Landlord in the Arctic

Chapter 353: Chapter 273: The Competition 2

The moment Jenny spoke, Feng Shan knew he couldn’t refuse.

After a moment of thought, he decided to stay.

The tent erupted in cheers. They quickly cleared a spot on the animal-hide blanket and had Feng Shan sit down.

"Let’s get one thing straight, I’m not helping, alright? Otherwise, people will say it’s cheating."

Feng Shan lay down on the blanket. It was indeed comfortable. With several thick layers of padding, he couldn’t feel the cold at all.

"Feng, I brought some meat for grilling. Want some?" Jenny took out a frying pan, placed it on the stove, and melted some beef tallow in it. The rich, greasy aroma instantly filled the tent.

"I brought smoked and braised meat," Tammy said, also taking out the food she had brought.

Erica and Demi produced two bottles of liquor. "And Demi and I brought the drinks."

Seeing all this, Feng Shan understood everything.

’They weren’t here to fish. They were purely here to fish for me.’

’They say women have complicated minds, and they’re not wrong about that.’

"Alright, put it all out. It’s not like you’re in the mood for fishing anyway. Just think of it as a picnic."

And so, the tent filled with laughter and cheerful voices, though the sounds were quickly muffled by the wind and snow outside.

Nash came to the entrance and heard the bursts of laughter from within. He silently stuck the snow shovel into the snow by the tent’s door, a sign that no one should enter.

Eating grilled meat.

Sipping on wine.

Surrounded by beautiful women, Feng Shan was finally experiencing the kind of enjoyment Frank always talked about.

The other tents were a miserable sight by comparison.

They were actually treating the competition like a competition.

Each person was crouched by their ice hole, holding a fishing rod, staring at the line. Every so often, they had to use a ladle to scoop out the slush freezing over the hole’s opening.

However, if they knew Feng Shan was feasting and carousing at that very moment...

They’d probably curse him out in a fit of rage.

Time passed quickly.

「Three hours passed.」

When Nash came over to announce that the competition was over, Feng Shan, reeking of alcohol and with his fur coat in disarray, stumbled out of the tent and saw the hint of a smile in Nash’s eyes.

Feng Shan was having none of it.

"What’s with that look? I didn’t do anything. We just drank and ate some meat."

"Mhm," Nash replied, the sound coming from his nose.

’Mhm my ass!’

Feng Shan found himself in an awkward spot; explaining was pointless.

Anyway, there was no shortage of gossip around the camp about him and Jenny’s group.

"Notify everyone that the competition is over. Tally the results."

Yves went tent by tent with his men to announce the end of the competition. People began to emerge one after another, carrying buckets.

Most of the catches were Arctic cod, pike, whitefish, lake trout, and Arctic grayling.

The old soldier, Paine, carried a net bag and weighed the catch for each participating team.

Most people were just in it for fun, purely to join the excitement, and didn’t care about first place.

"Make way, weigh mine first!" Old Liu shouted from outside the crowd.

The people in front of him all moved aside.

They turned to see the old man carrying a White North Salmon over a meter long, huffing and puffing as he walked over.

The fish was probably quite heavy. It was weighing the old man down, and his heavy breaths turned into clouds of white mist.

"Hey, Old Liu, did you catch this?" Feng Shan asked, craning his neck for a look.

It was the first time he had ever seen such a large White North Salmon.

The White North Salmon, also known as whitefish, has fine scales, few bones, and snow-white flesh. The meat is exceptionally tender and very popular with the Indigenous People of the Far North Tundra.

Yves hurried over to help take the fish.

If the old man took a few more steps, he was afraid he would collapse on his way to victory before he even reached the weigh-in spot.

"How about that? No bragging, but back where I’m from, my fishing skills are top-notch," Old Liu said, looking incredibly proud.

"Stop bragging. Without Old Li’s help, you wouldn’t have caught a damn thing," Old Zhao muttered sourly from the side.

Old Liu shot back, "So what? Why didn’t you ask Old Li for help?"

Just as a new round of bickering was about to erupt...

Feng Shan quickly intervened. "Alright, stop arguing. Are you going to weigh the fish or not? Keep it up and I’ll disqualify you."

At these words...

The four old men immediately fell silent.

Paine took the White North Salmon and hung it on the scale.

Heh, a full 47 pounds.

Old Liu’s team was now in first place with 47 pounds. It was unlikely any of the following contestants would have a heavier catch.

Everyone congratulated Old Liu.

Just then, Snow and Director Roland also walked into the weigh-in area, carrying a White North Salmon.

By the looks of it, their White North Salmon was about the same length as Old Liu’s. Not only that, but Snow’s fish bucket also contained some Arctic grayling.

The four old men’s hearts sank.

The big fish were about the same size. With the smaller fish added in, the total weight was sure to surpass their own.

Their eyes were glued to the electronic scale in Paine’s hands.

The White North Salmon was 38 pounds, and the other miscellaneous fish were 9 pounds, for a total of 47 pounds.

After seeing the weight, Snow and Director Roland hugged and cheered. Old Liu, with a pained expression, mumbled, "It’s 47 pounds for both of us. What about the grand prize?"

Feng Shan had no time for him; there were still other contestants waiting to have their fish weighed.

Even though the fur coats were warm, standing on the open lake with the wind and snow howling was still cold.

After all the teams had their catches weighed...

As expected, Old Liu’s team and Snow’s team tied for first place with a total weight of 47 pounds.

The crowd looked on eagerly, waiting to see how the boss would divide the grand prize.

There was only one Quarter Horse. You couldn’t just split the horse in two and give half to each team.

Feng Shan didn’t consider himself a petty person. With a grand wave of his hand, he announced...

"Both teams will receive one Quarter Horse each."

Before his voice had even faded, the scene erupted into a frenzy.

People were exclaiming how generous the boss was.

Snow and Director Roland had satisfied smiles on their faces. For people of their status, how much could a Quarter Horse cost? It wasn’t some priceless thoroughbred. What was important was the prestige.

The four old men were practically ecstatic.

First of all, you weren’t allowed to keep horses in cities back home. Even if you could, there was nowhere to keep one, not to mention all the tedious tasks like training, feeding, and grooming.

Now they had won a horse from fishing.

They could ride it however they wanted. The Tundra outside the camp was wide open!

Just then, Feng Shan threw a bucket of cold water on their excitement.

"Don’t get too excited yet. The horse is yours, but I’m not responsible for its upkeep. You can take the horse with you, or you can board it with the Bear Tribe. The fees will be charged at the standard rate."

"Let’s go! Back to the camp for a grilled fish party!"

Another party.

The crowd erupted again. They hurriedly packed up their tents and fishing gear, loaded up the vehicles, and left.

"Ahem, hey there, Snow, can I ask you something?" Old Liu and the three other old men approached Snow, speaking broken, Chinese-accented English. "For you foreigners, how much does it cost to board a horse each month?"

Board a horse!

Although Snow was confused by how Old Liu addressed him, he didn’t press the issue out of respect for his age. He thought for a moment.

"Generally, basic boarding includes feed, manure disposal, stall cleaning, routine preventative care, regular training, hoof care, and insurance. All in all, it should be around 1,000 US Dollars."

"How much?" Old Liu’s voice shot up, startling Director Roland next to him. "Sir, 1,000 US Dollars is the minimum cost. My horse’s boarding fees average at least 3,000 US Dollars a month."

"How much?!" This time, Old Liu’s voice cracked. The other three old men were also stunned.

1,000 US Dollars was nearly 7,000 yuan.

This foreigner was even crazier, spending 20,000 yuan a month just on a horse.

The problem wasn’t that Old Liu couldn’t afford it.

The same went for the other three. Even in retirement, they weren’t short on money.

But they were men who had lived through harder times and were naturally frugal with their lives and money.

Everyone here was in their sixties. They got winded just from walking a few extra steps, let alone riding a horse.

Spending 7,000 yuan a month to pamper a horse like a treasure... no matter how you looked at it, it was a bad deal.

But if they took it back to China, the shipping cost alone could probably buy a new horse there.

The four old men looked at each other.

Suddenly, the grand prize felt like a white elephant.

"Liu Datou, you tell us what to do. You’re the one who caught the fish," Old Li said, looking at Old Liu, at a complete loss and forgetting all about their ’plastic’ brotherhood.

Hearing this, Old Liu immediately bristled. "Damn it, you were the one who baited the hook and played the fish! I just reeled it in."

"Hey, hey, hey, watch your words, don’t get heated. You’re old brothers. If you really can’t decide, just have a fight. Whoever loses takes the horse."

Old Zhao, no longer feeling jealous, chimed in with a grin, fanning the flames and offering a mischievous idea.

Only Old Zhang was seriously trying to mediate. "Stop arguing. Just go find Xiaofeng and sell the horse to him."

"That’s a great idea!" The two bickering old men’s eyes lit up. They linked arms and went to find Feng Shan.

...