Recaps

Li Long explained his proposed farming Cooperative to Li Jianguo, then heard Xu Haijun make a serious case for joining it. The chapter left Li Long and Xie Yundong considering Xu Haijun’s offer to contribute an extra thousand yuan to prove his sincerity.

• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia that Xu Haijun wanted to join the Cooperative, and she said Xu was wise to follow someone capable.
• Li Long described pooling 280 mu of land and hiring workers to Li Jianguo, who discussed the Cooperative’s structure and approved its general plan.
• Xie Yundong and Xu Haijun arrived, and Xu explained that he wanted to grow cotton with Li Long’s help rather than risk falling behind on his own.
• Li Long warned Xu that joining required substantial upfront costs and carried the risk of losses before the harvest.
• Xu insisted he understood the risks and offered to contribute an extra thousand yuan while accepting the same shares and duties as the others.

Li Long explained how a cooperative could share farming risks while giving his family a large stake through land and machinery, then returned to the Fourth Team to review Xie Yundong’s proposed rules with the other members. The meeting settled the cooperative’s staff roles and yield-based share calculations, and Li Long anticipated that the next provision would cause conflict.

• Li Long told Xu Haijun to wait for the cooperative’s rules before deciding whether to join and said no one else could be added for now; he asked Xie Yundong to draft the terms.
• Li Long explained to Liang Yuemei that contributing a high-horsepower tractor could earn his family a substantial share, while the cooperative would also spread farming risks.
• Factory Director Du told Li Long that snow-clearing machine orders were increasing and that his factory had developed a sixth improved model.
• After Xie Yundong finished drafting the terms, Li Long returned to the Fourth Team and gathered the prospective members, Li Jianguo, and Li Junfeng for a cooperative meeting.
• Xie Yundong outlined management roles, and the group agreed to create a paid technical officer position for Li Long.
• Xie Yundong proposed calculating shares according to land yield, and Li Long backed the proposal; Li Long expected the next provision to provoke disagreement.

The villagers worked out the cooperative’s shares, equipment contributions, wages, and staff positions, while Li Long withdrew his high-horsepower tractor to avoid dominating ownership. The cooperative began to take shape with Xu Haijun joining, though the members planned to hold further meetings before finalizing everything.

• Xie Yundong calculated shares from land and common farm equipment, and Li Jianguo and Li Long’s combined contributions gave them close to sixty percent of the initial shares.
• Li Long declined to contribute his high-horsepower tractor as shares, but offered his small four-wheel tractor and stalk beating machine instead.
• The members agreed Xie Yundong would manage the cooperative, Li Long would serve as technical supervisor, Jia Weidong would keep accounts, and other positions would cover machinery, field management, and water management.
• The members accepted Xu Haijun as a cooperative participant, with a thousand-yuan contribution and about a hundred mu of land, and agreed no further outsiders could join.
• Li Long explained that the high-horsepower tractors could earn money by plowing and sowing for other teams, while Tao Daqiang and Liang Dacheng chose machinery and field-management roles.
• Xu Haijun accepted the remaining water-management position and asked to attend the next meeting as the cooperative’s plans continued to develop.

The Fourth Team’s cooperative took shape and was formally approved, while Li Long learned that men had been watching Li Juan outside First Middle School. He confronted two knife-wielding robbers as they threatened Li Juan and her friend, and the chapter ended with him swinging his wooden club at them.

• Ma Jinbao loudly threatened to report Li Long’s proposed cooperative, then denied ever saying so the next day.
• Xie Yundong presented the cooperative to Xu Chengjun and registered it with the township, which placed it on file.
• Six households signed the cooperative agreement, and Li Long arranged its initial supplies, irrigation, and machinery.
• Li Qingxia told Li Long that two young men had been watching Li Juan outside First Middle School, so Li Long kept watch near the school.
• Two men drew knives and demanded money from Li Juan and her friends, and Li Long rushed at them with his wooden club.

Li Long rescued Li Juan from two knife-wielding robbers and pushed the police to investigate instead of dismissing the crime. The investigation exposed a school-extortion gang, while Li Long warned Li Juan to stay cautious and considered proposing stronger protections for students.

• Li Long disarmed and injured two young men who were robbing Li Juan, then took them and their knives to the police station.
• Officer Saimaiti tried to minimize the crime, but Deputy Station Chief Guo Tiebing ordered the suspects questioned after Li Long reported the armed robbery.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia he planned to propose better safety measures for middle-school students and discussed concerns about school discipline.
• Guo Tiebing told Li Long that the suspects belonged to a gang of more than a dozen people who had extorted students for over two years, and that police had arrested most of its members.
• Li Long warned Li Juan to be careful, and she explained that her teachers had instructed students to avoid going out at night.

Li Long investigated the school extortion case, then responded to rumors that his actions undermined ethnic unity by drafting an article against people who used unity to sow division. After Harimu and Jade Mountain River visited to support him, Li Long contacted the leader's secretary, whose response left him uncertain.

• Li Long gathered information about the extortion case as schools disciplined students who had aided the gang, and Guo Tiebing told him that Saimaiti had tipped off the suspects and received a severe internal warning.
• Guo Tiebing reported that the case had been tried, with seven people imprisoned, several sent to the Juvenile Detention Center, and others criticized and educated; Li Long completed a proposal based on the investigation.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that rumors accused him of undermining ethnic unity by helping get the students arrested, so he contacted Ma Xiaoyan and dictated an article condemning people who distorted unity to avoid responsibility or stir up division.
• Ma Xiaoyan polished the article and told Li Long that the county leadership approved it; she planned to submit it for publication and broadcast.
• Harimu and Jade Mountain River visited Li Long to reassure him, and afterward Li Long read his article to the leader's secretary, who gave no clear response.

Li Long investigated rumors accusing him of undermining ethnic unity, while his article defending his actions gained attention in local media and official circles. Zhu Yuzhang traced the rumor to a visitor from Southern Xinjiang, but the visitor had already left, and Li Long returned to preparing his cooperative proposal.

• Li Long asked resellers at the Purchasing Station about the rumors, and Zhu Yuzhang described how he had corrected people who repeated them.
• Li Long explained the arrests to Li Qingxia, while Zhu Yuzhang and Fan Mingcheng offered to help counter the rumors and find their source.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that his article was being broadcast on the radio, and Ma Xiaoyan reported that it had appeared on the Beiting Daily front page while officials planned an investigation into the rumors.
• Secretary Zhang told Li Long that a leader approved his proposal and praised his sense of social responsibility; Li Long explained the village cooperative and began refining his proposal.
• Zhu Yuzhang told Li Long that the rumor had come from a visitor from Southern Xinjiang, but Li Long concluded the man could not be tracked down and resumed his proposal work.

Li Long’s Purchasing Station faced a surprise inspection by Wu City Customs and the prefectural Tax Bureau, but his records were complete and local officials backed him. Director Qian traced the inspection to a higher-up’s remarks about Li Long’s article, and the article itself drew the attention of senior leaders.

• Li Long received ten cars from Liu Gaolou, who warned that winter roads and the Guozigou avalanche made future deliveries dangerous.
• Wu City Customs and prefectural Tax Bureau inspectors demanded Li Long’s car and tax records, and Liang Shuangcheng caught one inspector secretly passing a document to his colleague.
• Li Long confronted the inspector, while county Industry and Commerce and Tax Bureau staff, Li Xiangqian, and Zhou Yuan arrived and confirmed that Li Long’s paperwork and taxes were in order.
• The inspection team left without finding a problem, and Li Long rewarded Liang Shuangcheng for spotting the missing document.
• Li Xiangqian reported the incident to Director Qian, who learned that a higher-up’s criticism of Li Long’s article had prompted the inspection and that senior leaders had now noticed the article.

After their article earned quiet praise and the inspections stopped, Li Long’s purchasing station drew support from visitors. Regimental Commander Qi Wusheng inspected and test-drove one of Li Long’s high-horsepower tractors, then considered buying it for his regiment but left to consult the political commissar.

• Li Long learned that the authorities had praised his and Ma Xiaoyan’s article, while the inspectors faced discipline and people visited the purchasing station to show support.
• Li Juan told Li Long that police patrols had made her school and other secondary schools safer, and Ma Xiaoyan said she might receive a new assignment after the New Year.
• Li Long and Li Qingxia discussed winter purchases and antiques as they cleared snow at the purchasing station.
• Wang Mingjun brought Regimental Commander Qi Wusheng to see Li Long’s three high-horsepower tractors, and Qi inspected and drove one around the courtyard.
• Qi Wusheng praised the tractor’s condition, learned its price was 260,000 yuan, and considered Li Long’s offer of a 10,000-yuan discount before deciding to consult the political commissar.

Li Long visited Harimu and Jade Mountain River in the mountains, where he learned that more herder families wanted their children to attend school in the County Seat. After discussing how to help them find housing and caregivers, he was stopped by Meng Hai, who said he had something to discuss.

• Regimental Commander Qi and Wang Mingjun left the Purchasing Station to discuss the high-horsepower tractor at Division Headquarters, while Li Long estimated his hide-trading profits and talked with Sun Jiaqiang about Tie Lanhua's family.
• After hearing that jade prices had risen, Li Long's family decided to bring more dogs to guard their courtyard and the Purchasing Station.
• Li Long bought vegetables and drove to Harimu's winter camp, where Harimu told him that other herding families wanted their children to go to school in the County Seat but were worried about money and leaving their pastures unattended.
• Li Long, Harimu, and Jade Mountain River agreed to count the interested families and consider buying nearby courtyards or arranging for several families to care for the children together.
• Jade Mountain River told Li Long that Bek's dog had puppies, and Li Long decided to take some back to raise.
• On his return, Meng Hai stopped Li Long and invited him home, saying he had something to discuss.

Li Long agreed to establish a company base in the County Seat and arranged casual laborers to load Zhao Hui’s purchase of over ten thousand hides. Zhao Hui asked Li Long to find rare pelts, especially a Northern Xinjiang tiger skin, leaving Li Long to ask around without promising success.

• Meng Hai proposed finding a company yard in the County Seat, and Li Long approved the plan and left the search to him.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia decided to repay Meng Hai’s generosity with a schoolbag and stationery for his child.
• Li Long hired workers at the Day Labor Market to load hides and learned that the former village teacher Xia Minghai had lost his job after his school closed.
• Zhao Hui arrived, inspected samples from Li Long’s bundles, and arranged for his men to oversee loading the hides.
• Zhao Hui asked Li Long to find rare pelts and offered twenty thousand for a tiger skin, and Li Long agreed to ask around without guaranteeing he could find one.

Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and Talihaal took elders and children from the tribe to visit Harimu’s mother in the County Seat, where the women admired the courtyard homes and discussed whether they could live there. Talihaal’s grandmother decided to buy a home near Harimu’s, and Talihaal brought Li Long a snow leopard pelt to sell; meanwhile, Regiment Commander Qi bought a high-horsepower tractor from Li Long.

• Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and Talihaal drove elders and children from their winter camps to visit Harimu’s mother in the County Seat.
• Talihaal’s grandmother urged Talihaal to buy a courtyard home after seeing Harimu’s mother’s house, and the women discussed the comforts and difficulties of moving there.
• Jade Mountain River hosted the visitors for lunch and took them shopping before the group returned to the mountains, where most of the women fell quiet about their families’ reluctance to move.
• Talihaal’s grandmother told him to take a snow leopard pelt to Li Long and ask him to sell it and find a courtyard home near Harimu’s.
• Regiment Commander Qi bought a John Deere high-horsepower tractor and its implements from Li Long for 250,000 yuan.
• Talihaal gave Li Long the pelt and asked him to arrange a nearby courtyard home, renovations, and furniture; Li Long agreed to look for a place and planned to raise the puppies Talihaal brought.

Li Long arranged a courtyard in the County Town for Talihaal’s family and prepared to report to a leader in Yanjing about cooperatives, rural conditions, and ethnic unity. After being told he could fly there, Li Long planned to build an asphalt road for his home team and discussed household registration for his relatives with Li Jianguo.

• Meng Hai told Li Long he had rented a village courtyard on the Urban-Rural Fringe for the company, and Li Long agreed the location was suitable.
• Li Long showed Talihaal and his grandmother a courtyard in the County Town, and they accepted it and completed the paperwork.
• Li Long received wolf pelts, deer antlers, and jade from Talihaal’s family as payment, then planned to equip their new home.
• Secretary Zhang told Li Long that a leader wanted him to explain his ideas in Yanjing, and Li Long learned he could fly there before New Year’s Day.
• Li Long prepared notes on cooperatives and rural development, then told Gu Xiaoxia about the trip and invited her to join him, but she declined.
• Li Long visited Li Jianguo, learned that only some of Li Junfeng’s family could currently apply for household registration, and proposed funding an asphalt road from the Fourth Team to the township.

Li Long traveled from Northern Xinjiang to Yanjing, reunited with Gu Xiaoyu at the courtyard house, and met the leader after Secretary Zhang arranged an appointment. He left the meeting with gifts from the leader and was told to remain in Yanjing and await further word.

• Li Long obtained a letter of introduction and a plane ticket, visited Yusufu, and learned that a desert family had a tiger pelt for sale at a high price.
• Li Long flew to Yanjing through heavy snow, settled into the Big Courtyard, and reunited with Gu Xiaoyu, who told him about her life and their family.
• Li Long visited Director Dai and the Ethnic Affairs Commission Beijing Office before Director Dai drove him to the leader's residence.
• Secretary Zhang escorted Li Long into the leader's office for a forty-minute meeting and told him to stay in Yanjing for the next few days.
• Secretary Zhang gave Li Long some gifts from the leader, and Director Dai arranged for him to rest and receive more local specialties at the Beijing Office.

Li Long learned about Gu Xiaoyu’s unhappy experiences with matchmaking and worried over how to help her find a suitable husband. The chapter left him considering whether he could persuade her to visit Northern Xinjiang, while he also prepared to heat and air out his courtyards in Yanjing.

• Dong Xiaojuan told Du Chunfang that Li Junfeng’s family hoped to register locally and build a home nearby, while Li Jianguo discussed Li Long’s planned asphalt road with Lu Yingming.
• Ma Jinbao complained that Li Long was showing off by paying for the road, but villagers defended Li Long and his contribution to the team.
• Secretary Zhang told Li Long that a leader supported his cooperative and road plans, praised his approach to revising ethnic-school textbooks, and said Li Long could contact him if problems arose.
• Li Long cooked lunch for Gu Xiaoyu and asked about her marriage prospects; she described failed introductions and a disappointing relationship.
• Li Long advised Gu Xiaoyu to settle down and suggested she learn to drive, then wondered whether he could persuade her to visit Northern Xinjiang.

Li Long cleared the alley snow, met neighborhood officer Auntie Liu, and bought a truckload of coal to supply three courtyards. Xiao Liu helped unload it and began considering whether he could make money selling Northern Xinjiang raisins, while Li Long planned to talk with him after the work was done.

• Li Long cleared most of the alley snow and rebuffed Xiao Liu's questions about Gu Xiaoyu, prompting Uncle Song to advise Xiao Liu to find a proper job.
• Auntie Liu visited Li Long's courtyard, learned he worked in Northern Xinjiang and was married, and accepted a packet of raisins from him.
• Xiao Liu realized Northern Xinjiang raisins might sell well before New Year, but he lacked the capital to buy any.
• Auntie Liu shared Li Long's raisins with her colleagues, who discussed asking him to supply some as a staff benefit.
• Li Long bought a truckload of coal and arranged workers to carry it to three courtyards.
• Xiao Liu volunteered to help unload the coal, followed Li Long to the other courtyards, and continued working when Gu Xiaoyu briefly arrived.

Li Long encouraged Meng Yuchao to sell raisins as snacks himself, supplied him with stock, and considered whether he could become a reliable helper for watching the courtyards. The next morning, Meng Yuchao set out to test the idea, Uncle Song received some raisins for his children, and Auntie Liu arrived to speak with Li Long.

• After settling the coal delivery, Li Long agreed to let Xiao Liu have ten kilos of raisins on credit, and Xiao Liu revealed his name was Meng Yuchao.
• Over zhajiangmian, Li Long advised Meng Yuchao to sell raisins by the cup at busy places instead of wholesaling them, and Meng Yuchao decided to try it himself.
• Li Long arranged for Liang Shuangcheng to send Meng Yuchao twenty kilos of raisins and gave him the little over a kilo he already had.
• Gu Xiaoyu told Li Long that Auntie Liu had come looking for him, and Li Long explained he hoped Meng Yuchao might help keep an eye on the courtyard.
• The next morning, Meng Yuchao hurried out with a bag to test-sell the raisins, and Li Long gave Uncle Song the remaining half-kilo for his children.
• Auntie Liu arrived at Li Long's courtyard after meeting Uncle Song outside.

Li Long arranged for raisins to be delivered to the Subdistrict Office, surveyed Yanjing’s universities, and found that Meng Yuchao had made a strong profit reselling raisins. He bought jadeite and gifts after being turned away from the Antique Shop, then left Meng Yuchao eager to follow his business advice.

• Li Long agreed to arrange fifty kilograms of raisins for Auntie Liu and left the Subdistrict Office after a woman tried to steer the order toward jujubes.
• Li Long toured several Yanjing universities while considering Li Juan’s chances of studying there, then returned to the Big Courtyard.
• Meng Yuchao told Li Long that he had sold a little over a kilogram of raisins for 9.60 yuan by portioning them into small servings outside a cinema.
• Li Long planned to look for antiques and jadeite, and Meng Yuchao found shops near Qianmen and Chongwenmen that sold both old and new pieces.
• Staff refused Li Long entry to the Antique Shop, and the Consignment Shop had nothing he wanted, so he bought jadeite and gifts in three shops instead.
• On the ride back, Li Long dismissed the taxi driver’s claims about the Soviet Union and explained to Meng Yuchao that unusual business opportunities brought profits; Meng Yuchao resolved to stick close to him.

Li Long accepted the Meng family’s invitation to lunch after advising Meng Yuchao on business, and he confirmed with Secretary Zhang that he could return to Northern Xinjiang. Director Dai arranged his flight and promised assistance at both ends, while Li Long left the story preparing to depart the next day.

• Meng Yuchao took the leftover roast duck home, and his parents praised Li Long for helping their son and decided to invite him to a meal.
• Li Long accepted the Meng family’s invitation for zhajiangmian, while Gu Xiaoyu declined to join and learned he planned to fly back to Northern Xinjiang.
• Li Long visited the Beijing Office and called Secretary Zhang, who confirmed there were no further assignments and said the leader wanted occasional updates from him.
• Director Dai arranged Li Long’s travel documents and next-day plane ticket, with someone to meet him at his destination.
• Li Long packed his belongings and brought Northern Xinjiang specialties to the Meng family’s home, where he praised Meng Yuchao and agreed the family could help watch over the Big Courtyard.

Li Long finished preparing the Big Courtyard for his absence, said goodbye to Gu Xiaoyu, and left Northern Xinjiang by plane before driving home with jade and gifts. He arrived near midnight to find Gu Xiaoxia and Han Fang waiting to welcome him.

• Li Long tidied all three courtyards, and Auntie Liu visited to ask about parcels and learned that Li Long had also brought specialties for the Meng family.
• Li Long saw Gu Xiaoyu speaking with a male colleague and left without interrupting; the next morning, Gu Xiaoyu explained the man had come to discuss work and her personal life, and Li Long said goodbye before leaving for the Beijing Office.
• Xiao Wang gave Li Long his ticket and arranged a ride to the airport, while Li Long asked him to keep an eye on the Big Courtyard.
• After landing in Wu City, Li Long visited the Ethnic Affairs Commission, bought eleven pieces of river jade from Yusufu's son, and drove through the night toward home.
• Li Long arrived at the Big Courtyard around midnight, where Gu Xiaoxia and Han Fang opened the gate and welcomed him; he gave them gifts and ate the noodles Sister Yang had prepared.

Li Long returned from Yanjing with gifts and shared his news with his family, while a request to sell water from Little Haizi raised questions about who had the right to charge for it. He refused the request and headed home, leaving his brother to explain the matter to the team leader.

• Li Long showed Gu Xiaoxia the gifts he had brought and discussed Gu Xiaoyu’s difficult situation, suggesting she visit Northern Xinjiang the following summer.
• Li Long returned to the Purchasing Station, gave gifts to his father and coworkers, and heard a reseller wonder whether selling raisins in Yanjing would be profitable.
• Du Jincai asked Li Long to release water from Little Haizi for his family’s reclamation project and offered to pay, but Li Long refused because the water did not belong to him.
• Li Long visited his mother and eldest brother, distributed gifts, and described his trip to Yanjing to the family.
• Lu Yingming asked about Du Jincai’s reclamation plans and the water payment, and Li Long clarified that he owned the fish and reeds in Little Haizi, not its water.
• Li Jianguo told Li Junfeng that the family would not collect water fees, while Li Long drove home and planned to explain the issue to the team leader.

Li Long secured the Team’s approval to use Little Haizi’s water while keeping it under public management, then welcomed the new year as his Yanjing connections began trading raisins and other dried fruit. After the Yanjing trip’s effects faded, he started planning for the year ahead when Liu Gaolou arrived with a larger convoy and goods he planned to take home.

• Li Jianguo told Xu Chengjun that the Li family would leave Little Haizi’s water under the Team’s management, and Xu promised the cooperative could use it freely.
• Mingming and Haohao performed at their kindergarten party, then excitedly told Li Long about it when he picked them up.
• Meng Yuchao received Li Long’s twenty kilograms of raisins, sold them quickly near the cinema, and arranged through Liang Shuangcheng to buy fifty more kilograms.
• Auntie Liu gave Gu Xiaoyu the money for her parcel and asked about other dried fruits, while Li Long arranged for Liang Shuangcheng to handle future orders.
• Li Long visited Harimu’s and Jade Mountain River’s families, then met Liu Gaolou on January 7 as Liu arrived with a convoy and said he planned to take goods home.

Li Long advised Chen Hongjun to expand into agricultural supplies and used-car sales as hide and herb trading became harder. He also gathered schoolbooks and class schedules as evidence for a proposal he planned to present at the county conferences.

• Liu Gaolou left Li Long ten cars, payment for hides and antelope horns, and bundles of specialties before heading home.
• Chen Hongjun brought Li Long his quarterly dividend of ten thousand yuan and asked how to keep the purchasing station profitable as hunting and herb gathering declined.
• Li Long recommended opening a farm supply store or collecting waste materials, and Chen Hongjun chose to sell agricultural supplies.
• Li Long offered Chen Hongjun used cars to resell in Beiting and advised him to seek authorization for the business.
• Li Long delivered specialties to the Fourth Team, then obtained Kazakh and Uyghur schoolbooks and a class schedule from Ye'erjiang and Gu Xiaoxia for his proposal.
• Chen Hongjun secured approval for a farm supply store, bought wholesale supplies, and advertised it on television, with clear results.

Li Long’s proposal to stop religious scripture lessons for children passed at the county meetings, and Sun Wenlin agreed to refine it for the prefectural congress. After heavy snow, Li Long joined Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong on a rabbit hunt, which led them to a pool full of fish; the chapter leaves Li Long noticing something else at a threshing ground on the way back.

• Li Long argued that scripture lessons for minors violated the law and should not be treated as ethnic custom, and the county representatives passed his proposal.
• Sun Wenlin, a prefectural representative, asked Li Long to help refine the proposal for submission to the prefectural congress.
• After roughly forty centimeters of snow fell, Li Long and his companions agreed to hunt rabbits in the Red Willow Flats and East Big Ditch.
• Li Long caught seven rabbits while Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong caught several between them.
• Li Long spotted fish beneath the ice in a small pool, and the three men lifted the ice and collected sacks of fish.
• On their return, Li Long stopped at a threshing ground after noticing something there.

Li Long joined a winter hunt, taught cotton-growing techniques at the Agricultural Technical Extension School, and continued building ties through the Cotton Planting Cooperative and Purchasing Station. As the New Year approached, the station made a major tractor sale, most of its cars sold, and Gu Boyuan returned from Ili.

• Li Long, Tao Daqiang, and Xie Yundong caught eleven Gugu Chickens on the snow-covered Threshing Ground, then shared a meal with their neighbors and Team Leader Xu Chengjun.
• Xu Chengjun told Li Long that the township wanted him to teach cotton cultivation at the Agricultural Technical Extension School, and Li Long agreed after speaking with Principal Yang Guoqiang.
• Li Long taught two classes on cotton cultivation, answered questions from village trainees, and declined a teaching fee while explaining that he might be busy with the Cotton Planting Cooperative.
• Li Long and the others later found a pool full of fish beneath the ice at East Big Ditch, then stopped outdoor trips as the weather grew colder and the New Year neared.
• Li Long and his coworkers sorted Liu Gaolou's hides, and the Purchasing Station sold a high-horsepower tractor for 260,000 yuan and most of its remaining cars.
• Li Long mailed gifts before the New Year, wondered whether Yusufu had obtained the hides, and saw Gu Boyuan return from Ili on January 31.