Chapter Summaries

Li Long prepared for Little New Year after returning from the mountains, finding a strange green-crystal stone that Gu Boyuan advised him to keep. He took Mingming and Haohao shopping and spent the day at home with them, while Sister Yang and Han Fang prepared their courtyard for the holiday.

• Li Long examined the stone and noticed green crystals beneath its crust, and Gu Boyuan advised him to preserve it for expert identification.
• Li Long gave Sister Yang and Han Fang New Year envelopes and told Sister Yang to take the day off.
• Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to the Department Store, bought them stationery and backpacks, and bought holiday food after Xiao Liu mistakenly thought he was helping her sales.
• Li Long returned home and prepared lunch while Mingming and Haohao played with Little Black and the lamb.
• Sister Yang and Han Fang returned from preparing their courtyard, and Sister Yang helped Li Long finish cooking.

Before the New Year, Li Long visited Director Qian, Director Wei, Professor Wu, and Engineer Liu, exchanged gifts, and acquired several valuable jade pieces. He then went to the Farm Machinery Factory to collect his earnings and holiday benefits, where snow-clearing machine orders continued to keep the factory busy.

• Li Long visited Director Qian and Sister Guan in Beiting, gave them gifts, and took home a box of apples.
• Li Long visited Director Wei and Professor Wu, discussed agricultural mechanization with Professor Wu, and left with gifts from both households.
• Li Long bought dried fruit for his family, then visited Engineer Liu and bought carved jade and several pieces of rough, including two translucent jadeite pieces.
• Li Long drove to the Farm Machinery Factory and saw people waiting to order snow-clearing machines.
• Factory Director Du welcomed Li Long, arranged for him to collect his share of the factory accounts and holiday benefits, and planned another account settlement for March.

Li Long collected a large batch of hides from Wang Mingjun’s company and arranged to get them a Snow-Clearing Machine. After returning from the company with its gifts, he met Zhao Zongming, who was waiting for him by the road.

• Li Long received generous New Year gifts from the Farm Machinery Factory, bought two more cases of Kuitun Te Qu, and returned to Ma County.
• Wang Mingjun called Li Long about the Mongolian gazelle hides his company had collected, and Li Long hired a truck to retrieve them.
• Li Long promised Wang Mingjun and Big Old Chen a Snow-Clearing Machine, and they arranged to collect it from Stone City Tractor the next day.
• Li Long inspected and bought the company’s hides and pelts for 46,850 yuan, then accepted meat, homemade liquor, and other local gifts from Wang Mingjun.
• After Li Long left the company, Zhao Zongming flagged down the truck with two young men and a small four-wheel tractor.

Li Long collected Mongolian gazelle hides and local specialties from the Thirteenth Company, then helped Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming buy snow-clearing machines. He delivered New Year gifts to Li Xiangqian at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, where he learned the cooperative had won a prefectural award partly because of his work and that he would receive a bonus and New Year benefits.

• Li Long bought more than three hundred hides from Zhao Zongming and arranged to pay the remaining money the next day, while Zhao gave him meat as local specialties.
• Li Long returned to Ma County, unloaded the hides and gifts, and told Gu Xiaoxia he planned to buy snow-clearing machines for Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming before visiting Li Xiangqian.
• Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming came to Li Long's home, and he took them to the Stone City Tractor Factory, where they bought snow-clearing machines and received training.
• Meng Hai and He Yuqing visited Li Long with New Year greetings and local specialties, including game, eggs, and fresh fish.
• Li Long brought Li Xiangqian tiger bone alcohol, a dried deer penis, and meat at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
• Li Xiangqian told Li Long that the cooperative had placed first in the prefectural year-end assessment partly because of the beef and mutton and big brooms Li Long had helped supply, and promised him a bonus and New Year benefits.

Li Long spent the New Year celebrating with his extended family and friends after bringing home generous work-unit benefits. On the third day, Jiang Zhiyu arrived at the Li Family courtyard to interview him about agricultural mechanization, beginning with his snow-clearing machine.

• Li Long collected a hundred-yuan bonus and a large haul of goods from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, then shared the provisions with Sister Yang and his family.
• Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia and the children to the Fourth Team, collected Li Anguo's family and Li Xia's family, and reunited with relatives for the New Year.
• Li Long celebrated with Xie Yundong's group, where Tao Daqiang recalled past hardships and Yang Yongqiang said he regretted his choice.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia visited Gu Boyuan, and Li Jianguo later drove the departing relatives to the bus station.
• Jiang Zhiyu visited Li Long during the holiday to interview him about agricultural mechanization and asked how he had conceived his snow-clearing machine.

Li Long discussed his inventions and agricultural mechanization with Jiang Zhiyu during an interview, then returned home and began experimenting with dried meat. A call from a leader’s secretary praised Li Long’s decision to help the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and invited him to meet the leader in Yanjing.

• Du Chunfang complained to Li Qingxia that Li Anguo’s and Chen Xingbang’s families had brought little for the New Year and left with too much, while Li Qingxia urged her not to dwell on it.
• Liang Yuemei told Gu Xiaoxia about Li Long receiving New Year money as a teenager, and the two women chatted warmly as Li Juan and Li Qiang took Mingming and Haohao out to play.
• Li Long told Jiang Zhiyu how he designed the snow-clearing machine, cleared a mountain road for herders, and viewed the future of agricultural mechanization, while sharing only part of what he knew.
• Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, and Haohao home, checked on his animals and greenhouse, and decided to experiment with making seasoned dried meat for storage and sale.
• Li Long received a call from a leader’s secretary praising his decision to help fulfill the Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s quota and saying the leader wanted to meet him in Yanjing and try more dried meat.

Li Long and his coworkers reopened the Purchasing Station to a rush of sellers, while he considered turning his homemade jerky into a business after learning Huang Lei saw a market for it. Just as Li Long discussed making a batch with Harimu and the others in the mountains, a heavy snowfall struck again.

• Li Long, Gu Boyuan, Sun Jiaqiang, and Liang Shuangcheng reopened the Purchasing Station and bought large quantities of hides and medicinal herbs from a long line of sellers.
• Li Long told Gu Boyuan he had made several kinds of jerky from the meat left at home, and he and Gu Xiaoxia discussed whether Sister Yang could sell it as a business.
• Sun Jiaqiang hosted a dinner to thank Li Long and celebrate the New Year, where Tie Lanhua explained that she had begun cooking pork for her husband.
• The Purchasing Station stayed busy for days, spending more than ten thousand yuan each day until visitor numbers began to decline on the twenty-second day of the first lunar month.
• Li Long contacted Huang Lei, learned there was a market for jerky, and went to the mountains to discuss making a batch with Harimu and the others as a heavy snowfall began.

Li Long arranged to trade supplies for cattle and sheep at Harimu's Winter Camp and worried that heavy snow would make this year's floods dangerous for Little Haizi. He gathered seasonings for a large batch of dried meat and continued searching the market for cumin, leaving the seasoning shop still ahead.

• Li Long asked Harimu's households for slaughtered cattle and sheep, and Jade Mountain River arranged a contribution of a hundred sheep and ten cattle.
• Li Long considered widening the diversion channels around Little Haizi to protect it from the coming floods and preserve its large fish.
• Li Long bought seasonings at the Department Store, where Xiao Liu supplied Sister Zhang with stock information and fetched goods from the storeroom.
• Li Long met Zhong Guoqiang at the state-run restaurant and agreed to leave him some dried meat to recommend to customers.
• Li Long drove to the market to find more cumin, passed the former purchasing station and a nang bakery, and followed the scent of seasonings.

Li Long bought seasonings, arranged a mountain supply exchange, and worked with Sister Yang to make and test batches of dried meat. The product won praise from tasters, and after mailing gifts to contacts in Yanjing, Li Long waited for Huang Lei while Zhao Hui arrived to discuss hides and inspect the meat.

• Li Long bought cumin and seasonings, then hired two trucks and purchased supplies to take to Harimu Winter Camp.
• Li Long exchanged the supplies for beef and mutton, brought the meat back to the Big Courtyard, and unloaded it with help from the drivers.
• Li Long and Sister Yang made dried meat, adjusted the seasoning after tasters found the first batch too spicy, and produced more than two hundred kilos over five days.
• Li Long shared samples with the Purchasing Station, Police Station, Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and other contacts, receiving praise for the meat's flavor.
• Li Long sent dried meat to the Autonomous Region Ethnic Affairs Commission's Beijing Office and Gu Xiaoyu, then waited for Huang Lei to visit.
• Zhao Hui arrived to buy winter hides and see the dried meat Li Long had made.

Li Long expanded his jerky business through large orders from Zhao Hui and Huang Lei while paying his workers and partners. He then traveled to Beiting with jerky and greenhouse vegetables for Director Qian, who praised the snack and took it home.

• Zhao Hui sampled Li Long's jerky, ordered 330 kilograms, and bought more than 1,400 hides after inspecting them at the warehouse.
• Li Long paid Sister Yang 200 yuan for her work, gave Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng 100 yuan each, and gave Gu Boyuan 5,000 yuan.
• Huang Lei transferred 4,000 yuan for an assortment of jerky, and Li Long agreed to gather customer feedback.
• Li Long reassured Gu Xiaoxia about workplace gossip, and she told him she was finishing her Radio and TV University assignments and planned to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• Li Long drove to Beiting with jerky and greenhouse produce for Director Qian, who tried the cumin flavor, praised it, and took the bag home.

Li Long discussed his winter greenhouse and dried-meat business with Director Qian, then met Chen Hongjun and urged him to leave his idle office job to start a purchasing station. Chen Hongjun considered the opportunity but remained unsure whether he could give up his secure position.

• Li Long explained his greenhouse methods and dried-meat sales plans to Director Qian, who considered whether greenhouse cultivation could be promoted.
• Li Long delivered goods to Director Wei, then waited for Chen Hongjun and went with him to eat.
• Chen Hongjun told Li Long that his office job felt pointless, and Li Long suggested several businesses he could start.
• Chen Hongjun showed interest in opening a purchasing station, but worried about raising the capital and giving up his iron rice bowl.
• Li Long offered to lend Chen Hongjun money and advised him on getting started, while Chen Hongjun remained hesitant about making the decision.

Chen Hongjun decided to prepare to open a purchasing station after weighing the risks, finding a courtyard, and gaining his wife's support. Li Long returned to the Fourth Team and persuaded team leader Xu Chengjun to protect Little Haizi from spring floods, with Xu affirming that the reservoir belonged to the whole team.

• Chen Hongjun considered leaving his secure job, and a former colleague's complaints helped him imagine opening a purchasing station of his own.
• Chen Hongjun searched for a suitable courtyard, checked the business procedures, and learned why the previous purchasing station had failed.
• Chen Hongjun's wife supported his plan, and ten days after Li Long left, he decided to prepare a purchasing station without immediately taking unpaid leave.
• Li Long visited Xu Chengjun to warn that melting snow could damage Little Haizi's North Dam and proposed clearing flood channels and reinforcing the dam.
• Xu Chengjun said the Fourth Team would protect Little Haizi without charging Li Long because the reservoir benefited the entire team.

Li Long visited his family, urged them to prepare Little Haizi’s flood-control canals, and reassured Li Juan and Li Qiang about their studies. He then agreed to invest in Chen Hongjun’s plan to open a purchasing station in Beiting, leaving them to proceed with the venture on a thirty-percent stake for Li Long.

• Xu Chengjun heard a radio report about the snow-clearing machine and realized Li Long had designed it.
• Li Long visited his family and urged Li Jianguo to widen and clear Little Haizi’s flood-control canals after spring began; Li Qingxia offered to pay for fuel.
• Li Long told Li Juan and Li Qiang to balance their studies with time to play, easing Li Juan’s worries about the advanced materials.
• Chen Hongjun asked Li Long to invest in a Beiting purchasing station and offered him a share of the business.
• Li Long offered twenty thousand yuan for a thirty-percent stake and said he would help Chen Hongjun find buyers and choose what to purchase.

Chen Hongjun opened the Red Army Purchasing Station with Li Long’s investment and learned how quickly the business could grow, while former colleagues sought to join or find investors. As Chen Hongjun’s trade expanded, Xu Chengjun organized the Fourth Team to prepare its canals for the coming snowmelt floods.

• Chen Hongjun and Li Long agreed on a thirty-five-percent share for Li Long’s twenty-thousand-yuan investment, signed a contract, and discussed how to run the purchasing station.
• Chen Hongjun rented a yard, completed the paperwork, hired Huo Bing, and opened the Red Army Purchasing Station, where sellers accepted his prices for pelts and medicinal herbs.
• Chen Hongjun rejected a former colleague’s request to join without investing money, then explained the business to his colleagues and agreed to pass along a request for Li Long to invest in another station.
• Li Long declined to fund another purchasing station and told Chen Hongjun to turn down similar requests, while Chen Hongjun reported that his daily purchases were growing.
• By late February, Chen Hongjun’s daily turnover had reached nearly two thousand yuan, and he prepared for Zhao Hui to collect a batch of pelts before the snowmelt.
• Xu Chengjun relayed the township’s flood-prevention orders to the Fourth Team’s villagers’ representatives and instructed them to clear residential canals and reopen blocked outlets.

Xu Chengjun enforced communal flood-prevention work and silenced Xu Youdao’s objection to protecting Little Haizi. Meanwhile, Li Long expanded dried-meat production and sales, while Chen Hongjun sold his hides to Zhao Hui and recovered his investment.

• Xu Chengjun ordered every household to help clear canals and protect Little Haizi, and threatened to deny benefits to anyone who refused.
• Li Jianguo confronted Xu Youdao for questioning the shared work, and Xu Chengjun explained that the Team owned Little Haizi and depended on its water and Li Long’s business connections.
• Li Long brought cattle and sheep down from the mountains, organized dried-meat production, and prepared packaged goods bearing the Old Li Family name.
• Zhao Hui praised Li Long’s production setup, ordered dried meat and meat bones, and arranged to take photographs to promote the product.
• Zhao Hui bought Chen Hongjun’s cleaned hides for more than twenty thousand yuan, allowing Chen Hongjun to recover his investment and feel reassured about his business decision.

As thawing roads made mountain livestock difficult to reach, Li Long arranged for the Fourth Team to help slaughter his cattle and sheep so he could supply the growing demand for dried meat. The villagers eagerly joined in, and the first meat was sent to Sister Yang at the Big Courtyard for processing.

• Li Long visited Old Ma's Place, discussed the demand for dried meat with Uncle Lao Luo, and decided to slaughter his own livestock while mountain roads and the livestock market were inaccessible.
• Li Long recruited households from the Fourth Team to help slaughter cattle and sheep, offering them offal in return, and his family supported the plan.
• Li Long notified villagers and arranged preparations at Old Ma's Place while Uncle Lao Luo's group cleared muddy work areas.
• Li Long arrived the next day to find dozens of villagers already helping, encouraged by the chance to receive offal and by the Li family's past support for the team.
• Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong prepared to deliver the day's butchered meat to the Big Courtyard, where Sister Yang and two casual workers were waiting.

A severe flood tested Little Haizi's North Dam Line, Reed Gully Bridge, and the nearby settlements, while Li Long helped contain a breach in the Dry Canal. Little Haizi and the bridge held, the water receded, and Li Long returned home with crucian carp as the family prepared to share their meal.

• A sudden flood rushed toward Little Haizi, and Li Long drove there with an iron spade to inspect the dam and flood-control canals.
• Li Long found Little Haizi's water close to the top of the North Dam Line, but the reinforced dam showed no signs of seepage or collapse as the water level stabilized.
• Xu Chengjun reported that water had overtopped Reed Gully Bridge and threatened the road, so he led people to reinforce the bridge and check on the schoolchildren.
• Li Long returned to the settlement, then took Tietou to clear branches blocking the Dry Canal and filled the breach that had sent floodwater into the lanes.
• The water receded, and Li Jianguo and Li Qingxia reported that Little Haizi and Reed Gully Bridge had held; Li Qiang brought home crucian carp stranded by the flood.
• Li Long ate fish soup with his family, took cleaned crucian carp back for Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, and Haohao, and returned to the Big Courtyard, where dried meat still hung around the yard.

After the flood, Li Long saw the damage to three poorly built reservoirs and watched people gather stranded fish, then considered how to keep his dried-meat business supplied without buying more livestock himself. He asked Chen Xingbang to become his meat supplier, but Chen declined to leave his secure Food Factory job, and Li Long continued down Old Street toward Ke Youmu's milk tea shop.

• Li Long heard that the flood had breached all three reservoirs in East Big Ditch, and he recalled that a later flood would destroy them again and wash away their fish.
• Li Qingxia returned with seven or eight kilograms of fish from the canals, and Li Long saw schoolchildren catching stranded fish in Reed Gully.
• After Huang Lei and Zhao Hui asked for more dried meat, Li Long decided to seek a regular meat supplier and went to Old Street to ask Chen Xingbang.
• Chen Xingbang gave Li Long meat for Mingming and Haohao, then declined the supply business because he valued his secure Food Factory position.
• Li Long left Chen Xingbang's stall carrying the meat and went into Ke Youmu's milk tea shop.

Li Long recruited Ke Youmu to supply beef and mutton for his growing dried-meat business, and Ke Youmu arranged to buy and process the first large batch. After returning home, Li Long told Sister Yang to prepare for the delivery and turned his attention to obtaining a food hygiene permit.

• Li Long asked Ke Youmu to supply meat from a hundred sheep and ten cattle every two weeks, and Ke Youmu agreed after learning Li Long's reputation and visiting his courtyard.
• Ke Youmu planned to finance the purchase through a livestock farmer, arranged slaughterers and buyers for the hides, bones, and offal, and agreed to begin slaughtering the next day.
• Li Long introduced Ke Youmu to Sister Yang and drove him to the bus station, where Ke Youmu left for Stone City to organize the deal.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard and told Sister Yang that the first meat delivery might arrive the next day or the day after.
• Sister Yang reconsidered opening a restaurant after comparing its uncertain income and long hours with her earnings from making dried meat.
• Li Long began thinking about obtaining a food hygiene permit.

Li Long secured Ke Youmu as a reliable supplier of beef and mutton, then arranged for local men to help raise and slaughter additional livestock as his dried-meat business grew. He postponed the livestock purchase after Li Xiangqian called him to discuss restarting mountain roadwork, and began considering buying a separate courtyard for production.

• Ke Youmu delivered Li Long's beef and mutton over three days, and Li Long paid him promptly at market prices; Ke Youmu expected to earn most of his profit from the hides, bones, and offal.
• Li Long visited Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong about supplying meat, but Tao declined to become involved and Xie preferred to protect their relationship by helping with slaughtering instead of becoming a business partner.
• Li Long agreed with Xie Yundong and Liang Dacheng to buy cattle and sheep at the Livestock Market and have local men help slaughter them when needed.
• Li Xiangqian asked Li Long to plan the next stage of mountain road construction, and Li Long advised waiting until the wet ground had dried before sending workers up.
• Li Xiangqian offered the Supply and Marketing Cooperative's warehouse for Li Long's dried-meat production, but Li Long said he preferred to buy a courtyard and agreed to look for one in North City.
• Li Long postponed the next day's livestock purchase until the day after so he could first handle the roadwork discussion and investigate production premises.