blinking at Wang Bo innocently. “Commissar obeys. Commissar always obeys.”

Kea parrots are extremely curious. Any new object draws their attention—they must figure it out, like this colorful forest.

Even without the decorations, they would still fly in. The Bird Nest Heart’s lure was powerful. The commander and commissar, possessing the Soul Heart, could not resist the attraction as they approached the trees. Flapping their wings, they flew inside.

These parrots had been lured by Peterson and the others using food, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs along the way.

The breadcrumbs were freshly baked, very aromatic, and extremely tempting to kea parrots. As soon as the front feet scattered them, the birds followed with their back feet.

Birds and beasts in New Zealand tend to be rather dull. Lucky for them, they hadn’t encountered the more aggressive American species, or they would have long been extinct.

Observing closely, Wang Bo understood why kea parrots were so disliked.

They didn’t grow very large—half a meter in length sounds big, but including tail feathers, their bodies were only slightly larger than crows.

In groups, they are noisy and quarrelsome. They fight over food, even when a large pile of crumbs is in front of them. Instead of eating peacefully, they attack each other, biting and squabbling.

Feeling the Bird Nest Heart’s pull, they either hop or fly headlong into the forest.