Recaps

Li Long arranged for Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and the others to travel to Kuytun for construction work, while he prepared to drive them there on his tractor. He obtained the paperwork needed to register the tractor and learned that its licensing exam was open-book, then decided to bring his documented Small-Bore on the trip.

• Yang Yongqiang told Li Long he would travel with Second Uncle and the others to Kuytun, work there if he liked it, and return if he did not.
• Li Long told his parents that Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and the others would leave for construction work, and he discussed his upcoming wedding and the family's plans for the trip.
• Li Long promised to help Chen Lirong and her daughters while Li Anguo was away, then considered driving the group to Kuytun on his tractor.
• At a family gathering, Li Long agreed to look for fruit saplings and Kuitun Te Qu, and he planned to report back on the city.
• Li Long and Li Junshan went to the County Seat, where Li Long applied for a tractor driver's license and learned that the April 10 theory exam was open-book; he also filed for a license plate.
• Li Long decided to take the documented Small-Bore to Kuytun because it would be easier to explain than his other guns.

Li Long drove Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and Yang Yongqiang west by tractor toward the city where Li Anguo would work, stopping in Stone City and Shawan along the way. The group ate and rested, then continued toward Kuytun.

• Li Long left the village with Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and Yang Yongqiang, while the family watched them depart.
• Li Long stopped at Stone City to rest and buy food, and the group ate before continuing west.
• Li Long refilled the tractor’s radiator at an irrigation canal and told the others about Karamay’s oil industry as they passed tanker trucks.
• Li Long and the others stopped for noodles in Shawan, then resumed their journey.
• More than two hours later, Li Long drove toward Kuytun as its large sign came into view.

Li Long brought Li Anguo and Yang Yongqiang to KT City to seek work at the construction and installation company, where his gifts and social skills helped secure them places and accommodation. After settling into an inn, Yang Yongqiang lay awake wondering whether to become a worker or return to village life with Li Long.

• Li Long reached the construction and installation company and learned from a worker that Section Chief Ma Aihong had gone home for dinner.
• Li Long brought Li Anguo and Yang Yongqiang to Ma Aihong's home, where he presented a wolf pelt, dried wild boar meat, and salted fish from Section Chief Li Xiangqian.
• Ma Aihong offered Li Long temporary hauling work and promised to arrange dormitory accommodation for his companions, with a guesthouse room for Li Long.
• Li Long told Li Junshan that they could begin at the company the next morning, then took everyone to an inn and a nearby state-run canteen.
• After the group went to sleep, Yang Yongqiang wondered whether he should stay in the city as a worker or return to the village and keep his freedom.

Li Long began hauling materials for the Construction and Installation Company, earning a hundred yuan on his first day while Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and Yang Yongqiang settled into their new jobs. The chapter left Li Long considering the advantages of staying in town as he returned to the guesthouse after a brief evening walk and watching television.

• Li Long brought Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and Yang Yongqiang to the company dormitory, where Ma Aihong arranged their lodging and assigned Li Long a room at the guesthouse.
• Li Long hauled five loads of sand and gravel in the morning, while Li Junshan received skilled-worker wages and Li Anguo and Yang Yongqiang began as general laborers.
• Li Long encouraged Li Anguo to try for skilled work, and Yang Yongqiang said he hoped to adjust to the labor and eventually become a permanent worker.
• Ma Aihong told Li Long that his tractor had sped up construction and that hauling payments were settled daily; Li Long earned a hundred yuan after hauling ten loads.
• Li Long took an evening walk around town, returned before dark, and watched The Legend of the Condor Heroes in the guesthouse television room.

Li Long finished hauling construction materials in Kuytun and visited the Farm Machinery Factory to propose a tractor-mounted wheat cutter. Director Du Tongzhou agreed to develop it and promised to sell Li Long one at cost and pay royalties if his design was used; Li Long then headed for the Agricultural Science Institute.

• Li Long hauled bricks and cement for the construction project, while Li Anguo passed a skilled-worker test and Yang Yongqiang hoped to earn a skilled position.
• Li Long learned that the local Farm Machinery Factory made agricultural implements, then completed his hauling work and said goodbye to Ma Aihong, who praised his relatives’ work.
• Li Long met factory director Du Tongzhou and explained his idea for a tractor-mounted harvester that would cut wheat for workers to bundle by hand.
• Du Tongzhou agreed to build the harvester, offered Li Long one at cost, and promised patent royalties if the factory used his design.
• Li Long left his village telephone number, then drove west toward the Agricultural Science Institute.

Li Long returned from Kuytun with fruit saplings and planned to plant them at the family courtyards before marrying Gu Xiaoxia. Back in Ma County, Chen Xingbang decided to sell meat in Stone City, and Li Long agreed to help him obtain sheep.

• Li Long bought fruit tree saplings in Kuytun, stopped in Stone City, and spent the night at the Big Courtyard before returning to Ma County the next day.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia that they could set up their new home that weekend, then register their marriage and hold the wedding, and she agreed to return with him.
• Li Long planted saplings at the courtyards, while Du Chunfang offered to watch over the new courtyard and its plants.
• Chen Xingbang told Li Long he planned to sell meat on Old Street in Stone City, and Li Long offered to take him into the mountains to buy sheep.
• Li Jianguo asked Li Long to update the family members who did not know how Li Anguo and the others were doing.

Li Long hurried to arrange his wedding with Li Qingxia for the following week, coordinating preparations with Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei before collecting furniture and invitations. As neighbors helped furnish the new courtyard and prepare for the celebration, Li Long also discussed future work with Tao Daqiang.

• Li Long told Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei that he planned to marry Li Qingxia the following week because planting and mountain work would soon keep everyone busy.
• Li Jianguo agreed to handle the invitations, cooking arrangements, and courtyard preparations, while Liang Yuemei listed household and wedding supplies for Li Long to buy.
• Li Long drove to the township carpentry workshop with Tao Daqiang, collected furniture, and bought a hundred wedding invitations from Old Zhang at the General Store.
• Li Long discussed mountain work, fritillaria gathering, fishing, and weaving Taibazi with Tao Daqiang, who decided to stay on the team and catch fish for now.
• Li Long returned with the furniture, and neighbors helped unload and carry it into the new courtyard as Li Jianguo announced the wedding and assigned preparations.

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia prepared their new courtyard and organized supplies, helpers, and meals for their upcoming wedding. They delivered wedding favors to their colleagues and bureau leaders, who congratulated them and urged Li Long to treat Gu Xiaoxia well.

• Li Long bought household goods and wedding supplies in the County Seat, then told Gu Xiaoxia the wedding would be held the following Sunday.
• Li Long, his family, and local helpers furnished the courtyard, improved the road, built stoves, and planned the wedding feast.
• The Liang brothers agreed to catch common carp for the feast, while Li Long arranged to buy meat and chickens closer to the wedding.
• Gu Xiaoxia returned to the courtyard, and she and Li Long hung wedding decorations before shopping for clothes and household items.
• Li Long bought Gu Xiaoxia a gold ring, necklace, and bracelet despite her objections, and they prepared wedding favor packets for their colleagues.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia delivered favor packets at the Education Bureau, where Deputy Director Wang congratulated them and warned Li Long not to mistreat her.

As his wedding day arrived, Li Long finished the preparations, married Gu Xiaoxia, and brought her back to the Big Courtyard for the celebration. The feast was about to begin when Li Xiangqian, Chen Hongjun, and Zhong Guoqiang arrived by car, surprising the villagers.

• Li Long persuaded Gu Xiaoxia to take five days off and went with her to have wedding photographs taken.
• Li Long and his family completed the wedding preparations, and Li Long spent the night in the bridal room before waking from a dream about losing his new life.
• Li Long dressed in a blue suit and led the young men by tractor to Gu Xiaoxia's home, where he completed the wedding rites and brought her away.
• Gu Boyuan sent Gu Xiaoxia off without sadness and began celebrating with the guests at his home.
• Li Long drove the decorated tractor around the village with Gu Xiaoxia before returning to the Big Courtyard, where the wedding feast was ready.
• Li Xiangqian arrived at the Big Courtyard with Chen Hongjun and Zhong Guoqiang, drawing the villagers' attention.

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia celebrated their wedding with a large feast, heartfelt toasts, and a few interruptions that the guests quickly contained. After the banquet, their friends began playful bridal-chamber games, while Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei reflected on Li Long’s childhood and wished the newlyweds well.

• Li Xiangqian, Chen Hongjun, and Zhong Guoqiang arrived and each gave Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia a generous twenty-yuan wedding gift.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia toasted their guests, and Gu Xiaoxia thanked Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei for raising Li Long.
• Tao Daqiang and Liang Second Son stopped Hou Simmao from bringing up Gu Ermao during the feast, and the couple continued greeting guests.
• After the guests finished eating, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia joined the young men for bridal-chamber games, sharing a linked-arm toast and quickly eating a hanging apple.
• Liang Yuemei and Li Jianguo rested at home and talked about Li Long growing up, marrying Gu Xiaoxia, and possibly having children.

After their wedding, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia settled into married life, held a feast to thank their wedding helpers, and traveled to Gu Boyuan’s home for their third-day return visit. Li Long asked Gu Boyuan whether twins ran in the family, and Gu Boyuan’s changed expression suggested there was a story behind it.

• After the wedding guests left, Li Long made noodles, woke Gu Xiaoxia, and the newlyweds shared a meal before going to bed together.
• The next day, Gu Xiaoxia offered to take charge of household chores as she and Li Long began building their life together.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia helped with the host appreciation feast, while Tao Daqiang returned the borrowed tables, chairs, and other items.
• After the feast, Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia tidied their courtyard and spent the evening together.
• On their third-day return visit, Li Long brought Gu Xiaoxia to Gu Boyuan’s home and asked whether twins ran in the Gu family.
• Gu Boyuan’s expression changed when Li Long asked about twins, hinting that the question touched on a family story.

Gu Boyuan told Li Long about his political troubles, his missing wife, and Xiaoxia’s missing twin sister, then grew closer to the newlyweds over a family meal. After Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia returned to the county and resumed work, Li Long came back to the team to prepare for planting watermelons.

• Li Long asked Gu Boyuan about his past, and Gu Boyuan explained how his political complaints and association with a spy led to an investigation, his exile, and his wife’s disappearance.
• Gu Boyuan told Li Long that Gu Xiaoxia had a younger twin sister who had gone missing, and that he had never learned what happened to her wife or the child.
• Li Long and Gu Boyuan discussed hoping for twins, then shared a meal and drinks with Gu Xiaoxia while talking about their work, household plans, and future family.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia returned to the county seat, informed their colleagues and friends of their marriage, and Li Long eventually drove the tractor back to the team.
• Li Long helped Du Chunfang plant chive roots and prepared to soak watermelon seeds, while he learned that Li Qingxia had gone to sell fish in the county seat.

Li Long arranged his next priorities, rented a courtyard in Stone City for Chen Xingbang to raise sheep, and prepared to help him establish himself. He then led his family in planting the seed watermelons, beginning the Li family's planned cash-crop venture.

• Li Long wrote down plans to plant seed watermelons, visit Harimu and Jade Mountain River in the mountains, help Chen Xingbang start raising sheep, and discuss taibazi with Li Xiangqian.
• Li Long visited the neighborhood office in Stone City and rented an empty courtyard for six months at twenty yuan per month.
• Li Long showed Chen Xingbang the courtyard, and Chen Xingbang decided to stay and clean it before joining Li Long on a trip to buy sheep.
• Li Long and Li Qingxia sold their fish, ate at the Big Meat Canteen, and bought vegetable seedlings before returning home.
• Li Long took his family to the field, demonstrated how to use the precision seeder, and began sowing the watermelon seeds with Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei.

Li Long finished sowing seed watermelons with his family, then drove to the County Seat and visited Jade Mountain River’s and Harimu’s families at the Pastoral Team, bringing supplies and school gifts for their children. He returned to the compound after dark, where Gu Xiaoxia greeted him at the door.

• Li Long and his family finished planting the seed watermelons, sharing dry steamed bread before returning home for lunch.
• After lunch, Li Long prepared the tractor and drove to the County Seat, buying grain and school supplies for the pastoral families.
• Li Long visited Jade Mountain River’s family and gave Ye'erjiang and Jianagulì schoolbags and household necessities.
• Li Long went to Harimu’s home, gave Nasen a schoolbag and brought the family supplies, while the other children watched enviously.
• Li Long bought food in the County Seat and drove to the compound, where Gu Xiaoxia opened the door and smiled at him.

Li Long bought grain, supplies, and medicine in the County Seat, then drove Chen Xingbang to Harimu's Winter Camp to deliver them and arrange a sheep purchase. He left with deer antlers, jade, two fawns, a young roe deer, and ten sheep for Chen Xingbang, while promising to bring more grain soon.

• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia he would head into the mountains and promised to be careful while hunting.
• Li Long bought rice, flour, and cornmeal, collected Chen Xingbang, and purchased provisions and medicine for the mountain households.
• Li Long and Chen Xingbang reached Harimu's Winter Camp, where Harimu and the others unloaded the supplies and asked Li Long to bring more grain.
• Li Long labeled the medicines with Harimu and Jade Mountain River, then asked Harimu to sell Chen Xingbang ten sheep.
• Harimu arranged the sheep and grass for Chen Xingbang and gave Li Long two fawns and a young roe deer to take back.

Li Long brought home deer and roe deer from Harimu’s camp, where Gu Xiaoxia delighted in the fawns, then sold antlers and bought another load of grain before returning to the mountains. He settled into the wooden cabin for a hunting stay and went to sleep dreaming of shooting a tiger.

• Li Long traded supplies with Harimu and his companions for antlers, jade, two fawns, and a young roe deer, then drove Chen Xingbang and fifteen sheep back to Stone City.
• Li Long returned to the compound, where Gu Xiaoxia happily fed the fawns pieces of nang and asked him to keep the deer in the yard.
• The fawns woke Li Long thirsty before dawn, and he gave them water before cooking breakfast with Gu Xiaoxia.
• Li Long sold six first-grade antlers and one second-grade antler to Chen Hongjun, then bought another load of grain and supplies.
• Li Long returned to Harimu’s Winter Camp, ate with Harimu and his wife, and drove to the wooden cabin, where he cleaned and restocked it.
• Li Long gathered mushrooms and wild vegetables, prepared dinner, and fell asleep at the cabin dreaming that he had shot a tiger.

Li Long went hunting and encountered a two-headed red deer, but a pack of wolves and a herd of wild boars interrupted his pursuit. He returned to the Wooden Cabin with three boars, gave two piglets to Zhong Guoqiang, and remained regretful that the rare deer had escaped.

• Li Long left before dawn with his rifle and searched for wild boars near the beekeeper’s old grounds before heading toward Hot Spring Ravine.
• Li Long spotted a two-headed red deer and chased it, shooting it in the neck, but the animal kept running.
• A pack of wolves drove half-grown wild boars onto the trail, and Li Long shot one boar and two piglets while the deer escaped.
• Li Long dressed the piglets, carried the boars back to the Wooden Cabin, and drove to the Big Meat Canteen.
• Li Long gave Zhong Guoqiang the two piglets and agreed to sell him a leg from the half-grown boar, while planning to share the rest with friends.

Li Long processed a wild boar, visited Gu Xiaoxia and her family, and set out into the mountains the next morning, still hoping to find the two-headed red deer. On the way, he saw people heading in to dig fritillaria and continued to his Wooden Cabin to prepare for an afternoon outing.

• Li Long gave wild boar legs to Zhong Guoqiang, Li Xiangqian, Sister Yang, and Chen Hongjun, and Li Xiangqian offered him more taibazi weaving work.
• Li Long told Li Xiangqian and Gu Xiaoxia that he had seen and shot at a two-headed red deer, which had run away despite being hit.
• Li Long shared a meal with Gu Xiaoxia, Sister Yang, and Han Fang, then prepared boar meat and offal at the Big Courtyard.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia ate together and discussed limiting their drinking while trying for a baby.
• Sister Yang told Aunt Wu that Li Long owned the courtyard and worked for the Supply and Marketing Cooperative so the neighbors would know they had support.
• Li Long drove toward the mountains, saw people hiding who appeared to be fritillaria diggers, and went on to the Wooden Cabin to prepare food.

Li Long explored the mountains, met a fritillaria digger, and arranged to buy fritillaria from Bolati through Jade Mountain River. After returning to his cabin and sleeping through rain, he woke to a stranger asking for help because his brother had a fever.

• Li Long searched for the two-headed deer, encountered a wary fritillaria digger, and agreed to buy five kilograms from him in three days.
• Li Long reached Hot Spring Ravine, found animal tracks but no game, and soaked in the hot spring.
• Bolati visited Li Long’s cabin and agreed with Jade Mountain River to bring fritillaria before sunrise in exchange for goods or money.
• Jade Mountain River told Li Long where wild boars and roe deer had been seen, and Li Long planned to hunt there after buying Bolati’s fritillaria.
• Li Long returned to his cabin, prepared a meal, and went to sleep as rain fell.
• A stranger pounded on Li Long’s door before dawn, asking for medicine or hot water for his feverish brother, and Li Long took hold of his rifle.

Li Long gave medicine and food to two hungry men hiding in the mountains, then bought fritillaria from them while warning them about Forestry Team patrols. After preparing a large batch of steamed buns, he planned to search for food around the Salt Cave.

• Li Long gave aspirin to Li Zhengtang for his feverish cousin, then woke to meet Jade Mountain River and Bolati, buying Bolati's fritillaria and giving him buns.
• Li Zhengtang and Li Zhengting watched the visitors from the woods, then decided to approach Li Long for food after Li Long warned them the Forestry Team might confiscate their fritillaria.
• Li Long traded rice, flour, and leftover porridge for Li Zhengtang's fritillaria, and Li Zhengting drank the porridge as he recovered from his fever.
• Li Zhengtang urged Li Zhengting to return to their earth cellar and gather more fritillaria to trade with Li Long rather than risk selling it far away.
• Li Long sorted and dried the fritillaria, prepared three tiers of steamed buns, and planned to search the Salt Cave for food after finding few mushrooms.

Sun Jiaqiang mistook a cave wall of rock salt for gemstones, but Li Long corrected him and traded food for information about wildlife and Fritillaria. Li Long followed Sun Jiaqiang’s report of a deer into a collapsed gully, hoping to find the Two-Headed Deer or shed antlers.

• Sun Jiaqiang found a cave while digging Fritillaria and discovered that its walls were made of colorful, translucent rock salt, which he mistook for gemstones.
• Li Long arrived at the cave and explained that the supposed gemstones were salt; Sun Jiaqiang tasted one and accepted the truth.
• Li Long gave Sun Jiaqiang steamed buns in exchange for reports of deer, wild sheep, wolves, and Fritillaria, and told him where he could stay safely and sell his harvest.
• Sun Jiaqiang left for a cluster of abandoned earth cellars while Li Long headed south to investigate the gully where Sun had seen a deer.
• Li Long entered the overgrown, partly collapsed gully with his gun ready, searching for the deer and hoping to find shed antlers.

Li Long caught a newborn fawn and its doe in the mountains and brought them to the team stable to raise. After telling Uncle Lao Luo he planned to search for more deer and buy fritillaria, he returned to his courtyard, where Li Qingxia came to see him.

• Li Long found a newborn fawn in a ravine, set a snare for its mother, and later returned to find the doe caught beside the nursing fawn.
• Li Long secured the doe with a rope halter and led her and the fawn through the mountains to his cabin, where he fed them and kept them overnight.
• Li Long drove the doe and fawn to the County Seat, where Zhong Guoqiang admired the tiny fawn.
• Li Long brought the deer to the stable, and Uncle Lao Luo placed them in an empty pen after revealing that a roe deer there had also recently given birth.
• Li Long told Uncle Lao Luo he planned to visit the County Seat, search the mountains for more deer, and buy fritillaria, then drove to his courtyard as Li Qingxia came to greet him.

Li Long discussed possible taibazi-weaving work with Xu Chengjun and agreed to reserve places for several reliable workers while leaving further hiring until the work was confirmed. He then prepared for his tractor-driving test and drove toward the County Seat, where he thought he spotted Wu Shufen carrying a child.

• Li Long told his family about the doe and newborn fawn he had caught, along with the other fawns kept at the Big Courtyard in the County Seat.
• Xu Chengjun asked Li Long to reserve taibazi-weaving work for villagers, and Li Long agreed to take Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang, Xu Laohu, and Xu Dejun if work became available.
• Li Long explained that workers would need to pay toward meals in the mountains this year, and Xu Chengjun and the others asked about conditions there.
• Tao Daqiang told Li Long he planned to catch and sell fish with Li Long's father after finishing fieldwork.
• Li Long loaded fuel and grass onto his tractor, took sorted alfalfa from Gu Boyuan for Xiaoxia, and drove toward the County Seat for his tractor test.
• Near the County Seat, Li Long realized that a figure he had passed might have been Wu Shufen carrying a child.

Li Long took and passed the tractor license tests, helped other candidates during the open-book exam, and planned a trip into the mountains to hunt and trade for fritillaria. After buying coupons and supplies, he returned to the Big Courtyard to prepare, where he saw Xiao Liu with the permed hair again.

• Li Long fed and penned Gu Xiaoxia’s deer and roe deer in the greenhouse, then discussed their families and his plans to hunt with her over dinner.
• At the Farm Machinery Bureau, Li Long met Deng Chaoxian, who admitted he could barely read and hoped to copy answers during the open-book test.
• Li Long finished the written exam, let other candidates copy his answers, and passed the tractor’s practical test by maneuvering it through the poles.
• Li Long bought coupons from Cao Liu and planned to use them to purchase supplies for a mountain trip.
• Li Long met Gu Xiaoxia after work, returned to the Farm Machinery Bureau, passed the practical test, and went to the Big Courtyard to prepare for his trip.
• After feeding the deer and setting out to buy supplies, Li Long saw Xiao Liu with the permed hair again.

Li Long stocked the Wooden Cabin with goods and began trading them for fritillaria, while Sun Jiaqiang arrived with a snared roe deer and exchanged part of it for supplies. The chapter ended with Sun Jiaqiang gorging himself on cooked meat and taking hawthorn pills to settle his stomach.

• Li Long drove supplies into the mountains, visited Harimu, and set up a shop in the Wooden Cabin.
• Li Zhengtang and Li Zhengting traded fritillaria for food, medicine, tools, bedsheets, and steamed buns.
• Sun Jiaqiang caught a young roe deer in a snare and carried it to Li Long, asking to trade it for supplies and cooked meat.
• Li Long skinned and cooked the roe deer while Sun Jiaqiang cleaned the innards and chose medicine, liquor, and dried steamed buns in the trade.
• Sun Jiaqiang eagerly ate several meaty bones until he was too full to move, so Li Long gave him hawthorn pills.