King of the Wilderness

When he returned to the familiar construction site once more, piled high with lumber and building materials, and looked at the massive foundational platform that was beginning to take shape, his heart finally settled.

For two consecutive days, Lin Yu’an was like a tireless machine, completely immersed in his work.

He tended to the vibrant seedlings in the greenhouse, his heart filled with pastoral tranquility.

During the long days of the midnight sun, he would start up the portable band sawmill, processing huge logs into standardized building materials for construction.

He deliberately did not think about Emily, nor about everything that happened inside that cabin.

The twenty days of nurturing flew by in busy activity.

Time reached early July.

The experiences Lin Yu’an went through in these twenty or so days felt longer than a year’s worth.

As the helicopter carrying David and Mike landed on the helipad at Wiseman once again, it was Lin Yu’an and his eye-catching Zongshen Tricycle who came to meet them.

”Hi, Lin! The holiday’s over!” David gave him a big hug.

”How was your twenty days?”

”Made some interesting little things.” Lin Yu’an smiled mysteriously.

When the Ford Conqueror drove into Wood Forest Land again, David and Mike were completely stunned by the scene before them.

Before they left, this place was merely a site where concrete piling had just been completed.

But now, at the southeast corner of the site, a massive modern greenhouse made of plastic film had risen up! Through the bright film, one could even see inside filled with vibrant greenery!

But that wasn’t the most shocking thing.

On the other side of the camp, much of the previously chaotic ”Whitewood Hill” had disappeared.

In its place were piles of standardized, planed lumber, stacked high!

Each pile was elevated with wooden pads, allowing air to circulate freely within, making the whole site look like a professional timber processing factory!

”My God... Lin!”

David pointed at the greenhouse and then at the mountain-like piles of building materials, his mouth agape wide enough to fit an egg; he even rubbed his eyes, thinking the midnight sun had caused him illusion!

”This... this... what is this? In the twenty days we were gone... Not only did you build a greenhouse, but you also processed half the wood?”

Lin Yu’an smiled and led them into the warm, humid greenhouse, looking at the cucumber vines and tomato seedlings that had started climbing the trellises, calmly saying.

”I just did some preparatory work.”

The group quickly got into position and started recording.

At David’s strong urging, Lin Yu’an took off his shirt, revealing his bronze, sharply defined muscles, then grabbed the Stihl chainsaw and pulled the starter rope.

”Vroom—Vroom—Vroom—”

The deafening roar echoed through the entire valley again.

After filming just a few shots, he put his clothes back on; there were simply too many mosquitoes...

Alaska’s summer was finally starting to show its generous and wild side.

The midnight sun, like a furnace, roasted the Earth.

The muddy dirt road connecting Wood Forest Land to the Dalton Highway had become solid and hard after weeks of blistering sun, enough to withstand the passage of heavy vehicles.

On this day, a long-awaited rumble of a diesel engine broke the tranquility of ”Wood Forest Land” from afar.

A massive heavy flatbed truck, like a steel dragon, cautiously made its way along the narrow dirt road, slowly entering Lin Yu’an’s camp.

This was precisely the delivery from the ”Polaris Logistics” company he had contacted earlier, bringing all the modern building materials he had ordered to the heart of the wild as soon as the road was passable.

Lin Yu’an called over Old George and Stan, who had been waiting early on, and seeing the truck arrive safely, everyone immediately got busy with the inspection work.

Old George excitedly rubbed his hands together: ”Lin, the ammunition has finally arrived!”

His weather-beaten face was filled with the excitement of an impending big operation.

David and Mike also carried cameras, eagerly recording this crucial moment.

For reality shows, such scenes where everything is ready are always filled with a sense of ceremony of beginning a new chapter.

Lin Yu’an started the Xu Gong XC760K loader, beginning to unload in an orderly manner.

David’s lens faithfully recorded these critical materials that would be used to build the homestead, and, like an off-screen narrator, prompted Lin Yu’an to explain.

”Lin, what are these things that look like saddles?”

David pointed to a pile of heavy hardware gleaming with metallic silver and asked.

While carefully lifting a stack of brackets, Lin Yu’an explained, ”These are heavy-duty galvanized steel pile caps, also called post connectors; they are the bridge connecting concrete and wood, and essential for ensuring the wood structure is moisture-proof and anti-corrosive.”

Next, he lifted stacks of neatly placed heavy wooden boards.

”These are three centimeters thick tongue-and-groove structural plywood; see the interlocking grooves at the edges? This allows the boards to perfectly interlock, forming a whole, with strength much higher than ordinary plywood. We’ll use them to lay the floor of the first level.”

Additionally, there were bundles of galvanized square-headed bolts in various specifications, along with several large boxes filled with tens of thousands of screws.