HUN Chapter 140: The Warm Stone Fireplace!

Lin Yu'an spoke softly to comfort her, “I know this sounds truly crazy. But this time is different from last time. I'm no longer surviving and struggling for money, but rather..."

He paused, trying to find the most accurate words to describe his inner feelings.

"Rather, it's a desire to compete on the same stage with true masters. Aliya, you know I love this feeling of confronting nature's extremes."

Aliya fell quiet, looking at Lin Yu'an's face on the screen.

His gaze was calm, but deep in his eyes burned a flame she knew very well, the desire that belongs to the strong when facing challenges.

She knew this was the real him. A man who could navigate cruel wilderness with ease, yet also paint a future for her in the warmth of home.

She had fallen in love with exactly this kind of contradictory yet utterly genuine man.

After a long while, Aliya let out a gentle sigh, the worry in her eyes gradually replaced by understanding and tenderness.

"I understand."

She didn't mention danger again, nor did she try to dissuade him. Instead, she changed her approach and said softly, “Darling, actually... we no longer need to take risks for money."

She turned her camera toward her computer screen, which displayed a stock trading software interface.

A green, upward-trending K-line chart occupied the entire screen, with a prominent stock symbol beside it, NVDA.

Aliya's voice carried a hint of laughter, “Following your advice to buy that stock, now it's gone crazy!"

"The value of these stocks we hold is already enough for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives, and even establish a generous trust fund for the children."

"We're not short of money anymore, darling." She turned the camera back to herself, looking at him with utmost seriousness.

"So I support you going, not for that five hundred thousand dollars, but because I know this is what you want, this is the way that makes you feel truly 'alive.'"

A surge of tremendous warmth rose in Lin Yu'an's heart.

This was his Aliya, always able to see through to the deepest thoughts in his heart and give him the most unwavering support.

"But," Aliya's tone also became extremely solemn.

"You must promise me one thing."

"Tell me."

"If you feel there's even the slightest real danger, or if you feel you don't want to persist anymore, you must press that distress button and immediately quit that damned show!"

Her voice carried an undeniable command.

"Nothing is more important than your safety. Home is here, and the children and I will always be waiting for you to come back. Do you hear me?"

"I promise you."

Lin Yu'an nodded firmly, this promise was more resolute than ever before.

Having received his assurance, Aliya completely relaxed.

She showed her gentle smile again and winked playfully, “Alright, my champion sir. Since you're going to conquer new wilderness again, I'd better hurry up too."

"I need to contact the designer immediately to order the renovation materials we need, plus furniture and decorations."

"Then I'll be waiting, Your Majesty." Lin Yu'an also smiled.

A conversation that could have sparked conflict transformed into mutual support and shared anticipation for the future through their deep understanding and trust.

After hanging up the video call, Lin Yu'an walked to the window, looking out at the forest already shrouded in twilight.

He knew that no matter how far he traveled or how harsh the places where he challenged his limits, there would always be a light burning for him and a beloved waiting for his return.

This connection was not a chain that bound him, but the most solid anchor that allowed him to fly higher and farther!

After ending the video call with Aliya and looking at those beautiful interior design drawings that Aliya had helped perfect, Lin Yu'an's heart filled with infinite motivation.

His gaze turned to the first item on his planning list, and the soul of the entire living room, that massive stone fireplace that would extend from floor to the second-floor ceiling.

In his vision, it must possess unique texture and the mark of this land.

He wanted to use stones that truly carried traces of glaciers and time to personally build a warm yet solid heart for his home.

A month ago, he had ordered a "zero-clearance" high-performance fireplace system from a top Canadian fireplace manufacturer.

This system included a cast-iron fireplace core weighing three hundred kilograms, plus sectional A-grade double-wall stainless steel insulated chimney pipes. He'd received an email a few days ago saying it would arrive within seven days.

This was perfect timing to carry out his stone quarrying plan.

An ideal location immediately came to mind, a debris slope formed by a landslide that he and Stan had discovered before.

The mountainside there was mainly gneiss that had undergone years of weathering and spalling, forming a natural stone yard at the mountain's base.

He clearly remembered the gneiss there, with black and white banded textures as beautiful as ink paintings, extremely hard and perfect for fireplace facing.

But to transport heavy loads to such a place, a professional heavy-duty pickup and trailer were essential. Without hesitation, he drove directly to Old George's house.

When Old George heard Lin Yu'an's idea of quarrying gneiss slabs himself, his face showed a knowing smile.

"I knew you'd go get the stones yourself, kid."

"You're exactly like I was when I was young, always feeling that things you pick yourself have soul."

Without asking another question, he took a key from a bunch hanging on the wall and tossed it to Lin Yu'an.

"Take my big rig. There's a flatbed trailer hitched to the back that can haul three tons. Use it freely, just remember to fill up the tank when you bring it back."

Old George said, “But I should remind you, kid, we're doing stone veneer, not building solid walls."

"So you don't need those hundred-kilogram boulders. You need stone slabs between 5 and 15 centimeters thick, understand? That tests your eye and skill more."

"I understand, George. Thank you!" Lin Yu'an thanked him sincerely.

"Thank what!" Old George waved his hand.

"That's what neighbors do, isn't it? Go on, while the weather's good."

Early the next morning, while it was still barely light, Lin Yu'an set out driving Old George's Ford F-450 with the flatbed trailer hitched behind.

At his command, two furry little ones excitedly rushed out of the cabin.

Wagging their tails, they competed to jump onto this massive pickup that seemed like a mobile castle to them.

But their little short legs obviously couldn't reach, so Lin Yu'an laughingly picked them up one in each hand and placed them in the spacious back seat.

The vehicle traveled along the Dalton Highway for a stretch, then turned onto an unmarked dirt road leading to the eastern valley.

The F-450's diesel engine produced steady, powerful rumbling as its high chassis easily crushed over potholes and rocks.

When he reached that debris slope from memory, the sun had just crested the distant ridge.

Lin Yu'an parked on relatively level ground at the slope's base, then opened the rear door.

Whiskey and Honey immediately shot out like two cannonballs into this new playground filled with natural scents.

This place was different from flat gravel beds, more like a huge gentle slope composed of countless stones.

The air was filled with the mixed scent of rock and damp earth.

Whiskey and Honey, seeing such a three-dimensional landscape for the first time, excitedly began their adventure.

Bold Whiskey tried climbing a rock taller than himself, only to comically tumble down.

Sister Honey was more interested in the small flowers growing in rock crevices, constantly sniffing with her little nose.

Lin Yu'an, like an experienced stonemason, began his treasure hunt.

He didn't rush to start work but spent nearly half an hour hiking across the entire debris slope, constructing his desired fireplace image in his mind.

He needed gneiss slabs 5 to 15 centimeters thick with hard texture. He particularly favored those with alternating black and white patterns flowing like ink paintings.

Finally, in the middle of the debris slope, he found an ideal stone deposit.

He put on thick gloves and picked up a pry bar and heavy stone hammer.

He selected his first target, a slab partially separated from bedrock with uniform thickness and roughly one square meter area.

He first used the stone hammer to clear surrounding debris, then drove the thick pry bar deep into the gap between slab and bedrock, giving it a mighty pry!

"Clang!" The slab completely separated from the bedrock.

Next came the more skill-testing step. He took up the big hammer and several different-sized steel wedges.

He carefully observed the slab's natural black and white texture patterns, then gently drove steel wedges along a clear white feldspar band into the slab's edge.

"Ding... ding... ding..."

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, the slab split cleanly with a straight, neat break, forming a more wall-suitable regular shape with natural fracture surfaces.

Every stone he selected seemed like a unique puzzle piece in his eyes, he could even imagine their future positions on his home fireplace.

Lin Yu'an repeated this process all day long.

By sunset, the sturdy flatbed trailer was neatly stacked with over a ton of carefully selected and preliminarily shaped gneiss slabs.

Over the following week, Lin Yu'an worked like a busy bee, traveling daily between camp and quarry.

He quarried and transported stones during the day, then returned to camp in the evening to categorize the harvested stone materials by color, texture, and size.

On the seventh afternoon, just as he was bringing back his final load of stones, a six-wheel drive express truck with extremely high clearance and "Alaska Express Freight" markings pulled steadily up to his campsite.

The driver jumped down and, seeing Lin Yu'an and the mountain of stone materials, whistled, “Hey! You must be Mr. Hermann? Your shipment's here. Got to say, the road to this place you picked is quite something!"

After confirming order information, the driver used the truck's built-in mini crane to carefully unload the huge wooden crate containing the fireplace core and several long boxes full of stainless steel chimney pipes at Lin Yu'an's designated spot.

"Good luck, buddy!" The driver waved and hurriedly departed.

With this, all materials for building the fireplace were ready, the high-performance fireplace core, professional chimney system, and ten tons of natural gneiss from this very land.

The next day, fireplace construction officially began.

David and Mike had returned several days earlier, shouldering cameras to document the entire process.

The first thing Lin Yu'an did was install the three-hundred-kilogram cast-iron fireplace core in the center of the foundation platform reserved in the completed cabin's interior.

Using a homemade four-wheel flatbed cart, he smoothly dragged it to the most precise position.

After installing the fireplace core, the next step was building the entire fireplace and chimney "skeleton."

He brought out extensive light steel framing and a professional cutting machine, explaining to David, “We're using a 'zero-clearance' fireplace that theoretically can directly contact combustible materials."

"But for one hundred percent safety, I'm choosing this completely fire-resistant light steel framing to build the framework. Plus, its dimensions are very standard, ensuring our final fireplace will be absolutely level and plumb."

Then he cut, assembled, and secured light steel studs with self-tapping screws.

A huge hollow framework perfectly enclosed the fireplace core, extending from floor to the second-floor ceiling opening.

After completing the framework, it was time to install the chimney.

He opened the long boxes and took out sections of A-grade double-wall stainless steel insulated chimney pipe.

"This is double-wall construction with high-density ceramic fiber insulation between inner and outer walls."

"Even when internal flue temperatures are extremely high, the outer wall temperature will only be slightly above room temperature, allowing safe passage through our wood floors and roof."

Like assembling a model, he connected these chimney sections one by one upward, each section having professional locks that clicked securely into place.

When the final chimney section passed through the roof and received its rain cap, the entire fireplace's internal core system was declared complete.

Now to dress this steel skeleton in stone "clothing."

Lin Yu'an first secured a layer of thick cement board to the outside of the light steel framework as a base for adhering stone materials.

Then he came before that stone mountain and began work that tested aesthetics and patience.

From that pile of various-shaped gneiss pieces, he selected stones with the most suitable color, texture, thickness, and shape.

He would first do "dry fitting" on the ground, arranging the stones about to go on the wall to achieve his desired effect.

Then he started up a small wet-cutting saw to trim stone edges so they could fit tightly together.

After determining the arrangement order, the adhesion work officially began.

He mixed high-strength stone adhesive and applied a thick layer to the stone backs.

Then, starting from the very bottom of the fireplace, he firmly pressed the first stone against the cement board and tapped gently with a rubber mallet until mortar squeezed out the edges.

He used a level to constantly check each stone's horizontal and vertical alignment.

One stone, two stones, one row, two rows...

Lin Yu'an spent five full days on this work.

When he installed the final carefully polished gneiss piece at the fireplace top, a magnificent stone fireplace extending from floor to ceiling was finally complete!

During the days waiting for mortar and grout to fully dry, he also completed waterproofing and fireproofing treatment where the chimney passed through the roof.

Finally, it was time to witness this home's "heart" being lit.

Lin Yu'an placed several pieces of dry birch wood in the brand-new fireplace.

Sparks ignited the tinder, which caught the fine wood chips, and finally, a cluster of orange flames danced cheerfully up in the huge cast-iron firebox!

The flames crackled, and warm orange light shone through the large glass door, illuminating the interior of this home that had begun to take shape for the first time.

Lin Yu'an, David, and Mike gathered around the fireplace, feeling that comforting warmth washing over them.

David's camera slowly pulled back from the warm interior, through the window, finally settling on the entire cabin's exterior view.

A wisp of white smoke was rising gracefully from the tall stone chimney, merging into Alaska's azure sky.

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