Chapter Summaries

Li Long heard wolves attacking Harimu and rode with Nasen to rescue him, shooting three wolves and helping Harimu escape. After Jade Mountain River arrived, the men agreed to warn nearby herders and prepare to hunt the wolves, while Li Long drove away to get more ammunition.

• Li Long heard a pack of wolves howling and rushed southwest with his rifle after realizing Harimu had left without a weapon.
• Nasen rode out to help Li Long reach Harimu faster, and the two rode together toward the wolves.
• Li Long shot three wolves and helped Harimu break free of the pack, then Harimu and Nasen returned safely to the Winter Camp.
• Harimu told Li Long that the wolves had chased him after gathering companions, and Jade Mountain River arrived to discuss the threat.
• Harimu and Jade Mountain River planned to warn the other herders and hunt the wolves, while Li Long gave them ammunition and drove away to get more.

Li Long bought ethnic-style furniture at the Woodworking Factory for his mountain friends, then collected ammunition from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. He prepared to join a wolf cull after learning a friend had nearly been attacked, and Section Chief Hou approved his ammunition request.

• Li Long warmed himself with noodle broth at the Canteen before visiting the Woodworking Factory to find small tables.
• Qi Xinzhi showed Li Long the factory’s leftover ethnic-style furniture, and Li Long inspected and bought all ten pieces after negotiating a total price of 106 yuan with He Changming.
• Li Long returned to his Big Courtyard, unloaded and covered the furniture, and drained his tractor’s water.
• Li Xiangqian explained that people at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative appreciated Li Long for catching safe fish and exposing contaminated fish.
• Li Long told Li Xiangqian that wolves had nearly attacked his friend and requested ammunition for a planned cull.
• Li Xiangqian wrote two authorization slips for 200 rounds, and Section Chief Hou approved the ammunition for Li Long.

Li Long brought furniture, school supplies, and ammunition to Harimu's Winter Camp while the herders slaughtered sheep, then joined Harimu and two young men to hunt the wolves threatening the camp. The chapter ended with them setting out after learning the wolves had been prowling nearby through the night.

• Li Long bought more school supplies, gave Han Fang a set, and told Gu Xiaoxia he planned to deliver desks and furniture to the herders.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia agreed to return to the Fourth Team for New Year and prepare her old courtyard for the winter.
• Li Long drove to Harimu's Winter Camp and found the herders slaughtering sheep while wolves howled nearby.
• Li Long delivered furniture, ammunition, and school supplies, and Harimu explained that the herders wanted to trade sheep for the furniture.
• Harimu called two young men to hunt the wolves, and Li Long joined them after learning the wolves had prowled near the camp all night.

Sana claimed a cabinet and chest for her Winter Camp and dreamed of trading stored treasures for new furniture, while Li Long joined Harimu and the others to hunt wolves along the sheep trail. They killed three wolves and returned to the camp, where the group ate together as Talihaal wished he had joined the hunt.

• Sana moved a cabinet and chest beside her horse, then told Talihaal that she wanted to trade possessions for enough new furniture to renovate their Winter Camp.
• Harimu led Li Long, Jade Mountain River, and two other armed men along the sheep trail because he feared wolves would attack Talihaal's group if they traveled after dark.
• Li Long shot a gray wolf that was watching the trail, and the men found blood and animal hair nearby that suggested the pack had dragged a wild mountain goat away.
• Li Long and the others encountered three fleeing gray wolves in a valley; the men shot two, and Harimu killed the wounded one.
• The hunters carried the three wolves back to Harimu's Winter Camp, where the people cheered and then shared freshly baked nang and cooked mutton.
• Talihaal continued skinning sheep and regretted missing the wolf hunt, while Li Long ate with the group and thought of Xiao Gan.

Li Long arranged furniture orders with the Kazakh herders, paid them for sheep, and loaded fifty-three carcasses onto his tractor. He left the tribe preparing an armed ambush for the wolves while he headed out of the mountains to deliver the sheep.

• Sana and Talihaal asked Li Long about ordering more furniture, and the herders gathered to list what their households needed.
• Li Long gave Talihaal ammunition and suggested he could trade mountain goods between the tribe and the outside world rather than abandon the mountains.
• Li Long recorded the furniture orders and tried to persuade Sana to keep her gold, but she insisted on trading sheep, antlers, and a small piece of gold.
• Jade Mountain River and Harimu arranged for armed men to escort the elders to the winter camp and ambush the wolves after sealing the offal in snow.
• Li Long paid Harimu for the sheep, loaded fifty-three carcasses onto the tractor, and accepted extra mutton from Harimu's wife.
• Li Long drove out of the mountains, looking back at the tribe's preparations and hearing wolves howl near the exit.

Li Long brought fifty sheep back to the County Town and sold an extra carcass to the Police Station, while the herders prepared an ambush for the wolf pack threatening their Winter Camps. The wolves approached Harimu's Winter Camp, the Wolf King appeared, and Jade Mountain River ordered the hunters to fire.

• Li Long drove his load of sheep to the Big Courtyard and sold one extra carcass to Guo Tiebing for the Police Station.
• Li Long told Gu Boyuan that the herders planned to use the offal as bait and hunt the wolves that night.
• Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and the young men set overlapping ambush positions around Harimu's Winter Camp.
• The wolf pack approached silently from the south and flanks, while Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and Talihaal searched for the Wolf King.
• The Wolf King advanced to within forty meters of the sheep pen, and Jade Mountain River shouted for the hunters to fire.

Li Long delivered fifty Kelangzi sheep to the Stone City Sugar Factory, collected sugar residue, and distributed supplies and meat among relatives and acquaintances. He then visited the Liang family with deer placentas and tiger bones, where Liang Donglou identified the bones and lent him handwritten notes on processing medicinal ingredients.

• Li Long warmed the tractor, loaded fifty sheep carcasses, and drove to the Sugar Factory, where Section Chief Hu arranged for them to be weighed and paid him 1,637 yuan and 76 fen.
• Li Long collected sugar residue, gave Song Ming the trailer poles, and delivered a leg of lamb to his sister Li Xia before returning to town.
• Li Long took sugar residue and lamb to Uncle Lao Luo, who gave him two deer placentas, then delivered more supplies to his eldest brother’s household and headed back with fish.
• Li Long told Xie Dafa that rabbit skins were selling for three yuan each, prompting Xie Dafa to set more snares and bring rabbits to Li Jianguo.
• Li Long drove to Liang Donglou’s village with sheep, fish, deer placentas, and tiger bones; Liang Donglou confirmed the bones were genuine and lent him handwritten notes on processing tiger bone and other medicinal ingredients.

Li Long arranged a large furniture order and bought sheep offal from the Woodworking Factory, then studied Liang Donglou’s medical notebook and escorted Gu Xiaoxia home. The next morning, he visited Harimu’s Winter Camp and learned that hunters had killed sixteen wolves, including the enormous Wolf King, after packs attacked two camps.

• Liang Donglou put away the tiger bones and let Li Long keep the medical notebook to copy, while warning Liang Wenyu and Chen Xiuzhu to keep the bones secret.
• Li Long ordered Kazakh-style furniture from He Changming and arranged to supply the factory with twenty sets of sheep offal.
• Li Long stored Liang Donglou’s notebook and read its instructions for processing deer placenta before meeting Gu Xiaoxia after work.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia he would drive to the mountains the next morning to bring back sheep offal and wolves and check on the hunters.
• Harimu told Li Long that wolves had attacked his Winter Camp and Jade Mountain River’s Winter Camp, where armed defenders killed sixteen wolves and wounded or scattered the survivors.
• Li Long examined the unusually large Wolf King and considered whether his tractor could carry all the wolves along with the sheep offal.

Li Long delivered sheep offal to the Woodworking Factory, then collected wolf meat and other animal parts from Harimu’s Winter Camp and began selling the wolves cheaply in Qingshui River Village. The villagers eagerly pooled their money to buy whole wolves, and Li Long stayed at Meng Hai’s home while the sales began.

• Li Long delivered twenty sets of sheep offal to He Changming at the Woodworking Factory and left the rest for another trip.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard, told Gu Boyuan and the others about the wolf attack, and stored the remaining offal.
• Li Long drove back to Harimu’s Winter Camp, loaded wolf pelts and meat along with sheep heads and trotters, and told Harimu to delay furniture delivery until after the New Year.
• Li Long passed on hunting Mongolian gazelles and stopped in Qingshui River Village when the villagers’ dogs barked at the wolf cargo.
• Meng Hai recognized Li Long, arranged an announcement over the village loudspeaker, and hosted him while villagers gathered to buy wolf meat at one yuan per kilogram.
• Meng Hai suggested that families pool their money to buy whole wolves, and the villagers formed groups to purchase the meat.

Li Long sold wolf meat and sheep parts in Qingshui River Village, then returned home and shared the proceeds with Gu Xiaoxia. The next morning, he brought intact wolf pelts to the Purchasing Station, where staff offered to buy the rest as well.

• Li Long and Meng Hai sold seven wolves and many sheep heads and trotters to villagers in Qingshui River Village.
• Meng Hai bought a wolf and explained that militia rifles and ammunition were too restricted for hunting.
• Li Long returned home, discussed selling the family's meat and fish in Stone City, and split the day's earnings with Gu Xiaoxia.
• Li Long took seven intact wolf pelts to the Purchasing Station and ran into Xie Dafa, who was selling rabbit skins.
• The Purchasing Station staff offered Li Long fifty-five to sixty yuan per pelt and asked him to bring in the remaining pelts.

Li Long sold wolf pelts, prepared sheep heads and trotters, then drove Gu Xiaoxia back to the Team with food for his family. After watching his father and brother fish, he cleared and warmed Gu Boyuan’s courtyard, leaving plans for someone to keep the house dry.

• Li Long sold the remaining wolf pelts for over a thousand yuan and set up a stove in an unused room to singe sheep heads and trotters.
• Li Long prepared five sheep heads and twenty trotters, then set aside some cooked food for Gu Boyuan.
• Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia to the Team and unloaded cooked and unprocessed heads and trotters at the Li family courtyard.
• Li Long pulled Gu Xiaoxia and the children by sled to Little Haizi, where they watched Li Jianguo and others fish through holes in the ice.
• Li Long cleared snow from Gu Boyuan’s courtyard, lit the stove to warm the damp house, and planned to ask Tao Daqiang to keep lighting a fire there.

Li Long and his family continued buying fish at Little Haizi while preparing to sell sheep offal to their fellow team members. After Li Long helped Jia Weidong choose a better fishing spot, he returned to the County Seat with Gu Xiaoxia, leaving the family to continue fishing and selling through the coming week.

• Li Jianguo volunteered to keep the stove burning in Gu Boyuan's courtyard, and he and Li Long agreed to sell most of the sheep heads, hooves, and offal to people in the Fourth Team.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, and Li Qingxia continued fishing at Little Haizi as more team members arrived to try catching fish for sale.
• Li Long advised Jia Weidong to abandon a shallow spot and make an ice hole near the Dam Mouth, where Jia Weidong caught a small haul before leaving for the day.
• Li Long gave Li Jianguo three hundred yuan to buy fish and decided to bring the sheep offal back for the team members to buy.
• Li Long tended the stoves at Gu Xiaoxia's family home, then returned with Gu Xiaoxia to the County Seat and spent the evening with her.

Tao Daqiang refused Huang Siping’s request for a loan and told him to earn the money by fishing, while Tao Jianshe spread the story before Huang could damage Daqiang’s reputation. Meanwhile, Li Long sold sheep offal and wolf meat in the Fourth Team, and Huang’s unsuccessful attempts at fishing left him branded as lazy.

• Tao Daqiang kept his share of the day’s fishing earnings and refused to lend Huang Siping money, offering instead to teach him to catch fish at Little Haizi.
• Huang Siping left empty-handed, and Tao Jianshe went out to tell people what had happened before Huang could bad-mouth Tao Daqiang.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo announced the sale of sheep offal, which villagers bought along with sheep heads, hooves, and wolf meat.
• A customer from the Third Team bought wolf meat, and more people came from his team; by the end of the day, the sheep offal and one and a half wolves had sold.
• Huang Siping tried fishing at Little Haizi but caught almost nothing, quit, and became known around the village as a lazy freeloader.

Li Long’s winter provisions and Jeep drew envy at work, but his vehicle use was confirmed as officially authorized after someone reported him. As the New Year approached, Gu Xiaoxia prepared to return to the Team while Li Long planned to sell the family’s remaining fish.

• Gu Xiaoxia’s colleagues envied the abundant New Year supplies and money Li Long provided, while Sister Ma speculated about the Jeep he used.
• Director Wang asked Gu Xiaoxia for wolf ankle bones, and Li Long gave her several to take to the office.
• Someone reported Li Long for using a public vehicle, but the Supply and Marketing Cooperative confirmed the Prefectural Federation had assigned him the Jeep and his work.
• Leaders traced the false report, and Sister Ma’s husband was disciplined and demoted at work.
• Gu Xiaoxia planned to spend the New Year back at the Team, while Li Long prepared to sell the fish left at home.

Li Long and Li Jianguo took the family’s fish to Stone City to sell before New Year, and their stall quickly attracted customers. When a woman accused their fish of coming from contaminated water, Li Long challenged her to provide evidence and threatened to report her for slander.

• Li Jianguo and Li Long sorted the remaining fish, set aside fish for relatives, and chose bighead carp to try making fish-head dishes.
• Li Long picked up Gu Xiaoxia from the Education Bureau, and they discussed the fish and their plans for New Year.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo traveled with Li Qingxia to Stone City and secured a stall at the crowded Old Street market.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo sold fish quickly, so Li Long returned to the Vehicle Lot for more.
• A woman accused the fish of coming from contaminated water, and Li Long demanded proof and threatened to report her for slander.

Li Long overcame a false accusation at the Old Street market with evidence and the support of regular customers, then sold nearly all the fish with Li Jianguo. Afterward, they visited Li Xia, and Hongqin agreed to go stay with her cousins for a few days.

• Li Long challenged the woman who called his fish contaminated to have them tested, showed the crowd the clean gills, and drove her away when she refused.
• A regular customer recognized Li Long and praised his fish, reassuring the crowd and drawing buyers to the stall.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo sold the fish, then packed up and took fish to Li Xia's home after eating at the canteen with Li Qingxia.
• Li Long gave candy to Hongqin and the neighborhood children, and Li Xia welcomed her father and brothers with the fish for the New Year.
• Li Xia agreed to let Hongqin stay with Li Jianguo's family so she could play with her cousins, and the family talked about life near Old Street.

Sister Yang received a letter identifying Han Bin's former work unit at Red Flag Farm and learned that its remittances had come from the farm rather than Han Bin, leaving her worried about his situation. Li Long arranged to drive Sister Yang and Han Fang there, and the chapter ended with them setting out toward Beiting Prefecture.

• Sister Yang read letters from her mother-in-law and Wu Yongfu; the first asked her to return home, while Wu Yongfu gave Han Bin's work-unit location and described suspicious remittances from Red Flag Farm.
• Sister Yang asked Li Long about Red Flag Farm, and he offered to drive her there; Han Fang insisted on going with her.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia agreed to support the trip, and Gu Xiaoxia urged Li Long to protect Sister Yang if Han Bin had mistreated her.
• Li Long prepared the Jeep, packed meat, fish, and his Type 56 rifle, then set off with Sister Yang and Han Fang for Red Flag Farm.

Li Long drove Sister Yang and Han Fang from Wu City to Red Flag Farm to find Han Bin, following Xiao Si’s directions. At the farm, they learned Han Bin had died while saving people, and the chapter ended with Li Long giving the farm officials letters to verify Sister Yang and Han Fang’s identities.

• Li Long asked Xiao Si for directions to Red Flag Farm, and Xiao Si gave him a route map and fuel supplies.
• Li Long drove Sister Yang and Han Fang through Wu City, Miquan, Fukang, and Jimsar, stopping for food before continuing east.
• Li Long reached Red Flag Farm and asked its staff for Han Bin.
• Sister Yang collapsed when Han Fang pointed out a notice honoring Han Bin as a martyr.
• A farm worker told Li Long that Han Bin had died while trying to stop a bolting horse and that the farm had sent a telegram, his belongings, and money to his hometown.
• Section Chief Xu and Deputy Section Chief Zheng questioned Sister Yang’s identity, and Li Long handed over her letters as proof.

Li Long helped Yang Xiulan prove that she was Han Bin’s wife and brought her and Han Fang to visit his grave. After the farm offered Yang Xiulan a job and housing, she chose to return to Ma County with Li Long, and the farm began discussing compensation for her family.

• Li Long explained Yang Xiulan’s search for Han Bin to Section Chief Xu, and Deputy Section Chief Zheng confirmed her identity by matching the letters and finding Han Bin’s photograph.
• Yang Xiulan received the photograph and insisted on visiting Han Bin’s grave, where she and Han Fang paid their respects and burned yellow paper.
• Section Chief Xu offered Yang Xiulan a farm job, housing, and a place for Han Fang at the Staff Children’s Primary School, while Li Long called Gu Xiaoxia to say they would stay overnight.
• Yang Xiulan told Li Long she wanted to return to Ma County with Han Fang, and he agreed to take them back the next day.
• Yang Xiulan told Section Chief Xu about her decision the next morning, and he later returned to explain the compensation the farm would provide.

Li Long brought Yang Xiulan and Han Fang back to Ma County after the farm gave them financial support and provisions following Han Bin’s death. He left them to mourn at the southern courtyard, then returned home to care for Gu Xiaoxia and process deer placenta while considering how to help Yang Xiulan settle her household registration.

• Section Chief Xu gave Yang Xiulan and Han Fang a hundred yuan, promised monthly support, and provided food, oil, and liquor from Red Flag Farm.
• Li Long drove Yang Xiulan and Han Fang to their southern courtyard in Ma County, where Han Fang helped her exhausted mother rest and prepared their first meal.
• Li Long returned home, tried to process deer placenta for Gu Xiaoxia, and told Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Boyuan that Yang Xiulan and Han Fang had settled in the courtyard.
• Li Long considered ways to arrange Yang Xiulan’s household registration but set the problem aside until he could ask his acquaintances.
• The next day, Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia to work and spent the morning drying deer placenta while preparing lunch.