HLM -Chapter 1280 Town Hall Q&A with Voters

Compared with the air temperature on land, the water wasn’t cold at all. When Wang Bo first entered the lake, he even felt a warm sensation all over his body.

However, the second law of thermodynamics doesn’t lie: heat can spontaneously flow from a hotter object to a cooler one, but it can never flow spontaneously from a cooler object to a hotter one.

Compared with the lake water, Wang Bo’s body was the hotter object. Even with a wetsuit to provide insulation, some heat still escaped, and he could feel a slight chill.

In winter, sunlight isn’t strong enough to penetrate deeply, and the lake wasn’t particularly clear, so the bottom wasn’t easily visible from the surface.

He didn’t need to dive deep; simply submerging his head allowed the coral clusters on the lakebed to appear vaguely. The deeper he went, the clearer they became.

He couldn’t see any problems with the corals. They were still colorful and vibrant, with plenty of fish and shrimp darting through them. As soon as Wang Bo landed on the lakebed, a short-finned eel, startled, flicked its tail and disappeared into the depths.

He was the only person in the lake at the moment.

Back when he had first thrown in the coral stones, they had formed a long stretch; now it had turned into a vivid, colorful “oil painting” of the lakebed. The coral clusters rose and fell like tiny hills, full of brilliant hues—far more beautiful than grasslands or forests.

“Really beautiful,” he couldn’t help but sigh, exhaling bubbles. He quickly surfaced to breathe, since he wasn’t wearing an oxygen tank.

Breaking the surface, he wiped his face with lake water and said, “I just checked. The coral polyps seem a bit weak, but their vitality is intact. Let’s try moving them to the warmer waters near the shore.”

Sandra still looked concerned. “What if they can’t adapt to the water there?”

Wang Bo rolled his eyes. There’s no need to overthink this—how could they not adapt? The water quality is basically the same everywhere.

Seeing his reaction, the old professor guessed his thoughts and said in surprise, “Do you think the water quality is exactly the same throughout this lake?”

Wang Bo replied, “Maybe there are slight differences…”

“Not slight,” Sandra shook her head. “Damn it, you really don’t know!”

“The lakebed in certain areas has volcanic vents or fissures that release hot gases, warming the water and the sand. But they don’t just emit heat—they also release minerals, especially sulfur, iron, and phosphorus.”

Wang Bo said, “Don’t corals need sulfur and phosphorus to grow?”

Sandra shook her head. “They need only a little, not too much. It’s like feeding cows grass—they grow healthy, but too much and they’ll get sick.”

Wang Bo didn’t understand all the details, and honestly, he didn’t feel the need to worry in advance. He dove back into the water to check the corals again. Afterwards, he got out and began planning the coral relocation.

Many experts were involved in this task. Once the decision to relocate was made, he didn’t have to worry—these professionals would come up with an effective method.

Wang Bo was happy to leave the problem to them. The relocation of old buildings in Tahiti Town was still ongoing, and he needed to track that as well.

His plan against Robert had worked perfectly. The “glorious hero” surely didn’t get a happy ending, and he hadn’t appeared since, so the relocation work faced no further obstacles.

In July, the Wellington government introduced new regulations.

This was understandable—new officials often implement a few bold measures to make an impression. A new prime minister would naturally want to launch policies that pleased voters.

The new policy directly involved Wang Bo, as it targeted town governments. It stipulated that at either the end or beginning of each month, mayors must hold a Q&A session with voters to strengthen communication between elected officials and their constituents.

It was quite a clever move. Voters could actually supervise the person they had elected, interacting face-to-face every month, pointing out areas of dissatisfaction, or praising areas that were well done.

On the first weekend of August, Wang Bo deliberately worked overtime—normally voters were at work, so the sessions could only happen on weekends.

Elizabeth helped organize the event. The meeting room was filled early in the morning, clearly showing that people were interested in the new policy.

Wang Bo, fully dressed in a suit, tie, and polished shoes, with his hair neatly combed, took the stage and gave a bow. He knew the importance of being polite.

In practice, he had been overly cautious. New Zealanders were generally quite relaxed, and this event was no exception.

When he got on stage, the townspeople didn’t ask questions immediately. Instead, they started commenting on his attire:

“The mayor’s suit looks great—so well-fitted! Was it custom-made?”

“It’s his figure! Look at those chest muscles—he’s stretching the sweater so nicely. Makes one drool.”

“Why are you, a man, drooling?”

“Hey, can’t men drool over other men?”

Wang Bo loosened his tie slightly, and Elizabeth took the cue with a smile. “Sunset Town’s mayoral Q&A officially begins this July. Who would like to speak first?”

A hand went up. A woman called out, “Me.”

Wang Bo nodded. “Hello, ma’am. What would you like to know? Are there any areas of my work that you think need improvement?”

The woman said, “Mayor, you’re doing very well. The town’s welfare is excellent, and development prospects are promising. I’m proud of you. You’re leading Sunset Town on the right path—keep it up!”

Wang Bo’s heart leapt. She had come just to encourage him!

Indeed, he had been doing well as mayor. Several people after her also praised his diligence and hands-on leadership.

But many had concerns too. One man said, “Mayor, why can’t newcomers get houses now? Housing in Sunset Town is too expensive; we can’t afford it.”

Housing in Sunset Town was expensive? Wang Bo was puzzled.

Looking around, he saw many people nodding in agreement. He then whispered to Elizabeth, “Is housing really that expensive here?”

She shrugged. “It’s slightly higher than in Auckland. The median price in residential areas is around 520,000 NZD. Villas have sold out, and South Scotland Power District hasn’t started pre-sales, but prices will likely be even higher.”

Indeed, the prices weren’t low. Wang Bo hadn’t paid much attention before, not realizing his town’s real estate was taking off.

He had previously helped Zhang Rui and others buy property in Auckland, so he had some knowledge of those prices.

In July, Auckland’s median house price was 809,500 NZD, slightly down from June’s 820,000 NZD—a decrease of 1.3%. The average transaction price in July was 874,623 NZD, slightly up from April’s 873,599 NZD.

Smaller towns like Auckland’s suburbs had even lower median prices, under 300,000 NZD. For a rural town like Tahiti, 520,000 NZD was quite high—far more than Elizabeth’s description of “slightly higher.”

From another perspective, however, this showed that Sunset Town was developing rapidly. New Zealand’s housing market was free: the more demand, the higher the price; the less demand, the lower the price; if no one buys, the price is zero.

So, a median house price of 520,000 NZD in Sunset Town indicated that more and more people wanted to settle there.