HLM – Chapter 723 The Vanishing Dairy Cows

When Wang Bo said he had doubts, Alexander cut to the chase: “Speak up.”

“I have to answer to my voters. If I join the Green Party, what concrete help will it bring to my town?”

“You’ll get a lot of help — but you’ve got to join first to see it. There’s a saying: how do you know what a pear tastes like if you don’t take a bite?”

That answer made Wang Bo curse under his breath. Alexander was indeed an old‑hand politician: his reply was watertight yet made no promises and offered no concrete benefit.

But Wang Bo wasn’t easy to snow. He said, “I’d love to taste the pear, but my tooth hurts — I’m too afraid to bite. Can you tell me what it tastes like first?”

It was almost a riddle, but Alexander was sharp; he immediately understood Wang Bo’s move and asked, “What trouble have you run into? Fine — tell me. If I’ve already tasted this pear, I’ll tell you the answer.”

“The skilled‑person recruitment plan. I know the Wellington government is preparing to push this plan forward. I want Sunset Town to be a pilot. As a newly established town, don’t you think the government’s help and resources for us are too little?”

Alexander smiled. “Okay, you’re in luck — I have eaten that pear.”

“Yes. Parliament has just passed a resolution expanding technical immigration visa opportunities to New Zealand. As long as an immigrant’s points exceed 140, we can offer the applicant a permanent opportunity to work and live in New Zealand.”

New Zealand’s skilled immigration uses a points system; the minimum points to submit an expression of interest is 100 points plus a job offer from a New Zealand employer. Of course, applicants must also meet health, character, and English requirements — an average IELTS score of 6.5 — and be under 55 years old, among other conditions.

“I need electricians, cooks, veterinarians, clergy, carpenters, home electronics repairers, household appliance technicians, camera equipment repairers, watch repairers, office equipment repairers, aged care workers, milkers…” Wang Bo rattled off a string of skilled trades like reciting a shopping list.

Alexander guessed the other side was stunned; it took a while before he said, “Stop, stop — give me a report. I’ll have my secretary contact you and give you a template. But let me be clear: right now the talent gap is huge and many places are waiting, so those applications may not necessarily be approved.”

Wang Bo smiled. “I know — if they pass it will be because of the Green Party.”

That answer was a bit beside the point, but Alexander laughed heartily. “You’re right.”

Wang Bo hung up. Qingyang applauded: “Excellent defense and offense; it looks like the Green Party is determined to get you. They’ll help you with this.”

They could only hope the Greens would come through — distant help couldn’t ease the immediate needs. Wang Bo smiled on the outside but felt uneasy inside.

That night he opened the drawing board and felt a little better. The dial spun — time for another draw.

“Stop.” Wang Bo murmured inwardly. This time the draw disk was pale green; he didn’t have high hopes. A Grade‑1 Heart’s effect wasn’t that strong.

The result was pretty good: indeed a Grade‑1 Heart — but it was a lord‑territory Heart he hadn’t seen before, called the “Factory Heart.”

Wang Bo took the pale‑green, factory‑shaped model and shook his head. He put it into the Heart Container. Sunset Town had no factories and he didn’t intend to build any, so this newly appeared lord Heart was a bit of a white elephant.

The next day at work, Motak called. As soon as Wang Bo picked up, Motak said straightaway, “Wang, you’d better count your cattle and sheep — see if anything’s missing.”

Wang Bo was puzzled by the sudden topic. “What’s up? You mean cattle rustlers? Security here has been decent.”

He hadn’t counted his herd recently — there were too many, and they were free‑range. Daily head counts like at some ranches wouldn’t work; he only did them monthly.

Motak said, “Yes. There’s a brazen gang stealing cows on the South Island. Pastures around Christchurch and Dunedin have already taken a hit. Now it’s hit Oak City — Old Moses lost fifty‑five dairy cows last night!”

After hanging up, his phone pinged — someone had invited him to join a Facebook chat group. The inviter was Leonard, general manager of the Stubborn Cattle Club, so Wang Bo accepted.

The group was already full of people, much like chat groups back home on WeChat or QQ. Everyone was posting messages.

A pinned news link was at the top. Wang Bo opened it and found a report from the New Zealand Herald: a farmer named Andison had recently counted his dairy herd and discovered he was short a full five hundred head!

When had those cows gone missing? Andison was stunned; like Wang Bo, he only counted monthly and let his cows graze freely. Last month he had 1,400 head; now only 900 remained.

If Motak hadn’t called, Wang Bo would have thought it was fake news. Losing one‑third of a herd is a huge, obvious change — how could nobody have noticed sooner?

But it was true. Andison was also a member of the Stubborn Cattle Club and was furious in the group:

“Let those damned thieves rot in hell! God, why don’t You punish these freeloaders?!”

“Five hundred dairy cows — I had no idea! Just gone! How did they take them? These bastards!”

“Who can help me catch them? I swear, if I get my hands on them I’ll blast their heads with a gun!”

By New Zealand prices, Holstein dairy cows aren’t hugely valuable — roughly NZ$2,000 apiece. Five hundred cows is about NZ$1,000,000 — a massive loss.

Andison wasn’t the only one; other farmers reported losses too, though smaller — mostly five or sixty head, similar to Moses in Oak City.

Judging by the size of cattle transport trucks, one truck can carry about fifty cows, so the perpetrators likely used just one large vehicle.

Leonard posted: “Old And, don’t panic — we’ll catch those bastards! Think back — how could this happen? Five hundred cows isn’t a small number!”

Andison: “Fuck! Fuck! I didn’t even notice. If I hadn’t counted the herd I wouldn’t have known!”

Motak: “Clearly, these bastards are taking them gradually — about fifty a day.”

Leonard: “Everyone’s on edge. Starting today we’ll coordinate with local police for 24‑hour surveillance. We’ll catch them!”

Wang Bo also posted: Count the herds; report coordinates of those who lost cows — check!

After sending the message, he leaned back in his chair and frowned, thinking about the case from a police perspective.