Landlord in the Arctic-Chapter 60: Customs

The airport parking lot.

Feng Mountain sat in the back seat, his face expressionless. Outside the car, Frank was apologizing profusely, while beside him stood the reporter, Julie, her eyes shimmering.

"Buddy, I’m sorry. I was so busy I completely forgot."

"I was working overtime all night for you. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Julie."

Heh!

’As if I’d believe your bullshit.’

’Was it really ’work’ you were doing overtime?’

Feng Mountain glanced at the dark circles under Frank’s eyes. ’Witchcraft is useful, but it’s not omnipotent. Overdo it, and it’ll still take a toll on your body.’

"Oh, right. Here’s your FFL license. You can buy guns whenever you want now." Remembering something, Frank quickly ducked into the car and eagerly handed over a set of documents.

Feng Mountain took the documents, looking at Frank’s pitiful expression.

Feng Mountain was in no mood to argue with him. He shook his head. "Which hospital was Susan taken to? I want to go see her."

"Memorial Hospital," Julie chimed in, seizing the opportunity to ease the awkward atmosphere. "Frank and I went to visit her last night."

"What are you waiting for? Let’s go to the hospital!" Feng Mountain shot Frank a glare. The latter’s face lit up, and he scrambled into the driver’s seat. Julie, who had been standing by the car, walked around the front with a strange gait, pulled open the passenger door, and sat down.

The moment she made contact with the seat, she shot up as if electrocuted, her beautiful eyebrows knitting together tightly.

"The seat’s a little hot. Probably from the sun," Julie said, her expression quickly returning to normal as she slowly sat back down.

Gripping the steering wheel, Frank tried to cover for her. "Fuck! Goddamn sun."

’What a shameless pair.’

’Can’t they open their eyes and look at the sky?’

’It’s completely overcast. What sun?’

’Are we in the desert or something?’

Feng Mountain was so speechless he didn’t want to say a word. He turned his head and saw the Dawn Airport staff performing maintenance on the Carnation.

The car started and pulled out of the parking lot.

The awkward atmosphere in the car had yet to dissipate. The shameless pair in the front seats were too embarrassed to speak.

Feng Mountain had even less desire to engage with them and kept his gaze fixed out the window. Suddenly, he spotted a flower shop by the side of the road.

"Stop the car!"

As soon as he spoke, Frank slammed on the brakes. The immense inertia threw everyone in the car forward. Julie let out a faint whimper, her expression twisted in pain.

"Buddy, what’s up?"

"Getting some flowers." Feng Mountain pushed open the car door and walked toward the flower shop. Inside the car, Julie quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and shifted sideways on the seat to relieve the pain.

「Ten minutes later.」

Feng Mountain returned to the car, holding not only a bouquet of carnations but also a variety of fruits.

"Buddy, are you buying all this stuff to take back to camp?" Frank asked, confused. "Shouldn’t you go to Walmart Supermarket to stock up on supplies?"

"You don’t bring gifts when you visit someone who’s sick?" Feng Mountain retorted irritably.

"Fuck, the customs for visiting patients in your country are great. In Alaska, you’re not allowed to visit a patient without the doctor’s permission, and they can’t eat any food brought by visitors either." Frank had an envious look on his face, but Julie gave him a discreet tug, reminding him to pay attention to Feng Mountain’s darkening expression.

They arrived at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

Visiting a patient in a foreign hospital is completely different from visiting one in China. In China, as long as it’s during visiting hours and the patient doesn’t have a serious infectious disease, visitors can go directly into the ward to see, comfort, and talk with the patient.

But at Memorial Hospital, a patient’s room was treated like a bedroom—a private space. As long as the patient was able to leave their room, they were not allowed to receive visitors there. Visits had to take place in the ward’s reception area, and a doctor would only permit a visit inside the room at the patient’s specific request.

"So many damn rules just to see one person. Can’t bring this, can’t bring that... I bought all this stuff for nothing," Feng Mountain grumbled, sitting dejectedly in the reception area. He still had a red envelope, wrapped in colorful paper, in his pocket, which he had planned to give to Aunt Susan.

"Buddy, do you know you almost got arrested? Who gives money directly to a doctor? Didn’t you know Dr. Ross almost called the Department of Health to report you for bribery?" Frank walked into the reception area, looking at Feng Mountain with a speechless expression.

"How was I supposed to know? They wouldn’t let me bring the flowers and fruit, so I asked the doctor to pass the red envelope to Susan. In our country, giving red envelopes when visiting the sick is a traditional custom," Feng Mountain said with an innocent look.

"Bullshit!" Frank opened his mouth, then let out a heavy sigh. "What a ’great’ custom. No wonder it’s so hard to get a green card for your country."

Just then, Julie walked into the reception area with Dr. Robert.

When Dr. Robert saw Feng Mountain—the guy who had almost made him violate the Anti-Kickback Statute—he didn’t look pleased. He chose to ignore Feng Mountain, walked straight up to Frank, and began to describe Susan’s condition.

"The patient’s vital signs are currently stable, and the surgery was a success. Her main injuries are a scalp laceration, a displaced skull fracture, a severe bite wound on her left shoulder, fractures to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th ribs, comminuted fractures in her right arm and left leg, and a torn knee ligament."

"God bless poor Susan. With injuries this severe, it’s a miracle her internal organs weren’t damaged and there was no massive blood loss. In past cases with this kind of trauma, the bleeding would have been severe, even life-threatening—unless some kind of emergency field surgery was performed on her during the rescue."

’Emergency field surgery?’

’That was Witchcraft, okay?’

’You Alaskan bumpkin.’

Feng Mountain pursed his lips and stood up. "As long as she’s okay. I’m heading back to the Crown Territory now."

The moment she heard Feng Mountain was returning to the Crown Territory, Julie became unhappy. ’I went through all that trouble, and my whole body is aching, all for the sake of getting an exclusive interview. How can I put in all the work and get nothing in return?’

At this thought, she quickly winked at Frank. ’You were the one making all those wild promises last night,’ she thought, ’even swearing on your grandmother’s life that you’d get Feng Mountain to agree to an exclusive interview.’

Frank gave a subtle nod, signaling her not to worry.

After politely seeing the doctor off, Frank deliberately cleared his throat. "Buddy, you didn’t get much rest last night, which could affect your flying. Why don’t I find a place for us to grab a cup of coffee and a bite to eat?"

’This son of a bitch is up to something.’

Feng Mountain narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Frank. Suddenly, he smiled. "Frank, did you know you have a little tell when you lie?"

Frank panicked inwardly but forced an awkward smile. "Buddy, what are you talking about? I don’t understand."

Feng Mountain raised a hand and pointed to the left corner of his own mouth. "Every time you lie, the corner of your mouth twitches up subconsciously. So, spill it. What do you really want?"

"Shit, are you a psychologist or something? How could you spot such a tiny movement?" As a lawyer and Fairbanks’s chief contrarian and acid tongue, Frank was well aware of his own flaw. It was a habit he’d had since childhood that he usually concealed with a smile. He never thought Feng Mountain would notice.

He then shrugged and pointed at Julie.

"This lady wants to do an exclusive interview with you. I promised to act as the middleman and connect you two. Buddy, I’ve already taken the deposit."

’Deposit?’

’A deposit from the bed, you mean?’

Feng Mountain couldn’t be bothered to expose Frank’s shameless lie.

"How will it affect me? You know I like my peace and quiet. I don’t like being in the public eye."

Hearing this, Frank knew he had a chance. He quickly said, "Don’t worry, it’s just a simple interview. It won’t disturb your life. Plus, it’ll boost your reputation, which will be very helpful for your life here in Alaska."

"Let’s go to the Walmart Supermarket. I need to buy some supplies anyway," Feng Mountain said with a nod, then turned and walked out of the reception area.

...

Kevik Camp.

The blizzard was still howling.

Inside a shipping container house at the camp, a poor, lonely Hunter was wrapped in a blanket, staring hopelessly out the window at the heavy, goose-feather snow, muttering to himself.

"When will the rescue team get here?"

...