HLM -Chapter 1118 That Year’s Sheep Oil

If the farm were only going to serve the ranch, it would be a waste of this Level-2 Farm Heart. So Wang Bo primarily focused on growing crops that humans could eat.

Not only crops—he also wanted to plant fruit trees. Although this was only a Farm Heart, New Zealand farms often had blocks of orchards, so he figured the Farm Heart should be able to cover that too.

The main problem was that he had never drawn a Fruit Grove Heart or Orchard Heart, so the town’s fruits were always purchased from outside. This annoyed him greatly.

A successful super small town should be self-sufficient.

Wheat, barley, oats, and brewing barley—all of these Wang Bo intended to plant.

However, the first batch would still focus on corn—not just green corn, but also sweet corn and yellow corn.

He revised the plan and returned it to Motak, who, after a single glance, looked puzzled. “Boss, planting corn is fine, but why also plant fruit? Especially white cherries?!”

Yes, Wang Bo wanted to plant cherry trees, one of New Zealand’s most profitable fruits.

New Zealand white cherries are world-famous. No matter the country, including New Zealand itself, white cherries command high prices.

This is mainly because white cherries have a low yield and, being sweet and crisp, their skin is delicate. They are easily damaged during picking and transportation, which affects appearance and thus price.

As a result, undamaged, plump New Zealand white cherries can be sold by the piece in some countries and regions. For such small fruits, pricing by the piece highlights just how valuable they are.

New Zealanders and Australians love indulgence and have strong purchasing power. Most premium white cherries are consumed domestically. If the cherries can be kept in perfect condition and sold abroad, the profits are astonishing.

Moreover, since the northern and southern hemispheres have opposite seasons, New Zealand white cherries hit the market just when many northern countries have little fruit available, further increasing their value.

When Wang Bo checked online for fresh fruit prices, he found that white cherries could sell for $50 per pound in the U.S., and the best Rainier cherries could reach hundreds of dollars per pound!

This was an incredibly lucrative business.

For selecting white cherry varieties, Wang Bo chose Rainier.

Within New Zealand, there are several minor white cherry varieties, with Rainier being the best.

This variety has a history of over 60 years. It was first developed in 1952 by Harold Fogle at the University of Washington and named after the Rainier Mountains. The cherries have thin skin, large fruit, sweet flavor, full flesh, and a smooth texture.

Like kiwifruit, Rainier cherries are an immigrant fruit. After being introduced to New Zealand, they developed a unique quality under the distinctive natural conditions of Otago in the South Island.

Sunset Town is also located in the Otago region. With its high latitude, nutrient-rich soil, strong sunlight, and large day-night temperature differences, it is perfect for growing Rainier cherries.

Thus, planting white cherries in Sunset Town was entirely natural. Motak shouldn’t have looked so puzzled.

Wang Bo asked, “Yes, I want to plant white cherries. What’s the problem?”

Motak forced a smile. “Boss, white cherries are hard to grow. The trees are prone to disease, the cherries are delicious and easily damaged by birds and insects, so protecting them is extremely difficult.”

Indeed, this scarcity is why white cherries are so prized. Otherwise, with such delicious fruit and high prices, New Zealand farmers would have rushed to grow them long ago.

New Zealand fruits are pesticide-free by tradition and regulation. Many people eat fruits directly without washing, so pesticide use could cause serious problems.

Given this, it’s easy to understand why insects can damage white cherries.

Additionally, New Zealand is full of wild birds, many of which know that white cherries are tasty and rely on them as a food source.

Cherries are small; once bitten by insects or pecked by birds, they are ruined. And when it comes to birds, farmers have little recourse.

Chinese farmers often use bird nets to protect crops, but in New Zealand, such tools are illegal and can result in severe penalties.

Wang Bo knew all this, yet he still wanted to plant white cherries. With a Farm Heart, what’s there to fear?

Seeing his insistence, Motak could only shrug and proceed.

Next came procurement. The company run by Juan had a supply department, and everything for Sunset Town was processed through the company.

Soon, various corn seedlings and white cherry saplings were delivered.

Interestingly, these seedlings came from MC Plant Breeding Ltd., the same supplier of ginseng seeds.

Unfortunately, this time there was no policy support; being Māori didn’t help. Last time, when buying ginseng, Atulu saved Wang Bo 35,000 NZD, and he paid less than 20,000 NZD for the seeds.

This shows how generous New Zealand’s government is toward the Māori, yet even with support, many still live at the bottom of society.

The farm’s construction began in full swing, and the ranch wasn’t idle either.

When Wang Bo invested in a slaughterhouse, he also built a small sheep oil extraction facility next to it, with two production lines.

Like white cherries, New Zealand sheep oil is also world-renowned.

Sheep oil from the South Island is especially prized: fine, smooth, moisturizing, gentle, and almost never allergenic.

Many people mistakenly think sheep oil comes from slaughtered meat or internal organs. This is completely wrong.

Sheep oil is refined from natural wool, so the cleaner and oilier the wool, the better and higher-quality the oil.

In the past few years, Sunset Town had accumulated a large stock of sheep wool. Now, in spring, it was time for one of the two annual shearings and ideal for sheep oil extraction.

Previously, the wool had been absorbed by local use, producing beautiful, warm wool sweaters.

Since last year, Wang Bo had been expanding the sheep population. This spring, there was enough wool for oil extraction.

Ironically, Wang Bo expanded the sheep herd primarily for sheep oil extraction, never expecting his wool to become so popular that tourists bought it as gifts.

He couldn’t waste the sheep oil production lines he invested in—they cost him 500,000 NZD—so he expanded the sheep production scale.