Landlord in the Arctic

Feng Mountain frowned slightly at the quote, quickly weighing his options.

The situation was difficult. It wasn’t easy to find a driver willing to take the job at all. While the price wasn’t cheap, it was still within an acceptable range.

Christmas was just a few days away. He couldn’t leave the animals in the small town; if he did, the cost of just caring for them would probably exceed 5,000 US Dollar.

After a moment of thought, he nodded and agreed to the price, but he had an additional request.

"I want to leave immediately. Christmas is coming up, and I don’t want to be delayed too long. Also, I’ll need you to bring a friend of mine back on the return trip. How does that sound?"

Lisa had been doing some quick calculations of her own. ’Although the price I quoted has some basis,’ she thought, ’there’s definitely room to negotiate. I even left some wiggle room to lower it.’

After all, a 5,000 US Dollar shipping fee was no small sum. Based on her usual income, she’d have to work herself to the bone for a week to earn that much.

She expected him to at least try to haggle with her.

But Lisa hadn’t expected him to agree so readily. She quickly stood up and extended her hand without hesitation.

"Deal!"

"A pleasure doing business with you."

Feng Mountain smiled and extended his hand as well.

The moment their hands clasped, Feng Mountain clearly felt that the blonde girl’s palm was rough. There was a thick layer of calluses on her fingertips and palm, obviously the result of long-term manual labor.

Lisa had just let go when she suddenly seemed to remember something important and hurriedly asked.

"Oh, right. Does your truck have a mobile container? If not, there will be an additional container fee."

"It has a mobile container," Old Tom, who had been paying close attention to the conversation, quickly replied, afraid that some new complication would arise in the deal they had just managed to secure.

"Good. Let’s hurry, then. Transferring the container will still take some time."

Lisa enthusiastically beckoned Feng Mountain and the others while walking cheerfully toward the restaurant’s main entrance, her steps so light she seemed to be walking on clouds.

The drivers they passed along the way watched this scene, casting envious glances and offering their congratulations.

In their eyes, Lisa was effortlessly making 5,000 US Dollar on this mid-route transport job. It was as lucky as receiving a gift from Santa Claus, enough to make anyone green with envy.

The group hurried out of the restaurant, and a bitter, cold wind slammed into them, instantly enveloping them.

Everyone walked over to the truck.

The truck driver’s face was grim, as if someone owed him money. He was constantly muttering, though it was impossible to make out what he was complaining about.

"This is the truck." Old Tom walked straight to the truck, ignoring the driver’s sour expression, and simply pointed at the vehicle.

Lisa nodded, her gaze serious as she slowly circled the truck. Then, she reached out to inspect the buckles on the straps securing the container.

"Hey, get away!" Seeing this, the truck driver was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He instantly bristled, lunging forward and forcefully shoving Lisa away while roaring, "What do you think you’re doing to my truck?"

His voice sounded especially sharp and piercing in the cold wind.

"Whoa, take it easy, buddy!"

Startled by the driver’s sudden action, Lisa quickly raised her hands and took a few steps back.

Then she turned to Feng Mountain with a puzzled look, her eyes seemingly asking a question.

’I thought you were looking to transfer cargo? Why is this driver so worked up he won’t even let me near the vehicle?’

Feng Mountain was also baffled, not having expected this kind of situation at all.

He subconsciously turned to look at Old Tom, his eyes full of questions.

Old Tom’s expression was grim. He turned helplessly to the driver and said, "Tansen, didn’t you say yourself that the truck can’t handle the Dalton Highway? We found a new driver, one who specializes in hauling on the Dalton, and now she needs to inspect the container."

The truck driver’s eyes were wide, like a furious bull. He glared viciously at Lisa, muttering under his breath.

He seemed to be muttering a string of profanities.

"No way! No one touches my truck! Mr. Snow, we have a signed agreement. I’m responsible for delivering the cargo to its destination."

"But didn’t you say the truck couldn’t go on the Dalton Highway?" Snow looked completely confused, his brows furrowed in incomprehension.

"This... that... I..." The driver was rendered speechless, his eyes darting away. His hands gestured unconsciously in front of him, but he didn’t know how to explain himself.

During the standoff, some other drivers in the parking lot who were servicing their trucks heard the heated argument and put down their tools, curiously gathering around.

At first, they were just looking for a bit of excitement, something to liven up the cold, boring work of vehicle maintenance.

However, when the drivers saw Lisa surrounded in the middle of the crowd, they immediately got riled up.

"Son of a bitch!" someone in the crowd suddenly roared.

You have to understand, female drivers who hauled on the Dalton Highway were few and far between, and Lisa was by far the youngest and most beautiful of them all.

In the hearts of these drivers, Lisa was like the Princess of the Dalton Highway, someone to be protected.

Now it looked like some out-of-towner was trying to bully her.

How could they stand for that?

Immediately, some drivers grabbed whatever tools were at hand—wrenches, hammers, and the like—while someone else rushed into the restaurant to spread the word.

"Hey, what do you think you’re doing to Lisa? You think we have no one on the Dalton?" In the blink of an eye, the gathering truck drivers quickly surrounded Feng Mountain’s group, their expressions seething with aggression.

Immediately after, a noisy clamor of shuffling feet came from the direction of the restaurant. The grease-stained drivers poured out, brandishing chairs and looking menacing.

Among them was even a restaurant server, who had grabbed a wooden stick and joined the ranks of the drivers.

Seeing this spectacle, Yves and Ma Wei instinctively tensed up, their hands subconsciously reaching inside their coats.

"Fellas, calm down! It’s a misunderstanding!" With a brawl about to break out, Feng Mountain quickly raised his hands, signaling for both sides not to make any sudden moves, while shouting loudly in an attempt to cool things down.

The driver captain from before heard the commotion and emerged from the crowd, his face grim as he walked over quickly.

He first looked at Lisa, inspecting her carefully from head to toe. After confirming she wasn’t hurt, he slowly turned his gaze to Feng Mountain, his eyes full of displeasure, and asked coldly.

"Buddy, what do you think you’re doing?"

"I’m not sure myself. The truck driver suddenly became extremely agitated. I’m really sorry about this." Feng Mountain looked helpless and spread his hands. He was truly baffled.

From his perspective, the new female driver he’d hired was just performing a normal check of the container straps for the subsequent transfer. It was a routine part of the shipping process. How had it led to a conflict?

’Perhaps the truck driver was just being overprotective of the cargo, and that’s what caused this little misunderstanding.’

"What’s the situation?" Seeing that Feng Mountain couldn’t explain it, the driver captain turned to Lisa, hoping to get an answer from her.

Lisa was just as bewildered, not understanding how things had escalated like this.

She had just been checking the straps to prepare for the container transfer, and this truck driver had suddenly blown up as if he’d swallowed gunpowder.

After Lisa quickly explained what had happened, the driver captain’s eyes instantly grew sharp. He glanced at the conspicuous company logo on the truck, and a few thoughts flashed through his mind. Seeming to have figured something out, a cold smirk appeared on his lips.

Then, he strode menacingly over to the truck driver.

"Anchorage Banser Freight Company?"

"Y-Yes... what do you want?" The truck driver flinched at the question, his eyes betraying a clear sense of guilt as he stammered a reply.

The driver captain suddenly raised his hand, extended a finger as thick as a carrot, and poked the truck driver hard in the chest, yelling.

"Fack, the Dalton isn’t your Anchorage! Don’t you dare pull your despicable price-gouging tricks on my turf, you piece of shit! Believe it or not, I can make sure not a single one of your Banser Freight trucks ever sets foot on a Fairbanks highway again."

"I know all about your trash company’s reputation!"

"Now, I’m giving you two choices. First, you transfer the container onto her truck. Second, you transfer the container onto her truck. And you’re doing the work yourself!"

......