HUN Chapter 99: The Choice of Land Purchase

Lin Yu'an continued, "There's an invisible connection among everyone, a tacit understanding of confronting this wilderness together. This is completely different from the feeling of being thrown alone into the wild."

David's eyes lit up! This was exactly what he wanted! Lin Yu'an didn't say those empty phrases like "very shocking" or "very spectacular."

Instead, he gave a philosophical deep insight.

He immediately gave photographer Mike a look, signaling him to get a close-up of Lin Yu'an.

Stan had been eating with his head down, but when he heard this, he stopped his knife and fork, looked up and glanced at Lin Yu'an. The scrutiny in his eyes seemed to lessen a bit, with something imperceptible added.

After lunch, the convoy set off again.

When they crossed the marker at 66°33' North latitude and officially entered the Arctic Circle, everyone was somewhat excited.

After several more hours of bumping, they finally arrived at their destination at evening, Wiseman.

This legendary small town was less a town than a settlement scattered in the Koyukuk River valley.

Over a dozen log cabins of various sizes and styles were scattered throughout the snow forest, with considerable distance between each other.

No shops, no restaurants, only peaceful white snow and cooking smoke rising from the chimneys of each home.

Stan parked his car in front of a log cabin that appeared to be his own home and turned off the engine.

"That's it for today. Tomorrow at dawn, I'll take you to see the land."

Jack drove the car to a small log cabin that the production team had rented in advance as a temporary base.

"Alright, guys, we're here." Jack parked the car.

"Tonight we'll stay here. Lin, how did it feel having your first official contact with Stan?"

Lin Yu'an unfastened his seatbelt, looking at Stan's house not far away with its warm lights glowing through the window.

He said calmly, "I can tell he's a respectable person. I might still need to use actions to earn his recognition."

Director David listened from the side and nodded with satisfaction.

After spending these two days with Lin Yu'an, he was certain Richard hadn't misjudged. This man named Lin Yu'an possessed a composure and wisdom that transcended his age.

He couldn't wait to see what kind of spectacle it would be when this man began to flex his abilities on this land.

Early the next morning, when the first ray of dawn light tinted the peaks of the Brooks Range pale pink, Lin Yu'an was already awake.

In March in Wiseman, nights were still long and cold. The thermometer outside the cabin showed minus twenty-five degrees.

He put on thick clothing and walked outside, taking a deep breath of the cold, pure air. His lungs felt a piercing yet refreshing sensation.

In the distance, straight cooking smoke was already rising from Stan's chimney.

Soon, Jack and the film crew also got up and prepared.

David and Mike were dressed like two clumsy bears, obviously not yet adapted to this level of severe cold.

"Good morning, Lin. How did you sleep last night? Did you hear any wolf howls?"

David breathed out white vapor while adjusting his hat.

"I slept very well, very quiet."

He did indeed hear distant, faint wolf howls, but to him, that sound was not frightening at all, but rather like a lullaby that belonged to this land.

Just then, a low rumbling sound approached from far to near.

StAn’and Jack drove two snowmobiles with a cargo sled trailing behind, stopping in front of their cabin.

He rode one himself, and the other was obviously prepared for them.

Stan maintained his concise demeanor. He took two pairs of huge snowshoes from the cargo sled and threw them on the ground.

He said to Lin Yu'an, "Put them on. Where we're going, cars can't get in."

Then he pointed to the empty snowmobile.

"Can you drive this thing?"

"Yes."

Lin Yu'an didn't say much. Robert's farm also had similar vehicles, and he was already proficient with them.

"Good, follow me."

After Stan finished speaking, he put on wind goggles, started the snowmobile, and rushed out first.

Lin Yu'an also mounted the snowmobile, taking David with him. He twisted the throttle, the machine let out a roar, and smoothly followed Stan.

Director David gestured to photographer Mike, who immediately sat on the back seat of another snowmobile driven by Jack, keeping his camera firmly focused on Lin Yu'An’and Stan.

Two snowmobiles carved two beautiful arcs in the thick snow, heading toward the depths of the river valley.

Spring in Alaska in March was just a word written in books.

Looking around, the entire world was covered with heavy, pure white snow.

Stan led the way in front. His driving skills were artistic, always able to precisely avoid potholes and fallen logs hidden by accumulated snow.

They passed through a dense forest and finally stopped on a relatively open river terrace.

"Here, this is the candidate 'Plot A.'"

"Fifty acres, extending from that river bend all the way to the foot of that ridge."

Stan pointed to the approximate range with his thickly gloved finger.

Everyone got off their vehicles, put on snowshoes, and stepped on snow that reached above their knees to begin field inspection. The snow was too thick to see the true appearance of the land.

David looked at this expanse of white land with some difficulty. He turned to StAn’and asked, "Stan, in this season, how do we judge the quality of this land?"

Stan glanced at him, seemingly thinking this was an amateur question. He didn't answer but looked toward Lin Yu'an instead.

Lin Yu'an didn't speak. He removed the tactical backpack from his back, took out a small entrenching tool, and began digging snow at several different locations.

The snow layer was very thick. He dug nearly half a meter deep before touching the soil below, which was frozen hard as rock.

With great effort, he managed to get a bit of frozen soil, felt it in his palm, and smelled it.

"The soil is good, it's black soil, very fertile." He made a preliminary judgment.

Then he walked to several huge spruce trees, carefully observing the snow traces around the base of the trunks.

"The terrain here is indeed relatively low."

He pointed to a not-very-obvious, slightly darker mark on the trunk and said, "Look here, this should be the highest water level mark left when the river rose during spring snowmelt last year."

"If we build a house here, there would be a risk of flooding."

He walked to the riverbank and, facing the biting cold wind, observed the frozen river surface and the terrain on the opposite bank.

"This tributary should have considerable water flow in summer, providing sufficient water supply and convenient boat mooring."

"But at the same time, this also means there will be a lot of mosquitoes in summer."

Stan had been silently watching Lin Yu'an's series of operations.

When he heard the word "mosquitoes," his impassive face seemed to show a slight upward curve at the corner of his mouth.

After surveying Plot A, the group moved to Plot B. Here the terrain was obviously higher with excellent views, overlooking the entire river valley.

Lin Yu'an conducted a similar survey and found that the trees here were obviously sparser and smaller than those at Plot A.

"The wind is stronger here."

He stood facing the wind for a while, sensing the direction and intensity of the wind.

"Building a house would require better consideration of wind-resistant design. Timber resources are indeed a problem. If we want to build a large log cabin, we might need to transport lumber from elsewhere, which would increase costs considerably."

"What about water sources?" David asked.

Lin Yu'an walked to a relatively gentle slope.

"The vegetation distribution here suggests the groundwater level shouldn't be deep, but exactly how deep would require professional equipment to survey. Drilling a well is necessary."

They spent the entire morning visiting all the candidate plots.

Wherever Lin Yu'an went, he would conduct detailed observation and analysis, from sunlight orientation, wind direction, water source potential, potential risks to available resources, he considered everything very thoroughly.

His professionalism and rigor made both director David and photographer Mike secretly admire him.

Returning to the small cabin Jack had rented, David couldn't wait to ask Lin Yu'an, "Lin, after seeing these plots of land, do you have a choice in mind?"

Lin Yu'an didn't answer immediately. He imported the videos and photos he had taken with his action camera into his laptop, combining them with satellite maps for comparison and analysis again.

Stan had somehow also come in. He poured himself a cup of hot coffee and leaned against the door, watching Lin Yu'an work.

After a long while, Lin Yu'an raised his head, his gaze determined.

"I choose Plot A."

This choice surprised both Jack and David.

"But Lin, the terrain there is too low, there's a risk of flooding, and the summer mosquitoes..." Jack reminded him.

"Risks can be managed and avoided."

Lin Yu'an explained, "I can choose to build the house on higher ground and do proper flood prevention engineering. As for mosquitoes, I believe there are ways to deal with them."

"Moreover, Plot A's advantages are irreplaceable, abundant water sources and quality timber."

He pointed to the river on the map, "Especially here. Being close to the river not only means convenience in living, but also means having fishing resources and an important waterway for transportation."

"In summer, I can use boats. In winter, the frozen river surface becomes the flattest road."

He pointed to the dense forest again, "And here are the core timber resources. Plot A has enough lumber for me to build the main house, warehouse, dog kennels, and even more auxiliary buildings."

"This could save me hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs and incalculable transportation troubles."

"In comparison, although Plot B is safe, everything needs to be obtained from external sources. That's not true self-sufficiency."

He paused and concluded, "What I want is not a comfortable safe haven, but a foundation where I can create everything from nothing. Plot A gives me that possibility."

After he finished speaking, the entire cabin fell silent.

Both David and Jack fell into contemplation, convinced by Lin Yu'an's logically clear planning.

At this moment, Stan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

"Kid, you're right."

He took a sip of coffee, his hoarse voice carrying a trace of approval for the first time.

"Only cowards put comfort first. This land respects the strong who dare to wrestle with it."

He put down his coffee cup and looked at Lin Yu'an, "At the bend of Plot A's river, there's a small piece of the highest terrace where the white birch trees grow best."

"Build your house there, the river water won't reach you. In summer, burn Labrador tea downwind, and it will drive away half the mosquitoes. The rest depends on your own abilities."

After speaking, Stan turned and walked out of the cabin, heading toward his pickup truck.

Director David excitedly pumped his fist. He knew Lin Yu'an had won the first recognition from this Alaskan legend!

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