Chapter Summaries

Li Long drove the bride to the groom’s home and saw Wang Qiyuan’s family try to make her younger brother leave the Jeep with only a one-yuan red envelope. At the wedding banquet, Wang Qiyuan insulted Li Long by asking to hire his vehicle, but Director Wang intervened, and the bride later apologized to Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia.

• Li Long drove the bride and her younger brother Xiaoquan to the Industry Bureau’s Staff Residential Compound for the wedding.
• Wang Qiyuan’s relative offered Xiaoquan a one-yuan red envelope to get him out of the Jeep, so Xiaoquan refused until he received a larger envelope.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia attended the banquet with Mingming and Haohao, where Wang Qiyuan asked Li Long to rent him the Jeep again.
• Gu Xiaoxia prepared to throw her liquor at Wang Qiyuan, but Li Long stopped her, and Director Wang reprimanded Wang Qiyuan and apologized to the couple.
• As Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia left the banquet, the bride caught up with them, thanked them, and bowed to apologize for Wang Qiyuan.

Li Long learned that Li Qingxia was upset about being left out of hunting trips and unable to catch big fish, so he promised to help him set nets beneath the ice. He bought nets and materials, then began building a rubber-powered device to tow them across Little Haizi.

• Gu Xiaoxia decided not to dwell on Director Wang's nephew's behavior after Director Wang apologized and offered to treat her and Li Long to a meal.
• Li Long visited Li Jianguo's home and learned Li Qingxia was sulking because he had caught few fish and missed the hunting trips.
• Li Long promised Li Qingxia he would prepare equipment for setting gill nets, and he ordered four heavy steel shovels from the township blacksmith.
• Li Long bought four wide-mesh nets and supplies in Stone City, then returned to the Big Courtyard to build a rubber-powered wooden device for towing nets under the ice.
• Li Long carved the device's pointed wooden body while Mingming and Haohao watched and played nearby.

Li Long built and tested four homemade drag-net devices, then set a net in the Ma River to see whether it held fish. The next morning, he found the net still in place and felt fish struggling inside it.

• Li Long explained his drag-net design to Gu Boyuan, who agreed to take time off and visit the Team with the family.
• Li Long assembled four devices with rubber-tubing drives and adjusted his winding method to make their paddles spin faster.
• Li Long tested the devices at the Ma River and set a net across a shallow channel near an ice-covered sandbar.
• Li Long told Gu Boyuan that he would check the net the next morning, and Gu Boyuan said people had once caught fish in the river.
• Li Long returned before breakfast, found the net, and felt something struggling in the water.

Li Long used a Drag-Net Device to catch a large bighead carp in the Ma River, then brought his family and friends to Little Haizi to try setting nets beneath the ice. The first forty-meter net went into the water successfully, leaving the group waiting to see whether it would catch fish.

• Li Long freed his Drag-Net Device from the ice, hauled up a four- or five-kilogram bighead carp, and shared part of the catch with Sun Jiaqiang.
• Li Long bought New Year supplies and gifts, then drove Gu Boyuan and his family to the Fourth Team and helped warm Gu Boyuan's courtyard.
• Tao Daqiang, Xie Yundong, and Liang Dacheng asked Li Long to take them hunting, but he chose to try net fishing at Little Haizi instead.
• Li Long led a large group to Little Haizi with nets and Drag-Net Devices, drawing curious villagers who doubted he would catch fish.
• Li Long slipped the first Drag-Net Device beneath the ice, and it successfully pulled the entire forty-meter net into the water.

Li Long used his Drag-Net Device to set nets beneath the ice at Little Haizi, while villagers doubted the Li family had caught anything. When the family returned to retrieve the nets, Gu Boyuan pulled up several large fish, and Li Qingxia nearly lost a common carp as it broke free.

• Li Long showed Li Qingxia and the others how to wind and use the Drag-Net Devices, and they set four nets beneath the ice.
• Sister-in-Law Lu learned that Li Long’s device could set nets through the ice and told villagers who had expected the Li family to fail.
• Tao Daqiang and the others waited near the nets, then joined Li Long’s group when they returned to Little Haizi.
• Gu Boyuan hauled in a grass carp, several silver carp, and a common carp from his net.
• Li Qingxia pulled up a large common carp, but it broke free above the ice, and Li Long kicked toward it.

Li Long and his family caught a large haul of fish, while Gu Boyuan stayed at the Purchasing Station. In mid-January, Gu Xiaoyu came looking for her father and waited until he returned to the station, where he noticed her resemblance to Xiaoxia.

• Li Long helped Li Qingxia land a huge common carp, and the family brought their catch home to cook and share.
• Tao Daqiang and the others borrowed the family’s Drag-Net Devices, caught more fish overnight, and returned the equipment the next morning.
• Villagers visited to see the fish and learn about the device, but Li Qingxia refused to show them how it was made.
• Li Long took Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, and Haohao back to the Big Courtyard, then later drove Gu Boyuan and the children to the County Seat.
• In mid-January, Gu Xiaoyu found the Purchasing Station after learning from neighbors where Gu Boyuan worked.
• Gu Boyuan returned to the station at dusk and saw Gu Xiaoyu standing nearby, noticing that she looked like Xiaoxia.

Gu Xiaoyu reunited with Gu Boyuan, learned how he and Gu Xiaoxia had rebuilt their lives, and heard him take responsibility for the family’s separation. She accepted his ten thousand yuan and reconsidered her plans to leave without staying in touch, while wondering how Li Long had earned so much.

• Gu Boyuan recognized Gu Xiaoyu’s resemblance to her mother and brought her inside to talk.
• Gu Xiaoyu told Gu Boyuan about growing up without him, her mother’s remarriage, and her education and work in Yanjing; Gu Boyuan apologized for the hardship he had caused.
• Gu Xiaoyu offered her savings, but Gu Boyuan gave her ten thousand yuan to share with her mother or use toward a home of her own.
• Gu Boyuan told Gu Xiaoyu about Gu Xiaoxia and Li Long, then reassured her that their business was legitimate.
• Gu Boyuan escorted Gu Xiaoyu to the guesthouse and invited her to meet her sister and brother-in-law the next day; both stayed awake reflecting on their reunion.

Gu Xiaoxia reunited with her younger sister, Gu Xiaoyu, who had come from Yanjing, and brought her home to meet their father and family. As the family welcomed Xiaoyu and shared an abundant winter meal, she grew curious about Li Long and the comfortable life he had built.

• Gu Boyuan told Gu Xiaoxia and Li Long that Gu Xiaoyu had arrived and planned to visit, then explained that Xiaoyu and her mother were living in Yanjing and that her mother had remarried.
• Gu Xiaoxia obtained leave from the Education Bureau and went to the Guesthouse, where she met Xiaoyu and walked her home while asking about their mother and Xiaoyu's life.
• Gu Xiaoyu met Gu Boyuan, Sister Yang, Han Fang, Mingming, and Haohao at the Big Courtyard, and the children made everyone laugh by remarking that she looked like their mother.
• Li Long returned from the Purchasing Station and welcomed Xiaoyu, who wondered at his influence on her sister's family and judged him to be a good husband for Gu Xiaoxia.
• The family served Xiaoyu a lavish lunch with greenhouse vegetables and several meat dishes, surprising her with how well they ate in winter.

Li Long discussed buying a modest siheyuan in Yanjing, and Gu Xiaoyu offered to help find a property while Gu Boyuan offered to fund a home for her. The family considered a trip before the New Year, while Gu Boyuan and Li Long warned Gu Xiaoyu not to get involved in risky political currents at university.

• Gu Xiaoyu envied Gu Xiaoxia’s happy family life, and Gu Xiaoxia confided in her about Li Long’s former girlfriend, Wu Shufen.
• Li Long explained that he wanted to buy a small siheyuan in Yanjing for his family and their children, and Gu Xiaoyu described likely prices and offered to help search but not make the purchase.
• Li Long suggested a family trip to Yanjing before the New Year, and Gu Boyuan declined to go but offered money for Gu Xiaoyu to buy a home of her own.
• Gu Boyuan suggested bringing Li Juan and Li Qiang to Yanjing to inspire them, and Gu Xiaoyu asked Li Long for his views on events at her university.
• Gu Boyuan and Li Long warned Gu Xiaoyu to focus on her work and avoid being drawn into dangerous political activity.

Li Long persuaded his family to travel to Yanjing so the children could see Tiananmen and its universities, while he looked into buying a courtyard house for their future studies. The trip was broadly agreed upon, though the family still had to arrange tickets, leave, and preparations at home.

• Gu Xiaoyu stayed at the courtyard compound and learned from Gu Boyuan that Li Long had received his Jeep after trading a tiger pelt.
• Li Long told his parents and eldest brother's family about Gu Xiaoyu's visit and proposed that they travel together to Yanjing.
• Li Long said he hoped Li Juan and Li Qiang would attend university in Yanjing and planned to buy a courtyard house for them and the younger children.
• Li Juan and Li Qiang eagerly agreed to visit Yanjing, and Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei supported the trip; Liang Yuemei chose to stay home.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo planned a fifteen-day trip, and Liang Yuemei asked whether Anguo's children and Juan's aunt's family would also go.

Li Long prepared for his family’s trip to Yanjing while Gu Xiaoxia decided she would only secretly look at her mother. Meanwhile, Liang Dacheng confronted the Ma Family for stealing fish from the Liang brothers’ net, and the story ended with word of the theft spreading through the Team.

• Li Long asked Liang Dacheng and Liang Shuangcheng to save him several large fish, then returned to the County Seat and planned for the trip with his family.
• Gu Xiaoxia got leave from Director Wang and told Gu Xiaoyu she did not want her mother to know she was in Yanjing.
• Liang Dacheng discovered that someone had stolen a large fish and damaged the brothers’ net at Little Haizi.
• After Shaowa identified Ma Chenyang and Ma Jinbao, Liang Dacheng smashed the Ma Family’s cooking pot and accused them of stealing.
• The Liang brothers gave Li Long several fish without accepting payment, and news of the Ma Family’s theft spread through the Team.

Li Long obtained a letter of introduction and sleeper tickets for a family trip to Yanjing, where he planned to explore buying a house and encourage his niece Li Juan to aim for university. His conversations persuaded Li Xiangqian and Director Qian to consider university ambitions and buying property for their own children, and he ended the chapter by reuniting with Yusufu at a market stall.

• Li Long asked Li Xiangqian for a letter of introduction to take his family to Yanjing and explained his plan to visit universities and consider buying a house for Li Juan’s future.
• Li Xiangqian issued the letter and accepted a common carp and a five-stripe perch, then began reconsidering his own child’s educational prospects.
• Li Long drove to Beiting, gave Director Qian two carp, and explained his Yanjing plans, prompting Director Qian to consider buying a house for his child.
• Li Long bought four lower-berth and two middle-berth sleeper tickets for the family’s journey to Yanjing.
• Li Long visited the market stalls near the Railway Station and recognized Yusufu, who greeted him warmly.

Li Long reunited with Yusufu, discussed business and travel, and advised him to invest in river jade. Back home, the Li family’s Yanjing trip became village news, while Li Long arranged help to sell the fattened sheep and cattle before leaving.

• Li Long met Yusufu at his raisin stall, heard why he had stopped traveling, and advised him to buy and hold river jade.
• Yusufu told Li Long about crowded trains and warned him about thieves and scams during the journey.
• Li Long returned home and confirmed that he and his family would leave for Yanjing the day after tomorrow, prompting excitement and admiration in the village.
• Uncle Lao Luo told Li Long the sheep were ready to sell, so Li Long organized him, Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang, and others to slaughter and process the livestock.
• Li Long told his family he would pack money and river jade, while planning to confirm the Sugar Factory’s order the next day.

Li Long arranged a large New Year meat order with the sugar factory and organized help from Harimu and the Fourth Team before leaving for Yanjing with his family. As Gu Xiaoyu prepared to return home, Gu Xiaoxia gave her valuable jade bracelets, and the chapter ended with Li Long bringing the children to the station for their trip.

• Li Long agreed to supply the sugar factory with twenty cattle and a hundred sheep, then recruited Harimu and the villagers to help prepare the order.
• Li Long arranged meals and thank-you sheep for the workers and asked Xie Yundong and Tao Daqiang to help deliver the meat and collect payment.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia comforted Gu Xiaoyu and Gu Boyuan before the family prepared to leave for Yanjing.
• Gu Xiaoxia gave Gu Xiaoyu a Hetian jade bracelet for their mother, another bracelet, and two pieces of river jade; Gu Xiaoyu recognized the bracelets as extremely valuable.
• Li Long picked up Eldest Older Brother, Li Juan, and Li Qiang, and the excited children headed toward the station eager to see Tiananmen.

Li Long traveled with Li Jianguo and their family from Xinjiang toward Yanjing, keeping the children comfortable and the group safe on the crowded train. After Li Long drove unauthorized passengers away from their berths, the other travelers praised him, and he began watching more carefully for trouble.

• Li Long bought dried fruit, secured seats in the crowded waiting hall, and guided the family onto their sleeper train.
• The family settled into their berths, and Li Long helped keep Mingming and Haohao quiet while Li Jianguo chatted with a middle-aged passenger.
• At Turpan, the family stretched their legs and bought dinner, while the middle-aged passenger noticed how comfortably they could travel.
• Li Long confronted passengers crowding into the sleeper carriage, threw their luggage into the aisle, and cleared the berths for his family and nearby travelers.
• The middle-aged couple thanked Li Long, and he became more alert as the train continued across the Gobi Desert.

Li Long’s family completed their train journey to Yanjing after he helped stop a thief, then settled into a guesthouse near Gu Xiaoyu’s university. The next morning, Li Long gave Gu Xiaoyu US dollars to help find a courtyard house and set out with his family to see Tiananmen Square.

• Li Long ignored sellers tapping on the train windows, bought kiwifruit, and shared it with his family as other passengers got into disputes with the sellers.
• Li Long caught a man reaching for their luggage, and he and Li Jianguo disarmed him after he threatened passengers with a knife; railway police recovered some stolen belongings.
• Li Long and his family arrived in Yanjing, followed Gu Xiaoyu to the Spring Breeze Guesthouse, and rested after the long journey.
• Li Long asked Gu Xiaoyu to inquire about courtyard houses and gave her five hundred US dollars as proof of funds.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo decided to walk to Tiananmen Square with the family while Gu Xiaoyu went to report to her university.

Li Long’s family toured Tiananmen, paid their respects at Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and visited the Forbidden City before sending word that they had arrived safely in Yanjing. Back in Northern Xinjiang, Xie Yundong managed the meat sales in Li Long’s absence, while Gu Xiaoyu returned to her dormitory and wondered whether she should buy a home of her own.

• Li Long photographed his family at Tiananmen before Li Jianguo insisted they visit Chairman Mao Memorial Hall first, and they later toured the Forbidden City and ate noodles.
• Li Long failed to connect calls to the Purchasing Station and production team, so he sent telegrams to report their safe arrival in Yanjing.
• Xie Yundong and Tao Daqiang delivered cattle and sheep to the Sugar Factory, and Xie agreed with Uncle Lao Luo to sell three deer at Section Chief Hu’s request.
• Xie Yundong raised the prices of offal, heads, and hooves while keeping discounts for villagers, and he set aside some meat and by-products for the Li family.
• Gu Xiaoyu returned to her dormitory with jade gifts for her stepfather and stepbrother, prepared to visit her family, and wondered whether to buy a home of her own.

Gu Xiaoyu gave her mother and the Huang family gifts and money from Gu Boyuan, then used US dollars to negotiate for a Siheyuan in Yanjing. Because her relatives lacked Yanjing household registration, Li Long proposed that Gu Xiaoyu buy the courtyard first and sign an agreement with them.

• Gu Xiaoyu gave Fan Wenli a jade bangle and five thousand yuan from Gu Boyuan, who said he regretted the past and wished her happiness.
• Fan Wenli gave three thousand yuan to Huang Jiuzhang to help Huang Yufei buy a home, easing her sense of obligation to him.
• Gu Xiaoyu inspected a Siheyuan whose owner was eager to obtain US dollars and negotiated its price down to twelve hundred and fifty dollars.
• The owner warned Gu Xiaoyu that the buyer needed Yanjing household registration, so she returned to the guesthouse to consult Li Long and her relatives.
• Li Long suggested that Gu Xiaoyu buy the courtyard in her name and sign a transfer agreement with Li Jianguo until private property transactions became possible.

Li Long negotiated with Shao Licheng to buy a courtyard and secure the necessary paperwork using US dollars, while Shao Licheng arranged a meeting about two more properties. The group planned to inspect them the next day, and Li Long considered spending more of his dollars on courtyards in Yanjing.

• Li Long agreed to buy Shao Licheng's courtyard for 1,250 US dollars and discussed paying up to 2,000 for the paperwork, leaving a chair as security for a 500-dollar deposit.
• Gu Xiaoyu declined the courtyard because it was too large for her, and Li Jianguo approved it for Li Long to buy.
• Shao Licheng took some of the dollars to Director Zheng, who offered access to two vacant, publicly owned courtyards if Li Long would consider buying them together.
• Shao Licheng visited Li Long at the guesthouse and arranged to show him the two courtyards after breakfast the next day.
• Li Long told Li Jianguo he might buy both additional courtyards and use his remaining US dollars to acquire properties he could maintain with Gu Xiaoyu's help.

Li Long inspected two courtyards in Yanjing and agreed to buy them, then paid the purchase price and processing fees to complete the paperwork. With the ownership certificates secured, he considered visiting the Antique Shop to look for antiques.

• Gu Xiaoyu took Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, Haohao, Li Juan, and Li Qiang to visit Peking University while Li Long waited for Shao Licheng.
• Shao Licheng showed Li Long a two-section courtyard and a smaller, run-down courtyard, and Li Long agreed to buy both for twenty thousand yuan.
• Li Long gave Shao Licheng his and Li Jianguo's names for the paperwork and agreed to pay an additional five hundred US dollars as a commission.
• Shao Licheng returned with stamped documents and payment certificates, and Li Long paid twenty thousand yuan at the Housing Management Office.
• Li Long paid Shao Licheng the processing fees and received the ownership certificates for the courtyards.
• Shao Licheng advised Li Long about ways to buy antiques, and Li Long considered visiting the Antique Shop.