Chapter Summaries

Li Long rejected Huang Xuejun’s attempt to form a branch factory and refused his low offer for the deer, returning to family life and planning to sell fish. When Huang tried again with Xu Chengjun’s help, Li Long insisted on selling the deer outright and named a price of five hundred yuan each.

• Li Long refused to discuss a breeding-farm partnership and told Huang Xuejun to make a fair offer if he wanted to buy the deer.
• Huang Xuejun offered fifty yuan per deer, but Li Long rejected the price and went to visit Gu Boyuan.
• Li Long returned home, shared mountain honey with his family, and agreed with Li Qingxia that they would sell fish separately in Stone City and the county seat.
• Huang Xuejun sought help from Xu Chengjun, but Li Long again rejected the branch-factory plan and said he would keep the deer for their velvet antlers if Huang would not buy them.
• Li Long told Huang Xuejun he wanted five hundred yuan for each deer, leaving Huang nearly swearing at the price.

Li Long sold the deer, set more fishing nets, and killed a water snake while working on Little Haizi. The next morning, he and Tao Daqiang hauled in a catch of over a hundred kilograms of fish, and Li Long planned to take his father and Daqiang to sell it at the County Seat.

• Li Long sold the two deer to Huang Xuejun for three hundred yuan each and explained to Lao Luo why he did not want to raise deer commercially.
• Li Long took his family and Tao Daqiang to Little Haizi, where he set a dozen nets while his father cast nets from shore.
• Li Long beat a water snake to death after it approached him in the water, then returned to shore with the snake and helped cook it with the fish.
• Tao Daqiang asked Li Long to find work for his brother Tao Jianshe, and Li Long promised to check the market for ideas.
• Huang Xuejun collected the deer and left five hundred yuan; Li Long offered Lao Luo a bonus, but Lao Luo refused it.
• The next morning, Li Long, Li Qingxia, and Tao Daqiang hauled in over a hundred kilograms of fish, and Li Long invited Daqiang to help sell them at the County Seat.

Li Long explored selling cynomorium after learning how it needed to be processed, then secured a buyer at the Medicinal Materials Company. He left with a plan to recruit people in his team to dig and dry it for profit.

• Li Long, Li Qingxia, and Tao Daqiang sold their fish in Stone City and returned to the team.
• At the Purchasing Station, Chen Hongjun told Li Long that the Pharmaceutical Company bought cynomorium and explained how to prepare it.
• Li Long dug cynomorium from the alkali flats, dried a sample on the Stable roof, and brought it to the Medicinal Materials Company.
• The director agreed to buy cynomorium that met the sample's quality and offered fifty cents per kilogram dried.
• Li Long considered buying fresh cynomorium from people on the team and selling the dried herb to the company.

Li Long began buying villagers’ Cynomorium and drying it for sale to the Medicinal Materials Company, while Tao Dayong learned to earn money without trying to cut out the middleman. The growing trade attracted others, and Qian Zhongxin’s attempt to sell poorly processed Cynomorium was rejected by every purchasing outlet.

• Li Long told Tao Daqiang that he would buy intact, clean Cynomorium from Tao Dayong, and Tao Dayong sold his first sack for two yuan fifty-five fen.
• Tao Dayong, Ma Chunhong, and Tao Jianshe dug and delivered more Cynomorium, then moved to another alkali flat after Tao Dayong’s drunken boasting drew a crowd of diggers.
• Li Long bought several hundred kilograms a day, dried the Cynomorium, and sold a sixty-two-kilogram sack to the Medicinal Materials Company for thirty-one yuan.
• Qian Zhongxin sold Li Long a small batch, kept the rejected damaged pieces, and tried to sell his poorly dried Cynomorium at the Purchasing Station, Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and Medicinal Materials Company, but all turned him away.

Li Long met Liang Dongting, a relative of Liang Yuemei’s family, and welcomed him to the Li home with a generous meal. After Liang Dongting brought watermelons to sell, Li Long arranged a village loudspeaker announcement, drawing villagers to come buy them.

• Li Long sold more than two hundred kilograms of cynomorium at the County Seat, then guided a truck carrying watermelons to his family’s home after its passenger asked for Li Jianguo.
• Liang Dongting introduced himself as Liang Donglou’s younger cousin and reunited with Liang Yuemei’s family, while Li Long prepared a large meal for him and the truck driver.
• Liang Dongting praised Li Long’s cooking and gave the family watermelons he had grown in Xiayedi; Li Long accepted a sack and offered to help sell the rest.
• Li Long asked Xu Chengjun for permission to use the village loudspeaker and announced that Xiayedi watermelons were for sale at three fen per kilogram.
• Villagers heard the announcement and began heading to the Li family’s home with sacks to buy watermelons.

Li Long returned to the mountains to hunt near the hot springs, but found no animals and worried that the water level had fallen. Harimu and the other mountain folk arrived needing supplies for haymaking, and Li Long agreed to bring them rice, flour, and other goods from town.

• Liang Dongting sold most of his watermelon load in the production team before leaving, and Li Long spent the afternoon buying more cynomorium after setting his nets.
• Harimu and the others waited at the Winter Camp for Li Long, hoping to trade their hides and deer antlers through him rather than go down to the County Town.
• Li Long went into the mountains with sacks and rope, but found only old droppings at the hot springs and waited there until evening without seeing any game.
• Harimu and two young men reached Li Long's Wooden Cabin and explained that the mountain households were cutting winter hay and needed supplies.
• Li Long agreed to bring rice, flour, cooking oil, matches, and other goods up the mountain in several trips, while Harimu and the others returned to their camps.

Li Long sold hides and antlers brought by Harimu, bought supplies for the herders, and hunted a small wild boar near the hot springs. After returning to town with the boar’s cooked innards, he heard that villagers appreciated his purchase of their cynomorium and planned to use the money for their children’s school needs.

• Harimu and another young man brought Li Long hides, antlers, and snow lotuses, and Li Long gave them rice and flour before heading down the mountain.
• Li Long sold the hides and antlers to Chen Hongjun for 177 yuan and 70 fen, then shared a meal with Gu Xiaoxia and told her he would buy more supplies for Harimu and the others.
• Li Long bought food and necessities, delivered them to Harimu’s winter camp, and searched Hot Spring Ravine for game.
• Li Long shot a lone young wild boar, carried it back to his cabin, and butchered it, cooking its innards overnight.
• Li Long checked the hot-spring pools the next morning, then returned to town with the cooked innards and bought more provisions for the herders.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that Gangdan’s mother had praised him for buying the team’s cynomorium, which had helped her afford school items for her children.

Li Long encountered and wounded a brown bear while bathing in the Hot Spring, then received a snow leopard pelt from Harimu as a gift for his future wife. The next morning, he killed two roe deer and gave one to Harimu before returning to process the other.

• Li Long salted the drying meat, soaked in the Hot Spring, and fled after shooting a brown bear that surprised him by the pool.
• Harimu brought Li Long a snow leopard pelt from Jade Mountain River, saying it was a gift for Li Long's future wife.
• The next morning, Li Long found three roe deer at the Hot Spring and shot the male and female, chasing down the wounded male to finish it.
• Li Long carried the male roe deer to Harimu's Winter Camp for the group to eat, then hurried back with the female.
• Li Long washed, skinned, and gutted the female roe deer before the flies could spoil it.

Li Long processed and dried meat in the mountains, then brought supplies to the County Town and returned home as Li Qiang started school. Li Qiang was refused first-grade enrollment because he was underage, but Gu Xiaoxia intervened, and the academic affairs director agreed to let him take a test.

• Li Long dried roe deer meat and organs, then spent two days hunting before shooting two young wild boars.
• Li Long took dried meat, organs, and a snow leopard pelt to the County Town, left supplies with Gu Xiaoxia, and later gave dried meat to the girl at the Bridge Culvert and to Gu Boyuan and Uncle Lao Luo.
• Li Long told Gu Boyuan that Li Qiang was starting school and hoped Gu Xiaoxia could help place him in a better class.
• At the Brigade Primary School, the registration teacher refused to enroll Li Qiang because he was six years and four months old, below the required age of seven.
• Li Qiang broke down in tears when Gu Xiaoxia found him, and he insisted he could prove his ability by taking a test.
• Gu Xiaoxia asked the registration teacher to test Li Qiang, and the academic affairs director agreed before the teacher could respond.

Li Long returned from the mountains with dried meat and a valuable snow leopard pelt, while Gu Xiaoxia joined him on the ride home and learned that the pelt was an early wedding gift. After reuniting with family and friends, Li Long agreed to go to County Seat to replace a bicycle inner tube so fish sales would not be delayed.

• Li Qiang earned full marks on both entrance tests and was accepted into Class A at Brigade Primary School.
• Li Long found no animals on two more trips to Hot Spring and decided to leave the mountains.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia that Harimu and Jade Mountain River had given them a snow leopard pelt as an early wedding gift, and she urged him to repay their generosity with supplies.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia rode through light rain to the Gu family home, where Gu Boyuan sent Li Long on and mildly scolded Gu Xiaoxia for coming home before work.
• Li Long visited Uncle Luo, saw sacks of dried cynomorium, and left some dried meat despite being told it was unnecessary.
• At the Li family home, Li Long learned Li Qingxia's bicycle tube was torn near the valve and agreed to buy a replacement in County Seat that afternoon.

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia took a feverish girl, Xiaoni, to the county hospital, where Li Long paid for her treatment and Gu Xiaoxia helped her mother. After selling fish the next day, Li Long learned that the mother had come to Northern Xinjiang searching for her husband but had lost the letter that could identify where he was stationed.

• Li Long met Gu Xiaoxia on the road and rode with her toward the County Seat to buy bicycle tires.
• Li Long recognized the mother and daughter he had helped before and rushed Xiaoni to the county hospital, paying for her treatment.
• Gu Xiaoxia gave the mother two yuan, and Li Long bought tires before returning to the Production Team to prepare for fishing.
• Li Long and Li Qingxia sold their fish in Stone City and the County Seat, respectively, and Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard.
• Gu Xiaoxia visited the mother and learned that Xiaoni had fallen ill after getting soaked while harvesting wheat and that her mother had lost the letter identifying her husband's location.

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia helped Yang Xiulan and Xiao Ni'er find temporary shelter and start a food stall, while insisting they work toward supporting themselves. The next morning, Li Long found them selling noodle soup at the Free Market and left them to improve their business on their own.

• Gu Xiaoxia wanted to take the mother and daughter in, but Li Long refused to let them stay at home and proposed renting them a place and lending them money to start a business.
• Li Long offered Yang Xiulan a one-month chance to repay the cost of a rented place and business equipment, and she agreed to sell food at the Free Market.
• Unable to find a suitable rental immediately, Li Long let Yang Xiulan and Xiao Ni'er stay in his courtyard and brought them rice, flour, a stove, a pot, and a handcart.
• Yang Xiulan began selling noodle soup with Xiao Ni'er at the Free Market and sold seven or eight bowls that morning.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia that the noodles would go mushy if left too long, but said the mother and daughter needed to learn how to improve their business themselves.

Li Long learned that a woman claiming to be his wife had arrived at the Li Family’s home, reviving an old arranged-marriage matter. Fearing Gu Xiaoxia would misunderstand, he rushed to find Gu Boyuan, but Gu Boyuan was away, so Li Long left to seek him elsewhere.

• Li Long returned home and discussed the sunflower harvest and fish-market competition with Li Qingxia and Du Chunfang.
• As Li Long, Li Qingxia, and Tao Daqiang prepared to set their nets, women arrived saying that Li Long’s prospective wife had come to visit.
• Li Long remembered that in his previous life the woman had rejected him after learning about his circumstances, and he worried that Gu Xiaoxia would misunderstand the situation.
• Li Long ran to the Gu Family’s home to explain matters to Gu Boyuan, but Gu Boyuan was not there.
• After waiting anxiously, Li Long left the Gu Family’s home to look for Gu Boyuan.

Li Long told Gu Boyuan that Du Qiuping had come to claim a match arranged by their mothers, even though Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia were engaged. At the Li family home, Du Qiuping caused a scene and tried to force the match, but the families clarified the misunderstanding before Li Long returned to face her.

• Li Long explained to Gu Boyuan that Du Qiuping was at his house claiming to be his girlfriend, and stressed that he was engaged to Gu Xiaoxia.
• Du Qiuping mistook Tao Daqiang for Li Long, then argued with Du Chunfang and insisted that the older women had arranged her match with him.
• Li Jianguo told Du Qiuping that Li Long was engaged and she should go home, but she sat down and wailed until Liang Yuemei dragged her toward the gate.
• Li Long and Gu Boyuan returned to the courtyard, where Li Qingxia apologized and Gu Boyuan accepted that the match had been a misunderstanding.
• Du Qiuping rushed at Li Long, who dodged behind Liang Yuemei.

Li Long and his family stopped Du Qiuping from forcing a marriage, arranged for her to be escorted back home, and Li Long later explained the incident to Gu Xiaoxia. The chapter ended with Gu Xiaoxia understanding Du Qiuping’s desperation but agreeing that her actions had caused the trouble.

• Liang Yuemei restrained Du Qiuping and slapped her when she tried to attack Li Long.
• Li Long rejected Du Qiuping’s claim on him and offered to pay for her trip home, warning her not to cause more trouble.
• Li Long arranged for Du Qiuping to stay temporarily with Sister-in-Law Lu, while the family decided to escort her all the way home.
• Li Jianguo, Li Qingxia, and Du Chunfang set out with Du Qiuping, and Li Long accompanied them as far as the bus station before returning with the horse cart.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia what had happened, and she said Du Qiuping might have been desperate but had handled the situation wrongly.

Li Long sold the last of his Cynomorium, considered buying a television, and returned to fishing after his parents reached home safely. Gu Xiaoxia rebuffed Wu Shufen’s attempt to stir up doubts about Li Long, while the brothers anticipated relatives might come seeking help.

• Li Jianguo told Li Long that their parents and Li Qingxia had boarded a train home after Li Qingxia tried to run away in Wu City.
• Li Long sold his remaining Cynomorium for a profit, looked for a television but could not find one, and later set fishing nets with Tao Daqiang.
• Li Long saw soldiers building a road and bridge across Reed Gully as he brought Li Juan and Li Qiang home from school.
• Gu Xiaoxia met Wu Shufen, defended her relationship with Li Long, and heard Wu claim her husband and mother-in-law treated her well before a woman called her home to do chores.
• Li Qingxia sent a telegram confirming the family had arrived safely, and Li Long and Li Jianguo discussed helping relatives who might come from their hometown.

Li Long stopped fishing for a few days to help Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei harvest the family's oil sunflowers, while also bringing food to Gu Boyuan and discussing Gu Xiaoxia's household registration. After a long day in the fields, they finished the sunflower harvest and claimed a spot at the Threshing Ground to store the crop.

• Li Long settled accounts with Tao Daqiang and said they would pause fishing until the oil sunflowers and corn were harvested.
• Li Long advised Gu Xiaoxia to postpone transferring her household registration and delivered food packages from her to Gu Boyuan.
• Li Long joined Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei in cutting sunflower heads, and Li Jianguo shared ripe pear melons he had grown in the cornfield.
• The three finished harvesting the oil sunflowers and loaded the sacks onto the horse-drawn cart.
• Li Long and Liang Yuemei unloaded the sacks at the Threshing Ground, where the Li family claimed a spot on its western side.

Li Long helped his family and Gu Boyuan’s family harvest sunflowers and corn, then withdrew from the team’s farm work to go fishing. After filling the family’s storage room with grain, he planned to rest before fishing again around Mid-Autumn Festival.

• Li Long and the Li Family helped Gu Boyuan harvest his oilseed sunflowers in under two hours.
• Li Long folded paper toys for Li Qiang and Li Juan, and Li Qiang ran off to school excitedly with his paper pistol.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Liang Yuemei threshed sunflowers by hand, while Li Long reflected on how farm incomes and technology changed in his later life.
• After helping with the team’s sunflower harvest, Li Long went fishing with Tao Daqiang instead of earning work points.
• Li Long helped harvest and shell corn at home and at Gu Boyuan’s house, then joined his family for a meal of freshly harvested foods.
• Li Long told Li Jianguo he would rest for a few days and resume fishing around Mid-Autumn Festival to earn money for mooncakes.

After finishing the brigade’s harvest work, Li Long resumed fishing with Tao Daqiang and set ten nets in Big Haizi to explore its deeper waters. The next morning, Li Long began retrieving the nets and realized the catch might be too large for them to carry home.

• Li Long and Tao Daqiang struggled to dig up sugar beets, so Li Long agreed to leave the remaining harvest until the brigade finished its work.
• Li Long told Uncle Luo that he planned to sell the wild boars and keep raising roe deer at Old Ma's Place.
• Li Long and Tao Daqiang went to Big Haizi, where Li Long set ten nets in a deep channel while Tao Daqiang waited on shore.
• Li Long saw schools of fish and warned Tao Daqiang that their catch might be too heavy to carry, but Tao Daqiang doubted him.
• The next morning, Li Long reached the nets early and realized as he hauled in the first one that the catch might be too large to bring back.

Li Long and his family hauled in more than a hundred kilograms of fish from Big Haizi and split up to sell them in Ma County and Stone City. Li Long sold his share at reduced prices, then headed home to cook after rejecting a bowl of noodle soup.

• Li Long found the first several nets full of fish and sent Tao Daqiang to bring a cart and more sacks.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Tao Daqiang collected the remaining nets, loaded the fish onto the cart, and estimated the catch at over a hundred kilograms.
• Li Jianguo took fish to Ma County and sold them cheaply while Li Long carried more than sixty kilograms to Stone City.
• Li Long sold his fish by nearly one in the afternoon, earning over forty yuan despite missing the morning rush.
• Li Long spotted a greasy fingerprint on a washed bowl at a noodle soup stall, lost his appetite, and rode home to cook.