HLM – Chapter 121 The First Town Governing Committee Meeting

For the next two days, Wang Bo was quite busy. He brought along the antiques, as well as Charlie and Lawyer Muller, and boarded a helicopter with Adams’ group bound for Auckland. There, they went to the bank for notarization and handed the antiques over to Christie’s Auction House.

Since the town’s development was urgent and Wang Bo was in urgent need of funds, he decided not to wait for Christie’s larger autumn auction, which would still be about half a year away.

Adams reassured him that this wasn’t an issue. These antiques were valued at around 100 million New Zealand dollars. According to Christie’s regulations, they qualified for a special standalone auction. It would take at most a month to promote, and the auction could take place in early April.

After spending two days in Auckland, Wang Bo returned to the castle.

Compared to his last trip between these two locations, the scenery during this journey had changed somewhat. March marked the start of autumn on the South Island.

Though it was still early autumn and the weather remained hot, many of the plants on the Southern Alps had begun to take on a pale yellow hue, with some trees even turning a reddish-brown.

Looking down at the sea of red below, Wang Bo asked in surprise, “Are those maple trees? New Zealand has maple trees?”

Lawyer Muller replied, “Yes, New Zealand does have maple trees, although very few. That variety is called ‘Red Dragon’. It’s native to the Southern Alps and was developed in 1990. It grows quickly, has vibrant colors, and its leaves turn bright red in autumn.”

This maple forest was just a small scenic highlight along the way. Once the helicopter landed at the castle, Juan guy greeted Wang Bo with delight. “Boss, guess who’s here?”

Wang Bo glanced at a sulking Little Hani and immediately figured it out. “Hey, Auditor Hani’s here? That’s great news!”

Indeed, Hani had come—but not to the castle. He stayed in the town. When Wang Bo called to invite him over, Hani tactfully declined, saying, “Forget it, Mayor. As an Auditor, I think it’s better if I keep some distance from you.”

“That’s even better!” Little Hani huffed angrily.

Wang Bo glared at him. “That’s your father, kid. You better show him some respect, or I promise, your days here won’t be pleasant.”

Just then, a mysterious crane flew into the castle, a small fish clamped in its beak. As it passed through the inner courtyard, it lifted its tail and dropped a pile of poop with a splat.

Wang Bo’s rage meter soared. He yelled at the bird, “You damned bird! Swear on your damn crane ancestors, once you’re done laying eggs, I swear I’ll drive all of you out!”

Little Hani, sensing the mood, grabbed his broom and dustpan and said cleverly, “I’ll go clean it up, boss. You keep yelling…”

“What the f*ck kind of nonsense is this?”

Wang Bo then took his Land Cruiser to the town. Sunset Town had now taken shape. Along the midpoint of Highway 8, rows of small buildings had begun to rise.

Over fifty buildings had already been completed, and more than a dozen small vendors had moved in—Wang Bo had offered very low rental rates, and with Highway 8 full of business potential, the town was starting to attract attention.

Hani’s motorcycle was parked at the edge of town, in front of one small building. When Wang Bo and his crew arrived, he was sitting in the shade behind the building reading a book. At that moment, he didn’t look like a fierce Auditor at all. With his glasses on, he actually resembled a refined, mature gentleman.

Seeing Wang Bo, Hani forced a stiff smile and extended his hand. “Mayor, you’re finally back to work? I didn’t see you the past two days—I was considering whether I should report your absence.”

Wang Bo laughed heartily. “Carlisle, my man, you finally look like you’re living a real life. That was a well-timed joke.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

“Shit.”

Little Hani had been dragged here by force. Upon seeing his father, he crossed his arms and looked down, idly scraping the grass with his toes.

Wang Bo gave a signal to Bowen, who promptly smacked the back of Little Hani’s head. “Why are you looking down? Your dad’s standing in front of you, not buried in the ground!”

Little Hani sneered. “I wish he were already buried. Maybe then my mother could be happy and finally be with him again.”

Hearing this, Hani’s already furrowed brow twitched, and he, too, crossed his arms and looked down.

Wang Bo said to Little Hani, “Listen here, emo boy. I bet if he could switch places, your dad would rather be the one buried in the ground instead of your mother.”

“Hah.” The boy sneered with disdain.

“Don’t you get it? If it were your father who died, your mother would still have a son. But now, your father not only lost his wife—he’s also lost you, his son.”

Hani glanced at Wang Bo gratefully, then said hoarsely, “Mayor, are we going to have a meeting? I’ll go prepare the office. I’ve tidied up a room—it can serve as the town hall.”

Wang Bo was speechless. This Auditor really didn’t know how to be a father. Just as he was setting up an emotional moment, the guy dropped the ball and walked off…

Little Hani glared angrily at his father’s retreating back. Wang Bo patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t make that damn face. He just doesn’t know how to be a dad—it doesn’t mean he’s a bad one.”

Wang Bo had initially come to town just to receive Hani. Strictly speaking, Hani was the first truly valuable staff member for the town.

But now, he had no choice but to convene the first full staff meeting for the town’s administration. Hani had already finished preparing the office and was waiting for him.

Kobe, Charlie, Bowen, Juan, and Hani—five people sat in a room on the second floor. Wang Bo stood in front, while the others sat properly around him. It didn’t look like a meeting—more like a class.

Little Hani also wanted to join, but Hani frowned and said, “Non-staff are not allowed…”

“He’s now part of the town’s support staff,” Wang Bo quickly smoothed things over. “He counts as personnel too.”

So, Little Hani carried in a crate of bottled water and took on the role of water-distributor for everyone.

“What about this guy?” Hani looked at Kobe.

Wang Bo sighed. “He’s a volunteer. He’s in charge of our executive team’s meals.”

Hani nodded solemnly and finally stopped questioning everyone.

Wang Bo looked at the six people facing him and said, “Comrades, we now have seven people. That makes us a big leadership group—a ten-person committee…”

“Ten-person committee?” Bowen asked, puzzled.

Juan rolled his eyes. “You talk too much. The boss means, you round up seven and it becomes ten.”

Wang Bo gave him a look of approval. Regardless, he continued, “So, as a leadership team, our first priority is unity. We each have different roles—like keys on a keyboard, every key is unique and essential.”

“Interesting analogy,” Bowen teased. “Boss, which key do you think I am? Enter or spacebar?”

Wang Bo snapped, “I’m Enter. You’re F7.”

“What’s F7 for again?” Bowen asked, deflated.

“In DOS systems, it had a function. But in Windows, F7 does nothing,” Little Hani said after Googling on his phone.

Juan added, “DOS was phased out around 1995. Nobody uses it anymore.”

Charlie and Kobe burst out laughing, and even the ever-stoic Hani cracked a smile.