Chapter Summaries

Li Long returned to Ma County with Tao Daqiang, bought supplies and meat buns, and made clear he was moving on from Wu Shufen. After sharing fish-sale money with Li Jianguo and deciding to take a break from selling fish, Li Long set off for the mountains the next morning, where a great surprise awaited him.

• Li Long bought thin wire to make rabbit snares, and he and Tao Daqiang bought meat buns to take home.
• Li Long gave Lao Luo a bun on his way back, then walked past Wu Shufen without speaking to her.
• Li Long arrived home to a waiting meal, gave Li Jianguo ten yuan from the fish-sale earnings, and said Tao Daqiang would no longer be fishing with him.
• Li Long decided to rest from selling fish and go into the mountains for wood and another sheep.
• The next morning, Li Long packed bullets, hitched the horse cart, and set off for the mountains.

Li Long went to the county Black Market for flour for Harimu’s family, then visited the Winter Camp and learned about nearby wild boars and Harimu’s knowledge of jade. The chapter ended with Harimu smiling at Li Long’s question about green stones.

• Li Long made rabbit snares while traveling to the county and bought ten kilograms of flour at the Black Market.
• Red-armband enforcers raided the Black Market, and Gu Ermao was arrested while trying to follow Li Long.
• Li Long reached Harimu’s Winter Camp and gave Harimu’s family the flour.
• Harimu told Li Long that he had shot one wolf and wounded another, then offered to take him hunting wild boars the next morning.
• Li Long agreed to hunt the wild boars and asked Harimu whether he had found jade in the mountains.

Li Long visited Harimu and Jade Mountain River, and both herders gave him valuable jade as a gesture of friendship. He accepted their gifts and planned to repay them with supplies, while turning his attention to Jade Mountain River’s rifle.

• Harimu showed Li Long a fine piece of river jade and insisted he accept it as a gift.
• Harimu and Li Long planned to borrow Jade Mountain River’s rifle and hunt wild boars, as predators had become more common near the herders’ camps.
• Li Long rode with Harimu across two mountains to Jade Mountain River’s Winter Camp.
• Li Long gave Jade Mountain River’s children cartridges, then accepted a large piece of jade from Jade Mountain River.
• Jade Mountain River took down his rifle as Li Long eagerly watched.

Li Long joined Harimu for his first wild boar hunt, using a borrowed Type 56 rifle and waiting in an ambush in the pine grove. A large herd of boars arrived, and Li Long took aim at a young female as the chapter ended.

• Li Long examined Jade Mountain River's well-used Type 56 and decided to leave him any ammunition left after the hunt.
• Harimu showed Li Long the boars' tracks and chose a downwind ambush spot in a pine grove.
• Before dawn, Li Long loaded ten rounds and followed Harimu to the grove, where they lay in wait.
• More than a dozen boars charged down the opposite slope, led by a huge tusked male.
• Li Long opened his coat and aimed at a female boar weighing about sixty kilograms, hoping to kill it with one shot.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei learned that Gu Ermao had been arrested at the black market after following Li Long, and they worried about the trouble his actions could bring. As the story spread through the team, Tao Dayong was also caught selling fish, leaving team leader Xu Chengjun furious.

• Li Jianguo told Liang Yuemei that Gu Ermao had been fined after being arrested at Thunder Black Market and had tried to report Li Long.
• Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei decided to talk to Li Long when he returned and to confront the Gu family.
• Gu Laoda ordered Gu Ermao to apologize to the Li family, but Gu Ermao refused.
• Sister-in-law Liu told Gu Ermao that the team was gossiping about his arrest and urged him to stay with his uncle.
• Xu Chengjun learned that Tao Dayong had been caught selling fish at the Black Market and blamed Li Long's imitators for the trouble.

Tao Dayong and Tao Daqiang copied Li Long’s fish-selling business, but Tao Dayong was arrested during a raid on the Black Market and fined. Meanwhile, Li Long and Harimu shot wild boars, bringing down two as the surviving animals fled.

• Tao Dayong and Tao Daqiang caught nearly forty kilograms of fish with their father, Tao Jianshe, and Tao Dayong refused to leave the smallest fish at home.
• Tao Dayong sold fish at lower prices in the Black Market and made sixteen yuan fifty before Tao Daqiang noticed other sellers packing up.
• Tao Daqiang tried to flee when the Joint Defense Team raided the Black Market, but the crowd separated him from Tao Dayong, who was caught while dragging the sled.
• Tao Daqiang returned home and learned that Tao Dayong had been arrested and fined fifty yuan.
• Li Long and Harimu fired at a group of wild boars, and Li Long shot a second boar as the animals scattered.
• Harimu praised Li Long and went down the slope toward the boars while Li Long saw that his first target was still twitching.

Li Long and Harimu killed two wild boars, hauled them to Harimu’s Winter Camp, and prepared to part ways after breakfast. Li Long left for the county town to ask whether the purchasing station would buy his jade, unaware that rumors claimed he had been arrested.

• Harimu explained that he had killed the lead boar to protect his Winter Camp, then left Li Long to gather the boars.
• Li Long struggled to drag the boars together and waited for Harimu to return with a horse.
• Harimu helped Li Long tow the boars to the cart, and they loaded both carcasses together.
• Li Long rested at the Winter Camp, gave Harimu the remaining bullets to return with the gun, and promised to bring rice next time.
• Li Long covered the boars with hay, drove to the county town, and stopped at the Big Meat Canteen for food before heading to the purchasing station.
• Rumors had spread in the production team that Li Long had been arrested after staying away overnight and because of the matter involving Gu Ermao and Tao Dayong.

Li Long failed to sell his river jade but arranged to bring wild boar meat and stomachs to Chen Hongjun later. Meanwhile, Tao Dayong was arrested and his family struggled to gather the fine, while village rumors falsely claimed Li Long had been arrested too.

• Li Long showed Chen Hongjun his river jade, learned he would need to seek a buyer in Wu City, and asked about selling wild boar stomachs.
• Chen Hongjun inspected Li Long’s two wild boars and agreed to buy meat and stomachs after Li Long butchered them.
• The Lu Family’s Eldest Sister-in-Law warned Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei that villagers were saying Li Long had been arrested.
• Xu Chengjun told Tao Jianshe that Tao Dayong had been arrested and needed a fifty-yuan fine, while Tao Daqiang explained that they had scattered when people wearing armbands arrived.
• Li Jianguo lent Tao Daqiang twenty yuan toward the fine, and Tao Daqiang returned home to help his family gather the money.
• As Xu Chengjun and Tao Jianshe went to collect Tao Dayong, rumors that Li Long had been arrested spread further through the village.

Li Long returned to the Production Team with two wild boars, ending rumors that he had been arrested and reuniting with his relieved family. He told Liang Yuemei that land and team property would soon be divided, leaving the family to prepare for farming and future purchases.

• Li Long showed the children the wild boars and reassured his family that he had gone into the mountains rather than been arrested.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo unloaded the boars as neighbors gathered to help process them, and Lao Luo told Li Long that Tao Dayong had been arrested while Tao Daqiang had escaped.
• Liang Yuemei told Li Long about the arrests and Li Jianguo's loan to Tao Daqiang, so Li Long returned twenty yuan and said Daqiang would work for him if they did business again.
• Li Long told Liang Yuemei that land and team property would be divided in spring and urged the family to save money for farming needs, possibly including a horse.

Li Long and his family processed two wild boars, hosted a feast for their helpers, and discussed trading the surplus meat for ammunition or money. Gu Laoda left after Li Jianguo and Li Long kept their distance, while the Li family’s standing in the production team rose.

• Li Long poured boiling water over the boars while neighbors butchered them, and Gu Laoda tried to reconnect with him.
• Li Jianguo called Li Long away, making clear he would not welcome Gu Laoda’s approach, and Gu Laoda stayed awkwardly until he finally left.
• Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei prepared a feast with the boar meat and innards to repay the people who had helped the family.
• Li Long told the gathered villagers that he and his friend had ambushed the boars at a spot where they often fed.
• Li Long proposed selling meat for one yuan per kilogram or trading it for five rounds of Type 56 rifle ammunition, and Li Jianguo agreed to limit trades to people close to them.
• The adults ate and played cards while Qiangqiang and the children kicked around an inflated pig’s bladder outside.

Li Long earned the Production Team's praise with a generous wild boar feast, then set hare snares in Red Willow Flats and returned home to make Li Qiang a toy. A group of young people visited him, including Wu Shufen, and Xu Haijun arranged to trade for wild boar meat.

• The Li family hosted a lavish wild boar feast, and the guests' rumors about Li Long being arrested disappeared.
• Li Long walked to Red Willow Flats and set more than twenty wire snares along fresh hare trails.
• Li Long helped Li Qiang shape a wild boar tusk into a toy while the women rendered lard in the West Room.
• Xu Haijun arrived with a group of young people, including Wu Shufen, and asked Li Long to trade him two kilograms of wild boar meat.
• Li Long agreed, and two of the girls looked toward Wu Shufen.

Li Long traded pork for ammunition and calmly recounted his boar hunt while visitors discussed his plans to sell goods in other markets. The chapter ended with several people, including Tao Daqiang, Gu Xiaoxia, and Wu Shufen, privately reconsidering their choices about Li Long.

• Xu Haijun traded twenty rounds of ammunition for fatty pork, then joined others as Li Long described hunting wild boars.
• Gu Xiaoxia traded ammunition for pork, and Li Long gave her extra meat for her father.
• Li Long told Xu Haijun and Huang Siping that he planned to visit Wu City and Stone City to expand his business.
• Li Long explained that Tao Dayong had been arrested because he failed to escape when trouble arose, while Daqiang had gotten away.
• After the visitors left, Li Long returned to the East Room, and the Li Family became a topic of discussion across the production team.
• Tao Daqiang regretted his choices, Gu Xiaoxia hesitated over a decision, and Wu Shufen considered asking Li Long to reunite with her.

Li Long checked the rabbit snares at Red Willow Flats with Li Qiang and Li Juan and found five rabbits. After they returned home, Xie Dafa admired Li Long’s catch and marveled at his luck.

• Li Long took Li Qiang and Li Juan to Red Willow Flats to check the snares he had set the previous day.
• The first four snares were empty, but Li Long soon found a dead rabbit and then a live, badly injured one.
• Li Long found two more dead rabbits and captured a large rabbit that attacked him, bringing the total catch to five.
• On the way home, Li Qiang told Xie Dafa that they had caught rabbits, and Li Long explained that he had used snares.
• Xie Dafa inspected the sack, praised Li Long’s skill, and marveled at his luck.

Li Long sold rabbit and wild-boar meat while explaining his plans to earn money and prepare for the expected land division. He and Li Jianguo went ice fishing, where they saw Tao Daqiang approaching.

• Li Long told Li Jianguo he planned to sell jade in Wu City, then catch fish to sell in Stone City and save for a horse cart before the land division.
• Li Jianguo agreed to fish with Li Long but stayed home rather than accompany him to Wu City.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo sold meat to Bai Fazhan and other villagers, receiving cash and more than a hundred bullets.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, Li Juan, and Li Qiang went to Little Haizi to open ice holes and catch fish.
• Li Long finished breaking through the ice and went to help Li Jianguo scoop fish, then noticed Tao Daqiang approaching from the Production Team.

Li Long decided Tao Daqiang could help with fishing and sales, but only as a paid worker rather than a partner. After a large afternoon catch at Little Haizi, Li Long invited Tao Daqiang to help while he went to Wu City the next day.

• Li Long settled his old debt with Tao Daqiang and told him their accounts were even as they gathered fish.
• Li Long told Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei that he would hire Tao Daqiang for specific jobs instead of sharing profits with him.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Tao Daqiang caught more than sixty kilograms of mostly large fish at Little Haizi that afternoon.
• Li Long invited Tao Daqiang to come help while Li Jianguo caught fish the next day, when Li Long planned to travel to Wu City.

Li Long traveled to Wu City to sell two pieces of Ma River jade at the Jade Factory. He left with 956 yuan, delighted by the windfall.

• Li Long set out for Wu City with two wrapped pieces of jade and asked Chen Hongjun where to find the Jade Factory.
• Li Long traveled by bus to Wu City and learned directions to the Second Light Industry Bureau from local gatekeepers.
• Li Long showed his jade to two Jade Factory employees, who praised the larger piece's exceptional quality.
• The Jade Factory weighed both pieces and paid Li Long 956 yuan for them.

After selling his jade, Li Long spent the night in Wu City and used his earnings to buy New Year gifts and food for his family. He left for home with a packed sack, then improvised a sled to drag it across the snowy road.

• Li Long asked the old man about Hetian jade prices, then left the jade factory and stayed at the Bayi Guesthouse.
• The next morning, Li Long bought a bus ticket and went to Wu City's Heavenly Mountain Department Store.
• Li Long bought fireworks, shoes, schoolbags, toys, clothes, and food for his family, spending a little over a hundred yuan.
• Li Long boarded a bus to Stone City and asked the driver to let him off at Ma County.
• After eating at the Big Meat Canteen, Li Long bought plastic sheeting and used it to drag his heavy sack toward home like a makeshift sled.

Li Long returned home with supplies for New Year's while Li Jianguo and Tao Daqiang brought in a large catch of fish. After dinner, Li Long offered Tao Daqiang paid work on a job-by-job basis, leaving their changed relationship clear.

• Li Long returned home with a sled full of supplies and gave peanuts to the children who helped him drag it.
• Liang Yuemei and Li Juan welcomed Li Long, who changed clothes and fell asleep while Li Qiang tried to peek into his sack.
• Li Jianguo and Tao Daqiang returned with nearly a hundred kilograms of fish, including a grass carp over six kilograms.
• Li Long woke and invited Tao Daqiang to stay for fish soup and hear what he had to say.
• Li Long asked Tao Daqiang to work with him for five yuan per job, and Tao Daqiang realized their relationship would not return to how it had been.

Li Long arranged for Tao Daqiang to help sell fish and borrowed the team’s horse cart for another trip. He returned home with gifts for his family and gave Li Jianguo three hundred yuan to prepare for the land and team assets they expected to receive after spring.

• Tao Daqiang agreed to work for Li Long for five yuan per trip, and Li Long arranged for him to come help sell fish the next morning.
• Tao Daqiang carried five fish home and began making fish soup for Tao Jianshe, who tacitly accepted that his younger son had gone back to work with Li Long.
• Li Long borrowed Xu Chengjun’s horse cart for three days and arranged with Lao Luo to harness horse number seventy-six before daylight.
• Li Long brought home clothes, shoes, schoolbags, toys, and food, delighting Li Juan, Li Qiang, Li Jianguo, and Liang Yuemei.
• Li Long gave Li Jianguo three hundred yuan for a horse or mule, a cart, and other expenses related to farming after spring.
• Li Jianguo asked Li Long to buy red paper, a brush, and ink for New Year couplets when he went to sell fish.

Li Long and Tao Daqiang traveled to Stone City to sell fish, first trying the August First Sugar Factory's Staff Compound and then moving to Old Street. Li Long sold most of his catch and, with half a sack left, took Tao Daqiang to get something to eat before continuing.

• Li Long and Tao Daqiang set out with three sacks of fish, while people in the Production Team gossiped about Li Long's sales trips and the Lu Family's Eldest Sister-in-Law again raised the idea of introducing him to someone.
• Li Long chose to try selling fish at the August First Sugar Factory's Staff Compound and explained to buyers that the fish came from the Ma County reservoir.
• Li Long sold some fish at the compound, but sales slowed around lunchtime, so he gave the old gatekeeper a silver carp and left for Old Street.
• Li Long sold an entire sack of fish at Old Street, then sold more over the following hour until only half a sack remained on the cart.
• Li Long told Tao Daqiang to follow him to get something to eat, confident he could sell the remaining fish before nightfall.