Chapter Summaries

Li Long visited Gu Xiaoyu in Yanjing, inspected his renovated courtyards, and went to the Beijing Office, where Director Dai told him a senior leader wanted to meet him about Northern Xinjiang. He stayed at the office to await the meeting, unsure when it would happen.

• Li Long visited Gu Xiaoyu, discussed her furniture and Babu Bed, gave her dried meat, and left her five pieces of jade.
• Li Long went to the Beijing Office, where Director Dai told him a senior leader wanted to hear his views on Northern Xinjiang and asked him to wait there.
• Director Dai arranged a suite for Li Long and began calling the senior leader after accepting Li Long's gifts.
• Xiao Wang took Li Long to inspect his three renovated courtyards and showed him the repairs and restored furniture.
• Li Long returned to the Beijing Office for dinner and wondered when the senior leader would meet him.

Li Long waited in Yanjing for a meeting with a leader while buying furniture and paintings for his courtyards and keeping in touch with work back in Northern Xinjiang. On his eighth day, he was summoned to the leader’s workplace and went in to meet him.

• Li Long exchanged dollars with Director Dai, then bought valuable old furniture at a Consignment Shop and paintings at an Antique Shop.
• Li Long refused Boss Liu’s attempt to buy the organization’s courtyard, and the Beijing Office staff confirmed it was not for sale.
• Li Long furnished the three courtyards and asked Xiao Wang to check on them while he waited for news from the leader.
• Li Long learned from calls that broom-making, mushroom collection, and road construction were progressing in Northern Xinjiang, and that Harimu’s group had brought hides and other goods as thanks for the road.
• On his eighth day in Yanjing, Li Long received a summons, brought Northern Xinjiang specialties, and followed the leader’s secretary inside for their meeting.

Li Long met a senior leader in Yanjing, discussed ethnic unity and problems with school textbooks, and received the leader’s secretary’s contact information. After shopping with Gu Xiaoyu and attending a farewell dinner, Li Long prepared to leave for Northern Xinjiang with Xiao Wang seeing him off.

• Li Long spoke with the senior leader about life in Northern Xinjiang, ethnic unity, and possible problems in textbooks used by Uyghur and Kazakh schools.
• The leader praised Li Long’s work with his Kazakh friends and told Xiao Hu to obtain school textbooks privately for review.
• Xiao Wang and Director Dai arranged Li Long’s train ticket and prepared local specialties for his journey home.
• Gu Xiaoyu took Li Long shopping for gifts for their family, and Li Long visited Liulichang and Panjiayuan.
• Li Long attended a farewell dinner at the Beijing Office, where he drank heavily and defeated Director Dai in a drinking contest.
• After breakfast the next day, Li Long said goodbye to Director Dai and left for the railway station with Xiao Wang.

Li Long returned from Yanjing and found that big-broom production had surged across the villages and Corps companies. He arranged inspections and collection runs, then headed into the mountains to check on the grass cutters.

• Li Long returned to Urumqi, visited Yusufu, and suggested that he try selling small jade carvings at his stall.
• Li Long reunited with Sister Yang, Han Fang, Mingming, and Haohao, and learned that Meng Hai’s village had made over three thousand big brooms.
• Li Long told Li Jianguo he would buy Liang Wenyu’s brooms and planned to collect goods from the Corps companies before visiting his own team.
• Li Long met Li Xiangqian, reported his Yanjing trip, and agreed to inspect and transport the Corps companies’ brooms the next day.
• Li Long called Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming to schedule collections, and both confirmed they had produced thousands of brooms.
• Li Long visited Meng Hai, learned that Qingshui River Village had over forty-one hundred acceptable brooms, and said he would return to collect them in a few days.

Li Long visited Harimu Winter Camp, saw the herders cutting grass with tractors, and declined a gold nugget they offered to help pay for the road. The next day he joined Li Xiangqian’s team to inspect and load big brooms for delivery to the Prefecture Seat, where Wang Mingjun’s Company earned praise for its high pass rate.

• Director Qian heard from Li Xiangqian that Li Long had met a leader in Yanjing, then asked how the big-broom work was progressing.
• Li Long visited Harimu Winter Camp, where Harimu and the others described the summer pasture, showed him a gold nugget, and shared nang and watermelon with him.
• Li Long returned home and sorted through the hides and jade Harimu and the others had brought back from the mountains.
• Li Xiangqian led ten trucks and a team of inspectors to Wang Mingjun’s Company, where Li Long helped check the big brooms.
• Li Xiangqian praised the Company’s high pass rate after the team inspected nearly eight thousand brooms and loaded the accepted ones onto the trucks.

Li Long completed the big-broom assignment, earned a substantial profit, and continued expanding the Purchasing Station’s trade in hides and mushrooms. As he prepared for the next season’s work, the expected buyers for watermelon seeds still had not appeared.

• Li Long settled payment for Wang Mingjun’s accepted brooms, pointed out handle defects, and sold hides to Zhao Hui at rising prices.
• Li Long collected brooms from Zhao Zongming’s Company, the Fourth Team, and Qingshui Hezi, reaching twenty-five thousand brooms and earning over sixty thousand yuan before other expenses.
• Li Long warned Harimu about concerns over the Ethnic School’s textbooks and asked him to watch over his child at the Rural Childcare Center.
• Huang Lei bought only part of Li Long’s more than four tons of black tiger’s paw mushrooms because he had brought too little money.
• Li Long delivered the final broom shipment in early September, completed the assignment, and received Director Qian’s public support as the mainstay of the work.
• Li Long waited for the men surnamed Bai and Dong to buy watermelon seeds, but neither arrived, leaving him uneasy.

Li Long bought nearly fifty tonnes of watermelon seeds despite a weak market, then reassured his friends that he would find buyers after Bai Xiuming and Dong Zhichao declined to purchase. The next morning, Qiao Xing arrived to discuss the seeds, and Li Long prepared to find out what he wanted.

• Gu Boyuan bought watermelon seeds at the season’s lower prices, and by late September the Purchasing Station had acquired nearly fifty tonnes.
• Xie Yundong hosted Li Long, Tao Daqiang, Jia Weidong, Liang Dacheng, and Liang Shuangcheng for a meal, where Li Long explained that hiring farmhands was allowed if employers chose reliable people.
• Li Long told the group that flattened watermelon seeds had a market and that other factories would buy them, even though Bai Xiuming and Dong Zhichao had declined to purchase his stock.
• Li Long learned from Jia Tianlong that no local factories were developing Flattening Machines and that flattened seeds were a premium product, reinforcing his belief that Bai Xiuming and Dong Zhichao were trying to force down his price.
• After Li Long returned to the County Seat the next morning, Qiao Xing arrived to see him, and Li Long decided to hear what he had in mind.

Li Long negotiated with Qiao Xing over the unsold watermelon seeds, refusing to lower his price or store goods that Qiao Xing had not paid for. He then arranged for Meng Hai to use his tractor for plowing and left funds for road construction, while Qiao Xing waited anxiously at the Purchasing Station.

• Li Long showed Qiao Xing the pressed watermelon seeds and insisted on three yuan per kilogram if Qiao Xing bought all fifty tonnes, or three yuan fifty for a smaller amount.
• Li Long rejected Qiao Xing's proposal to pay part of the cost and collect the remaining seeds later, so Qiao Xing left to call his factory about raising the money.
• Li Long reassured Gu Boyuan that Qiao Xing would likely buy the seeds and said he could travel to Inland China to find buyers if necessary.
• Li Long let Meng Hai use the Dongfanghong 75 Tractor to plow fields and gave him five thousand yuan as a reserve for road construction.
• Li Long agreed that Meng Hai could recruit workers from a neighboring Team, emphasized construction quality and safety, and stayed for lunch before returning home.
• Li Long found chickens, eggs, and cleaned fish in his Jeep after Meng Hai's family hosted him, while Qiao Xing grew impatient waiting at the Purchasing Station.

Li Long sold his watermelon seeds to Qiao Xing after the other buyers delayed and tried to force down the price. After rejecting Dong Zhichao and Bai Xiuming, he planned to celebrate the family reunion before returning to road construction, while Bai Xiuming told his furious boss the deal was already gone.

• Qiao Xing inspected and bought 50,890 kilograms of Li Long's watermelon seeds for 152,670 yuan, then left with the overnight convoy for Wu City.
• Li Long paid Sun Jiaqiang a bonus, gave Gu Boyuan his share and working capital, and returned home to Gu Xiaoxia after the long night.
• Two days later, Li Long rejected Dong Zhichao's offer of two yuan fifty per kilogram and told him the seeds were no longer available.
• Bai Xiuming offered three yuan per kilogram, but Li Long said he had already sold the seeds and refused to wait for buyers who tried to cut his price.
• Li Long looked ahead to celebrating National Day with his family and extending the road, while Bai Xiuming reported the failed purchase to his enraged boss.

Li Long hunted a wild boar in an unexplored ravine and discovered an old cave containing a small hidden box after the main treasure had already been taken. He found Yuan Shikai dollars and thin gold sheets inside, then returned to the County Seat and delivered most of the boar to his family in the Fourth Team.

• Gu Boyuan told Dong Zhichao that the watermelon seeds had sold out and refused to entertain his scheme, leaving Dong Zhichao regretful.
• Li Long went into Hot Spring Ravine, chased a wild boar through two gullies, and stunned it when it struck a rock beside an old cave entrance.
• Li Long searched the cave and found empty chests, scattered copper coins, and a concealed wooden box hidden behind a stone.
• Li Long opened the box at his cabin and found four rolls of Yuan Shikai dollars and twenty thin gold sheets, while realizing that someone had taken the larger treasure.
• Li Long dressed the boar, left two legs at the Big Courtyard for his family, and brought most of the rest to his sister-in-law Liang Yuemei at the Fourth Team.

Li Long stored the Gold Pages safely and brought his relatives together at the Li Family Courtyard for a National Day gathering. The family celebrated over a meal with Gu Boyuan, while Li Jianguo discussed the Tractor’s success and the adults shared news about their children.

• Gu Boyuan identified the box’s contents as rare Gold Pages and told Li Long to preserve them as family heirlooms.
• Li Long drove his relatives between the Fourth Team and the County Seat until everyone had gathered at the Li Family Courtyard.
• Li Jianguo told Li Long, Chen Xingbang, and Li Anguo that the new Tractor was earning back its cost through plowing and other fieldwork.
• Li Long persuaded Gu Boyuan to leave his courtyard and join the family’s National Day meal.
• The Li family and Gu Boyuan ate, drank, and talked together while the children played and the women discussed their children’s schooling.

Li Long visited the growing mountain road crew, brought them red tofu, and found jade and codonopsis along the route. After a roe deer appeared while he was digging, he killed it with his machete and arranged for the workers to share it in a meat broth.

• After the Li Family reunion, Li Long drove Mingming, Haohao, and Gu Boyuan back to the County Seat, then prepared to return to the mountains.
• Li Long set out for the mountains on October 4 and found Meng Hai supervising more than seventy workers who had built over 1,800 meters of road in just over two days.
• Li Long gave Meng Hai a jar of red tofu, continued scouting along the river, and marked a thirty-to-forty-kilogram piece of jade for later collection.
• Li Long dug up codonopsis roots, then struck a roe deer with his machete when it approached the water and killed it after chasing it down.
• Li Long gave the roe deer to Meng Hai to cook as broth for the road crew and supplied thirty enamel bowls so the workers could take turns eating.

Li Long advised Meng Hai on delegating authority to group leaders, improving the road crew’s efficiency before leaving to continue his work. He then met township publicity officer Jiang Zhiyu and discussed agricultural mechanization, including machinery he hoped would be developed next.

• Li Long told Meng Hai to pay trusted group leaders more and hold them responsible for their crews, easing Meng Hai’s workload and increasing efficiency.
• Li Long dug up four codonopsis roots, then drove back to the county seat, where Gu Boyuan told him Jiang Zhiyu had called to request an interview.
• Li Long visited Jiang Zhiyu at the township offices and explained that Northern Xinjiang’s vast farmland and limited labor made mechanization essential.
• Li Long described how he had helped develop the harvester and cultivator, and said he wanted to create a tractor-powered pesticide sprayer to reduce labor and poisoning risks.
• Li Long told Jiang Zhiyu he expected increasingly efficient domestic farm machinery to replace older equipment and help farmers prosper.

Li Long expanded his livestock operation by buying cattle and sheep at the Ma River market, then resumed supervising the Pastoral Road construction. The road crew reached thirty-three kilometers before snow and ice forced work to stop for the year.

• Jiang Zhiyu organized her interview notes and planned an article presenting Li Long’s work as evidence that agricultural mechanization was necessary.
• Li Long decided to buy more livestock after learning that sheep prices were low, and Gu Boyuan and Gu Xiaoxia supported the plan.
• Li Long and the team members bought thirty cattle and more than three hundred sheep at the Ma River Livestock Market.
• Li Long checked the expanded herds and considered whether the Sugar Factory could help establish a feed mill using sugar residue.
• Li Long resumed supervising the road crew, which reached thirty-three kilometers of the Pastoral Road by October 27 before winter conditions ended construction.

Li Long prepared for winter, welcomed Li Juan and Li Qiang after they rode to the County Seat with gifts for Mingming and Haohao, and brought them safely home. The next day he began restoring Sister Yang’s courtyard and cooked pilaf for the family.

• Li Long stored jade he had found during road work and ordered coal for the Purchasing Station and several courtyards.
• Li Long worked in the greenhouse with Mingming and Haohao while Li Juan and Li Qiang arrived with gifts bought using Li Juan’s work-study earnings.
• Li Long drove Li Juan and Li Qiang home on his tractor and reassured their worried parents about their visit.
• Li Long told Sister Yang to tidy her courtyard while he looked after Mingming and Haohao.
• Li Long cooked mutton pilaf and side dishes as Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Boyuan returned home.

Li Long returned to the team to find a permanent replacement for Sun Jiaqiang while he took leave for Tie Lanhua’s childbirth and recovery. He hired Liang Shuangcheng to work at the Purchasing Station, and Sun Jiaqiang reassured Tie Lanhua that Li Long would let him return after his leave.

• Sun Jiaqiang told Gu Boyuan that he needed a month off to care for Tie Lanhua around the birth, and Li Long agreed to find a replacement.
• Li Long gathered Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang, Liang Dacheng, and others to ask about hiring someone for the Purchasing Station.
• Liang Dacheng recommended his younger brother Liang Shuangcheng, and Li Long hired him for fifty yuan a month with bonuses, starting the next day.
• Tao Daqiang hosted the group for a lively meal after Li Long helped prepare the slaughtered sheep.
• Sun Jiaqiang told Tie Lanhua that Li Long had approved his leave, but she worried that taking time off might cost him his job.

Liang Shuangcheng began work at the Purchasing Station, learning quickly and hoping to save enough to buy a house and marry in the County Seat. After Tie Lanhua gave birth and Zhao Hui collected a profitable shipment of hides, Li Long rewarded the workers, and Gu Boyuan judged Liang Shuangcheng to be a promising employee.

• Liang Shuangcheng moved into a room at the Purchasing Station and began learning the work from Sun Jiaqiang, while insisting on cooking for himself.
• Liang Shuangcheng adapted quickly, asked Sun Jiaqiang for help when needed, and hoped to follow his example by buying a courtyard house and marrying in town.
• Sun Jiaqiang took leave to care for Tie Lanhua after she gave birth to a healthy daughter on October 27.
• Zhao Hui collected more than seven hundred hides in early November, leaving Li Long over 59,100 yuan after the shipment's sale.
• Li Long gave Gu Boyuan 2,000 yuan, Sun Jiaqiang a 100-yuan bonus, and Liang Shuangcheng a 30-yuan bonus, renewing Liang Shuangcheng's determination to work hard.
• Gu Boyuan told Li Long that Liang Shuangcheng was a good lad who could become a capable worker with training.

After heavy snow brought more hunters to the Purchasing Station, Li Long bought a trapped wolf and later slaughtered it when Wang Dagui's plan to breed it with a dog seemed too risky. Wang Dagui returned to buy the wolf the next day, only to learn Li Long had already processed it.

• After a live wolf was brought to the Purchasing Station, Li Long paid 130 yuan for it and stored it in the Coal Shed.
• Li Long attended Liang Dacheng's meal, where the men discussed hunting after the snowfall and he resolved not to drive after drinking again.
• Wang Dagui asked to use Li Long's male wolf to breed wolfdogs, but Li Long refused to let him experiment and warned him about the danger.
• After Gu Boyuan cautioned him about possible trouble, Li Long slaughtered the wolf, kept its pelt and parts, and cooked some of the meat.
• Wang Dagui returned to buy the wolf, but Li Long told him it had already been slaughtered and explained that keeping a wolf would require feeding it meat.

After heavy snowfall made clearing the county difficult, Li Long designed two snow-clearing machines and traveled to Kuytun to discuss a partnership with Factory Director Du. He visited his Second Older Brother's family before presenting his designs, and the chapter ended as Du prepared to review them.

• Heavy snow buried the yards and roads, prompting Gu Xiaoxia to urge Li Long to pursue his snow-clearing machine idea.
• Li Long designed a gasoline-powered walk-behind machine and a tractor attachment that swept up snow and threw it aside.
• Factory Director Du told Li Long that the factory's snow pusher design was failing, and Li Long agreed to bring his designs for them to discuss working together.
• Li Long drove to Kuytun with food for his Second Older Brother's family, visited Li Anguo, Chen Lirong, Xueping, and Xueqin, and promised to return for dinner.
• Li Long went to the Farm Machinery Factory, where Factory Director Du explained possible patent arrangements and asked to see the designs.

Li Long negotiated a contract with Factory Director Du for two snow-clearing machine designs, then visited Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and Yang Yongqiang in Kuytun. After celebrating with them over dinner, he drove the two younger men home and returned the next morning.

• Li Long and Factory Director Du agreed that Li Long would receive fifteen percent of the profit on each snow-clearing machine sold, and they signed a contract covering his designs.
• Factory Director Du explained the designs to the Farm Machinery Factory's workers and technicians, then defended Li Long's royalty against their complaints and directed them to study how to manufacture the machines.
• Li Long drove to Li Anguo's home with food and reunited with Li Junshan and Yang Yongqiang, teasing Yang Yongqiang about his girlfriend as they played cards and talked.
• Li Long told Li Anguo, Li Junshan, and Yang Yongqiang about his work and snow-clearing machine designs, and Li Junshan said a machine would make winter snow removal easier.
• After dinner and drinks, Li Long drove Li Junshan and Yang Yongqiang to their homes, returned to Li Anguo's house, and drove back the next morning.