Chapter Summaries

Li Long visited the herders with horse meat and sausage from Ili, shared stories about Kazakhs in the Soviet Union, and traded for their gathered goods. After Jia Tianlong arrived in mid-November to fulfill his vow at the sacred stone and buy antelope horns, Li Long agreed to sell him five hundred pairs for about one hundred thousand yuan.

• Li Long brought horse meat and sausage to Jade Mountain River and the herders, described his trip to the Kazakh Union Republic, and learned they did not recognize a pattern shown to him there.
• Li Long loaded hides, deer antlers, jade, and snow lotuses from the herders, then returned to the county seat and sold Lao Wu an antelope horn for thirty yuan.
• Li Long unloaded the deer antlers and jade, stored the better jade in his cellar, and continued helping with the purchasing station before winter arrived.
• After heavy snow in mid-November, Jia Tianlong arrived with two bodyguards, offered incense to the sacred stone, and gave Li Long a mutton-fat jade Guanyin for his newborn son.
• Jia Tianlong asked to buy antelope horns, and Li Long agreed to sell him five hundred pairs for roughly one hundred thousand yuan.

Li Long sold Jia Tianlong a used Volga for fifty thousand yuan and arranged for him to collect the large stock of licorice and astragalus. As Jia Tianlong left to gather more money and trucks, Li Long planned to finish selling the antelope horns and prepare for next year’s cotton planting.

• Jia Tianlong admired Li Long’s Volga, then tested the older Volga at the Purchasing Station and agreed to buy it for fifty thousand yuan.
• Jia Tianlong trusted Li Long’s medicinal herbs without inspecting them closely and left to arrange more money and trucks to collect the stock.
• Gu Xiaoxia suggested giving Jia Tianlong’s older daughter a matryoshka doll, and Li Long agreed to pass one along when Jia Tianlong returned.
• Li Long sold more antelope horns to a colleague and decided to end sales the following day, while preparing the greenhouse and considering supplies for cotton planting.
• Mingming and Haohao told their family about protecting classmates and learning addition at kindergarten.
• The next day, Jia Tianlong drove the Volga to the Purchasing Station with the motor pool.

Li Long sold Jia Tianlong medicinal herbs and antelope horns, paid additional taxes, and returned to the Fourth Team with his family. After dinner, the family talked about Li Juan’s advanced schoolwork and prepared to go catch sparrows together.

• Li Long handed Jia Tianlong a matryoshka doll for his daughter, then sold him licorice, astragalus, other herbs, and five hundred pairs of antelope horns at the Purchasing Station.
• Li Long discounted Jia Tianlong’s bill, calculated a profit of more than one hundred thousand yuan, and voluntarily paid additional taxes on the earnings.
• Li Long cooked horse-meat naren for the household and later agreed with Gu Boyuan to give the Purchasing Station staff four days off each week during winter.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia returned to the Fourth Team, where they found that Xie Yundong and Tao Daqiang had cleared the snow and the stove had been kept burning.
• Li Juan told the family her physics teacher gave her harder extra assignments, and Li Long explained that she was studying beyond the syllabus.
• Li Long agreed to take Li Qiang, Li Juan, Mingming, Haohao, and Gu Xiaoxia to Old Ma’s Place to catch sparrows.

Li Long took the family to Old Ma's Place, where they caught nearly two hundred sparrows and returned home for a lively feast. Over dinner, Li Long and Li Jianguo discussed planting cotton in spring, while the family ended the evening contentedly together.

• Li Long drove Gu Xiaoxia and the children to Old Ma's Place, where Uncle Lao Luo and Yang Laoliu welcomed them and explained that sparrows gathered in the haystacks at night.
• Li Long showed the children how to catch sparrows, and the family caught nearly two hundred birds from the haystacks.
• Back at home, Li Jianguo, Li Long, and the others cleaned and cooked the sparrows, then shared the meal with the children and elders.
• Li Jianguo brought out liquor saved since 1982, and he, Li Long, and Li Qingxia drank and reminisced while enjoying the feast.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo planned to plant cotton by dibble sowing in spring and discussed bringing Junxian and Qianjin to help.
• After the meal, Gu Xiaoxia took Mingming and Haohao to bed, while Li Juan helped Liang Yuemei clean and talked about their close family ties.

Li Long took Li Junfeng and the family to Reed Gully to find crucian carp for Junfeng’s pregnant wife. They found fish packed beneath the canal ice and began gathering a haul that looked likely to reach a hundred kilos.

• Li Long told Li Junfeng that Little Haizi was a poor place to fish and offered to take him somewhere else.
• Li Long brought Li Junfeng, Li Jianguo, Li Qingxia, and the children to Reed Gully, where he found a shallow branch canal with fish beneath the ice.
• Li Long broke open the ice and discovered large crucian carp packed in the water, then called everyone over to collect them.
• Li Juan helped Mingming and Haohao into the canal while the family picked fish into sacks.
• Li Long worked along the canal and estimated that the group would collect close to a hundred kilos of fish.

Li Long returned from the Fourth Team with fish and helped arrange care for Gu Boyuan, while Gu Xiaoxia suggested matching him with Sister Yang. Liu Gaolou then arrived with a large shipment of frozen cattle and sheep offal, and Li Long began selling it wholesale at the Purchasing Station.

• Liang Yuemei provided padded coats for Mingming and Haohao, and the family cleaned and ate the fish they had caught.
• Li Junfeng and his wife discussed moving to the Fourth Team, while Du Chunfang praised Li Juan and reconsidered her views about girls and boys.
• Li Long took the alcohol-weary Gu Boyuan back to the Purchasing Station, where Liang Shuangcheng agreed to look after him and considered buying a nearby courtyard.
• Gu Xiaoxia suggested that Li Long ask Gu Boyuan and Sister Yang whether they might become companions.
• Liu Gaolou brought three truckloads of frozen cattle and sheep offal and paid Li Long fifteen thousand US dollars for the earlier trade and the shipment.
• Li Long set the offal's wholesale price at one yuan per kilogram and showed a sack to interested buyers at the Purchasing Station.

Li Long sold most of the twenty-odd tonnes of frozen offal within ten days and sold over two thousand hides to Zhao Hui for 270,000 yuan. In early December, Chen Hongjun paid Li Long a 23,000-yuan year-end dividend, and they celebrated with Zhong Guoqiang as Li Long reflected on a highly profitable year.

• Li Long and Gu Boyuan sold the frozen offal wholesale, and traders bought five sacks on the first day before most of the stock sold within ten days.
• Li Long discussed the Kazakh Union Republic's food shortages and livestock grazing with Gu Boyuan, Gu Xiaoxia, and Sister Yang over lunch.
• Zhao Hui collected Li Long's hides on November twentieth and paid 270,000 yuan; he admired the Volga but declined to buy it.
• Li Long gave Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng bonuses of one hundred yuan each and paid Gu Boyuan a dividend of ten thousand yuan.
• Chen Hongjun gave Li Long a 23,000-yuan year-end dividend and explained that only two of Beiting's seven purchasing stations had survived.
• Li Long took Chen Hongjun to the Big Meat Canteen, where Zhong Guoqiang welcomed them and offered to host their celebratory meal.

Li Long arranged to sell a nearly new Volga to Liu Jianhua, who was interested in the car and offered to pay part of its price in cement. The deal remained under discussion as Li Long asked him to lower the wholesale price for a large order.

• Li Long told Chen Hongjun that the imported lamb offal and cars came from the Soviet Union, and Chen asked to buy some offal for resale during winter.
• Li Long gave Chen Hongjun a package of antelope horns and sent him to the Bus Station.
• Li Xiangqian told Li Long that a buyer from the Prefecture Seat wanted a car, and Li Long offered a nearly new black Volga for one hundred thousand yuan.
• Li Long told Li Xiangqian that he had hunted in the Soviet Union and agreed to ask whether he could arrange a visit for Li Xiangqian and Director Qian.
• Liu Jianhua inspected and test-drove the Volga, said he wanted to buy it, and offered to supply cement at a discounted wholesale price.
• Li Long proposed that Liu Jianhua pay part of the car's price in cement, then asked him to lower the price further because he planned to buy a large quantity.

Li Long arranged to buy cement from Liu Jianhua and resell it across the border through Liu Gaolou, while expanding his supply deal and preparing a hunting trip for Li Xiangqian and Director Qian. Liu Gaolou took more cement and promised invitation letters, leaving Li Long to coordinate the officials’ visit as the shipments continued.

• Li Long and Liu Jianhua agreed on a five-year cement supply arrangement, with Li Xiangqian guaranteeing that the cooperative would buy any cement Li Long could not take.
• Liu Jianhua delivered the first hundred tons of cement, and Li Long hired temporary workers and local traders to unload and stack it; the remaining two hundred tons arrived the next day.
• Liu Gaolou arrived with offal and a Lada, exchanged the car’s cost against his sugar account, and chose to take cement across the border instead of sugar.
• Li Long asked Liu Gaolou about arranging invitation letters for Li Xiangqian and Director Qian to hunt across the border, and Liu Gaolou confirmed his uncle’s company could help.
• Liu Gaolou returned with ten vehicles, paid Li Long for the previous cement shipment, and arranged to take another eighty to a hundred tons while giving Li Long a Type 69 vehicle.
• Li Long unloaded and tested the Type 69 vehicle, then hired workers to load cement and called Li Xiangqian to report that the foreign trip could be arranged.

Li Long arranged an expense-paid study visit to the Kazakh Union Republic for Director Qian and Li Xiangqian, while he continued trading cement and sugar through Liu Shanmin. The group crossed into Almaty with an official welcome, and their inspection visit began.

• Director Qian agreed to join Li Long’s study trip without bringing family members, and Section Chief Hu later asked Li Long to seek a place for him too.
• Liu Gaolou delivered cattle and sheep offal, which Li Long sold, and Li Long completed the cement trade for fifty-five thousand US dollars.
• Li Long bought thirty tonnes of sugar from Section Chief Hu, paying five thousand US dollars and the rest in renminbi, then arranged to transport it across the border.
• Director Qian and Li Xiangqian received approval for the short overseas visit, and Li Long exchanged one thousand US dollars for each of them.
• Li Long drove Director Qian, Li Xiangqian, and Liu Gaolou to Khorgos, where they crossed the border with the sugar trucks and met Liu Shanmin’s delegation.
• Liu Shanmin introduced the visitors to an Almaty deputy division chief, and the group began its official inspection visit.

Li Long and his companions completed a formal tour of Almaty’s commerce department, stores, and factories before switching to a hunting trip. The chapter leaves them firing on a large herd of antelope near Nalinguole.

• Li Long drank the Kazakh officials under the table at a welcome banquet, and Liu Shanmin said the feat could help his plans.
• Director Qian and Li Xiangqian attended a commerce-department discussion, toured a department store and local factories, and posed for photos.
• Liu Shanmin told the group the inspection agenda was complete and took them to hunt in the countryside.
• Li Long and the others stayed near the river where he had previously fished, then set out for Nalinguole the next morning.
• Liu Shanmin spotted a herd of antelope, and the group approached before opening fire as the animals began to run.

Li Long joined Liu Shanmin, Director Qian, and the others on a hunt that yielded seventeen antelope, then traveled with them to Nalinguole for a mountain hunt. Liu Shanmin stayed behind to recover from drinking, while Li Long and the others headed into the mountains, where Li Long considered the border region’s dangers and political history.

• Li Xiangqian, Director Qian, and the others shot seventeen antelope, and Li Long helped finish and skin them with Mulat and local herders.
• The group returned to their lodgings, then drove to Nalinguole, where Li Long discussed the border region, his past bear hunt, and the animals he raised.
• Liu Shanmin explained that antelope had moved toward the restricted border zone and that hunters needed help from the border guards to pursue them.
• After drinking with the border guards, Liu Shanmin stayed behind to rest, while Li Long, Director Qian, and Li Xiangqian set out with Baishanbai for a mountain hunt.
• As they drove toward Heavenly Mountain, Li Long warned the others to expect a long hike through the snow and reflected on the borderlands and their future dangers.

Li Long, Director Qian, and Li Xiangqian hunted wolves in the mountains, then witnessed the large-scale slaughter and processing of antelope. After shopping in Almaty, they left for the border with their purchases and Liu Shanmin’s supplies, concluding the inspection trip as future cooperation continued.

• Baishanbai led Li Long, Director Qian, and the others into the mountains, where they found a pack of wolves feeding on Siberian ibex.
• The wolves charged the group, and Li Long, Director Qian, and the others shot all eight; they collected pelts, carcasses, and two ibex heads.
• After returning from the hunt, the group visited a site processing hundreds of antelope, and Liu Shanmin explained that he had arranged to buy the horns and hides.
• The group returned to Almaty, where Director Qian, Li Xiangqian, and the others shopped for local goods before preparing to leave.
• After a farewell ceremony, Li Long and the others departed Almaty in a convoy carrying their purchases and Liu Shanmin’s collected antelope horns toward the border.

Liu Shanmin used Li Long’s official visitors to strengthen his trading connections in the Kazakh Union Republic, while Director Qian refused the luxury Volga offered to him. After returning home, Li Long reunited with Gu Xiaoxia and learned that Bai Xiuming and Wei Mancang were waiting to discuss a car.

• Liu Shanmin explained to Li Long how Director Qian and Li Xiangqian’s visit supported his trading plans, then arranged invitations for Sugar Factory leaders.
• Director Qian refused Liu Shanmin’s Volga, so Liu Shanmin sent Liu Gaolou to drive it back to Ma County.
• Li Long’s convoy returned to Ma County, where Li Xiangqian treated the drivers and guests to a meal before Li Long went home to Gu Xiaoxia and their sons.
• Li Long learned that Bai Xiuming had brought Wei Mancang to discuss buying a car.
• Li Long went to retrieve the shipment, including two thousand pairs of antelope horns, before word of the goods spread.

Li Long settled accounts with Liu Gaolou and arranged for Wei Mancang to buy a Volga with his shoes and additional money. The next morning, Li Long offered Section Chief Hu an invitation to visit the Kazakh Union Republic to secure fifty tons of sugar, and Hu began to consider the deal.

• Li Long paid Liu Gaolou for antelope horns, hides, and offal, then agreed on sugar and shoe arrangements.
• Li Long offered Wei Mancang the Volga for his shoes plus another hundred thousand yuan, and Wei agreed to buy it after arranging to wire the money.
• Liu Gaolou postponed settling the car account until he could report the shoe deal to his uncle, then rested with his group before heading to the sugar factory the next morning.
• Li Long returned home, tended the greenhouse with Mingming and Haohao, and told Gu Xiaoxia he did not plan to travel abroad again soon.
• Li Long took Liu Gaolou to the Stone City Sugar Factory and offered Section Chief Hu a five-day visit to the Kazakh Union Republic in exchange for considering a fifty-ton sugar order.

Li Long secured fifty tonnes of white sugar in exchange for payment and invitations for eight Sugar Factory employees to visit Almaty, while Sister Yang developed a way to turn dried-beef trimmings into snack-sized beef nuggets. He sold a truck, received another shipment from Liu Gaolou, and arranged the Sugar Factory group’s trip without joining them because he planned to go to Yanjing.

• Section Chief Hu obtained approval to sell Li Long fifty tonnes of white sugar and secure invitations for eight people, and Li Long paid for the sugar.
• Sister Yang turned dried-beef trimmings into snack-sized beef nuggets, and Li Long awarded her five hundred yuan and asked her to send samples to Huang Lei and Zhao Hui.
• Wei Mancang bought a vehicle from Li Long for one hundred thousand yuan, while Bai Xiuming said he would bring another truckload of shoes to discuss a Lada.
• Li Long considered saving his growing supply of US dollars for future purchases, then worked on his household greenhouse as the schools closed for winter break.
• Liu Gaolou brought an invitation letter for eight Sugar Factory employees and settled the latest trade, including fifty thousand US dollars for white sugar and payment for hides, offal, and antelope horns.
• Li Long declined to accompany the Sugar Factory group to Almaty because he planned to visit Yanjing, and Section Chief Hu told him he could buy more sugar while the group was away.

Li Long planned a trip to Yanjing and invited Harimu’s family and Jade Mountain River’s children to join him. After selling a large batch of hides to Zhao Hui, he prepared the travelers for the journey and left Gu Xiaoxia at home, where she struggled with his impending absence.

• Section Chief Hu let Li Long leave after questioning him about the Kazakh Union Republic trip, and Li Long returned to Ma County to arrange the sale of imported hides.
• Li Long visited Harimu and Jade Mountain River in the mountains and arranged for Harimu, Nasen, Sasiken, and Jade Mountain River’s two children to travel with him to Yanjing; Old Lady declined to go.
• Li Long bought six hard-sleeper tickets for the group, then sold Zhao Hui nearly four thousand hides along with beef jerky and beef nuggets.
• Li Long bought new clothes for the mountain travelers and explained that they would visit Tiananmen and other sights before returning through Wu City.
• Gu Xiaoxia packed Li Long’s things and became tearful about his long trip, and Li Long comforted her before the journey.

Li Long took Harimu and the children from Ma County to Yanjing by bus and train, introducing them to the bustle of Wu City and their first long-distance journey. They arrived safely at Li Long’s siheyuan, where Gu Xiaoyu welcomed them into the warm courtyard as their visit began.

• Li Long trimmed the supplies Harimu’s group had packed, then took them by bus to Wu City and led them to lunch and the railway station.
• The children explored the crowded station before boarding the train, where Ye'erjiang exchanged berths with an elderly teacher and spoke with her.
• The group ate the food they had brought, listened to the train’s radio broadcasts, and slept through the journey as the elderly teacher offered to treat them to a meal in Yanjing.
• Li Long and the children arrived in Yanjing, gave the elderly teacher the address of his siheyuan, and took a minivan taxi to the courtyard.
• Gu Xiaoyu welcomed them into the heated siheyuan, and Li Long explained to Harimu that she was his wife’s twin sister.

Li Long brought Gu Xiaoyu and the children to a halal lamb hotpot restaurant, where the children enjoyed their meal and talked about watching the flag-raising in Yanjing. When Li Long found Ye'erjiang, Nasen, and Sasiken being insulted by a diner, he confronted the man, and Gu Xiaoyu and a server joined in defending them.

• Li Long told Gu Xiaoyu about her family and asked why she had stopped trading jade, but she denied having any trouble.
• Gu Xiaoyu took Li Long, Harimu, and the children to a halal lamb hotpot restaurant, where the children planned to watch the flag-raising the next morning.
• Nasen offered the restaurant server beef bites from Li Long's family, and the server praised their flavor.
• Li Long found Ye'erjiang shielding Nasen and Sasiken from a diner who had mocked the children and called them stupid brats.
• Li Long argued with the diner after he claimed Yanjing belonged to locals and boasted that his family had once called the shots there.
• Gu Xiaoyu and the server condemned the diner's arrogance and defended visitors from across the country.

Li Long brought Harimu and the children around Yanjing, reassuring them after a rude man at lunch and taking them to the Tiananmen flag-raising and National Museum. When they returned to the courtyard, Gu Xiaoyu’s stepbrother Huang Yufei was waiting and offered to help, leaving Li Long suspicious that he had an ulterior motive.

• Li Long and his companions drove off the man who had insulted Ye'erjiang and left without paying, while Gu Xiaoyu explained the incident and reassured the children afterward.
• Li Long called Gu Boyuan and his family, visited the Ethnic Affairs Commission's Beijing Office, and arranged to meet an official the following afternoon.
• Li Long took Harimu and the children to watch the Tiananmen flag-raising, where they sang the national anthem and met an elderly railway veteran who had worked in Northern Xinjiang.
• Li Long brought the group to the National Museum and then returned with them to the courtyard, where Huang Yufei introduced himself as Gu Xiaoyu's older brother and offered to treat them to zhajiangmian.
• Li Long declined Huang Yufei's invitation and offer to help cook, suspecting that he might be scheming something.