HLM – Chapter 6 Becoming the Town Mayor

“In fact, as you’ve seen, the land of the Territory Dominion of the Sun is fertile, the scenery is beautiful, and the location is excellent—right behind it lies the famous Twin Lakes. If this territory were properly developed into a small town, it might even become the next Queenstown,” Charlie said with a hint of regret.

Wang Bo felt even more regretful. If the Roberts family had developed the land into a prosperous town, he would be set for life. Inheriting a well-established town was clearly far better than taking over a desolate piece of land.

On the way, he had learned that since this was a noble territory and not just a piece of private property, he didn’t have to pay a cent in inheritance tax to the New Zealand government. In other words, he was getting 1,000 square kilometers of fertile land—and a noble’s inheritance—completely free of charge!

Thinking about the inheritance left behind by Sir Roberts, Wang Bo grew excited again and asked eagerly, “Besides the land and the castle, did the late Sir leave anything else behind?”

Charlie shrugged. “Probably just a few hundred thousand in bad debts. Not much else. The later years of Sir Roberts’ life weren’t financially good. In fact, for the last two or three generations, the Roberts family simply clung to the land. They didn’t have much money.”

After circling the skies above the Territory Dominion of the Sun for a while, the helicopter flew off. Charlie needed to take Wang Bo to the courthouse in the city of Omarama to officially sign for the inheritance—otherwise, staying on the land would be illegal. Technically, the land still didn’t belong to Wang Bo, and in New Zealand, private property was sacred and inviolable. They couldn’t just walk into someone else’s private territory.

Omarama was a small city with only twenty or thirty thousand people—basically a large town. In fact, outside of a few major cities, most of New Zealand was sparsely populated.

Omarama was the nearest city to the Territory Dominion of the Sun. Wang Bo asked if there were any special procedures needed to claim the inheritance, and Charlie replied that as long as the court verified his identity, it was all good. Since no inheritance tax was involved, the tax bureau didn’t need to get involved—only the court’s confirmation was required.

“I’m Chinese, not a New Zealander. I can still receive the inheritance?” Wang Bo asked in surprise.

Charlie nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course. What does your nationality have to do with it? You’re just inheriting a piece of wilderness. Foreigners can freely buy real estate in New Zealand, let alone a patch of undeveloped land.”

The Territory Dominion of the Sun bordered the city of Omarama, which was in the northwest part of the Canterbury region.

Looking at a map, New Zealand’s South Island is mainly divided into the Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, West Coast, and Southland regions. Administratively, the Territory Dominion of the Sun belonged to Otago. But in reality, it sat in a kind of grey zone, spanning the boundaries of Otago, the western mountains, and Canterbury.

The distance from the castle to Omarama was about a hundred kilometers, and the helicopter quickly arrived.

From the air, Wang Bo looked down at the small city. Aside from some British-style architecture in the center, it didn’t look much different from a small town back home in China—possibly even less populated, with lower buildings.

The helicopter landed at the courthouse, but it was already late, and the court had closed for the day. Charlie found a hotel and arranged a room for him, then mysteriously said there was something he needed to discuss.

Once the door was closed, Charlie said, “Wang, I need to remind you—if you accept Sir Roberts’ inheritance, then you are responsible for the Territory Dominion of the Sun. That includes maintaining the castle. You should know how much manpower, materials, and money it takes to maintain a castle, right?”

Wang Bo was startled. He remembered reading news stories in the past about how some medieval castles in Europe were sold cheaply, but nobody wanted them because of the insane maintenance costs—even billionaires found it unaffordable.

Seeing his reaction, Charlie suddenly broke into a warm smile. He walked over, put an arm around Wang Bo’s shoulders, and said, “Wang, my man, even though we haven’t known each other long, like they say, ‘A lifelong acquaintance may feel like a stranger, while a chance meeting may feel like old friends.’ I feel like we really hit it off. Don’t you feel the same?”

“Hit it off?” Wang Bo instantly tensed, his face full of alarm.

Charlie froze for a second, then gave an awkward laugh. “Sorry, man, wrong phrase. I meant ‘felt like old friends at first sight,’ right?”

Wang Bo eyed him warily—he didn’t buy it. This guy even knew obscure Chinese idioms like “a lifelong acquaintance may feel like a stranger, while a chance meeting may feel like old friends.” And yet he couldn’t tell the difference between “love at first sight” and “getting along at first sight”? Yeah, right.

“What exactly do you want? Just say it.” Old Wang gripped the waistband of his pants tightly with both hands. “Let me tell you, I have no interest in same-sex X. If you’re trying to use this inheritance to seduce me for my body…”

He hesitated. A thousand square kilometers of fertile land… that grand and majestic castle… Which one was more important, his chastity or all that wealth? Maybe his chastity could make a small sacrifice?

Charlie didn’t hesitate at all. He pushed Wang Bo away and said irritably, “What kind of nonsense is that? Alright, I’ll get straight to the point. I suggest you convert the Territory Dominion of the Sun from a private estate into a national town. The land will still belong to you, everything on and under it will remain yours—but you’ll become part of the state.”

Wang Bo looked at him in confusion, his mind racing to process what he just heard. Then he said slowly, “You mean… I should pledge allegiance to the New Zealand government? Or rather, your government wants to ‘recruit’ me?”

Charlie nodded. “Exactly. You’ll establish a new town on your private land, and you’ll be the mayor. This way, the government can provide annual funding for your town, and you can use that money to maintain the castle and develop the territory.”

Wang Bo asked cautiously, “If we go with your plan, how much can the government allocate per year?”

Charlie said, “At least two million New Zealand dollars. That’s ten million yuan in Chinese currency!”

“New Zealand dollars” are often abbreviated as “NZD” or colloquially called “纽币 (niǔ bì)” in Chinese. Since the country’s name is transliterated as “纽西兰 (Niǔxīlán)” in Mandarin, the currency is nicknamed accordingly.

“That much?” Wang Bo was momentarily stunned. “Ten million? In government grants? And I can be mayor? But I’m a Chinese citizen! Everything you’re saying sounds way too far-fetched!”

Charlie patted him on the shoulder. “Of course, if you decide to become the mayor of this newly established town, you’ll need to change your nationality. As for the funding and your position, those are guaranteed. We’ll sign a contract—a formal employment agreement.”

Wang Bo mulled it over, still not entirely convinced.

Before coming to New Zealand, he had done some research on the country. He knew that public officials here were either appointed or publicly elected—positions like mayor, city council members, and even the Prime Minister were all chosen by citizens. Ordinary government jobs were either appointed by Parliament or filled through open recruitment.

Public servants weren’t considered high-ranking or elite in New Zealand. So the idea of someone casually being appointed a mayor seemed… a bit like a joke.

Charlie noticed his skepticism and explained, “I’ll be honest with you, mate. The Territory Dominion of the Sun is the last noble estate in New Zealand. Officially, it’s outside government control. To those Parliament guys, it’s like a patch of vitiligo on their face—super embarrassing. They’ve been wanting to reclaim that land for ages. But they couldn’t. You don’t know how stubborn and conservative Sir Roberts was! To him, his territory was like his underwear—no one else was allowed to touch it!”

“Well, my underwear isn’t up for grabs either.” Wang Bo pulled his belt a bit tighter.

He still had a feeling that Charlie was drooling over his looks. Sure, he didn’t think he was anything special, but who could say if white people and Asians shared the same beauty standards? Even if they did, there were always people into… odd tastes.

Charlie nodded, “Yes, but I think for you, this territory is more like your jacket than your underwear. So what I’m saying is: put a company logo on your jacket, and you get a sponsorship fee. Isn’t that a good deal?”

That analogy made some sense. Wang Bo asked, “So if I allow a new town to be built on my land, I get to be mayor? The government will fund the upkeep of the castle? They won’t just kick me out after everything’s set up?”

Charlie smiled. “That’s impossible. The entire town will be on land that belongs to you. If you’re not satisfied, you can revoke the land-use rights at any time, and the town government will have to declare bankruptcy.”

Hearing that, Wang Bo slowly nodded. “Alright, Charlie, my man. I trust you. I’m willing to follow your suggestion and convert the estate into a town!”

Charlie was clearly surprised—he hadn’t expected Wang Bo to agree so easily. He asked, “You’re sure? No other questions?”

Wang Bo replied casually, “Of course, I’m sure, Charlie. I trust you. Like you said, we hit it off at first sight. From the moment we met, I had this feeling… it’s like we should’ve met much earlier!”

“Yes, like old friends reunited too late!”

They looked at each other and smiled—both feeling like the other smiled exactly like a cunning fox.

The real reason Wang Bo accepted the offer wasn’t because he trusted Charlie. It was because he suddenly recalled a note he had read in a game guide back then: You can take the Heart of the Territory at any time and relocate to start anew.

With that in mind, what was there to be afraid of? Might as well follow Charlie’s plan for now—If he really became a town mayor, then he was truly on the road to fortune…