Landlord in the Arctic

Under the shroud of the polar night, at six in the morning, the entire camp was still enveloped in darkness, as if time itself had fallen asleep.

However, Feng Shan's precise internal clock paid no mind to the darkness outside. It went off right on time, jarring him from his sleep.

He slowly opened his drowsy eyes, his head still groggy.

A moment later, however, memories of last night flooded his mind.

He recalled how the four of them had played cards until midnight.

After the card game, Erica and Tammy had refused to go back to their own lodgings, insisting on crashing in Jenny's cabin.

Jenny, being kind-hearted, couldn't bring herself to refuse.

Feng Shan watched from the side. Although he felt a bit resigned, he didn't want to be a buzzkill, so he tacitly went along with it.

In the end, with no other choice, an animal hide blanket was pulled from the cabinet and hastily spread on the floor. And just like that, the four adults were sharing one big cover.

But Feng Shan's experience over the course of the night left him speechless.

The moment the three women lay down, it was as if they had conspired beforehand. They occupied the center of the blanket, squeezing Feng Shan to the very edge, so close to the fireplace he could feel the scorching heat from the flames.

As the night wore on, the polar cold grew more intense, relentlessly seeping into the room.

Before long, the fire in the fireplace died down, on the verge of extinguishing.

Resigned, Feng Shan could only fight off his drowsiness, blearily getting up again and again to add wood to the fireplace. He didn't get a moment of sound sleep all night; he could barely keep his eyes open.

Now, as he looked at Erica and Tammy snuggled together like lazy kittens in the warm depths of the blanket, Feng Shan felt utterly aggrieved.

'Had I known, I would've rather squeezed into Tyson's tiger den than end up like this.'

Feng Shan pursed his lips, pushing away a smelly foot from his face with a look of disgust. He then gingerly extracted himself from the blanket, bit by bit, afraid of making the slightest sound and waking the others.

Once up, he looked at the sprawling forms of Tammy and Erica. One was like an octopus, hogging more than half the blanket, while the other had her limbs splayed out in every direction.

He shook his head in resignation, a wry smile on his face.

'They seem like perfectly nice girls during the day. How can they be such messy sleepers?'

Then, he picked up the blanket and tucked them back in.

"You're awake?" Just as Feng Shan was mentally bracing for the busy day ahead, Jenny's soft voice sounded quietly by his ear.

Feng Shan turned at the sound of her voice. His eyes followed it to see Jenny emerging gracefully from the kitchen, holding two steaming mugs of coffee.

The steam rising from the mugs swirled like a soft veil, adding a touch of warmth to the chilly morning air.

Jenny walked over to Feng Shan, handed him a mug, and said softly, "Why didn't you sleep in a little?"

"I'm used to it. Couldn't sleep anyway," Feng Shan replied, taking the coffee. Its warmth instantly spread from his fingertips throughout his body, chasing away some of the chill.

He tilted his head back slightly and took a sip. The rich, mellow flavor spread across his tongue, helping to clear his groggy mind.

Then, remembering something, Feng Shan looked at Jenny and said, "It's Christmas Eve, so it's going to be busy. It'll be a tough day for you."

Jenny just shook her head, a playful smile touching her lips. She mimicked Feng Shan's earlier, world-weary tone, drawing out her words. "I'm used to it, too!"

They exchanged a smile, one full of warmth and unspoken understanding.

After quickly washing up, they glanced at the still sound-asleep Erica and Tammy, shook their heads in resignation, and left the small cabin together.

By now, the restaurant was already a scene of bustling activity, with employees hurrying about as they began their day's work.

Warm yellow light spilled through the main doors, pouring like water onto the grass outside and casting shifting patterns of light and shadow.

As soon as he reached the restaurant entrance, Feng Shan heard a familiar, raucous noise from above.

"Welcome! Brother Tu, quick, we've got a customer!"

A moment later, another, slightly coarser cry echoed in response.

"CAW! CAW!"

Feng Shan looked up toward the sound and saw Loki perched on a suspended wooden dowel, its feathers faintly shimmering in the light. Its beady black eyes glinted with cunning.

Looking down at a table below, he saw Tu'Er. It stood there with a jaunty little Santa hat on its head and was even wearing a black vest, like a tiny waiter. The sight was both comical and adorable.

Tu'Er's handsome features were more prominent than ever. It spread its massive, nearly two-meter wingspan, its wings trembling slightly as if to show off its magnificent presence. The display was quite imposing.

"What are you two up to?" Feng Shan asked, looking at the two little pranksters with a curious, amused smile.

Loki pretended not to hear Feng Shan's question. Instead, it picked up a small iron bowl in its sharp beak, landed gracefully beside Tu'Er, and started chattering nonstop.

"Photos, 1 US Dollar! Hugs, 2 US Dollars! Thank you for your patronage!"

"CAW! CAW!" Tu'Er was also very cooperative. It puffed out its chest, craned its neck, and let out a cry right on cue with Loki's price list, as if trying to solicit business from passersby.

Faced with this well-rehearsed, mischievous act from Loki and Tu'Er, Feng Shan was momentarily speechless.

He didn't even have to guess to know that this was undoubtedly another one of the four old men's brilliant ideas.

But on second thought, he decided it was actually a good thing.

At least it gave the two little guys something to do, which was far better than them running around causing trouble everywhere.

At this thought, a gratified smile touched Feng Shan's lips. He looked at Loki and Tu'Er and offered a word of encouragement.

"Right. Keep up the good work!"

After complimenting the two birds, Feng Shan walked into the restaurant to join the ranks of the working, ready to face the busy day ahead.