Chapter Summaries

Li Long sold his roe deer meat at the Black Market, but nobody wanted his two snowcocks. He then brought antlers and a roe deer hide to the purchasing station, where Chen Hongjun offered him a higher price for the antlers.

• Li Long attracted Black Market customers by advertising his roe deer meat, and he sold all of it while the snowcocks went unsold.
• Li Long learned that Zhong Guoqiang would buy future wild game for the Big Meat Canteen, but only whole snowcocks.
• Li Long rode to the purchasing station with the antlers and roe deer hide after hearing that purchase prices had risen.
• Chen Hongjun offered Li Long six yuan per kilogram for his antlers and weighed them at eleven point one kilograms.

After selling a damaged roe deer hide, Li Long hurried to buy supplies, shoes, and fishing nets before prices rose. He returned to the Production Team with a new bicycle, drawing attention and envy as he brought Li Qiang home and showed the bicycle to the villagers.

• Li Long sold the torn roe deer hide to Chen Hongjun for fifteen yuan and took his advice to stock up before prices rose.
• Li Long bought tea, salt, sugar, twenty pairs of Liberation Shoes for Harimu's and Jade Mountain River's families, and several gill nets and a cast net.
• Li Long cleaned two snowcocks and rode his bicycle to the Production Team, where he gave Li Qiang a ride home.
• Villagers learned that Li Long had bought a bicycle, and some praised his success while others accused him of profiteering.
• Li Long told Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei how he had paid for the bicycle and asked Liang Yuemei to cook the snowcocks for the family.
• Xu Haijun and other villagers came to see Li Long's bicycle, and Li Long let those who could ride try it.

Li Long let the team’s young people try his new bicycle and described his hunting trips, then told them he would skip communal labor and pay his share. He suggested other ways the women could earn money, while Wu Shufen regretted breaking up with him but knew her relationship with Gu Ermao made reconciliation impossible.

• Li Long let Xu Haijun and the other young people ride his bicycle, then told them he had been hunting wild boar and roe deer in the mountains.
• Li Long said he would not join the team’s communal labor that year and would pay his share instead.
• Tian Siping said he planned to join the Sideline Team to dig fritillaria, while Qin Hongyan and Gu Ermao argued over whether women could work in the mountains.
• Li Long suggested that Qin Hongyan and other women weave willow baskets or gather wild mushrooms to sell for income.
• Wu Shufen listened to her mother criticize her for breaking up with Li Long and wondered if she might accept him again, but she knew her involvement with Gu Ermao made that impossible.

Li Long prepared to bring more supplies to the mountain herders while Gu Xiaoxia regained confidence that news about a teaching opportunity would arrive soon. At Winter Camp, Harimu and his family welcomed Li Long’s latest gifts, and Harimu considered sharing or trading the surplus with other herders.

• Li Long told his family he planned to take more things into the mountains, then wondered whether radios could provide entertainment in his second life.
• Gu Xiaoxia worried that Li Long’s news might not be true, but he reassured her that definite news should come within two weeks and urged her to study for a teaching exam.
• Gu Xiaoxia returned home encouraged, and Gu Boyuan told her to keep studying.
• Li Long rode to the big courtyard, loaded his boots and rifle onto his bicycle, and headed for Winter Camp.
• Harimu welcomed Li Long’s supplies and suggested there was too much to store; Li Long proposed sharing or trading the goods with other herders.
• Harimu showed his family the rubber shoes Li Long had brought, and everyone eagerly tried them on.

Li Long explored the area around Harimu’s Winter Camp, learning about local resources and hunting grounds before joining Harimu to hunt wild boars. Their ambush began well, but a nearby wolf startled the herd, leaving Li Long to shoot one boar while Harimu fired toward the wolf.

• Harimu showed Li Long places near the Winter Camp, including a jade stream, a coal deposit, and areas where wild animals appeared.
• Li Long planned to take well-rotted manure from the Winter Camp for his fields, and Harimu told him he could take as much as he wanted after the move to Summer Pasture.
• Li Long and Harimu found fresh wild-boar rooting marks, and Harimu studied the valley’s terrain and wind before their hunt the next morning.
• Li Long and Harimu waited in ambush until a nearby wolf howled, scattering the wild boars.
• Li Long shot a half-grown boar as it fled, and Harimu fired toward the wolf’s howl.

Li Long brought a wild boar back from the mountains, sold some of its meat and offal to Zhong Guoqiang, then quickly sold the rest at the morning market. He learned that market meat prices had risen, and his low price had cost him potential profit.

• Li Long and Harimu found blood and tracks from a wolf Harimu had wounded, then wrapped a wild boar and buried it at the mountain pass.
• Li Long discovered that something had torn open the plastic sheeting around the buried boar, but he loaded the untouched carcass onto his bicycle and took it home.
• Li Long paid the courtyard’s overdue water and electricity bills, cleaned the offal, skinned the boar, and cut up its meat.
• Zhong Guoqiang bought fifteen kilograms of meat and all of the offal from Li Long for the Big Meat Canteen.
• Li Long sold more than thirty kilograms of meat at the morning market in under half an hour, then learned the other sellers charged more than his price of one yuan fifty per kilogram.

Li Long explored Jade Mountain River’s territory and tried to hunt a stag, but a wolf’s howl scared it away. Meanwhile, Li Xiangqian sought a whole antelope horn and learned from Chen Hongjun that he knew where one could be found.

• Li Long followed Jade Mountain River through the mountains, noted a jade stream and hot spring, and spotted a stag in a ravine.
• A wolf howled and drove the stag away, so Jade Mountain River promised to help Li Long bait and kill the wolf that night.
• Jade Mountain River showed Li Long old wild-boar tracks and a ravine where people gathered medicinal herbs before leading him back toward the Winter Camp.
• Li Xiangqian asked Xiao Huang about obtaining a whole antelope horn, then called Chen Hongjun for help.
• Chen Hongjun said he did not have an antelope horn but knew where one could be found.

Li Long and Jade Mountain River waited in the snow to ambush a cunning wolf that was stalking a sheep. Li Long wounded the wolf, then pursued and shot it down near the mountain woods.

• Jade Mountain River placed a sheep in an open pen and hid with Li Long to lure the wolf.
• Li Long spotted the wolf prowling along the woods before it crept into the pen and attacked the sheep.
• Li Long fired and wounded the wolf, but it escaped the pen as Jade Mountain River also shot at it.
• Li Long chased the bleeding wolf and, after missing once, fired twice more until it fell into the snow.

After hunting with Jade Mountain River, Li Long returned to the production team and learned that Section Chief Li wanted his help hunting Mongolian gazelles. He also discussed plans to fish with Li Jianguo as the ice began to thaw.

• Li Long killed a wolf with Jade Mountain River, who praised his follow-up shots and advised him to conserve bullets.
• Jade Mountain River showed Li Long gullies where mushrooms and medicinal herbs grew, and Li Long later returned to Harimu's with the wolf, hares, and antlers.
• Li Long sold two antlers at the Purchasing Station for forty-one yuan eighty, then bought shoes and socks for Li Juan and Li Qiang.
• Li Jianguo told Li Long that Section Chief Li from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative had asked him to help hunt Mongolian gazelles.
• Li Long suggested selling the family's stored fish and using a gill net to catch more once the snow melted.

Li Long received a request from Supply and Marketing Cooperative Section Chief Li Xiangqian to guide a Mongolian gazelle hunt, but he insisted on being paid with a firearm. The chapter ended with Li Xiangqian pleading with Li Long not to hang up after he rejected an air gun and demanded at least a small-bore rifle.

• Xu Chengjun called Li Long to the team office to take a phone call from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
• Li Long learned from Xu Chengjun that the school recruitment notice had arrived, which appeared to settle matters for Gu Xiaoxia.
• Li Xiangqian asked Li Long to guide a group hunting Mongolian gazelles, and Li Long agreed.
• Li Long asked what payment he would receive and proposed a double-barrel shotgun if they caught gazelles.
• Li Xiangqian offered an air gun instead, but Li Long rejected it and demanded at least a small-bore rifle before trying to end the call.
• Li Xiangqian urgently called out for Li Long not to hang up.

Li Long agreed to guide Li Xiangqian’s group to hunt Mongolian gazelles in exchange for a Small-Caliber Rifle. After encouraging Gu Xiaoxia ahead of her teacher exam, he joined the hunting party in a jeep, leaving the trip just beginning.

• Li Long agreed to guide Li Xiangqian’s party to Mongolian gazelle grounds, and Li Xiangqian promised him a Small-Caliber Rifle if they got one.
• Li Long told Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei about the hunt and the promised rifle.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that the teacher exam would take place in a week, said she felt eighty percent confident, and gave him knitted Wool Gloves to thank him for his early warning.
• Li Xiangqian told Li Long to meet him at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative at eight the next morning, but Li Long waited warmly inside the gatehouse until he arrived.
• Li Long climbed into the arriving jeep and took the front passenger seat to give directions, surprising the passengers with how comfortable he seemed in a car.

Li Long guided Director Qian, Li Xiangqian, and Xiao Jiang through the snow to hunt a Mongolian gazelle. Director Qian killed a female gazelle with one shot, then asked Li Long what he thought as they realized they needed horns.

• Li Long explained his driving and shooting experience, then led the group from their vehicle toward Red Mountain Mouth.
• Li Long guided the group through the snow while Director Qian advised Li Xiangqian to exercise more.
• Li Long and Xiao Jiang spotted a gazelle, and Director Qian borrowed Li Long's Type 56 Semi-Automatic Rifle to shoot it.
• The group found that Director Qian had killed a female gazelle without horns, and Li Xiangqian explained that Director Qian needed antelope horn.
• Li Long kept quiet about the pair of gazelle horns he already had, and Director Qian turned to ask him what he thought.

Li Long led Director Qian, Li Xiangqian, and Xiao Jiang to another Mongolian gazelle habitat, where they shot three males with valuable horns. Director Qian took the gazelles and promised one to Li Xiangqian, while Li Xiangqian accepted that Li Long would receive the Small-Bore and hoped their new connections would bring future opportunities.

• Li Long led the group from Red Mountain Mouth Pass toward another place where Mongolian gazelles might appear, while Xiao Jiang caught up after dealing with the first gazelle.
• Li Long warned the others to approach the ridge quietly and be ready to shoot, then spotted a herd of Mongolian gazelles and shot the largest male.
• Xiao Jiang shot two gazelles, while Director Qian missed; the remaining herd fled into the tamarisks.
• Li Long declined Director Qian's offer of a gazelle, and Director Qian arranged for Li Xiangqian to take one home while keeping the head.
• Li Long suggested using tamarisk branches as a makeshift sled, and Director Qian urged Li Xiangqian to thank Li Long and seek his help with future mountain products.

Li Long received a small-caliber rifle from Li Xiangqian after helping him, then returned to his production team with it. He showed the rifle to Li Qiang at home.

• Director Qian thanked Li Long for his help and left after Li Xiangqian invited him inside.
• Li Xiangqian gave Li Long a Jianwei semiautomatic small-caliber rifle and two boxes of ammunition.
• Li Xiangqian and Li Long ate lunch together at the Big Meat Canteen, where Zhong Guoqiang recognized Li Long.
• Gu Ermao saw Li Long leaving lunch with Li Xiangqian and learned that his companion was a Supply and Marketing Cooperative section chief.
• Li Long returned to the production team, discussed possible changes to farming policies with Xie Dafa, and showed Li Qiang the rifle.

Li Long received ammunition and two hunting knives from Li Jianguo, then learned that Tao Jianshe was ill and had refused to go to the county hospital. He visited the Tao family and found Tao Jianshe coughing in bed while Tao Daqiang washed clothes.

• Li Long showed Li Jianguo and the children the small-caliber rifle he had obtained after hunting gazelles.
• Li Jianguo gave Li Long a bag of ammunition and two sharp knives forged from artillery-shell steel.
• Li Jianguo told Li Long that Tao Jianshe had a lung illness but refused Tao Daqiang's offer to take him to the county hospital.
• Li Long gathered food to bring to the Tao family and went to visit Tao Jianshe.
• Li Long found Tao Jianshe in bed coughing and Tao Daqiang washing clothes beside the stove.

Li Long helped Tao Daqiang arrange prompt treatment for Tao Jianshe, hoping to change the course of his illness. He then took Li Qiang to check his rabbit snares at Red Willow Flats, where they spotted a fox.

• Li Long gave Tao Daqiang ten yuan for Tao Jianshe’s treatment and said they could fish together again once Tao Jianshe recovered.
• Tao Daqiang took Lao Tian home to give Tao Jianshe an injection.
• Li Long cleaned his Small-Caliber Rifle and set out for Red Willow Flats with Li Qiang.
• Li Long found that several rabbit snares had been emptied or taken, likely by someone who had caught rabbits.
• Li Qiang spotted movement beside a red willow clump, and Li Long recognized the animal as a fox.

Li Long shot a fox while hunting with Li Qiang, then found two rabbits in his snares and brought the catch home. He skinned the fox with Li Jianguo as the family gathered to inspect it and looked forward to eating rabbit.

• Li Long chased a fox through the tamarisk and shot it after Li Qiang spotted it.
• Li Long killed the wounded fox, then set rabbit snares and found two frozen rabbits on his way back.
• Xie Dafa admired the fox pelt and considered setting snares himself.
• Li Long brought the catch home and began skinning the fox while Li Jianguo, Li Qiang, Li Juan, and Liang Yuemei gathered around.
• Li Long planned to take the pelt to the Purchasing Station and wondered whether his snares would catch anything the next day.

Li Long gathered two rabbits, then planned to catch fish and sell them in the county seat the next morning. Gu Xiaoxia prepared for the teacher recruitment exam and accepted his offer of a ride, while Wu Shufen studied for her own exam in the township.

• Li Long found only two rabbits in his snares and heard Xu Chengjun announce that the teacher recruitment exam would begin at the County Education Bureau at ten the next morning.
• Li Long told Tao Daqiang they would catch fish and sell them in town, and Tao Jianshe encouraged them to go while he continued recovering.
• Li Long offered Gu Xiaoxia a ride to the county seat; after discussing the long walk and the exam, Gu Boyuan helped her decide to accept.
• Wu Shufen tried to study for her township exam but wanted to become a teacher so she could avoid spring labor on the team.

Li Long and his family returned to Little Haizi to scoop fish, but their first haul was small after someone left their old ice hole uncovered. On his way home with lunch for his father, Tao Daqiang beat Gu Ermao after Gu Ermao knocked food into the snow and tried to take it.

• Li Long told Xu Chengjun about renting a horse cart, then set out for Little Haizi with Li Jianguo, Li Juan, and Li Qiang.
• Tao Daqiang joined the group, and Li Long and Tao Daqiang cut new holes in the thinner ice and scooped less than ten kilograms of fish.
• Liang Yuemei gave Tao Daqiang a basin of lunch to take home for his father, and Li Jianguo encouraged him to return after eating.
• Gu Ermao tried to grab food from Tao Daqiang's basin and knocked buns into the snow.
• Tao Daqiang kicked Gu Ermao several times, then picked up the buns and continued home with the covered basin.

Tao Daqiang admitted to Li Long that he had beaten Gu Ermao after Gu Ermao tried to take his food, and Li Long supported him. As Gu Xiaoxia prepared for her exam, she refused Wu Shufen’s demand that she avoid riding with Li Long, while Wu Shufen’s attempt to get Gu Ermao to take her to the township also failed.

• Li Long asked Tao Daqiang about beating Gu Ermao, and Tao Daqiang explained that Gu Ermao had grabbed his steamed buns and tried to take his dishes; Li Long said Gu Ermao deserved it.
• Wu Shufen visited Gu Xiaoxia and complained about the exam, then asked to travel with her to the County Seat.
• Gu Xiaoxia said she would ride with Li Long and Tao Daqiang, and told Wu Shufen that their breakup with Li Long did not prevent her from accepting the ride.
• Wu Shufen accused Gu Xiaoxia of no longer treating her as a friend, but Gu Xiaoxia insisted they should want each other to do well and refused to sacrifice her exam preparation.
• Wu Shufen went to Gu Ermao’s house and asked him to take her to the township for her exam, but he refused because he was injured and embarrassed after Tao Daqiang beat him.