King of the Wilderness

Chapter 117: Chapter 111: Legendary Figure Old George

Lin Yu’an was not the least bit flustered. He released the clutch, and the winch stopped pulling.

He quickly walked to a previously set up directional pulley, unhooked the steel cable from the original straight line path, and attached it to the pulley fixed to a large tree on the side.

He started the winch again. This time, the cable exerted force from the side, skillfully pulling the massive log to one side, precisely circumventing the rock.

He said to David, who had caught up, ”Look now, the direction of the force has changed.”

”Amazing!” David watched, dumbfounded.

Throughout the transportation process, Lin Yu’an continuously utilized the terrain and the pre-arranged pulleys to adjust the path of the log’s progression.

David and Mike became his temporary assistants, both finding this novel experience quite interesting.

”David, keep an eye on that pulley; shout if the cable is about to jump out!”

”Mike, watch your step, the slope over there is steep!”

After nearly two hours of strenuous effort, the heaviest and longest main beam, measuring twelve meters, was finally successfully dragged to the timber storage area next to the foundation.

When Lin Yu’an unfastened the locking chains from the log, both his and David’s foreheads were covered with fine sweat.

”Alright, the toughest one is done.”

Lin Yu’an took a breath but didn’t rest long.

He told David, ”We have to hurry; before it gets dark, we must transport the remaining sections and achieve our goal of processing one tree today.”

In the next few hours, Lin Yu’an demonstrated remarkable efficiency.

With the experience of the first attempt, the subsequent transportation of four-meter-long log sections became much faster.

Lin Yu’an began to repeatedly perform the process of cable setup - dragging - dismantling.

By evening, when the last log of the day was placed in the storage area,

the first day of Lin Yu’an’s ”Hundred Day Plan” was successfully completed with the felling and transportation of a giant tree.

They returned to the tent and filled the massive cast-iron stove with firewood, keeping the entire shelter warm.

To replenish the massive physical exertion of the day, he decided to make a hearty dinner.

”David, Mike, don’t turn off the camera yet. I’m about to cook, and it can serve as footage for recording.”

Upon hearing this, David immediately got up from the cot and, pulling Mike along, came outside to Lin Yu’an.

Only to see him taking out flour, moose meat, and various unrecognizable bottles of seasonings from a supply crate.

In front of the camera, he kneaded the dough, then chopped onions bought in town and mixed them with the spices.

Then he rolled the dough into sheets, sprinkled them with chopped onions and oil, rolled them up, and rolled them out again.

Finally, he placed a frying pan on the cast-iron stove, brushed it with oil, and placed the onion pancakes in to fry.

”Sizzle——” At the sound, the aroma of the dough was instantly released when it hit the hot pan.

Soon, batches of pancakes, crispy golden brown on the outside and multilayered on the inside, were taken out.

Meanwhile, the outdoor stove and pot all-in-one continued stewing, steaming hot moose meat and potatoes, producing a simple dinner in the wilderness of Alaska.

”Oh, my god, Lin!”

David took a big bite of the crispy onion pancake, closing his eyes in bliss.

”This... this Chinese pizza is so flavorful! How did you think of making it like this?”

Lin Yu’an chuckled, ”I didn’t think of it; in China, this is a very common homemade dish.”

After dinner, David and Mike were so tired they could hardly keep their eyes open, and Mike soon fell asleep.

But Lin Yu’an and David did not rest immediately; they continued recording.

Lin Yu’an took out professional tools and began meticulously maintaining his Stihl chainsaw.

For a professional chainsaw, maintenance after daily use is crucial.

First, he removed the casing and carefully brushed off the wood debris accumulated on the cooling fins and the air filter.

Keeping the air filter clean at all times is essential, otherwise, it will affect the engine’s air intake efficiency and cause a drop in power.

He then removed the guide bar and chain, cleaning off the remaining resin and grime with kerosene.

Finally, he took out a round file and a metal angle gauge with angle markings.

Using the ”angle gauge” to hold a tooth in place, he pushed the file forward, once, twice, three times, at a set angle.

While David, taking over the camera from Mike, recorded Lin Yu’an maintaining the chainsaw, he looked at the giant logs beside the camp and posed a new question.

”Lin, now that the logs are here, but to stack them into walls, I noticed many log cabins have flat tops and bottoms, like building blocks—how do you do that?”

”Plus, these logs need to be peeled, right? That seems like another big task.”

Lin Yu’an put down the chainsaw and replied, ”Exactly, before stacking, I also need to complete the peeling and leveling work.”

”What you’re describing is a more mainstream construction method where logs are shaped into flat-topped ’D’ shapes or squares, allowing for quicker and more stable stacking.”

”But to complete this task, relying on the chainsaw’s accessory cutting efficiency alone is too low; we need more professional equipment.”

”If we had a portable band sawmill, that would be the real tool to transform these round logs into standard building materials.”

”As for the peeling work, that part is much simpler.”

Lin Yu’an walked to the supply box and took out a precisely constructed metal attachment.

It’s a small planer-like blade head that can be affixed to the front end of a chainsaw guide bar, with two rotating blades on it.

”This is a chainsaw attachment peeler. It uses the power of the chainsaw chain to drive the blades to rotate at high speed, allowing us to peel bark as quickly as peeling an apple, with efficiency tens of times that of a manual drawknife.”

He said to David, ”Tomorrow, my Stihl chainsaw will transform. It will no longer be just a tree-cutting tool but will become a multifunctional peeling machine! I’ll demonstrate it for you tomorrow, and you’ll see.”

The next morning, after having a high-calorie breakfast in the warm tent, Lin Yu’an’s hundred-day plan officially started its second day.

Today’s task not only involves pure physical output but also requires skilled timber processing work.

Instead of heading directly to the giant logs brought back yesterday, he first returned to his supply pile and took out a precisely constructed metal attachment.

David and Michael immediately followed to start filming.

Lin Yu’an presented one of the attachments in front of the camera: ”This is the chainsaw peeler, which allows us to quickly peel off the bark.”

Lin Yu’an first skillfully removed the original guide bar and chain from the Stihl chainsaw and then quickly and securely mounted the peeler attachment onto it.

The entire installation process only took a few minutes; he was as skilled as a seasoned woodworker.

He started the modified chainsaw, and the roar of the engine sounded once again. He walked to a four-meter-long wall log and gently aimed the rapidly rotating peeler blade head at the rough bark.

”Zzz—”

Accompanied by a sharp friction sound, large chunks of bark and white sawdust were thrown off instantly, revealing the smooth and white wood beneath!

Lin Yu’an controlled the chainsaw at a steady pace, slowly moving from one end of the log to the other.

Where he passed, the rough bark was shaved off layer by layer, as if a giant automatic pencil sharpener was stripping the bark off a pencil.

Soon, the bark of a four-meter-long spruce log was peeled clean.

”That’s about it, the peeling is done.” Lin Yu’an turned off the chainsaw, inspecting the smooth wood surface.

David’s voice was full of amazement: ”This is faster than I peel a potato! If using traditional tools, peeling this one log would probably take an entire afternoon, right?”

”Yes, David, using traditional tools would indeed be much slower.”

”That’s the charm and purpose of modern machinery; it frees us from repetitive physical labor, allowing us to focus on tasks requiring more skill.”

In the following hours, he peeled the bark off all the logs brought back yesterday in the same manner.

Beside the camp, several freshly peeled logs emitting a scent of fresh pine resin appeared instantly.

As they discussed the follow-up plans for the day, the sound of an engine approached from afar.

The visitor was none other than their old friend Stan! He was driving a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle, evidently coming specifically to check on Lin Yu’an’s progress.

When he saw the pile of white, bark-peeled logs beside the camp, even his frequently impassive face showed obvious surprise.

”Lin, your progress seems very fast; even the bark has been peeled.”

Stan jumped off the all-terrain vehicle, walked to a processed log, and touched the smooth wood surface as if looking for any overlooked details.

”It’s just normal progress, Stan. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

”Of course.”

The group sat by the fire, and Lin Yu’an conveniently presented his dilemma to the local expert.

”Stan, I’ve hit a problem. I want to process these logs to have a flat top and bottom style, but I’m missing a band saw.”

Stan laughed, as if expecting this comment.

”I was just about to bring that up. I thought on my way here that your next step would surely be planning how to build a house.”

He took a sip of hot coffee, and his tone became serious.

”Lin, it seems your woodworking is beautifully done, but what about the foundation?”

Stan sharply pointed out the biggest challenge of building a house in the Far North: ”permafrost.”

”In this kind of permafrost, if you don’t handle the foundation issue properly, your wooden house will fall apart in two years.”

David felt his heart tighten, immediately realizing this was another significant challenge worth documenting!

Lin Yu’an, however, remained calm. He nodded, ”You’re right, Stan. This is also my biggest headache for the next step.”

”I’ve done some research; a deep foundation needs to be set below the active permafrost layer.”

”But this project, especially transporting concrete materials, can’t be done with just myself and this small loader.”

”My original plan was to wait for summer when larger vehicles can come in and then find others to help.”

Stan put down the coffee cup, looked at Lin Yu’an, and spoke slowly.

”No need to wait that long; there’s an old buddy in town named Old George, who was a professional builder in his younger years, working in the North Slope oil fields for twenty years.”

”No one knows better than he how to handle the permafrost here.”

Stan paused, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes: ”Moreover, he has a treasure—a portable band saw mill, which happens to be just what you urgently need.”

This information greatly excited both Lin Yu’an and David!

Stan stood up and dusted himself off.

”Let’s go, kid, stop wrestling with the logs here. I’ll take you to visit him; it’s time for you to meet some of the other neighbors.”

”Whether you can persuade him to help and lend you his precious sawmill will depend on your ability.”