The 12-square-ter cabin was just as Jennifer had described. While not large, the interior was exceptionally cozy and exquisite, making the most of every inch of space.
Just inside the door was a small living room and a fireplace.
To the left of the living room, against the wall, was a solid wood bunk bed covered with a soft, snow-white down duvet.
Beside the bed was a small nightstand, upon which sat a vintage kerosene lamp with an exquisitely embroidered shade.
To the right of the living room were the kitchen and bathroom. The space wasn’t large, but it offered incredible convenience.
Not having to run out into the frozen world in the middle of the night to use the bathroom was an undeniable improvent to their quality of life.
The bathroom even had a shower, complete with a water tank for hot water. For the won, this was an absolute godsend.
Jennifer began to introduce the cabin.
"This cabin’s kitchen was modified according to Ms. Jenny’s request. We installed a prep station as close to Michelin standards as possible. Factoring in the environnt, we also added a gas stove that can be connected to an external propane tank, and we put an extra-large water tank under the counter."
Looking at the brand-new prep station and the full set of knives and cookware in the cabinets, she saw that while the space wasn’t huge, it was more than enough for normal use. ’This is the barren Tundra; beggars can’t be choosers.’
Jenny nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.
"Alright, let’s leave Jenny and Tammy to get settled. Let’s go see Maria’s cabin!" Feng Shan called for everyone to head out.
Amidst a chorus of whoops and hollers,
Maria took her key and pushed open the door.
Compared to the bright style of Jenny and Tammy’s room, the interior of Maria’s cabin was more traditional.
The first thing that caught the eye was the deep brown wood flooring. The wooden walls had a dark-yellow hue, with the grain of the wood clearly visible, giving it a tribal, wilderness feel.
Most of the furniture inside was made of solid wood in a rustic style.
A similar solid wood bunk bed was placed in the corner, its fra carved with simple patterns.
On the other side of the room was a solid wood wardrobe. Next to it was a rectangular wooden table with several unadorned wooden chairs, as if waiting for a family to gather for a al.
The kitchen and bathroom were pretty much the sa.
After leaving Maria’s cabin, the others grew even more excited for their own.
Then, the roar of propellers sounded in the sky again.
’The big dragonfly is back already? It’s been less than half an hour. Is it really that fast?’
Everyone looked up.
Two standard-sized helicopters, each carrying a cabin, crested the snowy mountain.
"It’s the helicopters Uncle rented!" Andy squinted, recognizing the paint job on the choppers.
Tom looked up and sighed in relief. ’Those bastards didn’t hold back after all.’
"I thought they were going to stand us up."
The two helicopters arrived one after the other over the new campsite. They each set a cabin on the ground, and then the co-pilot’s door opened. A pilot wearing earmuffs leaned out, gave Tom an obscene gesture, and flew off.
"Fuck you, you sons of bitches! I’m docking your pay!" Tom angrily returned the gesture.
The two newly arrived cabins belonged to Yves and David.
They were 12 square ters and 6 square ters, respectively.
The n used the sa thod to drag the cabins next to the won’s so they could be there to help at a mont’s notice if anything happened.
Yves’s cabin, apart from having a small loft that could be converted into a small bedroom for a child, was mostly the sa as the others. It ca standard with a small living room, fireplace, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom.
In contrast, David’s cabin was much simpler. It had no kitchen, just a semi-loft bed, a living room, and a bathroom. After all, it was only 6 square ters, so space was limited.
He watched his other companions ride their snowmobiles back to the bus camp to get their luggage. Only Erica remained, her cheeks puffed out in a huff, trailing Feng Shan without moving an inch away from him.
Her main tactic was to not make a fuss, but to just shadow his every move.
’I’ll follow you wherever you go.’
"Look, Erica, I didn’t arrange the delivery. How was I supposed to know yours wasn’t in this batch? Go talk to Jennifer." Feng Shan turned to look at Erica’s aggrieved expression, a headache already forming.
Erica huffed, turned her head away from Feng Shan, and mumbled, "It’s your fault, anyway!"
’I...’
’Unbelievable.’
Feng Shan was speechless. He decided to just keep his mouth shut. ’It’s my fault whether I say anything or not.’
Nearby, Tom and Jennifer gleefully watched the drama unfold.
The straight-line distance from Prudhoe Bay to the Crown Territory was 322 kiloters. At the helicopter’s speed of 300 km/h, a round trip would take over two hours.
Soon, the CH-54 returned with the second batch of cabins, and among them was the garden cabin Erica had been dreaming of.
As soon as the cabin was set down, Erica couldn’t wait to fence off a small garden in front of her door. Then she set up the complintary sun umbrella and lounge chair inside it.
You had to admit, if you ignored the freezing temperature, it really did have the lazy feel of a sumr vacation spot.
With Erica taken care of and no little shadow tailing him anymore, Feng Shan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Next up were the remaining cabins and his own cabin villa.
The appearance of the cabins at the new campsite imdiately attracted Old Swan’s attention.
Old Swan brazenly sidled over, pretending not to understand and asking with a look of feigned surprise.
"Feng, are you planning to move your camp?"
Feng Shan shot him a look. ’Isn’t it obvious?’
"Yeah, the living space at the bus camp is too small. I’m planning to move the new camp over here."
"A wise decision. But don’t you think this plot of land is a bit large? The Crown Territory has so few people, won’t it feel too empty?"
Old Swan nodded in agreent, then looked back at the wide riverbank, an expression of indescribable envy in his eyes.
’What a great place!’
’It’s surrounded by snowy mountains, with such a large plot of land in the middle. Most importantly, there’s ground fire beneath it, making the temperature much higher than outside.’
’Compared to the bone-chilling cold of Kivalina, this place is practically the back garden of the Spirit of All Things.’
’And that miraculous ground fire.’
’If you just pray to it, you can feel the presence of the Spirit of All Things.’
’Feng Shan had explained that it was just a hallucination caused by inhaling a large amount of natural gas, and even when he prayed later, the feeling was gone.’
But Old Swan was still convinced it was because the Spirit of All Things had blessed this land.
In the few days he’d been in the Crown Territory, even his insomnia had vanished. The other town residents felt the sa way; their various physical ailnts had all improved.
Hearing the hidden aning in Old Swan’s words, Feng Shan would have to be an idiot not to get it.
’The Crown Territory has few people, while Kivalina has many.’
’You want to move here? Not a chance.’
Feng Shan turned and walked away, leaving Old Swan to scratch his head in frustration.
...
According to David’s plan,
The new camp as a whole occupied a long, narrow triangular area, surrounded by two lt Rivers flowing down from the snowy mountains.
At David’s suggestion, the area was temporarily divided into three parts. With the Fire Seed as the central line, the area to the left was the residential zone for the Crown Territory’s employees. The wide area to the right of the Fire Seed was the temporary residential zone. And Feng Shan’s cabin villa was to be built at the apex where the two rivers t.
This plan both made full use of the terrain’s features and rationally divided the functional areas.
The Crown Territory’s employee residential area was relatively independent and quiet, providing the staff with a comfortable living space.
The wide grounds of the temporary residential area would be easy to adjust and expand later, allowing it to et changing needs.
And the apex where Feng Shan’s cabin villa was located was the highest point, offering an open, beautiful view.
Not only could he enjoy the sight of the two Ice Rivers converging, but he could also admire the scenery of the surrounding snowy mountains.
This layout made the entire new camp orderly and full of life and vitality, laying a good foundation for their future.
As the third, fourth, and fifth batches of cabins were delivered one after another, the once-empty campsite gradually beca bustling.
Along with them ca the installation contractors from the Wind-Rolling Grass Company.
Snowmobiles zipped back and forth as the contractor’s workers busily unloaded cabin components, their shouts echoing through the area.
New cabins of various shapes and colors popped up like mushrooms throughout the camp.
Although the arrangent of the cabins was still a bit ssy, you could already get a sense of the future camp’s layout.
"Feng, can you save a cabin for ? I want to live here too." Tom awkwardly sidled up to Feng Shan. "I can pay for it myself. Or how about I give you the flight school as rent? What do you think?"
Oh!
"Are you sure about that?" Feng Shan stared at Tom with a grin.
He had previously agreed to buy his flight school for 50,000 US dollars but hadn’t paid yet, and now it was being offered for free.
"I’m sure. It’s yours!" Tom nodded without hesitation.
Feng Shan pointed to the cabins in the temporary residential area. "Alright then. But none of these cabins over here are for you. Go pick one for yourself in the temporary zone."
"Alright!" Tom grinned, grabbed his nephew Andy, and went to pick a cabin.
Standing to the side, Jennifer had an envious look on her face. ’Having a cabin here would be a dream co true.’ Unfortunately, while Tom could bring himself to ask, she couldn’t.
The delivery of the mini-cabins was only just completed by sunset. The cabin villa would have to be transported the next day.
This was because the temperature on the Tundra plumted at night, and the low temperatures would have nurous adverse effects on the helicopters.
For safety reasons, Feng Shan refused Manager Sam’s request to work overti.
In addition to the construction crew and the town’s loggers, a new batch of installation workers had now arrived.
There wasn’t enough ti to roast a whole reindeer again. Feng Shan simply brought over several stew pots from the bus camp, set them up over the fire, and threw chopped reindeer into the pots to cook. A separate pot was used to steam rice.
Reindeer at cooked quickly, and before long, a tempting aroma wafted from the pots.
The fire blazed, and the broth in the pots boiled, sending chunks of reindeer tumbling up and down as the stew gradually thickened.
Feng Shan skillfully stirred with a ladle, occasionally adding so spices to enrich the flavor.
Finally, he added chopped potatoes, which mingled with the tumbling reindeer at and the rich broth.
The potatoes gradually softened in the heat, absorbing the savory flavor of the reindeer and the richness of the stew.
Dozens of people gathered around the fire, their eyes glued to the stew pots, constantly swallowing their saliva.
Yesterday’s roasted reindeer feast had been a treat for everyone.
They didn’t know what Feng Shan was making today, but they could tell from the sll alone that it would be delicious.
"It’s about ready! Ti to eat!" Feng Shan shouted, and everyone grabbed their bowls and chopsticks.
The reindeer at was tender and juicy, the potatoes soft and flavorful. The two blended perfectly, exuding an intoxicating aroma, and a ladleful of the rich stew was poured over the rice.
The stew’s color was tempting and its flavor was rich, instantly coating the rice and reindeer.
As they put a spoonful of the hearty al into their mouths, the savory taste of the reindeer, the softness of the potatoes, the sweetness of the rice, and the richness of the stew all intertwined.
Delicious!
Amazing!
...
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