Chapter Summaries

Li Long arranged for his brother’s group to begin construction work while expanding the County Seat Purchasing Station’s trade in mountain goods. After Bolati reported that one of the captured men was a fugitive, Li Long arranged to buy goods from the forest rangers and prepared to hunt wild boar with Sun Jiaqiang.

• Li Long welcomed Liang Donglou and Xu Tianyun to the mountain camp, then learned Bolati’s rangers had caught seven men, including a fugitive who had injured someone inland.
• Li Long offered to buy fritillaria and other mountain goods through his Purchasing Station, and Bolati agreed to bring supplies to the wooden cabin.
• Li Long told Sun Jiaqiang he planned to hunt wild boar the next morning, then recruited Meng Hai to lead a crew renovating winter camps.
• Li Long bought supplies and liquor, reopened the Purchasing Station, and purchased over twenty kilograms of dried fritillaria from sellers.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard, unloaded goods, and drove back into the mountains with supplies for the forest rangers.
• Li Long and Sun Jiaqiang settled in at the wooden cabin for the night, with Sun Jiaqiang staying awake in hopes of spotting the wild boars.

Li Long and Sun Jiaqiang ambushed a returning herd of wild boars near their cabins, and Li Long shot two half-grown boars and a smaller one. He took half a boar to Li Jianguo’s winter camp and offered to bring up a shotgun for the group.

• Li Long watched a herd of thirty or forty wild boars pass at night and told Sun Jiaqiang they would wait along its route to hunt them.
• Li Long and Sun Jiaqiang lay in ambush with sheepskin mats, and Li Long shot two half-grown boars and a small boar when the herd returned.
• Li Long and Sun Jiaqiang carried the boars back, skinned and butchered them, and began boiling the meat.
• Li Long drove to Li Jianguo’s winter camp with half a boar, where he shared the meat with his eldest brother and the others.
• Li Long offered to bring the Double-barreled Shotgun back up for Li Jianguo and the group to use.

Li Long left Sun Jiaqiang to manage trades at the Small Wooden Cabin and taught him how to intimidate and bargain with newcomers. Bolati brought four Forest Rangers with valuable mountain goods, and Li Long bought their stock for money and supplies, leaving Sun Jiaqiang impressed by their hidden wealth.

• Li Long taught Sun Jiaqiang how to butcher the wild boar and told him to trade firmly with two newcomers while keeping his bloodied appearance and knife.
• Sun Jiaqiang weighed the newcomers’ fritillaria, caught them trying to pass off dirt and rotten leaves, and traded their goods for food, supplies, and some wild boar offal.
• Li Long prepared the cabin’s cooking pots and cleared space as Bolati arrived with four Forest Rangers and their loaded horses.
• The Forest Rangers traded Li Long 107 kilograms of dried fritillaria, antlers, snow lotuses, codonopsis, jade, and other goods for 3,500 yuan and supplies.
• Sun Jiaqiang marveled at the Forest Rangers’ wealth, while Bolati explained that the goods represented the accumulated stock of his Forestry Team.

Li Long replenished his mountain trading post, supported the workers weaving Taibazi, and delivered supplies and mushrooms to Professor Luo’s research team. After he warned the researchers to seek help if village layabouts harassed them, Ma Ming approached Zhu Yuechan and reached for her hand.

• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard with wild boar meat, discussed his mountain trade and upcoming work with Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia, then stocked the Jeep with goods.
• Li Long drove to the Small Wooden Cabin, restocked Sun Jiaqiang’s supplies, and collected the goods traded that day.
• Li Long brought nang and a hunting shotgun to Small White Poplar Gully, gave the shotgun to Li Jianguo, and collected wild mushrooms from Xu Haijun for Professor Luo’s team.
• Li Long delivered supplies and mushrooms to Old Ma’s Place, met Jiang Zhiyu, and warned Professor Luo, the students, and Uncle Lao Luo to report or flee from anyone who harassed them.
• Ma Ming blocked Zhu Yuechan outside Old Ma’s Place, ignored her request to move, and reached for her hand.

After Ma Ming harassed Zhu Yuechan, the villagers punished him and Li Long later confronted him before returning to work. Li Long then organized a renovation project for the herders’ Winter Camp, where the crew began unloading supplies as he headed into the mountains to hunt.

• Ma Ming grabbed Zhu Yuechan, but Uncle Lao Luo and the students stopped him, and Xu Chengjun arranged to punish him while keeping the matter discreet.
• Xu Chengjun learned that idle bachelors had encouraged Ma Ming, and the militia warned the men; Ma Ming’s family later apologized to Zhu Yuechan.
• Li Long learned what had happened, confronted Ma Ming, and posted the Purchasing Station’s opening days before arranging the Winter Camp renovation with Li Xiangqian, Ma Xiaoyan, and Meng Hai.
• Li Long and the renovation crew traveled to Jade Mountain River’s Winter Camp with bricks, timber, cement, and tools, and Ma Xiaoyan photographed the dilapidated houses.
• Li Xiangqian and the cooperative staff unloaded supplies while Li Long explained the repair work to Meng Hai and the workers, then took his gun and went into the mountains to hunt.

Li Long hunted a red deer while Li Xiangqian, Meng Hai, and the others renovated Jade Mountain River's Winter Camp and prepared to carry supplies to camps deeper in the mountains. After Li Long shared part of the deer with the man who had wounded it, everyone ate together and continued their work.

• Li Xiangqian raised Meng Hai and the workers' pay from five to ten yuan a day because they would have to carry supplies to other winter camps.
• Li Long spotted a wounded red deer being chased by Wang Qiang, shot it, and gave Wang Qiang the injured leg and his fritillaria before letting him go.
• Li Long returned to the renovated Winter Camp with the deer and cooked venison for the workers and officials.
• Li Long told Li Xiangqian he would take the crew to another winter camp the next day, where the building materials would need to be carried in.
• Ma Xiaoyan helped prepare the meal, and the group ate grilled venison and broth before returning to work.

Li Long hunted three wild mountain goats to feed the workers renovating the Winter Camps, then shared a leg with each worker and returned to the Big Courtyard with the remaining meat. With the renovation work continuing, he arranged for Gu Boyuan to temporarily manage the Purchasing Station.

• After the workers enjoyed a hearty lunch, Li Long went into the mountains while Meng Hai and the others resumed renovating the Winter Camp.
• Wang Qiang hid the fritillaria he had gathered and cooked the red deer leg he had taken in a concealed shelter.
• Li Long shot three wild mountain goats on a rocky cliff and carried them back to Jade Mountain River's Winter Camp.
• Li Long butchered the goats, gave each worker a leg, and paid Meng Hai and the others ten yuan each for the day's work.
• Villagers regretted turning down the renovation jobs after seeing the workers return with wages and meat, but Meng Hai refused a late request to join.
• Li Long asked Gu Boyuan to manage the Purchasing Station for a few days while Li Long accompanied the renovation crew into the mountains.

Li Long prepared Gu Boyuan to run the Purchasing Station, and Gu Boyuan spent his first day buying goods and exposing sellers’ tricks. He considered moving the Farm Supply Store into the station, then turned away Yang Guifang, who still hoped to find a way to profit there.

• Li Long gave Gu Boyuan a notebook of buying prices and grading advice, along with three thousand yuan, before leaving to visit herders’ winter camps.
• Gu Boyuan opened the Purchasing Station, rejected a reseller’s damp fritillaria at a low price, and caught several other sellers trying to pass off inferior or fake goods.
• Gu Boyuan discussed combining the Farm Supply Store with the Purchasing Station, and Gu Xiaoxia said Li Long would likely approve.
• Gu Boyuan returned to the station and began buying goods from the afternoon sellers, impressed by the customers and potential profits.
• Yang Guifang arrived claiming she wanted a job and boasting of her Supply and Marketing Cooperative experience, but Gu Boyuan ordered her out; she left determined to find a way to profit from the station.

Li Long moved supplies and helped repair winter camps while trading for fritillaria and hunting game. He arrived at Bek's winter camp and found Meng Hai's group arguing with outsiders who had occupied it.

• Li Long and the others hauled supplies to Jade Mountain River's and Talihaal's winter camps, using a tractor to move most of the load through the ravine.
• Li Long collected over a hundred kilos of fritillaria from Sun Jiaqiang, bought supplies and medicine, and returned to the mountains to trade with Bolati.
• Li Long shot a gazelle and two roe deer near the Salt Mine Cave, then brought the meat back to the camps.
• A mountain resident asked Sun Jiaqiang to see if Li Long would drive away a nearby wolf pack, and Sun Jiaqiang agreed to ask him.
• Li Long cooked the roe deer at Jade Mountain River's winter camp and went to Bek's winter camp, where he found outsiders refusing to leave.

Li Long returned and led Meng Hai and the others in arresting Nie Chengwei’s group after they refused to leave Bek’s winter camp and tried to extort money. He escorted the eleven captives and their gathered fritillaria toward the Forestry Team, while Nie Chengwei’s attempt to bribe Dong Dahai was exposed.

• Li Xiangqian brought Meng Hai and the workers to Bek’s winter camp, where Nie Chengwei’s herb-gathering group refused to move and demanded five hundred yuan.
• Li Long arrived, struck Guo Dali with an iron spade, and ordered Meng Hai and the workers to subdue Nie Chengwei’s group.
• Li Long questioned Guo Dali, confirmed that all eleven members were present, and decided to take them and their belongings to the Forestry Team.
• Li Long had the captives tied up with their bedding and fritillaria, then set out with Li Xiangqian and Ma Xiaoyan while the workers continued renovating the camp.
• At Talihaal’s winter camp, Nie Chengwei offered Dong Dahai a hundred yuan to loosen his rope, and Dong Dahai immediately reported the attempted bribe to Li Long.

Li Long captured a gang illegally digging fritillaria and delivered them to the Forestry Team, where he bought the confiscated bulbs. After returning to the Big Courtyard, he sorted the goods and learned that Yang Guifang had become a problem again.

• Li Long restrained Nie Chengwei and transported the prisoners toward the Forestry Team's Southern Mountain post with Hou Zhengyi.
• On the truck, Li Long caught a prisoner who had worn through his ropes and found suspicious tools on him, then subdued and gagged him.
• At the Forestry Team post, Aili let Li Long take the confiscated fritillaria and belongings in exchange for two thousand yuan, while the prisoners were taken for questioning.
• Li Long returned to Jade Mountain River's winter camp, handed the money to the young Forestry Team member, and shared meat with the group before they headed back.
• At the Big Courtyard, Li Long sorted the fritillaria and discovered assorted valuables among the prisoners' belongings.
• Gu Boyuan told Li Long about Yang Guifang, leaving him angry and wondering how she had escaped punishment.

Li Long arranged for Gu Boyuan to manage the purchasing station and agreed to give him a share of its profits, while preparing to expand the business through confiscated mountain goods. The next day, Li Long hunted an argali and brought it to the winter camp, where he and Hou Zhengyi cooked it for the crew.

• Gu Boyuan told Li Long that Yang Guifang had threatened to seek work at the purchasing station, and Li Long said he would reject her.
• Gu Boyuan agreed to manage the purchasing station and farm supply store, taking the store’s income and twenty percent of the station’s income.
• Li Long explained to Gu Xiaoxia that the Forestry Team’s confiscated goods could become a major source of profit, and they discussed the taibazi order and their children.
• Li Long asked Li Xiangqian to send trucks and inspectors to collect the finished taibazi, and Li Xiangqian agreed to arrange it for the next day.
• Li Long hunted a young argali near Hot Spring Ravine, carried it down the dangerous slope, and dressed the carcass by the stream.
• Li Long and Hou Zhengyi prepared to boil the argali at Jade Mountain River’s winter camp, planning to share the cooked meat with the crew.

Li Long fed the workers, organized the collection and inspection of taibazi, and led Meng Hai’s crew to repair another winter camp. At Ye'erjiang’s winter camp, the workers urged Li Long to leave the construction work and go hunting for meat.

• Li Long cooked argali meat with dipping sauce and mushroom soup, then shared meat and mushrooms with the workers and settled their wages.
• Meng Hai reported that his crew had finished Bek’s winter camp, and Li Long arranged to lead them to the next camp while directing more timber beams to be brought in.
• Li Long gave Gu Boyuan ten thousand yuan for the purchasing station and brought argali meat and offal home for Sister Yang to prepare.
• Li Xiangqian warned the drivers and storekeepers not to reveal details about the taibazi deal, then Li Long organized trucks to collect and inspect goods from Qingshui River Village and Small White Poplar Gully.
• Li Long checked the cement work at Talihaal’s and Bek’s winter camps, then led Meng Hai’s crew to Ye'erjiang’s winter camp.
• Meng Hai and the workers insisted they had enough people for repairs and told Li Long to go hunting; Li Long left the camp and headed across the grassland.

Li Long explored the alpine meadow near Ye'erjiang's winter camp, found morels, and shot two wolves that had been feeding on a red deer. He brought the game back to Meng Hai and the others to butcher and share, then warned them that heavy rain was coming.

• Li Long picked more than half a kilogram of morels in a pine forest and followed a fresh blood scent toward a rock face.
• Li Long found three gray wolves feeding on a red deer, shot two of them, and watched the third escape.
• Li Long dressed the deer, removed its valuable velvet antlers, skinned the deer and wolves, and carried the meat and pelts back to Ye'erjiang's winter camp.
• Meng Hai and the others helped unload and butcher the game, and Li Long cooked venison and mushroom soup while dividing the meat among them.
• Li Long spotted a dark cloud and told everyone to take shelter in the vehicle or winter camp before the heavy rain arrived.

Yang Shengli inspected the Taibazi at Small White Poplar Gully, while Xu Haijun tried to learn how much Li Long earned from the work. After the inspection and a sudden rainstorm at Ye'erjiang's Winter Camp, Li Long went mushroom picking and spotted something black eating the wolf and deer offal he had left as offerings.

• Yang Shengli inspected the Taibazi woven by Xie Yundong's group, and Xu Haijun asked how much the cooperative paid for each one.
• Yang Shengli finished counting 712 Taibazi, of which 87 failed inspection, and Xie Yundong's group treated the inspectors to a meal before the approved goods were hauled away.
• A sudden downpour soaked Li Long and the others at Ye'erjiang's Winter Camp, but the rain soon stopped and they warmed themselves by the fire.
• Li Long went onto the turf to pick mushrooms and collected several large grass mushrooms and a handful of fresh ones.
• Near the cliff, Li Long saw something black eating the wolf and deer offal he had left as offerings.

Li Long found a patch of snow lotuses while gathering mushrooms, then returned with meat and mushrooms to the Winter Camps. At the Wooden Cabin, Bolati told him the Forestry Team would sell confiscated medicinal herbs to his purchasing station, and Li Long arranged to collect the first batch the next day.

• Li Long encountered a brown bear and its cub near the entrails, but the bears fled into the woods and he left them alone.
• Li Long climbed the cliff, found thirty-seven snow lotuses, and continued gathering mushrooms before returning with a full sack.
• Li Long delivered meat and mushrooms to Hou Zhengyi and learned Meng Hai's group had finished reroofing the Winter Camp.
• Bolati told Li Long that two of the captured herb collectors were wanted criminals and that the authorities had commended the joint effort.
• Bolati said the Forestry Team would sell its confiscated herbs and other goods to Li Long, who agreed to collect more than three hundred kilograms of fritillaria the next day.
• Li Long left meat and supplies with Sun Jiaqiang and drove away to tell Hou Zhengyi about the planned trip to the Forestry Team.

Xu Hongjun resolved a dispute with He Lijuan by showing her that crucian carp trapped in drying irrigation pools would die if nobody caught them. Meanwhile, Li Long settled the Taibazi account, gathered supplies and workers for a mountain winter-camp repair, and arrived at the Forestry Team Post to inspect a large store of medicinal herbs and hides.

• Xu Hongjun asked Uncle Lao Luo how Li Long would handle He Lijuan's criticism of him for catching roe-filled crucian carp, and Uncle Lao Luo advised him to show the students the drying pools.
• Xu Hongjun led He Lijuan, Zhu Yuechan, and the other students to a canal pool, where they saw the fish trapped there and helped catch about five kilos; He Lijuan apologized for misunderstanding him.
• Li Long settled an account for more than a thousand Taibazi worth over nine thousand yuan, then bought supplies before picking up Meng Hai and the others in Qingshui River Village.
• Li Long and the group carried materials to Mulat's Winter Camp to repair it, while Li Long returned to the vehicles and told them he might not find meat that afternoon.
• Li Long and Hou Zhengyi drove to the Forestry Team Post, where Bolati guided them to the warehouse and Aili unlocked it; Li Long noticed the smell of mildew among the piles of fritillaria and hides.

Li Long bought and processed large quantities of confiscated fritillaria, hides, and antlers from the Forestry Team while continuing his mountain work. After learning that Jia Tianlong would arrive within a couple of days to buy medicinal herbs, Li Long realized his dried fritillaria stock had grown to nearly a tonne.

• Li Long assessed and bought forty-seven sacks of fritillaria, along with hides and antlers, paying Aili 4,600 yuan and receiving 1,500 rounds of ammunition.
• Aili urged the Forestry Team to intensify its patrols and confiscate more goods after the profitable sale, while Li Long returned home with over three hundred kilos of fritillaria.
• Li Long hunted a wild boar for the Winter Camp workers and washed and dried the fritillaria with help from Gu Xiaoxia, Gu Boyuan, and Sister Yang.
• After six days of repairs and gathering more woven taibazi, Li Long bought another batch of fritillaria and hides from the Forestry Team, leaving little room to store his goods.
• On May third, Li Long learned that Jia Tianlong would arrive within a couple of days, and he calculated that his dried fritillaria from three sources weighed nearly a tonne.

Li Long sold Jia Tianlong more than a tonne of dried fritillaria for 69,680 yuan, far exceeding Jia Tianlong’s expectations. Jia Tianlong left with the goods, while Li Long prepared to keep collecting more herbs for their next deal.

• Li Long washed and sorted fritillaria while waiting for Jia Tianlong to arrive with a truck.
• Jia Tianlong greeted Mingming and Haohao, gave them silver Tiger-Head Locks, and paid his respects to the jade.
• Jia Tianlong inspected Li Long’s fritillaria and agreed to buy it for sixty-five yuan per kilogram, with lower prices for poorer-quality goods.
• Li Long, Jia Tianlong, and the driver weighed and graded twenty-four bags, totaling 1,072 kilograms of dried fritillaria.
• Jia Tianlong paid Li Long 69,680 yuan, loaded the fritillaria onto the truck, and arranged to return for Li Long’s other herbs in a few days.

Li Long hosted Jia Tianlong after selling him a high-quality batch of fritillaria, then reassured Gu Boyuan about their rapidly growing business. At the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Li Xiangqian celebrated newspaper coverage of the cooperative’s work and an official commendation for helping capture fugitives, while Li Long learned that his colleagues considered him lucky.

• Li Long persuaded Jia Tianlong to stay for lunch, and Jia praised the fritillaria’s quality and promised to return each year.
• After Jia left, Li Long told Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia that Jia had paid sixty-five yuan per kilogram for washed fritillaria, and Li Long encouraged Gu Boyuan not to fear their growing profits.
• Gu Xiaoxia offered to bring home discarded newspapers so Gu Boyuan could follow national policies, and Li Long stayed with the children while the others went to work.
• Li Xiangqian admired two newspaper articles about the cooperative’s help for mountain pastoralists and an official letter thanking the cooperative for helping capture two fugitives.
• When Li Long arrived at the cooperative, Li Xiangqian showed him the articles and letter, and Li Long realized his colleagues saw him as a bringer of good fortune.