Recaps

Li Long and his family caught a large haul of fish, while Gu Boyuan stayed at the Purchasing Station. In mid-January, Gu Xiaoyu came looking for her father and waited until he returned to the station, where he noticed her resemblance to Xiaoxia.

• Li Long helped Li Qingxia land a huge common carp, and the family brought their catch home to cook and share.
• Tao Daqiang and the others borrowed the family’s Drag-Net Devices, caught more fish overnight, and returned the equipment the next morning.
• Villagers visited to see the fish and learn about the device, but Li Qingxia refused to show them how it was made.
• Li Long took Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, and Haohao back to the Big Courtyard, then later drove Gu Boyuan and the children to the County Seat.
• In mid-January, Gu Xiaoyu found the Purchasing Station after learning from neighbors where Gu Boyuan worked.
• Gu Boyuan returned to the station at dusk and saw Gu Xiaoyu standing nearby, noticing that she looked like Xiaoxia.

Gu Xiaoyu reunited with Gu Boyuan, learned how he and Gu Xiaoxia had rebuilt their lives, and heard him take responsibility for the family’s separation. She accepted his ten thousand yuan and reconsidered her plans to leave without staying in touch, while wondering how Li Long had earned so much.

• Gu Boyuan recognized Gu Xiaoyu’s resemblance to her mother and brought her inside to talk.
• Gu Xiaoyu told Gu Boyuan about growing up without him, her mother’s remarriage, and her education and work in Yanjing; Gu Boyuan apologized for the hardship he had caused.
• Gu Xiaoyu offered her savings, but Gu Boyuan gave her ten thousand yuan to share with her mother or use toward a home of her own.
• Gu Boyuan told Gu Xiaoyu about Gu Xiaoxia and Li Long, then reassured her that their business was legitimate.
• Gu Boyuan escorted Gu Xiaoyu to the guesthouse and invited her to meet her sister and brother-in-law the next day; both stayed awake reflecting on their reunion.

Gu Xiaoxia reunited with her younger sister, Gu Xiaoyu, who had come from Yanjing, and brought her home to meet their father and family. As the family welcomed Xiaoyu and shared an abundant winter meal, she grew curious about Li Long and the comfortable life he had built.

• Gu Boyuan told Gu Xiaoxia and Li Long that Gu Xiaoyu had arrived and planned to visit, then explained that Xiaoyu and her mother were living in Yanjing and that her mother had remarried.
• Gu Xiaoxia obtained leave from the Education Bureau and went to the Guesthouse, where she met Xiaoyu and walked her home while asking about their mother and Xiaoyu's life.
• Gu Xiaoyu met Gu Boyuan, Sister Yang, Han Fang, Mingming, and Haohao at the Big Courtyard, and the children made everyone laugh by remarking that she looked like their mother.
• Li Long returned from the Purchasing Station and welcomed Xiaoyu, who wondered at his influence on her sister's family and judged him to be a good husband for Gu Xiaoxia.
• The family served Xiaoyu a lavish lunch with greenhouse vegetables and several meat dishes, surprising her with how well they ate in winter.

Li Long discussed buying a modest siheyuan in Yanjing, and Gu Xiaoyu offered to help find a property while Gu Boyuan offered to fund a home for her. The family considered a trip before the New Year, while Gu Boyuan and Li Long warned Gu Xiaoyu not to get involved in risky political currents at university.

• Gu Xiaoyu envied Gu Xiaoxia’s happy family life, and Gu Xiaoxia confided in her about Li Long’s former girlfriend, Wu Shufen.
• Li Long explained that he wanted to buy a small siheyuan in Yanjing for his family and their children, and Gu Xiaoyu described likely prices and offered to help search but not make the purchase.
• Li Long suggested a family trip to Yanjing before the New Year, and Gu Boyuan declined to go but offered money for Gu Xiaoyu to buy a home of her own.
• Gu Boyuan suggested bringing Li Juan and Li Qiang to Yanjing to inspire them, and Gu Xiaoyu asked Li Long for his views on events at her university.
• Gu Boyuan and Li Long warned Gu Xiaoyu to focus on her work and avoid being drawn into dangerous political activity.

Li Long persuaded his family to travel to Yanjing so the children could see Tiananmen and its universities, while he looked into buying a courtyard house for their future studies. The trip was broadly agreed upon, though the family still had to arrange tickets, leave, and preparations at home.

• Gu Xiaoyu stayed at the courtyard compound and learned from Gu Boyuan that Li Long had received his Jeep after trading a tiger pelt.
• Li Long told his parents and eldest brother's family about Gu Xiaoyu's visit and proposed that they travel together to Yanjing.
• Li Long said he hoped Li Juan and Li Qiang would attend university in Yanjing and planned to buy a courtyard house for them and the younger children.
• Li Juan and Li Qiang eagerly agreed to visit Yanjing, and Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei supported the trip; Liang Yuemei chose to stay home.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo planned a fifteen-day trip, and Liang Yuemei asked whether Anguo's children and Juan's aunt's family would also go.

Li Long prepared for his family’s trip to Yanjing while Gu Xiaoxia decided she would only secretly look at her mother. Meanwhile, Liang Dacheng confronted the Ma Family for stealing fish from the Liang brothers’ net, and the story ended with word of the theft spreading through the Team.

• Li Long asked Liang Dacheng and Liang Shuangcheng to save him several large fish, then returned to the County Seat and planned for the trip with his family.
• Gu Xiaoxia got leave from Director Wang and told Gu Xiaoyu she did not want her mother to know she was in Yanjing.
• Liang Dacheng discovered that someone had stolen a large fish and damaged the brothers’ net at Little Haizi.
• After Shaowa identified Ma Chenyang and Ma Jinbao, Liang Dacheng smashed the Ma Family’s cooking pot and accused them of stealing.
• The Liang brothers gave Li Long several fish without accepting payment, and news of the Ma Family’s theft spread through the Team.

Li Long obtained a letter of introduction and sleeper tickets for a family trip to Yanjing, where he planned to explore buying a house and encourage his niece Li Juan to aim for university. His conversations persuaded Li Xiangqian and Director Qian to consider university ambitions and buying property for their own children, and he ended the chapter by reuniting with Yusufu at a market stall.

• Li Long asked Li Xiangqian for a letter of introduction to take his family to Yanjing and explained his plan to visit universities and consider buying a house for Li Juan’s future.
• Li Xiangqian issued the letter and accepted a common carp and a five-stripe perch, then began reconsidering his own child’s educational prospects.
• Li Long drove to Beiting, gave Director Qian two carp, and explained his Yanjing plans, prompting Director Qian to consider buying a house for his child.
• Li Long bought four lower-berth and two middle-berth sleeper tickets for the family’s journey to Yanjing.
• Li Long visited the market stalls near the Railway Station and recognized Yusufu, who greeted him warmly.

Li Long reunited with Yusufu, discussed business and travel, and advised him to invest in river jade. Back home, the Li family’s Yanjing trip became village news, while Li Long arranged help to sell the fattened sheep and cattle before leaving.

• Li Long met Yusufu at his raisin stall, heard why he had stopped traveling, and advised him to buy and hold river jade.
• Yusufu told Li Long about crowded trains and warned him about thieves and scams during the journey.
• Li Long returned home and confirmed that he and his family would leave for Yanjing the day after tomorrow, prompting excitement and admiration in the village.
• Uncle Lao Luo told Li Long the sheep were ready to sell, so Li Long organized him, Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang, and others to slaughter and process the livestock.
• Li Long told his family he would pack money and river jade, while planning to confirm the Sugar Factory’s order the next day.

Li Long arranged a large New Year meat order with the sugar factory and organized help from Harimu and the Fourth Team before leaving for Yanjing with his family. As Gu Xiaoyu prepared to return home, Gu Xiaoxia gave her valuable jade bracelets, and the chapter ended with Li Long bringing the children to the station for their trip.

• Li Long agreed to supply the sugar factory with twenty cattle and a hundred sheep, then recruited Harimu and the villagers to help prepare the order.
• Li Long arranged meals and thank-you sheep for the workers and asked Xie Yundong and Tao Daqiang to help deliver the meat and collect payment.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia comforted Gu Xiaoyu and Gu Boyuan before the family prepared to leave for Yanjing.
• Gu Xiaoxia gave Gu Xiaoyu a Hetian jade bracelet for their mother, another bracelet, and two pieces of river jade; Gu Xiaoyu recognized the bracelets as extremely valuable.
• Li Long picked up Eldest Older Brother, Li Juan, and Li Qiang, and the excited children headed toward the station eager to see Tiananmen.

Li Long traveled with Li Jianguo and their family from Xinjiang toward Yanjing, keeping the children comfortable and the group safe on the crowded train. After Li Long drove unauthorized passengers away from their berths, the other travelers praised him, and he began watching more carefully for trouble.

• Li Long bought dried fruit, secured seats in the crowded waiting hall, and guided the family onto their sleeper train.
• The family settled into their berths, and Li Long helped keep Mingming and Haohao quiet while Li Jianguo chatted with a middle-aged passenger.
• At Turpan, the family stretched their legs and bought dinner, while the middle-aged passenger noticed how comfortably they could travel.
• Li Long confronted passengers crowding into the sleeper carriage, threw their luggage into the aisle, and cleared the berths for his family and nearby travelers.
• The middle-aged couple thanked Li Long, and he became more alert as the train continued across the Gobi Desert.

Li Long’s family completed their train journey to Yanjing after he helped stop a thief, then settled into a guesthouse near Gu Xiaoyu’s university. The next morning, Li Long gave Gu Xiaoyu US dollars to help find a courtyard house and set out with his family to see Tiananmen Square.

• Li Long ignored sellers tapping on the train windows, bought kiwifruit, and shared it with his family as other passengers got into disputes with the sellers.
• Li Long caught a man reaching for their luggage, and he and Li Jianguo disarmed him after he threatened passengers with a knife; railway police recovered some stolen belongings.
• Li Long and his family arrived in Yanjing, followed Gu Xiaoyu to the Spring Breeze Guesthouse, and rested after the long journey.
• Li Long asked Gu Xiaoyu to inquire about courtyard houses and gave her five hundred US dollars as proof of funds.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo decided to walk to Tiananmen Square with the family while Gu Xiaoyu went to report to her university.

Li Long’s family toured Tiananmen, paid their respects at Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and visited the Forbidden City before sending word that they had arrived safely in Yanjing. Back in Northern Xinjiang, Xie Yundong managed the meat sales in Li Long’s absence, while Gu Xiaoyu returned to her dormitory and wondered whether she should buy a home of her own.

• Li Long photographed his family at Tiananmen before Li Jianguo insisted they visit Chairman Mao Memorial Hall first, and they later toured the Forbidden City and ate noodles.
• Li Long failed to connect calls to the Purchasing Station and production team, so he sent telegrams to report their safe arrival in Yanjing.
• Xie Yundong and Tao Daqiang delivered cattle and sheep to the Sugar Factory, and Xie agreed with Uncle Lao Luo to sell three deer at Section Chief Hu’s request.
• Xie Yundong raised the prices of offal, heads, and hooves while keeping discounts for villagers, and he set aside some meat and by-products for the Li family.
• Gu Xiaoyu returned to her dormitory with jade gifts for her stepfather and stepbrother, prepared to visit her family, and wondered whether to buy a home of her own.

Gu Xiaoyu gave her mother and the Huang family gifts and money from Gu Boyuan, then used US dollars to negotiate for a Siheyuan in Yanjing. Because her relatives lacked Yanjing household registration, Li Long proposed that Gu Xiaoyu buy the courtyard first and sign an agreement with them.

• Gu Xiaoyu gave Fan Wenli a jade bangle and five thousand yuan from Gu Boyuan, who said he regretted the past and wished her happiness.
• Fan Wenli gave three thousand yuan to Huang Jiuzhang to help Huang Yufei buy a home, easing her sense of obligation to him.
• Gu Xiaoyu inspected a Siheyuan whose owner was eager to obtain US dollars and negotiated its price down to twelve hundred and fifty dollars.
• The owner warned Gu Xiaoyu that the buyer needed Yanjing household registration, so she returned to the guesthouse to consult Li Long and her relatives.
• Li Long suggested that Gu Xiaoyu buy the courtyard in her name and sign a transfer agreement with Li Jianguo until private property transactions became possible.

Li Long negotiated with Shao Licheng to buy a courtyard and secure the necessary paperwork using US dollars, while Shao Licheng arranged a meeting about two more properties. The group planned to inspect them the next day, and Li Long considered spending more of his dollars on courtyards in Yanjing.

• Li Long agreed to buy Shao Licheng's courtyard for 1,250 US dollars and discussed paying up to 2,000 for the paperwork, leaving a chair as security for a 500-dollar deposit.
• Gu Xiaoyu declined the courtyard because it was too large for her, and Li Jianguo approved it for Li Long to buy.
• Shao Licheng took some of the dollars to Director Zheng, who offered access to two vacant, publicly owned courtyards if Li Long would consider buying them together.
• Shao Licheng visited Li Long at the guesthouse and arranged to show him the two courtyards after breakfast the next day.
• Li Long told Li Jianguo he might buy both additional courtyards and use his remaining US dollars to acquire properties he could maintain with Gu Xiaoyu's help.

Li Long inspected two courtyards in Yanjing and agreed to buy them, then paid the purchase price and processing fees to complete the paperwork. With the ownership certificates secured, he considered visiting the Antique Shop to look for antiques.

• Gu Xiaoyu took Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, Haohao, Li Juan, and Li Qiang to visit Peking University while Li Long waited for Shao Licheng.
• Shao Licheng showed Li Long a two-section courtyard and a smaller, run-down courtyard, and Li Long agreed to buy both for twenty thousand yuan.
• Li Long gave Shao Licheng his and Li Jianguo's names for the paperwork and agreed to pay an additional five hundred US dollars as a commission.
• Shao Licheng returned with stamped documents and payment certificates, and Li Long paid twenty thousand yuan at the Housing Management Office.
• Li Long paid Shao Licheng the processing fees and received the ownership certificates for the courtyards.
• Shao Licheng advised Li Long about ways to buy antiques, and Li Long considered visiting the Antique Shop.

Li Long finalized plans to furnish Li Jianguo's courtyard house with secondhand items and went with Shao Licheng and Tom to the Antique Shop. There, Li Long asked to buy all 1,107 paintings and calligraphy works in stock, and the chapter ended as Manager Xu arrived to discuss the purchase.

• Li Long gave Li Jianguo the Property Certificate for the courtyard house and planned to furnish it with secondhand furniture until Li Juan and Li Qiang needed it for school.
• Gu Xiaoxia explained to Gu Xiaoyu how Li Jianguo had raised Li Long like a son, helping her understand their close relationship.
• Shao Licheng introduced Li Long to Tom, who agreed to take them into the Antique Shop for a flat payment of one hundred US dollars.
• Li Long asked the shop staff whether he could buy all 1,107 paintings and calligraphy works, and the staff member went to consult her superior.
• Manager Xu arrived at the shop after the staff member reported Li Long's offer.

Li Long bought more than a thousand paintings and calligraphy works from the Antique Shop for seven thousand US dollars, mailed most of them to Northern Xinjiang, and showed a few to his family. After exploring Yanjing’s shops and planning more sightseeing, he brought his relatives to see his two courtyards.

• Li Long negotiated with Manager Yao, paid seven thousand US dollars for the Antique Shop’s stored paintings and calligraphy, and arranged to crate and mail most of them home.
• Li Long selected seven works to carry back, paid Shao Licheng an introduction fee, and discussed the purchase with Li Jianguo, who reflected on how much the family’s living standards had improved.
• Li Long showed the paintings to Gu Xiaoxia, Gu Xiaoyu, Li Juan, and Li Qiang, then planned to buy Yanjing pastries and other local specialties to take home.
• Li Long visited the Antique Shop’s purchasing department and a consignment shop but found nothing he felt able to buy.
• Li Long and his family discussed visiting Yanjing’s historic sights, and he took Li Jianguo and the others to see his two courtyards.

Li Long and his family finished their Yanjing visit, toured the Great Wall, and prepared to return home after buying local specialties. As they left, Gu Xiaoyu tearfully said goodbye, while the family settled into the train journey and talked about returning to Yanjing.

• Li Jianguo praised the courtyard houses, and Li Long agreed to take the family to the Great Wall the next day.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that seeing her mother had felt like seeing a stranger, and he reassured her that her feelings were understandable.
• Li Long and his family visited the snowy Great Wall, took photographs, and Li Jianguo quietly carved characters into the wall.
• Li Long and the others bought pastries, medicines, and other local specialties before boarding a train home.
• Gu Xiaoyu tearfully waved goodbye as the train departed, and Gu Xiaoxia comforted her before turning to care for Mingming and Haohao.
• During the journey, Li Long shared food with his family and discussed their Yanjing courtyard houses and possible future visits.

Gu Xiaoyu adjusted to life apart from her birth family by buying and furnishing courtyards, while Li Long and his family returned from Yanjing to Northern Xinjiang. Li Long resumed his local work and began delivering gifts to his contacts, leaving his expanding responsibilities ahead of him.

• Gu Xiaoyu listened as Fan Wenli discussed Huang Yufei’s engagement and her own marriage prospects, but she continued to feel that her real home was with Gu Xiaoxia’s family in Northern Xinjiang.
• Gu Xiaoyu cleaned Li Jianguo and Li Long’s courtyards, bought secondhand furniture, and purchased a nearby three-room courtyard house for three thousand yuan.
• Gu Xiaoyu missed Huang Yufei’s engagement ceremony and felt increasingly content spending time alone in her courtyard rather than at her parents’ home.
• Li Long and his family returned from Yanjing, where Li Jianguo, Li Juan, and Li Qiang shared stories and pastries from their trip with crowds of neighbors.
• Gu Boyuan praised Li Long’s paintings and business efforts, reminded him about the county Representative Assembly, and discussed the growing trade in Mongolian gazelle hides.
• Li Long collected crates of Yanjing specialties, delivered pastries to Professor Wu, discussed rural development with her, and continued making gift visits to his contacts in Wu City.

Li Long returned from Yanjing and described the trip while settling the proceeds from the livestock sales and sharing local specialties with his family and neighbors. The chapter ended with him advising Lu Yingming and his wife to plant watermelon for its seeds, giving them a plan for the coming year.

• Li Qiang and Li Juan devoted themselves to studying after their Yanjing trip, and Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei agreed the experience had helped them.
• Li Jianguo told Liang Yuemei they would repay Li Long for the courtyard house gradually, and he said he was trying to quit smoking.
• Li Long returned to Ma County, told Li Xiangqian about Yanjing and the courtyard house, and discussed proposals for the upcoming People's Congress meeting.
• Li Long visited Old Ma's Place and several neighbors, shared specialties, and heard that the livestock and by-products had sold well.
• Xie Yundong showed Li Long the accounts, which totaled 26,188.40 yuan, and Li Long gave him 100 yuan for his help.
• Li Long brought Yanjing pastries to his family and the Lu couple, then recommended that they plant watermelon for its seeds next year.

Li Long planned to build roads linking the Winter Camps and Summer Pasture so he could earn national recognition for ethnic unity and help his friends. After visiting Harimu and discussing the difficult mountain route, Li Long remained determined to begin the long-term project.

• Li Long told Li Jianguo that he wanted to build mountain roads and seek selection as a national Advanced Individual for Ethnic Unity; they agreed to start during the slack farming season and postpone reclaiming more land.
• Li Long developed photographs from the Yanjing trip, showed them to Gu Boyuan, and prepared for the New Year.
• Li Long visited Harimu's Winter Camp, shared photographs and halal pastries from Yanjing, and described his plan to build roads between the camps and pastures.
• Harimu explained that the route to the Summer Pasture was long, steep, and narrow, and Li Long realized the roadwork would take far longer than he had expected.
• Li Long refused to abandon the project and said he would work on it for as many years as necessary.

Li Long discovered that some tribal elders might resist his plan to build a road to the summer pasture, though Jade Mountain River and Harimu promised to rally support. As the New Year approached, Li Long prepared for the holiday with his family and returned to the village, where he persuaded Li Juan and Li Qiang to take a break from studying.

• Jade Mountain River told Li Long that some elders opposed tractors and roads as threats to tradition, while Harimu and Jade Mountain River pledged to support the road and gather the tribe’s contributions.
• Li Long decided to wait until after the New Year meeting before judging whether the road could be built, and Jade Mountain River scheduled a tribal gathering for February 9.
• Li Long gave Sun Jiaqiang a year-end bonus, learned Tie Lanhua was pregnant, and prepared New Year supplies with Gu Xiaoxia and their children.
• Meng Hai visited Li Long with a wild boar, eggs, and chickens, and Li Long sent him home with pastries and fresh greenhouse vegetables.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia returned to the Fourth Team for New Year’s Eve, where Li Long persuaded Li Juan and Li Qiang to stop studying and go play.

Yang Xiulan and Han Fang celebrated New Year while facing the prospect of leaving the South Courtyard, as Li Long hosted visitors. In the mountains, Jade Mountain River and Harimu persuaded the tribe to approve building roads to their winter camps and the Summer Pasture, leaving them to prepare for construction in spring.

• Yang Xiulan promised Han Fang they would visit Yanjing and explained they would eventually need to leave the Big Courtyard.
• Li Long and his family celebrated New Year before Li Long hosted a succession of visitors offering greetings.
• Jade Mountain River and Harimu gathered the tribe to discuss Li Long's proposal for roads connecting the winter camps and Summer Pasture.
• An elder opposed the roads, but Harimu and the younger men defended Li Long's help and argued for the benefits of modern conveniences.
• Jade Mountain River explained that the mountains were public property, and the tribe approved the road-building plan.
• Jade Mountain River asked households to contribute labor and goods toward construction after spring, and the gathering ended with food, drink, and music.

After returning to the County Seat, Li Long submitted a proposal to disband the Pastoral Team and discussed plans to build roads to the Winter Camps with Li Xiangqian. The road project depended on whether the pastoralists agreed, so Li Long planned to visit the mountains and assess the situation before seeking support from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

• Li Long and his family left the village after New Year, while Gu Boyuan stayed behind until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
• Li Long reassured Gu Xiaoxia that she should keep her job, then told her he had written a proposal about pastoral development.
• Li Long brought his proposal to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, where Li Xiangqian read his plan to disband the Pastoral Team and let pastoralists settle and graze livestock independently.
• Li Xiangqian asked about the Supply and Marketing Cooperative's plans for the mountains, and Li Long proposed building roads from the Winter Camps out of the mountains before tackling the Summer Pasture route.
• Li Xiangqian offered the Supply and Marketing Cooperative's support, and Li Long said he would first visit the mountains to see whether the pastoralists would agree and assess the routes.

Li Long attended the county People's Congress, then visited Harimu and Jade Mountain River to plan a road connecting the winter camps to the outside. After accepting the tribe's contributions and surveying the routes, he arranged to buy a tractor and registered three telephone installations.

• Li Long attended the People's Congress, discussed county development, and learned that private telephone installations would soon be available for four thousand yuan each.
• Jade Mountain River told Li Long that the tribe had approved building a road, and Harimu and the households offered stored goods and labor to help pay for it.
• Li Long accepted the tribe's gold, gemstones, hides, jade, and other goods, then surveyed the mountain routes with Harimu and Jade Mountain River.
• Li Long decided the contributions could fund another East Is Red 70-Square Tractor and planned to use it to build the road to the winter camps.
• After the Purchasing Station reopened, Li Long registered for telephones at his home, his purchasing station, and his eldest older brother's countryside home.