HLM – Chapter 995 Overview Analysis

Wang Bo had chosen a farm area that faced the ranch from a distance. He decided to build the farm south of Highway 8.

Building a farm wasn’t as simple as picking a piece of land and planting the “Heart of the Farm”—that was only the beginning.

First came defining the farm’s boundaries. This part was relatively simple: he just marked out a square area within the control range of the “Heart of the Ranch.”

When Hani heard that Wang Bo wanted to develop agriculture, he was puzzled. “Boss, you come up with something on a whim. Why suddenly build a farm? Wouldn’t it be better to expand the ranch?”

The Sunset Town ranch was already famous, and it kept landing large orders. Expanding the ranch seemed like the sensible choice.

Wang Bo understood this, which is why he had hoped to get more “Hearts of the Ranch.” But luck wasn’t on his side—when he didn’t want the ranch, the Hearts kept coming; now that he wanted to build a ranch, none appeared.

Still, building a farm wasn’t bad. After all, agriculture is the foundation of society—food is the people’s lifeblood. Achieving self-sufficiency in food was important for Sunset Town.

“Winter is coming soon. Boss, are you sure you want to start a farm now?” Kidd asked.

Hani shook his head. “You don’t understand, kid. If the boss wants to build a farm, construction has to start this season. Building a farm from bare land isn’t something that can be done in a few days.”

“Building a farm starts with clearing wild grass. In winter, weeds wither; a fire to burn them, combined with machinery to remove the roots, makes the workload much lighter than in spring or summer.”

Indeed, Wang Bo had held the “Heart of the Farm” for two months but hadn’t used it yet—he had been waiting for the season when weeds wither to get started.

Hani discussed the matter with him. “If you’re committed to building a farm as an investment, that’s fine. There’s plenty of plains in Sunset Town—making use of them is always a good thing.”

New Zealand is famously sparsely populated and seemingly rich in land. But that mainly applies to the North Island: low terrain, continuous plains, fertile soil.

The South Island was different. Mountains covered 70% of the land, hills 21%, and plains only about 9%.

Sunset Town spanned 1,000 square kilometers, but 200 of those were part of the Southern Alps to the north. Most of the remaining land was hilly. Fortunately, hills could still be used for grazing—Wang Bo’s free-range method suited cattle and sheep on hilly terrain.

With a free day, Wang Bo went to the grocery store and bought lots of fence posts and ropes, then, with Atulu and a few others, began surveying the land.

The farm covered 40 square kilometers. On paper it didn’t seem much, but in practice, it was huge. Driving around it took him an entire hour! Of course, the rugged terrain of the wilderness slowed the vehicle considerably.

“This farm is huge! It takes an hour just to drive around,” Kidd exclaimed.

Atulu said, “So you mean we need a different vehicle, right?”

The farm area had been carefully chosen by Wang Bo. Sunset Town had 200–300 square kilometers of plains, but the vegetation was chaotic, and some areas were hard to clear.

Since the Mesozoic era, New Zealand had been isolated from other continents, so its plant species were unique, relatively few in variety but abundant in quantity.

The South Island’s long sunlight hours and ample rainfall created ideal conditions for plant growth. Plains were filled with weeds, ferns, and trees like kauri, conifers, laurels, and New Zealand hemp. Clearing weeds was relatively easy; trees, much harder.

Wang Bo wasn’t very experienced in agriculture, so Hani suggested hiring a professional team to develop the farm. It would cost money but save a lot of trial and error.

Elizabeth said, “I can help with that. I took agricultural courses at school and know some professors. Their graduate teams take on projects like this.”

The University of Otago’s name carried weight, so Wang Bo had her make contact.

Elizabeth acted decisively and quickly secured a result: a professor named Brandt Hamilton, an expert in agriculture and environmental science, agreed to assist.

Professor Brandt was well-known in New Zealand, hired by many large South Island farms for layout design. He excelled at matching species to the environment and could give Wang Bo valuable advice.

He charged 400,000 yuan from hire to farm completion—a reasonable fee in Wang Bo’s eyes.

By the end of the month, Brandt arrived and immediately proved his worth. He brought two graduate students and a report analyzing Sunset Town’s soil, water, and climate resources to guide farm construction.

New Zealand soils are generally divided into three types: zonal, intrazonal, and azonal. South Island soils are typically zonal, but Sunset Town was an exception.

“We collected soil samples from Sunset Town years ago,” Brandt explained, “and found it influenced by pumice and volcanic ash. Strange, because there are no volcanoes nearby, right?”

Brandt, a middle-aged man who looked more like a farmer than a professor, even wore rubber boots when meeting Wang Bo—a classic farmer’s attire.

Wang Bo said, “There shouldn’t be any volcanoes nearby.”

Brandt shook his head. “I thought the same until I investigated Sunset Town and learned you recently discovered hot springs.”

The hot springs were famous, and Wang Bo’s investment in them drew attention.

“Hot springs indicate geothermal energy. I studied South Island’s geology and concluded that there had been a large volcano here in the past, whose eruption formed Lake Hāwea.”

Wang Bo was anxious. “Are you saying there’s a volcano in our town?”

Brandt laughed. “No, you misunderstand. The volcano existed hundreds of thousands or even millions of years ago. I’m just analyzing the soil conditions of Sunset Town.”

Wang Bo understood and gestured for him to continue.

After discussing soil, Brandt explained the water resources.

Sunset Town had ample water. The strong, humid westerlies bring abundant rain to New Zealand, but mountain ranges parallel to the coast block some of it. Rainfall is generally heavier in the west than the east.

The town is in the central region, with average rainfall around 2,000 mm annually—enough to meet the farm’s needs.