On his fourth birthday, little Broly not only had reindeer stew with potatoes and fruit cake, but also a bowl of tomato and egg drop noodles specially made by Li Pu.
After celebrating the child's birthday, Li Pu entered his busiest period of the year.
Although hunting and selling furs could earn money, furs as raw Materials in Alaska were actually difficult to sell at a good price.
Li Pu's real way to earn greenbacks was actually by working as a hunting guide.
Every year from May to August, foreigners love to travel, and the temperature in Alaska in summer can rise to around 20 degrees Celsius, making it the mildest time of the year.
Therefore, every summer, many tourists come to Alaska, and some wealthy individuals even pay to hire people to take them hunting.
They call it: experiencing wild culture.
But in reality, these people are purely just playing around.
But it must be admitted that when rich people play, they are truly willing to spend money.
By working as a hunting guide for these wealthy individuals, tracking wild boars, black bears, and Brown Bears, Li Pu could earn fifty to sixty thousand U.S. dollars in less than two months.
This was fifty to sixty thousand U.S. dollars in the 90s!
Although he had to pay taxes on some of this money and, by convention, give ten percent to the "hunting agency," he still received over forty thousand dollars.
This amount of money was actually quite a lot.
And for a man who is a stay-at-home dad, doing things that can earn money is always especially motivating.
Therefore, early the next morning, Li Pu drove to Picto Town, the closest town to his cabin.
He went to visit the first person he met after coming to the Marvel Universe, who was also his first boss, the widowed proprietress of the "Big Martha" tavern.
"Martha, look what I brought you!"
Upon entering the tavern, Li Pu took out a large bag of egg noodles made with a hand-cranked noodle machine and a large bag of various canned fruits purchased from Anchorage.
"Hi, Li Pu!"
Martha, who was mopping the tavern, threw the mop into the Water bucket as soon as she saw him and swayed her overly plump waist over to greet him.
"It's fine to just come, but bringing so many things, others might think you're interested in me."
As she spoke, the proprietress, a woman in her fifties with indigenous heritage, even winked at Li Pu.
"Look at you, why does giving you a gift mean I'm interested in you? Your granddaughter, Little Martha, also started college this year, so couldn't I..."
Seeing Martha smilingly pick up an empty bourbon bottle from the bar, Li Pu dared not speak flirtatiously anymore. He knew this old woman would really hit him with a bottle.
So, he chuckled and said, "...I mean, doesn't Little Martha also need a large sum of money to go to college? Look, what else did I bring you?"
As he spoke, Li Pu pulled out a thick envelope and handed it to Martha.
"Here's eight thousand U.S. dollars, count it."
Martha said in surprise, "Eight thousand? Why is it three thousand more?"
"Didn't I just say, Little Martha is going to college this year, shouldn't I, as her older brother, show some support?"
Although she despised Li Pu's shameless claim of being her granddaughter's brother, Martha was deeply moved that he brought the money.
She walked over and hugged Li Pu.
"Thank you, Li Pu. If you were ten years younger, introducing Little Martha to you wouldn't be out of the question. But now, I can only introduce you to a good business deal to make up for your regret."
Li Pu smiled.
He came to Martha precisely for business.
It turned out that besides being the owner of the "Big Martha" tavern, Martha was also Picto's famous "hunting agent."
Although she didn't hunt herself, she earned commissions every year by introducing clients to local hunters.
Initially, Martha would certainly prioritize her own people over Li Pu, the "outsider."
However, Li Pu was indeed better at understanding social etiquette than the locals—he not only often gave Martha gifts, but every summer, even before receiving any hunting guide work, he would send Martha the commission in advance. He wouldn't ask for more if it was too much, but if the commission wasn't enough, he would definitely make up the difference before the hunting season ended.
Furthermore, Martha also knew that Li Pu really needed money because he adopted a child.
So, she gradually didn't treat Li Pu with complete impartiality, but she would also introduce some high-quality clients, who would originally only be given to her own people, to Li Pu.
This year, Martha's granddaughter went to college, and Li Pu specifically put an extra three thousand U.S. dollars in the envelope to thank Martha for taking care of him over the years.
"The money you gave me today is definitely not enough."
Martha put the envelope into a drawer under the bar and took out a hunting tag and a business card.
For foreign tourists in Alaska to legally hunt animals other than squirrels and hares, besides a hunting application, they also need to apply for a special hunting tag.
These tags are not easy to obtain, taking anywhere from three to four days to even one to two weeks.
This is where the value of "hunter agents" like Martha comes in. As a local, the efficiency of getting things done through acquaintances is naturally much higher than tourists doing it officially themselves.
Through this service, "hunter agents" can first collect an introduction fee from tourists, and then, after the hunt is completed, they can collect an intermediary commission from the hunting guide.
"This is a high-quality client from New York, Russian-American, named Nikolai Kravinov.
This client is very rich.
Li Pu, I mean, this person is extremely rich.
He wants to take his family and bodyguards to hunt black bears and Brown Bears, at least one of each, and the time limit must be within one week, for which he is willing to pay a high price to hire a guide.
However, I must warn you, this Nikolai has also been to other places in Alaska before, and I've heard some colleagues say... well, how should I put it, this person is a bit troublesome."
"As long as he pays the bill without trouble, it's fine."
Li Pu shrugged, indifferent.
Honestly, in his years as a hunting guide, he had seen all sorts of bizarre clients.
For example, he had seen people who wanted to 'have fun' with their girlfriend, boyfriend, or even both, in the wilderness for a night; others who wanted to 'play' with their prey; and there were even 'buttocks enthusiasts' who had hit on Li Pu.
These clients undoubtedly raised Li Pu's upper limit of understanding the word "bizarre," having long since trained him.
"Isn't it just hunting bears? My little Broly can even take them."
Martha thought Li Pu was bragging again, but she still handed the business card and hunting tag to Li Pu, telling him to go home and wait for a notification.
The next morning, Li Pu's intercom rang, and a 'thump-thump-thump' sound came from outside the forest.
"Hey, Li Pu, are you awake? I just got a call, Mr. Kravinov couldn't wait, he got off the plane and didn't come to Picto Town, but went directly into the forest to find you."
"Okay, Martha, I think I see them..."
A convoy of all-terrain vehicles, like a conquering force, rolled over the path into the forest and finally stopped outside Li Pu's cabin door.
Several bodyguards, smoking cigars and wearing berets, jumped out of the vehicles, each carrying a Kalashnikov Rifle, and formed a protective formation, ignoring the yapping and barking of the sled dog, Ah Fu, at the door.
"...I somewhat understand what you mean by troublesome. They don't look like they're hunting; they look more like they're here to conquer Alaska."
Li Pu told Martha a joke.
However, he quickly changed into his gear, took the hunting tag Martha had given him yesterday, and walked out the door with little Broly, who had just finished breakfast.