Recaps

Li Long arranged phone lines for his home, the Purchasing Station, and his eldest brother's village, then used the new home phone to reconnect with family, suppliers, and business partners. The chapter ended with the phone ringing as Li Long expected Gu Xiaoyu to call back.

• Li Long secured Li Xiangqian's help choosing numbers for three phone lines and arranged publicity for the planned mountain road.
• Within a week, the Post and Telecommunications Office installed the phones at the Big Courtyard and the Purchasing Station, and Gu Boyuan spoke to Gu Xiaoyu by phone.
• Li Long called Factory Director Du, who discussed delivering cultivators and offered to pay Li Long a commission for future designs.
• Li Long spent the afternoon calling business contacts, exchanging numbers, and discussing goods and upcoming purchases.
• The phone rang as Li Long guessed that Gu Xiaoyu was calling.

Gu Xiaoyu furnished Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia’s courtyards and dealt with requests from her stepfamily, while Li Long sold hides and bought a Dongfanghong 75 tractor to begin building roads into the mountains. The tractor reached Harimu’s winter camp, and Li Long agreed to hire workers from Qingshui River Village for the road project.

• Gu Xiaoyu told Li Long she had cleaned and furnished the courtyards, and Li Long sent her a thousand yuan for expenses.
• After Huang Yufei’s wedding, Lin Xuemei and Fan Wenli asked Gu Xiaoyu to obtain a Jade Buddha, so Gu Xiaoxia mailed one to her and told her to present it as a gift.
• Zhao Hui bought hides from Li Long, who divided the proceeds with Gu Boyuan and then bought a Dongfanghong 75 tractor with a bulldozer and plowshare.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo drove the tractor to Harimu’s winter camp, where local herders gathered to see the machine intended for building their road.
• Li Long promised Meng Hai that Qingshui River villagers could work on the road for daily wages, and Meng Hai and He Yuqing began planning how to organize the workers.

Li Long prepared to build a road to the pastoralists’ remote winter camps, securing support from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and the County Publicity Department. As April 5 approached, he gathered tools, recruited a tractor driver, and distributed cultivators to local farmers.

• Li Long visited the Purchasing Station, where sellers said they needed money for farming supplies, and confirmed with Gu Boyuan that business could continue for another fortnight.
• Li Long told Ma Xiaoyan he planned to build a road for the pastoralists, and she promised to report the project and arrange follow-up coverage.
• Li Xiangqian pledged cooperative funds and workers for the road project, then agreed to organize weekly work parties and lead one himself.
• Factory Director Du sent Li Long six cultivators and two thousand yuan in patent fees, and Li Long distributed the machines among farmers in the Fourth Team.
• Li Long bought tools, arranged for Meng Hai to drive the tractor, and set April 5 as the start date for the mountain road work.

Li Long led the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and local herders in a road-building effort, coordinating workers and supplies while Ma Xiaoyan documented the work. By the end of the day, they had opened a tractor road to Bek's winter camp and rested before continuing toward the next household.

• Li Long drove Li Xiangqian and Ma Xiaoyan into the mountains, where Meng Hai and the herders joined the cooperative's work party.
• Li Xiangqian addressed the gathered workers, and Li Long assigned the cooperative staff and herders to clear brush, move stones, widen the roadbed, operate the bulldozer, and prepare lunch.
• Li Long arranged for explosives to loosen a steep slope, allowing Meng Hai to push the bulldozer through and open a route wide enough for a small tractor.
• Harimu and Sister Liu's team prepared lunch while Li Long checked the roadwork and Ma Xiaoyan photographed and interviewed the workers.
• Li Long called everyone to eat after the road to Bek's winter camp had taken shape, then announced an hour's rest before the team continued toward the next household.

Li Long and Meng Hai organized workers to extend the road to more winter camps, while Ma Xiaoyan submitted a report about the workers’ efforts. Meanwhile, officials at the Autonomous Region's Ethnic Affairs Commission added Li Long’s road-building work to his nomination for a national Ethnic Unity Advanced Individual award.

• Meng Hai compacted the road to Bek's and Yersen's winter camps, and Li Long shared mutton soup and beer with the workers before they returned to town.
• Ma Xiaoyan wrote an article about the work, received the executive deputy's approval, and mailed it to Wu City.
• Li Long drove into the mountains and told Jade Mountain River that Meng Hai's men would build the road so the herders could focus on their own work.
• Li Long coordinated road construction as Meng Hai brought in more workers, and the crew completed a road to a winter camp about every two days.
• Lao Song and Tursunjiang discussed Li Long's achievements and instructed Xiao Liu to add the new road-building material to his nomination for a national award.

Li Long and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative crews finished connecting the winter camps with roads, making wool sales and seasonal preparations easier for the pastoralists. An official notice then confirmed that Li Long would travel to Yanjing in May for a national commendation ceremony.

• Li Xiangqian brought the Supply and Marketing Cooperative staff back to the mountains, where Li Long assigned crews to surface roads and clear shrubs.
• Ye'erxiati slaughtered a sheep to feed the workers, and Li Long stopped him from slaughtering another and brought rice and flour in exchange.
• Ma Xiaoyan told Li Long that the Autonomous Region had nominated him for a possible national commendation, and Li Long thanked her for reporting his work.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia discussed finishing the winter-camp roads before pausing work for the busy farming season and planning the longer road to the Summer Pasture.
• Li Xiangqian's crew finished connecting the remaining winter-camp roads, and Jade Mountain River told Li Long the roads had eased preparations for seasonal migration.
• Jade Mountain River and the other pastoralists left their tractors with Li Long before migrating, and an official notice arrived ordering Li Long to attend the national commendation ceremony in Yanjing in May.

Li Long learned that he would travel to Yanjing to receive a national commendation for his work with pastoralists and local production, while Li Xiangqian received prefectural honors. As Li Long prepared for the trip and told his family, Gu Boyuan grew suspicious about Gu Xiaoyu’s interest in Li Long’s courtyard, and Li Long left for the Fourth Team amid his family’s congratulations.

• Li Xiangqian summoned Li Long to meet the county’s top leaders, who praised Li Long’s work and asked him to give presentations after returning from Yanjing.
• Li Xiangqian learned that the Supply and Marketing Cooperative had been named a prefectural exemplary collective and that he had received an Advanced Individual award.
• Ma Xiaoyan agreed to prepare Li Long’s conference materials, and Li Long gave her two air-dried legs of lamb in advance.
• Li Long told Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia about the trip, discussed Purchasing Station business with Gu Boyuan, and listened as Gu Boyuan voiced concern about Gu Xiaoyu’s interest in the courtyard.
• Li Long visited the Fourth Team, where Lu Yingming mistook the title Reference News for “Political Participation News,” then told his family he would receive a national award in Yanjing.

Li Long prepared for his trip to Yanjing to attend the National Ethnic Unity Advanced Individual commendation ceremony, while his family kept the honor quiet and he arranged matters at home. After reaching Wu City, he met officials from the Ethnic Affairs Commission, bought jade carvings from Engineer Liu, and found that Yusufu's son had joined him at the railway station.

• The Li family agreed not to publicize Li Long's national commendation, and Li Jianguo gave him money to hire someone to clean the courtyard house in Yanjing.
• Li Long visited Old Ma's Place, paid Uncle Lao Luo and asked him to let township officials inspect the deer if they came back.
• Li Long collected his prepared commendation material from Ma Xiaoyan, revised and copied it, then left for Wu City on May 9.
• Ethnic Affairs Commission leaders Song Xuejun and Tursunjiang welcomed Li Long, confirmed his arrangements for Yanjing, and assigned Chen Xiangdong to accompany him.
• Li Long visited Engineer Liu at the Jade Carving Factory and bought seventeen carvings, then purchased dried fruit and nuts from Yusufu at the railway station.
• Li Long discovered that Yusufu's twelve- or thirteen-year-old son was helping him, congratulated Yusufu on bringing his family to Wu City, and prepared to travel to Yanjing the next day.

Li Long received national recognition for his work promoting ethnic unity and helping pastoralists, then asked the Beijing Office to protect and renovate his three Yanjing courtyards. Director Dai arranged signs identifying the properties with the Beijing Office, and Li Long met Gu Xiaoyu after finding one sign already installed.

• Li Long gave Yusufu's son his tin lighter and bought five short knives, then Chen Xiangdong arranged for him to take them aboard the train as gifts.
• Chen Xiangdong escorted Li Long to Yanjing, where Li Long rehearsed for and attended the national commendation ceremony, receiving an award and praise from a former Northern Xinjiang leader.
• Li Long asked Chen Xiangdong to help secure an official affiliation for his three courtyards, and Director Dai agreed to have Beijing Office signs installed and arrange a renovation company.
• Li Long called Gu Xiaoyu to arrange a meeting and found a Beijing Office sign already installed at Li Jianguo's courtyard; he inspected the clean, aired-out rooms ahead of the renovation discussion.

Li Long protected Gu Xiaoyu from a colleague’s slander, arranged renovations for three courtyards in Yanjing, and thanked the Beijing Office staff for their help. After saying goodbye to Gu Xiaoyu, he returned to Northern Xinjiang with Chen Xiangdong to attend to urgent business.

• Li Long met Gu Xiaoyu, heard about her new courtyard, and gave her money to help renovate it.
• When a young colleague insulted Gu Xiaoyu, Li Long threatened him with a knife and ordered him to apologize and stop spreading rumors.
• The colleague apologized to Gu Xiaoyu at work after realizing Li Long was connected to the Northern Xinjiang Ethnic Affairs Commission Beijing Office.
• Li Long hired a renovation crew to work on his three courtyards and arranged for Gu Xiaoyu’s courtyard to be repaired as well.
• Li Long gave gifts to Xiao Wang and Director Dai, thanked them for their help, and prepared to leave Yanjing.
• Li Long said goodbye to Gu Xiaoyu and boarded a train back to Northern Xinjiang with Chen Xiangdong.

After receiving national recognition, Li Long returned to Wu City, visited his academic and business contacts, and brought home a rare piece of river jade. Back in Ma County, he reunited with his family and planned a gift for Director Dai to thank him for arranging the Beijing renovation.

• Li Long completed his follow-up with the Ethnic Affairs Commission in Wu City, exchanged contact details with Chen Xiangdong, and collected his luggage.
• Li Long visited Professor Luo and Professor Wu, discussed agricultural research and cash crops, and received books and magazines on agricultural machinery from Professor Wu.
• Li Long brought specialties to Engineer Liu, who sold him a distinctive piece of white river jade for one thousand yuan.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard, reunited with Mingming and Haohao, and told Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia about his trip and Gu Xiaoyu's situation.
• Li Long decided to thank Director Dai for arranging the renovation by sending him a velvet antler and a deer penis.

After returning from his national award, Li Long received county backing and was assigned to a prefecture-wide speaking tour. His public appearances drew a surge of sellers to his Purchasing Station, and he returned to find its stores overflowing and buyers waiting.

• Li Long reported to the County Party Committee, where the county leaders praised his achievements and promised publicity and preferential treatment for his Purchasing Station.
• Li Long filed his award materials with the Ethnic Affairs Commission and learned that the Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Commission had assigned him to a speaking tour across all eight counties and two cities.
• Li Long sold the station's stored fritillaria, gave Gu Boyuan working capital, and left for the tour while Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang looked after the children.
• As Li Long gave presentations, sellers flocked to the Purchasing Station, and Gu Boyuan and Sun Jiaqiang bought far more fritillaria, herbs, and mushrooms than before.
• Li Long returned near the end of May and found the Purchasing Station crowded, its warehouse nearly full, and Jia Tianlong and Huang Lei waiting to buy goods.
• Jia Tianlong and Huang Lei told Li Long that prices for medicinal herbs and dried mushrooms had risen.

Li Long sold large quantities of fritillaria and dried mushrooms to Jia Tianlong and Huang Lei, earning substantial profits and sending local gifts to people who had helped him. Two Kazakh traders, Mulat and Maoken, brought fritillaria and goji berries to support his road-building work, leaving Li Long determined to resume construction soon.

• Li Long carried more than three tonnes of fritillaria outside, and Jia Tianlong bought the graded stock for nearly 320,000 yuan.
• Huang Lei bought Li Long’s dried mushrooms for just over 32,100 yuan, and Li Long deposited most of the cash he had received at the bank.
• Li Long mailed local specialties to Director Dai, Xiao Wang, and Gu Xiaoyu, then went to help at the crowded Purchasing Station.
• Mulat and Maoken gave Li Long sacks of fritillaria and goji berries to support his road-building project, and Li Long accepted their gifts and promised to repay their kindness.
• Li Long helped purchase more goods from local sellers, spending nearly 30,000 yuan in one day, and resolved to return to road construction as soon as possible.

Li Long bought the Forestry Team’s stored goods, secured the purchasing station courtyard as his property, and organized workers to begin building a mountain road. As the crew started cutting trees, someone spotted a herd of wild boars, and Li Long ran to fetch his rifle before pursuing them.

• Li Long bought supplies and hired a truck, then purchased the Forestry Team’s fritillaria and other goods from Aili for thirty thousand yuan.
• Gu Boyuan told Li Long that the county housing administration would sell him the purchasing station courtyard, and Li Long completed the purchase for just over one thousand yuan.
• Li Long arranged for Tie Lanhua to wash the fritillaria and gave Gu Boyuan fifty thousand yuan in working capital before heading to Qingshui River Village.
• Li Long and Meng Hai gathered more than twenty workers and took them into the mountains to start cutting trees and preparing the roadbed.
• When a worker shouted that a herd of wild boars was nearby, Li Long ran back to his jeep for a rifle and hurried after them into the mountains.

Li Long chased a herd of wild boars through the mountains and shot a lynx that had caught a piglet, then killed a half-grown boar as he returned. He brought both animals to the winter camp with Meng Hai’s crew, where they prepared to cook the meat and preserve the valuable lynx hide.

• Li Long pursued the wild boars through the forest while Meng Hai arrived at the roadworks and organized the crew to haul timber and clear the road.
• Li Long tracked the herd to a rocky slope, where he shot a lynx carrying a piglet and wounded a sow that chased it.
• Li Long killed a half-grown boar on his way back and returned to the workers carrying the boar and the lynx in a bag.
• Meng Hai sent Sun Sihai and Ma Ming to help Li Long carry the animals to Jade Mountain River's winter camp, where the workers gathered to inspect the lynx.
• Li Long skinned the boar and told Sun Sihai to fetch a pot and seasonings from his Jeep so they could begin cooking.

Li Long oversaw the mountain roadwork, checked the cabin and winter camps, and returned home to learn that Ma Xiaoyan wanted to report on the project. The next morning, Ma Xiaoyan visited and joined him on a trip into the mountains to inspect the work.

• Li Long served wild boar and lynx meat to Meng Hai and the road crew, then left Meng Hai in charge and stressed that everyone prioritize safety.
• Li Long found the lock missing from his wooden cabin, cleaned it, secured the doors, and later checked the mountain road, winter camps, and water pipes.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard, where Gu Boyuan told him that Ma Xiaoyan had called to ask about the road project.
• Li Long and Gu Boyuan ate red-braised lynx meat and discussed the abundance of wildlife, future protections, and the need to adapt local purchasing.
• Ma Xiaoyan visited Li Long the next morning and asked to accompany him into the mountains to inspect the roadwork, and he agreed.

Li Long warned Meng Hai and the road workers about the risk of a flash flood while Ma Xiaoyan interviewed them, but the flood surged toward the worksite before they could finish. When a worker ran back to retrieve his spade and was swept away, Meng Hai and the others rushed to rescue him, and Ma Xiaoyan joined them.

• Ma Xiaoyan interviewed Li Long as he drove her to the roadworks, where Meng Hai and the workers were already working in muddy conditions.
• Li Long warned Meng Hai that rain to the south could cause a flood and went upstream to check the gully, finding no immediate danger.
• Li Long returned to the cabin, met Bolati, and accepted the roe deer Bolati had shot before heading back to the worksite.
• Li Long noticed the gully water rising and repeatedly told Meng Hai to keep the workers away from it while he searched nearby for game.
• A flash flood surged toward the roadbed, and Meng Hai called the workers up the hillside.
• One worker ran back for his iron spade and was swept into the flood, prompting Meng Hai, the other workers, and Ma Xiaoyan to rush to his rescue.

Li Long risked his life to rescue Su Qiangqiang from a flash flood, nearly drowning when the panicked man clung to him, but Meng Hai helped pull them both ashore. After the water receded, Li Long ordered safety watches for the road crew and returned to work, considering how to raise the roadbed against future floods.

• Li Long warned the crew to use a rope, but when the first villager threw it, he let go of his end and the rope swept away.
• After timber struck Su Qiangqiang and knocked him underwater, Li Long plunged into the flood and reached him, but Su Qiangqiang grabbed Li Long and dragged him under.
• Li Long struck Su Qiangqiang until he passed out, then caught Meng Hai's rope, and the crew pulled both men ashore.
• Ma Xiaoyan cleaned dirt from Li Long's eyes as Su Qiangqiang regained consciousness, and Li Long explained that he had acted instinctively.
• Li Long led the crew to higher ground, ordered them to prioritize people over equipment, and set up rotating safety watches as the flood receded.
• The crew resumed roadwork, while Li Long retrieved his rifle and considered raising the roadbed to protect it from future floods.

After rescuing Su Qiangqiang from a flood, Li Long insisted he had acted out of necessity rather than heroism and returned to work on the road. While scouting ahead for hazards, he found an injured wild boar and killed it, ending the chapter with an unexpected windfall.

• Li Long told Ma Xiaoyan that he had been frightened during the rescue and might not risk his life again, then reassured Gu Xiaoxia that he was safe and did not want to be a hero.
• Li Long learned that Su Qiangqiang had a fever from inflamed wounds, so Meng Hai kept him in the village to rest and receive injections.
• Li Long returned to the road site, instructed Meng Hai to raise and compact the roadbed, and went ahead to inspect the route.
• Li Long followed fresh wild boar tracks past a boulder that obstructed the planned road and found a half-grown boar trapped below with injured hind legs.
• Li Long killed the boar with his knife and noticed an older bite wound on its hind leg.

Li Long used explosives to clear a massive boulder blocking the planned road, testing charges and removing a dud by throwing another charge near it. After several blasts and help from Meng Hai’s men, much of the boulder was cleared, but the latest blast left another huge section split off without falling.

• Li Long examined the boulder with Ma Xiaoyan and told Meng Hai he planned to blast it while the road crew continued working.
• Li Long prepared thirty charges with a young man, then tested two and discovered one had failed to detonate.
• Li Long threw a prepared charge into the crack beside the dud, setting off both charges and clearing the unexploded explosive.
• Li Long bundled ten sticks of explosives and blasted a large chunk from the boulder, then joined Meng Hai and two men in rolling the fallen piece down the mountainside.
• Li Long blasted the remaining boulder with another bundle, but the latest explosion only split off a huge section that remained in place.

Li Long cleared a massive boulder from the route and surveyed the next stretch of road, where he chose to build around a willow tree that people had worshipped. While reinforcing the riverbank there, he discovered a huge, valuable piece of jade and concealed it beneath the rocks.

• Li Long used the remaining explosives to split the boulder and clear most of it from the route, then joined Ma Xiaoyan and the villagers for lunch.
• After resting, Li Long continued upstream to scout the route and found a grove of willows blocking a level stretch of river flat.
• Li Long noticed offerings beneath the largest willow and decided to preserve it, planning instead to curve the road around it.
• Li Long carried rocks into the river channel to build a raised roadbed beside the willow.
• Li Long uncovered an enormous green piece of jade, estimated to weigh several tons, then covered it with rocks to keep it hidden.
• Li Long told Meng Hai to avoid cutting down the large willow, and Meng Hai agreed.

Li Long told his family about the enormous jade deposit he had found in the mountains and agreed to help Gu Xiaoyu earn money by selling a jade bangle. As road construction continued, he collected explosives and ammunition and returned to the mountains, where he searched the river for more jade.

• Li Long dropped Ma Xiaoyan at her alley entrance and later wondered why she remained watching him drive away.
• At dinner, Li Long told Gu Boyuan, Gu Xiaoxia, and Sister Yang that he had found a huge, high-quality piece of jade deep in the mountains.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia selected a master-crafted mutton-fat jade bangle to send to Gu Xiaoyu for a potential buyer.
• Two workers asked Meng Hai to provide nang for lunch, but Meng Hai refused and warned them they could be replaced.
• Li Xiangqian supplied Li Long with explosives and bullets and cautioned him to be careful after his flood rescue.
• Li Long drove back to the mountains, where Meng Hai's crew continued the road and Li Long kept an eye out for more jade.

Li Long monitored the road construction as floods threatened the site, then witnessed a red deer get swept downstream toward the workers. When Zhang Xingwang rushed to save it for its valuable antlers and meat, Meng Hai knocked him down and barred him from entering the flood.

• Li Long checked the river and road route, marked places that needed sturdier foundations, and watched a small flood arrive.
• Li Long saw a red deer stag fall into the flood and get swept downstream, but he did not shoot at it because he could not retrieve it.
• Meng Hai gathered the workers on higher ground as the flood covered the riverbed and brought the struggling stag near the road.
• The workers eyed the stag’s antlers, hide, and meat while Meng Hai warned them not to enter the water.
• Zhang Xingwang charged toward the stag, and Meng Hai kicked him down, removed him from the crew, and forbade him from jumping in.

Li Long disciplined Zhang Xingwang after he endangered himself and the road project, then left the crew to relax at Hot Spring Ravine. At the Wooden Cabin, he caught an unauthorized occupant, confiscated his knives, and handed him over to a Forestry Team rider.

• Li Long threatened to withhold broom-making work from Zhang Xingwang's family, fired him from the road crew, and awarded Meng Hai a bonus and management fees.
• Meng Hai assigned the workers tasks while the flood remained high, then reassured Zhang Xingwang that he might still plead Li Long's case when broom-making season came.
• Li Long soaked at Hot Spring Ravine and continued to the Wooden Cabin, where he found its lock forced and an unknown man living inside.
• Li Long beat and searched the intruder, took his knives, and marched him east toward the Forestry Team.
• A young Forestry Team rider recognized Li Long, tied up the intruder, and took him away; Li Long then headed back toward the roadwork site.

Li Long handed the mountain roadwork over to Meng Hai and paid him to manage it, then returned to the Purchasing Station as its Fritillaria business continued to grow. Jia Tianlong arrived to buy another truckload and paid his respects to Li Long’s jade before arranging transport.

• Li Long told Meng Hai he would be away for several days, paid him wages and management fees, and reviewed the roadwork safety precautions.
• Meng Hai paid the workers, sent Zhang Xingwang away, and celebrated the reward and management fee with Wang Cailing.
• Li Long told Gu Boyuan that he had caught another thief at the mountain cabin, and Gu Boyuan reported that the Purchasing Station had accumulated more than two tonnes of dried Fritillaria.
• Li Long visited the Purchasing Station, where a customer tried to protect the premises by questioning his entry into the Back Courtyard, and Tie Lanhua told him Jia Tianlong had not arrived yet.
• Jia Tianlong arrived and asked to buy another truckload of Fritillaria; after visiting Li Long’s Big Courtyard to pay respects to the jade, he left to hire a truck and collect his people.