HLM – Chapter 982 Fundraising for Construction

When he learned the man was a Christian, Wang Bo chuckled and said cautiously, “I don’t know much about this.”

The man had a gentle temperament and smiled. “I understand. Chinese people are more familiar with Buddhism and Taoism, right? But I think there are quite a few Christians in China nowadays, aren’t there?”

“Quite a few?” Wang Bo thought of the Spring Festival couplets in the village and felt a twinge of discomfort: things like ‘Glory to God, peace to all mankind’, ‘God blesses the seasons with peace, the Lord grants a bountiful harvest’, or ‘Thank the Lord for the past year, pray for His grace in the new year’…

Truly, seeing such couplets in the village was a bit awkward for him.

Fortunately, the man didn’t try to persuade him to convert. After a brief conversation, he introduced himself.

His name was Rudy Kevra. He had previously served as a godfather at a church, but later, to raise his children, he moved to Sunset Town.

Curious, Wang Bo asked, “What do you do now? Giving up your career to raise children is quite a sacrifice, isn’t it?”

Rudy smiled. “I did give up my job, but not my career. I can now provide theological support online for various churches, officiate weddings, and occasionally travel for evangelistic work. I’m still faithfully serving my Lord.”

Rudy’s demeanor piqued Wang Bo’s curiosity about religion. He had avoided religion before because he’d heard that religious people could be fanatical, going overboard to evangelize anyone who didn’t believe.

Rudy didn’t seem like that. He had said earlier that he respected both a person’s faith and a person’s choice not to believe.

Wang Bo asked, “According to Christian doctrine, where do people like us who don’t believe go after death?”

“You’re thinking about that?”

Wang Bo nodded. “Lately, I’ve been interested in metaphysics. When I’m alone, I ask myself: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where will my soul go? How vast is the universe? What is time, really…”

Rudy chuckled softly. “I cannot answer those questions. Only the Almighty God knows. I can, however, answer your first question. Without a doubt, after you die, you will go to Heaven.”

Wang Bo was surprised. “Heaven? But I don’t believe in God!”

Rudy smiled. “That’s a common misunderstanding. Catholic teaching is that God loves all people and blesses all good people, not just His believers. Likewise, Heaven is prepared for all good people. Mayor, you are a good person—you’ve built a town praised by everyone. In some ways, you may not be a believer, yet you are following God’s path.”

Watching their conversation, Uncle Bing walked over and said, “Boss, are you finally interested in Catholicism too?”

Wang Bo replied, “My upbringing means I only believe in hard work, but I enjoy chatting with a godfather. Talking with Father Rudy feels easy and pleasant.”

“My honor,” Rudy said, still smiling—not a formal smile, but a genuine one that carried warmth and charm.

When the conversation ended, Uncle Bing said, “Boss, I suggest conducting a faith survey in the town. If necessary, should we build a church?”

Rudy said, “If a church is to be built, it must be well planned. When I studied in Europe, I saw that their churches were also prime tourist attractions. So if Sunset Town builds one, it should be constructed tastefully.”

“Build a church in town?” A middle-aged man passing by with his daughter overheard them. “Oh my god, we’re finally building a church! We’ll have a place to pray?”

“And we need to form a choir too.”

“My daughter can lead the singing. Back in Auckland, she was the lead in her school choir. She’ll do great.”

“I’ll donate a statue of Jesus to the church. This statue belonged to my grandfather.”

Suggestions poured out from all sides. Soon over twenty people had gathered to discuss the matter.

Wang Bo was stunned. He realized he had probably underestimated the number of Catholics in town.

Without him saying anything, the church plans were already taking shape: Father Rudy was elected as the church godfather and head, and the choir was almost formed…

Eva came over and asked what was causing such an intense discussion. Wang Bo smiled wryly. “The town might be building a church. Oh, darling, you believe in Christianity too, right?”

“I didn’t when I was working,” Eva shrugged. “Besides, Ukraine is Orthodox territory. Catholics and we are at odds.”

“At odds? That’s exaggerating, isn’t it? This isn’t the era of religious wars in the Middle Ages.”

Eva teased, “You said we’re a fighting people, right? So regarding faith, how could things ever be peaceful?”

March 25, the first Sunday after the spring equinox, was the Easter weekend in Christianity.

For him, the holiday was pleasant. The night before, he had drawn a mysterious Heart—called the “Heart of Warning”—which looked like a pale green bell. He had no idea what it did.

After drawing it, he placed it somewhere, and the bell floated above the sandbox, swaying gently. Its exact function remained unknown, and Wang Bo didn’t have time to investigate further, being busy with other matters.

Perhaps inspired by the news that a church would be built, the townspeople decided to hold a spontaneous Easter parade on the eve of Easter.

Wang Bo didn’t pay much attention to these festivals. In previous years, Sunset Town’s Christmas celebrations had been modest, and only the Maori village held events for Waitangi Day.

But judging by registration numbers, this Easter parade was larger than the town’s Christmas parade. When Wang Bo saw the registration list, the long list startled him.

While counting the names, Uncle Bing stood up. “Boss, I have good news.”

“What good news?”

“The believers have organized and decided to hold a fundraiser. Given the current situation, raising 100,000 yuan is no problem. We plan to fund a church.”

“Why the sudden idea?” Wang Bo smiled wryly.

Uncle Bing shrugged. “Previously, there were no organized religious activities, and no godfather came. Now that we have one, why not build a church?”

“Once the church is built, I will also volunteer to serve the believers and God,” Rudy added. “But we need your approval and hope you can allocate a piece of land to allow us to build it.”

What could Wang Bo say? They were raising their own funds for the church. The number of believers in town was clearly not small. Refusing to provide land would be excessive.

He didn’t have to do anything for the Catholics, and Rudy was reasonable—he didn’t insist that the mayor provide help.

But he also couldn’t stop the Catholics from taking legitimate and reasonable actions, such as fundraising and building a church.