HLM – Chapter 994 Farm Investment and Construction

“That gentleman is someone you know—Ye Qipeng, President Ye.”

Wang Bo was a little baffled by this answer. He had been guessing it was Porter, thinking Porter was returning a favor, or maybe Safi Farm, since rich people liked to be extravagant. But he never expected it to be Ye Qipeng, the head of Northern Grain.

Tan Yinhong smiled. “President Ye asked me to contact you on his behalf. He wanted to visit you and discuss some business. The two million investment is just his token of greeting.”

Wang Bo said, “I can hardly believe it. Indeed, I know President Ye. If he wants to cooperate with me, he can just come himself. Why spend so much money hiring someone to introduce him? Sunset Town isn’t that hard to find, is it?”

“Of course not,” Tan Yinhong replied. “But I really wanted to do a project in Sunset Town, and I know you’re frugal. So I brought in an investor for you. Coincidentally, this investor is the brother of a certain Madam Tan, and he’s willing to help.”

Hearing this, Wang Bo immediately understood. “So President Ye is your uncle?”

“Yes,” Tan Yinhong smiled. “Mayor Wang, we’ve worked together before. Porter and I are friends as well. You probably know my business ethics, but I must say, I’ve been learning everything from my uncle.”

Wang Bo nodded, understanding the implication—Tan Yinhong was promoting his uncle. As for what Northern Grain intended to do, Wang Bo was also clear.

Tan Yinhong planned to sell Sunset Town’s meat and by-products domestically, targeting wealthy buyers in China. Wang Bo wasn’t particularly interested—domestic markets were complicated, and it was easier to operate in Oceania. Even if his meat went abroad, Europe and America would be more suitable.

Still, in Chinese business culture, one must not ignore favors or gifts. Even accepting the two million for the sewer project—or call it a bribe—he had to give Ye Qipeng a chance.

Of course, this was somewhat overstated. Northern Grain was a giant in the domestic agricultural sector. Ye Qipeng’s personal wealth might not match Wang Bo’s, but his resources were beyond comparison. Wang Bo’s resources were still limited, but he had cash, especially after Saudi investors took an interest in his ranch.

Recently, to cooperate with Safi Farm, the West Pacific Bank appraised his ranch. The combined value of his three ranches exceeded 20 billion NZD! This was an exaggerated but realistic valuation, since Sunset Ranch’s beef, lamb, chicken, and duck were priced far higher than similar products, yet sales were excellent.

When Wang Bo first drew the “Heart of the Ranch,” he had been speechless. Now, he was happy to have it. If all his usable grasslands became ranches in the future, that wouldn’t be bad at all.

Later, Tan Yinhong called Ye Qipeng. He himself couldn’t leave, as he was handling Northern Grain’s acquisition of the South Asian Grain Transport Group in India—a deal involving over 5 billion USD, which had made waves across the global agriculture industry. Wang Bo also knew about it through the Bull Club.

Ye Qipeng was too busy to come, so Wang Bo and he agreed to discuss cooperation in Sunset Town after the acquisition was complete. That settled the matter.

Before winter arrived, the Lakeside White Tower was finally completed.

The White Tower was designed as a hotel and tourist destination in one, built in the style of a traditional Chinese pagoda—antique, elegant, and full of character. Undoubtedly, such a hotel should feature Chinese cuisine.

Wang Bo wanted to hire a group of excellent Chinese chefs for the hotel, but Kobe suggested another plan: to decorate each of the tower’s seven floors according to different culinary styles—a true fusion.

In other words, the White Tower would have separate zones for Chinese cuisine, Japanese, French, South American, and Mexican food, each floor dedicated to one style.

Kobe reasoned that Sunset Town’s Chinese immigrants and Chinese tourists were not numerous. Offering only high-end Chinese cuisine was too risky. By diversifying, the risk was spread, and seven popular cuisines together could satisfy almost all visitors. Moreover, Kobe had previously collected chefs, though not many specialized in Chinese cuisine, so this plan utilized all of them efficiently.

After considering, Wang Bo accepted the suggestion, and the White Tower began renovations.

The White Tower would not receive any special name; the hotel inside would simply be called White Tower Hotel, with Kobe as the head chef. Wang Bo wanted to make him general manager, but Kobe shook his head.

“No, I can’t do that. My network and knowledge of hotel management aren’t enough to run a hotel of this scale.”

“Then hire someone?”

“Better yet, I’ll recommend someone,” Kobe smiled. “Florence Sprez—he can definitely meet your requirements.”

Upon hearing the surname, Wang Bo immediately understood. “Is he your family?”

“Yes, my father,” Kobe said.

Wang Bo said, “That’s truly meritocracy, not nepotism. But I don’t mean to offend—what connection do you have with Florence?”

“You know the origin of my name, right?”

“Yes, it’s related to Kobe beef in Japan.”

“Do you know where the world’s best steaks were cooked about half a century ago?”

Seeing Kobe’s grinning face, Wang Bo was surprised. “Could it be Florence? Your grandfather named your father this… okay, perhaps it’s a family tradition.”

“Haha, yes. Florentine steak is the essence of Tuscan barbecue. My grandfather loved Tuscan grilling, so when he had my father, he named him after it.”

Wang Bo could only admit admiration. In New Zealand, it wasn’t uncommon for parents to name children after beautiful things. Wang Bo guessed his daughter would indeed be named Eva, his favorite name.

Kobe contacted his father. His appointment wasn’t urgent—the White Tower’s renovations were detailed, and the company estimated a full quarter to complete.

In mid-month, Wang Bo received an invitation from Alexander. The Green Party invited him to Wellington in late April with Eva. This day was ANZAC Day, an important holiday in New Zealand. Each party’s key members gather to pay tribute and lay flowers for the fallen soldiers.

There was still some time, so Wang Bo didn’t rush. During the lull, he activated the Heart of the Farm.

The Heart of the Ranch covered four square kilometers, the largest among all his territorial “hearts.” Once the Heart of the Farm was activated, the Heart of the Ranch seemed small. The Heart of the Farm affected an area ten times larger—forty square kilometers!

However, by New Zealand standards, a forty-square-kilometer farm wasn’t huge—just 4,000 hectares. In New Zealand, farms under 10,000 hectares could hardly call themselves large-scale.