Chapter Summaries

Li Long arranged buyers for the Fourth Team’s confectionery sunflower seeds and helped the farmers prepare a special-grade harvest while keeping his options open for watermelon seeds. Bai Xiuming arrived before the watermelon harvest and was invited to inspect the sunflower seeds.

• Li Long told Dong Zhichao he could not promise watermelon seeds and offered confectionery sunflower seeds instead, prompting Dong and Ye Lanlan to consider buying them if they met special grade.
• Li Long gathered the Fourth Team’s sunflower growers and explained the prices and cleaning needed to qualify for special grade, while postponing any decision about buying watermelon seeds.
• The Team harvested sunflowers, and Li Long helped thresh and winnow the crop; Li Jianguo’s seeds came out clean, plump, and free of empty or insect-damaged seeds.
• Li Long brought back five seed-flattening machines as a fallback for processing watermelon seeds if local growers could not sell them elsewhere.
• Bai Xiuming arrived early, and Li Long told him the watermelon seeds were not ready but invited him to inspect the harvested sunflower seeds.

Li Long sold flower sunflower seeds to Bai Xiuming and arranged a sale for several households, while Wang the Miser rushed his watermelon seeds to market and sold them cheaply. The other watermelon growers were left panicked when the factory stopped buying after filling its quota.

• Bai Xiuming inspected Li Long’s flower sunflower seeds, graded them special grade, and agreed to buy up to twenty tons at two yuan per unit.
• Li Long gathered flower sunflower seeds from seven households, and Bai Xiuming bought nearly all of them as special grade, except for two bags from Xu Chengjun’s family.
• Wang the Miser harvested his twenty mu of watermelons early, dried the unflattened seeds, and sold a little over two tons to the Stone City Roasted Goods Factory for one yuan fifty per unit.
• Four households brought their watermelon seeds to the factory, but learned it had stopped buying after reaching its quota, leaving the team’s growers panicked.

Li Long set up a low-priced buying program for watermelon seeds that farmers could not sell, while insisting on strict quality standards. Resellers began bringing in seeds, but the chapter left them learning how much work it would take to meet the top grade.

• At the Fourth Team's general store, villagers worried that the Roasted Goods Factory had stopped buying watermelon seeds, and they discussed where else they could sell them.
• The Purchasing Station posted prices for watermelon seeds, and Tie Lanhua asked Sun Jiaqiang whether the station could buy them and how to qualify for special grade.
• Li Long explained that the purchases were a safety net for unsold seeds and inspected Fan Mingcheng's first load, rejecting it for shriveled seeds and impurities.
• Fan Mingcheng returned the next day after cleaning more than a tonne of seeds, while another reseller brought two sacks that Li Long accepted as grade one.
• Li Long showed the resellers a sack of special-grade seeds, explaining that every seed had to be flat and free of impurities, and Fan Mingcheng and the other reseller realized how difficult that standard would be.

Li Long bought watermelon seeds at the Purchasing Station and explained that his prices were a safety net for local growers, while setting up workers and transport to process seeds in the Fourth Team. Tie Lanhua sold one cleaned sack but had to take the other home to clean, and Li Long planned to gather the first batch of flattened seeds within three days.

• Li Long paid Fan Mingcheng 1.1 yuan per kilogram for more than a tonne of cleaned watermelon seeds, inspiring other resellers to consider buying them.
• Tie Lanhua sorted the two sacks she had bought, but her brother Tie Jinbing pushed her to sell them before they were ready.
• Li Long accepted Tie Lanhua's clean sack for 1.1 yuan per kilogram and rejected the dirty sack, telling her he would buy it once it was cleaned.
• Li Long bought watermelon seeds from sellers until the Purchasing Station closed, then went to the Fourth Team and offered growers one yuan per kilogram for first grade and 1.5 yuan for special grade.
• Li Long arranged for Tao Daqiang, Jia Weidong, and Xie Yundong to flatten seeds for one jiao per kilogram, while Liang Dacheng would haul seeds from the county town.
• Li Long assigned his eldest brother Li Jianguo to buy seeds in the team and planned to collect the first flattened batch in three days, while still seeking a buyer for the remaining flower sunflowers.

Li Long sold Dong Zhichao Flower Sunflower seeds and Flat Watermelon Seeds, earning a large profit while continuing to buy stock. Tie Lanhua brought Sun Jiaqiang Fragrant Bean Cakes, leaving Li Long to suspect she was winning him over.

• Dong Zhichao and Ye Lanlan inspected Li Long’s Flower Sunflower seeds and Flat Watermelon Seeds, then bought the sunflower seeds and ten tons of watermelon seeds.
• Fan Mingcheng tried to sell Dong Zhichao his own Watermelon Seeds, but Dong Zhichao rejected them because they were not flat.
• Dong Zhichao hired trucks and hauled away the seeds, giving Li Long a profit of more than twenty thousand yuan on the Flat Watermelon Seeds.
• Bai Xiuming still had not arrived as Li Long continued purchasing Watermelon Seeds and Zhao Hui collected the hides.
• Tie Lanhua brought two sacks of Watermelon Seeds and gave Sun Jiaqiang Fragrant Bean Cakes, prompting Li Long to think she was winning him over.

Li Long finished buying and selling watermelon seeds, earning a net profit of about 230,000 yuan after moving 105 tons. After the final five tons sold to Qiao Xing, he rewarded the people who had helped him, while Sun Jiaqiang and Tie Lanhua grew closer.

• Bai Xiuming bought thirty tons of watermelon seeds from Li Long, who deposited the 105,000 yuan payment at the bank and resumed purchasing that afternoon.
• Baiqiuka and the other villagers discussed selling seeds to the Li Family, while Li Jianguo tracked the purchases and distributed seeds for processing among Tao Daqiang, Xie Yundong, and Jia Weidong.
• Li Long sold further large batches to Bai Xiuming and Dong Zhichao, then bought the scattered remaining seeds before the season ended.
• Qiao Xing visited on October 10, inspected the last five tons, asked Li Long how the seeds were flattened, and bought the entire stock for 16,000 yuan.
• Li Long calculated a net profit of about 230,000 yuan from 105 tons and set aside money for Li Jianguo, Gu Boyuan, and Sun Jiaqiang.

Li Long arranged three movie screenings for the Fourth Team, declined to guarantee next year’s crop prices, and slaughtered sheep to reward the people who had worked for him. The chapter ended with him discovering Tie Lanhua and Sun Jiaqiang alone together behind a latched door at the Purchasing Station.

• Li Long booked Shorbulak, Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain, and Heroes Emerge from Youth Since Ancient Times for the Fourth Team’s movie nights.
• Xu Chengjun asked Li Long about next year’s crops, and Li Long promised the team priority if he bought seeds but made no guarantee about prices.
• Li Long arranged to slaughter eight sheep and asked his helpers to look after his family’s home during the winter; they agreed.
• Li Long and the others slaughtered and divided the sheep, and Xie Yundong asked him about the cost of buying a vehicle.
• Li Long brought lamb to the Purchasing Station and found Sun Jiaqiang with his clothes in disarray and Tie Lanhua blushing behind him.

Li Long learned that Tie Lanhua had taken the initiative with Sun Jiaqiang, urged him to take responsibility, and saw the couple quickly buy a house as they prepared to marry. The chapter ended with Li Long and his family joining the villagers for an outdoor movie.

• Li Long questioned Sun Jiaqiang about Tie Lanhua, and Sun admitted he liked her and had kissed her; Li Long advised him to buy a house and discuss marriage.
• Tie Lanhua returned and pressed Sun Jiaqiang to buy the neighboring property, and they settled on a price of 880 yuan.
• Tie Lanhua stood up to her father, Tie Yinhu, but went inside, knowing she needed to complete several steps before she could leave her family.
• Li Long discussed the couple with Gu Xiaoxia, then delivered sheep to Li Xiangqian and Director Qian and heard that demand for Big Brooms might grow next year.
• Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia, the children, Sister Yang, and Han Fang to the Fourth Team's outdoor movie, where they joined the villagers to watch Heroes Emerge from Youth Since Ancient Times.

Li Long arranged for his friends to help him buy cattle and sheep for Old Ma’s Place, while Harimu stayed in the mountains hoping to earn enough for a tractor. At the Ma River livestock market, Li Long and his companions sought sellers directly and met two young herders who could not understand his question about prices.

• Li Long asked Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang, Jia Weidong, and Liang Dacheng to bring their tractors to the Ma River livestock market and help buy sheep for Old Ma’s Place.
• After the film screening, Li Long and his family stayed overnight in the Front Courtyard, then he returned home while Qiangqiang rode his bicycle to school.
• Harimu told Jade Mountain River that he hoped to buy a tractor with his own earnings, then shot two wolves that threatened the herds.
• Li Long and his companions drove five tractors to the livestock market and refused to buy through brokers, choosing to approach sellers directly.
• Li Long asked two young herders how much their cattle and sheep cost, but they did not understand his Han Chinese.

Li Long expanded his livestock and hide business as Sun Jiaqiang and Tie Lanhua married after she broke away from her family. With the first snow of winter falling, Harimu pursued the wounded tiger again.

• Li Long bought cattle and sheep over three days, then quarantined the new livestock and supplied the Pastoral Team's Rural Childcare Center.
• Li Long agreed to sell Zhao Hui more than a hundred hides, while Gu Boyuan reported that Tie Lanhua was visiting Sun Jiaqiang frequently.
• Sun Jiaqiang told Li Long he planned to marry Tie Lanhua and requested a wage advance to cover the bride price.
• Tie Lanhua and Sun Jiaqiang registered their marriage, and Tie Lanhua left her family with no money or belongings beyond her clothes.
• After the first snow fell, Li Long considered buying Harimu a tractor, while Harimu chased the wounded tiger through the snow.

Harimu and Jade Mountain River pursued a tiger that had attacked a sheep, and an avalanche buried it before Harimu dug it out and brought it home. After the herders moved to their winter camps, Harimu found Li Long waiting with a new tractor and supplies, then proudly revealed that he had killed a Northern Xinjiang Tiger.

• Harimu chased an injured tiger into the mountains, and Jade Mountain River joined the pursuit as they fired at it on the slope.
• The gunfire triggered an avalanche that buried the tiger, and Harimu and Jade Mountain River later found it dead beneath the snow.
• Harimu skinned the tiger and, two days later, traveled with his family and herd toward the winter camp.
• Harimu arrived to find Li Long had prepared the winter camp and brought him a new tractor and supplies.
• Harimu told Li Long he had brought him a Northern Xinjiang Tiger, and Li Long praised him for killing another tiger.

Li Long received a tiger pelt, bones, and meat from Harimu, then welcomed Harimu and his companions the next morning as they brought more goods and collected two tractors. He shared the tiger meat with relatives and workers, while the Purchasing Station continued buying hides and Tie Lanhua settled into her new life with Sun Jiaqiang.

• Harimu told Li Long that Talihaal and the others would bring their goods the next day and collect a tractor, while Li Long estimated the tiger parts and other goods were valuable.
• Meng Hai gave Li Long a skinned wild boar, and Li Long returned home with it and the goods from the mountains.
• Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and Talihaal brought nearly a hundred hides and other goods to Li Long, then warmed and started the two tractors before heading to the Pastoral Team.
• Gu Boyuan reported that Sun Jiaqiang was doing well with Tie Lanhua, who had been buying hides across the countryside.
• Li Long set purchase prices for winter hides, then distributed tiger meat among his family and workers, telling his family what it was and calling it leopard meat to the others.

After heavy snow, Li Jianguo and several neighbors decided to buy shotguns so they could hunt Mongolian gazelles and earn money. Li Long helped them purchase guns and agreed to lead them on a hunt in the northern sandy hollows two days later.

• Tao Daqiang, Xie Yundong, Liang Dacheng, Jia Weidong, and Li Jianguo discussed hunting rabbits and Mongolian gazelles after clearing snow at the Li family home.
• Tao Daqiang suggested buying shotguns, and the group traveled with Li Long to Xinhua Bookstore, where five men bought guns and ammunition.
• Li Long advised the men to obtain firearms licenses and agreed to take them hunting up north two days later.
• After returning home, Li Long cleaned his gun and told Gu Xiaoxia about the planned hunt; the next day, he promised Gu Boyuan he would invite him along after pausing work at the Purchasing Station.

Li Long and the others searched the snowy sand hollows for Mongolian gazelles but found nothing until a herd of red deer burst from the red willows. Li Long shot the lead stag, then heard an unknown hunter call out, raising the risk of a confrontation.

• Li Long drove the hunting party north while Jia Weidong followed on his tractor, and they chose to search the sand hollows without first asking Wang Mingjun for information.
• Li Long and the others found tracks but no gazelles, and Liang Dacheng fired at a fox, prompting Xie Yundong to warn him not to scare off game.
• After searching without luck, the group ate lunch and followed Li Long's suggestion to drive farther east into the sand hollows.
• Li Long and the others entered a larger stretch of red willows, where a herd of red deer suddenly charged toward them.
• Li Long shot the lead stag, then ordered everyone to stop firing when someone nearby shouted, "Who's shooting?"

Li Long and his companions hunted red deer and Mongolian gazelles, then made peace with two Corps men after a tense misunderstanding. They returned to the Li home with a large haul, while the rest of the team wondered what they had caught.

• Li Long's party met Luo Erwa and He Suozhu after their gunfire startled red deer, and Li Long gave each man a hind leg in acknowledgment.
• Li Jianguo recognized Luo Erwa from their years in the Corps, and the group parted on friendly terms after Luo pointed them toward a saxaul grove where gazelles had been seen.
• Li Long and the others approached a herd of Mongolian gazelles and shot several; Li Long brought down four, while the others also made kills.
• Li Long gave Jia Weidong one of his gazelles, and the hunting party loaded their catch onto the tractor and Jeep before heading back.
• Li Long, Li Jianguo, and the others reached the Li home and ate while Jia Weidong and Xie Yundong followed with the tractor; the team members outside speculated about their haul.

After Li Long’s successful hunt brought several gazelles and red deer back to the Fourth Team, villagers rushed to buy shotguns and join future hunts. Li Long spent the next day processing the game, while the growing number of guns drew the township Police Station’s attention.

• Lu Yingming heard about Li Long’s successful hunt, decided to buy a shotgun, and planned to join a future trip.
• Li Long divided the game among the hunters, and villagers visited the hunters to ask about joining the next hunt.
• Lu Yingming and several other Fourth Team men went to buy guns, but when the county bookstore had run out of double-barreled shotguns, Lu Yingming rode to Stone City and bought one.
• The township Police Station noticed the Fourth Team’s gun purchases and sent an officer to investigate; Xu Chengjun explained that the men had bought guns for hunting.
• Li Long rested after returning, then spent the following day skinning and butchering the game as Mingming and Haohao watched.

Li Long hosted Jia Tianlong, Qiao Fengzhi, and their infant daughter Yu Mei, who had come to fulfill a vow by worshipping the jade. After the family paid their respects, Jia Tianlong told Li Long that his flat watermelon seeds had become popular in the market.

• Wang Mingjun invited Li Long and Li Jianguo's group north to hunt, and Li Long bought over ninety Mongolian gazelle pelts.
• Li Long played in the snow with Mingming and Haohao until Jia Tianlong arrived with Qiao Fengzhi and their daughter, Yu Mei.
• Jia Tianlong explained that he had brought his family to fulfill their vow to the jade and asked whether it could help him have another child; Li Long refused to give it away.
• Li Long gave Yu Mei a pair of heavy gold bracelets as a hundred-day gift, and Jia Tianlong's family bowed to the jade with offerings.
• Jia Tianlong told Li Long that flat watermelon seeds from Li Long's business had become popular in the market.

Li Long visited Harimu’s winter camp, where wolves had been threatening the livestock, then returned to the Purchasing Station and found Gu Boyuan assessing pelts brought in by Tie Jinbing. The chapter ended with Gu Boyuan offering Tie Jinbing eighty-five yuan for the damaged pelts and demanding to know whether he would sell.

• Li Long shared lunch with Jia Tianlong and Qiao Fengzhi, then learned that the Purchasing Station had collected several hundred gazelle pelts.
• Jia Tianlong left with his family after visiting the jade, while Gu Xiaoxia and Li Long talked about their children.
• Li Long drove to Harimu’s winter camp, where Harimu said wolves had been howling and threatening the flock.
• Li Long found an old roe deer carcass and wolf tracks in the woods, then returned to the camp for milk tea.
• Tie Jinbing asked Sun Jiaqiang to assess his pelts, but Gu Boyuan took over and offered him eighty-five yuan for the three damaged pelts.

Sun Jiaqiang struck Tie Jinbing after Tie Jinbing demanded help selling damaged hides, while Li Long sold Zhao Hui more than a thousand hides for 97,060 yuan. As 1986 approached, Gu Xiaoxia asked Li Long whether he would lend his Jeep for Director Wang’s nephew’s New Year’s Day wedding.

• Tie Jinbing brought damaged hides to the Purchasing Station, where Gu Boyuan offered a low price and Sun Jiaqiang refused to defend him.
• Tie Jinbing insulted Sun Jiaqiang, who slapped him twice and sent him away with his hides.
• Li Long learned that Tie Lanhua supported Sun Jiaqiang and that she had berated Tie Jinbing when he visited their home.
• Li Long and Zhao Hui inspected more than a thousand hides and agreed on a total payment of 97,060 yuan, including three rare hides.
• Gu Xiaoxia asked Li Long whether he would drive or lend his Jeep for Director Wang’s nephew’s wedding on New Year’s Day.

Li Long attended Wang Qiyuan’s wedding-planning meal, where Wang Chunsheng’s greedy table manners disgusted him, then returned home to prepare for the bride-fetching trip. The next morning, Li Long arrived at the Industry Bureau’s residential compound with the Jeep as the tractor joined him, beginning his assigned task.

• Li Long drove his cleaned Jeep to Tuanfeng Tower for Wang Qiyuan’s pre-wedding meal and learned the next day’s arrangements.
• Brother Liu assigned Li Long to lead the convoy, drive slowly with the tractor, and carry the bride and her family’s companion back to the county seat.
• Wang Qiyuan briefly greeted the helpers before leaving, while his uncle Wang Chunsheng eagerly took meat from the shared dishes.
• Li Long left early because the smoky room smelled unpleasant, and his sons later told him he stank when he returned home.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia agreed that she and the children would come to the wedding later, after Li Long returned with the bride.
• Li Long arrived at the Industry Bureau’s residential compound the next morning, and the tractor joined him as people began coming out.