Chapter 385: Chapter 226: Planning for the Future
"After going back, I don’t want to think about anything. I’ll spend a month eating well, sleeping well, and completely restoring my body."
"Then, it’s about being with family." As he said this, the lines on his weathered and smoke-stained face instantly softened.
"I’ll rush back before Christmas. Our family has already planned to return to the farm in Montana this year and spend Christmas with my parents. Winters there have fireplaces, pine trees, roasted turkey, and... family."
He closed his eyes as if he could see that scene, and a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
"For these several tens of days, I’ve been deliberately hiding my longing, afraid to think about it. Because I know, in a place like this, longing is a ’poison’ that drains your willpower."
"But now, I can’t hold it anymore... I miss my wife, miss the coffee she brews, miss her whispers in my ear before sleep. And my two little ones..."
His voice became softer, filled with guilt and love: "They have just learned to crawl, a time when they need their father the most. Yet I’ve missed so much... I don’t know if my son has grown taller or if my daughter has learned to call ’Daddy...’"
"When I go back this time, I shouldn’t be going anywhere for a while, just staying at home and spending time with them."
He opened his eyes, his gaze returning to the recorder, shifting his thoughts from emotional family matters back to rational work aspects.
"And the ’Life Below Zero’ show I previously participated in should be airing globally on video websites around this time, according to the schedule. That’s good news for me."
"This also means I can finally release a large amount of personal material that has been stored on my hard drive."
He calmly analyzed, "Especially YouTube, I must start focusing on it. The audience in Europe and America is larger, with better payment habits, so the revenue should be significantly higher than on Bilibili."
"Moreover, with the program broadcasting, it’s the golden period for me to enhance my personal commercial value in the international market."
He began to mentally inventory the precious footage he had filmed but never had the time to edit.
"Over the past year and more, due to various things, my video update frequency has been very low, which makes me feel quite sorry for those fans who have always supported me. Once I go back, I should unveil all these ’stock’ materials."
"First is the complete construction record of the log cabin in Alaska." His mind drifted back to that familiar land.
"What was aired in the show was surely a condensed version. But in my hands, I have over a hundred hours of first-person material. I can cut it into an ultra-long, hardcore construction series that will definitely attract a lot of infrastructure enthusiasts."
"Then there’s the video of hunting Dall sheep." He recalled that thrilling cliffside pursuit.
"That was my biggest adventure in Alaska, tracking on a mountain ridge several thousand meters above sea level for days. The scenery was spectacular and the experience sufficiently thrilling. Once this video is released, it’s sure to be a hit."
"Also... the record of hunting moose with neighbor Old John and the others." A hint of a warm smile appeared on his face.
"That hunt was more like a community event, with everyone working together, full of teamwork and the vibe of Alaskan community life. This kind of hunting, filled with the lively scent of everyday life, is completely different from surviving alone. Fans will definitely like it."
"These materials are enough for me to maintain stable updates for several months. I can re-edit them with bilingual Chinese and English subtitles and deploy them across all major video platforms globally: Bilibili, Xigua Video, YouTube... not one should be missing."
He seemed to think of something, "I feel that people might not just want to see me surviving in the wilderness. Maybe I could update more about everyday American life."
"For instance, what is the actual living cost for an ordinary American? What is the real expenditure of a middle-class family? What are people concerned about? Such content might resonate more with domestic fans than purely outdoor adventures."
"After all, while distant adventures are exciting, it’s the life around us that is the real battleground most people face every day."
He paused, gazing at the flickering flame, with some emotion: "Although it’s only been thirty-three days, I feel like a year has passed. Surely, the outside world has undergone many changes again."
"Oh right, there’s also the brand ambassador dividend from ’Archaeopteryx.’ According to the contract, the settlement is due at the end of the year, expected to be 500,000 US Dollars."
"For the airing of ’Alone in the Wilderness,’ I wore their full set of gear, testing in such extreme conditions. This, in a way, provided them with a round of global hardcore advertising. I wonder if there will be an extra bonus."
He shook his head with a smile, "I won’t think too much about it. I haven’t decided how to spend this money, but preparing a super big Christmas gift for my wife and kids, fulfilling all their wishes, is a must."
His thoughts drifted to another field that made his blood boil even more.
"Also, the most important thing is Old George’s promise."
In his eyes, a craftsman’s passionate flame ignited, "Once I go back, I must go to his forge and get him to fulfill his promise, teaching me hand-in-hand how to forge a true Damascus Hunting Knife."
"I want to use the best steel, folding, forging, quenching, edging... crafting a perfect Damascus. By then, I’ll have a raffle giveaway for fans, and that would be really cool."
His thoughts drifted ever further, even thinking of a bolder plan that could combine hobby and career.
"Maybe... I could sign up for the ’Sword Forging Competition’ show. I don’t think a real Chinese person has ever participated before."
"Fans back home have long been hoping for a Chinese bladesmith to go to that ’immortal clash’ stage and compete against those top American bladesmiths."
"Although I’m just an enthusiast, trying it should be very interesting. Losing won’t be shameful, and winning... well, that would be extremely interesting."
He planned future blueprints in his heart row by row. These concrete visions for the future acted like a strong stimulant, providing him the strongest motivation to persevere.
——————
(The August winner list has been compiled and will be arranged for delivery soon.)
