King of the Wilderness

This issue immediately piqued the interest of the Chinese team.

In Li Wenbo’s team, a young-looking engineer responsible for agricultural planning excitedly spoke up.

"Mr. Lin, Ms. Max, our team noticed this issue while studying the ranch data and has developed a bold preliminary plan!"

He shared a hydrological and topographical analysis map of the ranch: "Within the five thousand acres of agricultural land, there is a secondary river fed by geothermal springs that never freezes."

"Water quality test reports show its purity reaches potable levels. It’s a naturally perfect bed for cold-water fish farming!"

"Traditional flow-through or net-cage farming is inefficient and impacts the environment."

He switched to a design diagram filled with various pipes and filtration equipment.

"Therefore, our suggestion is to fully introduce the most mature and cost-effective technology and equipment that is currently commercially operated in China’s recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) domain."

"We can specialize in farming Arctic Char and Alpine Whitefish, which have the highest nutritional value and richest fat content."

"Through this system, we can precisely control water temperature, water quality, and feed, achieving year-round uninterrupted, traceable organic production!"

Hammond’s eyes lit up as well: "That’s fantastic! We can also design the fish farm to be an open sustainable ecological agriculture showcase for visitors!"

"Let visitors see how December’s food is produced in the most environmentally friendly and scientific way. That in itself is the best education!"

"How much budget does this plan require?" Lin Yu’an asked.

Chen Zhuo provided comparative data, "If we procure the entire RAS system domestically in the United States, the initial investment is about three to four million US Dollars."

"But if we ship the entire set of equipment, including filtration tanks, aerators, protein skimmers, and intelligent control systems from China."

"And have our engineers guide the local American team for installation, the total cost can be controlled within 1.5 million US Dollars."

This is an extremely enticing cost-cutting proposal.

However, Lin Yu’an did not immediately make a decision; he looked at Max and raised a deeper question: "Max, fish can solve December’s problem. But what about Amber?"

Max immediately gave a professional response, "The Northeast Tiger’s staple diet includes land-dwelling mammals like deer and wild boar. Fish alone cannot satisfy all of its nutritional needs."

Lin Yu’an nodded, reflecting his concern. "Therefore, this aquaculture farm is just the first link in our food supply chain."

"We also need a second link, a small-scale wild animal breeding farm with legal credentials."

"We can designate several hundred acres on the ranch specifically for scientific, small-scale breeding of elk."

"They can become Amber’s main future food source, enrich December’s menu, and even provide our own tables with the finest organic red meat."

This concept left everyone present stunned.

In the United States, obtaining licenses for fish farming is relatively simple, but captive and breeding large wild mammals involve extremely complex and stringent legal permits.

Hammond first raised concerns: "Lin, the idea is excellent, but legally...almost impossible."

"The Wyoming Fish and Game Department is extremely stringent in granting captive permits for native wildlife. There’s hardly any precedent of a private farm obtaining such a permit."

This time, Li Wenbo’s team sided with Hammond. The young agricultural engineer Chen Zhuo shared a new PowerPoint page.

Chen Zhuo’s expression was serious, "Mr. Lin, Mr. Hammond is correct. Our legal team has also conducted an initial study on this issue."

"This path is indeed very difficult. We might spend years on applications, environmental assessments, and community hearings, ultimately possibly being rejected."

He switched to the next page, which was a detailed cost-benefit analysis.

"Meanwhile, we did a cost comparison between buying and breeding."

"In Colorado, a top-tier USDA-certified deer farm sells high-quality frozen elk meat at a wholesale price of about 20 US Dollars per pound."

"Based on an adult Northeast Tiger’s food consumption, the annual food cost is approximately 100,000 US Dollars."

"If we breed ourselves...construct fences covering hundreds of acres to safety standards, introduce initial stocks, and build necessary facilities..."

"We estimate that the initial investment to start this breeding farm would be at least 2 million US Dollars."

"So, from a purely economic standpoint, the initial cost of breeding ourselves is more than fifteen times the cost of buying meat."

"Considering the enormous legal uncertainty, our advice for the project’s early stage is to opt for a more prudent purchasing plan."

The conference room fell into silence once again.

A perfect self-sufficient ecological chain seemed stuck at the practical barriers of law and cost.

However, Lin Yu’an still had that light, carefree smile on his face.

He looked at everyone and nodded slowly, "Very well. Engineer Chen, your analysis is very professional, and the data is detailed. I agree with your conclusion."

This straightforward answer surprised everyone.

Lin Yu’an made his decision, "At the initial stage of the project, we will adopt the purchasing plan."

"However," Lin Yu’an’s tone shifted, his eyes filled with a vision for the future, "this is just a short-term plan."

"In the long term, I still believe we must own a fully controlled breeding farm. I don’t want my family’s food to depend on any external supply chain."

"Regarding the breeding permits, I know it’s difficult. It might require some unconventional forces."

Lin Yu’an finalized, "Let’s proceed with the fish farming as per our discussed plan! For the breeding farm issue, we’ll pause it for now."

The meeting lasted four hours.

From ensuring the venue’s roof could withstand Wyoming’s record-breaking snow with the highest (S-5) snow load standard, to designing independent safety corridors for the keepers backstage.

From employing German-made, 10 cm thick five-layer laminated ultra-clear glass for the visitor areas.

To inputting decade-long real Arctic light data models behind the AI dynamic lighting system...

Every detail was repeatedly discussed, debated, optimized, and then decisively confirmed by Lin Yu’an.

Finally, when the meeting concluded, a comprehensive "December Arctic Home Project Start-up Memorandum," spanning over a hundred pages with countless details and data, was freshly created.

At the end of the meeting, Li Wenbo consolidated all the additional budgets and gave a final number.

"Mr. Lin, based on our previous decisions: the foundation budget is 38 million, the visitor area adds 2 million, the independent medical center adds 4 million, and the bio-support system adds 2 million."

"The CT specialty adds 3 million, and the recirculating aquaculture farm 1.5 million... the total project budget has been finalized at an astounding 51.5 million US Dollars."

The total construction period, under extreme optimization, was firmly locked at nine months.

Lin Yu’an looked at the screen, at his two partners who appeared somewhat fatigued but whose eyes were still filled with excitement and determination.

He knew that this home, costing over half a billion US Dollars, had already transformed from a distant dream into a precisely executable construction plan.