HLM -Chapter 1137 Sunset Town Library

Wang Bo was a smart man, and he had always thought so.

Using personal connections, designing campus layouts—these were external forces. To attract the Golden Phoenix, you still needed the right “phoenix tree” at home. To make Lincoln University choose Sunset Town as a branch location, the town itself had to have something extraordinary.

He had many friends in the media, and soon he mobilized them to start promoting Sunset Town’s rare animals, fish, and birds.

Creatures like the dwarf beast were already well-known, but little guys like the Dutz lungfish and blue duck were still obscure and needed to be publicized.

There was also the family of black-necked cranes. Their numbers had grown to twelve, and they occasionally appeared above Lake Hawia. Their graceful presence attracted many tourists—they were a selling point as well.

Since New Zealand has no native cranes, this family of black-necked cranes was valuable. Where did they come from? How did they live in New Zealand? All of this information was worth studying.

What else was needed to attract a university? Scientific research and cultural depth.

Wang Bo had an “academic heart” at his disposal, but he didn’t know how to use it. Elizabeth suggested an idea: build a library.

It was a good idea. Even if the university didn’t come, Sunset Town needed a library.

Kidd was full of praise for the proposal: “Everything in our town is great, but I always felt something was missing. Now I know—we lack cultural depth. We have attractions and money, but that’s not enough.”

Hani shook his head: “That flattery doesn’t sound good. If a university comes, it will certainly bring a library. In that case, Boss, you might as well promise to donate a library to Lincoln University.”

Charlie agreed: “Exactly. If Lincoln University comes, it will bring a massive library. Wouldn’t that conflict with the town’s own library?”

Wang Bo realized this was true, creating a paradox: If Sunset Town has a library, it could attract the university. But if the university comes, it would bring an even bigger library…

As they debated this dilemma with troubled expressions, Atulu walked by humming a tune and asked, “What’s going on?”

Kidd glanced at him: “None of your business.”

Atulu said, “If it’s about the town, it concerns me. This town is my home. Everyone loves me, right? Come on, guys, tell me what’s happening.”

“It’s a tricky problem, but your brain won’t help. Oh, sorry—I shouldn’t insult you. You don’t have a brain.” Kidd said.

Atulu had a good temper and just laughed off the over-the-top joke.

Wang Bo, however, frowned: “Kidd, watch your attitude toward Atulu.”

Kidd, hot-blooded and impulsive, quickly apologized: “Sorry, buddy. You know I’m just a foul-mouthed jerk.”

Atulu chuckled: “Just treat me to a meal and we’re square.”

Kidd grimaced: “Can we wait until after payday? Christmas is coming, and I’ve overspent on gifts. I wanted to buy a bicycle, but… oh, shoot! Boss, I got it!”

“Hoo-boy, what did you think of?” Hani rolled his eyes.

Kidd said, “HP, Boss—HP! We can solve this through the HP market.”

“What’s HP? Don’t give me an abbreviation. Give me the full name.” Wang Bo wasn’t familiar with many New Zealand-specific things.

“Hire Purchase—HP, the leasing market. He means we can get a batch of bookshelves and books from the hire-purchase market. It’s a good idea.” Hani’s eyes lit up.

In New Zealand, sometimes buyers don’t have enough cash to make purchases (“insufficient cash flow”), or they want to “try before buying,” paying a small amount first to test the product before committing to full payment.

This is where the hire-purchase market comes in.

Wang Bo smiled wryly: “You mean renting a batch of books? Where do we rent books? Don’t tell me publishers or libraries do this business.”

Kidd shook his head: “No, it’s not renting—it’s hire purchase.”

In New Zealand, hire purchase isn’t renting in the usual sense. It’s a form of credit shopping: the buyer can acquire the goods with installment payments and officially owns them after paying off the total price.

Typically, the seller arranges for a financial institution, like a bank, to purchase the goods for the buyer. The buyer signs a hire-purchase contract, specifying installment payments over a set period. During this period, the buyer uses the goods but doesn’t own them. After the term ends, the buyer can choose to purchase the goods at the agreed price, gaining ownership once fully paid.

The contract specifies the initial payment, each installment, and the total number of payments. Some goods have interest-free installments, while others require interest.

Fortunately, books are interest-free hire-purchase items. As long as they aren’t damaged, no payments are required during the rental period—a government-supported way to encourage reading.

Now, this socially beneficial method would be used by Wang Bo for his own purposes.

Amazon’s New Zealand online store offered this service, allowing bulk books to be purchased in installments.

Wang Bo chose a few completed but unused buildings, cleaned them up, and hung library signs. Thus, Sunset Town’s library was established.

For the next afternoon, his team practiced acquiring books from Amazon. A large number of books were purchased, initially paying only 20% of the total cost.

Wang Bo always thought antique and art collecting was the most expensive hobby, but buying books could burn money just as quickly.

Building a library required massive numbers of books. They selected one million books, totaling over 25 million NZD, but Wang Bo only needed to pay 5 million upfront. These books would stay in Sunset Town for a quarter.

A quarter was enough time to decide Lincoln University’s new branch location.

Soon, Amazon delivery trucks began arriving continuously in Sunset Town. They even supplied bookshelves, making Wang Bo feel the expense was worth it.

However, paper books in New Zealand weren’t cheap. In China, children’s books cost around ten yuan, and science books twenty yuan. Here, even the cheapest books started at twenty NZD.

Since Wang Bo was buying in bulk, he got significant discounts; otherwise, one million books might have cost over forty million NZD.

Upon learning the town was building a library, the townspeople enthusiastically donated books, adding over twenty thousand more to the collection.