Chapter Summaries

Li Long went to the Wooden Cabin, gathered coal and black tiger's paw mushrooms, then rescued a man from a huge brown bear. After spotting a herd of Siberian ibex, he shot two as the herd fled, but a rockslide forced him to circle around.

• Li Long found the Wooden Cabin locked but saw that Sun Jiaqiang was still staying there, so he cooked a meal and left his portion behind.
• Li Long filled four sacks with coal and gathered two sacks of black tiger's paw mushrooms near Jade Mountain River's Winter Camp.
• Li Long heard a man calling for help and shot at the huge brown bear chasing him, driving it away before pursuing it into the woods.
• Li Long ignored the man when he asked to be taken out of the mountains and climbed toward a herd of Siberian ibex.
• Li Long shot a young Siberian ibex and a three- or four-year-old adult, then dodged a rockslide while trying to reach them.

Li Long returned from the mountains with two Siberian Ibex, mushrooms, and blood for a liquor experiment, then sold supplies to Sun Jiaqiang and brought meat home to share with his family and relatives. After checking on the babies, he visited Li Jianguo and Uncle Lao Luo, leaving the rest of his haul and his family’s evening behind him.

• Li Long carried two wounded Siberian Ibex down the mountain, collected the adult’s blood in liquor bottles, and drove to the Small Wooden Cabin.
• Li Long brought coal to Sun Jiaqiang, helped prepare the ibex, and sold him dried Morels, Black Tiger's Paw Mushrooms, and Fritillaria for one hundred and twenty yuan.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard with mushrooms and meat; Sister Yang soaked the organs while he washed up and spent time with the babies.
• Li Long delivered ibex meat to Li Jianguo’s family, who discussed the babies and their busy wheat harvest work.
• Li Long gave meat to Uncle Lao Luo, who told him to head home after dark.

Li Long gathered mushrooms in the Heavenly Mountain, learned that outsiders were searching for rumored treasure, and obtained a map marking two locations. While following the map after picking wild strawberries, he saw gray wolves attack a brown bear cub and rushed after them to take advantage of the fight.

• Li Long cleaned dried mushrooms with Han Fang, then drove into the mountains to gather more for sale.
• Bolati told Li Long that outsiders were hunting for rumored treasure and gave him a map, while Li Long paid him to buy gold nuggets.
• Li Long studied the map, picked mushrooms and wild strawberries, and headed toward one of its marked locations.
• Li Long spotted a brown bear cub among the rocks but could not find its mother before gray wolves attacked it.
• The cub fought off one wolf and fled toward the Mountain Ridge as Li Long left his sack behind and hurried after the animals.

Li Long rescued a brown bear cub from wolves, shot three of the wolves, and processed their meat and pelts at the Small Wooden Cabin. A hungry stranger offered him a treasure map, but Li Long recognized it as the same fake map Bolati had given him; he later left the mountains with his haul and headed home.

• Li Long watched an adult brown bear drive off the wolves attacking its cub, then shot two fleeing wolves while the bear escaped with the cub.
• Li Long found three dead wolves, skinned one, and carried the pelts, meat, and mushrooms back to the Small Wooden Cabin.
• A hungry stranger accepted food from Li Long and helped clean the wolves’ stomachs and intestines.
• The stranger proposed that he and Li Long search for buried gold using his map, but Li Long recognized it as identical to Bolati’s map and refused.
• Li Long gave the stranger cooked meat, prepared the remaining wolf meat and offal, and shared watermelon with Sun Jiaqiang when he returned.
• Li Long left meat for Sun Jiaqiang and drove out of the mountains toward the Big Courtyard, thinking of his wife and child.

Li Long sold more than seventy kilograms of dried black tiger's paw mushrooms to Chen Hongjun for over one thousand yuan, while warning locals about the dangers of Southern Mountain. As Li Long returned home to spend time with his family, Tao Daqiang and the other tractor operators earned money harvesting wheat and saw a tractor purchase becoming attainable.

• Li Long brought his dried black tiger's paw mushrooms to the Purchasing Station, where people in line examined them and asked about their high price.
• Li Long showed the others a wolf fang and described the dangers of Southern Mountain, discouraging them from entering unprepared.
• Chen Hongjun graded Li Long's mushrooms as first grade and bought the two sacks for over one thousand yuan.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard and decided not to take Gu Xiaoxia into the mountains because the children were too young and the roads were rough.
• Tao Daqiang harvested six mu of wheat in minutes with the tractor, and the landowners paid him twelve yuan.
• Li Jianguo, Liang Dacheng, Xie Yundong, and Liang Wenyu realized the wheat harvest could bring them enough income to buy a tractor.

After the wheat harvest, Li Long returned to the Fourth Team and collected the agreed payments from Liang Dacheng, Xie Yundong, and Liang Wenyu for the machinery and wheat-season profits. He later sold his last Black Tiger's Paw Mushrooms and continued visiting the mountains while waiting for Harimu and the others.

• Li Long drove back to the Fourth Team, where Liang Dacheng brought him four thousand yuan from the wheat-season harvest and Li Long reassured him that their earnings were lawful.
• Xie Yundong gave Li Long three thousand five hundred yuan, and Li Long agreed that both men would give him half of their profits after costs the following year.
• Li Jianguo drove Li Long back to the County Seat, and the next day Liang Wenyu brought Li Long five thousand yuan for the tractor.
• Li Long sold his last batch of Black Tiger's Paw Mushrooms and calculated that his income from the season's machinery and mushroom sales totaled twenty-six thousand five hundred yuan.
• Li Long continued going into the mountains while waiting for Harimu and the others, intending to harvest hay for them and show them the improved Winter Camp and Sheep-Washing Pool.

Harimu and the other pastoralists returned to the Winter Camp with gifts for Li Long and found that he had repaired Harimu’s winter home and built them a Sheep-Washing Pool. Li Long arrived, accepted their gifts, promised to bring a tractor so they could learn to cut hay themselves, and shared news of his newborn twin sons.

• Harimu and Jade Mountain River led the pastoralists back to the Winter Camp after they gathered tools and mountain goods to give Li Long.
• Harimu found his winter home repaired and a newly built Sheep-Washing Pool, while the others arrived the next morning and admired the improvements.
• Li Long drove to the Winter Camp, where the pastoralists presented him with pelts, antlers, and other gifts.
• Li Long promised to bring a tractor the next day and teach the pastoralists to drive it and cut hay themselves.
• Li Long showed Jade Mountain River and Harimu a photograph of his newborn twin sons, and they blessed the children.

Li Long spent the day at the Winter Camp with Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and the other pastoralists, helping them prepare for grass cutting and sharing a meal. He arranged to bring a tractor and harvester back the next morning, with Li Qingxia driving the tractor, and planned to buy supplies the pastoralists had requested.

• Li Long gave the pastoralists ammunition, and they divided up tasks at the Winter Camp while he set a fishing net and discussed using the new sheep-washing pool.
• Talihaal returned from hunting with a roe deer, and Li Long caught fish; everyone cooked and ate roasted and boiled meat, fresh nang, and fish soup together.
• Li Long left the Winter Camp and returned to the County Seat, where he put away the pastoralists' gifts and spoke with Gu Xiaoxia before going to the Fourth Team.
• Li Long asked Li Qingxia to drive a tractor to the Winter Camp the next morning, and Li Qingxia agreed while Li Long took the harvester to prepare for the trip.
• Li Long returned home, washed, and planned to buy the requested supplies and sort the gifts after dinner.

Li Long sorted through the valuable gifts from Harimu and Jade Mountain River, then brought Li Qingxia to the winter camp to teach the herders how to drive the tractor. After finding Li Qingxia gathering mushrooms and returning with him, Li Long resumed training Harimu and Jade Mountain River to drive and operate the harvester.

• Li Long put away the pelts, antlers, jade, and other gifts, then drove to collect Li Qingxia, who brought fish for the family.
• Li Long and Li Qingxia arrived at Harimu Winter Camp, where Li Long began teaching Jade Mountain River to drive the tractor.
• Jade Mountain River stalled the tractor several times before managing to drive it slowly, and Harimu later began learning too.
• Li Qingxia went mushroom gathering in the pine woods; when he did not return for lunch, Li Long found him and helped sort the edible mushrooms from the poisonous ones.
• Li Long and Li Qingxia returned to camp and ate with the herders, while Harimu and Jade Mountain River asked Li Long more about driving.
• Li Long resumed training Harimu and Jade Mountain River after lunch, aiming to teach them to drive while operating the harvester.

Talihaal brought a freshly killed red deer to Li Long and traded its hide for lessons driving a car and tractor. Later, Tursun and Adili arrived to inspect the mechanized grass cutting, but Jade Mountain River and Harimu made clear that the tractor belonged to Li Long and could not be used without payment.

• Talihaal failed to shoot the wolves that had killed a red deer, so he carried the deer back to Harimu Winter Camp and offered its hide to Li Long in exchange for driving lessons.
• Li Long taught Talihaal the basics of driving a car, then taught him to operate the tractor after Jade Mountain River finished cutting a circuit of pasture.
• Li Long and Li Qingxia left early with the deer meat, which Li Long divided among his family and Uncle Lao Luo before planning to bring more sugar residue to feed the animals.
• Tursun and Adili rode to Harimu Winter Camp to inspect the tractor and harvester, hoping to expand mechanized grass cutting across the Pastoral Team.
• Jade Mountain River and Harimu told Tursun that Li Long owned the equipment and that their group had paid with goods, prompting the other pastoralists to back them up.

Tursun and Adili asked Li Long to arrange mechanized hay cutting for the Pastoral Team, but Harimu and Jade Mountain River objected to Tursun treating their gifts to Li Long as mere saleable goods. Li Long explained that he could not provide the service to other pastoralists for free and quoted a price, leaving negotiations just beginning.

• Tursun criticized the pastoralists for giving hides, jade, and antlers to Li Long, and Jade Mountain River and Harimu defended their gifts as a fair exchange between friends.
• Harimu explained that the pastoralists had struggled to trade fairly because of language barriers and past exploitation, while Tursun had neglected their needs.
• Jade Mountain River told Tursun to discuss mechanized hay cutting with Li Long, and Harimu worried Li Long might work for free.
• Li Long checked his Wooden Cabin, then drove to Harimu's Winter Camp, where he found Tursun and Adili waiting.
• Li Long agreed that he could arrange workers and machines but said the other pastoralists would have to pay; he quoted two yuan per mu, shocking Tursun.

Li Long negotiated with Tursun to have his team cut the pastoralists’ grass for payment in cash or goods, then recruited drivers and harvesters for the job. He left for the Tashi River the next morning with Xie Yundong, Liang Dacheng, and Li Jianguo set to join him, while Tao Daqiang declined.

• Li Long quoted Tursun one yuan fifty per mu, and Tursun agreed to pay with cash or goods after negotiating the work arrangements.
• Li Long and Tursun agreed that the pastoralists would prepare their pastures, provide meals, and pay after each pasture was cut; they planned to start at the Tashi River Mountain Pass with three harvesters.
• Tursun and Adili left to inform the pastoralists, while Li Long took roe deer meat home and then drove to the Fourth Team.
• Tao Daqiang declined to join the work because he had responsibilities at home, but Xie Yundong and Liang Dacheng agreed.
• Li Jianguo agreed to cut grass for up to half a month, and Li Qingxia agreed to stay home while he worked.

Tao Daqiang declined Li Long’s offer of work, while Xie Yundong, Li Jianguo, and Liang Dacheng prepared to mow herders’ pastures with their tractors. Li Long arranged their first job at the Tashi River, accepted local goods as payment, and left with a vivid chicken-blood stone that he planned to sell later.

• Tao Daqiang told Yang Pingping he did not want to leave home for another job, and she accepted his decision.
• Xie Yundong packed for the mowing work, while Li Jianguo fetched Number 76 and a horse-drawn cart to help his family manage without their tractor.
• Li Long led the three tractor owners to Tursun’s pasture, where they agreed to mow 260 mu for 390 yuan paid in goods.
• Li Long accepted wolf pelts, velvet antler, black jade, and a vivid chicken-blood stone, then told the three men to work together and take care around marked rocks.
• A herdsman asked Li Long to assess similar red stones from his home, and Tursun arranged for the other herdsmen to prepare their pastures.
• Li Long returned to the county town, sold pelts at the Purchasing Station, and learned from Chen Hongjun that vivid chicken-blood stone could be valuable to inland buyers.

Li Long taught Harimu and Jade Mountain River how to maintain the harvester, then collected payment from Heilili for mowing his pasture. He arranged for Song Ming to haul sugar residue to feed his livestock and left considering whether it could be processed into pellets.

• Li Long showed Harimu and Jade Mountain River how to clean and replace the harvester’s blades and explained other tractor maintenance.
• Li Long visited Heilili’s pasture, judged his pelts, antlers, stones, and dried fritillaria against the mowing fee, and accepted them as payment.
• Li Long visited Jade Mountain River’s camp, accepted a red deer from Zhate, and learned that Harimu and Talihaal had hunted wolves and that Zhate had hunted deer.
• Li Long gave Song Ming deer ribs and arranged to hire his truck to haul sugar residue after work; Section Chief Hu approved the plan.
• Song Ming hauled sugar residue to Li Long’s livestock yards, where Li Long’s helpers unloaded it, and Li Long considered having a machine made to turn it into feed pellets.

Li Long dealt with a dispute over a damaged mower blade while his crew cut pasture grass, and Tursun mediated so they could finish the field. Kadeer then arrived with hides to pay for mowing his larger pasture, and Li Long agreed after asking Tursun to clarify the rules.

• Song Ming offered to haul sugar residue for Li Long again, and Li Long discussed the feed business and the harvester dealership with Gu Xiaoxia.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that two men had come looking for harvesters and that the Police Station had sent them away; Li Long planned to turn rooms in the rear wing into a dealership storefront.
• A herder blamed Li Jianguo's crew for breaking mower blades, and Li Long confronted him before learning that Dacheng had struck an unmarked stone hidden in the grass.
• A young man from the herder's group tried to shove Li Jianguo, so Li Long pushed him down; Tursun arrived, heard both accounts, and persuaded Li Long's crew to finish the remaining grass.
• Kadeer arrived with animal hides to pay for mowing his pasture, and Li Long agreed to take them after telling Tursun to warn Kadeer about stones and other obstacles.

Li Long supervised tractor mowing across several mountain pastures, settled the workers’ pay, and considered whether sugar residue could support a future livestock business. After the herders finished cutting and stacking hay, Li Jianguo cooked red-braised venison for them, and Li Long returned home with meat and supplies.

• Li Long visited Kadeer's pasture, learned Kadeer would keep the bear gallbladder, and declined to help the herders with their water supply.
• Li Long checked on Harimu's and Zhate's crews as they mowed pastures, while the herders regularly brought him game.
• Li Jianguo, Xie Yundong, and Liang Dacheng finished cutting nine families' pastures in thirteen days, and Li Long paid each man 1,215 yuan.
• Li Long considered raising livestock using sugar residue as feed but decided to wait because he lacked sufficient space and help.
• Jade Mountain River, Harimu, and the other herders finished stacking hay, then hunted game for a farewell meal.
• Li Jianguo cooked red-braised venison, which the herders enjoyed, and Li Long left supplies before driving home with his brother and the meat.

Li Long drove to Beiting to thank Director Qian and Xiao Si, bringing a Snow Leopard Pelt and peaches as gifts. After buying the peaches and eating at a state-run restaurant, he met Xiao Si and gave him a roe deer hide before presenting Director Qian with the Snow Leopard Pelt.

• Li Long left home for Beiting, intending to visit Director Qian and Xiao Si and take them gifts.
• When Li Long found that Director Qian and Xiao Si were away, he explored Beiting and bought thirty kilograms of honey peaches for forty yuan.
• Li Long ate Fried Meat Noodles at a state-run restaurant, then returned to the Prefectural Supply and Marketing Cooperative that afternoon.
• Xiao Si welcomed Li Long and accepted a roe deer hide and several kilograms of peaches before sending him to see Director Qian.
• Li Long gave Director Qian the Snow Leopard Pelt and more peaches, insisting the pelt was a gift to thank him.

Li Long visited Director Qian, then went to the Jade Carving Factory, where Engineer Liu confirmed that his chicken-blood stones were valuable and sold him several jade carvings. After checking into a guesthouse in Wu City, Li Long planned to visit Professor Wu the next morning.

• Li Long declined Director Qian's money and invitation to dinner, then asked Xiao Si to deliver the gifts to Director Qian's home.
• After Li Long left, Director Qian changed figures in a department plan and sent Xiao Wang to deliver it to the purchasing department.
• Li Long visited Engineer Liu at the Jade Carving Factory and asked him to assess three red stones, which Engineer Liu identified as valuable chicken-blood stone.
• Li Long bought Engineer Liu's saved jade carvings, and Engineer Liu decided to purchase more raw material from the factory.
• Li Long checked into a courtyard guesthouse near Bayi Agricultural College and planned to visit Professor Wu the next morning.

Li Long visited Professor Wu at Bayi Agricultural College, discussed the Fourth Team’s seed-watermelon farming, and gave her local gifts and agricultural information. He then bought fruit in Beiting and delivered some to Harimu’s and Jade Mountain River’s families before heading home.

• Li Long waited to enter Bayi Agricultural College, then met Professor Wu and told her the seed watermelons were thriving after the team dealt with an insect problem.
• Li Long gave Professor Wu peaches, snow lotuses, and a roe deer hide, and explained how seed-watermelon earnings had benefited several farming households.
• Professor Wu asked Li Long to bring seeds after harvest for the college’s collection and possible experiments, and Li Long agreed.
• Li Long bought sweet melons in Wu City, rejected a watermelon seller’s inflated price, and bought peaches and watermelons in Beiting.
• Li Long drove to the Pastoral Team’s stay-behind settlement, left fruit at Harimu’s and Jade Mountain River’s homes, and confirmed their households were doing well.

Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia agreed to pay Sister Yang fifty yuan a month to care for their children, and Li Long brought peaches to Li Xiangqian, who warned him that a large broom order might be coming. At the Li family home, Li Qingxia organized the family’s plans for revising the genealogy and prepared to get women’s and girls’ names included.

• Gu Xiaoxia agreed that Li Long should pay Sister Yang fifty yuan a month, and Li Long gave Gu Xiaoxia the money to offer her.
• Li Long brought peaches to Li Xiangqian, who told him to visit the cooperative regularly because a large broom order might soon arrive.
• Li Qingxia told Li Long and Li Jianguo that he planned to return to their hometown to help revise the family genealogy.
• Li Long proposed that Li Qingxia pay the genealogy’s drafter and stonemason to include the names of women and girls in the family.
• Li Qingxia agreed to arrange the additions and chose to fund the work with his own savings.
• Li Jianguo wrote down the family members and events they wanted recorded, and Li Qingxia had him read the list aloud for everyone to check.