HLM -Chapter 1436 The Queen’s Distinguished Contribution Award

Next, it wasn’t just Wang Bo who was busy—everyone else was even busier, because they had to draw up the wedding invitation list and decide which guests to invite.

When his daughter had her hundred-day banquet last time, Wang Bo had already invited guests on a fairly large scale. But a hundred-day banquet couldn’t be compared to his wedding—this time, the scope would be far wider, and many more people would be invited.

As for whether those people would actually come or not, Wang Bo didn’t worry about it. He believed in the weight he now carried.

Needless to say, all his subordinates had to be invited. From the police station there were Conley, Sweet Guy, and others; from the fire brigade, Marion; from the supermarket, Anderson; from the farm, Motak; as well as his trusted core members from the ranch—he sent invitations to all of them.

As for celebrities, he invited Oakley, the writer Hill, the Sunset Band, film and television star Craig Parker, as well as the director and producers of Deadly Notes, among others.

In political circles, he invited nearly all the acquaintances he had—Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, Auckland Mayor Huta Sack, key members of the Green Party, and of course his partners from the Labour Party.

On the Labour Party side, however, he invited relatively fewer people, focusing mainly on big names such as National Committee Chairman Reggie Fast, Vice Chairmen Derek Irvin and Kevin G. Bitron, and Union Secretary Clark Boken, among others.

Among colleagues, there were Sheriff Smith, the mayor of Wanderer Town—known as the “Glorious Hero,” the mayor of Lewis Town, Camilla, Professor Sandra Angus, president of Lincoln University’s branch campus, and Thomas Wesley, the New Zealand head of Australia’s Layton Holdings, and so on…

There were even more partners. Sharp Carrington, Kaplan—the New Zealand general manager of Horton Motor Company, White Ned—the general manager of Hades’ New Zealand branch, Leonard Swift—the general manager of the Bull Club, and the main leaders of the Quinoa Club on the South Island—there were simply too many to count.

Wang Bo had established himself through his farm and ranch. He enjoyed extraordinary prestige in both the Bull Club and the Quinoa Club, and many people in these two clubs were eager to build connections with him. Naturally, he sent out a large number of invitations there as well.

He also had many old friends—Monica, a famous Chinese-New Zealander beauty host on the South Island, old classmates back home with whom he was still on good terms, and relatives from his hometown. The latter were contacted by his parents, while the other invitations were sent by him personally.

Then there were more high-profile figures: Lord Lancaster and Princess Eugenie, who could represent the British royal family; a prince from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Ahmed Abdul Rashid, the general manager of Safi Farm; as well as Lancaster’s friends—Valls Wendy, Williams White, Rudolf Samir, and others. Not a single one of them could be left out.

All in all, it took Wang Bo half a month to finalize this complete list, ensuring that every point in his social circle was properly covered.

In early September, all the invitations had been sent out. Next, it was time to prepare to receive the many distinguished guests.

But before that, he still had another important matter to attend to—he needed to go to Wellington to receive an honor: the Queen’s Distinguished Contribution Award.

Like certain medals, this contribution award was established by the British royal family and was specifically bestowed upon individuals who had made outstanding contributions to Commonwealth countries. Although New Zealand had long since separated from the British monarchy, it was still a member of the Commonwealth.

This award was presented once every two years and was usually given to talents from the UK itself—for example, famous football star David Beckham and Rowan Atkinson, the actor known for Mr. Bean.

Even when it was occasionally awarded overseas, it usually went to people from countries like Australia or India—places that held greater influence with the current British government. New Zealand was simply too small; the British government didn’t pay it much attention.

But Wang Bo’s achievements were simply too outstanding. Although what he did had little to do with Britain in essence, Sunset Town had become far too famous. Therefore, before the mass wedding began, the British government decided to commend Wang Bo.

Wang Bo had no real interest in the honor. Na Qingyang had made it very clear to him—this kind of thing was the result of political maneuvering and had little practical use, though it could help facilitate communication between the British and New Zealand governments.

He believed that as long as he continued to develop Sunset Town even further, honors of this kind would naturally increase—and would come knocking on his door themselves.

In other words, he knew that his foundation lay in Sunset Town. As long as Sunset Town developed well, everything else would be easy to negotiate. In New Zealand, he could get wind when he wanted wind, rain when he wanted rain.

If Sunset Town failed to develop properly, then he could just go wherever it was cool and comfortable.

In mid-September, Wang Bo set aside time and flew to Wellington on a private plane with Eva and core members like Na Qingyang to receive the commendation.

The ceremony was held in New Zealand’s Parliament House—a very high-level venue indeed. Wang Bo had only been to Parliament House once before, and that was when Carmetti Johnson took office as prime minister.

The last time he came, he was merely a spectator. This time, stepping into the magnificent and imposing building, he had become the main character.

On the afternoon of the 14th, a red carpet was laid out in the grand hall of Parliament House. Eva linked arms with Wang Bo, and the two of them walked onto the red carpet together.

On both sides of the carpet, more than a hundred reporters were furiously pressing their shutters. Wang Bo smiled and waved at them. Seeing so many cameras pointed at him, seeing so many people looking at him with envy, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride.

A real man should be like this!

Although the thought was a bit cheesy, that was exactly what was going through Wang Bo’s mind at the moment.

New Zealand Prime Minister Carmetti Johnson was waiting on the rostrum. Beside him stood a tall, slender, dignified white man—Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, second in line to the British throne.

Lancaster stood by Prince William’s side. This time, the medal would be presented by Prince William himself, which showed just how much importance the British royal family placed on this award. After all, this was Prince William’s first visit to New Zealand since his marriage.

Wang Bo stepped onto the rostrum. Carmetti shook his hand first and said with a smile, “Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. Over the past period of time, you have created countless miracles and brought a city of miracles to New Zealand.”

Wang Bo replied modestly, “Thank you for your praise, Prime Minister. I’ve only done a few insignificant things. I hope I can do even better in the future. If I can earn your praise again, that would be even better.”

The two spoke as they shook hands, then turned to face forward.

At once, the reporters in front of the rostrum raised their cameras again, and the clicking of shutters erupted once more.

The flashes were too many and too bright. Wang Bo felt as if his eyes were about to be blinded. At that moment, he no longer thought a real man should be like this—instead, he felt that this kind of occasion was rather dangerous. If there were a gunman hidden among the reporters, he would be finished today.

After receiving Carmetti’s congratulations, the main event arrived. Wang Bo shook hands with Prince William, and Lancaster presented the medal. The reporters’ flashes went off even brighter.