Landlord in the Arctic

He then looked at Ouyang Xue and the others and instructed them seriously.

"When I return to Alaska in a few days, I’ll start preparing to set up an office. You should arrange for someone to be stationed in Alaska permanently to make coordination easier."

Hearing that their boss had agreed to establish a travel agency office.

Ouyang Xue and the two women with her instantly raised their eyebrows, unable to keep the joyful smiles off their faces.

"Is there anything else? If not, I have things to do!" Feng Shan asked them, sounding annoyed.

"Nothing else, President Feng. Please come visit the company more often when you have time, even just for a cup of tea." Ouyang Xue shook her head gently, holding back a laugh.

The two directors beside her also nodded, their faces wreathed in smiles.

"The tea at the company is too hot to drink. Besides, my sister is pregnant. Take good care of her, and don’t let her overwork herself." Feng Shan said as he strode out of the office, not wanting to hear another word from them.

Just as he walked out of the office, he thought he heard the faint sound of stifled laughter behind him.

Feng Shan shook his head and quickened his pace.

...

「Three days later.」

Ominous clouds, like overturned ink, hung heavy over Hai City’s skies.

The meteorological station announced that a typhoon would pass by the edge of Hai City within the next two days.

Although the typhoon didn’t directly strike Hai City, the weather was clearly affected.

The sea wind howled past, carrying a salty, fishy vapor. The plane trees along the road swayed wildly, their branches RUSTLING loudly.

The air was thick with a damp smell, and it felt like a downpour could start at any moment.

Feng Shan, wearing a black windbreaker, stood at the entrance of the Taishan Hufu District.

In his arms, Coca-Cola was curled into a furry ball, with only its amber eyes darting around.

A black Mercedes-Benz van was parked by the road. Wind-blown grit TAPPED against it, and the windshield wipers trembled restlessly, as if anticipating the coming storm.

Feng Shan frowned slightly and looked again toward the district’s main gate, seemingly waiting for something.

Coca-Cola stirred in his arms, letting out a few soft meows.

"Don’t be anxious. Just a little longer," Feng Shan whispered, comforting Coca-Cola as he reached out to gently stroke its head.

Coca-Cola looked up at its dad with watery eyes, seemingly understanding him, and quieted down again.

Just then,

The district’s metal gate slowly opened in the wind, making a heavy, scraping sound.

Hu Zi, Xiaohua, Black Hide, and Black Egg, their expressions somber, were also dressed in solemn black. They walked slowly toward Feng Shan, treading on the fallen leaves that littered the ground.

Feng Shan didn’t speak. His gaze rested briefly on each of them before he gave a silent nod.

He reached out, opened the front passenger door of the van, and got in. He then placed Coca-Cola on his lap and gently patted its head.

The others followed him into the vehicle.

Black Hide pulled open a rear door, his movements somewhat stiff. Hu Zi helped Xiaohua get in first, then carefully sat down beside her. Black Egg was the last to get in, and the sliding door closed silently behind him.

The vehicle started silently. The wipers swung back and forth across the windshield, clearing away scattered raindrops.

Outside the window, tree branches still shook violently in the gale. The sky grew darker, threatening a downpour at any moment.

The atmosphere in the van was suffocatingly oppressive all the way there.

No one spoke. The only sounds were the tires rolling through puddles and the occasional meow from Coca-Cola.

The gloomy sky over Hai City South District Cemetery was suffocating.

Gale-force winds sent dry leaves swirling into the empty sky.

The cemetery staff wore crisp black suits with small white flowers pinned to their lapels, but the wind had blown them askew.

Some of them hunched their shoulders and rubbed their hands together, scuffing their leather shoes on the stone path to ward off the chill from their feet.

"Who’s visiting today that has the manager making us greet them first thing in the morning?" a young employee muttered, pulling his coat tighter as his teeth chattered.

An older employee beside him glanced at the oily-faced fat man standing at the front of the group and said in a low voice, "You don’t know? A major client is moving a grave today. It’s for that VIP plot on the mountaintop."

"Whoa, that plot costs over five million. Some sucker actually bought it?" the young employee’s eyes went wide.

The older employee scoffed, pulled a cigarette case from his pocket, but stuffed it back in annoyance when he realized the wind was too strong to light one.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"You just got back from vacation, so you wouldn’t know. That plot was sold last week. Paid in full, all at once. Plus thirty years of service fees."

"Holy shit, they’re that rich," the young employee clicked his tongue, his gaze drifting toward the mist-shrouded mountaintop.

Another employee in a tie leaned in and whispered mysteriously, "That’s nothing. Our engineering department has been working on the mountaintop all week."

He then held up two fingers and waggled them. "A single maple tree cost 200,000. I heard it was airlifted here and transplanted with its root ball intact. If it dies, the seller takes no responsibility, and the buyer has to pay for a new one."

The group’s collective gasp was snatched away by the wind.

The sound of tires crunching over a gravel road came from the distance.

The chubby manager suddenly straightened his back and adjusted his crooked tie.

His previously impatient expression was instantly replaced by a sycophantic smile. He shot a glance at the others and hissed under his breath.

"Stop your yapping! The main man is here!"

The black Mercedes-Benz van was breaking through the gloom, slowly driving toward the cemetery gate.

The chatter stopped abruptly as if choked off, and the dozen or so staff members all fell silent.

Manager Pang rushed to the side of the van in just a few strides.

Before the doors could automatically unlock, he was already bent at the waist, reaching out to pull one open. The wind flipped up the back of his suit jacket, revealing the bottom half of his white shirt.

"Mr. Feng!"

"I’m not late, am I?" Feng Shan asked as he stepped out of the van, holding Coca-Cola.

"Not at all! You’re early, in fact!" Manager Pang said with an obsequious smile, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching up. He eagerly reached out to take the black clutch tucked under Feng Shan’s arm, but when Feng Shan subtly avoided him, he could only scratch his head in embarrassment.

The staff members standing at the cemetery gate stared at Hu Zi, Xiaohua, and the others getting out of the van one by one. Seeing Manager Pang bowing and scraping, not a single one of them showed a hint of mockery.

After all, everyone knew that the service fees alone for that mountaintop plot were enough for an ordinary person to earn in half a lifetime.

The boss gets the meat, the manager gets the bones.

It was good enough for grunts like them to get a sip of the broth.

’It’s all about making money!’

’There’s no shame in bowing a little lower.’

Following the pre-arranged procedure, the dozen or so staff members bowed slightly in unison toward Feng Shan’s group and shouted together.

"Greetings, Mr. Feng!"

"Thank you. I appreciate your hard work." Feng Shan, holding Coca-Cola and with Xiaohua and the others in tow, returned the gesture solemnly.

After straightening up, he glanced back at Black Hide and gave a slight jiggle to the black clutch tucked under his arm.

Black Hide understood immediately and stepped forward to take the clutch.

The moment he unzipped it, a neat stack of white paper envelopes was revealed.

Then, Black Hide walked over to the staff members. Starting from the far left, he handed out the white envelopes one by one, saying sincerely with each one,

"Thank you for your hard work."

As the staff members’ fingertips touched the white envelopes, a gentle squeeze revealed their thickness, and a warmth seemed to spread through their palms.

One person’s pupils contracted. He fought the urge to grin, forcing the smile into a tight line. In a hoarse voice, he managed to squeeze out,

"You’re too kind. It’s our duty."

The wind swept through the cemetery, making the branches of the pine trees by the road RUSTLE.

It mingled with the rising and falling chorus of "thank yous," which echoed in front of the solemn cemetery gate.

Feng Shan took out a particularly thick white envelope from his own pocket. It had a faint crease on the corner, clearly chosen specifically.

As he handed it over, he remarked to Manager Pang, his tone casual yet pointed.

"From now on, I’ll have to ask for your special care, Manager Zhang."

Manager Pang’s small eyes lit up like lightbulbs. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he accepted the white envelope.

He stuffed it into the inner pocket of his suit with the speed of someone hiding their secret stash of cash.

At the same time, his lips twitched into a smile that was uglier than a crying face, his oily features practically creasing from the effort.

"Mr. Feng, you’re far too generous! Don’t you worry. From now on, I’ll have the cleaning staff check on your wife’s grave more often every day. I guarantee any fallen leaves or dust will be swept away until it’s cleaner than my own living room! I’ll also personally see to it that the incense and fresh flowers at Madam Feng’s grave are replaced daily by a dedicated person!"

Feng Shan gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over the forest of tombstones in the distance.

The mountain wind whipped fine grains of sand against Coca-Cola’s nose. The fat cat whimpered uneasily. Feng Shan stroked its fur, his voice calm.

"Then I’ll be counting on you, Manager Zhang."

...