Harimu

Biodata

Appearance

• Deeply tanned, with rough skin and apparent spots on his face after spending time at the Summer Pasture 227.
• Frequently travels on horseback with a rifle slung across his back during his earlier herding and hunting years 227 336.

Personality

Harimu treats hospitality and reciprocal help as obligations between friends. Early in his friendship with Li Long, he insists on slaughtering a sheep for him despite Li Long’s objections. Later, he continually gathers pelts, antlers, jade, and other mountain goods to repay assistance to his family and fellow herders 23 518 687.

His early understanding of trade centers on whether both parties receive what they need rather than the goods’ market value. After Li Long sells his snow leopard pelt for 1,500 yuan, Harimu refuses the remaining 1,000 yuan because the supplies already exceed what he had hoped to obtain. Over time, he becomes more commercially knowledgeable, selectively hunting for intact hides and learning which jade and gold finds are valuable 228 1196.

Although respectful of elders, Harimu openly challenges them when they accuse Li Long of undermining tribal traditions. He argues that clean water, reliable supplies, machinery, and schooling have materially improved their lives. Jade Mountain River describes this as the first time he has seen Harimu lose his temper with the elders 948 950.

He is devoted to his family and increasingly plans around his children’s future. Their enthusiasm for city life encourages him to earn money for housing, schooling, and living expenses. Much later, when his sons have gone to work, he makes time to visit his mother because she is lonely 1196 1435.

History

Early Friendship and Trade

Harimu’s early household faces a severe winter fodder shortage: deep snow prevents livestock from grazing, and he expects some sheep to starve before spring. He explains that slaughtering them while they still carry fat is preferable to losing them later 23.

His friendship with Li Long develops through practical exchanges. Li Long brings food, ammunition, and other necessities; Harimu and his family reciprocate with jade, velvet antler, pelts, and hospitality. Harimu also guides Li Long through hunting grounds and joins him in protecting the sheepfold from wolves 62 97.

Li Long’s gift of a battery-powered radio becomes especially important to the household. Harimu later makes an urgent journey from the Summer Pasture to obtain replacement batteries after the herders’ radios lose power. Li Long sells his snow leopard pelt for 1,500 yuan and purchases batteries, food, salt, tea, flour, and medicines 145 227 228.

Harimu and the other herders reciprocate by building Li Long a two-room wooden house near their winter camps. Their exchanges develop into an ongoing arrangement in which Li Long obtains requested supplies in return for mountain products 145 150.

Family Welfare and Camp Improvements

Harimu discusses schooling and future housing for his children with Li Long. By a later visit from the Summer Pasture, Nasen and Sasiken are attending school, while his mother remains with them at the Pastoral Team settlement 402 516.

Returning to check on them, Harimu discovers that Li Long has renovated the family home, improved the courtyard and path, installed a hand pump, and provided new schoolbags. Seeing the changes leaves him deeply moved by their friendship 516.

Improvements subsequently reach the winter camps as well:

• Piped spring water: Harimu organizes herders to dig trenches and prepare lunch, then helps Li Long bury the pipe. The successful installation is celebrated with food, singing, and dancing 632.
• Repaired winter home and Sheep-Washing Pool: He returns from the Summer Pasture to find both completed; he had only mentioned the pool to Li Long in passing 687.
• Mechanized haymaking: He checks the hayfield for obstacles while Li Long operates a tractor-mounted harvester, marking rocks that could interfere with cutting 527.

Harimu also helps other households in emergencies. When Talihaal develops badly infected hunting wounds, he accompanies him to Stone City No. 2 Hospital and stays as his attendant 770.

Hunting, Wolves, and the Tractor

Harimu regularly hunts predators threatening livestock, but one encounter nearly kills him. Returning from delivering a message without his rifle, he is pursued by wolves through deep snow. Li Long and Nasen ride to his rescue; Li Long shoots three wolves and helps him escape 601.

After seeing the usefulness of tractors, Harimu wants to buy one through his own efforts rather than ask Li Long to provide it. He hunts deer and mountain goats and hopes that obtaining a tiger will bring him closer to that goal 909.

When a Northern Xinjiang Tiger takes one of his sheep, Harimu pursues it into a mountain ravine, joined by Jade Mountain River. Their gunfire triggers an avalanche that buries the tiger. They recover it dead beneath the snow, and Harimu skins it. On returning to the Winter Camp, he finds that Li Long has already brought him a new tractor and supplies 911.

Roads and Opposition to Change

When Li Long proposes roads linking the winter camps and Summer Pasture, Harimu explains that the mountain route is long, steep, and narrow. He nevertheless becomes a firm defender of the changes Li Long has introduced 946 948.

At a tribal meeting, some elders oppose road construction and criticize outside products. Harimu counters by listing the benefits they already depend on: grain, salt, brick tea, ammunition, machinery, renovated homes, radios, and clean drinking water. The tribe ultimately generally agrees to the road project 948 950.

The roads shorten seasonal journeys but remain vulnerable to snow. When heavy snowfall isolates the camps, Li Long brings a snow-clearing crew. Harimu responds by returning home to slaughter sheep and prepare a meal for the workers 1005.

Housing and the Tribe’s Dispersal

Li Long takes Harimu, Nasen, Sasiken, and Jade Mountain River’s two children on a trip to Yanjing. Harimu initially feels uncomfortable in unfamiliar public settings and relies on Li Long to guide him through the journey 1138 1139.

Afterward, his sons’ interest in city life strengthens his determination to earn money. He hunts for undamaged hides and searches for valuable jade and gold to help pay for a courtyard house and future family expenses. During one such trip, he obtains two intact ibex hides and finds a gold nugget 1196.

As Jade Mountain River shifts toward business outside the mountains, Harimu keeps many local affairs running. He chooses to continue raising livestock, reasoning that the road has made herding and seasonal migration less difficult 1296.

The old tribe is subsequently divided among village Production Teams. Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and Talihaal remain in the same team because their homes and pastures lie within its boundaries. Harimu uses his tractor to transport the yurt and supplies ahead of the livestock, rather than moving everything together 1310.

After settling into village life, he befriends his helpful Han Chinese neighbor Tang Lao’er. Harimu accepts that the former tribal households now have separate priorities and advises Jade Mountain River to continue his business rather than try to preserve the old authority structure 1323.

Expansion into Large-Scale Ranching

Livestock Defense After Gun Confiscation

After the herders surrender their guns, Harimu obtains an old Type 56 semi-automatic rifle from former pastoralists to protect his expanding herds. One rifle and limited ammunition prove inadequate against persistent wolves, so he seeks Li Long’s help. Li Long assembles an armed party and divides it between threatened locations 1406.

Following another confiscation, Harimu asks Li Long to obtain crossbows and bolts for his workers. He tries one himself, though his first shot only grazes the target board. During the following seasonal move, his herders kill more than twenty wolves with the crossbows while losing a few sheep 1421 1435.

Harimu later returns for replacement bolts because many have been lost in grass or embedded in rocks. He also pays toward road repairs, with Li Long agreeing to contact a construction crew 1421 1435.

Abilities & Skills

Hunting and Marksmanship

• Tracking: Identifies red deer tracks and droppings and knows where wild boars, roe deer, and other game are likely to appear 97.
• Low-light shooting: Hits a wolf in the woods by sound before full daylight, impressing Li Long 106.
• Improving accuracy: Shoots two wolves during a brief opportunity, earning praise from Jade Mountain River for his progress 909.
• Selective hunting: Learns to preserve intact ibex hides because undamaged pelts command higher prices 1196.
• Limitations: Does not regard himself as a professional hunter and acknowledges that learning to hunt with a gun took considerable time 909.

Game Processing

• Slaughters a sheep within minutes and efficiently skins and cuts livestock 23 1296.
• Is more proficient at skinning than Li Long and gives him practical pointers while they process antelopes 582 583.
• Prepares pelts, portions meat, removes bones, and makes dried meat for storage 518 911.

Mountain Guiding and Horsemanship

• Locates hunting grounds, fritillaria, mushrooms, and red deer habitat; also draws Li Long a map of nearby hunting areas 97 402.
• Is an excellent horseman, but leads his horse on foot through hazardous snow to check for hidden marmot holes 336 689.
• Knows the seasonal conditions and routes between the winter camps and Summer Pasture 946 1421.

Livestock and Ranch Management

• Manages grazing, winter fodder, heated pens, lambing, and seasonal livestock movements 1238 1388 1435.
• Progresses from personally tending his herds to hiring workers and overseeing multiple pasture holdings 1381 1383 1449.
• Seeks Jade Mountain River’s advice on breeding sheep and suitable livestock suppliers as his operation expands 1388.

Machinery and Commercial Knowledge

• Initially stalls a tractor twice during instruction, but later becomes an experienced driver capable of steadily transporting passengers over uneven mountain roads 689 1238.
• Learns to distinguish more valuable jade from ordinary pieces and recognizes gold’s weight and appearance through experience 1196.
• Studies written Chinese alongside his children; his later IOU has elementary-level handwriting but no incorrect characters 1366.

Equipment & Property

• Horses and riding tack — Used for herding, hunting, mountain travel, and carrying provisions 227 336 518.
• Rifle — A regular hunting and defensive tool; later specifically possesses an old Type 56 semi-automatic rifle before further confiscation 909 1406 1421.
• Knife and scythe — Used for processing animals and cutting hay before mechanization 166 527 583.
• Tractor — Used for transporting people, yurt components, and seasonal supplies 911 1238 1310.
• Crossbows and steel bolts — Obtained through Li Long for his herders’ defense against wolves after guns are confiscated 1421 1435.
• Courtyard homes and livestock facilities — Includes village housing and large winter enclosures along the Qingshui River 1310 1388.
• Worker motorcycles — Provides one for each of his more than twenty employees as the ranch expands 1449.

Relationships

• Li Long — His closest Han Chinese friend and dosen. They exchange supplies and mountain goods, hunt together, and repeatedly help one another’s families. Li Long later finances Harimu’s ranch expansion 62 948 1323 1366.
• Gulimiter — His wife and working partner. She herds livestock, helps process game, and prepares food for family and guests. Harimu later hopes to spare her further hardship in the mountains 518 583 1310 1383.
• Nasen and Sasiken — His sons. Their education and interest in city life shape his financial plans; both have gone to work by the later story 1196 1435.
• Harimu’s mother — Lives with his sons while they attend school and encourages the family to repay Li Long’s kindness. Harimu checks on her welfare and later makes a point of visiting her 516 518 1435.
• Jade Mountain River — Longtime friend, fellow herder, hunting companion, and later livestock-business adviser. Harimu supports his move into business while recognizing that the old tribe has dispersed 911 1296 1323 1388.
• Talihaal — Fellow herder and nearby teammate. Harimu accompanies him to hospital and stays to care for him 770 1310.
• Tang Lao’er — Han Chinese neighbor who helps Harimu register with the village team, collect supplies, and recover escaped sheep 1323.

Notable Quotes

“I traded things for things. As long as we’re satisfied, that’s enough.” 228

“They enjoy the conveniences you’ve brought them, yet still say these changes are bad. That’s shameful. It has to stop, or our tribe will only fall further and further behind.” 950

“But you are my best Han Chinese friend.” 1323