NOVEL FROG Chapter 064 – St. York Town
For the next few days, Zhao Zhao, Yaoguang, and Siren continued to sweep through the Gulf of Latvia, finding schools of fish for the fishing boat every day. They managed to catch about 70-80% of the fish they targeted, resulting in a pretty good haul for the boat.
When Yaoguang announced that the sea area was mostly devoid of large bluefin tuna schools, it had been over a week since they arrived. Zhao Zhao decided to dock at Grote Port for supplies and then head to the George Strait.
Grote is Canada’s third-largest port and has docking agreements with China. Massive amounts of fish are landed here daily and shipped worldwide because there are several world-renowned fishing grounds nearby.
Grote is a new city with a small population, having grown from a barren small town to a city thanks to the port. From a distance, it still looked like a small town.
Xiong Jie looked disappointed, “How is this any better than Changshan Island? Is this the famous fishing hub Grote? Look behind, there’s not even a tall building, just snow-capped mountains. Did we take a wrong turn?”
Rao Jianyang laughed, “It’s much better now than it used to be. I came here before, and it was less lively. Canada has vast lands and few people. Grote developed because of its good land transportation. It’s better than Changshan Island with Canada’s third-largest port, an airport, and land routes. But its permanent population is probably less than Changshan Island’s.”
Xiong Jie felt regretful, “This is my first time visiting another country, and I thought I’d see something impressive. Turns out it’s still rural.” Many on the ship shared his sentiment, feeling let down and complaining that it wasn’t as good as Qiongnan. Their last stop in the South Pacific had tropical vibes, so different from Chonghai. The young crew found it refreshing.
Zhao Zhao and Rao Jianyang went to handle the docking procedures and paid the berthing fees. The pomfret was definitely going to be unloaded here, and after inquiring about the price of sailfish at the port, they decided to sell the sailfish here as well.
She wasn’t planning to return south and wanted to continue north to the George Strait. The marine weather forecast predicted strong convective weather along their route, so Zhao Zhao and Rao Jianyang decided to stay and rest here for safety, planning to depart in three days.
Behind Grote's port, what was called a city was actually a small town with a few permanent residents. The government renamed it Grote City, but everyone still called it by its old name, St. York Town.
St. York was mostly home to family-run inns. Zhao Zhao rented one near the port, arranging for the crew to take turns going ashore to rest. The Yaoguang needed someone to stay on board for duty, and meticulous Xiong Haiming handled it without her worrying.
She took Da Linzi to happily explore the town, but, well, it was pretty dull with nothing exciting in sight. The streets were mostly lined with various small pubs, which neither she nor Da Linzi found interesting.
That evening, Zhao Zhao asked Mrs. Winnie, the innkeeper, about the town. Mrs. Winnie, a cheerful woman in her fifties, shrugged, “Oh, dear, you’ve seen it all. St. York is a small town; the only lively place is the port. I’ve lived here for over thirty years and haven’t found much fun, to be honest.”
Zhao Zhao said, “That’s unfortunate. But the fact that you’ve stayed here means it has its charm.”
Mrs. Winnie laughed heartily, “No, no, I stayed because my husband was a handsome guy when he was young. Now that his prime has passed, I might not be here next time you visit.”
Mr. Winnie, the innkeeper, overheard and said angrily, “Oh my, don’t fill the young lady’s head with nonsense. I’m more charming now than in my youth!”
Mrs. Winnie mimed pointing to his balding head, making Zhao Zhao laugh. It was clear their relationship was strong. Despite his age, Mr. Winnie was still tall and fit, and it was easy to believe he had been handsome when younger.
The handsome Mr. Winnie took his wife’s place and told Zhao Zhao, “Our inn has two types of guests: fishermen from the port and skiing enthusiasts from around the world.” He pointed to a few snowy mountains in the distance. “Most people come here for off-piste skiing. Those mountains are challenging, with snow accumulations of up to seven meters. Many extreme skiers come to conquer them. We ordinary folks usually ski on the two smaller mountains nearby. If you know how to ski, you should try it.”
Zhao Zhao knew how to ski and even used a snowboard. The next day, she eagerly took Da Linzi and Yaoguang to go skiing. Gun Gun pretended to stay in the cabin since it couldn’t go ashore, which Da Linzi found unfortunate because he wanted to take Gun Gun skiing and let it run in the snow.
“It doesn’t have an ID card, so it can’t come down. When we get home, it’ll snow there too. Don’t slack on your martial arts practice. We can go to the deep mountains in the back and ski there; the snow melts slowly.”
Da Linzi was skeptical, “Our mountains are all forests, unlike these snow mountains. Can we really ski there?”
Zhao Zhao: “Why not? Any environment can be adapted for skiing. Haven’t you seen obstacle course and parallel slalom skiing?”
Da Linzi hadn’t seen them. These events were practically non-existent in China. Actually, all skiing events had little popularity in China. Most people had never seen them, and skiing was considered niche. Ice skating had some recognition due to good performance, but the focus was mostly in a few northern provinces.
“What’s that? Never heard of it.”
“Winter Olympic events. You can find videos online. My point is that obstacles don’t hinder skiing. We’re here! Wow, this ski slope looks challenging. You should’ve worn more layers to cushion falls.” Zhao Zhao exclaimed as she watched people roll far down the snowy slope.
This ski resort charged an entrance fee. Zhao Zhao took Da Linzi to pay and then chose their gear. At the foot of the mountain was a simple shop called “Snow Wolf Outdoors.” A middle-aged man with golden hair was managing the shop, and the large screen inside showed various angles of the ski slopes, making it clear he multitasked.
Surprisingly, despite the shop's simplicity, the boards they provided were excellent. Zhao Zhao decided not to rent but to buy two boards to keep for future use. She had skied a lot in college and had a good eye for equipment. This reminded her of her friend Zhao Jingbian.
Xiao Zhao was one of her only two friends in college. He was from the northeastern province of Lín, where every kid had skated or skied. Zhao Jingbian loved skiing, but unfortunately, skiing in China wasn’t well developed, and the infrastructure was lacking. His father, thinking he wasn’t cut out for academics and had no special skills to get into a good school, sent him to skate. Turns out, he had some athletic talent and ended up in the provincial team. The Chinese national team was mostly from there, so Zhao Jingbian got into Kyoto University through sports achievements.
Although he was a speed skating athlete, his true love was skiing. He often dragged Zhao Zhao and Gu Nan along. Gu Nan wasn’t very athletic, but Zhao Zhao found it fun.
For Da Linzi, this was his first time skiing. The shop attendant recommended twin-tip skis, but he insisted on using the same board as Zhao Zhao. The attendant, who also monitored the cameras, professionally selected two boards based on his height and weight.
Buying the boards wasn’t cheap. Converted to Chinese currency, they cost over 60,000 yuan. The attendant explained they were handcrafted by a master.
When they reached the cable car station, Zhao Zhao realized the cable car was probably handcrafted by a master too.
It was an open chair lift. Aside from being cold, it was very old.
Remembering she promised a skiing live stream today, Zhao Zhao decided to give her viewers a glimpse. She started the live stream.
The viewers saw two siblings from head to toe in snow gear, with Sister Bear having a parrot on her shoulder, though only half of it was visible on camera.
“Here we are, as promised! Now we’re at a ski resort in Grote, Canada. It’s called Snow Wolf, I think?” Da Linzi nodded along, not really knowing.
“We’re about to get on the cable car. Everyone, check this out. If something happens, please call for help.”
【Call for help now, this must be from the last century.】
【I’m laughing. Other rich ladies ski in the Alps, while Sister Bear is like this? You’re rich too, get it together!】
【Is it safe? It’s so cold and open.】
【This isn’t a car; it’s two iron chairs on a track.】
They checked the safety locks themselves before signaling the distant staff. The cable car started moving slowly, then suddenly sped up. Despite the old equipment, it was quite stable.
Da Linzi told the live stream, “It’s really refreshing. Don’t be jealous. It’s probably like driving a convertible in winter inland.”
【No one drives a convertible in winter inland. Stop making regional attacks, seaside people.】
【We don’t have convertibles, only scooters, thank you.】
【Scooters have leather seats. These are iron seats.】
【Worse, haha. Sister Bear, can you live stream from the Alps? Today’s content is lowering our live stream’s class, haha.】
【Do we even have such things?】
Zhao Zhao picked up Yaoguang and held it in her arms. “You can’t faze me. You can ski anywhere. Today, I’m teaching Da Linzi. Tomorrow, I’ll give you a skiing performance. They have off-piste skiing here. Yaoguang, you’re always slacking off. Chat with your fans; they often message me saying they miss you.”
Yaoguang was pleased with not having the dumb dog around and replied happily, “Chat about what? I don’t have fans.”
The comments were full of raised hands, and Zhao Zhao pointed them out, “Look, there are so many.”
Yaoguang said, “Are those the fans who ask when I’ll shed feathers?”
Zhao Zhao didn’t know about that, “When did that happen?”
Da Linzi replied, “Last time I live-streamed, a fan asked, saying they wanted to keep one.”
Zhao Zhao lamented, “Your fans are weird. Luckily, mine aren’t like that. Alright, we’ve reached the top.”
【Sister Bear, get real. You don’t have fans; they just want to cling to you.】
【How does it remember things from so long ago?】
【It holds grudges, confirmed parrot spirit.】
【But Yaoguang’s tail feathers are really pretty.】
【…Could it be the person above who asked?】
