King of the Wilderness

Chapter 122: Chapter 115: The Brothers-in-Law Arrive!

Lin Yu’an led them to his car.

This was something he ordered a few days ago via a second-hand car trading site in Fairbanks—a 2020 Ford Expedition Limited edition.

Mid-range 8-seater version, equipped with FX4 off-road package, 3.5T V6 engine, maximum output of 446 horsepower, costing him around $60,000, roughly $20,000 less than a new car.

He also took the opportunity to review his recent bills, and after investing in NVIDIA stocks, he still had $560,000 of liquid funds left.

$100,000 for buying land, approximately $100,000 for domestic procurement, $60,000 for the car, and about $40,000 for car rental and living expenses from earlier, leaving him with $260,000 in liquid funds.

Fortunately, the major expenses were covered, and after NVIDIA undergoes a stock split in July, there would be a significant cash inflow.

Lin Yu’an drove a Ford Expedition SUV that could fit all of them and their gear, speeding north towards Wiseman.

The mud road leading to Wood Forest Land hadn’t been repaired, making it challenging for even the Ford Expedition to drive through directly.

Lin Yu’an had to park the car at the rented cabin in Wiseman Town, then rode the Zongshen Tricycle with everyone to the camp.

The brothers-in-law were very intrigued by the Zongshen Tricycle; each of them took turns riding a section of the road, enjoying it immensely.

Upon reaching the camp, the four brothers-in-law were immediately captivated by what they saw.

”Wow, this sawmill looks really nice!”

Bo, the third brother-in-law, who was most interested in machinery, rushed to the assembled sawmill first, reaching out to spin the huge saw wheel, inspecting the straightness of the track.

Kley, the fourth brother-in-law, took an interest in the yellow Xu Gong XC760K.

He jumped into the cab, touched the control stick: ”Lin, is this the Chinese loader you were talking about? It looks quite powerful! Is it operated like the Bobcat we’re used to?”

”Basically the same, very easy to handle,” Lin Yu’an replied.

Lin Yu’an arranged for them to stay in the small wooden house rented by the program group, and after the four brothers-in-law busied themselves for a while in the camp, they rode the Zongshen Tricycle to the cabin to rest and adjust to the time difference. ℯℯ𝘭.

The next day, after a night’s rest, the brothers-in-law quickly engaged in work.

With their involvement, the efficiency of the entire ”Hundred Day Plan” instantly multiplied.

What was initially a somewhat quiet logging site transformed into a bustling, even somewhat noisy construction site.

The brothers-in-law barely needed Lin Yu’an’s direction, spontaneously forming a perfect division of labor assembly line.

Lin Yu’an, as the commander and technical core, no longer had to spend a lot of time on repetitive physical labor, allowing him to focus on the most important parts.

He only needed to select the most suitable trees in the forest and cut them down with his Stihl chainsaw.

Wyatt, the strongest brother-in-law, and Garrett, the second brother-in-law, voluntarily took on the toughest task of gathering materials.

They took over the portable gasoline winch, responsible for pulling the felled giant trees out from deep within the forest.

The two worked well together; Wyatt cleared the route and set up pulleys in front, while Garrett operated the winch in the back.

Bo and Kley, the third and fourth brothers-in-law, were responsible for all preliminary processing of the logs; they were particularly fond of the chainsaw’s debarking attachment.

The two often competed to see who could debark faster and cleaner, then set up the peeled white logs high on wooden supports and neatly stack them beside the camp for ventilation and drying.

David and Mike were in a constant state of excitement, too many wonderful moments for them to capture.

In front of their cameras, the entire ”Wood Forest Land” became a symphony composed of various engine roars, logging sounds, and hearty laughter!

Previously, Lin Yu’an could only handle one to two trees on his own by putting in maximum effort all day.

Now, this McKinley Logging Team, after familiarizing themselves with the process, could easily manage five to six trees in a day!

There was even a day when they were in peak form, completing the full processing of seven trees!

Beside the camp, a massive pile of white logs, already peeled and prepared for drying, accumulated at nearly daily increments, eventually forming an extremely magnificent mountain of logs!

In David’s daily shooting log, he wrote: ”I’ve never seen such an efficient team. They don’t seem to be working; rather, they’re engaging in a fun-filled family competition.”

”Everyone knows what they’re supposed to do. Their coordination and strength have truly made me understand the weight of the word ’family.’”

During breaks from labor, the five strong men would sit on the huge logs, grab beers from the cooler, and brag loudly.

Garrett asked, ”Hey, Lin, your Chinese tricycle, can it pull a full-grown moose next time we hunt?”

”It can handle two without a problem!” Lin Yu’an confidently replied.

Two weeks passed by quickly.

Thanks to the full support of the brothers-in-law, they miraculously completed the logging and preliminary processing of nearly seventy trees.

Over half the originally planned timber had turned into a majestic mountain of white logs, stacked in the camp awaiting drying.

According to the original plan, the brothers-in-law needed to return to Montana to handle their respective farm affairs.

On the night before departure, Lin Yu’an planned to organize a grand bonfire banquet in their honor.

Just before the banquet started, Wyatt’s satellite phone rang; it was his father, Robert, calling.

Wyatt answered the call and put it on speaker.

”Wyatt, how are things over there?” Robert’s loud voice came from the other end of the line.

”Dad, we’re doing great! Besides, Alaska is amazing! I can’t imagine how there’s only a few hours of night here every day!”

Wyatt glanced at the towering pile of timber and proudly continued: ”We’ve helped brother-in-law complete more than half of the work, and we’re planning to head back tomorrow.”

Robert on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds: ”Why are you guys coming back at this time?”

”Are we just going to run away halfway through the job? Our McKinley family isn’t made of quitters!”

”But, Dad, the work on our individual farms...”

Robert interrupted him: ”I’ll have the cowboys at the farm help you handle those matters.”

He paused, then relaxed his tone a bit: ”Your current task is to stay there and help Herman collect and process all the wood!”

After hanging up, the four brothers-in-law looked at each other and then burst into hearty laughter.

Wyatt, the eldest brother-in-law, walked over and patted Lin Yu’an heavily on the shoulder, grinning: ”Alright, Herman, looks like we won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

Lin Yu’an felt an indescribable warmth and gratitude in his heart.

He knew this was the entire McKinley family’s unconditional acceptance and support for him as a new member.

The originally planned farewell dinner instantly turned into a celebration party for the extended project.

Lin Yu’an brought out Wuliangye and had a good drink with the brothers-in-law under the Alaskan stars!

The next day, the McKinley Logging Team was back in full swing!

In the environment of the polar day, they continued with the work of felling, sectioning, winching, peeling, and stacking for drying.

Finally, in a total of one month, the five of them miraculously completed the logging and preliminary processing of 120 trees!

This time, it was a real farewell moment.

Wyatt, the eldest brother-in-law, raised his glass, his face full of a contented smile: ”Herman, all the wood is here, the remaining work is up to you.”

”Don’t worry, Wyatt,” Lin Yu’an responded with a smile.

”You’ve already helped me with the hardest part, thank you all!”

”We’re family, no need to say that,” Wyatt said as he gave Lin Yu’an a strong hug.

”But remember, if you need help, just give us a call, and we’ll fly back over! The McKinley family will always have your back!”

Mike drove the Ford Conqueror SUV, sending the brothers-in-law on their way to Fairbanks, where they would catch a flight back to Montana.

Meanwhile, Mike went to pick up the long-overdue package... the two Archaeopteryx outfits ordered a month ago.

After the roar of the engine and the hearty laughter faded, the Dalton Highway returned to tranquility, leaving only Lin Yu’an and David behind.

Lin Yu’an rode the Zongshen Tricycle and took David to Wood Forest Land to continue today’s clean-up work.

David, carrying a camera, captured various close-ups and panoramic shots around the magnificent woodpile.

David’s face was full of excitement; the footage recorded over the month was enough to edit several high-quality episodes.

He already had a title in mind for the show: ”One Call Brought Four Brothers-in-law to Help Me Fell Trees!”

He went up to Lin Yu’an and sincerely remarked: ”Lin, this is incredible! A month ago, I couldn’t have imagined this place would look like this! Your family... they’re like an army!”

Lin Yu’an smiled: ”Yes, they are my strongest support.”

A few days after the brothers-in-law left, while processing the wood, Lin Yu’an received a call.

The driver of the building materials ordered a month ago had arrived at the designated location.

Upon arriving on his Zongshen Tricycle, he saw a familiar red heavy-duty dump truck with the ”Polaris Logistics” logo at the unloading point once again.

The driver, unexpectedly, was the same experienced driver as last time.

This time, after unloading, the driver didn’t leave immediately. He curiously handed Lin Yu’an a cigarette and asked,

”Brother, what are you planning to do here? I’ve been on this road for fifteen years, and it’s the first time I’ve seen someone delivering so much cement and sand to this godforsaken place.”

Lin Yu’an took the cigarette, smiled, and said: ”I’m preparing to build a home here.”

The driver was momentarily stunned, then looked at him with admiration, giving his shoulder a heavy pat: ”Good luck to you!”

After the dump truck disappeared over the horizon, the small mountains of sand, gravel, cement, and rebar stood quietly in the wilderness.

Lin Yu’an once again commenced the arduous task of ”ant-moving.”

This time, the Zongshen Tricycle became the main force, shuttling back and forth, transporting construction materials to the ”Wood Forest Land” five kilometers away.

David timely posed a question: ”Now that all the construction materials are ready, what’s our plan? Are we going to start processing these timbers with the bandsaw?”

Lin Yu’an shook his head, his gaze fixed on the marked-out foundation area.

”No, it’s not the time yet.”

”These logs have just been peeled; they need some time to dry so that the moisture can evaporate, thus minimizing shrinkage and cracking once the building is constructed.”

”However, we can pre-shape the logs into a ’D’ shape, which is to flatten the top and bottom.”

”Doing so will not only accelerate the evaporation of moisture but also align with our anticipated construction handling.”

”But now it’s mid-June; with long hours of sunlight from the polar day, the active permafrost layer on the ground has melted, providing us the best window for construction.”

”So, it’s time to find Old George for help.”

”You mean... we can start building the foundation?” David’s eyes lit up instantly!