Chapter Summaries

Li Long’s group bought and stockpiled fish from Big Haizi after a flood of sellers collapsed market prices. The next morning, with rival buyers arriving, Li Long changed tactics to buy whole piles and expected to collect even more fish.

• Li Long’s relatives and the Tao and Yang families gathered and hauled fish, while sellers at the market drove prices down to two mao per kilo.
• Li Long paid the Tao and Yang families for their buying and hauling work, then gave bonuses to his relatives.
• Li Long checked the growing fish stores and considered moving the stock to the empty rooms at the Big Courtyard in County Town.
• The next morning, Li Long told his group to buy whole piles, including small fish, before competing buyers could raise prices.
• At Big Haizi, Li Long bought an eighty-odd-kilo pile from a boy after another buyer tried to pressure him into selling cheaply.
• By lunchtime, Li Jianguo had hauled two more loads back, and Li Long estimated his group would buy more than four tonnes that day.

Li Long and his group bought nearly five tonnes of fish despite heavy snowfall, then returned to Big Haizi the next day to buy more. Their buying ended when water flowed back into the canals, leaving Li Long to wait for the right time to sell the fish.

• Snow fell heavily, but Li Long's group continued buying fish and purchased nearly five tonnes that day.
• Li Long paid the workers their wages, and Li Jianguo refused payment for his help and took his fish home.
• The group cleared the deep snow the next morning, and Li Long told Li Junfeng that heavy snowfall made it easier to catch hares out east.
• Li Long and his group returned to Big Haizi and searched for more fish, but their buying stopped when water arrived from the Mohe Canal.
• Li Long recognized that Big Haizi would begin storing water again and that his largest fish-buying operation of the year was over.

Li Long and the others worked for days to separate and store the fish, while neighbors brought rabbits and villagers joined in. Gu Xiaoxia arrived at the Stable, where Li Anguo and the others met Li Long’s girlfriend for the first time.

• Li Long, Li Anguo, and the others separated the fish and packed snow between them so they would not freeze into solid lumps.
• Lu Tietou brought Li Long two rabbits from his family, and Li Long sent them to Uncle Lao Luo to cook for lunch.
• Li Long told Li Junfeng and the others about hunting and gathering valuable goods in the mountains, explaining that he worked as a part-time forest ranger.
• Tao Daqiang and Yang Yongqiang joined the fish-processing work and told Li Long that the lakeside fishing had brought in few fish.
• Gu Xiaoxia arrived at the Stable, stunning Li Anguo and the other three when they met Li Long’s girlfriend for the first time.

Gu Xiaoxia visited Li Long with a leather jacket, met his relatives, and heard about his fish business and past. A few days later, the Li family gathered with Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia to slaughter pigs for the New Year.

• Gu Xiaoxia gave Li Long a leather jacket and met Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang, Li Junfeng, and Li Junshan at the Stable.
• Li Long explained that he planned to wait until late December to take his stored fish to Stone City, while Gu Xiaoxia told him about Yang Xiulan and Han Fang's food stall.
• Li Junshan told the others that Li Long had once turned down a permanent job at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and had been fired from a factory.
• Li Long took his relatives to set rabbit snares on the flats, and they caught several rabbits over the next two days.
• Li Jianguo arranged to slaughter two pigs on Sunday so Gu Xiaoxia could join the New Year preparations, and she arrived with Gu Boyuan.

Li Long and the Li family hosted a busy pig-slaughtering day, processing a wild boar and a domestic pig for food and sale. By the end, much of both pigs had been bought by neighbors, while the family prepared a feast for those who stayed.

• Li Long, Li Anguo, and the others brought the wild boar to the Li family home, where neighbors gathered to help with the slaughter.
• Chen Xingbang told Li Long he could slaughter pigs too, and Li Long promised to get him a set of tools from the smithy.
• Wang the Miser stabbed the wild boar, but its violent struggle knocked the knife from his hand before the men restrained it and drained its blood.
• Li Long skinned and butchered the wild boar while the others slaughtered and scraped the domestic pig.
• Li Long and the family sold large portions of both pigs to neighbors, who bought meat to take home.

Li Long and his family hosted a large year-end pork feast, where Gu Xiaoxia joined the household and discussed her job prospects and marriage plans with him. As the guests ate and drank, Li Long stepped in to settle a dispute over finger-guessing rules, leaving the gathering in good spirits.

• Li Long watched children kick a frozen pig bladder while the household finished preparing a pork feast.
• Liang Yuemei sent Gu Xiaoxia out of the kitchen, and Li Long took her to the East Room to talk privately.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia agreed they wanted to marry the following year, while Gu Xiaoxia said her chances of transferring to the Education Bureau were good.
• The guests gathered at several tables to eat pork stewed with pickled cabbage, and Li Jianguo began leading drinking games.
• Li Long intervened when Li Anguo and another man argued over differing finger-guessing rules, and he persuaded them to drink together and move on.

Li Long delivered food to Gu Boyuan, accompanied Gu Xiaoxia partway home, and bought a complete set of pig-slaughtering tools. The next day, the Li family began slaughtering their pigs, and Li Long watched Chen Xingbang work so he could learn the trade.

• Li Long brought pork stew to Gu Boyuan and learned that Li Jianguo had once worked at a distillery.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia rode together as far as the Commune before parting ways.
• Li Long bought a ready-made set of pig-slaughtering tools from the blacksmith for fifteen yuan.
• Li Anguo and the others returned from the feast, and Li Long helped the drunken Chen Xingbang inside.
• The next day, Chen Xingbang began slaughtering the Li family's pigs while Li Long watched and learned.

Li Long helped his family slaughter pigs, sold half a pig to Tao Jianshe for his family’s feast, and slaughtered a wild boar himself. He then took two pigs with Li Jianguo to the township Purchasing Station, where they were weighed and praised for their condition.

• Chen Xingbang expertly slaughtered the first domestic pig while Li Long watched and studied his technique.
• Tao Jianshe and Tao Daqiang arrived to collect half a pig for their feast, and Li Long split and weighed out a fifty-six-kilogram side for them.
• Li Long slaughtered a wild boar with Chen Xingbang’s guidance, then skinned it and sold a third of its meat to buyers.
• Liang Yuemei called people to help steam pig’s-blood buns while Li Long and the others loaded two pigs onto a cart.
• Li Jianguo took the two pigs to the township Purchasing Station, where staff weighed them at a combined 236 kilograms and praised how well they had been fed.

Li Long took Li Anguo and the others to visit Liang Yuemei’s family, bringing wild boar and gifts while explaining that they wanted to show the Liang family they had support. They arrived at the Liang home, where the Ma brothers also learned of their visit.

• Li Long refused Li Jianguo’s offer to split the pig money and considered keeping a sow to breed with a domestic boar.
• Li Long brought half a wild boar carcass to the Liang family and set out with Li Anguo and the others after unloading fish at his courtyard in the County Seat.
• Li Anguo and Chen Xingbang were astonished by Li Long’s courtyard and his mountain cabin, while Li Long explained that he had bought the courtyard cheaply.
• Chen Xingbang insisted that everyone bring gifts to their first visit to the Liang family, so they bought liquor, food, and steamed buns in the County Seat.
• Li Long introduced Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang, Li Junfeng, and Li Junshan to Liang Wenyu and said they had come to visit and support the Liang family.
• The Ma brothers heard that visitors had arrived at the Liang home, and the eldest went to see who had come.

Li Long brought Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang, and their sons to visit Liang Donglou and Chen Xiuzhu, whose family welcomed them and heard about the hardship in their hometown. Their presence strengthened the Liang Family’s position in the village, and the chapter ended with news of the visit spreading.

• Li Long introduced Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang, Li Junfeng, and Li Junshan to Liang Donglou and Chen Xiuzhu, and they presented gifts and a wild boar.
• Liang Wenyu told villagers that the visitors were relatives who had come to see his father, then warned Liu Ziqiang that they were staying nearby and could come quickly if needed.
• Liu Ziqiang visited the Ma brothers and warned them not to use underhanded tactics against the Liang Family.
• Liang Donglou and Chen Xiuzhu asked Li Anguo and the others about life in their hometown and heard how scarce land, food, and firewood had made life difficult.
• Du Haihua and his wife joined the gathering while Chen Xiuzhu and Liang Xingmei prepared a meal using the visitors’ gifts.
• Word spread through the village that a group of strong male relatives had visited the Liang Family.

Li Long helped prepare for Tao Daqiang’s wedding, gave him a generous private gift, and joined the party that fetched the bride. The newlyweds’ procession returned to the Tao family’s village, where the wedding celebration was set to continue.

• Li Long visited the Tao family before the wedding and saw the preparations and Daqiang’s decorated bridal room.
• Li Long gave Tao Daqiang a private gift of one hundred yuan and agreed to join the party fetching the bride.
• Li Long and Li Junfeng rode with Daqiang and the other young men to the neighboring village, where they welcomed the bride without elaborate door-blocking customs.
• The bride rode back on Tao Daqiang’s bicycle after he gave a red envelope to the little boy she indicated.

Li Long attended Tao Daqiang and Yang Pingping’s wedding banquet, gave them a generous cash gift, and helped keep the wedding formalities focused on the bride’s relatives. After toasting the newlyweds, he left because the food was too cold and planned to return for the bridal-chamber games.

• Li Long gave five yuan as a wedding gift and told Gu Boyuan he would ask about Gu Xiaoxia during his trip to the county seat.
• Tao Jianshe tried to seat Li Long at the main table, but Li Long and Li Jianguo insisted he sit with Li Anguo instead.
• Li Long ate little at the cold banquet and drank hot tea while guests ate and played drinking games.
• Tao Daqiang and Yang Pingping toasted Li Long, who congratulated them and gave them hot tea before they continued around the tables.
• Li Long left the banquet and told Li Junshan he would go watch the bridal-chamber games, encouraging him to keep working so he could marry soon.

Li Long cooked for Gu Xiaoxia after she worked overtime, and they discussed arranging for Yang Xiulan to provide her meals when he was away. The next morning, Li Long set out to buy grain and speak with Yang Xiulan, while Gu Xiaoxia went to work.

• Li Long delivered fish to the County Seat, then lit the stove and cooked Latiaozi with simmered dried chilies for Gu Xiaoxia.
• Gu Xiaoxia returned from overtime, ate with Li Long, and told him she felt unworthy of him; Li Long reassured her and offered to arrange meals at Yang Xiulan’s home.
• Li Long suggested that Yang Xiulan cook for Gu Xiaoxia in exchange for waived rent, and Gu Xiaoxia agreed to the plan.
• After Gu Xiaoxia went back to work, Li Long prepared dough and read until late, then cooked breakfast early the next morning.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia he would buy grain and talk to Yang Xiulan before going into the mountains, then left by cart and saw Yang Xiulan and Han Fang at the market.

Li Long traveled through deep snow to Harimu's Winter Camp with flour and rice, where he caught up with Harimu's family and discussed future supplies. After sharing milk tea and hearing about a strange white bear at the Summer Pasture, Li Long prepared to return to his busy girlfriend and refused to encourage more hunting.

• Li Long arranged for Yang Xiulan to feed his girlfriend and said they could discuss rent later.
• Li Long bought one hundred kilograms of flour and fifty kilograms of rice, then struggled through deep snow with Number 76 to reach the mountains.
• Nasen and Sasiken greeted Li Long with solemn handshakes, and Harimu welcomed him and helped unload the provisions.
• Harimu offered Li Long a sheep meal, but Li Long said he needed to return to cook for his girlfriend; Harimu's wife praised him for it.
• Harimu told Li Long that a fierce white bear had attacked a sheep at the Summer Pasture, and Li Long declined to have Harimu hunt more animals for pelts.

Li Long returned from the mountains with jade, hides, antlers, snow lotus flowers, and a valuable natural gold nugget given to him by Harimu. After unloading some goods at home and sharing lunch with Gu Xiaoxia and Yang Xiulan, he planned to sell the remaining goods and buy supplies for his herder friends.

• Harimu gave Li Long a heavy natural gold nugget and asked him to bring more medicine on his next visit.
• Li Long returned to the County Seat with the cart and planned to buy salt, tea, radios, batteries, food, medicine, and other supplies for the herders.
• Li Long unloaded the jade, velvet antler, and snow lotus flowers at the Big Courtyard, leaving the hides and other antlers in the cart to sell.
• Li Long found Gu Xiaoxia and Yang Xiulan having lunch, joined them, and told them about his trip and the white bear reported at the Summer Pasture.
• Li Long rode with Gu Xiaoxia to the Education Bureau, then returned to the Big Courtyard to prepare to sell the goods and go shopping.

Harimu and Jade Mountain River arranged to distribute supplies to the herders and hold winter horse races and goat-grabbing contests. Li Long sold deer antlers and pelts at the Purchasing Station, then sought out Cao Liu to buy ration coupons, agreeing to meet him at the market.

• Harimu visited Jade Mountain River with rice and flour, and they agreed to tell the herders to gather at Harimu's home the next morning.
• Harimu and Jade Mountain River planned a shared meal and winter horse races and goat-grabbing contests for the herders.
• Li Long sold six deer antlers and eleven pelts at the Purchasing Station for a total of 619.04 yuan.
• Li Long went to the Cultural Palace Club and asked the sunflower-seed seller to find Cao Liu.
• Cao Liu agreed to sell Li Long a large number of coupons and proposed making the exchange at the market.

Li Long bought ration coupons, radios, batteries, and supplies, then rested at home before taking goods to the Winter Camp the next morning. After joining the men for a mutton feast, he agreed to attend their end-of-year buzkashi and horse races if militia training allowed.

• Li Long met Cao Liu at the market and bought 120 yuan's worth of assorted coupons from him.
• Li Long bought five radios, batteries, food, and toys at the Department Store, then returned to the Big Courtyard and made egg tea for Gu Xiaoxia.
• The next morning, Li Long took goods by cart to the Winter Camp, where the young men helped unload them and Harimu served him mutton.
• Jade Mountain River invited Li Long to the end-of-year buzkashi and horse races, and Li Long said he expected to attend despite militia training.

Li Long returned from the mountains with frozen game, missed a chance to shoot Mongolian gazelles after dozing on the cart, and prepared to sell fish in Stone City. He set up at Old Street and made his first sale.

• Li Long agreed to visit the mountains later, then rode home with frozen meat and hides from Harimu and the others.
• Li Long dozed on the way back and missed the chance to shoot a group of Mongolian gazelles.
• Li Long stored the hides, loaded ten sacks of fish for Stone City, and maintained his Type 56 semiautomatic rifle.
• Gu Xiaoxia reheated food for Li Long and prepared breakfast for his early trip to sell fish.
• Li Long set up his fish stall at Old Street and sold a large common carp to an elderly man.

Li Long sold all ten sacks of fish at Old Street and considered bringing pork to the market, though he worried about local hooligans returning. On the way home, he gave an old man a lift to the Liangzhouhu turnoff and found sweet potatoes left on his cart.

• Li Long drew customers whenever buses arrived and sold nearly three sacks of fish before the market grew busier.
• A stallholder told Li Long that pork would sell quickly, and another market seller bought the last fish for a home-based eatery.
• Li Long learned from Ke Youmu that managers had recently arrested several hooligans, who might be released soon, and considered bringing companions for protection next time.
• After selling all his fish, Li Long ate at the Milk Tea Shop, apologized for Number 76's droppings, and prepared to leave Old Street.
• Li Long picked up an old man bound for Liangzhouhu and drove him to the turnoff while they talked about fish from Big Haizi.
• Back at Big Courtyard, Li Long found sweet potatoes the old man had left on the cart and thought about saving one to grow slips in spring.

Li Long returned to the village and arranged for Li Jianguo and their relatives to sell fish in Stone City while he planned to hunt after militia training. The next morning, the group reached Old Street and split up to set up stalls, with Li Jianguo taking the lead.

• Li Long returned to Old Ma's Place, learned militia training was coming soon, and invited Yang Yongqiang to join the fish-selling trip after training.
• At the Li family home, Li Long proposed that Li Jianguo lead the relatives in selling fish in Stone City while he went hunting, and explained that he had already sold ten sacks in under three hours.
• Li Jianguo agreed to sell fish, and Liang Yuemei offered to handle the pigs; the family planned to begin hauling fish the next day.
• Li Long promised Li Junfeng he could join a wild boar hunt after the fish-selling work was mostly done.
• The next morning, Li Long and the others loaded fish, bought scales and plastic sheeting in the County Seat, and continued to Stone City.
• At Old Street, Li Long told everyone to set up separate stalls, but Li Jianguo chose the first stall himself and started selling.