Recaps

Gu Boyuan returned from Ili, paid Li Long his share of the Purchasing Station’s profits, and revealed that he planned to marry Teacher Song in the summer. After visiting Gu Xiaoxia, he drove to the Fourth Team for New Year, where neighbors welcomed him and Li Junfeng later checked that he had recovered from a long drinking session.

• Gu Boyuan gave Li Long the ledger and 150,000 yuan in profits, then told him about Ili’s business and his relationship with Teacher Song.
• Li Long and Gu Boyuan discussed holding a summer wedding, and Gu Xiaoxia supported her father’s marriage and began planning celebrations in both Ili and the Fourth Team.
• Gu Boyuan visited Gu Xiaoxia, then drove back to the Fourth Team and learned that Xu Haijun had joined Li Long’s Cooperative.
• Old Wang invited Gu Boyuan and Li Jianguo to drink, and both men returned home exhausted after the gathering.
• Li Junfeng checked on Gu Boyuan at Li Long’s request, and Gu Boyuan woke, drank honey water, and prepared instant noodles.

Li Long’s extended family gathered in Northern Xinjiang for New Year, sharing meals, stories, and plans as their lives continued to improve. After a pocketful of firecrackers injured a village boy, the family celebrated New Year’s Eve together and welcomed the Year of the Snake.

• Li Anguo’s family arrived at the Big Courtyard and continued to the Fourth Team, where the relatives reunited for the holiday.
• Li Qiang led the children in setting off Electric Firecrackers inside snowballs, and later took them to catch sparrows.
• Chen Xingbang arrived with his family, repaid Li Long for the car, and joined the relatives in discussing their work and the Cooperative.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Liang Yuemei that Gu Boyuan had found someone and might marry her in the summer.
• Li Long’s relatives prepared New Year’s Eve dinner, and Li Qiang’s firecracker experiments inspired the village boys to compete with snowballs.
• An older boy’s firecrackers exploded in his pocket, and the family later shared dinner, watched the Spring Festival Gala, and welcomed the Year of the Snake.

Li Long and his family visited Old Ma's Place for New Year, where a growing crowd of villagers made the holiday lively for the elderly residents, while the children collected generous lucky money. The family celebrated the following day with Gu Boyuan and later discussed a tractor debt, before Gu Xiaoxia revealed that Director Wang had offered her a school leadership position.

• Li Qiang led the children in lighting New Year's firecrackers, and the family shared dumplings before setting out on New Year visits.
• Li Long, Gu Xiaoxia, and their relatives visited Uncle Lao Luo and the other residents of Old Ma's Place, where villagers gathered to drink and offer greetings.
• Li Long carried home deer products to share with his relatives, while Mingming and Haohao counted the lucky money they had collected from visitors.
• Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to Gu Boyuan's home the next day, where they received additional lucky money before returning to play with their cousins.
• Li Jianguo gave Li Long ten thousand yuan as partial repayment for the 75 Tractor, and the two discussed whether Wenyu should lease land to grow cotton.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that Director Wang had asked her to become vice principal and Party Branch Secretary at Second Primary School.

After winter ended, Li Long funded an asphalt road from the township to the Fourth Team and arranged a large sugar shipment with Liu Gaolou. The chapter left the road project moving ahead, neighboring villagers raising money to extend it, and Ma Xiaoyan preparing an interview about Li Long’s donation.

• Sister Yang spent New Year with Han Fang at the courtyard, while Li Long took Han Fang to visit Li Juan in the Fourth Team.
• Liu Gaolou returned to Ma County on March 10, and he and Li Long arranged for fifty tonnes of white sugar to be shipped to Khorgos.
• Li Long gave the township head 150,000 yuan for the road and asked to send workers to learn asphalt construction techniques.
• Team Leader Zhang organized her village to raise money for a connecting road, and the township head agreed to include their stretch in the construction.
• Ma Xiaoyan interviewed Li Long about his road donation, while Harimu and Jade Mountain River arrived with mountain goods and three red deer fawns, which Li Long bought.

Li Long’s family and the Fourth Team prepared for spring as Li Junfeng’s family built a house, fields were irrigated, and Meng Hai’s crew repaired and extended the mountain road. Li Long strengthened business and government ties, while Gu Boyuan planned his wedding and Gu Xiaoxia prepared to return to school; the chapter ended with Li Long visiting the road crew and approving their progress.

• Li Junfeng’s relatives and neighbors helped build his family’s house, while Old Zhang explained that Li Long had funded the road that helped secure their household registration.
• Li Jianguo plowed saline-alkali land as Tao Daqiang, Jia Weidong, and others irrigated fields, and Meng Hai’s crew repaired winter damage to the mountain road.
• Zhao Hui bought hides from Li Long, and Liu Gaolou arrived with vehicles and arranged to load cement and white sugar.
• Gu Boyuan discussed a summer wedding with Teacher Song and showed her the courtyard home he had bought in Ili.
• Gu Xiaoxia learned that she would become Branch Secretary at County No. 2 Primary School, and Li Long agreed to handle the children’s kindergarten trips.
• Construction began on the township-to-Fourth-Team asphalt road, and Li Long visited Meng Hai’s crew in the mountains and approved their progress.

Li Long balanced transporting goods, raising deer, and overseeing the Cooperative’s cotton sowing as the road project advanced. A severe yellow wind tore plastic film from fields across the county, and Li Long told the affected farmers to resow, leaving the Cooperative facing the cost of repairing its crop.

• Li Long bought a red deer fawn from Bolati and planned to quarantine it before sending it to Old Ma's Place.
• Li Long and Xie Yundong organized workers to sow over a thousand mu of cotton and securely weigh down the plastic film.
• Meng Hai told Li Long that more people were entering the mountains and described finding gold prospectors and a dead person near the roadworks.
• Li Long recognized signs of an approaching sandstorm and secured the cars, livestock, and supplies before the yellow wind and rain struck.
• The storm lifted plastic film from cotton fields, and Li Long told Xie Yundong and the other farmers to resow the damaged areas because the exposed seedlings would freeze.

Li Long reopened the Small Wooden Cabin to trade supplies for fritillaria and other mountain produce, but no herb gatherers came on his first visit. He returned the next day after helping Harimu wash sheep and found Bolati waiting with jade taken from a herb gatherer, leaving Li Long surprised by his methods.

• Li Long resowed a damaged strip of cotton, advised Xie Yundong on checking emergence and arranging gap-filling, and inspected work at Li Junfeng's courtyard.
• Li Long drove into the Mountains with supplies, met Forest Public Security officers Qiao Yansong and Alimjiang, and learned they had checked the cabin's legality and warned him about herb gatherers.
• Li Long cleaned and stocked the Small Wooden Cabin, gathered coal, and invited hidden herb gatherers to trade; after Bolati arrived with a wild boar, they shared a meal, but no traders appeared before Li Long returned home.
• Li Long returned to the Mountains the next morning, helped Harimu and Jade Mountain River wash their sheep, and accepted wool to take home.
• Li Long prepared meat-filled buns and posted a trade notice at the cabin, then Bolati arrived and handed him a piece of jade he had pressured a herb gatherer into giving him.

Li Long expanded his mountain cabin’s trade by entrusting Bolati with bartering supplies for fritillaria while he hosted Liu Gaolou on a mountain outing. The chapter ended with Li Long and Liu Gaolou leaving for the Hot Spring as Bolati waited at the cabin for traders.

• Li Long visited his family, picked up Mingming and Haohao, and prepared for Liu Gaolou’s convoy to arrive at the Purchasing Station.
• Li Long refused Liu Gaolou’s suggestion to sell fertilizer across the border, then agreed to take him into the mountains for a barbecue and a visit to the Hot Spring.
• Bolati joined Li Long and Liu Gaolou at the cabin with a live fawn, and the three cooked and ate kebabs, mushrooms, and wild vegetables.
• Liu Gaolou suggested that Bolati handle fritillaria trades at the cabin, and Li Long offered him a commission and explained the exchange terms.
• Li Long gave Bolati the cabin key and left with Liu Gaolou for the Hot Spring while Bolati stayed behind to wait for traders.

Li Long took Liu Gaolou to Hot Spring Ravine, where he shot a wild boar after a herd appeared, then returned with him to the County Seat. The next day, Li Long checked on Harimu’s supplies and Meng Hai’s road crew, leaving the road project progressing toward the Summer Pasture as he considered exploring farther into the Inner Mountain.

• Li Long led Liu Gaolou to the hot springs, where Li Long shot a half-grown wild boar when a herd charged toward the stream.
• Li Long and Liu Gaolou returned to the Wooden Cabin, where Bolati told them he had traded for two sacks of fritillaria and Li Long paid him a commission.
• Li Long drove Liu Gaolou back to the County Seat, delivered boar meat to the Fourth Team, and later took Liu Gaolou to the Sugar Factory before he left.
• Li Long visited Harimu at the Winter Camp and agreed to bring medicine for the households as they prepared to move pastures.
• Li Long ate with Meng Hai’s road crew and agreed that they should finish the mountain road just below the Summer Pasture while he looked for an asphalt-road project for them.
• Meng Hai described the Inner Mountain’s brief afternoon rains and abundant mushrooms, and he offered some mushrooms to Li Long to take home.

Li Long saw Meng Hai's crew complete the road to the Summer Pasture, allowing Harimu and the other herders to move their supplies and livestock more easily. He took Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, and Haohao to enjoy a picnic and pick mushrooms there, while the herders arrived with their tractors and prepared to move uphill.

• Li Long heard a distant tiger-like roar, collected fritillaria from Bolati, and returned to the Big Courtyard, where Gu Xiaoxia described a student bringing a snake to school.
• Li Long continued collecting fritillaria as the mountain road progressed, and Meng Hai's crew completed the road to the Summer Pasture on April 30.
• Li Long told Harimu that the road was open, and Harimu planned to haul supplies uphill before moving the cattle and sheep to the Summer Pasture.
• Li Long invited Gu Xiaoxia and the children to the pasture for May Day, and they drove through the mountains while Harimu and Jade Mountain River followed with loaded tractors.
• Mingming and Haohao picked mushrooms as Gu Xiaoxia photographed the family and scenery, and the family picnicked before the herders arrived at the Summer Pasture.

Li Long managed supplies for the newly opened summer-pasture road and visited Fourth Team as its asphalt paving neared completion. The chapter ended with the road’s ribbon-cutting and Li Long securing a small road-repair job for his company.

• Li Long brought supplies to Bolati, who had traded for over two hundred kilograms of fritillaria, then returned with the herbs and promised to restock the cabin.
• Li Long visited Fourth Team, saw the asphalt road reaching the settlements, and learned that the cotton fields had achieved nearly ninety percent germination after gaps were filled.
• Li Xiangqian and Zhou Yuan planned a Supply and Marketing Cooperative trip to the summer pasture for May 8, with staff, supplies, and television reporters.
• Li Long attended Fourth Team’s road-opening ceremony, where Deputy Bureau Director Guan offered his company a small asphalt-road repair project in Letuyi.
• Deputy County Chief Niu and the township leaders took part in the ribbon-cutting, and Guan considered updating the county transportation route map to include Li Long’s mountain road.

Li Long arranged a road-repair project for Meng Hai’s company, completed large sales of fritillaria and hides, and helped prepare supplies for a county delegation visiting the herders. The delegation reached Summer Pasture, where Li Xiangqian distributed supplies and Harimu began slaughtering a sheep despite their objections.

• Li Long told Meng Hai about a Letuyi asphalt-road repair project and urged him to meet Deputy Bureau Director Guan to discuss the work.
• Jia Tianlong and Zhao Hui bought Li Long’s dried fritillaria and hides for just under four hundred thousand yuan, and Li Long rewarded Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang.
• Li Long helped Zhou Yuan divide tea, sugar, salt, rice, and flour into household allotments for the herders.
• Li Long gave Li Qingxia ten thousand yuan from the sales and prepared food and equipment for the trip into the mountains.
• Li Xiangqian led a convoy carrying officials, reporters, and supplies to Summer Pasture, where Jade Mountain River welcomed them and guided them to Harimu’s yurt.
• Li Xiangqian presented supplies to the herders, and Harimu started slaughtering a sheep despite Li Xiangqian’s attempts to stop him.

Li Long took officials and employees on an outing in the mountains, where they searched for jade, deer antlers, and mushrooms. He brought home a heavy, patterned object he believed was a meteorite and planned to contact Gu Xiaoyu about arranging leave for the upcoming June 1 wedding.

• Li Long interviewed with a reporter about the road construction and proposed that everyone search nearby gullies for treasures.
• Li Long examined a heavy, patterned stone in a hollow and carried it back, suspecting it was a meteorite.
• The groups searched for jade, deer antlers, and mushrooms before returning to eat mutton and gather more mushrooms.
• Li Long returned to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, then stored the suspected meteorite in his greenhouse.
• Li Long planned to have his wife contact Gu Xiaoyu so she could arrange leave for the wedding planned by Gu Boyuan on June 1.

Li Long arranged for Meng Hai’s construction crew to begin repairing a six-kilometer road while he collected fritillaria and traded with Bolati. The chapter ended with Gu Xiaoxia hanging up on her biological mother, Fan Wenli, who then pressed Gu Xiaoyu for an explanation.

• Meng Hai told Li Long that the Transportation Bureau had approved a profitable road-repair job, and Li Long advised him to prepare materials and build up the company’s equipment.
• Li Long visited Bolati’s mountain cabin, paid him for fritillaria and a roe deer hide, and took home a leg of meat.
• Li Long found two sacks of fritillaria hidden under the wooden kang at the Mountain Pass cabin and brought them to the Purchasing Station to wash.
• Gu Xiaoxia called Gu Xiaoyu to discuss her visit, but Fan Wenli took over the call and demanded to know why Xiaoxia was contacting her sister.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Fan Wenli that she had refused to acknowledge her first and hung up when Fan would not pass the phone to Gu Xiaoyu.
• Fan Wenli regretted her earlier rejection but took her anger out on Gu Xiaoyu, demanding to know what Gu Xiaoxia wanted.

Li Long prepared a jade wedding gift for Gu Boyuan’s marriage to Teacher Song, while arranging for Gu Xiaoyu to visit and trying to obtain a Geiger counter to test unusual stones. The chapter ended with Professor Yang asking to bring students to study the cooperative’s cotton fields around May 20.

• Li Long advised Gu Xiaoxia to ignore her birth mother’s interference, and Gu Xiaoyu arranged leave to visit on May 19.
• Li Long asked Gu Xiaoyu to borrow a Geiger counter and asked Liu Gaolou to help find one through trade connections.
• Li Long learned that Yusufu had sold the tiger pelt to someone else, but he bought six pieces of fine jade from him instead.
• Li Long bought Engineer Liu’s jade bangle, necklace, and earrings as a wedding gift for Teacher Song.
• Professor Yang called Li Long and arranged to bring students to study the cooperative’s cotton fields for five or six days around May 20.

After Bek’s father underwent surgery for liver hydatid disease, Jade Mountain River decided to leave the mountains and start a cattle-and-sheep business in the County Seat. Li Long bought Jade Mountain River’s gold and antlers to provide startup money, and Jade Mountain River returned to the mountains to prepare his livestock and belongings for the move.

• Jade Mountain River brought Bek’s father to County Hospital, and Li Long arranged a transfer to Stone City No. 2 Hospital, where doctors removed one-third of the man’s liver.
• While waiting for the operation and recovery, Jade Mountain River reflected on his inability to help his tribe and decided to earn money outside the mountains.
• Li Long suggested that Jade Mountain River buy and resell cattle and sheep, supplying local restaurants and eventually expanding into wholesale.
• Jade Mountain River told Aiman he planned to leave the mountains, and she supported his decision to build a life with their family in the County Seat.
• Jade Mountain River sold Li Long two velvet antlers and a gold nugget for thirty thousand yuan, repaid the hospital money, and set off with Harimu and Talihaal to sort out his livestock.

Li Long hosted Professor Yang and his students as they studied the Fourth Team’s cotton fields and cooperative methods, while he shared ideas for future cotton farming. He also helped Jade Mountain River secure regular mutton customers, then drove to Wu City to pick up Gu Xiaoyu.

• Li Long welcomed Professor Yang and four Agricultural College students, discussed advanced cotton-growing methods with him, and took the group to the Agricultural Technical Extension School and the Fourth Team’s fields.
• Professor Yang and his students examined the saline-alkali cotton field, while Xie Yundong explained the Cooperative’s farming practices and Li Long answered the students’ questions.
• Li Long introduced Jade Mountain River to several county institutions, which agreed to buy a total of three and a half sheep each day from him.
• Li Long drove to Wu City to pick up Gu Xiaoyu.

Li Long welcomed Gu Xiaoyu from Yanjing and showed her the family’s home, business, and unusual stones, while she grew curious about the life her sister had built in Northern Xinjiang. After visiting the village and cotton fields, Gu Xiaoyu saw the scale of Li Long’s operation as he discussed plans to improve cotton production with local agricultural experts.

• Li Long met Gu Xiaoyu at the railway station, brought her home, and explained that he had imported thousands of pairs of antelope horns.
• Gu Xiaoyu tried to fool Mingming and Haohao into thinking she was their mother, then gave them toys and met the animals in the courtyard.
• Li Long tested the courtyard’s stones with Gu Xiaoyu’s borrowed Geiger counter; most showed low readings, while the strange stone ball registered higher radiation and was moved and covered.
• Gu Xiaoyu spoke with Gu Xiaoxia about their family and admired the household’s comfortable life before visiting Li Long’s Purchasing Station and seeing its busy trade.
• Liang Yuemei recognized that Gu Xiaoyu was not Gu Xiaoxia from her walk and the absence of a small cheek scar, then shared details of Gu Xiaoxia’s childhood.
• Li Long visited the cotton fields, where Principal Yang discussed the possibility of consolidating and improving the farmland after Professor Yang’s research.

Li Long hosted Gu Xiaoyu, received a convoy of cars and goods from Liu Gaolou, and began planning a new investment in drip-irrigation machinery with Factory Director Du. After Professor Yang’s fieldwork ended, Li Long’s family set out for Ili to attend Gu Boyuan’s wedding.

• Li Long spoke with Gu Boyuan about the family’s upcoming visit to Ili, then shared stories about his childhood with Gu Xiaoyu and the family at dinner.
• On May 25, Liu Gaolou arrived with twenty trucks carrying cars, medicinal herbs, antelope horns, and hides, and he told Li Long that conditions across the border had grown increasingly dangerous.
• Li Long settled the shipment’s accounts, arranged for Liu Gaolou to buy white sugar, and declined to travel with his convoy because Gu Xiaoxia had not yet obtained leave.
• Li Long proposed that Factory Director Du develop drip-irrigation tape machinery, explaining how it could improve cotton yields and fertilizer use, and promised to sketch the equipment and look for secondhand machinery to study.
• After Professor Yang left on May 26, Li Long and his family set out for Ili the next day, where Gu Xiaoxia spoke with Gu Xiaoyu about the difficulties of managing a school.

Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia, Gu Xiaoyu, Mingming, and Haohao west to Yining, sharing the scenery and stopping at Sayram Lake before reaching Gu Boyuan’s home. After reuniting with Gu Boyuan and seeing his Russian-style courtyard, Li Long searched for another house and agreed to buy a well-kept courtyard for 4,600 yuan.

• Villagers and Agricultural Technical Extension School staff gathered at the cotton fields, where Xie Yundong and other Cooperative members shared cultivation advice learned from Professor Yang and Li Long.
• Jade Mountain River found that his usual GAZ vehicle had been sold, chose another vehicle to practice in, and continued building trust with meat buyers through his reliable deliveries.
• Li Long drove the Gu family west, described the landmarks and scenery, stopped for Big Plate Chicken and at Sayram Lake, then continued through Guozigou to Yining.
• Gu Boyuan welcomed Li Long and the family, discussed fritillaria purchasing and banquet plans with Li Long, and showed him his collection of antiques.
• Li Long walked with Mingming and Haohao through the neighborhood, asked residents about houses for sale, and the next day inspected a Russian-style courtyard with apricot trees and a grape arbor.
• Li Long bargained with the owner and agreed to buy the courtyard for 4,600 yuan.

Li Long bought a courtyard house near Gu Boyuan’s home, and the family helped prepare for Gu Boyuan and Song Xiaojuan’s wedding. After the wedding, Gu Boyuan set a date for a second celebration in the Fourth Team, and the chapter ended with Li Long’s family strolling through the city.

• Li Long agreed to buy Andrei’s courtyard house for 4,600 yuan and completed the paperwork while Gu Xiaoxia, Gu Xiaoyu, Mingming, and Haohao inspected it.
• Li Long and his family cleaned and furnished the courtyard, toured the river-valley city, and gave Song Xiaojuan jade and cloisonné gifts before the wedding.
• Gu Boyuan and Song Xiaojuan married at a hotel, where a Prefecture leader praised Li Long and stayed to drink with him.
• After the banquet, Li Long took the tipsy newlyweds home, and the family later shared sour-broth noodles with them.
• Gu Boyuan decided to hold another wedding banquet in the Fourth Team on June sixth and asked Li Long’s eldest older brother to coordinate it.
• Li Long’s family walked past the Teachers’ College, where Gu Xiaoxia reflected that she was happy with her life despite missing out on full-time study.

Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song traveled back to the Fourth Team for their wedding, while Li Jianguo organized the village preparations. After a perilous drive through mudslides and fog, the couple arrived to find their home and wedding arrangements ready, and Gu Boyuan reflected on his ties to the village as they settled in.

• Gu Boyuan asked Li Jianguo to arrange a simple wedding for June sixth, and Li Jianguo coordinated the village announcement, preparations, and helpers.
• Li Long and his family visited Khorgos and a hot spring before driving back toward Ma County with Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song.
• The two cars crossed rain-soaked Guozigou as mudslides spilled onto the road, then continued past Sayram Lake and spent the night in Jinghe.
• The travelers reached Ma County the next day, and Li Jianguo told Gu Boyuan that the Fourth Team had cleaned and prepared his courtyard.
• Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song returned to the village, where Liang Yuemei had prepared new quilts and Li Jianguo welcomed them to dinner.
• Teacher Song enjoyed the Li family's hospitality, and Gu Boyuan discussed their plans to hold the wedding, stay briefly, and return to Ili.

Li Long helped Bolati hand a thief over to Forest Public Security, checked on Meng Hai’s road crew, and brought Gu Xiaoyu to help prepare for Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song’s wedding banquet. The wedding began with a bustling celebration, and Gu Xiaoyu appeared in better spirits the next morning.

• Li Long found Bolati guarding a bound thief at the cabin, and Bolati planned to turn him over to Forest Public Security.
• Li Long collected Bolati’s fritillaria, checked Meng Hai’s road-repair work, and heard that the crew had been promised another project.
• Li Long brought Gu Xiaoyu to the Fourth Team to help prepare for Gu Boyuan’s wedding, then told Gu Boyuan that she seemed troubled after a call to Yanjing.
• Li Long spent the evening with his family, and Gu Xiaoxia spoke privately with Gu Xiaoyu before the wedding day.
• Li Long and his family attended the banquet, where Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song toasted the guests and were tricked into drinking sugar water instead of baijiu.
• The guests cheered and filled both courtyards with a lively celebration, and Teacher Song praised the people of Gu Boyuan’s team.

Li Long met with Farm Machinery Factory Director Du and Engineer Deng Xianhua to explain his plans for drip irrigation tape production equipment, and they began studying how to develop it. He visited his second older brother, Li Anguo, afterward, reconnected with Li Junshan and Yang Yongqiang, and prepared to return to Ma County after another morning at the factory.

• After Gu Boyuan returned safely to the river valley and Gu Xiaoyu left for Yanjing, Li Long sold his season's fritillaria and hides, paid his taxes, and prepared to meet Factory Director Du.
• Li Long showed Factory Director Du and Engineer Deng Xianhua his sketches for drip irrigation tape production equipment and explained its components and processes.
• Factory Director Du and Engineer Deng questioned Li Long about the equipment throughout the day, then planned to refine the drawings and continue their discussion the next morning.
• Factory Director Du gave Li Long a case of liquor and cooking oil, and Li Long brought sweets to Li Anguo's home, where he reunited with Xueping, Xueqin, Li Junshan, and Yang Yongqiang.
• Yang Yongqiang told Li Long he planned to marry a woman from the cotton mill and asked for help with his father's cotton-growing questions; Li Long promised to advise them.
• Li Long stayed overnight at Li Anguo's home, agreed to drive Xueping and Xueqin to school the next morning, and prepared to return the liquor to his parents and eldest brother.

Li Long helped the Farm Machinery Factory refine plans for a drip irrigation tape production line and secured a promise of inventor credit and a share of profits. He then met Liu Gaolou’s convoy, arranged to supply it with canned food, and received Director Qian’s help accessing the Prefectural Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s stock and suppliers.

• Li Long reviewed and revised Engineer Deng’s plans with Factory Director Du, and the factory agreed to list him first among the inventors and give him twenty-five percent of its profits once the equipment passed testing.
• Li Long met Liu Gaolou’s convoy and learned it had brought hides, antelope horns, cars, and fritillaria; Liu Gaolou also asked him to find canned food for his second uncle.
• Li Long and Liu Gaolou agreed on prices for canned fruit and meat, and Li Long advised Liu Shanmin to borrow rubles and exchange them for US dollars.
• Li Long arranged for workers to unload the convoy, then learned from Li Xiangqian that the Prefectural Supply and Marketing Cooperative could be a better source of canned food than local factories.
• Li Long asked Director Qian for help, and Director Qian offered him current canned-food stock at the county and city supply price and access to future orders from factories in Inland China.