Perhaps sensing Jenny’s feelings for him, Feng Shan chose to escape.
Finding an excuse to flee the awkward atmosphere, he hurriedly turned and left.
"That’s great! I’ll go tell Old Swan and have the town residents join too!"
Watching Feng Shan’s retreating figure, Jenny sighed to herself and turned toward the restaurant kitchen. Perhaps only by imrsing herself in cooking could she temporarily forget her worries.
Sigh.
Life was getting harder and harder to endure.
’The five won in the house are like five sirens, constantly preying on my weaknesses.’ Feng Shan took a deep breath of fresh air, trying to calm his agitated mind. He glanced back at the restaurant, then headed toward the riverbank.
First, he arrived at the mammoth excavation site to invite the four Mammoth Ivory Hunters to the party.
Next was the temporary camp for the residents of Kivalina Town.
Old Swan saw Feng walking toward the camp from a distance and grinned as he went to greet him. "Hey, Feng, what brings you here?"
"The camp’s got power now, so I ca to invite you all to the restaurant for a party," Feng Shan said, greeting the familiar town residents as he spoke.
"You could’ve just had Wawa co tell us. No need to co yourself." Though Old Swan said this, his face was full of delight.
’Wawa!!’
’That’s right!’
’I was wondering why it felt like soone was missing from camp.’
’It turns out I haven’t seen Wawa since I got back.’
"Have you seen Wawa?" Feng Shan asked, turning to Old Swan. He frowned and scratched his head, then turned to the town residents. "Hey, has anyone seen Wawa today?"
"I saw him! He went out onto the riverbank with a young man this morning. Looked like they were going hunting," one of the town residents shouted back.
’With a young man.’
’When did soone else arrive at camp?’
’Why didn’t Jenny ntion it?’
Just as Feng Shan was pondering this, two figures appeared on the riverbank in the distance.
Under the night sky, the snow reflected a faint light, faintly outlining their silhouettes.
As the figures drew closer, Feng Shan could make out a familiar voice.
"Wawa, walk faster!"
"Let help you with the rabbits! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have shot so many!"
Wawa, carrying seven or eight arctic hares on his back, was speechless. ’What do you an, if you’d known you wouldn’t have shot so many? When you saw the hares, you looked like you wanted to hunt every last one of them.’
"Young Master Guo, what brings you to the Crown Territory!" Feng Shan went forward to greet him, his face wreathed in smiles.
"Brother Feng." Hearing the voice, Guo Hongying’s expression brightened, and he ran over.
The two shared a natural embrace upon eting.
"Why are you here!" Feng Shan asked.
"I want to join the *River Beach*’s next Emperor Crab fishing season, but Captain Alvin wouldn’t agree. He said I need your permission, so here I am to beg you," Guo Hongying explained with a playful grin.
"Does your family approve? Fishing for Emperor Crabs is very dangerous." Feng Shan’s eyes narrowed.
’If it were Black Hide or Hu Zi who wanted to co aboard for fun, it wouldn’t matter, but not Guo Hongying. This kid casually throws around tens of millions of US dollars without batting an eye. One can only imagine how powerful his backing is. Crab fishing in the Bering Sea is too dangerous. On average, one Crab Fisherman dies every seven days, and that doesn’t even count injured crew mbers. If anything happened to Guo Hongying, it would be a huge problem.’
"Don’t worry, my family was very supportive of my idea for this snow crab deal. I promise I’ll follow orders on the boat!" Guo Hongying, seeming to guess what he was thinking, quickly made a promise.
"You said it," Feng Shan said, only half-convinced.
Guo Hongying patted his chest. "I said it! If I don’t listen, you can throw into the sea!"
"All right, then. In a couple of days, co with to Saint Paul Island." Feng Shan finally nodded in agreent. After all, he’d need a stable buyer after the Emperor Crab harvest, and it was worth doing his client a favor.
...
The ti approached 6 p.m., and the sky grew darker.
Darkness spread rapidly like a tide, and the distant snowy mountains sank into the gloom, leaving only a faint outline.
However, the Crown Territory was a blaze of brilliant light.
The two log cabins, the restaurant and the bar, were particularly bright, with strings of colorful little lights hanging from their roofs and eaves.
These small lights were like colorful stars in the night sky, emitting a fairytale-like glow.
What’s a party without music?
Music is the soul of a party; a party without music is like a colorless painting.
A cheerful rhythm and a dynamic lody drifted from the restaurant cabin, making one’s feet tap unconsciously to the beat.
Feng Shan walked into the restaurant with Guo Hongbing, Old Swan, Liu Jing, and their group.
The inside of the restaurant had been beautifully and ticulously decorated by the girls.
Colorful strears hung on all the walls, shimring with a captivating light under the lamps.
Hanging from the ceiling were various shapes folded from colored paper—stars, flowers, and more—as if a vibrant, colorful sky had been brought indoors.
The dining tables were arranged in a long line and laden with food.
The vegetable section was filled with bright red tomatoes, crisp green cucumbers, layers of fresh lettuce leaves, and green and red bell peppers of all shapes—all from the Crown Territory’s own vegetable garden.
The at section featured various roasted ats: roasted moose, golden-brown with crispy skin and incredibly fragrant; and roasted reindeer, cut into even, thin slices, tender and juicy with a clearly visible grain.
There were also platters of pan-fried cold-water fish, the flesh white and the skin lightly seared to a golden-brown, giving off a delicate aroma.
The dessert section had all sorts of exquisite pastries made by Jenny herself. There was a soft and sweet cream cake garnished with fresh vegetables, and a rich, decadent chocolate cake whose tempting color was enough to make one’s mouth water.
Most importantly, cases and cases of beer and rum were stacked next to the table.
Guo Hongying’s eyes lit up, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the long, food-laden table and the alcohol.
In his mind, the desolate Far North Tundra was supposed to be barren and lifeless. It was hard to imagine that such a formal party could be held here.
anwhile, the town residents led by Old Swan and the excavation team led by Liu Jing stood frozen in place, their mouths agape in astonishnt, staring blankly at the scene before them.
Having lived on this Tundra for so long, they were long accustod to hardship and monotony.
To them, a party was usually just a simple get-together to eat, drink, and chat.
But the scene before them was beyond anything they could have imagined.
The long table piled with abundant food, the exquisite decorations, the cheerful music—every detail shocked them.
Feng Shan was very satisfied with the girls’ work.
Looking at the ticulously decorated restaurant, the food-laden tables, and the cheerful atmosphere, his heart filled with gratification.
’But no one’s co forward to greet the guests. Isn’t that a bit much?’
He walked toward the back kitchen of the restaurant. As soon as he reached the door, he could hear that it was packed with people, punctuated by the happy laughter of the girls.
Feng Shan tapped the shoulder of a girl blocking the doorway.
However, the girl’s shoulder twitched, but she didn’t turn around and complained impatiently.
"Stop tapping! I’m already last in line to hold the bear cub. Get behind !"
A dark line appeared on Feng Shan’s forehead; he was clearly exasperated by the girl’s reaction.
He deliberately coughed loudly a few tis.
In the bustling kitchen, the coughs sounded exceptionally loud, the sound echoing in the space.
The girls, who had been imrsed in laughter and the activity of lining up to hold the bear cub, were drawn by the sudden coughs and all turned around.
They saw it was Feng Shan.
The girl whose shoulder had twitched stuck out her tongue, lowered her head in embarrassnt, and hurriedly ran out of the kitchen.
Following the first girl’s reaction, the other girls also snapped to their senses.
And so, the girls began to file out of the back kitchen one after another. As they passed Feng Shan, so shyly lowered their heads, not daring to look at him as they hurried toward the main dining area, while others playfully winked at him with alluring smiles.
In a mont, most of the girls had left the kitchen.
Only four girls remained, still holding the innocent little polar bear cubs.
Prince and Princess squatted pitifully to the side, whining as if to complain.
Accusing Erica of roughly snatching their children away.
"You all have too much free ti. The party is about to start!" Feng Shan said, deliberately putting on a stern face.
Tammy and Maria were simple-hearted. Seeing Feng Shan look angry scared them a little, and they quickly ran out of the kitchen.
After a mont’s hesitation, Demi rationally abandoned her playmate and followed them out.
Only Erica remained, still holding the two little polar bear cubs. She stood stubbornly in place with her lips pursed, looking completely unwilling to compromise.
"Alright, alright, you go out too." Feng Shan had a real headache when it ca to her.
He knew Erica had a stubborn temper and worried that if he pushed her too hard, she would do sothing shocking again, like those other tis she’d lifted her clothes at the drop of a hat.
Hmph!
Thinking she had won, Erica wore a triumphant expression as she hugged the polar bear cubs and strode past Feng Shan.
A mont later, Jenny walked over. Seeing the finally-empty kitchen, she said with a half-joking, half-complaining tone, "What was the big idea, bringing two little polar bear cubs back?"
"Their mother was poisoned and died. If I hadn’t brought them back, they would have been goners for sure." Feng Shan shrugged. He hadn’t expected them to be so popular either.
「In a flash, it was ti for the party to start.」
Feng Shan walked to the center of the restaurant with a bottle of beer.
By now, the restaurant was brilliantly lit, and cheerful music flowed into every corner.
People were standing or sitting, their faces filled with anticipation.
Nash turned off the music.
Feng Shan raised the beer in his hand and tapped the bottle gently on a nearby table a few tis, making a clear, crisp sound that drew everyone’s attention.
"Welco, everyone, to Crown Camp’s first party! We’re also here to welco our new employees. I hope you all enjoy living and working here."
"Not long ago, this camp was just a barren piece of land. There was nothing but rocks, snow, and ice, plus the tundra’s specialty—biting cold wind. Nash and Maria can attest to that."
After speaking, Feng Shan raised his beer in a gesture to Nash and Maria.
Nash and Maria also raised their own glasses and nodded to the crowd.
Feng Shan continued.
"Later on, Jenny, Yves, David, Erica, and Tammy joined the Crown Territory and took part in the work of building this camp."
"Conditions were extrely harsh back then. Space was very limited. The five of them lived in a work shed, sleeping on a log bunk bed that Nash built. Every ti we ate, everyone had to squeeze together, shoulder to shoulder, just to barely fit."
"You’ve all worked hard!" Feng Shan’s voice echoed through the restaurant.
His gaze swept over Jenny, Yves, David, Erica, and Tammy in turn, his eyes full of sincere respect and gratitude.
The five of them thought back to when they first arrived. Each of them had a painful past, a history they couldn’t bear to look back on.
In their hearts, it felt as if they had already experienced the cruelest hardships in the world. They even felt that Hell itself couldn’t be worse than what they had endured while alive.
But upon arriving at the Crown Territory, they had unexpectedly found salvation.
Here, despite the harsh environnt, the simple work shed, and the crowded living space at the beginning, they had found a group of like-minded companions.
Everyone worked hard together to build the camp. Through their labor, they forgot the pain of the past. Through mutual support and encouragent, their emotional wounds gradually began to heal.
Their eyes couldn’t help but grow moist.
The tears shimring in their eyes held complex emotions.
Among them was a release from the suffering of the past.
The pain, tornt, and despair that had once followed them like shadows had slowly faded during their ti in the Crown Territory. The heavy shackles they had carried seed to be cast off in this mont.
There was also gratitude toward Feng Shan.
Gratitude that this land had accepted them, gratitude that Feng Shan had given them opportunity and trust, and gratitude for the companionship and support of their comrades along the way.
Feng Shan raised his bottle high, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the new employees—so young and tender, others weathered by ti. His voice, steady and powerful, echoed through the restaurant.
"No matter what hardships you’ve suffered in the past, here in the Crown Territory, you will all find a new life. Welco to the Land of Angels!"
"Cheers!"
The mont Feng Shan’s voice fell, the sound of clinking glasses filled the restaurant.
Bottle clinked against bottle, creating a crisp, pleasant chi, like a joyful musical movent.
Beer foad in the bottles, glinting golden in the light, and a current of warmth flowed into everyone’s heart.
In that mont, everyone’s hearts were connected as they raised their glasses to the present and future of the Crown Territory.
...
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