HLM -Chapter 1279 Coral Relocation

After reviewing the relevant materials, Wang Bo said, “From a safety standpoint, joining the breast milk bank is fine.”

Eva nodded. “Yes, it’s essentially a national institution, part of a public hospital under the New Zealand Ministry of Health. Its safety is absolutely reliable, don’t worry. I just want to make a deposit—I feel it’s something I should do.”

The “deposit” in a breast milk bank refers to mothers who are loving and able to produce excess milk. They donate their breast milk to the hospital to help premature or sick infants, boosting their immunity.

Wang Bo still hesitated. “Honey, but I just looked into it, and operating a breast milk bank isn’t that simple.”

“It’s not just about collecting, sterilizing, and storing breast milk in bottles, then giving a bottle to whoever needs it. This is human milk, not cow’s milk,” Eva said with a slight smile.

“I know,” she continued. “I’m aware of all that, but I’m willing to go through the tests and screenings. I have no problem with that. Honey, giving someone a rose leaves a lingering fragrance on your hand, doesn’t it?”

Indeed, it was a good deed. The main beneficiaries of breast milk banks are mothers with serious medical conditions affecting childbirth.

For example, in neonatal intensive care units, premature or sick infants whose mothers cannot produce milk may receive milk from another mother of a similarly aged child, using her surplus milk to support the fragile new life.

Eva’s mention of multiple checks referred to the rigorous screening a donor mother must pass before her milk can enter the donation process. The donated milk is pasteurized using specialized high-temperature equipment, then packaged into small bottles, labeled, and fed to the matching infants.

Seeing Eva’s hopeful expression, Wang Bo smiled. Holding his wife’s hand, he said, “I love you and respect your choice, especially for something like this. You’re right—giving a rose leaves its fragrance behind.”

After the snowfall, the temperature dropped sharply.

The freshwater corals in the lake were not doing well. After all, they were tropical and subtropical species—spring, summer, and autumn were fine, but winter posed real survival challenges.

Fisheries experts in New Zealand were anxious, particularly those at Lincoln University. With the branch campus being built, they had already claimed Sunset Town as their own territory. Naturally, the corals within their territory were considered their own as well.

Professor Sandra Angus arrived at the office and pulled Wang Bo, who was applying for Eva’s breast milk bank membership, away from his computer. “Mayor, what are you still doing on the computer at this hour?”

Wang Bo said, “I’m writing an application, not playing games.”

Sandra immediately reacted, “You often play games during work hours?”

Wang Bo did often play games, but not this time—and Sandra wasn’t from the disciplinary department or the media, so he had no need to worry. He waved his hand. “Forget that. Why are you in such a hurry? Is someone attacking Sunset Town?”

“Worse,” Sandra said. “According to our monitoring, the activity level of the freshwater coral colony has dropped to its lowest point. At this rate, they could die!”

Wang Bo was confident in the Lake Heart, which had already reached level three; on the simulation board, the entire lake was emerald green.

But the Lake Heart was not omnipotent. Corals living there still followed the laws of nature. Birth, growth, aging, and death were inevitable. If the temperature dropped too low, the corals could freeze and die.

Wang Bo couldn’t let that happen. Freshwater corals were almost a trademark of Sunset Town, attracting many tourists.

Moreover, after the freshwater corals appeared, Hawia Lake’s reputation skyrocketed, becoming one of New Zealand’s most famous lakes. The biodiversity also increased, with small fish, shrimp, and crabs thriving among the coral clusters.

The group set out by boat. Wang Bo checked the coral clusters on the simulation board and found little change. He didn’t know how the experts monitored them, yet they claimed to detect activity levels.

He asked Sandra. The old professor rattled off a slew of professional jargon that left Wang Bo puzzled; all he could grasp was that the coral polyps’ activity had significantly decreased.

Arriving at the coral area, they had to dive to observe closely. Sandra was very excited and was already changing into a wetsuit after taking off her suit jacket.

Wang Bo quickly stopped her. “I’ll dive myself.”

The old professor shook her head. “What use is it if you go down? What do you know?”

“I know a lot. The problem is the water temperature is too low, reducing coral activity, right?” Wang Bo asked.

“Yes, simply put… though it’s actually more complex. The temperature change slightly affects the water’s pH, and the coral polyps are extremely sensitive…”

Seeing Sandra about to launch into another long explanation, Wang Bo raised his hand. “OK, OK, I get it. So if we move the coral clusters to a warmer environment, they’ll regain vitality?”

“How can we move them?” Sandra said in dismay.

Wang Bo pointed to the shore. “There’s a warm-water lake beach. Have you been there? The water is much warmer, with geothermal support. Even if other parts freeze, the warm-water area stays comfortable.”

The professor reacted quickly. “Wait—you want to relocate them?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Wang Bo shrugged. He knew the coral polyps’ situation best, having brought them from elsewhere.

The professor shook her head like a rattle: “No, no, no! Who knows what will happen if we move them? What if they die?”

“We can’t act recklessly. Who takes responsibility for their life or death? These corals are a precious resource for all humanity.”

“How about installing a heater around the coral colony? I mean, lay heating pipes nearby.”

“Good idea, good idea,” Wang Bo rolled his eyes. “Good idea my foot—laying pipes in the lake? That’s a waste of resources! And how much would it cost? I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Our university has it!” an expert immediately shouted.

Wang Bo waved them off. “Listen, let’s use a scientific method. Pick a coral cluster, move it to the warm-water lake, and observe its condition. Agreed?”

“No, no cluster can be risked—they’re too valuable!” Sandra said passionately.

Seeing reason was useless, Wang Bo said, “Either they freeze to death or take the risk. I’ll take the risk. As the mayor, I choose to move them. There’s a Chinese saying for you: ‘Move a tree, it dies; move a person, they live. Move a tree, it dies; move a coral, it lives!’”

He spoke while putting on his wetsuit. Without waiting for the old academics’ reactions, he jumped into the water with a splash.