Recaps

Li Long shot and dressed two wolves after they were drawn to frozen boar meat, while Li Junfeng and Li Junshan stayed overnight at the Wooden Cabin. Li Junfeng later fired at several small animals near the bait but found no sign that he had hit them; the next morning, he and Li Junshan left to sell fish as Li Long prepared the cabin for Harimu and the others.

• Li Long shot two wolves attracted by the frozen boar meat, and he and the others skinned and dressed them.
• Li Long, Li Junfeng, and Li Junshan ate wolf offal and spent the night together in the Wooden Cabin with Number 76.
• Li Junfeng spotted several small animals near the boar meat and fired at them, but the group found no trace of a hit.
• The next morning, Li Junfeng and Li Junshan left with the cart to sell fish, while Li Long kept a leg of wolf meat and cleaned the cabin.
• Li Long mixed dough to make buns and stocked up in preparation for Harimu and the others' arrival.

Li Long explored the snow-covered mountains for game after giving Harimu ammunition and arranging a gathering at his cabin. Near the cabin, he spotted a red fox and fired at it, hoping to make Gu Xiaoxia a fur neck warmer.

• Li Long gave Harimu three hundred rounds of ammunition, and Harimu said he and Jade Mountain River would bring people for buzkashi and horse racing the day after tomorrow.
• Li Long searched north toward the Ma River but found no game, then returned to his cabin for dried meat broth and a rest.
• Li Long investigated Hot Spring Valley, found animal tracks and a half-eaten hare, and briefly waited to see whether the lynx would return.
• As Li Long approached his cabin, he saw a red fox eating the foul-smelling pork, raised his gun, and fired as it fled toward the woods.

Li Long hosted a gathering for his herder friends, where Harimu organized competitions and Jade Mountain River prepared a lamb feast. The horse race began with a dangerous crash, leaving the leading rider thrown from his horse.

• Li Long searched the Hot Spring valley and nearby eastern valleys for game but found none, then prepared prizes and hot water for his friends’ gathering.
• Harimu arrived with a gutted, unskinned sheep for Buzkashi and brought food and ammunition, while Li Long showed him the prizes he had prepared.
• Jade Mountain River arrived with a skinned lamb, and he and Harimu butchered it and began cooking it as the young herders gathered.
• Harimu announced a horse race to a western peak and back, and Li Long fired the starting shot with his Type 56 rifle.
• The riders raced toward the peak and returned downhill; two horses collided, and the leading horse then slipped and fell, throwing its rider into the snow.

Li Long watched the riders compete in a horse race, handed prizes to the winners, and learned where to look for wild mountain goats. The young men then began a Buzkashi match, with Bakhat joining the chase after another rider seized the sheep.

• Jade Mountain River stopped Li Long from helping a fallen rider, who soon got back on his horse and caught up with the other competitors.
• A dark-skinned boy named Bakhat won the horse race, and Li Long, Jade Mountain River, and Harimu presented prizes and ammunition to the top three riders.
• Jade Mountain River showed Li Long a gully where he had seen wild mountain goats and explained why the herders should receive only limited ammunition.
• Harimu announced an individual Buzkashi match in which the winner would receive the sheep and five rounds of ammunition.
• The riders charged toward the headless sheep, and a rider on a black horse seized it before the others pursued him.

Li Long watched Tangboli win the Buzkashi contest, then learned about nearby game from the young herders. The next day, Tangboli traded him a live female Roe Deer for ten cartridges, giving the male Roe Deer at Li Long's Stable a potential mate.

• Tangboli won the Buzkashi contest and received five cartridges, while Ayibate received three; afterward, Tangboli offered Bakhat his prize, but Bakhat showed he already had cartridges.
• Harimu asked the young men about game, and Tangboli offered to bring Li Long a live Roe Deer in exchange for ten cartridges.
• Wolves howled outside Li Long's cabin that night, and he fired several shots to scare them away.
• Tangboli arrived the next morning with a female Roe Deer, and Li Long traded him ten cartridges for it.
• Li Long tethered the Roe Deer outside his cabin and gave it hay while he waited for a horse-drawn cart to take it home.

Li Long found two shed deer antlers while cutting fodder for the wild roe deer, then faced a confrontational man who claimed to be a forest ranger and threatened to take over the pasture. Unsure whether the man’s claim was true, Li Long left for Jade Mountain River’s Winter Camp to find out.

• Li Long cut grass for the wild roe deer, uncovered a deer antler under the snow, and found a second nearby.
• Li Long fed the roe deer and ate mutton soup at the Wooden Cabin.
• A mounted man and his dog arrived, and the man pointed his rifle at Li Long while claiming to be a forest ranger.
• Li Long challenged the man to show documents and warned him not to threaten him; the man claimed the pasture would soon be his and rode away.
• Li Long secured the roe deer and the Wooden Cabin, then set off for Jade Mountain River’s Winter Camp to learn whether the pasture was really changing hands.

Li Long learned from Jade Mountain River that Geming Bielisen had no authority to claim his pasture, and the Pastoral Team planned to report the Forest Ranger to his superior. After Li Junshan and Li Junfeng collected the roe deer, Li Long decided to remain in the mountains a few more days to hunt.

• Li Long told Jade Mountain River that Geming Bielisen had ordered him off his pasture and threatened to tear down his cabin, and Jade Mountain River explained that the Pastoral Team controlled the pasture.
• Jade Mountain River went to consult the Pastoral Team Leader, then returned after dark to tell Li Long that the leader would speak to the Forestry Team Leader about Geming Bielisen.
• Li Long spotted a red deer on his way back to the cabin but lost it in the pine forest before he could shoot.
• Li Long moved the roe deer outside after it ate and fouled its shelter, then kept it nearby for two days.
• Li Junshan and Li Junfeng arrived with a horse-drawn cart and took the roe deer away, while Li Long told them he would stay in the mountains a few more days.

Li Long found a cave where animals came to lick rock salt and waited there for prey. After a stag charged him, he shot it, killed it, and began preparing the carcass to carry home.

• Li Long cleaned the room after the roe deer was taken away, then set out before sunrise for a valley where deer had been spotted.
• Li Long followed animal tracks to a cave and discovered that its smooth wall contained rock salt.
• Li Long waited near the cave for several hours, then watched two Mongolian gazelles and three red deer arrive.
• Li Long chose to wait for the red deer, but the young deer spotted him and the stag charged at him.
• Li Long shot the stag several times, killed it with his knife, and dragged it away from the cave to skin and gut it.

Li Long tried to haul a deer back to his wooden cabin, but a pack of wolves tracked him and repeatedly tried to surround him. He shot several wolves and reached an ambush position, but one wolf remained unaccounted for.

• Li Long left the deer's innards behind, and six wolves ate them before their leader led the pack after him.
• Li Long spotted the wolves approaching, wounded one with his Type 56, and retreated toward the wooden cabin while the others pursued him.
• Li Long shot at wolves that appeared above a slope, then continued hauling the deer as the pack followed at a distance.
• Li Long rested briefly, reloaded his rifle, and climbed another slope while the wolves tried to flank him.
• Li Long ambushed the wolves at the summit and killed one, while two fled and another remained missing.

Li Long survived the wolves’ attack and spent the night at the Wooden Cabin, where he cooked venison and waited out their howls. After finding wolf tracks and the vanished innards the next morning, he ate and prepared to return and settle the score.

• Li Long dragged the dead wolf and deer to the Wooden Cabin, skinned the wolf, and stored the meat.
• Li Long stayed inside as wolves howled outside, then cooked venison broth and ate before going to sleep.
• Li Long woke during the night, drank warm water, and decided to talk to Gu Xiaoxia about marriage when he returned.
• Li Long found wolf tracks around the cabin and discovered the discarded innards had disappeared.
• Li Long relit the stove, reheated the broth, ate breakfast, and resolved to go back and settle the score with the wolves.

Li Long searched the mountain for the surviving wolves, found that the injured wolf had been eaten, and collected rock salt from a cave. On his way back to the cabin, he spotted another wolf and fired as it ran toward him, leaving the encounter unresolved.

• Li Long followed the trail to the wounded wolf’s location and found only fur and scraps of bloody flesh.
• Li Long entered the cave, startled two hares, and knocked two chunks of rock salt from the wall to take with him.
• Li Long waited near the rocks for the wolves, then gave up and headed back toward the cabin.
• Li Long spotted a wolf watching the cabin from beside the spring and crept closer, trying to locate its companions.
• A howl from the pine grove warned the wolf, which fled toward Li Long; Li Long raised his rifle and fired as it turned.

Li Long killed a wolf, prepared its head and innards as bait, and spent the night watching for the remaining pack. After discovering the wolves had tried to ambush him, he set makeshift snares and headed toward Hot Spring Valley to hunt.

• Li Long shot a wolf, brought it back to the cabin, and preserved its hide, fangs, and bones.
• He froze the wolf’s head and innards outside as bait, then waited inside for the pack to approach.
• During the night, Li Long spotted a wolf near the bait and fired at it, but it escaped; in the morning, he found tracks beside his door and saw that wolves had tried to dig up the innards.
• Li Long cleaned his gun, made wire snares, and secured them around the bait before pouring meat broth over it.
• Li Long left the cabin with his gun and entered Hot Spring Valley to look for game.

Li Long pursued a herd of wild boars through the mist, wounded one, and tracked it until it fell on a steep slope. He butchered the boar and carried the meat back to the wooden cabin, where he prepared food while remaining wary of nearby wolves.

• Li Long heard a herd of wild boars near the hot spring, but they startled and fled before he could get a clear shot.
• Li Long fired four rounds into the fleeing herd, wounded a boar, and followed its blood trail through the pine woods.
• Li Long found the wounded boar after it fell down a steep slope, then killed it with a shot to the head.
• Li Long skinned the boar, kept its stomach, liver, and heart, and carried the carcass back to the wooden cabin.
• Li Long processed the meat, cooked boar bones, and ate a toasted bun while watching for wolves that he believed were observing him.

Li Long waited in his cabin for the wolves he hoped to kill, but a fox triggered his snares and drew two wolves into the traps. He shot the pack leader and its trapped companion, then cautiously went outside, unsure whether the last wolf would return.

• Li Long prepared broth and stir-fried wild boar offal while waiting for the wolves to come at night.
• A fox approached the bait, got caught in a snare, and was pinned by a wolf that then became trapped in another snare.
• A larger wolf arrived and tried to free its subordinate by chewing through the firewood and wire.
• Li Long fired several shots, wounding the pack leader and killing the trapped wolf, then shot the pack leader again as it tried to flee.
• Li Long waited for the last wolf, then reloaded his rifle and cautiously left the cabin, finding no wolves nearby.

Li Long processed the two wolves he had killed and slept after cleaning the Wooden Cabin. The next day, he followed tracks from the missing wolf innards into a rocky area, where he spotted a lynx but missed his shot and continued searching cautiously.

• Li Long released the frightened fox, dragged the two dead wolves into the Wooden Cabin, and processed their hides, meat, and organs.
• Li Long cleaned the cabin, stored the wolf heads, and went to sleep after working through much of the night.
• Li Long found that an unknown animal had taken some of the wolf innards and left unfamiliar paw prints around the Wolf-Head Platform.
• Li Long followed the creature's trail for more than two kilometers into the pine trees and found the tracks ending among a jumble of rocks.
• A lynx sprang out beside Li Long, but it dodged his gunshot and vanished into a crevice, so he cautiously continued searching among the rocks.

After a storm trapped him inside the cabin, Li Long discovered that the lynx he had failed to catch earlier had been caught in one of his snares. He killed it, prepared its valuable pelt and meat, and began the day with a hearty breakfast.

• Li Long abandoned his search for the lynx, returned to his cabin, and waited out heavy snow by reading and preparing food.
• After waking thirsty and then needing to relieve himself, Li Long went outside and found the lynx caught in a wire snare beside the Wolf Head Platforms.
• Li Long fetched his Type 56 and shot the lynx before it could break free, then carried it back to the cabin.
• Li Long skinned the lynx without damaging its valuable pelt, salted and stretched the hide, and set the snares again after disposing of the entrails.
• Li Long cleaned the cabin, cleared snow from the decking and path to the spring, and steamed fresh buns as the sun rose.
• Li Long stir-fried lynx meat with pickles and ate it with steamed buns and cornmeal porridge for breakfast.

Li Long welcomed Li Junshan, Li Junfeng, Tao Daqiang, and Yang Yongqiang, who marveled at his recent haul and asked to watch him hunt. He led them through the snowy mountains to a cave, hoping they would find animals inside.

• Li Junshan and Li Junfeng arrived with Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang, explaining that Uncle Jianguo had sent them to check on Li Long after heavy snowfall.
• Li Long showed the group his deer, wild boar, wolves, and lynx, and described how he had killed the wolves and caught some animals in snares.
• At Li Junfeng's request, Li Long agreed to take everyone hunting after they ate a meal together.
• Li Long led the group and their horse-drawn cart through the snow toward a rock salt cave where he thought animals might be sheltering.
• The group crept uphill to block the cave entrance, but nothing inside reacted, leaving Li Long worried they had found nothing.

Li Long and the others found a wolf fighting a mother red deer in a cave, killed the wolf, and captured the mother and her young. They returned to the wooden cabin with the animals and meat, ate before setting off down the mountain, and Li Long wondered whether to tidy his overgrown face.

• Li Long found a wolf pinning a mother red deer in the cave and shot it dead when it released its bite.
• Li Long and the others caught the mother deer and her young, then checked the mother’s neck wound and judged that she would survive.
• Li Long skinned the wolf and kept its hide, meat, stomach, and intestines as the group led the deer and cart back to the wooden cabin.
• At the cabin, Li Long froze the wolf’s head, helped pack the meat, and answered Li Junfeng’s questions about the rock salt.
• The group ate before preparing to leave for the village, and Li Long wondered whether to tidy his overgrown face.

Li Long returned to the County Seat with the hunting party, unloaded their meat and hides at the Big Courtyard, and stayed there with Gu Xiaoxia after the others went back to the team. They caught up on her work and transfer prospects before Li Long washed and went to bed, leaving Gu Xiaoxia still awake.

• Li Long and his companions left the mountains with a hind, a young deer, meat, and hides, and reached the County Seat after dark.
• Li Junfeng and the others declined to stay at the Big Courtyard, unloaded the supplies, and headed back to the team with the cart and deer.
• Gu Xiaoxia welcomed Li Long and the others, and Li Long told her about hunting a wolf pack after the others left.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia discussed her meals with Sister Yang, her family, and her likely transfer to bureau staff.
• Li Long heated water, washed in the guest room, and went to bed while Gu Xiaoxia continued revising a draft.

Li Long took his pelts to the Purchasing Station, but the man on duty could not identify the lynx pelt and argued when Li Long chose to leave without selling. After visiting Yang Xiulan and Han Fang at the Free Market, Li Long went to the County Seat barbershop for a haircut.

• Li Long brought seven pelts to the Purchasing Station and found that Chen Hongjun was absent.
• The middle-aged clerk mistook Li Long's lynx pelt for a fox pelt and could not identify it without its head and paws.
• Li Long gathered the pelts and left after the clerk became irritated with him.
• Li Long considered how to raise money for future purchases and decided to wait for help from Eldest Older Brother and another trip into the mountains.
• Li Long visited Yang Xiulan and Han Fang at the Free Market, declined their offer of porridge, and continued through the market.
• Li Long went to the County Seat barbershop and waited for the barber to finish cutting an elderly man's hair.

Li Long brought game meat to Li Xiangqian and sold him a lynx pelt after learning that private buyers were paying higher prices. After delivering meat to Yang Xiulan and Gu Xiaoxia, Li Long returned to clear snow, where Old Chen arrived at the gate.

• Li Long visited Li Xiangqian at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and told him how he had hunted a wolf pack.
• Li Long explained that the Purchasing Station had mistaken his lynx pelt for a fox pelt, prompting Li Xiangqian to hurry to inspect it.
• Li Xiangqian bought Li Long's lynx pelt for a thousand yuan, and Li Long added a roe deer penis to the deal.
• Li Long brought game meat to Yang Xiulan's courtyard and shared lunch with Yang Xiulan, Gu Xiaoxia, and Han Fang.
• Li Long escorted Gu Xiaoxia to the Education Bureau, then spent two hours clearing snow in the Big Courtyard.
• Old Chen knocked at the gate, and Li Long suspected he had heard about the pelts.

Li Long sold his lynx pelt to Li Xiangqian and sold his remaining pelts to Chen Hongjun, then spent the afternoon clearing snow at the Big Courtyard. Gu Xiaoxia joined him, and the chapter ended with them sharing dinner after working and doing chores together.

• Chen Hongjun visited Li Long and learned that Li Xiangqian had already bought the lynx pelt for a thousand yuan.
• Li Long sold his deer pelt and Wolf Pelts to Chen Hongjun for 220 yuan, then learned that Wednesdays were the safest days to find him at the Purchasing Station.
• Li Long hauled snow from the Big Courtyard, built a snowman, and watched the officers across the street clear their courtyard.
• Gu Xiaoxia returned from work and helped Li Long clear snow until dark, then took the laundry inside to wash.
• Li Long cooked dinner while Gu Xiaoxia finished the laundry, and they ate together.

Li Long agreed to guide three wealthy officials’ children on a hunting trip in exchange for set payments for any animals they shot. He reassured Gu Xiaoxia that he would be careful, though their inexperience with guns could make the trip risky.

• Li Long repaired his handcart and cleared snow until Li Xiangqian arrived to speak with him.
• Li Xiangqian asked Li Long to guide three officials’ children on a hunting trip, offering fixed payments for each animal they bagged.
• Li Long agreed to guide them in about a week and warned Li Xiangqian not to provide small-caliber rifles for hunting large animals.
• Li Long finished clearing the snow, then went to Yang Xiulan’s home for a meal with her, Han Fang, and Gu Xiaoxia.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about the hunting job, and she worried that the inexperienced hunters might be dangerous.

Li Long returned to the production team, prepared the Big Courtyard for Gu Xiaoxia, and learned that his relatives planned to go home for the New Year. After settling the fish-sale money with Li Jianguo and sharing game meat and wolf fangs with the others, he prepared to leave again in a few days for another mountain hunt.

• Li Long stocked the Big Courtyard with food and supplies, left Gu Xiaoxia his small-caliber rifle, and returned to the production team.
• Uncle Lao Luo told Li Long that Li Jianguo, Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang, and the others planned to go home after New Year's Day, and the family agreed they would take money and goods back to their families.
• Li Long told his relatives about his upcoming hunting job and agreed that the others should go home for the holiday.
• Li Jianguo handed Li Long the proceeds from selling the remaining fish, but Li Long gave him about a thousand yuan to keep for family needs and sending money to their father.
• Li Long returned to Old Ma's Place, shared game meat with the departing relatives, and gave Li Junshan two wolf fangs to take home as gifts.

Li Long took Tao Daqiang, Yang Yongqiang, Li Junfeng, and Li Junshan to Little Haizi to try ice fishing and explore the nearby flats. After the group caught two hares and waited for fish to gather at their holes, they returned to find fish beneath the ice and began scooping up a good catch.

• Li Long finished cleaning his rifle and agreed to take Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang to Little Haizi to assess the ice fishing.
• Li Long led the group south across Little Haizi, where they chose two spots, broke through the ice, and waited for fish to gather.
• Li Long and the others searched the eastern flats, where they chased down two hares; one scratched Li Junfeng before Li Long killed it, and Yang Yongqiang killed the second.
• Li Long returned to the fishing holes and spotted fish beneath the ice, while Tao Daqiang and the others began scooping up crucian carp, silver carp, and a five-stripe perch.
• Li Junfeng took over Li Long's scoop net, and Li Long saw that people at the other fishing holes were also gathering fish.