Recaps

Li Long sold Jia Tianlong a large batch of medicinal materials for nearly 105,000 yuan, then sold Zhao Hui 278 animal hides for 11,830 yuan. After both deals, more than half his stored goods were gone, and he had made the biggest haul since his rebirth.

• Li Long prepared his medicinal materials for Jia Tianlong, who arrived with a truck and apologized for the delay.
• Li Long and Jia Tianlong weighed and inspected the medicinal materials, agreeing on a total just under 105,000 yuan, which Jia rounded up.
• Jia Tianlong left in a hurry to send the goods to Wu City, and Li Long planned to deposit most of the cash.
• Zhao Hui arrived to check Li Long's pelts, agreed to buy them, and returned with money and a truck.
• Zhao Hui and Li Long inspected and priced 278 hides, which Zhao bought for 11,830 yuan.

Li Long kept the Purchasing Station supplied with cash and processed its growing stock of fritillaria before driving Li Xiangqian to Beiting City for the Ethnic Unity Commendation Ceremony. At Director Qian’s home, Director Qian and Director Wei warmly welcomed Li Long inside, leaving the visitors outside curious about his standing.

• Li Long deposited most of his money, kept twenty thousand as working capital, and helped wash, dry, and bag the Purchasing Station’s medicinal herbs.
• Li Long collected more fritillaria from Sun Jiaqiang, then prepared to drive Li Xiangqian to Beiting City for the ceremony.
• Li Long and Li Xiangqian registered at their hotel, brought gifts, and drove to Director Qian’s home, where several other visitors were waiting.
• Li Long alerted Li Xiangqian that the door was opening, and the two made their way inside after Director Wei emerged with Director Qian.
• Director Qian and Director Wei warmly greeted Li Long and invited him and Li Xiangqian in, prompting the waiting visitors to wonder who Li Long was.

Li Long visited Director Qian with Li Xiangqian, discussed his work and future, and received an invitation to lunch. At a late-night drinking gathering, he met officials from other cooperatives and considered expanding his purchasing work, while Li Xiangqian revealed he had kept sober enough to drive through the evening’s pressure.

• Director Qian introduced Li Long to Guan Fenghua, who urged him to take a permanent job, but Li Long explained why he wanted to remain independent and serve local herders and villages.
• Guan Fenghua praised Li Long’s brooms and suggested selling them beyond the Autonomous Region, giving him an idea for expanding their market.
• Director Qian invited Li Long to lunch the next day, and Li Long gave morels to Director Wei before driving Li Xiangqian to meet Director Ye and other officials.
• At the drinking gathering, Li Long met Tang Zhiqiang and other cooperative officials, learned about their purchasing stations and lower prices, and considered entering their markets discreetly.
• Li Long drove Li Xiangqian away after the gathering, and Li Xiangqian admitted he had managed the drinking carefully and was only somewhat dizzy.

After receiving a prefectural commendation, Li Long met Biersi Bahabai, a representative from neighboring Hu County, and invited him to sell local goods at Li Long’s Purchasing Station in Ma County. Li Long later visited Director Qian, discussed expanding Big Broom production, and shared a meal with him and Sister Guan.

• After a night of heavy drinking, Li Xiangqian slept through the night while Li Long got up early and washed in the hotel’s communal washroom.
• At breakfast, Li Long met Biersi Bahabai and told him his Purchasing Station paid better prices for fritillaria and Mongolian gazelle hides than buyers in Hu County.
• Biersi wrote down Li Long’s prices, then joined him onstage to receive a prefectural commendation and gained confidence that Li Long’s offer was genuine.
• Li Long and Li Xiangqian went their separate ways after the meeting, with Li Long buying fruit before visiting Director Qian’s home for lunch.
• Director Qian told Li Long that demand for Big Brooms might rise and encouraged him to involve more villages; Li Long also recounted encountering a mother bear and cub before joining Director Qian and Sister Guan for a meal.

After visiting Director Qian, Li Long found Beiting’s private Happiness Purchasing Station and bought a large load of Fritillaria at a high price, turning a profit while persuading sellers to bring goods to his Ma County station. He returned home to unload the herbs, then drove back to Beiting, where he waited for Li Xiangqian’s drinking party to end as the station’s manager arrived to find fewer sellers than usual.

• Director Qian told Sister Guan that Li Long was best suited to working outside the system, where he could use his business to help villagers prosper.
• Li Long found the Happiness Purchasing Station and offered a tractor driver forty-five yuan per kilogram for his cleaned, sifted Fritillaria, buying about 235 kilograms.
• Li Long urged the driver to bring more Fritillaria to his Ma County purchasing station and told the other sellers they could bring their goods there too.
• Li Long drove home, unloaded the Fritillaria, collected more money, and returned to Beiting while Li Xiangqian continued drinking.
• Qi Shuohui arrived late at the Happiness Purchasing Station and noticed fewer sellers than usual.

After Li Long returned from the commendation ceremony with a hungover Li Xiangqian, he found the Purchasing Station overwhelmed by sellers drawn by its high prices. He organized the crowd, supplied more cash, and left the station buying goods through the afternoon as word of its prices continued to spread.

• Li Long cared for the drunken Li Xiangqian overnight, brought him breakfast, and drove him back to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
• Li Long found a large crowd at the Purchasing Station and organized the sellers into a queue while Gu Boyuan bought their goods.
• Li Long lent Gu Boyuan cash when the station began running short, and the sellers learned that the station offered attractive prices for medicinal herbs, snow lotus, and pelts.
• Guo Tiebing and Liu Bin arrived in police uniforms to check on the crowd and agreed to keep order while Li Long went to the bank.
• Li Long withdrew thirty thousand yuan, returned to the station, and helped Gu Boyuan buy goods as sellers kept arriving through the afternoon.

Li Long and Gu Boyuan handled a surge of sellers at the Ma County Purchasing Station after word spread that it paid better prices, while their cash and safety became concerns. The next day, sellers arrived from across Beiting Prefecture, as Sun Jiaqiang waited anxiously for Li Long to bring supplies to the Wooden Cabin.

• After a hectic day of purchases, Gu Boyuan tallied 382 kilograms of fritillaria and a net cash outflow of 19,832 yuan and 60 fen, and Li Long checked and signed the accounts.
• Li Long gave Gu Boyuan a shotgun for the night, and he returned to the Purchasing Station the next morning after a quiet night.
• Li Long and Gu Boyuan reopened the Purchasing Station, where local reseller Old Qiao sold hides and learned that sellers from Hu County were coming for the higher prices.
• Sellers from Hu County, Beiting City, Miquan, and Fukang arrived, while Li Long and Gu Boyuan kept purchasing through lunchtime and earned praise for their service.
• Sun Jiaqiang waited at the Wooden Cabin for Li Long, worried that supplies were running low and that his stored fritillaria might be stolen.

Qi Shuohui and Jiang Chunlin investigated the sharp drop in fritillaria sales, while Li Long’s purchasing station continued buying large quantities from nearby counties. That night, two thieves broke into the station, and Gu Boyuan fired his shotgun as one tried to escape.

• Qi Shuohui reported the plunge in fritillaria purchases to Jiang Chunlin, who investigated and found that resellers and herb gatherers had largely disappeared from Beiting and neighboring counties.
• Li Long’s station bought more than four hundred kilograms of dried fritillaria and received hides and snow lotuses, prompting Li Long to plan a supply trip to Sun Jiaqiang.
• Gu Boyuan secured the purchasing station, loaded his shotgun, and went to bed with it beside him.
• Two thieves climbed into the courtyard, forced a window open, and searched the counter for money but found only blank account books.
• Gu Boyuan confronted the thieves with his shotgun, and one dropped to his knees while the other tried to leap out the window.
• Gu Boyuan fired at the fleeing thief, and the gunshot alerted people nearby.

Gu Boyuan stopped two thieves from robbing the Purchasing Station, and Li Long returned to the Mountains with supplies and bought Bolati’s fritillaria. Bolati asked Li Long to find a courtyard house in the County Seat for his eldest son, while Li Long promised to collect more goods from the warehouse in a few days.

• Gu Boyuan shot one thief with a reduced-strength shotgun, restrained both thieves, and handed them over to Guo Tiebing and the police.
• Li Long reassured Gu Xiaoxia and the others that Gu Boyuan was safe, then drove to the Small Wooden Cabin with supplies.
• Sun Jiaqiang told Li Long that he had traded for over forty kilograms of dried fritillaria and had nearly run out of food and goods.
• Li Long met Bolati, bought two sacks of clean, dried fritillaria for a thousand yuan, and agreed to look for a County Seat courtyard house for Bolati’s eldest son.
• Li Long told Bolati he would collect the additional fritillaria stored at the warehouse in a couple of days.

Li Long helped Meng Hai organize villagers to cut broom handles, continued trading for Fritillaria, and prepared to sell his growing stock to Jia Tianlong. The chapter ended with Li Xiangqian learning that Beiting officials were considering an investigation into Li Long’s Purchasing Station and deciding to use his connections to stop them.

• Li Long approved Meng Hai’s plan to cut and sell broom handles, and Meng Hai gathered young men to begin organizing the work.
• Sun Jiaqiang traded supplies for Fritillaria at the Small Wooden Cabin while Li Long returned to the County Town and learned that two robbers would face heavy sentences.
• Li Long and Gu Boyuan continued purchasing Fritillaria as local sellers improved its quality and daily purchases declined.
• Jia Tianlong arrived with cash, and Li Long showed him the high-quality Fritillaria stock before they began weighing it.
• Li Xiangqian heard that Beiting officials might investigate Li Long’s Purchasing Station and decided to use his connections to warn them off.

Jade Mountain River tracked a predator into the mountains, wounded a Northern Xinjiang Tiger, and returned without catching it. Meanwhile, Li Long sold Jia Tianlong more than two tonnes of fritillaria for 147,622 yuan and arranged another shipment in five days.

• Jade Mountain River left Harimu to guard their herds and followed the tracks of the predator that had killed a wild mountain goat.
• Jade Mountain River found a Northern Xinjiang Tiger feeding on a red deer, fired at it as it charged, and wounded it before it escaped into the rocks.
• Jade Mountain River searched for the tiger until its tracks disappeared, then shot a wild mountain goat and returned to the pasture.
• Jade Mountain River told Harimu he had wounded the tiger, and the two men agreed it might be easier to hunt if they encountered it again.
• Li Long and Jia Tianlong graded and weighed more than two tonnes of fritillaria, agreeing on a total price of 147,622 yuan.
• Jia Tianlong paid Li Long and left with the shipment, while Li Long arranged for him to return in five days for another truckload.

Jade Mountain River waited for the Northern Xinjiang Tiger, but killed a snow leopard that attacked his sheepfold and planned to sell its pelt to Li Long. Meanwhile, Li Xiangqian warned Director Wei that Jiang Chunlin was trying to have Li Long dealt with, and Director Wei promised to intervene.

• Jade Mountain River searched the Summer Pasture for the tiger but found no wild animals and returned to his yurt.
• A snow leopard entered Jade Mountain River's sheepfold at night, killed two sheep, and was shot dead by Jade Mountain River.
• Harimu helped Jade Mountain River skin the snow leopard, and Jade Mountain River salted and hung the pelt to take to Li Long.
• Li Long deposited money and kept funds available for purchasing fritillaria and animal hides as his Purchasing Station drew more sellers.
• Li Xiangqian told Director Wei that Jiang Chunlin had asked local Industry and Commerce officials to target Li Long, and Director Wei promised to warn Jiang Chunlin.

Director Wei halted the cooperative’s sales of Xinjiang specialties to Jiang Chunlin and redirected the goods to local stores, citing the cooperative’s duty to serve the public. Jiang Chunlin realized he had angered the director and tried to restore the relationship, but Director Wei refused to meet or accept his proposed donations.

• Director Wei questioned Zhao Tianxing about the cooperative’s dealings with Jiang Chunlin and ordered him to stop selling Xinjiang specialties to outside traders.
• Zhao Tianxing canceled the cooperation with Jiang Chunlin and instructed clerks to distribute the warehouse stock through the city’s work units.
• Jiang Chunlin learned the cooperative had cut off his supplies and realized his upcoming shipment obligations could leave him facing contract penalties.
• Jiang Chunlin persuaded his Industry and Commerce contact to treat the dispute as a misunderstanding, then asked Zhao Tianxing to arrange a meeting with Director Wei.
• Director Wei declined to meet Jiang Chunlin and rejected his offer to donate goods to the cooperative.

Jiang Chunlin tried to bypass Director Wei by bribing a retired leader and appealing to Director Qian, but the prefectural federation refused to sell him the goods he wanted and tightened rules across its cooperatives. His business connections collapsed, and inspections and tax problems threatened to close the Happiness Purchasing Station; meanwhile, Director Wei and Li Xiangqian discussed whether Li Long might eventually build a legitimate sales route to Inland China.

• Jiang Chunlin gave household appliances to a retired prefectural leader, who introduced him to Director Qian.
• Director Qian appeared receptive to Jiang Chunlin but had the federation offer him bulky local goods instead of raisins, jujubes, and other sought-after products.
• After Director Qian learned the full story from Director Wei, he ordered cooperatives across Beiting Prefecture to stop reselling goods allocated for local markets, cutting off Jiang Chunlin's connections.
• Jiang Chunlin returned home to learn from Qi Shuohui that inspections had driven away sellers and reduced the Happiness Purchasing Station's purchases to less than a tenth of their usual level.
• Jiang Chunlin's brother-in-law warned him that the station faced closure unless he corrected its paperwork and paid overdue taxes.
• Director Wei told Li Xiangqian that Jiang Chunlin had missed a legitimate chance to sell local specialties, while Li Xiangqian suggested Li Long might someday develop the necessary sales channels.

Li Long’s Purchasing Station drew a flood of sellers after the Happiness Purchasing Station was shut down, and he bought a valuable bezoar before purchasing more fritillaria from Aili’s Forestry Team. The chapter ends with Li Long learning from Li Xiangqian that his own business had indirectly brought down the rival station.

• A tractor driver told Li Long that the Happiness Purchasing Station had been shut down for tax and paperwork violations, and that its owner’s other business had also been cut off.
• Wu Shuijun brought a suspected bezoar to Li Long’s Purchasing Station, and Liang Donglou identified it as a large gallbladder bezoar; Li Long bought it for two thousand yuan.
• Jia Tianlong arrived with too little money to buy all the fritillaria Li Long had accumulated, so Li Long kept the remaining stock and later went to collect fritillaria from Aili’s Forestry Team.
• Li Long bought more than 1.5 tonnes of fritillaria from Aili and took home fermented mare’s milk, while some of the delayed harvest had spoiled in storage.
• As the fritillaria season slowed, Li Long improved service for sellers with tea and orderly purchasing, and Li Xiangqian told him that he had indirectly caused the Happiness Purchasing Station’s downfall.

Li Long learned that Li Xiangqian, Director Qian, and Director Wei had protected his purchasing station from retaliation, so he brought each of them tiger-infused liquor to thank them. He also discussed selling local specialties through Director Qian’s Supply and Marketing Cooperative and left with a list of goods to show inland merchants.

• Li Long learned that his fritillaria business had harmed rival purchasing stations and that Li Xiangqian, Director Qian, and Director Wei had helped shield his station from their counterattack.
• Li Long brought Li Xiangqian tiger-infused liquor, and after tasting it, Li Xiangqian soon flushed, felt overheated, and hurried away on his bicycle.
• Li Long gave Director Qian a bottle of the liquor and discussed Jiang Chunlin’s inland sales channels and the possibility of selling local specialties through the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
• Director Qian gave Li Long a list of goods, including watermelon seeds, big brooms, and Taibazi, for him to discuss with inland merchants Jia Tianlong and Zhao Hui.
• Li Long delivered liquor to Director Wei, returned to the county town, and decided to call Sun Jiaqiang back because the Purchasing Station now handled most of the fritillaria trade.

Li Long brought Sun Jiaqiang out of the mountains and set him up as an assistant at Gu Boyuan’s Purchasing Station, where he quickly proved capable and settled into the work. Sun Jiaqiang’s household registration in Ma County was also arranged, while Professor Luo and the other researchers were preparing to leave after completing their latest study of saline-alkali land.

• Li Long told Gu Boyuan he planned to bring Sun Jiaqiang down from the mountains to help at the Purchasing Station, and Gu Boyuan agreed.
• Li Long closed the mountain trading cabin for the season, paid Sun Jiaqiang four hundred yuan for his work, and explained his new job and wages.
• Li Long took Sun Jiaqiang to the County Town for a haircut, a bath, and new clothes before sending him to the Purchasing Station.
• Sun Jiaqiang reported to Gu Boyuan, helped handle the busy line of sellers, and earned Gu Boyuan’s approval as a capable assistant.
• Li Long arranged for Sun Jiaqiang to receive household registration in Ma County, and Sun Jiaqiang learned it would be official in half a month.
• Fritillaria purchases declined as the season ended, while Professor Luo and the other researchers prepared to leave after their research into improving saline-alkali land.

Li Long supported Professor Luo’s saline-alkali research and continued developing his purchasing business after the research group left. At the end of May, Jiang Chunlin approached him with a proposal to resell Supply and Marketing Cooperative goods, but Li Long rejected him and ordered him out.

• Professor Luo explained the limits and costs of improving saline-alkali land, accepted Li Long’s 5,000-yuan contribution, and left the Fourth Team with his research group.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo planned to keep improving their sugar beet field, while Li Long promised Aili that he would buy the Forestry Team’s mountain specialties every month.
• Jiang Chunlin visited Li Long’s purchasing station after his own business collapsed and asked Li Long to help him recover.
• Jiang Chunlin proposed using his Inland China sales channels to resell Supply and Marketing Cooperative goods and split the profits with Li Long.
• Li Long refused Jiang Chunlin’s proposal and ordered him to leave.

Li Long finished the fritillaria season by selling his remaining stock and a natural bezoar to Jia Tianlong, then calculated the season’s profits and shared them with Gu Boyuan. Jia Tianlong agreed to ask his inland contacts about buyers for local products, leaving Li Long with a large windfall and a plan to keep the Purchasing Station operating.

• Li Long rejected Jiang Chunlin’s partnership and waited for Jia Tianlong to buy the remaining fritillaria.
• Li Long and Jia Tianlong weighed and sold 2,630 kilos of fritillaria for 173,600 yuan, then Jia Tianlong bought Li Long’s 130-gram bezoar for 11,000 yuan.
• Li Long asked Jia Tianlong to look for inland buyers for local products, and Jia Tianlong promised to ask his contacts.
• Li Long calculated that the season had brought in over 530,000 yuan in revenue and about 220,000 yuan in earnings, then deposited 150,000 yuan at the bank.
• Li Long gave Gu Boyuan his 44,000-yuan share, but Gu Boyuan kept 10,000 yuan and returned the remaining 34,000 yuan to Li Long as investment capital.

Sun Jiaqiang settled into his work at the Purchasing Station while Li Long visited the Forestry Team and then traveled to Beiting to thank Chen Hongjun for helping him build his business. The chapter ended with Li Long meeting Chen Hongjun’s family and recognizing how modest their living conditions were.

• Sun Jiaqiang prepared tea and breakfast at the Purchasing Station and planned to save his wages for a home and marriage.
• Li Long brought supplies to the Forestry Team, thanked Aili for helping him obtain goods, and asked him to tell Bolati about a courtyard home for sale.
• Li Long drove to Beiting to thank Chen Hongjun and brought him gifts and a red envelope.
• Chen Hongjun welcomed Li Long into his small home, where Li Long met his mother, his son, and his wife, Zhou Xiujuan.
• Li Long learned that Chen Hongjun’s family lived in cramped quarters and regretted not visiting sooner.

Li Long gave Chen Hongjun a thousand-yuan introduction fee, easing the financial strain that had kept Chen from buying a courtyard house. Chen Hongjun negotiated a deal with the owner, and Zhou Xiujuan agreed that a home of their own would be better than sharing crowded public toilets.

• Zhou Xiujuan took Chen Zhixin to school, and Li Long gave the boy ten yuan as a first-visit gift.
• Li Long paid Chen Hongjun a thousand yuan for introducing him to business contacts, and Chen revealed that he had been considering buying a courtyard house.
• Chen Hongjun went to work relieved, then visited Lao Huang after work and agreed to buy his courtyard house for a reduced price.
• Chen Hongjun told Zhou Xiujuan he planned to sign the contract, and she approved after learning Li Long's money was a legitimate introduction fee.

Chen Hongjun moved his family into their new courtyard house while Su Wenqiang and Liu Ying moved into the work-unit home he vacated. At lunch with former colleagues, Chen Hongjun explained how Li Long paid him referral fees and encouraged them to connect Li Long with buyers; Qi Zhiguo left thinking he had found a promising contact.

• Su Wenqiang and Liu Ying arrived early to move into Chen Hongjun's work-unit housing, and Chen Hongjun agreed to let them settle in before he had finished moving out.
• Chen Hongjun's colleagues helped his family move their belongings into the courtyard house, and Su Wenqiang and Liu Ying began arranging their new home.
• Chen Hongjun treated his former colleagues to a feast at a State-Run Canteen and described the referral fee he received from Li Long for connecting him with buyers.
• Chen Hongjun urged his colleagues to use their business contacts to find buyers for Li Long's goods, explaining that successful referrals could earn substantial fees.
• After the meal, Qi Zhiguo caught up with Chen Hongjun and said he had thought of someone who bought goods.

Qi Zhiguo proposed a buyer for Li Long’s dried wild mushrooms, while Li Long spent his earnings on gifts for family and friends. The next morning, he visited his brother Li Jianguo’s irrigated sugar beet field and caught a large crucian carp in the water.

• Qi Zhiguo told Chen Hongjun about a food-ingredient buyer who might purchase Li Long’s dried mushrooms, and Chen agreed to help make an introduction if the buyer was interested.
• Chen Hongjun returned to his new courtyard, where Zhou Xiujuan and Chen Zhixin had cleaned the rooms and yard.
• Li Long went to Wu City and bought gifts, including a gold ring for Gu Xiaoxia, a watch for Gu Boyuan, and a washing machine for his eldest brother’s household.
• Li Long returned to the County Seat, gave Han Fang sneakers and Gu Xiaoxia the gold ring, and later gave Gu Boyuan the watch.
• Li Long visited the Fourth Team the next morning and found Li Jianguo irrigating the sugar beet field while Uncle Lao Luo and Yang Laoliu joked with them.
• Li Long spotted a large crucian carp in the irrigation water and caught it by hand.

Li Long caught fish, skinned a snake, and returned home with gifts for his parents and brother’s family after selling several tonnes of fritillaria. The Li family’s new washing machine drew a crowd across the village, leaving neighbors eager to earn enough to buy one themselves.

• Li Long caught crucian carp for Uncle Lao Luo, who praised his fishing and offered to try processing a snake skin Li Long had removed.
• Li Jianguo finished irrigating the sugar beets and returned to the Big Courtyard, where Li Long gave him a watch and gave Du Chunfang a bracelet.
• Li Long unloaded a washing machine for Liang Yuemei and told Li Jianguo that he had sold several tonnes of fritillaria and brought Sun Jiaqiang back to help run the Purchasing Station.
• Sister-in-Law Lu spotted the washing machine and spread the news, drawing villagers to watch Liang Yuemei and Li Jianguo demonstrate it.

While gathering fishing nets, Li Long decided to buy a new Dongfanghong 75 tractor and implements so Li Jianguo could run a plowing business. After settling on the purchase, he also agreed to help Tao Daqiang and Xu Haijun expand their agricultural work.

• Li Long told Li Jianguo and Li Qingxia that he planned to keep his household registration in the Fourth Team and discussed leasing land to farm sugar beets.
• Li Long proposed buying a new tractor for Li Jianguo to drive, and Li Jianguo and Li Qingxia supported the plan.
• Li Long decided to buy a Dongfanghong 75 tractor and a full set of implements soon, with Li Jianguo learning to operate it and sharing the earnings.
• Tao Daqiang told Li Long he planned to buy another harvester, and Li Long directed him to Uncle Gu for a discount.
• Xu Haijun asked to borrow two thousand yuan to buy a tractor and harvester for the wheat harvest, and Li Long agreed to lend it with one hundred yuan in interest.