"Well then, I wish you a safe journey," the Old Bear said with a nod. After their conversations, he had come to see Tyrion's intelligence and wit, a stark contrast to the cruel and foolish monster of the legends. "I'll have a few of my rangers escort you as far as the Last Hearth. The road should be much safer after that."
Tyrion didn't say much more. He simply climbed into the small, comfortable carriage he'd bought from the Easterner's shop. With his own two guards and two of the Night's Watch rangers for an escort, he left Castle Black behind.
A few days later, the rangers saw him safely past the lands of the Umbers and returned to the Wall. Tyrion, now accompanied only by his guards, pointed the horses south. He had no immediate plans to return to King's Landing. The North was vast and strange, and his luxurious carriage made travel so comfortable that the journey felt effortless. He decided to take the opportunity to see more of the northern towns before heading back to the capital.
Back in the modern world, the New Year holiday had begun. Jason brought his girlfriend, Lin Xiaohan, back to his hometown for a lively holiday celebration. His grandparents had moved into the new house built on the farm years ago, and his parents, sister, and brother-in-law lived there as well. The whole family was now based at the farm.
The farm itself had expanded to a massive 1,000 acres. While a portion was dedicated to breeding livestock, most of it was being developed into a family-friendly zoo. Come March, they would begin stocking it with all kinds of free-range chickens, ducks, and geese.
The main attraction, the zoo, was being prepared for its first animal residents. They planned to purchase sika deer, monkeys, alpacas, peacocks, cows, sheep, and horses from various breeders and other zoos. Since all these animals were docile and none were on the endangered species list, getting the necessary approvals was straightforward.
These gentle animals were perfect for a family zoo. Unlike traditional zoos where you could only watch animals through glass or iron bars, their zoo would allow for close contact, which was sure to attract tourists. Honestly, the official zoo in the nearby city was small, smelly, and poorly maintained. Aside from a few major attractions like tigers, giraffes, and elephants, there wasn't much to see, which was why locals rarely visited. Jason was betting that a new, interactive family zoo would be a huge hit for families looking for a weekend getaway.
"Brother-in-law, have you contacted the sellers for the animals yet?" Jason asked. He and Lucas were walking along a path paved with fresh bricks that wound through the property. The path was lined with white wooden fences, enclosing large paddocks where sika deer and alpacas would soon roam.
The idea was that visitors could walk into these spacious enclosures and interact directly with the animals—buying carrots and other vegetables to feed the deer, alpacas, cows, and sheep. Jason was certain that parents and children who had grown up in the city without ever seeing these animals up close would love it. And as long as the visitors were happy, the farm was guaranteed to be profitable.
Lucas looked out over the nearly completed farm, his spirits high. The only work left was laying some pipes and other minor details. "I have," he confirmed. "Your sister and I have already contacted sellers. For the common livestock like cattle and sheep, and even for horses, we found plenty of specialized breeding farms. We paid a premium to get some high-quality sika deer and alpacas."
"The monkeys are a bit more troublesome," he admitted. "But I've been working on getting our official zoo qualifications from the city, and the permits should be approved soon. Once we have them, I can contact the larger city zoos directly and buy a wider variety of animals from them."
Zoos in big cities often had a surplus of animals due to their own breeding programs. To avoid overcrowding and reduce operational pressures, they were usually willing to sell some of their less rare animals to qualified buyers like them.
Jason's parents had been busy helping with the construction. Though the work was hard, they were both happy and energized, feeling like they had found something familiar and purposeful to do. To them, raising sika deer and alpacas wasn't much different from raising the sheep and cattle they had grown up with. They all just ate grass, after all.
After spending a few days at home for the New Year, Jason and Lin Xiaohan returned to City. The construction of Starfire Harbor and Starfire City in Westeros was in full swing, and he needed to be there to oversee it. Such a massive project required a constant supply of materials like cement and steel bars, which he had to transport from the modern world.
Fortunately, some things could be sourced locally. Old Torant and his team had set up a brick kiln near a large mound, digging up clay from the banks of Saylor Lake and the White Knife River. Every day, a steady stream of newly fired bricks was transported to the harbor and the city construction sites. The downside was that brick-making was a labor-intensive process. Thousands of workers were assigned to making the brick molds and hauling wood for the kilns, which slowed down the construction of the city wall.
It wasn't a major problem, though. The four walls of Starfire City, with a circumference of two kilometers, were nearly complete. Soon, the workers and their families, who had been living in tents along the riverbank, could finally move into the protected space within the walls. Having a tall city wall between them and the wilderness gave everyone a much-needed sense of security.
Jason transported another large batch of cement and steel bars from his modern warehouse to the supply tent in Starfire City. He then had workers use freight carriages to haul the materials to the port construction site. All 1,000 of the freight carriages he had commissioned were now complete, so he had purchased over 2,000 horses from various horse breeders across the North to pull them.
Beyond a thousand draft horses, he had also managed to acquire 1,000 warhorses from across the northern region. With these, he formed two cavalry battalions of 500 men each, providing every rider with two horses for mobility and endurance. Each cavalryman was equipped with a pulley bow and a steel sword.
Jason intended to train them as horse archers, inspired by the devastating "Manggudai" tactics of Genghis Khan from his own world's history. Of course, this strategy depended on the riders becoming proficient in both riding and archery. He had tasked Jon with training the cavalry to become expert marksmen.
Meanwhile, Chris, Rubin, and McCann were working hard to train the 1,500 infantrymen who had been recruited a few months ago. After more than half a year of rigorous drilling, the recruits were starting to look like a real army. They could now march in formation without their lines wavering. Jason had placed a heavy emphasis on discipline, and the soldiers' obedience had improved dramatically. These young men, all between the ages of 16 and 25, were proving to be highly malleable.
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