Chapter Summaries

Li Long returned to the County Town, cooked a meal, and picked up Li Juan and Li Qiang after school before making plans to fish Big Haizi on a larger scale. He and Tao Daqiang set ten nets in a new channel, leaving the results to be seen the next morning.

• Li Long found Zheng Dongsheng still selling a few fish at the Free Market, then cooked and ate noodle soup at the Big Courtyard.
• Li Long picked up Li Juan and Li Qiang by bicycle, praised Li Juan for defending her younger brother, and promised to help them make brooms and dustpans again next year.
• Back at the Li Family home, Li Long decided with Li Jianguo and Tao Daqiang to set ten nets and take the horse-drawn cart to Big Haizi the next morning.
• Li Long gave Tao Daqiang an extra five yuan for his additional work selling the fish.
• Li Long and Tao Daqiang set ten nets in a new channel at Big Haizi, and the sun was setting as they finished.

Li Long and Tao Daqiang hauled in an unusually large catch from Big Haizi, and the Li family helped prepare the fish for sale. Li Long paid a new stall fee at Old Street Market and began selling briskly, leaving the family with another profitable day underway.

• Li Long and Tao Daqiang collected ten nets full of fish from Big Haizi, with Tao Daqiang untangling some of the catch on shore.
• The Li family helped sort and pack the fish, and Liang Yuemei agreed to work at the Threshing Ground so Li Jianguo could sell fish with Li Long.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo carried the fish to Stone City, while Tao Daqiang declined to take any because he preferred the fish from Little Haizi.
• Two workers from the Old Street Market Management Office charged Li Long a fifty-fen stall fee, which he paid and received a receipt for.
• Li Long began calling out at his stall and quickly sold twenty or thirty kilograms of fish, including ten kilograms of common carp to his first customer.

Li Long continued selling fish and prepared gifts and food for the Mid-Autumn Festival with his family. The chapter ended with the Li family sharing mooncakes early before the holiday.

• Li Jianguo told Li Long that Ma County’s new market fees had reduced the number of stalls, but they kept their fish prices unchanged.
• Li Long delivered dough and firewood to Old Master Chai, bought mooncakes and apples, and checked on Yang Xiulan and Han Fang at the market.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia returned to the production team early for the holiday, and Li Long gave Tao Daqiang apples, mooncakes, and ten yuan.
• Li Long collected the finished guokui from Old Master Chai and brought them home for the festival.
• Li Long opened a package of mooncakes so the family could each try one, and they chose their fillings.

Li Long visited Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia, where he discussed land, marriage, and family before sharing a meal and drinks with them. He agreed to apply for a homestead plot after the team allocated land, then returned home as the village prepared to distribute more subsistence farmland.

• Li Jianguo took Liang Yuemei, Li Juan, and Li Qiang to visit the Liang family, while Li Long brought gifts to Gu Xiaoxia's home.
• Li Long told Gu Boyuan he planned to stay in the village, keep farming, and apply for a homestead plot after the autumn land allocation.
• Gu Boyuan spoke about his past and entrusted Gu Xiaoxia to Li Long over drinks, while Li Long reassured him that they would remain nearby.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia cleared the meal table, and Gu Xiaoxia was pleased when Li Long said he would apply for a homestead plot.
• Li Long returned home and heard Li Jianguo say that the village would soon distribute another share of subsistence farmland.

After helping Tao Daqiang fish and agreeing to hunt meat for the workers who would dig up the family’s sugar beets, Li Long traveled to the mountains to search for game. He soaked in an empty hot spring but found no wild boars, then heard a horse approach the Wooden Cabin as night fell.

• Li Long shared food with the elderly welfare recipients, and Yang Jukui praised his generosity after he left.
• Tao Daqiang set two nets in Big Haizi, but most of his catch was dead white minnows, so Li Long told him to use them as chicken feed.
• Li Jianguo drew another westernmost plot for the family, and Li Long agreed to hunt meat for the young men helping dig up the sugar beets.
• Li Long found honey Lü Dafeng had left at the Wooden Cabin, then went to the hot spring and found no animals nearby.
• Li Long soaked in the hot spring and planned to search for wild boars again the next morning, then returned to the cabin and heard hoofbeats outside.

Li Long followed Harimu’s report of wild boars to the ravine, but found they had already left, so he went to Hot Spring Ravine instead. There he shot a large deer and a small deer, leaving the smaller one struggling as sunlight reached the valley.

• Harimu gave Li Long two hides to sell, told him a wolf pack threatened the grazing land, and shared ammunition for his hunt.
• Harimu told Li Long that wild boars had appeared in the ravine where Lü Dafeng had kept his bees.
• Li Long searched the ravine at dawn but found only extensive signs that the wild boars had already left.
• Li Long went on to Hot Spring Ravine, where he spotted a large deer and a small deer at the pools.
• Li Long fired twice, wounding both deer, then dragged the large deer from the pool and tried to save the smaller one.

Li Long brought a doe and its fawn back from the mountain, processed the doe, and left the fawn tethered overnight in the cabin. The next morning, after wolves visited the leftovers near his cabin, he returned to the wild boars’ rooting ground to lie in wait and saw a fox followed by three wolves.

• Li Long carried the doe and struggling fawn to his bicycle, then brought them to the Wooden Cabin and treated the fawn’s wound.
• Li Long skinned and butchered the doe, then took the venison home for Li Jianguo to prepare for the family.
• Li Long returned to the mountain, found the fawn still alive, and tethered it outside before bringing it into the Small Wooden Cabin for the night.
• Li Long heard distant gunshots and wolf howls, then saw wolves flee from the cabin area before dawn.
• Li Long went to the wild boars’ rooting ground and waited in ambush; a fox arrived first, then three wolves came to forage.

Li Long waited for wolves to attack a herd of wild boars, then shot a boar and a wolf during the ensuing fight. He brought his haul to the Wooden Cabin, spent the morning processing the animals, and set off for the County Seat with the meat while leaving the fawn secured there.

• Li Long watched wolves hide in the grass and waited for wild boars to arrive at the rubbish heap.
• Three wolves attacked the boars, and the boars fought back, knocking one wolf down and badly injuring it.
• Li Long fired at the animals, killing a half-grown boar and the injured wolf as the other boars scattered.
• Li Long tied a large boar, a small boar, and the wolf onto his bicycle and pushed them to the spring by the Wooden Cabin.
• Li Long skinned the wolf and larger boar, prepared and packed the meat, and led the fawn to graze before securing it in the Small Wooden Cabin.
• Li Long set off by bicycle toward the County Seat with the prepared meat.

Li Long found the Liang family in a confrontation with the Ma brothers over a disputed land boundary and rushed to get Li Jianguo’s help. Li Jianguo stopped the fight, forced the village director to order a fresh measurement, and Li Long left the meat with the Liang family before returning to ask about his brother’s past.

• Li Long went to the Liang family’s fields after finding no one at their home and learned that the Ma brothers were fighting Liang Wenyu’s family over a boundary stake.
• After Du Haihua was slapped, Li Long rode to find Li Jianguo, who hurried to the fields with Tao Daqiang; Yang Yongqiang joined them along the way.
• Li Jianguo struck Ma Laosan when he attacked, while Tao Daqiang, Yang Yongqiang, and two other men helped beat back the Ma brothers.
• Li Jianguo berated the gathered villagers and village director Liu Ziqiang, who ordered the land to be measured again and the boundary stakes reset.
• Li Jianguo told Liang Donglou and Chen Xiuzhu to go home, then sent Li Long to deliver the meat and return to his work.
• Li Long left meat at the Liang home, declined supper, and headed back eager to hear about Li Jianguo’s history in the village.

Li Jianguo told Li Long about his years in Northern Xinjiang and how family responsibilities had shaped his work, while explaining the Liang Family’s standing and warning the Ma brothers not to target them again. Li Long spent the night processing game in the mountains, then returned to the team with meat and a fawn, intending to ask for a homestead plot.

• Li Jianguo told Li Long that he had once risen to quartermaster in the Corps, then worked with the Planning Team, drilled wells, and held jobs at a canteen and state fishery before returning to farming to support his family.
• Li Jianguo explained that Blind Liu had used the brothers to confront the Ma brothers and said he had warned Blind Liu that the Ma brothers would be held responsible for any trouble at the Liang Family’s home.
• Li Jianguo praised Li Long for bringing help early and warned him to be careful with his gun, while Li Long planned to organize the team’s young men for work the next day.
• Li Long went into the mountains, dressed a wild boar, cooked its offal, sheltered the frightened fawn, and fired at wolves prowling near the cabin.
• After sleeping until morning, Li Long packed the meat and offal, tied the fawn to his bicycle, and headed back to the team to ask for a homestead plot.

Li Long brought home a young deer and discussed raising more animals with Uncle Lao Luo, who gave him a new goal. He then asked Xu Chengjun for a homestead and learned the village director was eager to keep him in the village; the chapter ended with Li Long surprised by how much land Xu offered.

• Li Long unloaded meat and offal at home, then took the young deer to Old Ma's Place and put it in the pen with the other deer.
• Li Long shared a drink with Uncle Lao Luo and promised to try to bring back more deer for him to raise.
• Li Long ate breakfast with Uncle Lao Luo, then visited Xu Chengjun to apply for a homestead.
• Xu Chengjun offered Li Long a choice of settlement and explained he wanted to keep him in the village because of the work and connections he brought.
• Li Long chose a plot near his eldest brother's house, and Xu Chengjun offered him the large open patch in front of it, leaving Li Long startled by its size.

Li Long secured a large homestead plot and planned to build a house there the following year, while Li Jianguo turned to storing the harvested sugar beets. At Little Haizi, Li Long taught Yang Yongqiang a net-setting adjustment and went fishing with Tao Daqiang, then agreed to help Yang find a badger den.

• Xu Chengjun assigned Li Long a homestead plot of more than three mu, and Li Long said he would build there next year.
• Li Jianguo told Li Long that he and his wife would sort the sugar beets and that Li Long and Tao Daqiang could handle fishing and selling.
• Li Long advised Yang Yongqiang to leave one end of his fishing net untied and keep the net slack.
• Tao Daqiang practiced setting nets at Little Haizi while Li Long searched the shore and cast his own net.
• Yang Yongqiang told Li Long he had spotted a badger den, and Li Long agreed to go dig it out after they finished setting their nets.

Li Long, Tao Daqiang, and Yang Yongqiang dug out a badger sett and caught four hog badgers. As they considered dividing the catch, Ma Jinbao arrived and demanded a share.

• Tao Daqiang joined Li Long and Yang Yongqiang in digging out the sett near the abandoned Big Canal.
• The men uncovered signs of badgers and prepared for them to emerge, with Li Long assigning everyone a role.
• A hog badger came out, and Li Long injured it while Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang dealt with others emerging from the sett.
• Li Long and Tao Daqiang killed another badger inside the sett, while Yang Yongqiang returned with the one he had chased down.
• Ma Jinbao arrived and demanded one of the four badgers as his share.

Li Long divided the badgers among Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang, then helped them skin their share and prepared his own catch at home. The Li Family cooked the badger fat and shared a late-night meal and drinks, leaving Li Long enjoying an unusually close evening with his brother and sister-in-law.

• Li Long gave Tao Daqiang one large badger and Yang Yongqiang two smaller ones, while telling Ma Jinbao to search the burrow or wait for more badgers to return.
• Li Long skinned Yang Yongqiang's badgers at the Li Family home and explained how to render their fat; Yang Yongqiang took the meat and pelts home.
• Li Long skinned and butchered his own badger while Li Jianguo cleaned its stomach and intestines, and Li Jianguo agreed to red-braise the meat the next day.
• Li Long rendered the fat in the wok as Li Jianguo stir-fried the cleaned intestines and stomach.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Liang Yuemei shared the late-night food and liquor while the children tried a few pieces and left.

Yang Yongqiang brought home two badgers after hunting with Li Long and Tao Daqiang, then caught valuable fish in his nets the next morning. As villagers began hunting wild game too, Tao Daqiang decided to buy a bicycle after selling badger hides and told Li Long he planned to marry in winter.

• Yang Yongqiang returned with two badgers, and his family cooked the meat and rendered its fat.
• Yang Yongqiang hauled in a large Five-Stripe Perch and a valuable common carp, while Meng Zhiqiang envied his catch.
• Villagers heard about the badger hunt, sought badger fat for scald injuries, and began hunting rabbits, hedgehogs, and foxes themselves.
• Li Long sold two badger hides to Chen Hongjun for twenty-six yuan apiece.
• Tao Daqiang told Li Long he planned to buy a bicycle and marry a woman from the Third Production Team in winter, though he could not get a separate house plot.

Li Long supplied Harimu’s winter camp with salt, shared a meal with him, and later went to Stone City to sell fish and buy tools for digging codonopsis. At the end, Li Long spotted a man who looked like Gu Ermao and followed him, still intent on settling their score.

• Li Long bought a cartload of coarse salt and delivered it to Harimu’s Winter Camp, where he also loaded manure and heard about the herders’ summer.
• Li Long warned Harimu about brown bears, and the two shared milk tea, nang, and dried wolf meat before parting until winter.
• The next day, Li Long and Tao Daqiang found Harimu’s camp sealed and hauled its manure back to the production team.
• Li Long sold fish in Stone City, bought several iron tools for digging codonopsis, and noticed a passerby who resembled Gu Ermao.
• Li Long followed the man, determined to settle his score with Gu Ermao.

Li Long tracked Gu Ermao to a courtyard in Stone City and learned that a group there was selling imported digital watches through backpack traders. He watched the operation for several days and waited for Gu Ermao to return, preparing to act.

• Li Long lost track of Gu Ermao in an alley and learned from Ke Youmu that one courtyard housed a woman-led group selling goods, including digital watches, to traders.
• Ke Youmu recognized Gu Ermao as one of the group, and Li Long left without alerting them.
• In Ma County, Li Long stopped Yang Xiulan from buying a faulty digital watch and accepted her rent payment.
• Li Long stayed in the area to catch fish with Tao Daqiang while watching the courtyard and concealing his identity with a mask.
• Three days later, Gu Ermao returned, and Li Long knew it was time to act.

Li Long helped the authorities raid a counterfeit electronics trafficking den in Stone City and caught Gu Ermao as he tried to escape. The roundup ended with more than a dozen arrests, and Li Long returned to the Milk Tea Shop satisfied that Gu Ermao would be jailed.

• Li Long reported the trafficking den to Officer Guo, who coordinated with the relevant departments and let Li Long observe the arrest operation.
• As officers and anti-profiteering staff raided the courtyard, Li Long guarded the perimeter and knocked down a fleeing man with his stick.
• Li Long chased Gu Ermao into a neighboring courtyard, struck his leg, and stopped him from escaping with a bag of counterfeit goods and a stun gun.
• Gu Ermao pleaded with Li Long, then threw dirt in his eyes and tried to flee; Li Long struck his arm and held him until Officer Guo arrived.
• Officer Guo said the operation had arrested more than a dozen people and uncovered goods worth nearly ten thousand yuan, then took Li Long to rinse his eyes.
• Li Long asked whether the confiscated digital watches might be sold, then returned to the Milk Tea Shop after the prisoners and goods were taken away.

Li Long told Li Jianguo that he had helped arrest Gu Ermao, then learned Gu Ermao had earned an additional charge by falsely accusing him. He went into the mountains to gather codonopsis and, after settling into the Wooden Cabin, was woken by wolves outside.

• Li Long told Li Jianguo that he had helped the police arrest Gu Ermao and admitted he had broken Gu Ermao’s arm and leg while chasing him.
• Officer Guo told Li Long that Gu Ermao had falsely accused him of hiding seized goods, adding another charge to Gu Ermao’s case.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about Gu Ermao’s arrest, then rode into the mountains carrying supplies and tools.
• Li Long cleaned and repaired the Wooden Cabin, then dug up seven codonopsis roots and washed them before setting them out to dry.
• Li Long ate dinner at the cabin and went inside as the mountain evening grew cold.
• Wolf howls woke Li Long in the night, and he saw several wolves dart away from the bones outside.

Li Long dug codonopsis in the Mountain Ravine, where three men tried to rob him, but he used his gun to force them to surrender their packs and leave. A Forestry Team patrol arrived after he had alerted them with a gunshot, confirmed his identity, and took the men away for questioning.

• Li Long went into the Mountain Ravine and spent the morning digging up codonopsis roots.
• Three men approached Li Long and tried to surround him, offering to buy his codonopsis for a low price.
• Li Long drew his loaded gun, fired a warning shot, and made the three men hand over their packs before sending them away without their belongings.
• Li Long waited in the gully, and a Forestry Team patrol arrived with the three men and accused him of robbing them.
• Li Long showed his Forestry Team papers, and the patrol learned that the pack's blood came from a wild mountain goat and that the men had robbed another herb digger.
• The patrol took the three men and their belongings away to face consequences.