Chapter Summaries

Li Long prepared the mountain camp and delivered supplies while Li Jianguo and Lu Yingming began setting up their earth cellar. Li Jianguo brought down a wild boar overnight, and Li Long joined the others in preparing it as the group gathered to start work.

• Li Long drove to Harimu's winter camp, delivered supplies, and later stocked the wooden cabin with essentials while cleaning and checking his fishing net.
• Li Long returned to the County Seat, bought medicine and batteries for Harimu's household, and told Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia about the mountain camp.
• Li Long arrived at Small White Poplar Gully and learned from Lu Yingming that Li Jianguo had shot a wild boar after waiting for a herd to return before dawn.
• Li Long found Li Jianguo helping Liang Wenyu's group dig an earth cellar in Elm Tree Gully and invited them to lunch.
• Li Long helped Li Jianguo and Lu Yingming process the boar, and Xie Yundong and the others arrived to find the meat ready for a feast.

Li Long helped organize the mountain camps, delivered wild boar meat to several households, and checked on Harimu and Bolati before inspecting the taibazi weavers’ work. He still had not seen any herb gatherers come to trade by the chapter’s end.

• Xu Haijun led five men to Big White Poplar Gully, where they dug cave dwellings, while Li Long warned them about the mountain wildlife.
• Li Long delivered wild boar meat from Li Jianguo’s kill to the Liang Family, the Fourth Team, and Uncle Lao Luo.
• Li Long visited Harimu, who said his family would move camp in three days, then met Bolati at the wooden cabin and agreed to buy any fritillaria he found.
• Li Long waited at the wooden cabin for herb gatherers, but nobody arrived, and he returned the next day with nang for the workers.
• Li Long found several of Liang Wenyu’s taibazi below standard and told him to have them redone, while Xu Haijun’s group had produced work that passed inspection.

Li Long inspected the taibazi woven by three groups in the mountains and arranged to hire trucks to haul the accepted ones. He ended the chapter discussing the hauling fee and truck requirements with Ma Chunlei at the County Transport Company.

• Li Xiangqian told Li Long that the Supply and Marketing Cooperative's trucks were unavailable and suggested he ask Old Hong at the County Transport Company about after-hours hauling.
• Li Long inspected Li Jianguo's and Lu Yingming's taibazi, accepted Li Jianguo's work, and identified flaws in two of Lu Yingming's pieces.
• Li Long found that Xu Haijun's group had many rejected taibazi, explained the defects, and told the young men how to improve their work.
• Li Long inspected Liang Wenyu's group, where about seventy percent of the work passed, and found that Liang's own pass rate was eighty percent.
• Li Long counted nearly a hundred and eighty accepted taibazi in Small White Poplar Gully and planned to use a truck and his tractor to haul them.
• Li Long visited the County Transport Company, where Ma Chunlei recommended hiring two trucks and invited him to discuss the price.

Li Long arranged truck transport for Taibazi and brought a large load back from Small White Poplar Gully, while Li Jianguo scored again by shooting a roe deer. Bolati and a suspicious stranger both went to Li Long's locked Wooden Cabin, where the stranger finally smashed the lock.

• Li Long agreed to pay Ma Chunlei's team to haul Taibazi, then delivered supplies to the Pastoral Team settlement and arranged for Gu Boyuan and several young men to help unload.
• Li Long led two trucks to Small White Poplar Gully, where the workers loaded nearly a hundred and eighty Taibazi and the group returned to unload them at the Big Courtyard.
• Li Long took Tao Daqiang and the others back to the mountains the next morning, where he found Li Jianguo had shot another roe deer and helped skin it.
• Bolati arrived at Li Long's locked Wooden Cabin with fritillaria, then left without making his trade.
• A person emerged from the woods, checked the locked cabin, and returned at noon to smash its lock with a stone.

After discovering his cabin had been robbed, Li Long tracked down the thief and recovered much of his property, then returned to trading with herb gatherers. He left the extra supplies secured in his Jeep and prepared to keep the cabin open as a supply point.

• Bolati found Li Long’s cabins broken into and rode to Small White Poplar Gully to report the theft, while Xie Yundong and Li Jianguo decided to wait for Li Long.
• Li Long followed the thief’s tracks through the woods and found a herb gatherer wearing his stolen clothes and using his bedding and supplies.
• Li Long subdued the thief and brought him back to the cabin, where he handed him over to Bolati and recovered the stolen goods.
• Li Long traded supplies with Bolati for fritillaria, and Bolati rode away with the thief in tow.
• Li Long restocked the cabin cautiously, dried the fritillaria, and traded essential supplies with two herb gatherers who said they would depend on his cabin during the coming weeks.

Li Long traded his goods for fritillaria, bought more supplies, and arranged to stop staying overnight at the cabin after catching a thief. A week later, he inspected Qingshui River’s taibazi and found that the villagers had produced them to a high standard.

• Li Long traded all the goods at his cabin for fresh fritillaria, caught the thief who had robbed it, and drove to Small White Poplar Gully to tell Li Jianguo what happened.
• Li Long bought food and daily necessities at the County Seat Department Store, then picked up Gu Xiaoxia and Tao Min and told Gu Xiaoxia he planned to return home each evening.
• Li Long spent the next several days trading for fritillaria and hauling more than two hundred taibazi from Small White Poplar Gully with trucks from the Motor Pool.
• After a week, Li Long visited Qingshui River and began inspecting the taibazi made by He Yuqing, Meng Hai, and the villagers.
• Li Long rejected flawed taibazi from Liu Dashu’s first batch, while the overall pass rate among the twelve villagers’ work exceeded eighty percent.

Li Long arranged transport for Qingshui River Village’s taibazi, delivered them to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and received payment. After hearing Bolati mention Mantou Mountain and its rumored buried treasure, Li Long explored eastward and found red deer in the Salt Mine Cave, but let them escape.

• Li Long brought three trucks to Qingshui River Village, paid He Yuqing for 374 acceptable taibazi, and had six young men help deliver the load to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
• Li Long returned the next day with the taibazi from his courtyard, where Li Xiangqian and the cooperative staff inspected them and paid him over five thousand yuan.
• Bolati told Li Long that newcomers were gathering herbs near Mantou Mountain and asked him to trade dried meat for fritillaria; Li Long recalled a story that Sheng Shicai had buried treasure there.
• A quiet man sold Li Long nearly ten kilograms of fritillaria, and Li Long then drove east to investigate the Salt Mine Cave and search for Mantou Mountain.
• Li Long found a red deer doe and fawn inside the cave but let them escape, then walked farther east without finding the mountain and headed back toward the cave around lunchtime.

Li Long shot two Mongolian gazelles, salted their meat, and traded some of it and other supplies for fritillaria with herb gatherers and Bolati. The next morning, after arranging transport and returning to the Wooden Cabin, he turned away a man who wanted to buy old coins and a corroded dagger on credit.

• Li Long found two Mongolian gazelles outside the mine, shot them, and took them to the Wooden Cabin to butcher and salt.
• At Small White Poplar Gully, Li Long told the workers that Qingshui River Village had delivered more than three hundred taibazi and had an eighty-percent pass rate.
• A herb gatherer traded fritillaria for a gazelle leg, and Bolati later exchanged confiscated fritillaria for meat, alcohol, and biscuits.
• Li Long brought the meat and fritillaria home, where Gu Xiaoxia reacted to the smell and Han Fang helped wash the herbs.
• The next morning, Li Long arranged for trucks to haul taibazi, then went to the Wooden Cabin, where he refused a man's request to trade old coins and a dagger for goods on credit.

Li Long drove off a sick, threatening fritillaria gatherer, then arranged for Sun Jiaqiang to help buy fritillaria at his cabin while he hunted and handled transport. After teaching Sun Jiaqiang the exchange rates, Li Long left him to manage a trade on his own and went to look for game.

• Li Long threatened an ill gatherer with his gun and fired at his feet when the man approached, forcing him to leave with only a packet of noodles.
• Bolati told Li Long that the Forestry Team planned to confiscate some fritillaria from diggers who were damaging the turf, and said he would bring Li Long at least three sacks to trade.
• Li Long met Sun Jiaqiang at the camp and offered him fifty cents per kilogram to buy fritillaria for him when he was away; Sun Jiaqiang accepted.
• Li Long and Sun Jiaqiang brought dried noodles to Lao Huang, then returned to the cabin, where Li Long taught Sun Jiaqiang how to price and process fritillaria.
• Sun Jiaqiang successfully handled a trade with a gatherer, and Li Long left him at the cabin to wash fritillaria while he went hunting.

Li Long hunted a red deer near Hot Spring Ravine, brought its meat and morels back, and arranged for Sun Jiaqiang to trade some cooked venison for fritillaria. After delivering food to family and friends, Li Long drove home planning the next day's Taibazi transport.

• Li Long drove to Hot Spring Ravine, followed animal tracks uphill, and shot a red deer, though one of its velvet antlers broke when it fell.
• Li Long carried the deer back to the Wooden Cabin, processed its meat and hide, paid Sun Jiaqiang for fritillaria, and left cooked venison for him to trade.
• Sun Jiaqiang began trading the venison, while Li Long brought deer offal and meat to Small White Poplar Gully and the Big Courtyard.
• Li Long picked up Gu Xiaoxia, washed the morels he had gathered, and told Sister Yang to prepare chicken and morel soup for her.
• Li Long delivered venison to Li Qingxia's family in the Fourth Team, drank fish soup, and promised Li Qiang cartridge cases.
• Li Long drove home and planned to arrange the next day's Taibazi shipment from Small White Poplar Gully.

Li Long managed fritillaria trades at the Wooden Cabin while overseeing taibazi inspections, but three men threatened Sun Jiaqiang and fought Li Long after disputing the trade price. Bolati arrived on horseback as Li Long considered how to handle the men and protect the cabin.

• Li Long collected 112 kilograms of fritillaria from Bolati, who mentioned that someone was searching for rumored buried treasure near Mantou Mountain.
• Sun Jiaqiang traded supplies with several herb gatherers, including a disguised woman, while Li Long warned him to take precautions.
• Li Long inspected nearly two hundred taibazi at Small White Poplar Gully and found that their pass rate had improved to about eighty percent.
• Li Long returned to the Wooden Cabin and found three men tussling with Sun Jiaqiang after they complained about the trade terms.
• Li Long fought the men and ordered Sun Jiaqiang to stop striking one of them, then sent him to handle another customer as Bolati arrived on horseback.

Li Long helped Bolati capture three men who had tried to rob Sun Jiaqiang, then learned they had hidden stolen fritillaria in a mountain cave. He searched for the hideout and found a gully that seemed to match, but the chapter ended before he discovered what was inside.

• Bolati arrived at the Wooden Cabin, took the three men away for trying to assault Li Long and Sun Jiaqiang, and confiscated their sack of fritillaria.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard with the harvested Taibazi, then drove the young men back to the mountains and came home before midnight.
• Li Long checked on Sun Jiaqiang the next morning and helped him prepare mushrooms and steamed buns before Bolati told him about the men’s hidden stash of stolen fritillaria.
• Li Long drove to Jade Mountain River's Winter Camp, found its door forced open and the interior ransacked, then searched nearby gullies for the hideout.
• Li Long spotted a man from the previous day searching the gullies, and the man fled when Li Long called out to him.
• Li Long found a gully with many footprints but untouched fritillaria, and concluded it was likely the three men’s hideout.

Li Long found a hidden cave containing fritillaria, money, antiques, and supplies, then carried its contents away and traded some clothes with herb diggers. Back home, he showed Gu Boyuan the antiques and heard an account of silver dollars spilling from a truck during Sheng Shicai’s flight.

• Li Long found a concealed cave, discovered its stored fritillaria, money, antiques, and tools, and moved most of the goods to his Jeep while an unseen man failed to locate the cave.
• Li Long traded clothes and dried meat for fritillaria with two herb diggers at the wooden cabin, and several other groups later chose to trade with him rather than Sun Jiaqiang.
• Li Long returned the money he found in the cave to Bolati, who thanked him and agreed to consider the matter settled.
• Li Long brought the haul home, spread out the fritillaria, and showed the antiques to Gu Boyuan.
• Gu Boyuan told Li Long that he had heard Sheng Shicai’s fleeing forces lost a truckload of silver dollars when a truck overturned in Wu City.

Li Long sold his dried fritillaria at the purchasing station, where Chen Hongjun had become station chief, then went to the mountain cabin and found that Sun Jiaqiang was struggling to earn the gatherers’ trust. Bolati brought Li Long fritillaria collected by four colleagues, while Sun Jiaqiang continued to receive only a small share of the trade.

• Li Long learned that Gu Boyuan’s farm supply store was thriving and that Gu Boyuan credited Li Long with laying the groundwork for his success.
• Li Long sold 28.4 kilograms of first-grade fritillaria for 1,363 yuan and discovered that Chen Hongjun had been promoted to station chief.
• Chen Hongjun showed sellers samples of morels and black tiger’s paw mushrooms and explained which varieties the purchasing station bought.
• Li Long drove to the mountain cabin, where Sun Jiaqiang said gatherers still preferred to trade directly with Li Long and that Bolati had discouraged them from trading with him.
• Li Long stayed to trade supplies with gatherers, and Bolati brought four sacks of fritillaria collected by his colleagues in exchange for different goods.

Li Long traded supplies for fritillaria in Small White Poplar Gully, encouraged Sun Jiaqiang to stay and gather mushrooms, then drove home after a busy trading day. Meanwhile, Li Jianguo and Lu Yingming went into the mountains to cut rods and shot two wild boars, returning with their catch and surprising the others.

• Li Long told Sun Jiaqiang he could earn money by gathering morels and black tiger's paw mushrooms or by doing mountain work.
• A disguised woman traded fritillaria with Li Long for clothes, dried noodles, and matches, then changed into the dry clothes and left after the rain stopped.
• Several other gatherers arrived to trade fritillaria, keeping Li Long and Sun Jiaqiang busy until their clothes, noodles, steamed buns, and venison were mostly gone.
• Li Long paid Sun Jiaqiang for the fritillaria he had traded, instructed him to tend the buns, and drove down the muddy mountain road.
• Li Jianguo and Lu Yingming headed into a distant gully to cut rods, where Li Jianguo spotted a herd of wild boars and shot an adult and a piglet.
• Li Jianguo and Lu Yingming returned carrying the two wild boars and rods, astonishing the people weaving taibazi.

Li Long balanced family duties with his fritillaria trade before arriving at the cabin to find a Forestry Team deputy leader ordering Sun Jiaqiang and a herb gatherer arrested and their goods confiscated. Bolati introduced Li Long as he stepped out of his Jeep, leaving the confrontation to unfold.

• Li Long brought wild boar meat to his family, cooked lunch with Du Chunfang, and told Liang Yuemei about the remaining meat.
• Li Long traded fritillaria with buyers at the cabin, warned Sun Jiaqiang to prioritize his safety, and later sold dried fritillaria for over four hundred yuan.
• Li Long visited Small White Poplar Gully, gave Lao Huang vinegar, and told Xie Yundong he would inspect the Taibazi the next day.
• A Forestry Team deputy leader arrived at the cabin, questioned Sun Jiaqiang about the fritillaria trade, and ordered him and a waiting herb gatherer arrested while their goods were confiscated.
• Li Long drove up in his Jeep, and Bolati introduced him to the deputy leader.

Li Long used the Prefecture-owned Jeep and his official credentials to persuade Nur Maimait to release Sun Jiaqiang and support his mountain-products collection point. After buying fritillaria from several gatherers and arranging the transport of nearly three hundred inspected Taibazi, Li Long planned to hunt in Inner Mountain to replenish his meat supplies.

• Li Long explained his collection-point mission to Nur Maimait, who released Sun Jiaqiang and the herb gatherer and ordered the Forestry Team to support Li Long.
• Li Long traded supplies and cash for fritillaria, while forest rangers began directing gatherers to sell their harvest to him.
• Li Long sold his remaining venison to a ranger and told Sun Jiaqiang he would hunt for more meat after finishing the Taibazi work.
• Li Long decided to make a future trip into Inner Mountain, where he hoped to find herds of wild mountain goats or other game.
• Li Long inspected the Taibazi, arranged trucks through the Transport Company, and helped load nearly three hundred accepted Taibazi for delivery to the Big Courtyard.

Li Long explored the deep mountains, discovered ancient cave paintings, and encountered a brown bear while hunting wild mountain goats. He returned to the Wooden Cabin with five goats, where Sun Jiaqiang told him that two people planned to return to trade for fritillaria.

• Li Long led Tao Daqiang and the others into the mountains, then continued deeper in search of wild mountain goats.
• Li Long spotted a young goat, followed it through a cave, and found ancient paintings depicting a powerful goddess and her people.
• Li Long found a herd of more than twenty wild mountain goats, but a brown bear appeared and attacked them.
• Li Long shot two goats and collected four injured ones, but an unknown animal dragged off one before he could carry it away.
• Li Long brought five goats to the Wooden Cabin and began skinning them as Sun Jiaqiang said two people would return to trade for fritillaria.

Li Long processed and traded wild mountain goat meat, then explored an unfamiliar mountain area in search of Mantou Mountain. After he refused a suspicious group’s request for help, another rider approached his Jeep.

• Li Long processed five wild mountain goats into meat, organs, and hides while Sun Jiaqiang helped and traders exchanged fritillaria for supplies and meat.
• Bolati brought sacks of fritillaria and traded them with Li Long for cooked meat, alcohol, and money before riding away.
• Li Long returned home with another goat, spent the evening with Gu Xiaoxia, and prepared the morels he had gathered for Sister Yang to cook.
• Li Long drove to the Tashi River area to look for Mantou Mountain and climbed a nearby ridge, but saw no sign of it.
• Li Long hurried back to his Jeep when he spotted three armed men approaching, then refused their offer of a hundred yuan to guide them or find them a local guide.
• The three men left, and Li Long hesitated over whether to continue exploring when a rider approached from the northwest.

Li Long met Forestry Team member Aili, searched Mantou Mountain for rumored treasure, and later hunted three wild boars at Hot Spring Ravine. Back at the cabin, he traded a knife and money to the disguised woman, then butchered the boars with Sun Jiaqiang before preparing to head home.

• Li Long met Aili, sold him Fritillaria, and learned the route to Mantou Mountain and Small White Poplar Gully.
• The three armed treasure hunters watched Li Long and Aili, then decided to approach Aili for information rather than risk attacking Li Long.
• Li Long searched Mantou Mountain but found no caves or treasure, then went to Small White Poplar Gully for lunch.
• Bolati traded over forty kilograms of Fritillaria for money and goods after the Forestry Team cut its Fritillaria reward, and Li Long decided to hunt for more meat.
• Li Long shot three wild boars at Hot Spring Ravine and returned with them to the cabin.
• Li Long traded the disguised woman a knife and sixteen yuan for her Fritillaria, then butchered the boars with Sun Jiaqiang and planned to take two home.