Chapter 692: Business, Part 2

Chapter 692 -442: Business, Part 2

After he finished, he even patted his chest, his face brimming with pride.

“Tom Transportation, we always deliver!”

Gruus and Diego, their faces stiff from the cold, looked grateful as they quickly took the fur coats and put them on.

In an instant, a wave of warmth enveloped their bodies, driving away the surrounding chill.

Gruus asked a little sheepishly, “Sir, how much are these coats?”

“No charge! Consider them a welcome gift!” Old Tom said with a brilliant smile, waving his hand magnanimously as if it were nothing.

Feng Shan, who was standing by the truck door, couldn’t help but shake his head and smile as he watched the scene unfold.

‘I have to admit, Old Tom not only has a talent for business, but he’s also quite shrewd.’

‘Take the two fur coats, for example. Even if they were made of reindeer hide, they would still be worth over a thousand US dollars.’

‘That was no small sum, yet Old Tom gave them away without a second thought.’

‘On the surface, he was taking a small financial loss, but in reality, he was easily winning Jenny’s favor.’

‘Once Jenny had a good impression of him, she might favor his cargo planes for future supply procurement.’

‘The profits from that would be more than enough to buy dozens of fur coats, maybe even more.’

‘Besides, Feng Shan would ultimately be the one who owed him the favor.’

‘Old Tom was truly killing two birds with one stone.’

At this thought, Feng Shan opened the truck door, looked back at Old Tom, and said, “Old Tom, get in. I want to talk to you about a potential partnership.”

“Coming!” Old Tom’s face lit up, his eyes instantly brightening. He couldn’t hide his excitement.

He strode quickly toward the truck door, feeling secretly pleased with himself.

‘The fur coats weren’t a waste after all.’

‘See? Business is already coming my way.’

The others got into the vehicles one by one, and the convoy slowly drove out of the private airfield.

They headed down Route 4 toward the Polaris Town flight school.

The Pickup Truck’s wheels sped along the highway, kicking up a thin mist of snow.

Feng Shan looked out the window at the street.

The effects of the cold snap and blizzard were slowly receding, and more pedestrians were appearing on the streets.

People in thick, padded jackets hurried through the snow, their breath forming white clouds that swirled in the frigid air.

Most of the shops along the street were already open for business.

Their windows displayed a dazzling array of goods, catching the eyes of passersby.

“Feng, what’s this business you wanted to talk to me about?”

Old Tom kept a steady hand on the steering wheel, his eyes repeatedly glancing over at Feng Shan in the passenger seat, his face full of curiosity.

“Just focus on driving for now.” Feng Shan pushed the AC vent to the other side to avoid the overly dry, hot air. He then leaned back slightly against the seat, gazed out the window, and continued, “You must have heard by now. The North Slope Petroleum Company is planning to build a road in the Far North Tundra.”

‘What does that have to do with business?’

Old Tom frowned slightly, a look of confusion in his eyes. He didn’t understand why Feng Shan had suddenly brought this up.

But he nodded along anyway.

“I heard about it. Something about an exploration team finding an oil field in Umiat, so the company plans to build a road from Sagewang to Umiat.”

“That’s the one. And what if that road led to the Crown Territory?” Feng Shan turned his head slightly to look at Old Tom, asking with a mysterious air.

‘A road to the Crown Territory?’

Old Tom was stunned for a moment, then broke into a wide grin and started slapping the steering wheel, as if he’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Buddy, that’s a great one! Umiat is over a hundred kilometers from the Crown Territory. The oil company guys would have to have their brains bashed in by a bear to make a rookie mistake like that. You know how those guys are, stingy as Gorantai, they’d split one cent into four pieces if they could. How could they possibly do a money-losing deal like that?”

However, amidst his unrestrained laughter, Old Tom happened to glance at Feng Shan’s expression.

It was serious and earnest, not at all like he was joking.

The smile on his face froze, as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on it.

‘Could what Feng said be true?’

In an instant, a bold speculation surfaced in Old Tom’s mind.

‘That road isn’t just an oil road.’

‘The oil field discovery is just an excuse.’

‘An excuse the oil company is using to hide the truth.’

‘The real purpose is to build a dedicated road straight to the Crown Territory.’

At this thought, as if spurred by something, Old Tom subconsciously slammed on the brakes.

With a sharp SCREECH, the Pickup Truck swerved and came to a stop on the side of the road.

Due to inertia, Jenny and the other three women in the back seat were thrown forward, their heads uncontrollably slamming into the seatbacks in front of them. They winced in pain, letting out low cries.

“Old Tom, what are you doing!?” Jenny complained, rubbing her head, both hurt and angry.

Erica was also dizzy from the impact. Rubbing her head, she muttered, “Damn it, are you trying to get us killed!?”

Demi and Tammy were in a similar state, holding onto each other with pained expressions on their faces.

Luckily, Feng Shan was wearing his seatbelt.

Otherwise, his forehead would have definitely smashed into the windshield.

“Fack! Why’d you brake?” Feng Shan couldn’t help but curse.

“Feng, you were joking about the road, right? Tell me!”

He didn’t even bother to apologize to the others.

Old Tom’s voice trembled with agitation, his eyes fixed on Feng Shan.

His gaze was urgent, as if the answer was of utmost importance to him.

“Hey, buddy, calm down!” Feng Shan was startled, too. He quickly reached out and patted Old Tom’s shoulder, trying to pacify him. Then, he nodded quickly. “Look, buddy, you were the first person I met when I came to Alaska, and you’ve helped me a lot. That’s why I’m telling you this, and I hope you’ll be the only one who knows. This needs to be kept secret for now, understand?”

“I understand, I get it. You know what people out there call me? Mute Tom!” Old Tom nodded repeatedly while putting a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture.

The women in the back smiled, no longer holding the sudden braking against him.

BANG BANG BANG!

Someone suddenly knocked on the truck window.

Nash and Gordon stood outside, their faces tense and their eyes wary.

Feng Shan rolled down the window, a calm smile on his face. He said in a relaxed tone, “It’s nothing. Old Tom was just avoiding a stray cat crossing the road.”

Hearing this, the tense looks on Nash’s and Gordon’s faces eased.

They then turned, walked back to their car, started it up, and continued following the Pickup Truck.

After Old Tom calmed down, he suddenly realized something.

‘This news seems to have only downsides for me, and no benefits.’

‘With this dedicated road to the Crown Territory, goods can be delivered directly by land in the future.’

‘If that happens, air freight will become obsolete.’

‘Because compared to ground transport, air freight is a complete joke in terms of both cargo volume and cost.’

‘A single truck could carry tens of tons of supplies—an amount that would take a plane dozens of trips. Not only that, but the freight cost is also dozens of times cheaper. There’s simply no comparison.’

‘Most importantly, I just applied for a loan to renovate my flight school and also bought several new planes.’

‘I was counting on cornering the Crown Territory’s transport market and making a fortune.’

‘But now, this sudden news about the Crown Territory building a road is, for me, a devastating blow.’

‘If my transport business plummets and I can’t repay the loan, those ruthless banks that eat you alive won’t let me off the hook.’

‘At that point, all I’ll face is bankruptcy and life on the streets.’

Thinking of this, Old Tom was filled with despair. With a woeful expression, he turned his head pitifully to Feng Shan and said,

“Feng, if the Crown Territory is building a road, what am I going to do? I just bought new planes, and I have loans.”

Feng Shan hadn’t actually expected that the Crown Territory’s new road would affect Old Tom like this.

Not long ago, Old Tom had been making good money transporting supplies and tourists, even smugly buying a new plane.

So he asked with some surprise,

“You only bought one new plane, right? How much could the loan be?”