HLM -Chapter 1314 A New Job

The Salvation Army is a purely charitable organization. Everything it runs depends on volunteers and donations—including the storefronts and the goods inside them. Although these people are the backbone of the Salvation Army, they are still volunteers and receive no salary.

From this perspective, Wang Bo’s praise was not exaggerated at all. These people were truly proletarian revolutionary fighters. They joined the Salvation Army for one simple reason: to help those who needed assistance.

After hearing Wang Bo’s words, Clare was overjoyed. He quickly extended his hand and said, “Thank you, Mayor Wang. What you’ve done is equally worthy of our respect. From now on, we’re colleagues.”

Wang Bo smiled and shook his hand. At the same time, he did a quick mental inventory of his many identities: the Stubborn Bull Club, the Quinoa Association, and now—another one added to the list—a member of the Salvation Army.

Joining the Salvation Army didn’t require him to contribute much. All he needed to do was provide them with a storefront rent-free, so they could use it as a secondhand shop.

There were no secondhand stores in Sunset Town, but there were plenty of tourists. And where there are many tourists, there are bound to be plenty of secondhand items. Many things are bought by visitors on impulse; when they leave, they only take the most important belongings with them, discarding what they can’t carry.

With a Salvation Army secondhand shop, at least this kind of waste could be put to use.

Any Salvation Army secondhand store can accept donated items from the public at any time, whether new or old—but they must be clean. If the items are functional goods, such as toys, electrical appliances, tools, or computers, donors are also required to provide as many of the original accessories as possible, so others can use them conveniently.

Wang Bo personally selected a storefront in the town center whose lease had just expired. He refused to renew the lease with the original owner and handed the building over to the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army secondhand shop was called SAFS—short for Salvation Army Family Stores. The sign was very eye-catching: a red shield with the words The Salvation Army written in white.

The staff inside the store also wore uniform clothing, with a shield-shaped emblem embroidered on the chest. All of them were volunteers, and even the uniforms had to be purchased with their own money.

The shop didn’t need renovation. The Salvation Army’s operating principle was to give every dollar to those who needed it most. In their view, money wasted on renovations could help at least one struggling family.

Fortunately, the storefront itself had already been renovated, so using it directly didn’t look shabby at all.

A nearby town, Louis Town, also had a Salvation Army secondhand store with shelving in its warehouse. Wang Bo had Motak drive a Ford pickup to transport those shelves over, and they began setting up the shop.

Just as the Salvation Army was willing to accept any useful secondhand item—as long as it was clean and usable—their stores didn’t need fancy décor, but they absolutely had to maintain hygiene and keep everything neat and orderly at all times.

Once the shelves arrived, the Salvation Army needed to recruit local volunteers. As mayor, Wang Bo had to take the lead in this. Coincidentally, he didn’t have much work on hand, so he went over to help.

When Eva found out, she brought Dale girl along to help as well. She wanted to cultivate her sister’s correct outlook on life and values, so she eagerly joined the Salvation Army too.

In addition, Hani, Uncle Bing, Bowen, Charlie, and several others followed suit. They thus became the very first batch of volunteers to work there.

Wang Bo and his team organized the containers and shelves neatly. Soon after, several Salvation Army secondhand shops in the surrounding area sent over some goods—mainly audio and video products, old clothes, secondhand sunglasses, and used MP3 players.

These items held a certain appeal for tourists and were easier to sell.

The core members of the Salvation Army stayed in Sunset Town for several days to familiarize everyone with the workflow. One of the most important tasks was sorting the goods.

That was because sorting was directly related to inventory management, and inventory, in turn, affected the organization’s final financial income.

The Salvation Army secondhand stores mainly accepted donated items in eight major categories: used clothing, used furniture, household goods, books, toys, audio and video products, fashion items, and handicrafts.

The shop had just opened when someone came by. Wang Bo happily went to receive them. A couple brought two large cardboard boxes and said, “We have some secondhand items we no longer need. We hope to give them to people who need them.”

Wang Bo thanked them repeatedly, but when he opened the boxes, he was stunned. Inside were some clothes and newspapers—the newspapers alone filled half a box, weighing a good thirty or forty pounds.

Back in China, receiving old newspapers wouldn’t be a problem; they could be sold as waste paper. But in New Zealand, old newspapers couldn’t be sold. They could only be disposed of as garbage.

As for the secondhand clothes, they were filthy. Some even had oil stains. Wang Bo picked one up and asked, “Did you also bring your cleaning rags?”

Knowing he was the mayor, the couple spoke politely. “Oh, sorry, Mayor. We forgot to wash them. Or maybe you could wash them yourselves? Actually, the styles and quality of these clothes are quite good.”

Over the past few days, Wang Bo had been helping the Salvation Army core members set up the store and had learned the organization’s rules. One of the most important was this: the Salvation Army collects secondhand items to carry out charitable work—it is not a garbage disposal station.

So he didn’t hold back at all. He said bluntly, “Hey, you two. As long as an old item is useful, the Salvation Army is willing to accept it. But please remember—this is not a place for dumping trash, especially bulky trash, OK?”

Bulky trash referred to large items such as discarded refrigerators, washing machines, wooden furniture, and so on. These items were not allowed to be thrown into regular trash bins. Instead, residents had to wait for designated days when the government arranged special garbage trucks to collect them.

Generally speaking, such days only occurred once or twice a year. That was one reason why almost every household in New Zealand had a garage—to store this kind of waste.

Hearing this, the couple looked embarrassed. The man said timidly, “Alright, Mayor. We just immigrated to New Zealand and aren’t very familiar with the rules here.”

Wang Bo pushed the two boxes back toward them and said, “If something is truly unusable, completely broken, or seriously contaminated, please don’t waste our staff’s time.”

Hani also came over, clearly displeased. “Please respect the Salvation Army volunteers, OK? They are a group of faithful, passionate, and kind-hearted people—not helpers hired to deal with your garbage, OK?”

“OK! OK!” The couple nodded repeatedly, then left in embarrassment.

Seeing Wang Bo’s sour expression, Clare came over to comfort him. “Hey, Wang, don’t be discouraged. In our work, we inevitably encounter all kinds of problems. But the Salvation Army always manages to overcome them. Come on—I’ll teach you how to select and categorize items.”