Finally, it was ti to talk price. Baima Wangmu broke into a shrewd smile, his thick beard practically radiating a rchant’s cunning.
That smile seed to say he was confident of victory in this negotiation.
"Mr. Feng, according to our technician’s asurents, your river can support a 20-kilowatt turbine unit. It can generate a constant 20 to 80 kilowatts of energy around the clock, enough to supply power for up to sixty households."
"Of course, if you install two 20-kilowatt turbine units, the effect will be even better."
"How many units of electricity is 80 kilowatts?" Feng Shan scratched his head, embarrassed. Everyone has their specialty, after all. He was fine talking about cooking or hunting, but when it ca to electricity, he was truly clueless.
Just then, he saw Prince and Princess furtively appearing by the river, a clump of moss dangling from Prince’s mouth. Feng Shan’s eyes lit up, and he said to Baima Wangmu,
"Hold on. I have a buddy who understands this stuff better than I do. I’ll have him talk to you."
"Prince, get over here!"
Startled, Prince, who was lying by the river, gave a violent shudder. The clump of moss in his mouth instantly fell into the icy water.
SPLASH!
The water churned as several large fish leaped from the surface.
With gaping mouths, they vied for the clump of moss.
However, upon getting closer, they discovered it was just a clump of plants, not the food they were expecting.p>The large fish seed sowhat disappointed. They slapped their tails forcefully, churning the water’s surface even more violently.
Then, they swam away resentfully, leaving only spreading ripples and the lonely clump of moss floating on the water.
’Trying to test with grass. Who do you think you’re looking down on!’
Feng Shan, however, imdiately understood Prince’s purpose for being by the river.
No wonder Tammy said she often saw fish carcasses scattered on the bank. His voice deepened as he shouted,
"You damn mutt, get over here!"
Prince lowered his head obediently and wagged his tail. As he walked, he kept turning his head back every few steps as if trying to argue his case.
Princess, anwhile, whimpered coquettishly, following closely behind Prince.
"Don’t give that flirty crap. Go get David. I’ll deal with you later." Feng Shan couldn’t be bothered with him.
Hearing he wouldn’t be punished, Prince imdiately leaped up in excitent, turned, and vanished in a flash, quick as a bolt of lightning.
Princess had been about to continue pleading for Prince, but she never expected to be abandoned just like that.
"See? This is what happens when you fall for a scumbag dog!" Feng Shan comforted her while stroking her head with pity.
Princess whimpered, her cries choked with grievance. She gazed at Feng Shan with her big eyes, seeming to mourn her own plight while also showing dissatisfaction with Prince’s actions.
"Friend, those are so amazing dogs you’ve got," Baima Wangmu said, his eyes filled with admiration as he watched the lively Prince and Princess.
A short while later, David was dragged to the riverbank by Prince, who was biting his clothes and pulling him along.
Princess, who had just been feeling wronged, imdiately sidled up next to Prince the mont she saw him arrive.
Lowering her head obediently, she looked just like a docile little wife, as if the misery of being abandoned by Prince just monts ago had been completely erased from her mory.
’This lovestruck white wolf is a lost cause!’
Feng Shan shook his head, speechless.
"Khilla, what’s up?" David looked bewildered. One mont he was racking his brain over the new camp design, and the next he was being bitten and dragged over by Prince. He still had no idea what was going on.
"Here. This is Mr. Baima Wangmu. He sells hydroelectric turbine units. I don’t know anything about this stuff, so you can handle the negotiations." After speaking, Feng Shan turned to Baima Wangmu. "This is David, the Crown Territory’s infrastructure design manager. He has my full authority to negotiate with you."
"You two can chat. I have to go pick so people up, sorry." Feng Shan had spotted his P750 in the sky. Yves was bringing the laborers over from Kivalina.
Leaving David and Baima Wangmu to stare at each other in confusion, Feng Shan strode away from the riverbank.
He crossed the wooden bridge, hopped on his snowmobile, and rushed to the airstrip.
He arrived just in ti to see Old Swan jumping off the plane, carrying a reindeer-hide sleeping bag. Spotting Feng Shan standing by the runway, he imdiately dropped his luggage and opened his arms.
"Feng! It’s been a while! You’re as handso as ever."
"Old friend, has it even been a month?" Feng Shan shook his head with a laugh and walked forward. The two n embraced.
After they let go, Old Swan grinned and pointed at the town residents disembarking from the plane one after another.
"I knew you needed hands, so I brought every able-bodied man from the town."
"Thanks. 400 a day, room and board included." Feng Shan patted Old Swan’s shoulder. But when Old Swan heard about the pay, he quickly waved his hand. "No need. It’s enough if you can help us out at sea a few more tis."
"Business is business. Besides, I need to discuss sothing with you when I have a mont." Feng Shan didn’t want to be in anyone’s debt. The first ti, he had traded his help with fishing. Since he hadn’t gone back to Kivalina, using money was more convenient. Debts of gratitude were much harder to repay.
"Alright, then." Old Swan nodded, the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat.
This batch consisted of nine and a half town residents. The "half," of course, was Little Swan.
Then, Yves once again expertly piloted the P750 away, heading back to Kivalina to pick up the second wave of laborers.
The roar of the plane’s takeoff echoed through the air, gradually fading into the horizon as it flew further away.
Feng Shan led Old Swan and his group, carrying their luggage, to the River Beach Camp.
When they stepped into the camp, they were greeted by a sight completely different from when they had last left.
The Ice River on the camp’s periphery had thawed. In the clear water, schools of large fish swam about joyfully, their lively forms adding a great deal of vitality to the area.
The once-empty tundra was now planted with all sorts of fruit trees.
Tender green leaves swayed gently in the breeze. The presence of the fruit trees made the camp’s environnt even more beautiful.
The camp grounds were now covered with a gravel path, the gray stones complenting the vibrant green mossy vegetation.
There were also lamp posts, benches for people to rest on, and more. All of it left the town residents sowhat astonished.
"Feng, this is your camp?" Old Swan asked in amazent, looking around as he walked. The other town residents wore similar expressions.
"Do you want to stay in the cabins or in tents? If you’re pitching tents, I’ll find a spot for you." Feng Shan pointed to an empty plot of land.
Old Swan’s gaze lingered on the moss-covered ground at his feet before he shook his head. "No need. It’s too warm here. It’s not suitable for us Inuit. Without ice and snow, it’s like we’ve lost our spiritual anchor."
"We are children of the ice and snow. Only amidst the ice and snow can we find our true selves."
Feng Shan shrugged.
He looked out at the snow-covered wilderness beyond the camp. "Then find a spot yourselves. I have a few at caches out on the ice field. There’s moose and reindeer. Take whatever you want to eat."
at!
The town residents imdiately broke into happy smiles, their faces beaming with joy as if they could already sll the aroma of cooking at.
For them, at was an indispensable part of life. Moreover, it was a consensus among them that the at from the Crown Territory was delicious; they had been thinking about it ever since they left last ti.
After settling the residents of Kivalina Town, Feng Shan returned to the end of the Ice River.
David was pointing at the riverbank and talking with two technicians. Baima Wangmu stood to the side, looking as if the matter of the hydroelectric turbines had already been settled.
"How did the talks go, everyone?" Feng Shan walked over.
Baima Wangmu’s face broke into a smile. "Friend, Mr. David and I have reached an agreent. We’ll install two hydroelectric turbines for now, which will be enough to guarantee all your camp’s electricity needs."
David added, "Khilla, two generators will be enough for the camp for now. If we add more high-power equipnt later, we can always install more hydroelectric turbines. Baima Wangmu will provide the design for free and five years of maintenance."
"Now let’s talk price. I need the installation completed as quickly as possible," Feng Shan said with a nod.
"Of course. Ti is Franklin," Baima Wangmu said, a smile in his eyes. "One hydroelectric turbine and a prefabricated Vortex Waterway cost 100,000 US Dollars. That includes the corresponding supporting equipnt. You’ll also need a distribution room, with equipnt like a voltage regulator and an ergency battery bank..."
’What is all this stuff? It’s giving a headache.’
Feng Shan raised a hand, signaling for Baima Wangmu to stop. He asked bluntly, "How much for two generators and the distribution room?"
Baima Wangmu blinked.
"500,000 US Dollars. That includes the cost of transporting the materials. As you know, the Crown Territory is too far from any roads. We’ll need a helicopter to airlift the equipnt over. This price is already a bargain. You won’t find a cheaper price in all of Alaska."
’The transportation is inconvenient. Of course I know that.’
’Back when I was installing the cabins, the helicopter transport fees alone cost over a million.’
Feng Shan was sick of hearing it.
"Deal. How long will it take to finish the job and get the camp powered up?"
The smile on Baima Wangmu’s face widened. "Three days. But you’ll need to dig out the reserved pit for the Vortex Waterway."
"No problem." Feng Shan looked at David. "Old Swan’s people are here. Put them to work. Have them dig out the pit first."
After arranging the follow-up work, Feng Shan suddenly rembered sothing.
"David, how much power does a communication base station need?"
David blinked blankly. ’It’s not like I’m a walking encyclopedia who knows everything.’
Baima Wangmu, standing to the side, picked up the conversation. "Mr. Feng, I know this one. A typical small communication base station consus 50 to 100 kilowatt-hours per day. Are you planning on building a base station at the camp?"
Feng Shan tacitly confird it.
As the permanent population of the Crown Territory grew, relying solely on satellite phones would be inconvenient. With the camp about to have electricity, mobile phone communication could be put on the agenda.
Seeing that Feng Shan was a complete novice, and hoping for future business, Baima Wangmu thoughtfully offered so advice.
"Mr. Feng, why would you pay for it yourself? You can absolutely get a telecommunications provider to install the base station for free. You can even have them pay for the generator and give you a fee for the land."
"You can do that?" Feng Shan’s eyes widened.
"Why not? Private land is sacred and inviolable." Baima Wangmu gave Feng Shan a strange look. This was a law even children in the United States knew.
"You are the owner of this land. Anyone who wants to build anything on it needs to pay you a fee. Aside from the land use fee, they also need to pay you a resource fee for using the river’s flow for power generation."
"So how should I negotiate with the carriers?" Feng Shan asked humbly.
Baima Wangmu grinned. "Just call them and tell them you have a populous town that needs service. They’ll be on you like jackals and treat you like God."
"Thank you!" Feng Shan said sincerely.
With that one piece of advice, he had saved at least several hundred thousand dollars.
There were four major telecommunication carriers in Alaska: AT&T, Dowton, Cricket, and T-Mobile. Since Feng Shan’s own service was with AT&T, he naturally leaned toward working with them.
He called AT&T’s custor service directly and explained the situation in the Crown Territory.
The call was imdiately transferred to a custor service manager.
Alaska’s population was less than 700,000. Besides the four major carriers, there were various other small providers. There wasn’t enough of the pie to go around, so opening up new markets was a top priority for every carrier.
Upon learning that a new, populous town had appeared in the Far North Tundra and needed AT&T to build a communication base station...
...the custor service manager almost burst out laughing.
Everyone knew that godforsaken shithole on the Tundra was empty. What kind of population could there be?
The only town with any significant population was Barrow. Calling any other place a town was a joke. A village of a few hundred people calling itself a town? He figured Feng Shan was just so drunk calling to ss with custor service—it happened all the ti.
"Buddy, you should drink a little less. You can have anything you want in your dreams."
"???" Feng Shan was left speechless, holding the phone that was now emitting a dial tone.
Baima Wangmu found the AT&T custor service representative’s reaction completely normal.
When he had first received Feng Shan’s call, he hadn’t believed that soone on the Tundra could afford a hydroelectric turbine either. It was only after coming to the Crown Territory that he realized not only could soone here afford it, but this place was destined to beco a jewel on the Tundra.
"Friend, let talk to that bastard!"
...
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