Landlord in the Arctic

On one hand, he was unwilling to be so easily manipulated by Natasha and agree to the partnership. On the other, his harsh reality left him with no way out.

The Crown Territory desperately needed funds for development, and that Fishing Permit was the key to solving his problems.

After a long pause, Feng Shan made the difficult decision. "Fine. I agree to merge and form a crabbing boat fleet, but I plan on buying a few more crabbing boats."

He tried his best to sound calm, but he couldn’t hide his reluctance or the fact that he was forced to accept the current situation.

"No problem. The same kind as the River Beach, the CCa5712LS fishing vessel?"

Natasha had been watching Feng Shan’s expression the whole time.

Hearing the answer she wanted, the corners of her mouth lifted into a satisfied smile, and a cunning glint flashed in her eyes.

’Everything is under my control. I’ve already gained the upper hand in this game.’

Then, with an air of confident ease, Natasha began to show Feng Shan the strength of her connections.

"I have some business dealings with the Damen Engineering Company. I heard that construction on four more CCa5712LS fishing vessels has been halted at the Nakhodka Shipyard due to funding issues. If you need them, I can make some calls."

Feng Shan was secretly stunned.

’This woman’s methods are far beyond my imagination. She’s investigated me so thoroughly.’

’She even knows the details of where the River Beach came from.’

However, Feng Shan had indeed been coveting the remaining fishing vessels at the Nakhodka Shipyard for a long time.

He had heard about them from Eugene at the ship-selling company.

Damen Engineering Company had no plans to sell the remaining vessels, a piece of news that had been a constant headache for Feng Shan.

If he could use Natasha’s connections to buy all those boats, it would be a light at the end of the tunnel.

With five vessels on the level of the River Beach, a single trip would yield five times the profit of fishing in Alaska’s waters.

Furthermore, when an Alaskan fishing boat operates in the Russian Sea Area, it generally doesn’t have to pay taxes to the United States.

You have to understand, when crabbing in Alaskan waters, almost half the profits from every haul go to the United States. That was real, hard-earned cash.

The thought ignited a spark of hope in Feng Shan’s heart.

Although he understood there could be hidden variables, and that cooperating with Natasha was like bargaining with a tiger...

...he had no other choice at the moment. He could only choose to trust her this one time.

"Are you sure I’ll be able to buy those fishing vessels?" Feng Shan narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of anticipation in his gaze.

He stared at Natasha, trying to glean more information from her expression.

"You don’t trust me?" Natasha raised an eyebrow, lazily sitting up from her recliner. With a touch of haughtiness, she held out her hand and said, "Give me your phone."

"My phone is in the coat pocket." Feng Shan pointed to the animal-hide coat Natasha was sitting on.

Natasha half-rose, reaching beneath her to pull up the hide coat.

Perhaps she used too much force, because the deerskin blanket covering her legs was yanked up, pulling the hem of her evening gown up a short distance along with it.

’So pale...!’

The momentary glimpse made Feng Shan’s eyes go wide, and an embarrassed flush crept over his face.

He quickly turned his head and coughed loudly a few times, trying to remind a certain someone to be mindful of her current state.

Natasha had just pulled the phone out of the coat pocket.

When she heard the coughing and saw Feng Shan’s exaggerated reaction, she instinctively glanced down. Only then did she realize she had accidentally exposed herself, and Feng Shan had gotten an eyeful of the scenery beneath her hem.

Instantly mortified and annoyed, she hurriedly covered her legs with the blanket and asked through gritted teeth,

"Did you get a good look?"

"It was okay. Very pale. I’ve heard on TV that not wearing... those... is bad for your health," Feng Shan said, forcing himself to speak.

"You...! Of course I’m wearing them! What do you know about...!" Tasha shot Feng Shan a vicious glare, but stopped mid-sentence, realizing it was inappropriate. She thrust the phone forward and said huffily, "Unlock it."

With one of them abashed and the other mortified, the awkward tension in the bus was suffocating.

Feng Shan quickly took the phone, unlocked it, and immediately handed it back, too embarrassed to even glance at Natasha the entire time.

Natasha snatched the phone back, her slender fingers tapping a series of numbers on the screen.

A few monotonous rings came from the phone before the call connected. Natasha held it to her ear and spoke softly into the microphone.

"Aunt Natalia, I’m so sorry to disturb your rest. Could you have the person in charge of Damen Engineering in Russia give me a call back?"

"Yes, to this number." Natasha nodded slightly, confirming the question from the other end of the line, then added,

"Mm, I won’t be back at the cabin tonight. I’m at the bus camp."

"That’s right, there’s no need for Andrei to come over. Yes, Feng Shan is with me. Don’t worry." As she said this, Natasha shot a deliberate, yet casual, glance at Feng Shan.

"Mm-hm. I’ll give him five minutes. If it’s longer than that, he doesn’t need to bother."

Then she lifted her chin, looking at Feng Shan as haughtily as a victorious peacock.

"The Romanov Dynasty may no longer exist, but you shouldn’t doubt the imperial family’s deep-rooted power. Even in today’s Russia, Romanov is still a great name, one that holds influence you can’t possibly imagine."

’Hah!’

’Tsarist Russia fell almost a hundred years ago, and she’s still going on about a "great name."’

’Look at you, so high and mighty.’

Feng Shan grumbled to himself, a look of undisguised disdain on his face.

Time slipped by in this delicate atmosphere, and five minutes passed in a flash.

As if on cue, the phone rang right on time, its clear ringtone shattering the momentary silence in the bus.

As if she had expected it all along, the corners of Natasha’s mouth instantly curved up into an incredibly smug smile.

Then, unhurriedly, she reached out and pressed the speakerphone button with elegant composure.

A man’s slightly agitated voice came from the phone. A stream of what sounded like Russian poured out, leaving Feng Shan completely bewildered.

Unflustered, Natasha parted her red lips and said a sentence in Russian into the phone.

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, the man on the other end immediately switched to English.

Although his pronunciation was a bit stiff and carried a thick Russian accent with awkward inflections, Feng Shan could at least make out the gist of it.

"Honorable Lady Natasha, this is Maxim, the general manager of the Damen Engineering Company. I heard you were looking for me. It is truly my honor."

The man’s voice, transmitted through the phone, was so reverent and eager to please that it trembled slightly, as if Natasha were some great personage he could not afford to offend.

Seeing this, Natasha seemed to gain a certain satisfaction. She sat up a little straighter, cleared her throat, and with an elegant and dignified air, spoke slowly into the microphone.

"Mr. Maxim, I hear you have several fishing vessels under construction at the Nakhodka Shipyard?"

Hearing Natasha’s question, Maxim on the other end of the line clearly hesitated. After a brief silence, he slowly responded.

"That... yes, that’s correct. You must be referring to the CCa5712LS fishing vessels. There are indeed five being built at the shipyard, but one of them was recently sold to a crabbing boat captain from Alaska."

His voice over the phone carried a hint of caution, as if he were afraid of saying the wrong thing and displeasing Natasha.

After saying this, he carefully added another question.

"Is it possible that Lady Natasha is interested in those vessels?"

Natasha, sitting gracefully in her recliner, spoke into the microphone in a haughty tone. "Yes. As you know, I have a fleet of crabbing boats that I urgently need to expand. Your vessels are excellent, in terms of both performance and quality. I was wondering if your company might be interested in selling."

Before Natasha could say anything more, Maxim responded immediately, as if some kind of stress-response had been triggered.

"Sell them? My sincerest apologies, but the company has no plans to sell the remaining four fishing vessels. They are the future of the Damen Engineering Company. We have already prepared a series of development plans centered around them."

The man’s words over the phone were sincere, and it sounded like there was no room for negotiation. The atmosphere in the bus instantly grew heavy, and Feng Shan frowned.

’If we can’t get those four vessels, our future income will be much lower.’

’What a shame!’

"Hmm?"

Natasha hummed a questioning sound, the end of it rising slightly, carrying a hint of intimidation.

Immediately after, her tone turned cold, as if the gentle spring breeze from a moment ago had been replaced by the frost and snow of deep winter.

"Mr. Maxim, the Damen Engineering Company is experiencing serious financial credit problems. This issue is highly consequential, and I will need to seriously consider whether Lengwan will terminate our partnership."

"Do not refuse Lengwan’s goodwill. The Bering Sea is vast... and very cold."

...