A gunshot rang out.

The warren of snow rabbits across from them was startled, scattering in all directions like an explosion of snowflakes.

Of course, a few unlucky ones were hit and fell. It was hard to tell who had shot which one in the moment.

It definitely wasn’t Black Hide or Hu Zi, though. They were just shooting for the thrill of it.

On the snow, the shot snow rabbits twitched in pain, their pure white fur stained with blood.

The other snow rabbits had already vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the snowfield, now a scene of recent fright and chaos.

"I hit one!" Su Ziweng exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running toward the snowfield not far away.

"I... I think I hit one too!" Hu Zi wasn’t sure about his own aim, but he figured that even a blind cat could catch a dead mouse. With a full magazine emptied, one of the bullets was bound to hit something.

Black Hide didn’t care about any of that. He slung his rifle over his back and said excitedly, "Let’s go! Time to collect the rabbits."

The others also got up, whooping and hollering as they slid down the snowy slope.

Of course, the fastest were Prince and Princess. The moment the men got up, the two little ones shot off into the distance with a WHOOSH.

’They’re just snow rabbits. What’s there to be so happy about?’

’I usually can’t even be bothered to hunt them.’

He had just fired all ten rounds from his magazine, and Nash and Yves had also opened fire. There were probably more than twenty snow rabbits lying on the snow, and he figured the three of them had shot the majority.

Feng Shan curled his lip. He put away his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle and called for Nash and Yves to go get the snowmobiles.

"Let’s go. Let the poor guys have their fun."

The three of them then drove their snowmobiles over to Zhang Kai, Hu Zi, and the others. The scattered rabbits had been piled together, and the group was posing with their guns for all sorts of photos.

After they had taken their fill of pictures, Nash and Yves loaded the snow rabbits onto the sled.

Since Zhang Kai, Hu Zi, and their group weren’t wearing appropriate cold-weather gear, the hunting trip had to be cut short.

Back at the River Beach Camp, when the women saw that so many people had gone out only to come back with a few snow rabbits, they all shot them disdainful looks.

Snow rabbits?

Here in the Far North Tundra, where life revolved around hunting, snow rabbits were usually a last resort, hunted only when food was extremely scarce.

A single snow rabbit wasn’t even worth the price of a bullet.

The men, who had been so excited just moments ago, now looked as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on them. The smiles on their faces slowly faded.

Dejected, they followed Feng Shan to the riverbank to process the snow rabbits.

Feng Shan usually handled the processing of animals himself.

There was no other way. Perhaps because resources were so abundant, Alaskans were extremely wasteful when processing animals.

With a snow rabbit, for instance, they would basically keep the two hind legs and the pelt, throwing away everything else like the head, kidneys, front legs, and saddle.

’All of that is delicious stuff!’

In Feng Shan’s eyes, even the slightest waste was shameful.

The bloody scent from processing the snow rabbits attracted schools of fish in the Ice River. Humpback salmon, pike, and freshwater cod followed the smell to the riverbank.

"Brother Feng, the fish in your river are huge," Su Ziweng said, spotting a fish that was nearly a meter long.

Feng Yang recognized the species of fish in the river at a glance. The problem was, this river wasn’t a large body of water—it was just over four meters wide and no more than three meters deep. How could so many large species of fish appear here?

"Those are humpback salmon. They can only survive in cold water. Xiaofeng, your river isn’t big, but it sure has a lot of fish species. Even burbot."

"Good eye!" Feng Shan chuckled, casually tossing the rabbit entrails he had just removed into the Ice River.

Instantly, the water churned and splashed as the school of fish frantically fought over the rabbit entrails.

"These fish were all caught from Gem Lake. There are plenty of fish in the lake bigger than these."

Hearing that he could catch such big fish, Feng Yang’s eyes lit up and he quickly asked.

"Gem Lake? Is it close to here?"

"It’s close." Feng Shan pointed toward the Melted Snow River Valley at the entrance to the Snow Mountain River Beach. "We passed by Gem Lake on our way back from the Tundra."

"Xiaofeng, could you find someone to take me fishing? To be honest, I prefer fishing to hunting," Feng Yang quickly requested. "I’m willing to pay a 500 US Dollar guide fee. How about it?"

"Sure. Yves, you go fishing with Feng Yang for a bit." Feng Shan turned to Yves. 500 US Dollars wasn’t a lot, but he could let Yves earn some pocket money.

"Okay. Should we go now?" Yves nodded. As one of Feng Shan’s bodyguards, whenever Nash was around, he would voluntarily step back into a secondary role.

"Let’s go, let’s go! I didn’t bring a fishing rod. Brother Feng, can I borrow yours?" His fishing itch acting up, Feng Yang just wanted to get to the water’s edge, cast his line, and feel the tug of a big fish on the hook.

"Go on. Little Grandma is at the bus camp. If you need anything, just ask him," Feng Shan said, continuing to busy himself with cleaning the snow rabbits.

Little Grandma!

The people around him froze for a second when they heard that.

So Feng Shan had an elder relative living in Crown Territory.

Black Hide and Hu Zi couldn’t sit still after hearing this. They had seen Little Grandpa in the final video message, but they had never met Little Grandma.

As Brother Shan’s younger brother and sister, his Little Grandma was their Little Grandma too. As juniors, it would be improper not to pay their respects.

"Bro, why didn’t you tell us you have a Little Grandma? Where is she? I’ll take Hua’Er to visit and bring some local specialties from home," Hu Zi complained.

Black Hide chimed in, "Yeah, isn’t your Little Grandma our Little Grandma too?"

"You guys want to meet Little Grandma?" Feng Shan looked up, a meaningful smile on his face.

"Of course! We’re the younger generation, we have to meet her. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing if word got out," Hu Zi and Black Hide said in unison.

"No need to go. He’ll come for lunch." Feng Shan placed the cleaned snow rabbits onto the sled. "What are you standing around for? Help me pull this back to the cabin."

「At noon.」

Naturally, it was another sumptuous feast of wild game. Aside from the homegrown lettuce, everything else came from the Tundra.

However, Zhang Kai, Hu Zi, and the group had eaten their fill of meat yesterday. Normally, they would have gorged themselves at the sight of wild game.

But the meat from yesterday hadn’t even finished digesting, and now they were faced with another table full of it. Their stomachs felt bloated, and instead, the basket of lettuce became everyone’s target.

"Younger Brother Feng, this lettuce tastes amazing. You must have had it flown in from the mainland. That must’ve been a lot of trouble," Zhang Kai said, grabbing a piece of crisp, fresh lettuce and stuffing it into his mouth in a couple of bites. The taste was fresh and sweet, completely different from the lettuce he ate back home.

Even Su Ziweng, who prided himself on being a die-hard carnivore, picked up a lettuce leaf and used it to wrap a piece of roast rabbit.

"Oh, this lettuce? I grew it all myself. If I had to fly it in from the mainland, the cost would be astronomical," Feng Shan said with a grin, pushing the bowl of lettuce in front of Zhang Kai and the others.

’He grew it himself?’

’Growing vegetables in Alaska’s Far North Tundra during winter?’

’What a joke.’

’The temperature is ten-plus degrees below zero. Wouldn’t they just freeze to death?’

"Younger Brother Feng, you really go all out. You even built a greenhouse at the camp. You’re really willing to spend money just for some fresh vegetables," Zhang Kai said, picking up another piece of lettuce.

He had to admit, after eating the lettuce, his stomach didn’t feel so heavy.

At the table, Xiaohua smiled and helped explain.

"Brother Kai, it’s not a greenhouse. Brother Shan started a vegetable patch by the river. Ms. Zhan took me to see it. There are several kinds of vegetables, and the tomatoes and peppers are already flowering."

WHAT!!

’An outdoor vegetable patch? In the Far North Tundra?’

Zhang Kai looked down at the lettuce leaf in his hand, his face a mask of disbelief.

"After lunch, you’re free to do whatever. You can wander around the camp. The scenery nearby is pretty nice," Feng Shan said with a laugh.

Nearby, Black Hide and Hu Zi sat in their chairs, glancing out the floor-to-ceiling windows from time to time.

"Why aren’t you two eating?" Xiaohua asked in a low voice, seeing how restless they looked.

"Hua’Er, Brother Shan has a Little Grandma, and he said she’s coming soon," Hu Zi quickly replied.

What?

A Little Grandma?

Hua’Er’s eyes went wide. She turned to look at Feng Shan. "Brother Shan, you have a Little Grandma? How come you never said anything?"

’Say anything?’

’How am I supposed to say it?’

’Tell you that Little Grandma is a 100% pure man?’

’Or that Little Grandpa got a marriage certificate with another man?’

Feng Shan wore a complicated smile. It was a pity the other members of the Crown Territory at the table couldn’t understand Mandarin, otherwise they would have died laughing.

VROOM VROOM!!

The sound of a snowmobile came from outside the cabin.

Everyone turned to look at the floor-to-ceiling windows. A blond man in cold-weather gear appeared outside, parking a snowmobile next to the cabin.

"Huh, isn’t that Lawyer Frank? What’s he doing in Crown Territory?" Xiaohua and the other two who had met Frank before were puzzled by his appearance.

The next moment.

Frank pushed the door open, entered, and smiled when he saw the full table in the dining room.

"Hello everyone. Welcome to Crown Territory."

Just then, Feng Shan stood up, went to hug Frank, and then turned to the crowd to introduce him in Mandarin.

"Everyone, this is my dear Little Grandma, Frank."

Ah!

The members of Crown Territory already knew Frank’s identity and didn’t think anything of it. It was the visitors from China who looked utterly shocked.

Logically, Feng Shan’s Little Grandma should have been an elderly woman, but they never expected her to be a middle-aged foreign man.

Xiaohua, Hu Zi, and Black Hide, in particular, stared at each other and then at Frank in disbelief.

How did the lawyer become Little Grandma? And a foreign man at that.

Before Feng Shan could step forward to explain, Frank spoke apologetically in Chinese.

"My apologies. This form of address must be confusing for you."

"Feng Shan’s Little Grandpa and I met when we were young. We went through a lot together, and although we’re from different countries, our bond is incredibly deep."

"Feng Shan is a good kid. He has always respected me and made me feel the warmth of a family. I hope you won’t feel awkward because of who I am. We are all family here."

"Not at all, not at all!" Zhang Kai and the other three quickly stood up and replied.

After all, they often traveled internationally and were quite worldly. It wasn’t as if they’d never seen a relationship between two men before. After a moment of surprise, their expressions quickly returned to normal.

The world is a vast place; all sorts of different people and things can exist.

’What’s the big deal?’

It was Xiaohua, Hu Zi, and Black Hide who didn’t know what to do. It was their first time encountering a situation like this. It would be wrong not to acknowledge him, especially since Brother Shan had confirmed it, but calling a man "Little Grandma" just felt so awkward.

In the end, Black Hide took the lead. He walked forward, bowed to Frank, and said, "Little Grandma, I’m Black Hide, Brother Shan’s younger brother."

With Black Hide leading the way, Hu Zi and Xiaohua followed, bowing as well.

"Little Grandma, I’m Hu Zi. I’m Brother Shan’s younger brother too."

"Little Grandma, I’m Xiaohua, Brother Shan’s younger sister."

"Good, good!!" Frank beamed. The day before yesterday, he had heard from Feng Shan that Xiaohua’s group was coming to Crown Territory. Feng had persuaded him that, as an elder, he should meet the younger generation. Otherwise, they might run into each other later without knowing who the other was, which could lead to an awkward situation.

Frank also knew what Feng Shan was up to—solidifying this identity. He promptly pulled three thick red envelopes from his coat. "According to our Chinese customs, an elder should give red envelopes when meeting the younger generation."

This!!

Xiaohua, Hu Zi, and Black Hide turned to look at Feng Shan.

"What are you looking at me for? If he’s giving them to you, just take them. Or do you want me to take them for you!" Feng Shan laughed.

"Thank you, Little Grandma!" the three of them said, accepting the red envelopes with big smiles.

...