By the time the Carnation entered Crown Territory Airspace, the sky had already grown dark.

Out on the tundra, time could pass quickly, or it could pass slowly.

A fishing trip to the sea had cost them an entire day, most of which was wasted on the plane.

Feng Shan deliberately flew the Carnation over Moonlight Forest. Drag marks were clearly visible on the snow, and Inuit tents dotted the edge of the woods.

The marks in the snow extended all the way to the Glacial River Beach.

As the Carnation arrived over the river beach, he saw that the tundra cleared by the Fire Seed was severely damaged. The once lush green moss was scarred with long drag marks, exposing the brown earth beneath.

Sitting in the cabin, Old Swan rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

In winter, the only green in the Far North Region was the forest near the Bruce Mountains, while the vegetation on the tundra had long been buried by snow.

And yet, here was a stretch of green tundra.

The plane continued onward, arriving at the new campsite selected yesterday for the log cabins.

A pile of freshly cut logs was stacked on the mossy ground. People were stripping branches from the trunks, and when they heard the noise of the propeller, they all looked up and waved at the sky.

Feng Shan found a level spot and landed.

Unexpectedly, the first person off the plane was Old Swan. The old guy leaped from the plane and ran to the mossy ground, where he carefully scooped up a handful of moss to feel if it was real.

It was real.

Old Swan’s head snapped up, his eyes searching for Feng Shan, demanding an answer.

But Feng Shan had already gone over to the construction site. He’d told David beforehand that no structures were to be built within a hundred-meter radius of the Fire Seed.

Even outside the hundred-meter zone, they couldn’t just build haphazardly. There would definitely be more cabins in the future, and if they built one here and another there, the place would end up looking like a messy pigsty once a few were up.

Feng Shan found David, who was covered in a nervous sweat. Already weak from anorexia, he now looked unsteady on his feet.

"David, what’s going on?"

"Boss, we have a problem!" David swayed on his feet, and Feng Shan, alarmed, quickly helped him to sit down.

"Easy, now. Tell me what happened."

After David caught his breath, he pointed at the pile of wood. "Boss, this timber can’t be used. The freshly cut trunks still have moisture in them. If we force it and build the cabins, they will start to lean after the wood dries, and in severe cases, they will collapse."

"I know." Of course Feng Shan knew the dangers of building with green wood, but they desperately needed housing right now.

David sighed and hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"If there’s no other way, we could order complete log cabins directly from Fairbanks. These are prefabricated in a factory and then shipped to the Crown Territory for on-site assembly. The logistics are more complex, but it would save a lot of time."

’They can do that?’

’We don’t have to build them from scratch on-site?’

Feng Shan was surprised. As far as he knew, building a house meant hauling all the materials to the site and putting it together piece by piece.

"They’ve had these for ages. They’re called prefab log cabins. All the components are made in a factory beforehand and then shipped over for assembly. The only thing is, they’re a bit expensive." Too busy to mock Feng Shan’s ignorance, David quickly explained what he knew.

SMACK!

Feng Shan slapped his thigh hard.

’If I’d known these things existed, what was the point of all this fucking around?’

’Hiring all these people to chop down trees... what a fucking waste!’

"Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?"

"I... I thought you wanted that rustic, wilderness-tribe style of log cabin, and that you wanted to build it by hand."

’Wilderness my...’

Feng Shan’s eyes widened, but when he saw the hurt look on David’s face, his rising frustration instantly vanished. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Do you have contact info for any prefab cabin companies?"

"No." David shook his head. He’d been a drifter ever since he dropped out of school; he wouldn’t have been in a position to know about them.

"Forget it, I’ll figure it out." After a moment’s thought, Feng Shan pulled out his satellite phone and called his all-purpose assistant, Frank.

After a few rings, Frank’s voice came through. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Buddy, what do you need?"

Feng Shan skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. "Do you know anyone who does prefab log cabins? I’m looking to order a few."

"Prefab log cabins? Give me five minutes, I’ll call you back." Frank asked no further questions and hung up.

「Five minutes later.」

An unknown number appeared on the satellite phone.

When he answered, a woman spoke.

"Hello, this is Jennifer from the Wind-Rolling Grass House Company. Mr. Frank mentioned you were in need of custom log cabins."

"That’s right, I might need 6... no, 10 log cabins. Is that a problem?"

"Not a problem at all. Wind-Rolling Grass House Company offers personalized custom cabin services, and we can provide our clients with the highest quality service in any environment. May I ask for your location?"

"The tundra in the Alaska Far North Region." Feng Shan was tired of the exaggerated sales pitch.

Jennifer asked seriously over the phone, "Could you give me your precise location on the tundra? I can head out to visit you right now."

"Far North Tundra, Crown Territory. If you leave now, maybe I can treat you to a late-night supper," Feng Shan said, now completely convinced she was full of it. It was already getting dark, yet she claimed she could set out immediately.

"It would be even better if there’s ice-cold beer!"

"No problem, goodbye!"

Hanging up, Feng Shan looked at David. "All set. But next time, give me a heads-up about things like this, man. I’ve only been in Alaska for a few days; there’s a lot of new stuff I’ve never even heard of."

David scratched his head in embarrassment. "Sorry. If we use prefab log cabins, what about those loggers?"

Feng Shan stood up. "They’re already here, and they’re not eating our reindeer for free. Have them keep logging for now. We’ll decide what to do after the people from the Wind-Rolling Grass Company get here. We can just treat it as stockpiling lumber."

Just then, Maria came storming over with Tammy in tow. She pointed down in distress at the tundra, which had been torn up by the sled runners.

"Khilla, look at Old Swan and the others! They’ve crushed all the moss berries."

Seeing Maria acting like a fretful mother hen, Feng Shan placated her with a smile.

"It’s alright, it will grow back in a couple of days."

"Really?" Maria gave him a look that said, ’Don’t you lie to me.’

Feng Shan could only laugh it off and change the subject. ’Was he supposed to tell her that the Fire Seed would make all the crushed moss grow back?’

"Is the food for the workers ready?"

At the mention of this, Maria pouted. "Nash sent over a reindeer. Those Inuit can really eat—they go through a whole reindeer in a single day!"

Feng Shan couldn’t help but laugh.

’He really wanted to add, ’You’re an Inuit yourself, from the same tribe even. Is it really right to talk about your own people that way?’’

But he could only say that in his head, of course.

If he pissed Maria off and she decided to make another pot of her seal oil stew for dinner, now *that* would be a real headache.

He immediately made an excuse about needing to move the Carnation back to the landing strip, leaving David to face Maria’s wrath alone.

Carrying the foam box full of white fish, he walked into the camp.

The three little ones, who were snuggled together under the wooden shed, spotted him and came trotting over to greet him, each trying to outdo the other in acting cute.

"So, you decided to come back, did you? Was it the noise from the chainsaws that chased you back?" Feng Shan said, picking up Coca-Cola and starting to pet it. Prince pawed frantically at his pant leg, whining, desperate for his master’s attention too.

Feng Shan put Coca-Cola down and grabbed the dog by his front paws, lifting him up to face him. He suddenly realized that in just a few days, the goofy dog had gotten bigger again. He was already almost half the size of a full-grown dog.

"You dumb dog, you’ve gotten fat again!"

Prince, delighted, wiggled his head and stuck out his tongue, giving Feng Shan a face full of licks.

Just then, Jenny stepped out of the bus. Seeing the man and dog being so affectionate, she said with a laugh, "Khilla, Prince has been running to the latrine a lot lately."

Life in the frigid Far North Tundra Region was different from the city. To deal with matters of urination and defecation, they would typically dig a temporary pit some distance away, using branches for privacy. Once it was full, they would simply bury it and dig a new pit elsewhere.

Whether it was cold or not depended on your speed. As long as you finished your business before anything froze, you were safe. In the most extreme cold, however, you had to take care of it indoors.

Hearing that Prince had been running to the latrine...

"!!!" Feng Shan, still holding Prince, froze, completely dumbfounded.

’What would a dog be doing running to the latrine?’

’Besides eating shit, what else would it be doing? It’s not like he’s going there to take a shit himself!’

Prince suddenly felt waves of killing intent radiating from his master. It was too late to run. He just felt a sharp pain on the scruff of his neck.

"You’re doing this just to gross me out, aren’t you?" Feng Shan growled, his face dark. ’It felt like a thousand horses were stampeding through his mind.’ His own face suddenly felt incredibly disgusting, as if it was covered in something foul.

WHINE!!

Seeing there was no escape, Prince could only squirm, sticking out his tongue placatingly in a desperate attempt to look cute.

Unfortunately, Feng Shan wasn’t buying it. He hauled Prince into the bus and came out holding a toothbrush and toothpaste.

He then pinned Prince down on his lap, forced the dog’s mouth open, and gave his teeth a vigorous SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB with the toothpaste-laden brush.

White foam frothed from Prince’s mouth. He didn’t dare get angry, only blinking pitifully as he pleaded with his sisters for help.

The Little Wolf Cub, thinking it looked like fun, ran over and licked some of the foam off the ground. The minty flavor made her shake her head vigorously.

"See that? This is what happens to anyone who dares go eat shit in the latrine again!" Feng Shan continued brushing Prince’s teeth, making an example of him for the Little Wolf Cub to see.

Coca-Cola didn’t need the warning; cats don’t eat shit.

It was instead more interested in the foam box full of white fish.

The smell wafting from the box was very enticing.

This was the first time Jenny had ever seen someone brush a dog’s teeth. Seeing Prince’s look of utter despair, she doubled over with laughter.

Feng Shan poured some water into Prince’s mouth, then held it shut and shook his head a few times to make him rinse. After Prince spat the water out, Feng Shan leaned in for a sniff. Confirming the absence of any shitty smell, he finally dropped the dog on the ground.

Once free, Prince pawed frantically at his mouth, all the while barking indignantly at Feng Shan.

"Come here, boy! Come get a hug!" Feng Shan knew Prince was cussing him out and deliberately held out his arms, trying to trick him into coming closer.

Prince wasn’t falling for it. He just stood his ground from a distance and kept barking.

The Little Wolf Cub, on the other hand, trotted over. Feng Shan picked her up. "Since you’re a member of the family now, you should have a name too. What about Princess? Jenny, what do you think?"

"It’s a wonderful name!" said Jenny, who was taking down dried venison from a rack. Of course, she wasn’t going to object to such a dignified name, especially for the little white wolf. She deserved it.

’Though, calling a Husky ’Prince’ was kind of an insult to the name.’

"Where are Nash and the others?" Feng Shan asked, holding Princess as he looked around the camp. He didn’t see the others.

Jenny took the air-dried venison from the drying rack.

"They went to the loggers’ camp to deliver a reindeer. Do we need to prepare extra food tonight for them?"

"Never mind, you guys go ahead and eat. I’ll be eating at their camp tonight." Feng Shan put Princess down, walked over to where Coca-Cola was, and opened the foam box. He took out a large, frozen-solid white fish. "I caught this from the Ice Sea. Everyone can have a taste tonight."

Seeing the white fish, Jenny’s eyes lit up with the delight of a chef who’s just found a prized ingredient.

"Alaska Pollock? I could make pan-seared pollock, French-style, tonight. How does that sound?"

"By all means, madam. It’s all yours."

...