Chapter Summaries

Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Li Qingxia hunted gazelles with the Jeep, bringing home six animals and earning the attention of the police and villagers. After sharing meat and delivering supplies to the Liang family, Li Long drove to the Li Family home, where the women helped unload the haul.

• Li Long and Li Jianguo shot two gazelles while Li Qingxia missed, then they continued driving west in search of more.
• Li Qingxia spotted a herd of at least fifty or sixty Mongolian gazelles, and the three men shot four before returning toward town.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo dressed the gazelles at the Big Courtyard, where Guo Tiebing inspected Li Long's Jeep paperwork and accepted some meat; the police chief arranged for the station staff to share the meat and keep watch over the courtyard.
• Li Long delivered supplies to the Liang family, attracting curious villagers, then drove north to the Li Family home with four gazelles and their offal.
• Liang Yuemei, Du Chunfang, and the two children helped Li Long unload the haul while Lu Yingming watched from his courtyard and stayed away.

Li Long sold gazelle and wolf hides for 720 yuan, stocked up on supplies, and drove west into the mountains. On the way, he discovered a herd of saiga antelopes, killed two males, and reached Harimu's Winter Camp with the animals in his Jeep.

• Lu Yingming heard that Li Long had driven a Jeep and told Sister-in-Law Lu, spreading the news through the village.
• Li Long sold seven intact gazelle hides, three damaged hides, and a wolf pelt to Chen Hongjun for 720 yuan.
• Li Long bought medicines, food, batteries, and radios for his trip into the mountains.
• Li Long spotted a herd of saiga antelopes beside the snowy road and chased them until he shot one male and wounded another.
• Li Long killed the wounded antelope, hauled both animals back to his Jeep, and continued toward Harimu's Winter Camp.
• Harimu came out of the Winter Camp as Li Long arrived.

Li Long visited Harimu's Winter Camp with supplies and antelopes, discussed winter water pipes, and prepared tiger-bone liquor after returning home. He and Gu Xiaoxia persuaded Gu Boyuan to eat with their family, while Li Long agreed to help Sister Yang search for her husband; the chapter ended with Xu Chengjun promising hunting trips to top shooters.

• Li Long gave Harimu supplies and medicine, kept one antelope for himself, and discussed installing water pipes at the Winter Camp in spring.
• Li Long gave Harimu an antelope horn for medicinal use and advised him to steep tiger bones in liquor for his mother.
• Li Long returned home, prepared tiger-bone liquor, and asked Chen Hongjun to help him find wild ginseng.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia brought braised offal to Gu Boyuan and persuaded him to join their family for lunch and dinner.
• Li Long agreed with Gu Xiaoxia that they would help Sister Yang find Han Fang's father.
• Xu Chengjun told the militia that competition winners and anyone scoring at least forty-nine rings would get to go hunting with him.

Li Long sold two harvesters to Zhang Kehu and Li Menglong, then built and heated a greenhouse so he could grow winter vegetables. After he went to the Fourth Team to ask Li Jianguo what to plant, Team Leader Xu Chengjun arrived looking for him.

• Li Long sold two harvesters to Zhang Kehu and Li Menglong for 1,100 yuan and carefully taught them how to operate and remove the machines.
• Zhang Kehu and Li Menglong drove back toward Qitai, discussing how they could earn money harvesting wheat with the harvesters.
• Li Long bought a stove, built a brick heating wall in the glass room, and brought home three tons of coal to heat it.
• After seeing the greenhouse warm above freezing, Li Long planned to sow vegetable seeds and add a padded curtain.
• Li Long drove to the Fourth Team and asked Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei which vegetables might grow in winter.
• Before Li Long's family decided what to plant, Team Leader Xu Chengjun arrived to see him.

Xu Chengjun arranged for Li Long and Li Jianguo to take the militia west by tractor to hunt Mongolian gazelles, while Li Long planted vegetables in the Glass Room and improved its warmth. The militia reached a herd in the uninhabited area and prepared to fire their first shots.

• Xu Chengjun asked Li Long and Li Jianguo to provide tractors for a militia gazelle hunt, and promised to protect Little Haizi from being leased to outsiders.
• Li Long planted chives, celery, bok choy, and spinach in the Glass Room, then followed Li Jianguo's suggestion to enclose the growing area with plastic sheeting.
• After the militia assessments ended, Li Jianguo told Li Long they would hunt the next day, and the brothers prepared their tractors and gear.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo drove the militia west into the uninhabited area, where the group spotted a herd of more than a dozen gazelles.
• Xu Chengjun stopped the tractors and directed the militia to dismount, then assigned the best marksmen, including Li Long, to aim at clear targets in the herd.

Li Long and the militiamen hunted gazelles and saiga antelopes during a tractor trip, with Li Long’s sharp eyes and shooting bringing the Li family several kills. After collecting more gazelles near Kuytun, they hurried back before the military station could question them.

• Li Long identified the gazelles’ features, and the militiamen shot four, including animals targeted by Li Long and Liang Shuangcheng, while Tao Daqiang missed.
• The group encountered a herd of saiga antelopes, and six men shot six of them; Li Long and Li Jianguo each brought down one.
• Li Long advised opening the animals’ bellies before they froze, and the militiamen prepared the carcasses before continuing west.
• Near Kuytun, the group found a large gazelle herd, and Li Long shot a female and a young male in one round.
• Xu Chengjun told everyone to secure their rifles and collect the kills quickly because the military station might come investigate the gunfire.

Li Long and the militiamen returned from a successful Mongolian Gazelle and antelope hunt, and he processed his share at home. The next morning, Li Xiangqian asked him to supply a tonne of fish for the Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s New Year benefits, leaving Li Long with another winter job to prepare for.

• Xu Chengjun collected a Mongolian Gazelle from Li Long for the Team Office, and Li Long traded one of his animals with Huang Lao’er.
• The militiamen rode back to Stone City, where Xu Chengjun treated them to mixed noodles and collected their leftover ammunition for Li Long.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard, dressed three animals, stored the meat, and set aside their hides and horns.
• The next morning, Li Long gave Li Xiangqian an antelope horn and explained its use for reducing fevers.
• Li Xiangqian asked Li Long to arrange one tonne of fish for the Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s New Year benefits, and Li Long agreed.

Li Long prepared for an expected heavy snowfall, supplied snow pushers to family and neighbors, and arranged winter fish sales through the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. After the storm, clearing snow showed him there could be a market for a small snow-clearing machine, and he began considering how to develop the idea.

• Li Long made Han Fang a named snow pusher and prepared tools for the Big Courtyard and Li Jianguo’s family.
• Li Long gave Li Jianguo and Tao Daqiang saiga antelope horns, warned them to keep the scarce medicine secret, and invited them to join the fish-catching effort once the ice froze.
• Li Long told local fishers that the Supply and Marketing Cooperative would buy fish at one yuan, then returned to town as heavy snow began falling.
• After the snow stopped, Li Long cleared the Big Courtyard, drove Gu Xiaoxia to work, and discussed how much time snow removal took at workplaces.
• Gu Xiaoxia said her workplace would buy an effective snow-clearing machine, prompting Li Long to consider the opportunity while planning to visit Beiting and help Uncle Lao Luo clear snow.

Uncle Lao Luo tended his animals through the snow, and Li Long cleared the yard before hunting hares at Red Willow Flats. After returning with thirteen hares and sharing some with family and neighbors, Li Long set out the next morning for Beiting to deliver more.

• Uncle Lao Luo checked his deer and roe deer, cared for the pen, and spoke with Li Long when he arrived to help clear the snow.
• Li Long cleared Uncle Lao Luo’s yard, then drove to Red Willow Flats and caught thirteen hares while leaving a pregnant hare alone.
• Li Long gave hares to Liang Dacheng’s family and Uncle Lao Luo, then brought the rest home and shared them with his family.
• Li Long dressed the hares and told Gu Xiaoxia he would travel to the Prefecture Seat the next day; she wished him well and talked about her pregnancy.
• After breakfast, Li Long delivered hares to Director Wei and Li Xiangqian, then drove toward Beiting.

Li Long drove to Beiting to report to Director Qian, bringing him genuine Saiga antelope horns and rabbits. After hearing Li Long’s work report and learning why he would not transfer to the prefectural cooperative, Director Qian arranged New Year benefits and a meal for him before he headed home.

• Li Long reached Beiting, asked for directions, and registered at the prefectural cooperative to visit Director Qian.
• Li Long gave Director Qian Saiga antelope horns and rabbits, then reported on his recent work and his plans to procure a tonne of fish.
• Director Qian offered Li Long a job at the prefectural cooperative, but Li Long declined because he knew Ma County and wanted his work there to benefit his village.
• Director Qian told Xiao Si to take Li Long to collect staff New Year benefits and buy him a meal, explaining that Li Long’s tiger pelt had helped the cooperative receive extra procurement assignments.
• Xiao Si helped Li Long collect a large bundle of food and fireworks, then treated him to a meal and gave him a bottle of Wuliangye to take home.
• Li Long declined a tour of the city, dropped Xiao Si back at the cooperative, and drove toward home on icy roads.

Li Long shared the prefectural cooperative’s New Year benefits with Li Xiangqian and his family, then visited Little Haizi to check the winter fishing and buy fish for his assignment. He found the catches were mostly small, but caught a promising fish himself as the chapter ended.

• Li Long brought seafood from the prefectural cooperative to Li Xiangqian, who appreciated that Li Long had remembered him despite making a connection with Director Qian.
• Li Long shared the cooperative’s benefits with Sister Yang and his family, and offered to escort Gu Xiaoxia to work, but she declined.
• As the weather turned colder, Li Long delivered coal to Gu Boyuan’s compound and prepared for the freezing nights.
• On December 31, Li Long visited his family and learned that Li Qingxia, Tao Daqiang, and other villagers were fishing through holes in Little Haizi’s ice.
• Li Long inspected the fishing spots, arranged to buy Liang Dacheng’s fish, and found that larger fish had become scarce.
• Li Long lowered a scoop net into an ice hole and hauled up a fish with some weight to it.

Li Long bought fish caught at Little Haizi and hoped more villagers would take the opportunity to earn money. Tao Dayong asked to join Tao Daqiang’s fishing work, while Li Long planned to sell any extra fish in Stone City near New Year.

• Li Long caught a large red-headed common carp and decided to keep it for the family’s New Year reunion dinner.
• Li Long weighed and paid Tao Daqiang, Liang Dacheng, and several other villagers for their fish, then stored the catch in his spare room.
• Tao Dayong asked Tao Daqiang to let him join the fishing work, and Tao Daqiang told him to come the next morning.
• Yang Pingping asked Tao Daqiang to include her younger brother, and he agreed to share the work and divide the earnings with him.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Li Qingxia caught more big fish that afternoon, and Li Long said they could sell any fish beyond his needs in Stone City.

Li Long continued buying fish at Little Haizi, while Tao Dayong and Tao Daqiang began working together and shared their earnings. The chapter ended with Tao Dayong refusing Ma Chunhong’s request to bring her younger brother fishing because he had never appreciated their help.

• Li Long refused to take Gu Xiaoxia to work, then drove to Little Haizi to check on the fishing.
• Li Long overheard the Zhao father and son regretting that they had sold fish at the County Seat and deciding to sell to the Lis instead.
• Li Long advised Tao Dayong and Tao Daqiang to split their work between the two ice holes, and Tao Daqiang urged his brother to try scooping fish.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Li Qingxia caught a large haul and decided to make another ice hole that afternoon.
• Li Long bought fish from the Zhao father and son and from Tao Dayong and Tao Daqiang, paying them immediately; Tao Daqiang split the earnings evenly with his brother.
• Tao Dayong refused Ma Chunhong’s request to take her younger brother fishing, saying her brother had never appreciated their family’s help.

Li Long welcomed Abulaiti and Abudusaimaiti, visitors from Ili who had traveled to inspect and possibly buy his last harvester. After explaining its capabilities and price, he demonstrated that it could be mounted and operated with his tractor, leaving the brothers impressed.

• Li Long learned that a prospective buyer had come looking for a harvester and prepared his last machine for inspection.
• Abulaiti and Abudusaimaiti arrived from Ili, and Li Long welcomed them, served tea, and discussed crops and transporting the harvester.
• Li Long explained that the harvester cost 550 yuan, could cut many crops, and had helped him earn nearly enough for a tractor.
• Li Long started his tractor and showed the brothers how to mount the harvester; Abudusaimaiti tried and failed to crank the tractor into life.
• Li Long cranked the tractor into life and began demonstrating the harvester's operations.

Li Long showed Abulaiti and Abudusaimaiti how to operate his harvester and gave them time to decide, while buying fish with his family for the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. The brothers returned with the money to buy the harvester, and the chapter ended as their truck arrived and they began loading it.

• Li Long demonstrated the harvester to Abulaiti and Abudusaimaiti, explained its common problems, and agreed to wait until the next day for their decision.
• Li Long bought fish at Little Haizi with Li Qingxia and Li Jianguo, including a large catch from Tao Dayong and Tao Daqiang.
• Abulaiti and Abudusaimaiti decided to buy the harvester, but their freight truck failed to arrive on time.
• Abulaiti went to Li Long's Big Courtyard while Abudusaimaiti waited at the inn, and Li Long gave him the Supply and Marketing Cooperative's contact details.
• Abulaiti paid Li Long five hundred and fifty yuan for the harvester, and Li Long wrote him a receipt.
• Abudusaimaiti arrived in a Dongfeng truck, and the driver ordered them to load the harvester quickly.

Li Long sold the last harvester, bought fish with his family, and helped Sister Yang improve her market stall as winter business picked up. By mid-January, he was buying large quantities of fish and driving Liang Yuemei and the children to school, where Li Juan received a certificate of merit.

• Li Long helped Abulaiti, Abudusaimaiti, and Hailiqie load the last harvester, then hosted them for tea before they departed with a bag of apples.
• Sister Yang told Li Long that she had sold all her food at the market, and he suggested she offer customers hot water to attract more business.
• Li Jianguo and Li Qingxia bought fish while Li Long was away, and Du Chunfang missed Li Long at lunch.
• Li Long shared apples with his family, then resumed buying fish at Little Haizi each day and arranged for Sister Yang to sell fried small crucian carp.
• Li Long drove Liang Yuemei, Li Juan, and Li Qiang to school for the parent meetings, and Li Juan came out with a certificate of merit.

Li Long took Li Juan and Li Qiang to Little Haizi after their school parent meetings, where Li Qingxia rewarded the children for their certificates. Back at the courtyard, Li Long exposed a fish seller’s claim that his catch came from White Soil Pit, saying the fish had actually been taken from a sewage pit.

• Liang Yuemei attended Li Qiang’s parent meeting and explained that he had won an outstanding Young Pioneer certificate but missed the outstanding student award because of careless exam mistakes.
• Li Long took Li Juan and Li Qiang to Little Haizi, where he helped Li Qingxia gather fish; Li Qingxia gave each child five yuan for earning a certificate.
• Li Long returned to find a short middle-aged man selling fish from a horse-drawn cart, claiming they had been caught near White Soil Pit Reservoir.
• Li Long accused the seller of lying and identified the fish as coming from a sewage pit where the County Leather Factory dumped wastewater.
• Li Long warned Li Qingxia, Li Jianguo, and Lu Yingming that the fish carried the sewage pit’s stink despite having been washed.

Li Long exposed a fish seller who was passing off fish from a sewage pit as reservoir fish, and Xu Chengjun arranged for the man to be punished. After a heavy snowfall, Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia and Han Fang to work and school, then helped clear snow in the team while considering how to secure more feed for the animals.

• Li Long identified the fish on a stranger’s cart as coming from a sewage pit, and Li Qingxia, Li Jianguo, and Lu Yingming confirmed the sludge and stench.
• Lu Yingming slapped the seller, Li Jianguo kicked and beat him, and Xu Chengjun took him to the commune with the help of militiamen.
• Xu Chengjun later told Li Long that the seller had been locked up for half a month and that his horse and cart had been confiscated.
• When snow fell overnight, Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia to the Education Bureau and Han Fang to school, then cleared snow in the Big Courtyard.
• Li Long joined his family in clearing snow at the team and decided he would need to haul sugar residue for the stable’s feed.

Li Long bought large catches from Little Haizi and drove to Stone City to collect sugar residue and check the Old Street market. At the Sugar Factory, Section Chief Hu asked him to arrange fifty sheep for employee benefits before the New Year, and Li Long agreed to prepare them.

• Li Long found the Liang brothers and Lao Meng's family fishing at Little Haizi, where he and his relatives also caught a large haul after the snowfall.
• Li Long bought over fifty kilograms of fish in the morning and more than seventy kilograms in the afternoon, then arranged for Li Jianguo to help buy fish while he went to Stone City.
• Li Long prepared the tractor for the snowy journey, brought fish to Li Xia's family, and discussed Hongqin visiting relatives with her in his thoughts.
• At the Sugar Factory, Li Long gave fish to Song Ming and Section Chief Hu, then learned that Hu wanted fifty whole sheep for employee benefits before the New Year.
• Li Long agreed to arrange the sheep at a wholesale price, believing he had enough time to prepare them.

Li Long delivered sugar residue to Old Ma's Place and his eldest brother, sold his accumulated fish to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and then drove into the mountains to buy fifty Kelangzi sheep for the Sugar Factory. At Harimu's Winter Camp, he learned that the herders now belonged to the Pastoral Team and had to turn over sheep, complicating his purchase, but Harimu rode off to ask other households for fattened sheep.

• Li Long unloaded sugar residue at Old Ma's Place and the Big Courtyard, then discussed buying more fish and setting up a stall with Li Jianguo and Li Qingxia.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia he planned to gather fifty Kelangzi sheep, and she warned him not to risk traveling home at night.
• Li Long delivered more than a tonne of fish to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and settled the payment with Li Xiangqian.
• Li Long drove into the mountains and followed tractor tracks to Harimu's Winter Camp, where he learned the Pastoral Team had begun collecting sheep from the herders.
• Harimu said he and Jade Mountain River needed fattened sheep from other households to meet Li Long's request, then rode off to ask them while Li Long waited at the Winter Camp.