After sailing for four days and four nights at sea, the Severnaya Zemlya finally appeared.
These days, Steve and the others played cards on the boat, while Li Du and his men dried fish during the day and stored ice fish at night.
The temperature in the Arctic Circle was very low. In this season, it was still below zero at night. They hung the fish up and used a brush to constantly brush water on the fish, just like brushing oil. In the end, the fish would have a snow-white, crystal-clear layer of ice on the outside.
Therefore, when they got off the boat, they threw the ice fish into the trunk of the car. It sounded like they were throwing bricks.
Steve picked up an ice squid and smiled. "Not only can this thing be used as food, but it can also be used as a weapon. If we had this before, we wouldn't have needed a grenade. We could have used this to hit them!"
It was not easy to land on the Severnaya Zemlya. The Velikitsky Strait separated it from the mainland. There were no good ports on the island, only two natural piers. After some simple cleaning, they could be used to dock ships.
Li Du looked around. The Severnaya Zemlya was left alone on the vast and cold ice sea, and he could vaguely see the white ice on it.
The terrain of the archipelago was complex. The four main islands looked like they were carved by ancient glaciers. There were swamps and hills on the islands. Some of the hills in the north were covered in snow all year round.
Fortunately, there was some greenery on the southernmost Bolshevik Island. There was a rare polar forest in the Arctic Circle, where cedar, black spruce, fir, and oak grew.
If it weren't for the greenery, the island would have been dead silent.
Of course, there must be residents on the island. As the Ice Sea Narwhal approached the dock, some wooden boats appeared in front of them.
A few small boats were slowly drifting on the clear and deep sea, tied to the pillars of the pier by ropes. There were some exquisite and cute houses on the shore. They were still made of simple wood, but they didn't seem crude.
Sophie took out her camera and sighed softly. "It's beautiful here. It's a paradise for photography lovers."
The Severnaya Zemlya Islands might be cold and barren, but the scenery here was undeniable. The islands were either green, snow-white, or grayish-yellow, like ice beauties draped in brocade.
However, no one would be willing to live here. No matter how beautiful the scenery was, they would eventually get sick of it. What people needed was more variety and liveliness.
The cargo ship carefully approached the dock. Because the dock was too narrow, the cargo ship could only put down a narrow iron plate as a passage.
Steve went to measure it and shook his head. "No, it's not even as wide as a car. How do we drive it down?"
The driver threw away the cigarette in his hand, squatted down to take a look, and said, "Get out of the way, let me do it."
He got into the car, and the heavy off-road vehicle adjusted its direction in the cabin before slowly driving out.
Only half of the tires on both sides of the car were pressed against the metal plate, while the other half was out in the air. Li Du looked out and saw the raging sea below. It was very dangerous for the car to drive on the metal plate.
The driver drove the cars steadily, one after another, and never once did he fail.
The crew couldn't help but applaud. "Awesome!"
There were a lot of supplies on the ship. They had to stock up on these supplies. In addition to food, vegetables, fruits, clothes, and tents, there were also other things such as medicine, oxygen tanks, and all kinds of fuel.
They transported all the materials to the surface and quickly piled up a small hill on the dock.
There were some small wooden houses on the shore, in which several families lived.
Steve went to discuss with them and rented six houses, moved the supplies in, and came back later to restock.
The cargo ship docked at noon, and by the time they finished packing, the sun had set.
When the weather was clear, the Arctic Circle had the most beautiful night in the world. Here, the stars were even brighter, and the colors of the stars in the night sky were colorful, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue, and purple!
Li Du looked up and really felt that when he looked up, he could see the stars, as if they were hanging from his head.
"I can pluck the stars with my hands, I fear those in the heavens." He said to Sophie, "You see, our poetry culture is not created out of nothing. You can always find proof in reality."
Sophie adjusted the focus of the camera and smiled. "That's why I like Tang and Song poems so much."
There were many houses on the shore, more than 20 on the dock, and more deeper in. There were some small villages on the island, where there were few people, but there were still people living.
The Ice Sea Narwhal had brought some daily necessities: oil, salt, soy, vinegar, tea, pots, spatulas, bowls, clothes, bedding, glass, oil, and so on.
In the night, bonfires were lit on the edge of the dock, and a steady stream of people appeared from the village on the island. They came to do business with the Narwhal, and living here, they could only rely on foreign ships to replenish their supplies.
Similar to a certain job that Li Du had been engaged in for a while, the trade here was barter, and everyone took what they needed.
The things brought by the Narwhal were very cheap outside, but it was not convenient for the people on the island to go out, so the rarer things were, the more valuable they were. The prices of these things rose when they arrived on the island.
The things that the villagers traded were mainly wild resources, such as seal skin, bird's nest, abalone, dried shrimp, fish fillets, animal skins, antlers, and so on. In addition, there were some more precious things, such as silver and gold sand.
The captain and the crew looked at the things that the villagers had brought, and when they were about right, they would accept them and let the villagers choose what they had brought.
There were few disputes, and the local villagers were more gentle. If the captain and the crew shook their heads and said no, they would put down what they had chosen and exchange it for another.
Someone took a fancy to a cotton-padded coat, but he only brought some dried shrimp. The captain shook his head, and the man was reluctant to part with the coat.
Li Du said, "You don't have to be so stubborn, do you? Look at his clothes, how tattered are they? Just take pity on him and do him a favor. "
The captain said helplessly, "We don't want to make a fortune in such a trade. We can only make a little money to subsidize the oil. We trade many things at a fair price. I know he is very pitiful, but we can't lose money. You know, sir, we are not philanthropists after all."
Li Du was about to pay for it himself, but Steve stopped him and shook his head. "This is not the time."
Li Du did not understand what Steve was saying. However, since Steve had stopped him, there had to be a reason for it. He just had to wait and see.
The trade was finally over, and the villagers left the dock. There were still many items that had not been traded.
Steve asked the captain to quote a price, settled the bill, and left the items behind.
Li Du asked, "What does that mean?"
Steve laughed and said, "Help the needy, not the needy. Buddy, we won't be on the island for a short time. When the villagers run out of supplies and need it, we will do charity. That way, we can earn more goodwill."
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