HLM – Chapter 43 Ambitions Burn Bright in My Chest

Unfortunately, Old Wang’s mood soured a bit when booking a hotel room. When he told the front desk he wanted a room to rest for a few hours, the receptionist handed him a condom and cheerfully said, “Wishing you both happiness…”

Just a small episode in life. Charlie really was tired and fell asleep for two hours. Meanwhile, Wang Bo, energetic as ever, tucked away the condom, pulled out his phone, and started chatting with his classmates online.

After waking, Charlie was recharged, and the two headed to the bank.

New Zealand has a very efficient banking system. Any bank can offer services like loans, mortgages, insurance, investment, and credit cards. They went to ANZ Bank—Australia and New Zealand Bank—one of the four major banks in the country and also one of the four banking giants in the Southern Hemisphere.

On the way, Charlie explained that the funds for the town’s development didn’t come from the national government, but from ANZ Bank. So he had to come to the New Zealand headquarters of ANZ to handle the relevant business.

The town’s development funding was essentially a bank investment, with the town repaying it later through taxes and other means. This setup differed from other countries, though in most capitalist systems, capital ultimately calls the shots.

ANZ Bank was established over 150 years ago, and its formal headquarters is in Melbourne, Australia. It’s one of the world’s top 50 banks. They had recently acquired the National Bank of New Zealand and were now exceptionally well-capitalized.

In practice, this meant the ANZ headquarters employed lobby managers of various ethnicities. When Wang Bo mentioned he was Chinese upon entering, a Chinese-speaking lobby manager immediately came to greet him—but his Hong Kong–Taiwan accented Mandarin was a little grating to Wang’s ears.

“Sir~ May I ask what service you would like to handle today~? I hope my service brings you satisfaction~,” said the sharply dressed manager with a broad smile.

Charlie explained their situation. The lobby manager’s expression lit up with realization. “Ah! Then you’re our VIP guest, sir~ Please come this way for business processing~.”

Wang Bo had already prepared the necessary documentation for the town’s public account bank card. Following the manager, he went straight to the VIP window. After handing over the paperwork, there wasn’t much else for him to worry about.

He also wanted to apply for a credit card. After all, in this day and age, roaming the world without one is highly inconvenient.

Unfortunately, the manager shook his head regretfully and said Wang had been in New Zealand for too short a time. According to bank regulations, he couldn’t get a credit card yet because he didn’t have any social security records.

However, when he found out that Wang Bo owned a large tract of land, his tone changed. “If you need cash, you could mortgage your land for a loan. With over a thousand square kilometers, you could borrow tens of millions of NZD. How about it—interested?”

To be honest, Wang Bo was tempted at that moment.

But taking out such a loan was complicated. Besides, Wang Bo was a textbook example of a generational farmer—land to him was lifeblood. Unless he was backed into a desperate corner, he would never use it as collateral or convert it into anything else.

After numerous signatures and notes, about an hour later, a golden bank card was handed to him.

The manager told him that if the town’s public funds continued to grow and if tax contributions hit certain thresholds, this card could be upgraded—eventually to a custom card featuring the town as its backdrop.

Charlie added, “Actually, for a town, there’s something even more prestigious.”

Wang Bo asked, “The black gold card?”

Charlie shook his head. “That’s a credit card. What use is that for a town? I’m talking about a themed card. The bank will specially issue a line of cards with your town as the printed image—like Queenstown’s image cards right now.”

“There are fewer than five locations in all of New Zealand worthy of having such cards issued,” the lobby manager chimed in.

Old Wang beamed with ambition. “Okay, buddy, just wait and see. The sixth image card will definitely be mine. Remember the name—Sunset Town!”

“But that’s still not the pinnacle,” Charlie added mysteriously.

“What is then? Don’t leave me hanging. What is this, a comedy routine?” Old Wang was impatient.

Charlie chuckled awkwardly. “Just building suspense. Alright, I’ll tell you—the highest honor a town can achieve at a bank is when all four major banks issue an image card for it. That’s the ultimate recognition.”

The lobby manager smiled and said, “That’s impossible. Even Queenstown didn’t achieve that.”

But Wang Bo was ablaze with confidence.

He stood up, reached his hand out, and pointed toward the sky like a sword: “Sunset Town will make it happen!”

With the help of the Lord’s Heart, his territory would become a place like no other. But it would take an enormous amount of money, so he’d have to take it step by step.

Once the account was set up, Wang Bo immediately checked the balance: $550,000 NZD in cash. Suspicious, he looked at Charlie. “Wasn’t it over two million?”

Charlie shrugged. “It’s disbursed quarterly. $550K per quarter—four quarters make over two million, right?”

Wang Bo tricked Charlie into going out to buy drinks. While he was gone, Wang converted $200,000 USD into NZD and RMB. He transferred 100,000 RMB to his father’s bank account.

Now that the bank card was sorted, there was no time to return to Sunset Town—it was too late. They would have to stay in Wellington overnight.

As night fell, Charlie suggested going to a bar to pass the time. Wang Bo declined, saying, “Go ahead. That’s not a place for good men. I must preserve my purity for my future wife.”

“Pfft, nice try. You just don’t want to spend money, you little miser!” Charlie saw right through him—he knew Wang far too well.

Wang Bo was aggrieved. A miser? Nonsense! The problem was simply that he didn’t have enough money and had no choice but to spend frugally.

Sure, on paper it looked like he had plenty. The town’s development funds had come through—he now had over a million NZD and $200,000 USD. But the costs of building a town were massive. That money wouldn’t even cover a small road, let alone the whole project!

He was a man determined to become the Father of the World’s Greatest Small Town. From that perspective, the town was like a hungry infant needing constant feeding. He had to scrimp and save just to afford the milk powder.

After he explained, Charlie understood and said, “Saving’s useless. You need to make money. We go to the bar, maybe spend a few hundred bucks—but if you sell that red box, you’ll make hundreds of thousands in one go.”

Wang Bo’s interest was piqued. “That’s right. Didn’t you say there’s an auction house in Wellington that’s interested in the red box? We’re already here, and I’ve got the box with me. Let’s go talk business.”

Charlie looked stunned. “The red box is with you? You brought it while coming to the bank?”