HLM -Chapter 758 Solving the Case

After staying at Antison’s ranch for over an hour, Wang Bo said his goodbyes and headed to the other three ranches.

As they got on the road, just as Wang Bo was about to speak, Uncle Bing said, “That guy was lying. At least, not all of his cows got through the disease safely.”

Wang Bo’s eyes lit up. “You can tell?”

Uncle Bing nodded. “Yeah. I’ve had special training in interrogation techniques. Antison is a good liar—he even believes his own lies—but he was definitely lying. You can tell from his eyes, the tone shifts in his voice, and the frequency of his vocal cord vibrations.”

The second ranch they visited was the second hardest hit—eighty cows had been stolen. It was called Spotted Star Ranch, owned by Ralph Eddy, another member of the Stubborn Bull Club.

When Ralph saw Wang Bo, he waved and shouted enthusiastically, “Hey, Wang! Welcome to my place!”

Uncle Bing chuckled. “You can clearly see his face now, can’t you? I can’t. So how did he know who you were, just by looking at your police uniform? Easy—someone called him to say you’d be coming.”

Wang Bo’s confidence in the case grew stronger. Bit by bit, the threads were being untangled; the truth would soon come to light.

Shaking hands with Ralph, Wang Bo said, “This is a great ranch. I should’ve visited earlier. I bet I could learn a lot from seeing how you run things.”

Ralph grinned proudly. “Thanks for the compliment! But I have to admit, this ranch is my family’s lifeblood. I think it’s a fine one indeed.”

Wang Bo looked at the cows and sheep grazing lazily on both sides of the road and asked, “When did your family start running this ranch?”

“Since my grandfather’s father. He came here from Auckland and bought this land from the Māori. We never obsessed over expanding or buying up more property—we just focused on running this ranch well. That’s how it became what it is today.”

“So, you’re a conservative type of rancher, huh? I bet you’ve got full insurance coverage for the ranch, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Ralph nodded. “Our family’s always had the habit of buying insurance. It costs a bit, sure, but when big problems happen, we don’t have to panic.”

“You must have a good relationship with the local insurance company then?”

“Of course—we’re one of their cash cows!”

Wang Bo smiled meaningfully. “If—and I’m just saying if—the insurance company found out you’d committed fraud, that would be disastrous for your ranch, wouldn’t it?”

New Zealand may be a small country, but its insurance industry is highly advanced—whether it’s product design, customer service, claims processing, or corporate governance.

And when it comes to preventing fraud, New Zealand’s insurance system is exceptionally strict. Every company, big or small, has its own anti-fraud team.

As early as February 1999, New Zealand insurers jointly founded ICR, a shared database that records the insurance and fraud history of policyholders. Any company in the network can access these records.

That means, once your name goes into ICR with a fraud mark, you can forget about ever getting insured in New Zealand again.

Ralph laughed. “We’d never do such a thing, so that risk doesn’t exist. Anyway, come on inside and try my red tea!”

Wang Bo nodded. “I’d love to. But actually, I wanted to ask about ranch insurance. You might not know this, but I haven’t insured my ranch yet. I can’t bear to spend the money.”

Ralph immediately lectured him. “No, Wang, that won’t do! Don’t be stingy with such a small amount. A ranch is a gold mine—so long as it doesn’t collapse, it’ll keep generating money. Insurance companies are the pillars that hold up that gold mine.”

“And take Antison, for example. He’s always so confident because he’s a vet. Thought his ranch could never have problems. And what happened? Huge losses this time!”

Wang Bo immediately caught the slip. “His losses were from theft, weren’t they? What does being a vet have to do with that?”

Ralph froze for a second. “Oh, I meant that because he’s a vet, he didn’t think he needed insurance. That’s all.”

Wang Bo walked slowly, glancing at the pastures. “Buddy, I’m a rancher too. I’m a stubborn bull myself. So, as one bull to another—I think you should make amends for what you’ve done.”

“What do you mean?” Ralph asked defensively.

Wang Bo said evenly, “This case is starting to take shape. The insurance companies will get involved soon. You know how powerful they are—they don’t let things slide just because you’re an old customer.”

Ralph frowned. “I don’t really understand what you’re implying.”

Wang Bo sighed. “There are no walls that the wind can’t pass through. Sure, New Zealand’s police don’t solve every case—but some, we do.”

“If I were you, Ralph, I’d start figuring out how to fix things with the insurance company. They’re a terrifying bunch.”

That wasn’t an exaggeration. In New Zealand, there are two types of credit ratings—one for banks and one for the ICR.

Someone might get a bad record at the bank for missing payments or going bankrupt, but in that case, the negative record is cleared after seven years, and the person can rebuild credit.

However, there’s no law limiting how long ICR can keep a record of insurance fraud. Once your name goes in, it’s almost impossible to erase—it stays with you for life.

Ralph, still stubborn, spread his hands. “Wang, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. My relationship with the insurance company is fine—really fine.”

“Alright, let’s drop the subject. Let’s enjoy your red tea,” Wang Bo said.

As they sipped tea, Ralph’s phone suddenly rang. His wife came out and said, “It’s the insurance company—Susan says it’s important.”

At that, Ralph’s expression darkened.

Wang Bo said calmly, “The police are gathering evidence. This case will be solved soon.”

Just as he finished speaking, Sheriff Smith called. “Wang, good work! We’ve found the smuggling ship—it left Dunedin Port about three weeks ago, carrying four hundred tons of tainted beef!”