Chapter Summaries

Dong Zhichao failed to secure Li Long’s watermelon seeds and could not find another supply, while Li Long spent the wheat harvest period managing the Purchasing Station and gathering mushrooms in the mountains. The chapter left him wondering why Jade Mountain River and the others had returned from the mountains so early.

• Li Long told Dong Zhichao and Bai Lanlan that he had sold all his watermelon seeds to Bai Xiuming’s company, and Dong Zhichao later failed to find flat-edged seeds elsewhere.
• Dong Zhichao considered developing a machine to flatten seeds, but Bai Lanlan warned that the cost and technical challenges could be substantial.
• Li Long returned to the Fourth Team during the wheat harvest, but his family sent him back to the County Seat rather than let him help thresh and winnow.
• Li Long called his contacts after a telephone was installed at the Purchasing Station, then traveled into the mountains and gathered Black Tiger’s Paw Mushrooms and wild strawberries.
• Li Long heard wolves in the mountains and reconsidered taking his family there before Meng Hai told him that Jade Mountain River and the others had come down early.

Li Long visited Jade Mountain River's winter camp, brought supplies, and learned that a tiger was threatening the summer pasture. Jade Mountain River showed him a haul of pelts, and Li Long offered to exchange them for a tractor and harvester before leaving the group a supply of bullets.

• Meng Hai visited Li Long with eggs and fresh fish, and Li Long advised him to buy a harvester and begin harvesting wheat.
• Li Long bought watermelons for his family, the threshing-ground workers, and the men at Old Ma's Place, then learned that the tractor would remain occupied for two more days.
• Li Long drove to Jade Mountain River's winter camp and learned that Harimu had stayed behind to guard the livestock after a tiger appeared near the pasture.
• Jade Mountain River showed Li Long dozens of animal pelts and asked him to buy a tractor, offering pelts and velvet antlers in exchange.
• Li Long agreed to provide Jade Mountain River with a tractor and harvester and gave him a box of ammunition to distribute among the group.

Li Long assessed the mountain pastoralists’ hides and other goods, then took Jade Mountain River and Talihaal to buy tractors with the proceeds. The two men tested their new tractors at the factory, with Talihaal finally getting his started and preparing to drive.

• Jade Mountain River and Talihaal offered Li Long hides and other goods, hoping to buy tractors after praising the renovated winter camps.
• Li Long valued the group’s goods at more than thirteen thousand yuan, enough for over two tractors, and agreed to take Jade Mountain River and Talihaal to buy two.
• Jade Mountain River suggested storing the tractors at the Rural Childcare Center in Yang Gangzi after grass-cutting season.
• Li Long drove Jade Mountain River and Talihaal out of the mountains, stopped to unload goods, and took them to eat at the Halal Canteen.
• Li Long bought two fifteen-horsepower tractors at the Shicheng Farm Machinery Factory and started one for Jade Mountain River to test.
• Talihaal struggled to start the other tractor at first, then got it running and climbed on to drive.

Li Long bought Jade Mountain River and Talihaal two tractors, and they drove them back to the mountains to begin preparing for haymaking. The next morning, the herders organized their work around the tractors, and Li Long arrived at their camp as Jade Mountain River considered how the machines might improve life for the tribe.

• Li Long bought fuel, food, and supplies before taking Jade Mountain River and Talihaal to collect two harvesters from the Purchasing Station.
• Jade Mountain River and Talihaal drove their tractors into the mountains without Li Long, who returned to the Big Courtyard and discussed their dangerous hunting grounds with Gu Xiaoxia.
• Jade Mountain River reached Winter Camp after dark, then checked his new tractor the next morning as herders arrived to admire it.
• Jade Mountain River and Talihaal shared breakfast with the herders, then assigned people to drive, refuel, and clear the pastures for haymaking.
• Jade Mountain River proposed sharing the tractors for hauling supplies and leading the tribe toward greater prosperity as Li Long arrived in his Jeep.

Li Long explained how pastoralists could trade mountain goods for tractors and proposed building roads to their winter camps, though some worried about losing their traditions. While picking mushrooms and heading toward a snow-lotus slope, he encountered red deer fleeing wolves, shot two deer and a wolf, and was joined by Talihaal and Bek as the remaining wolves fled.

• Li Long gave the pastoralists prices for tractors and listed the quantities of hides, pelts, and mushrooms they could trade for them.
• Jade Mountain River and the pastoralists refused Li Long's offer to pay for mushrooms, then considered his proposal to build roads to remote winter camps, which divided the group.
• Li Long went mushroom picking and headed southeast toward a slope where snow lotuses were blooming.
• Li Long encountered argali and snow lotuses as red deer charged past him, pursued by gray wolves.
• Li Long shot a stag, a doe, and a wolf, then fired on the remaining wolves until they fled.
• Talihaal and Bek arrived after hearing the gunfire, and Talihaal explained that others had taken over driving his tractor.

Li Long hunted two red deer and a wolf in the mountains, shared the meat with the herders, and brought home a doe, a wolf, mushrooms, and snow lotuses. The next morning, he put off another mountain trip when Sun Jiaqiang told him Huang Lei had arrived.

• Li Long, Talihaal, and Bek carried two wolves and two red deer back to the Winter Camp, where the herders dressed the animals and shared a meal with them.
• Li Long returned to collect his mushrooms and gather snow lotuses, then drove home with a doe and a wolf while leaving the stag and another wolf for the herders.
• Li Long processed the meat and hides at home, then delivered meat to Sun Jiaqiang, his family, and Old Ma's Place.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about the Snow Lotus Slope and gave the children fresh snow lotuses to play with.
• Sun Jiaqiang came to tell Li Long that Huang Lei had arrived, so Li Long decided to postpone his mountain trip and deal with business first.

Huang Lei collected Li Long’s dried mushrooms, and Li Long cleaned several valuable hides before heading into the mountains. There, he learned the Pastoral Team wanted to borrow the tractor for hay cutting, so he insisted they negotiate a price first.

• Huang Lei inspected and bought over five hundred kilograms of dried mushrooms from Li Long, who gave Sun Jiaqiang a fifty-yuan bonus.
• Li Long called Zhao Hui about the Snow Leopard Pelts, then cleaned the pelts and a damaged bear skin.
• Li Long drove to Jade Mountain River’s Winter Camp after rain and learned Jade Mountain River had gone to visit his family.
• Li Long gathered Black Tiger’s Paw Mushrooms in the gully and heard Jade Mountain River return on a tractor.
• Jade Mountain River introduced Xiaokelaiti, the Pastoral Team’s storekeeper, who asked to borrow the tractor for hay cutting.
• Li Long said he had to finish the hay work he had already been paid for and would discuss a separate price for cutting hay for the Pastoral Team.

Li Long negotiated with the Pastoral Team over hay cutting while putting Jade Mountain River and his friends first, then encouraged Xiaokelaiti to gather mushrooms for his purchasing station. After hauling a large mushroom harvest to the county, Li Long learned that Zhao Hui would come collect the hides the next day.

• Li Long told Xiaokelaiti that he would finish cutting hay for Jade Mountain River and the others first, then charge the Pastoral Team at least one yuan fifty per mu to cut its leaders’ pasture.
• Li Long explained to Jade Mountain River that the tractors belonged to him and that the Pastoral Team would eventually disband, while Jade Mountain River agreed to have the tractors kept in the county.
• Li Long offered to buy black tiger’s paw mushrooms, prompting Xiaokelaiti to plan to collect them from herders and resell them.
• Talihaal and several others brought Li Long more than two hundred kilograms of mushrooms, and Li Long drove them down from the mountains.
• Li Long washed the Jeep at the Ma Riverbank, found a small piece of jade, and took the mushrooms to the purchasing station to dry.
• Sun Jiaqiang told Li Long that Zhao Hui had called and would come collect the hides the next day.

Li Long sold Zhao Hui a large batch of hides, including three snow leopard pelts and part of a bear skin, then collected wild mushrooms from the Winter Camp and Xiaokelaiti. The chapter ended with Xiaokelaiti eager to gather more mushrooms after Li Long paid him, though he realized he had forgotten something important.

• Li Long and Gu Boyuan opened the Purchasing Station, and Zhao Hui bought the three snow leopard pelts, part of a bear skin, and more than two hundred other hides for a total of 18,200 yuan.
• Li Long deposited the proceeds and drove to Jade Mountain River's Winter Camp, where he found sacks of wild mushrooms gathered by Jade Mountain River and Talihaal.
• Li Long loaded the Winter Camp's mushrooms into his Jeep and encountered Xiaokelaiti bringing two sacks to sell.
• Li Long inspected Xiaokelaiti's dirty mushrooms, deducted for debris, and paid him 140 yuan for seventy kilograms.
• Xiaokelaiti realized Li Long had driven off with his sacks and then decided to gather more mushrooms, while wondering what important thing he had forgotten.

Li Long saw through a visitor named Sheng’s fake claim to be the grandson of Sheng Shicai and his story about buried treasure, but played along to learn what he wanted. After Sheng asked for 20,000 yuan, Li Long summoned Guo Tiebing and his men, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Li Long met Sheng, who claimed to have returned from the United States and to be Sheng Shicai’s grandson.
• Sheng staged a request to exchange US dollars, but Li Long readily produced 5,000 yuan, exposing that Sheng did not have enough dollars to make the exchange.
• Sheng claimed his grandfather had buried treasure in Heavenly Mountain and offered fake gold bars as collateral while asking Li Long for 20,000 yuan.
• Li Long agreed to Sheng’s proposal and called Sun Jiaqiang to summon Guo Tiebing.
• Guo Tiebing arrived with his men while Sheng grew wary of Li Long’s explanation.

Li Long exposed Wang Shuigeng as a con artist, and Guo Tiebing later reported that the fraudster had cheated victims across several provinces and possessed a genuine classified military map. After learning the case was in regional authorities’ hands, Li Long prepared to visit Jade Mountain River’s Winter Camp and check on the work there.

• Wang Shuigeng claimed American citizenship and overseas Chinese status, but Guo Tiebing and He Xinmin took him to the county guesthouse to verify his identity.
• At the guesthouse, the police found Wang Shuigeng registered under a false name with Lin Yinhua, and they searched the pair’s room.
• Li Long told Gu Boyuan, Sun Jiaqiang, Gu Xiaoxia, and Sister Yang about the attempted scam and warned them not to trust offers of easy money.
• Guo Tiebing told Li Long that Wang Shuigeng had cheated six people before him, impersonated descendants of Ma Bufang and Sheng Shicai, and carried a genuine military map stolen from an equipment warehouse.
• Li Long set out for Jade Mountain River’s Winter Camp with vegetables and planned to check the tractor and hay-cutting work.
• Xiaokelaiti returned to the Winter Camp with two sacks of cleaned mushrooms after persuading the Pastoral Team leader to let him negotiate with Li Long again.

Li Long hunted wild boars, arranged tractor mowing work for Jade Mountain River and Talihaal, and helped the Purchasing Station earn substantial income from mushrooms and hides. In early August, Li Xiangqian gave him an order for thirty thousand big brooms due in one month, leaving Li Long worried about finding enough materials and labor.

• Li Long shot two wild boars, agreed that the Pastoral Team would pay one yuan per mu for mowing, and bought Xiaokelaiti's mushrooms.
• Li Long and the others mowed nearly three thousand mu for the Pastoral Team, while hunting and gathering mushrooms; Jade Mountain River and Talihaal each earned over a thousand yuan after fuel costs.
• Li Long later arranged for Xiaokelaiti to bring dried mushrooms every five days and told Sun Jiaqiang that Purchasing Station bonuses would shrink as mushroom season ended.
• Li Xiangqian gave Li Long an order to produce thirty thousand big brooms by early September, and Li Long began planning how to divide the work and recruit more households.

Li Long organized villages and a Corps company to fulfill a large order for thirty thousand big brooms, assigning local supervisors and setting quality and payment rules. After arranging work in Qingshui River Village, Liang Wenyu’s village, and the Fourth Team, he approached Wang Mingjun’s company, which agreed to take on the broom-making job.

• Li Long recruited Meng Hai to organize Qingshui River Village and nearby villages to make at least ten thousand big brooms, offering him a fifty-cent inspection fee per broom.
• Li Long arranged for Liang Wenyu to oversee production in his village, aiming for five thousand brooms or more, and explained the materials and quality requirements.
• Li Long put Li Jianguo in charge of collecting and inspecting up to five thousand brooms in the Fourth Team, but Li Jianguo refused the inspection fee.
• Li Jianguo advised Li Long to approach Wang Mingjun’s company before asking Han Dachun’s company to help.
• Li Long drove to Wang Mingjun’s company and offered it a big-broom order of at least ten thousand, and Wang Mingjun enthusiastically accepted.

Li Long arranged for Wang Mingjun’s company to produce big achnatherum-grass brooms and bought its stored hides. After returning to the Fourth Team, he learned that Xu Haijun and Ning Dawei had fought over grass, leaving the broom-making work caught up in a village dispute.

• Wang Mingjun and Zheng Xiangyang agreed to organize broom production, set quality standards with Li Long, and promised to make at least fifteen thousand brooms.
• Li Long valued the company’s hides at 3,015 yuan and left a five-thousand-yuan deposit for broom-making materials before staying for a drinking meal.
• Li Long left the company the next morning and considered continuing to rely on its plentiful grass and red willow resources to fulfill the thirty-thousand-broom order.
• Li Long returned to the Fourth Team and learned that Xu Haijun and Ning Dawei had fought after accusing each other over a missing armful of achnatherum grass.

Li Long inspected Big Brooms collected by Li Jianguo, Liang Wenyu, and Meng Hai, arranging transport and insisting that they meet quality standards. After Li Long advised Xu Haijun to seek Achnatherum splendens beyond the village, Xu Haijun set out north to gather it.

• Xu Chengjun ordered Xu Haijun to give Ning Dawei half a bundle of Achnatherum splendens, and Xu Haijun refused to apologize despite feeling wronged.
• Li Long checked Li Jianguo’s Big Brooms, left him fifteen thousand yuan, and arranged for Song Ming to help transport the brooms to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
• Xu Haijun complained to Li Long about being made to give Ning Dawei grass, and Li Long urged him to gather Achnatherum splendens beyond the village; Xu Haijun drove north to recruit people for the trip.
• Li Long inspected Liang Wenyu’s Big Brooms, pointed out quality flaws, and left him ten thousand yuan; Liang Wenyu then went to warn the broom makers to improve their work.
• Li Long inspected more than thirteen hundred Big Brooms at Meng Hai’s home and arranged to haul them away, while Meng Hai said the villagers trusted him to pay later.

Li Long collected and inspected the first large batch of brooms from Wang Mingjun’s company, whose careful workmanship exceeded expectations. At the cooperative, the brooms impressed even Li Xiangqian’s skeptics, and Li Xiangqian set off to report the successful delivery to the Prefectural Federation.

• Li Long found 3,700 brooms at Wang Mingjun and Zheng Xiangyang’s company and praised their quality after inspecting them.
• Li Xiangqian defended giving Li Long the 30,000-broom order when Lü Dazhong challenged his decision and doubted Li Long could handle it.
• Li Long arranged three trucks to collect the brooms, inspected the loads, and paid Wang Mingjun and Zheng Xiangyang for 3,762 approved brooms.
• Li Xiangqian and the cooperative workers examined the delivered brooms and praised their finish, materials, and sturdy bindings.
• Li Xiangqian ordered 200 brooms unloaded and took the rest toward the Prefectural Federation to share the successful delivery with Director Qian.

After seeing the Corps’ higher-quality brooms, Li Long raised the standards for suppliers in Qingshui River Village, Liang Wenyu’s team, and the Fourth Team, accepting that some already-made brooms might have to be set aside. He also sold Jia Tianlong a large shipment of medicinal herbs, while the Corps workers received their pay and spent it at the company store.

• Li Long realized the broom order could be jeopardized by complaints, so he told Meng Hai and Liang Wenyu to raise quality standards and arranged to take their existing stock while improving future batches.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo sorted the Fourth Team’s brooms, planning to repair those they could and donate usable but substandard ones to schools.
• Li Long asked Xu Chengjun to announce the new standards over the loudspeaker, and the Fourth Team agreed to reject brooms that did not meet them.
• Jia Tianlong bought Li Long’s stock of snow lotus, fritillaria, cynomorium, and other medicinal herbs for nearly seventeen thousand yuan before hurrying home.
• Wang Mingjun, Zheng Xiangyang, and Old Chen paid the Corps workers, who flocked to the company General Store to spend their earnings.

Li Long completed the large broom order, earning a substantial profit while strengthening ties with the villages and Corps company that supplied him. After learning that an imported Deere high-horsepower tractor cost several hundred thousand yuan, he set the purchase aside for now and considered whether to try growing cotton.

• Director Qian inspected Ma County’s first broom shipment, approved its quality, and told Li Xiangqian that Ma County could receive most of the work in future years.
• Li Long collected and inspected brooms from the participating locations, then heard from Zheng Xiangyang and Wang Mingjun about the division’s imported Deere tractors.
• Li Long delivered the final broom batch in early September and calculated that the order had earned him over thirty thousand yuan in net profit.
• Li Long thanked Wang Mingjun and Zheng Xiangyang with gifts, learned the imported tractor cost fifty thousand US dollars, and decided his undeveloped land made it an impractical purchase for now.
• Li Long asked about cotton growing, and Wang Mingjun described its uncertain prices and modest yields as Li Long weighed trying it.

Li Long finished his broom-making arrangements and considered future ventures in cotton and other crops before returning home and learning that Sun Jiaqiang had begun courting Tie Lanhua. After Li Long questioned Sun Jiaqiang and watched him stand up for Tie Lanhua, Bai Xiuming called with a more pressing matter.

• Li Long discussed cotton growing and possible plastic-film production with Wang Mingjun and Zheng Xiangyang, then returned home after completing the broom-making job.
• Gu Boyuan told Li Long that Tie Lanhua had been bringing meals and small gifts to Sun Jiaqiang, and Li Long learned that her family situation might complicate their relationship.
• Li Long advised Sun Jiaqiang to consider Tie Lanhua’s family as well as her, and Sun Jiaqiang said he thought she was very nice.
• Tie Lanhua arrived at the Purchasing Station with her brother Tie Jinbing, and Sun Jiaqiang helped carry her heavy basket and challenged Tie Jinbing for making her carry it.
• Bai Xiuming called Li Long about a more important matter.

Li Long negotiated with Bai Xiuming over the coming watermelon-seed harvest while Dong Zhichao and Ye Lanlan failed to secure flattened seeds elsewhere. When they finally asked Li Long to sell them fifty tonnes, he told them Bai Xiuming had already reserved the supply, leaving Dong Zhichao bargaining desperately for whatever remained.

• Bai Xiuming called Li Long to arrange priority access to the coming watermelon seeds and asked about buying Northern Xinjiang flower sunflower seeds.
• Dong Zhichao and Ye Lanlan sought a fifty-tonne contract through the Prefectural Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, but the deputy director could not guarantee flattened seeds, so no contract was signed.
• Dong Zhichao and Ye Lanlan failed to find growers who knew how to flatten watermelon seeds, then waited at the Ma County Purchasing Station for Li Long to return.
• Li Long visited Factory Director Du and ordered three to five seed-flattening machines after advising him to market cultivators through larger farm machinery factories.
• Dong Zhichao and Ye Lanlan asked Li Long to sell them fifty tonnes of flattened watermelon seeds, but he said Bai Xiuming had already reserved the supply at three yuan fifty per kilogram.
• Dong Zhichao offered to buy the remainder at three yuan fifty per kilogram and asked how much would be left.