Landlord in the Arctic-Chapter 93: Lending a Hand

The cold wind blowing from the Tundra slammed snowflakes against the bus.

In the warm bedroom, the three little ones, tired from playing, were now nestled quietly beside Feng Shan.

Picking up the deerskin blanket, Feng Shan gently covered them and turned off the kerosene lamp.

The bedroom fell into darkness, with only the occasional flicker of light and shadow from the aurora outside the window.

He slipped into the patch of bed warmed by the three little ones.

Before falling asleep, Feng Shan communicated with the tribe’s Fire Seed.

At this point, the area illuminated by the Fire Seed’s light had expanded to about 0.8 acres, but beyond that, it was still pitch black.

The closer to the center of the Fire Seed, the more lushly the moss grew. Conversely, the farther away it was, the more malnourished the moss appeared.

The sown vegetable seeds had already broken through the soil and sprouted. It looked like the first batch of vegetables would soon be on the dinner table.

Nash sat by the fire pit, hugging his knees and staring blankly at the Fire Seed. A few faces were crudely sketched in the gravelly soil before him.

The Fire Seed flickered in the pit, its warm light illuminating his somewhat lonely face.

Feng Shan couldn’t tell who the crudely drawn faces were supposed to be.

’Perhaps family, or maybe friends.’

’Whatever the case, it seems Nash has been away from home for a long time. As his big brother, I should do something.’

Thinking of this, Feng Shan withdrew from the Fire Seed’s space and drifted off to sleep, lost in thought.

...

「October 11, 2017 - Thursday」

Max Temp: -3°C, Min Temp: -8°C. Cloudy, overcast, level 3 south wind. Low temperatures to continue for the next week.

Estimated Sunrise: 9:31:29 AM, Estimated Sunset: 7:21:37 PM, Daylight: 9h 50m 8s.

His biological clock woke Feng Shan up promptly at six-thirty. He got dressed, walked out to the living room, and added firewood to the fireplace, his breath misting in the cold air.

He lifted the curtain. Outside, the light reflected off the snow, casting a dim, grayish-white pallor over the sky. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Boil water, wash up, make breakfast.

His routine was methodical and unchanging, and Feng Shan comfortably savored this monotony.

Breakfast consisted of a pot of white rice porridge, steamed buns made from dough prepared in advance, leftover musk ox meat, pickles made by Xiaohua, and fermented bean paste.

While waiting for the porridge to finish cooking, Feng Shan took out his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle and disassembled it according to the maintenance manual.

He used a special cleaning agent to maintain the chamber, barrel, bolt, and bayonet, removing carbon buildup and copper fouling. He then wiped the exterior of the rifle with a cotton cloth to clean off any grime.

Then, he lubricated the components with gun oil and finished by wiping the surface with a preservative to prevent rust and oxidation.

After finishing the maintenance, Feng Shan reassembled the Type 56. He pulled the bolt, felt its smooth action, and nodded in satisfaction.

Just then, the lid of the stew pot on the fireplace began to rattle.

Feng Shan used a chopstick to lift a corner of the lid. The roiling, bubbling porridge quickly settled, and a rich, fragrant aroma of rice began to waft through the air.

Outside, the sky gradually brightened.

Nash walked into the bus carrying two wild rabbits. Ever since they had cleared a path up the mountain, the kid had been getting home on time every morning, just in time for breakfast.

"Nash, after breakfast, let’s go to the forest and pick out some trees for the cabin."

"Okay!" Nash replied in a subdued voice while eating his porridge.

Feng Shan had kept what Frank said before he left in mind.

To be honest, the bus was big enough for one or two people, but with more people coming to the Crown Territory later, he couldn’t just keep sleeping on the floor forever.

Besides, the bus was his grand-uncle’s home, not his own.

The plan to build a new house was now on Feng Shan’s agenda.

As for the location, it would naturally be the Glacial River Beach. The area was large enough, had a water source, and the environment was pleasant. As the Fire Seed continued to expand its illuminated range, the entire Glacial River Beach would eventually be enveloped by it.

At that point, the Glacial River Beach would no longer be just a desolate wilderness, but a land teeming with life.

He imagined a day in the future when a house of his own would stand on this fertile land.

’That would be life’s ultimate destination.’

After breakfast, the two of them grabbed their gear and headed into the Moonlight Forest. A patrolling White Wolf heard the noise and ran over. Seeing it was Feng Shan, it immediately howled to summon its companions.

In a moment, six more White Wolves darted out of the forest and gathered around Feng Shan.

"Go on about your business, don’t mind me," Feng Shan said with a satisfied wave.

Saying it was one thing, but whether they’d listen was another matter entirely.

As Feng Shan and Nash wandered through the forest, the seven White Wolves spread out and followed from a distance, protecting them.

In northwestern Alaska, with the Brooks Range as the treeline, the Moonlight Forest was dominated by tree species such as North American larch, western hemlock, Pacific silver fir, and birch.

For the cabin materials, Feng Shan planned to use larch.

Larch trees grew to about 20 meters tall. Their wood was heavy and solid, with high compressive and bending strength, and it was resistant to rot. People living in the Far North Tundra Region almost exclusively used this type of tree to build their cabins.

After selecting a suitable larch tree, Feng Shan used an axe to chop away a ring of bark and some of the heartwood around its base, then moved on to select the next one.

It was a necessary measure.

A single larch tree, 20 centimeters in diameter and 20 meters tall, weighed over a thousand pounds. Felling it and then trying to carry it from the forest to the Glacial River Beach... Even if the two of them worked themselves to death, they wouldn’t be able to haul more than a few logs in a day.

It was better to just kill the trees first and then, once he’d gathered enough, have them airlifted by helicopter directly to the Glacial River Beach.

Along the way, Feng Shan selected over a hundred suitable larch trees, stripping their bark and tying ropes around them as markers.

Midway through, he received a call from Old Swan in Kivalina.

He invited Feng Shan to be a guest in Kivalina.

’What’s so fun about that godforsaken place? There’s nothing but snow and ice, plus disgusting food like shark meat and pickled auks.’

Feng Shan refused the invitation, using the excuse that he was too busy preparing to build his cabin.

But Old Swan didn’t give up, laying on the flattery over the phone. It wasn’t until Feng Shan threatened to hang up the satellite phone that the old man finally told him the truth.

Ever since their last trip out to sea where they caught a large number of whitefish, the town’s residents had enjoyed a few good days of feasting.

But as the food aid promised by the state government failed to arrive, and with the reindeer needing time to adjust their migration patterns even after the Fenrir Wolf Pack was killed, the town’s food stores had become tight once again.

Old Swan, feeling confident again, had led the townspeople out to sea several times, but their catches were meager. They didn’t catch many fish and ended up losing a lot of money on fuel.

So the townspeople started to wonder where the problem lay.

After much thought, they ended up attributing the problem to Feng Shan’s absence. The town elders believed Feng Shan was a person blessed by the Spirit of All Things, which was why he’d had such a bountiful harvest at sea.

Therefore, the townspeople had Old Swan make the satellite call to Feng Shan, asking him to come to Kivalina again.

After hearing the whole story, Feng Shan had mixed feelings.

’So they’re treating me like a walking good-luck charm! They only think of me when they’re out of food.’

He was about to refuse again when he suddenly remembered that the Fire Seed was in desperate need of Soul Power. Helping out in Kivalina with the fishing could both accumulate Soul Power and earn him some goodwill.

He agreed in his heart but decided to play it cool.

"Well, Old Swan, you know, I’m busy building my cabin right now. I really can’t find the time."

Hearing this, Old Swan understood the implication and got straight to the point.

"Feng, the rule on the Tundra is, if you don’t have money, you pay with labor. We’re asking for your help with the fishing, and we don’t have money to pay you, but we can send people to help you build your cabin to cover the cost. How about it?"

"Oh, we’re all friends, there’s no need for all that. Well then, it’s a deal. I’ll fly over first thing tomorrow morning."

...