After a long and tiring journey, three snow-capped mountains ca into view through the windshield.
In the darkness of night, they stood like three silent giants, exuding a mysterious, majestic aura.
Pristine white snow covered their peaks, shimring faintly in the moonlight.
Feng suppressed his excitent and piloted the Carnation over the mountains.
The River Beach Camp ca into view.
The familiar sight sent a wave of warmth through Feng, and it felt as if all his exhaustion lted away in that instant.
The camp’s Fire Seeds flickered in the darkness, like scattered stars.
As the plane descended, the details of the River Beach Camp grew sharper.
The plane shuddered slightly as it touched down smoothly on the runway.
Feng pushed open the cabin door, hopped out of the cockpit, and turned to grab his luggage.
Suddenly.
A dozen bright beams of light flashed on, illuminating him.
Feng turned around.
WOOF WOOF WOOF!
WHIMPER!
OW!
Coca-Cola, Prince, and Princess bounded over, leaping straight into his arms.
Overjoyed, Feng crouched down to hug each of them in turn. When he looked up, he was t with a sea of smiling faces.
Xiaohua, Hu Zi, Black Hide, Nash, Maria, Jenny, Yves, Erica, Tammy, and Zhang Kai’s group of four.
Their smiles were as warm as sunshine, chasing away all the weariness from his journey.
"You... How did you all know I was coming back?" Feng asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Brother Feng, a man nad Alvin called right after you left Saint Paul Island." Xiaohua stepped forward and gave Feng a gentle hug. She stroked his stubbled chin and said with a pained look, "You don’t even know how to take care of yourself when you’re away."
"A little stubble makes a man look more manly." Feng’s heart ward at her concern. He thoughtfully pulled her collar tighter and chided, "You should’ve worn more. It’s freezing out here."
"I told her, but Hua’er wouldn’t listen." Hu Zi stepped forward to hug Feng.
Black Hide ca up for a hug too. "Brother Feng, I heard you went crab fishing. Did you have a blast?"
"A total blast! I’ll tell you all about it when we get back."
Feng gently pushed Black Hide aside and walked over to Maria and the others, opening his arms with a grin.
"What, aren’t you going to welco back?"
Smiling, Maria, Jenny, Yves, and Tammy readily stepped forward to embrace Feng.
When it was Erica’s turn, tears welled in her eyes. She and Feng bickered constantly, but after being apart for half a month, seeing him again was overwhelming.
"Oh, look at you, getting weepy," Feng teased.
"Who’s crying? I’m not! You’re the worst!"
Hearing this, Erica imdiately tilted her chin up, fighting back tears as she retorted stubbornly.
But her trembling voice gave her away.
A wave of warmth washed over Feng as he looked at her.
’He knew that even though Erica had a sharp tongue, her constant bickering was just her clumsy way of seeking attention. She wasn’t good at expressing her feelings, but deep down, she had a very soft heart.’
After greeting everyone from the Crown Territory...
Feng turned to Zhang Kai and his three companions, feigning surprise. "Fellas, you’re still here? I thought we agreed on one week. This is going to cost you extra!"
"Bullshit! We would’ve gone ho ages ago if we weren’t waiting for you!" Zhang Kai retorted with a laugh, stepping forward.
There was none of that sentintal nonsense between n.
A firm clap on the shoulder was all it took.
"Brother Feng, how about you sell one of these cabins? I could just live here and never leave," Su Ziweng said with a cheeky grin.
"Sure. One cabin is 400,000, with a 30-year lease," Feng replied offhandedly, not taking him seriously. He then shook hands with Feng Yang and Sun Jia.
As for Nash.
No words were needed between them.
A shared look and a slight nod were enough to convey everything.
"Let’s head back. No one’s eaten dinner yet; everyone wanted to wait for you," Xiaohua said, stepping forward. ’At this rate, they’d be talking until morning.’
"Let’s go, let’s go!"
Feng quickly ushered everyone back toward the camp. So rode snowmobiles while others walked, and the bustling group left the runway.
Amidst the crowd, a lonely figure watched Feng with a pitiful expression.
’I’m a living, breathing person, right here.’
’How could he not see ?’
’I even brought so fresh walrus pizzle from ho.’
...
As they walked into the camp.
Feng had been gone for half a month and hadn’t been keeping constant tabs on the camp. It had changed drastically in his absence, with many new additions.
Starting from the head of the bridge, a gravel path snaked forward.
Wooden poles lined both sides of the path, each topped with a kerosene storm lantern.
Their dim, yellow light swayed gently in the night wind, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the path below.
Every so often, a wooden bench sat by the path. Though simple and rough-hewn in design, they possessed a certain rustic charm.
The backrests were slightly angled, offering a comfortable place for passersby to rest.
"This is great! Whose idea was this?"
"Mine!" Erica declared, stepping forward with a proud smile.
"Great idea! Very creative. There’s a bonus in it for you!" Feng praised her generously.
Walking farther along.
A newly built fire pit caught Feng’s eye.
It was a ring of stones, with firewood stacked neatly inside, as if waiting for night to fall to bring warmth and cheer to everyone.
Beside the fire pit were several newly crafted wooden chairs and tables.
"Feng, that was my idea!" Tammy raised her hand shyly, her expression clearly begging for praise.
"It’s a wonderful idea. From now on, we can have barbecues and parties here at night."
Feng didn’t hold back his praise.
’The River Beach Camp might belong to , but it takes everyone to build it.’
’From the gravel path and its lanterns and benches, to this striking new fire pit with its chairs and tables—every single change showed how much effort everyone was putting into their ho.’
’They were all working together, building this beautiful ho with their own hands, turning it into a sanctuary.’
Happiness shone in Feng’s eyes as he turned to face the crowd.
"Starting today, anyone who cos up with a good idea gets a 100 US Dollar reward from ."
US Dollars.
It wasn’t a huge amount, but it wasn’t insignificant either.
However, that small 100-dollar reward held a special aning: it was an acknowledgnt of their effort and creativity.
"Feng, I want to build an amusent park! It should have a carousel, a roller coaster, and a log flu!" Erica quickly raised her hand.
Her eyes sparkled with excitent, as if she could already see the fun-filled amusent park right in front of them.
BONK!
Feng flicked her right on the forehead.
’An amusent park? Seriously? She might as well ask for the moon.’
’Just the shipping for the cabins cost a million.’
’He couldn’t afford to build an amusent park even if he sold the entire Crown Territory.’
"I asked for ideas, not fantasies."
Erica clutched her forehead, pouting with a hurt expression. "I was just thinking out loud," she mumbled. "It’s not like we have to build it right now."
"Forget it. You couldn’t afford it even if you sold ," Feng said. But seeing her crestfallen expression, his heart softened. "I know you’re trying to help the camp, but you have to be realistic. We can think about building a swing set, or maybe a slide. But definitely not a log flu. This is the Tundra, after all."
’A log flu in the Far North Tundra? You’d freeze to death after one ride.’
Everyone else burst into laughter, and the atmosphere lightened considerably.
The group escorted Feng back to the cabin.
Kerosene lamps hung throughout the first-floor living and dining rooms, bathing the cabin in bright light.
’The fireplace, the sofa, the wall of antique guns, the living room, the dining room... everything was so familiar and welcoming. It just felt right.’
’There’s no place like ho.’
"Dinner’s almost ready! Just a minute!" Jenny called to the other won, beckoning them into the kitchen to help.
Erica wanted to stay and hear about Feng’s trip, but she couldn’t win against Jenny’s insistent gaze. Defeated, she let Tammy drag her into the kitchen.
Only the n remained in the living room, gathered around the fireplace. The warm, flickering flas cast a glow on each of their faces.
Feng accepted a bottle of beer and leaned back comfortably on the sofa. Faced with their expressions of tortured curiosity, he shook his head and chuckled.
"Just spit it out already!"
"Brother Feng, is it true you bought a fishing boat on... what’s it called... Paul Island?" Black Hide asked eagerly.
Seeing Black Hide’s gossipy expression, Feng smiled. "Mm, a multipurpose fishing vessel, to be precise. A big one—over 50 ters long and 1,500 tons."
Over 50 ters long and 1,500 tons!
Hu Zi and Black Hide might not have understood the significance of the tonnage, but Zhang Kai and his friends were secretly astonished.
’Small fishing vessels are typically under 100 tons, dium ones range from 100 to 1,000 tons, and large ones are anything over 1,000.’
’Moreover, large vessels, especially those with advanced technology and high-catch capabilities, can be incredibly expensive.’
"Brother Feng, how much did a vessel like that set you back? It couldn’t have been cheap!" Su Ziweng chid in curiously.
Everyone else’s ears perked up, their eyes glinting with curiosity.
Feng took a sip of his beer, a slight smile playing on his lips. "It certainly wasn’t cheap. The whole vessel cost 23 million."
HISS!!
A collective gasp went through the living room.
Everyone was utterly stunned.
’That 23 million definitely wasn’t in RMB. 23 million US Dollars... that was close to a hundred million RMB.’
’Zhang Kai found he couldn’t quite figure Feng out. Here he was, living in the middle of nowhere, complaining about being broke and needing to make money from tourism, yet he’d just dropped a fortune in cash on a fishing boat. It made no sense.’
"Brother Feng, spending that much money on a boat... is it really worth it?"
"It’s alright," Feng nodded. "I went out for five days and made over six million from crab fishing."
HISS!!
Another collective gasp echoed through the living room.
’That six million plus couldn’t be in RMB either. What kind of crabs could possibly earn you that many US Dollars in just five days?’
As everyone was mulling this over, Feng drained his beer in one gulp.
"I made a lot, but the crew did well for themselves too. I estimate each crew mber will make at least 300,000 from this trip."
300,000 US Dollars in five days.
Black Hide couldn’t sit still any longer. "Brother Feng, what do you say I go crab fishing too?"
’You?’
Feng shot Black Hide a teasing, sideways glance. "With that scrawny fra of yours? Forget it. A single wave would wash you overboard."
Hearing that, Black Hide imdiately puffed out his chest, looking indignant. "Brother Feng, don’t underestimate ! With this body, I could swim laps out there."
’Kid.’
’Is the sea you’re talking about the sa one I am?’
Feng decided to give Black Hide a chance to see what the Evil Sea was really like.
...
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