Recaps

Li Long returned from the Fourth Team with fish and helped arrange care for Gu Boyuan, while Gu Xiaoxia suggested matching him with Sister Yang. Liu Gaolou then arrived with a large shipment of frozen cattle and sheep offal, and Li Long began selling it wholesale at the Purchasing Station.

• Liang Yuemei provided padded coats for Mingming and Haohao, and the family cleaned and ate the fish they had caught.
• Li Junfeng and his wife discussed moving to the Fourth Team, while Du Chunfang praised Li Juan and reconsidered her views about girls and boys.
• Li Long took the alcohol-weary Gu Boyuan back to the Purchasing Station, where Liang Shuangcheng agreed to look after him and considered buying a nearby courtyard.
• Gu Xiaoxia suggested that Li Long ask Gu Boyuan and Sister Yang whether they might become companions.
• Liu Gaolou brought three truckloads of frozen cattle and sheep offal and paid Li Long fifteen thousand US dollars for the earlier trade and the shipment.
• Li Long set the offal's wholesale price at one yuan per kilogram and showed a sack to interested buyers at the Purchasing Station.

Li Long sold most of the twenty-odd tonnes of frozen offal within ten days and sold over two thousand hides to Zhao Hui for 270,000 yuan. In early December, Chen Hongjun paid Li Long a 23,000-yuan year-end dividend, and they celebrated with Zhong Guoqiang as Li Long reflected on a highly profitable year.

• Li Long and Gu Boyuan sold the frozen offal wholesale, and traders bought five sacks on the first day before most of the stock sold within ten days.
• Li Long discussed the Kazakh Union Republic's food shortages and livestock grazing with Gu Boyuan, Gu Xiaoxia, and Sister Yang over lunch.
• Zhao Hui collected Li Long's hides on November twentieth and paid 270,000 yuan; he admired the Volga but declined to buy it.
• Li Long gave Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng bonuses of one hundred yuan each and paid Gu Boyuan a dividend of ten thousand yuan.
• Chen Hongjun gave Li Long a 23,000-yuan year-end dividend and explained that only two of Beiting's seven purchasing stations had survived.
• Li Long took Chen Hongjun to the Big Meat Canteen, where Zhong Guoqiang welcomed them and offered to host their celebratory meal.

Li Long arranged to sell a nearly new Volga to Liu Jianhua, who was interested in the car and offered to pay part of its price in cement. The deal remained under discussion as Li Long asked him to lower the wholesale price for a large order.

• Li Long told Chen Hongjun that the imported lamb offal and cars came from the Soviet Union, and Chen asked to buy some offal for resale during winter.
• Li Long gave Chen Hongjun a package of antelope horns and sent him to the Bus Station.
• Li Xiangqian told Li Long that a buyer from the Prefecture Seat wanted a car, and Li Long offered a nearly new black Volga for one hundred thousand yuan.
• Li Long told Li Xiangqian that he had hunted in the Soviet Union and agreed to ask whether he could arrange a visit for Li Xiangqian and Director Qian.
• Liu Jianhua inspected and test-drove the Volga, said he wanted to buy it, and offered to supply cement at a discounted wholesale price.
• Li Long proposed that Liu Jianhua pay part of the car's price in cement, then asked him to lower the price further because he planned to buy a large quantity.

Li Long arranged to buy cement from Liu Jianhua and resell it across the border through Liu Gaolou, while expanding his supply deal and preparing a hunting trip for Li Xiangqian and Director Qian. Liu Gaolou took more cement and promised invitation letters, leaving Li Long to coordinate the officials’ visit as the shipments continued.

• Li Long and Liu Jianhua agreed on a five-year cement supply arrangement, with Li Xiangqian guaranteeing that the cooperative would buy any cement Li Long could not take.
• Liu Jianhua delivered the first hundred tons of cement, and Li Long hired temporary workers and local traders to unload and stack it; the remaining two hundred tons arrived the next day.
• Liu Gaolou arrived with offal and a Lada, exchanged the car’s cost against his sugar account, and chose to take cement across the border instead of sugar.
• Li Long asked Liu Gaolou about arranging invitation letters for Li Xiangqian and Director Qian to hunt across the border, and Liu Gaolou confirmed his uncle’s company could help.
• Liu Gaolou returned with ten vehicles, paid Li Long for the previous cement shipment, and arranged to take another eighty to a hundred tons while giving Li Long a Type 69 vehicle.
• Li Long unloaded and tested the Type 69 vehicle, then hired workers to load cement and called Li Xiangqian to report that the foreign trip could be arranged.

Li Long arranged an expense-paid study visit to the Kazakh Union Republic for Director Qian and Li Xiangqian, while he continued trading cement and sugar through Liu Shanmin. The group crossed into Almaty with an official welcome, and their inspection visit began.

• Director Qian agreed to join Li Long’s study trip without bringing family members, and Section Chief Hu later asked Li Long to seek a place for him too.
• Liu Gaolou delivered cattle and sheep offal, which Li Long sold, and Li Long completed the cement trade for fifty-five thousand US dollars.
• Li Long bought thirty tonnes of sugar from Section Chief Hu, paying five thousand US dollars and the rest in renminbi, then arranged to transport it across the border.
• Director Qian and Li Xiangqian received approval for the short overseas visit, and Li Long exchanged one thousand US dollars for each of them.
• Li Long drove Director Qian, Li Xiangqian, and Liu Gaolou to Khorgos, where they crossed the border with the sugar trucks and met Liu Shanmin’s delegation.
• Liu Shanmin introduced the visitors to an Almaty deputy division chief, and the group began its official inspection visit.

Li Long and his companions completed a formal tour of Almaty’s commerce department, stores, and factories before switching to a hunting trip. The chapter leaves them firing on a large herd of antelope near Nalinguole.

• Li Long drank the Kazakh officials under the table at a welcome banquet, and Liu Shanmin said the feat could help his plans.
• Director Qian and Li Xiangqian attended a commerce-department discussion, toured a department store and local factories, and posed for photos.
• Liu Shanmin told the group the inspection agenda was complete and took them to hunt in the countryside.
• Li Long and the others stayed near the river where he had previously fished, then set out for Nalinguole the next morning.
• Liu Shanmin spotted a herd of antelope, and the group approached before opening fire as the animals began to run.

Li Long joined Liu Shanmin, Director Qian, and the others on a hunt that yielded seventeen antelope, then traveled with them to Nalinguole for a mountain hunt. Liu Shanmin stayed behind to recover from drinking, while Li Long and the others headed into the mountains, where Li Long considered the border region’s dangers and political history.

• Li Xiangqian, Director Qian, and the others shot seventeen antelope, and Li Long helped finish and skin them with Mulat and local herders.
• The group returned to their lodgings, then drove to Nalinguole, where Li Long discussed the border region, his past bear hunt, and the animals he raised.
• Liu Shanmin explained that antelope had moved toward the restricted border zone and that hunters needed help from the border guards to pursue them.
• After drinking with the border guards, Liu Shanmin stayed behind to rest, while Li Long, Director Qian, and Li Xiangqian set out with Baishanbai for a mountain hunt.
• As they drove toward Heavenly Mountain, Li Long warned the others to expect a long hike through the snow and reflected on the borderlands and their future dangers.

Li Long, Director Qian, and Li Xiangqian hunted wolves in the mountains, then witnessed the large-scale slaughter and processing of antelope. After shopping in Almaty, they left for the border with their purchases and Liu Shanmin’s supplies, concluding the inspection trip as future cooperation continued.

• Baishanbai led Li Long, Director Qian, and the others into the mountains, where they found a pack of wolves feeding on Siberian ibex.
• The wolves charged the group, and Li Long, Director Qian, and the others shot all eight; they collected pelts, carcasses, and two ibex heads.
• After returning from the hunt, the group visited a site processing hundreds of antelope, and Liu Shanmin explained that he had arranged to buy the horns and hides.
• The group returned to Almaty, where Director Qian, Li Xiangqian, and the others shopped for local goods before preparing to leave.
• After a farewell ceremony, Li Long and the others departed Almaty in a convoy carrying their purchases and Liu Shanmin’s collected antelope horns toward the border.

Liu Shanmin used Li Long’s official visitors to strengthen his trading connections in the Kazakh Union Republic, while Director Qian refused the luxury Volga offered to him. After returning home, Li Long reunited with Gu Xiaoxia and learned that Bai Xiuming and Wei Mancang were waiting to discuss a car.

• Liu Shanmin explained to Li Long how Director Qian and Li Xiangqian’s visit supported his trading plans, then arranged invitations for Sugar Factory leaders.
• Director Qian refused Liu Shanmin’s Volga, so Liu Shanmin sent Liu Gaolou to drive it back to Ma County.
• Li Long’s convoy returned to Ma County, where Li Xiangqian treated the drivers and guests to a meal before Li Long went home to Gu Xiaoxia and their sons.
• Li Long learned that Bai Xiuming had brought Wei Mancang to discuss buying a car.
• Li Long went to retrieve the shipment, including two thousand pairs of antelope horns, before word of the goods spread.

Li Long settled accounts with Liu Gaolou and arranged for Wei Mancang to buy a Volga with his shoes and additional money. The next morning, Li Long offered Section Chief Hu an invitation to visit the Kazakh Union Republic to secure fifty tons of sugar, and Hu began to consider the deal.

• Li Long paid Liu Gaolou for antelope horns, hides, and offal, then agreed on sugar and shoe arrangements.
• Li Long offered Wei Mancang the Volga for his shoes plus another hundred thousand yuan, and Wei agreed to buy it after arranging to wire the money.
• Liu Gaolou postponed settling the car account until he could report the shoe deal to his uncle, then rested with his group before heading to the sugar factory the next morning.
• Li Long returned home, tended the greenhouse with Mingming and Haohao, and told Gu Xiaoxia he did not plan to travel abroad again soon.
• Li Long took Liu Gaolou to the Stone City Sugar Factory and offered Section Chief Hu a five-day visit to the Kazakh Union Republic in exchange for considering a fifty-ton sugar order.

Li Long secured fifty tonnes of white sugar in exchange for payment and invitations for eight Sugar Factory employees to visit Almaty, while Sister Yang developed a way to turn dried-beef trimmings into snack-sized beef nuggets. He sold a truck, received another shipment from Liu Gaolou, and arranged the Sugar Factory group’s trip without joining them because he planned to go to Yanjing.

• Section Chief Hu obtained approval to sell Li Long fifty tonnes of white sugar and secure invitations for eight people, and Li Long paid for the sugar.
• Sister Yang turned dried-beef trimmings into snack-sized beef nuggets, and Li Long awarded her five hundred yuan and asked her to send samples to Huang Lei and Zhao Hui.
• Wei Mancang bought a vehicle from Li Long for one hundred thousand yuan, while Bai Xiuming said he would bring another truckload of shoes to discuss a Lada.
• Li Long considered saving his growing supply of US dollars for future purchases, then worked on his household greenhouse as the schools closed for winter break.
• Liu Gaolou brought an invitation letter for eight Sugar Factory employees and settled the latest trade, including fifty thousand US dollars for white sugar and payment for hides, offal, and antelope horns.
• Li Long declined to accompany the Sugar Factory group to Almaty because he planned to visit Yanjing, and Section Chief Hu told him he could buy more sugar while the group was away.

Li Long planned a trip to Yanjing and invited Harimu’s family and Jade Mountain River’s children to join him. After selling a large batch of hides to Zhao Hui, he prepared the travelers for the journey and left Gu Xiaoxia at home, where she struggled with his impending absence.

• Section Chief Hu let Li Long leave after questioning him about the Kazakh Union Republic trip, and Li Long returned to Ma County to arrange the sale of imported hides.
• Li Long visited Harimu and Jade Mountain River in the mountains and arranged for Harimu, Nasen, Sasiken, and Jade Mountain River’s two children to travel with him to Yanjing; Old Lady declined to go.
• Li Long bought six hard-sleeper tickets for the group, then sold Zhao Hui nearly four thousand hides along with beef jerky and beef nuggets.
• Li Long bought new clothes for the mountain travelers and explained that they would visit Tiananmen and other sights before returning through Wu City.
• Gu Xiaoxia packed Li Long’s things and became tearful about his long trip, and Li Long comforted her before the journey.

Li Long took Harimu and the children from Ma County to Yanjing by bus and train, introducing them to the bustle of Wu City and their first long-distance journey. They arrived safely at Li Long’s siheyuan, where Gu Xiaoyu welcomed them into the warm courtyard as their visit began.

• Li Long trimmed the supplies Harimu’s group had packed, then took them by bus to Wu City and led them to lunch and the railway station.
• The children explored the crowded station before boarding the train, where Ye'erjiang exchanged berths with an elderly teacher and spoke with her.
• The group ate the food they had brought, listened to the train’s radio broadcasts, and slept through the journey as the elderly teacher offered to treat them to a meal in Yanjing.
• Li Long and the children arrived in Yanjing, gave the elderly teacher the address of his siheyuan, and took a minivan taxi to the courtyard.
• Gu Xiaoyu welcomed them into the heated siheyuan, and Li Long explained to Harimu that she was his wife’s twin sister.

Li Long brought Gu Xiaoyu and the children to a halal lamb hotpot restaurant, where the children enjoyed their meal and talked about watching the flag-raising in Yanjing. When Li Long found Ye'erjiang, Nasen, and Sasiken being insulted by a diner, he confronted the man, and Gu Xiaoyu and a server joined in defending them.

• Li Long told Gu Xiaoyu about her family and asked why she had stopped trading jade, but she denied having any trouble.
• Gu Xiaoyu took Li Long, Harimu, and the children to a halal lamb hotpot restaurant, where the children planned to watch the flag-raising the next morning.
• Nasen offered the restaurant server beef bites from Li Long's family, and the server praised their flavor.
• Li Long found Ye'erjiang shielding Nasen and Sasiken from a diner who had mocked the children and called them stupid brats.
• Li Long argued with the diner after he claimed Yanjing belonged to locals and boasted that his family had once called the shots there.
• Gu Xiaoyu and the server condemned the diner's arrogance and defended visitors from across the country.

Li Long brought Harimu and the children around Yanjing, reassuring them after a rude man at lunch and taking them to the Tiananmen flag-raising and National Museum. When they returned to the courtyard, Gu Xiaoyu’s stepbrother Huang Yufei was waiting and offered to help, leaving Li Long suspicious that he had an ulterior motive.

• Li Long and his companions drove off the man who had insulted Ye'erjiang and left without paying, while Gu Xiaoyu explained the incident and reassured the children afterward.
• Li Long called Gu Boyuan and his family, visited the Ethnic Affairs Commission's Beijing Office, and arranged to meet an official the following afternoon.
• Li Long took Harimu and the children to watch the Tiananmen flag-raising, where they sang the national anthem and met an elderly railway veteran who had worked in Northern Xinjiang.
• Li Long brought the group to the National Museum and then returned with them to the courtyard, where Huang Yufei introduced himself as Gu Xiaoyu's older brother and offered to treat them to zhajiangmian.
• Li Long declined Huang Yufei's invitation and offer to help cook, suspecting that he might be scheming something.

Li Long rejected Huang Yufei’s attempt to partner with him in the jade business and spent the day meeting officials while Gu Xiaoyu showed Harimu and the children around Yanjing. After returning to the courtyard, Li Long learned that a middle-aged woman had come for Gu Xiaoyu and left with her, raising his suspicion that she was his mother-in-law.

• Huang Yufei asked Li Long to partner in selling jade, but Li Long refused and told him he would only discuss the business with Gu Xiaoyu.
• Gu Xiaoyu joined Li Long, Harimu, and the children for pilaf, then took the group to Wangfujing while Li Long went to meet a leader and Director Dai.
• Li Long bought return tickets for three days later and inspected the other two courtyards, deciding to leave Gu Xiaoyu extra money.
• Harimu told Li Long that a middle-aged woman had waited for Gu Xiaoyu and then left with her, leading Li Long to suspect the woman was his mother-in-law.

Li Long returned from Yanjing with the children, then resumed business with Liu Gaolou and learned why Section Chief Hu was grateful for the careful arrangements on his Soviet inspection trip. The Sugar Factory agreed to deepen its cooperation with Li Long by offering wholesale sugar prices and raising his monthly limit to a hundred tons.

• Li Long took the children to Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, showed them around Yanjing, and gave Gu Xiaoyu five thousand US dollars to buy antiques for him.
• Li Long and the children returned home by way of Wu City, where they visited the regional museum before going back to the mountains.
• Liu Gaolou delivered three thousand hides and antelope horns, bought fifty tons of sugar, and settled his accounts with Li Long.
• Section Chief Hu told Li Long that other returning groups had faced police extortion, a missing engineer, and harm to a woman during Soviet trips.
• Section Chief Hu said the factory director would deepen cooperation with Li Long, offer sugar at wholesale prices, and raise his monthly limit to a hundred tons.

Li Long arranged urgent cement deliveries and another hide shipment, then brought Mingming and Haohao home for a visit. At the Purchasing Station, he showed Wang Mingjun and Big Old Chen imported GAZ-69s and offered to let them pay for vehicles with hides, leaving Wang interested in buying a new one.

• Li Long arranged for Liu Jianhua to deliver up to fifty tons of cement a day at twice the usual freight cost and asked Zhao Hui to collect another three thousand hides.
• Li Long brought Mingming and Haohao home from Li Jianguo's place, where they had been playing with Li Qiang, and the children excitedly asked about his Yanjing trip.
• Li Long waited at the Purchasing Station for Wang Mingjun, who arrived with Big Old Chen and asked whether Li Long's imported vehicles were for sale.
• Li Long showed Wang Mingjun and Big Old Chen a new GAZ-69 and quoted forty thousand yuan for it, while offering Big Old Chen an older vehicle instead.
• Li Long told Wang Mingjun that the new GAZ-69 had complete import paperwork and offered to accept hides as payment, prompting Wang to consider buying it.

Li Long sold a new GAZ-69 to Wang Mingjun in exchange for hides and an advance, then attracted another Corps commander, Zhao Zongming, who traded hides to reserve a secondhand vehicle. After demand grew, Li Long asked Liu Gaolou to bring more GAZ-69s while preparing a hundred tons of cement for trade.

• Wang Mingjun and Big Old Chen exchanged hundreds of hides and cash toward a new GAZ-69, then test-drove it and returned home to hunt for the remaining payment.
• Li Long visited Li Jianguo, heard that his own GAZ-69 was running well, and warned Mingming and Haohao not to repeat an inappropriate joke they had heard from Mingwa.
• Zhao Zongming called Li Long about the new Jeep, then arrived with hides and traded them toward a secondhand GAZ-69, reserving one for himself.
• Li Long called Liu Gaolou and asked him to have Liu Shanmin bring as many GAZ-69s as possible on the next trip.
• Liu Gaolou confirmed that he would bring the vehicles and said he planned to trade the hundred tons of cement Li Long had prepared for goods needed across the border.

As the New Year approached, Li Long prepared supplies and completed major hide, vehicle, and cement deals with Zhao Hui and Liu Gaolou. Liu Gaolou brought two huge Ili River sturgeon as gifts, and Li Long divided one among friends and associates before taking Liu Gaolou out for dinner.

• Gu Xiaoxia and Sister Yang prepared New Year food while Li Long gathered greenhouse vegetables, and Zhao Hui arrived and bought more than three thousand hides.
• Li Long paid Gu Boyuan dividends and gave Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang bonuses while waiting for Liu Gaolou’s arrival.
• Liu Gaolou arrived with a convoy, sold Li Long two thousand hides and four GAZ-69s, and bought a hundred tons of cement.
• Liu Gaolou gave Li Long two enormous sturgeon, which drew a crowd at the Purchasing Station.
• Li Long took the fish home, gave Sister Yang a portion, and cut another fish into sections for New Year gifts.
• Li Long picked up Liu Gaolou and took him to Tuanfeng Tower for dinner.

Li Long hosted Liu Gaolou for a farewell meal, where Liu Gaolou admitted that he had learned to value their middleman partnership after failing to trade directly with factories. The next day, Li Long drove him to the train station with smoked fish, then delivered fish and New Year gifts to friends and family as Spring Festival approached.

• Liu Gaolou drank heavily with Li Long and confessed that his attempts to buy sugar and sell hides and cement directly had failed, so he accepted his role as a middleman.
• Li Long took the drunken Liu Gaolou back to the guesthouse, then went home and discussed New Year gifts and plans with Gu Xiaoxia.
• The next morning, Li Long gave Liu Gaolou smoked fish, drove him to Wu City Railway Station, and saw him onto a train.
• Li Long delivered New Year gifts to Director Qian, Chen Hongjun, and Director Wei before returning to Ma County after dark.
• Li Long shared the huge fish with Li Qingxia and Li Jianguo, then brought some to Gu Boyuan as the Spring Festival of 1988 began.

At New Year’s Eve dinner, Li Long persuaded Li Jianguo to expand the family’s farming operation by planting cotton, leasing wasteland, and bringing workers from Inland China. The next morning, Li Anguo’s and Li Qingxia’s families arrived for the New Year, filling the courtyard with relatives and children.

• At dinner, Li Long explained family responsibilities to Li Qiang and discussed the year’s business with Li Jianguo, Li Junfeng, and the others.
• Li Long urged Li Jianguo to plant a hundred mu of cotton, lease saline-alkali wasteland, and recruit workers from back home; Li Jianguo agreed to try the plan.
• Li Long proposed building brick rooms for the workers and having Li Junfeng supervise them, while Li Qingxia offered to contact relatives about coming to work.
• The next morning, Li Jianguo drove to the county seat and brought back Li Anguo’s family and Li Qingxia’s family.
• The visiting relatives reunited, and the children quickly began playing together in the courtyards.

Li Long reunited with family and friends for the New Year, gave the children jade gifts, and persuaded his friends to expand their cotton planting plans. After the holiday, he sold vehicles and handled another shipment of pelts at the county courtyard, where Wang Mingjun prepared to take ownership of a vehicle.

• Li Long gave the children carved Hetian river jade and later shared kaluga sturgeon with his friends at Xie Yundong's New Year gathering.
• Li Long announced that his family would plant one hundred mu of cotton, and Tao Daqiang, Xie Yundong, Liang Dacheng, and Jia Weidong settled on their own planting plans.
• Xu Chengjun asked Li Long about buying a vehicle and discussed how Li Long would help Team members learn cotton-growing techniques.
• Meng Hai bought a used GAZ-69, and Zheng Xiangyang test-drove another vehicle while Wang Mingjun brought pelts to the Purchasing Station.
• Wang Mingjun counted his latest shipment of pelts and looked forward to taking his vehicle once he paid the remaining balance.

Li Long sold several GAZ-69 vehicles to Zheng Xiangyang and Zhao Zongming, then received Wang Mingjun and Big Old Chen when they came back for vehicles after the Lantern Festival. Wang Mingjun and Big Old Chen each chose a vehicle and prepared to drive it home.

• Zheng Xiangyang tested a twenty-thousand-yuan vehicle, paid Li Long, and drove it away after receiving the paperwork.
• Zhao Zongming brought hides to Li Long, inspected the newer vehicles, and bought one for twenty-nine thousand yuan.
• Li Long learned that seven or eight people from his hometown might come looking for work, while his family planned to prepare materials for building houses after the snow melted.
• Wang Mingjun and Big Old Chen returned with hides and gifts, paid the remaining balance for their vehicles, and Big Old Chen chose a vehicle after a test drive.

Li Long prepared the Purchasing Station for spring, settled its winter hide business, and arranged a trip to Ili for the Nowruz Festival. After returning home, he found his family had finished building four rooms for the people expected from his hometown and helped prepare bedding before setting off.

• Gu Boyuan stocked fertilizer and plastic sheeting for the spring season, while Li Long discussed how to advertise the supplies.
• Liu Gaolou told Li Long that relatives had demanded a share of his Khorgos business, so he moved his wife and children to the provincial capital; Li Long urged him to rest before returning to work.
• Liu Gaolou invited Li Long to visit Ili for the Nowruz Festival, and Li Long agreed to go if his other responsibilities allowed.
• Zhao Hui bought nearly four thousand hides from Li Long for 680,000 yuan, and Li Long rewarded Gu Boyuan, Liang Shuangcheng, and Sun Jiaqiang for their work.
• Li Long returned home and found that Li Jianguo and the others had finished four rooms, so he bought cotton batting and fabric for their bedding.
• Li Long told his family he planned to visit Ili, and Dad and Li Jianguo agreed.