Landlord in the Arctic

Chapter 352: Chapter 273: The Competition

The Tundra under the polar night.

It was the last sanctuary forgotten by God, exuding a uniquely stark atmosphere.

Some people loved it.

They loved its raw, primeval beauty.

Since the dawn of time, it had remained in this pure state, largely untouched by the outside world.

Others hated it.

They hated its cold and desolation—an unbearable chill and a monotonous, lifeless expanse of snow.

But whether loved or hated,

the Tundra under the polar night quietly remained, bearing witness to the passage of time in its own unique way, etched with nature’s distinctive signature.

At that moment, Feng Mountain was leading the idle members of the camp to Gem Lake. They rode snowmobiles, towing tents and gear behind them.

It was time for the Crown Territory’s first-ever ice fishing competition.

The camp was currently in its off-season. Aside from Milyukov and a few others who were busy assembling a mammoth skeleton, everyone else had signed up to participate.

With the freezing season underway, Gem Lake was completely frozen over.

The ice was over a meter thick—you could drive a truck on it, let alone stand.

A procession of twenty to thirty people arrived grandly at the shores of Gem Lake.

Feng Mountain stood before the crowd. Holding a makeshift megaphone fashioned from tree bark, he bellowed the rules of the competition over the wind and snow.

"Alright, listen up! Contestants will form teams of two. Find a partner. You’ll get one tent per team, and bait will be distributed evenly."

"The competition will last for three hours. At the end, we’ll weigh everyone’s total catch."

"No going into the lake to scoop up fish, no swimming, and no relieving yourselves just anywhere—unless you’re not afraid of freezing to death."

The crowd, huddled together, roared with laughter.

’In this weather, who would actually go for a swim to catch fish? Besides Feng Mountain, of course.’

"You can start grabbing your tents and stoves now. Any questions?"

"I do!" Erica quickly raised her hand.

"Go ahead!"

"Are you competing? If you are, we’re all guaranteed to lose," Erica demanded, her motive clear.

She couldn’t help it. The last time they had fished by Gem Lake, Feng Mountain’s skill had left her completely traumatized.

Remembering this, Feng Mountain grinned. "Nash, Yves, and I are the referees. We won’t be competing."

"In that case, I have no more questions." Erica immediately found Jenny and a few of the other women to whisper with.

Someone asked, "Boss, what are the prizes?"

Everyone’s ears perked up. Knowing how generous Feng Mountain was, they were sure the prizes wouldn’t be stingy.

Feng Mountain’s gaze swept over the crowd. As everyone waited in anticipation, he said slowly,

"The grand prize is a Quarter Horse. How’s that?"

Wow!

A Quarter Horse.

’It has to be one of those beautiful horses that arrived the other day.’

’I heard they’re all purebreds. A single one must cost a fortune.’

The crowd’s enthusiasm instantly soared.

"Mr. Feng, are we eligible to win, too?" Director Roland and Snow asked, looking excited. Though they could afford to buy their own Quarter Horses, winning one would be much more meaningful.

"What about us, Feng the kid? Are you really giving away a horse?" one of the four old-timers shouted.

"Whoever wins gets to take the horse home, no matter who it is," Feng Mountain reiterated.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let’s do this! Old Li, you and I are a team."

With his eyes on the prize, Old Liu immediately grabbed Old Li, the expert fisherman, ruthlessly abandoning their other two friends, who were notoriously bad anglers.

Everyone else hurried to claim a tent and find a fishing spot.

Once they had chosen a spot and pitched the tent,

they could call over Nash, Yves, or one of the three retired soldiers to drill a hole through the ice inside with an electric auger.

"Khilla! Khilla! Help us!" Tammy, bundled in a thick fur coat, ran to Feng Mountain’s side. She put on a pitiful expression and pointed to a spot the other women had picked out nearby.

"The four of you are a team? Where’s Maria?" Feng Mountain asked, looking at Jenny, Erica, Demi, and the collapsed tent on the ice.

"Cesar snatched her away!" Tammy pouted unhappily.

Feng Mountain remembered Cesar. She was one of the local Indigenous Inuit people.

"Alright, I’ll help you."

When they reached the spot the women had chosen, Feng Mountain quickly pitched the tent and lit the stove inside.

Jenny and the others had come well-prepared.

They had a moisture-proof mat, fur blankets, and thermal blankets spread out on the ice. Combined with the heat from the wood-burning stove, the tent wasn’t cold at all; in fact, it was almost hot.

Feng Mountain got busy, drilling two holes through the ice with the auger.

Beneath the meter-thick ice lay the clear water of the lake, and he could even see fish swimming past the openings.

"You picked a good spot," Feng Mountain complimented them as he put the auger away. He turned around and was instantly stunned.

At some point,

the four women had shed their heavy coats and were now wearing only T-shirts. The view was a stunning panorama of peaks and valleys, rising and falling just like the snow-capped mountains surrounding the camp.

Jenny’s magnificent figure, in particular, couldn’t help but remind Feng Mountain of that scene with the laundry basket.

’As for Erica, what did she have to be proud of with her A-cups? Demi was decent enough, but I never would have guessed Tammy would be the runner-up. She has such a baby face, but she’s surprisingly well-endowed.’

Feng Mountain coughed deliberately a few times to change the subject.

"It’s pretty cold outside. Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold in just T-shirts?"

Erica pointedly straightened her back and fanned herself with her hand, pretending to be hot. "It’s so hot in this tent."

Feng Mountain ignored her completely.

’Flat as a board. What’s there to show off?’

"Alright, you all should hurry up and start fishing. Don’t come crying to me when you lose. I’m going to check on the other tents."

The words had barely left his mouth when Tammy pounced again, grabbing his arm. She put on her most innocent, pitiful, doll-like expression and said, "Khilla, please stay with us? I don’t know how to fish."

"..." Feng Mountain was speechless.

’He knew perfectly well that Tammy was a great angler. She’d terrorized plenty of fish in the camp’s Ice River in the past, and now she was pretending she didn’t know how? Who was she kidding?’

"Feng, Nash and Yves are outside, so nothing will happen. It’s so cold out there, just stay and rest in our tent!"