Landlord in the Arctic

"Finally, there’s the Soulja Crew, an Anchorage street gang. Its members are a mix of Bloods and Crips who’ve teamed up to commit crimes, including drug trafficking, robbery, and shootings."

"There are also Indigenous, Asian, Latino, and African gangs, but compared to the four I just mentioned, they’re too small-scale," Frank concluded. "While they also engage in some criminal activities, their influence is nowhere near that of the four major gangs."

"I need to know what happened to my estate! Don’t tell me that Princess is a gangster?" Feng Shan couldn’t hold it in any longer, interrupting Frank once more out of sheer frustration.

"Shut up! Jenny, keep an eye on this bastard. If he interrupts me again, shove your foot in his mouth."

Frank looked at Feng Shan with a helpless expression.

Because the entire conversation was in Chinese, only Erica couldn’t understand and had to rely on Jenny to translate. As a result, the explanation was slow, with every word spoken as clearly as possible.

"Actually, aside from those four major gangs, there’s one more that can’t be ignored: the Russian Mafia."

Frank cleared his throat and continued, a grave look in his eyes.

"Alaska was originally the territory of Tsarist Russia. In 1867, Tsarist Russia sold Alaska to the United States for 7.2 million US dollars. At the time, some of the Russian immigrants living in Alaska chose to stay and become American citizens."

"After that, more Russians continued to immigrate to Alaska, and these residents of Russian descent formed a sizable community." Frank nodded slightly, as if to emphasize the importance of this fact. "This is especially true in the southern coastal regions: the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Bay, the Alexander Archipelago, and the Queen Charlotte Islands."

"In these areas, the population is predominantly of Russian descent. Furthermore, these islands face Russia, and this advantageous geographical position provided a convenient opening for the Russian Mafia to infiltrate."

"In the ’90s, the Russian Mafia used heavy firepower like AK-47s and RPGs. They even had Katyusha rocket launchers. Back then, they were the most powerful gang in Alaska."

"Later, the Queen appeared and gradually pushed the Russian Mafia into the shadows, forcing them to give up violent crime." There was a hint of admiration in Frank’s tone, as if he was impressed by the Queen’s methods. "The Queen used her prestige and tactics to make those gangsters fall in line, transforming them from an overt violent organization into a clandestine smuggling ring."

Hearing the word "Queen," Feng Shan froze as if hit by an Immobilization Spell. He looked at Frank, his mouth moving slightly as if he wanted to say something, but it was as though something was caught in his throat, and no sound came out.

Frank met Feng Shan’s complicated gaze and gave a solemn, silent nod.

"That’s right. The current Queen is Natasha. She controls the smuggling routes in the Bering Sea. You could say that without her permission, not even a single cigarette can cross from Russia into the Bering Sea."

A collective gasp filled the small cabin; everyone was stunned by this news.

Xiaohua, Hu Zi, and Black Hide, having grown up in China, didn’t understand the full implications, but they’d seen enough foreign gangster movies. They could imagine how vicious a gang that used AK-47s and rocket launchers in fights must be.

Jenny and Erica had both once lived on the fringes of society and had their fair share of run-ins with street gangs, so they naturally understood what these gangs represented.

"I... I was just beaten up by the Queen." After learning Natasha’s identity, Erica’s expression was strange. Not only was she not the least bit afraid, but her eyes were also sparkling with excitement.

"Did she beat you stupid?" Feng Shan scoffed. Then he turned his gaze back to Frank. "You just said the current Queen is Natasha. That means there was another Queen before her."

Frank nodded, a hint of melancholy on his face as he spoke slowly.

"That’s right. The previous Queen was Natasha’s mother, and also your grand-uncle’s fiancée. It’s just that later... for some complicated reasons, the two of them didn’t end up together."

"Because of that, both families agreed that the next generation would carry on the marriage contract until it was fulfilled."

After hearing this, Feng Shan instantly felt like he’d been screwed over. He said resentfully, "So, ’Grand-auntie,’ what you’re saying is, because of you, I’ve now got some random fiancée showing up at my door."

When he spoke, he heavily emphasized the word "Grand-auntie," his tone thick with dissatisfaction.

"Fack! Bullshit! Shut your mouth."

Frank was instantly enraged by Feng Shan’s words. He cursed loudly while raising his hand as if to strike him.

’Here I am, trying to explain the whole situation to him out of the goodness of my heart, and this kid is just being a difficult ass, dragging up useless history.’

’Besides, back when Feng refused the marriage contract, I was just a kid. I had nothing to do with it.’

"You listen to me. I’m helping you understand the situation, not listening to your damn complaints," Frank said, forcing down his anger through gritted teeth. "Natasha is not someone to be trifled with. You’d better straighten up and don’t cause any more trouble for me."

At the same time, his eyes held a warning, hoping Feng Shan would understand the gravity of the situation.

"Go on, keep talking. What about the Crown Territory?" Feng Shan said with a teasing smirk on his face, dodging behind Jenny as he spoke.

Having provoked Frank, he seemed to have found his equilibrium, and his mood inexplicably improved.

Seeing Feng Shan act like this, Frank helplessly lowered his hand, collected his thoughts, and began to speak again.

"I don’t know much about the Crown Territory myself. Your grand-uncle only said that the land of the Crown Territory was originally given to your ancestor as a dowry."

WHAT??

Feng Shan’s eyes flew wide open. He said in shock, "That’s not right! Weren’t we told that our ancestor got the Crown Territory for curing the Tsarist Emperor? Why didn’t you tell me this before I came to Alaska?"

Frank slapped his forehead, a look of chagrin on his face. Then he threw up his hands.

"I forgot!"

"That’s not a very funny reason." Feng Shan obviously didn’t believe Frank, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Frank shook his head with a wry smile and explained, "Look, back then the Crown Territory was just a barren wasteland. Who knew if you’d even stay? So there was no need to tell you about something so unimportant."

"After all, the most important thing back then was getting you to stay in Alaska and take over the Crown Territory. And the original history of the land didn’t seem that critical at the time. It’s only now that Natasha has appeared that this business has become important again."

’Unimportant?’

’A fiancée who’s a mafia boss just popped up out of nowhere.’

’What do you think this is, a movie?’

’My Sassy Girl 2?’

Feng Shan was utterly speechless. He really wanted to punch Frank in the face just to vent the resentment in his heart.

"What else? What else did Grand-uncle say about the Crown Territory dowry? I’ve already obtained the inheritance rights to the Crown Territory, approved and verified by the American Government. They can’t just take it away, right?"

Frank spread his hands, a helpless look on his face, and slowly shook his head.

"I’m not clear on that. It seems Natasha also has a claim to half the Crown Territory, but that’s from a Tsarist Russia-era document. Tsarist Russia collapsed decades ago, so that document is invalid. You can absolutely refuse to recognize it."

"Can I really?" Feng Shan sighed softly, his eyes full of conflict and helplessness.

Legally speaking, there was every reason not to recognize that old document Natasha had. But deep down, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

After all, from a moral standpoint, he just couldn’t overcome the mental hurdle.

The mess left behind by his grandfather’s generation now had to be shouldered by the grandchildren’s.

’What kind of bullshit is this?’

Thinking about all this, Feng Shan felt a wave of frustration, as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

After listening for a long time, Xiaohua finally seemed to grasp the gist of the complicated story. Blinking her eyes casually, she offered a suggestion in a remarkably nonchalant manner.

"Brother Shan, why don’t you just marry her? Didn’t Su Ziweng say that having a secret lover is popular in foreign countries? You can marry that woman on the surface, and then secretly keep Jenny, Erica, and Tammy on the side. Wouldn’t that solve everything?"

...