Chapter Summaries

Li Long watched the floodwaters at Little Haizi, then learned that three reservoirs at East Big Ditch had breached. He took his family and the workers to catch fish in the flood and left them joining the villagers’ lively fishing effort.

• Li Long saw that water was pouring through both floodgates at Little Haizi, and Yang Laoliu explained that he had persuaded Jun Wazi to raise the team’s floodgate the night before.
• Li Jianguo and Li Junfeng set off for Machang Lake with their Kangmaiyins, while Li Juan stayed home to study and the other villagers worked at the threshing ground.
• Li Qiang told Li Long that the three reservoirs at East Big Ditch had breached and that villagers were heading there to catch fish.
• Li Long took his family and workers to East Big Ditch, where they saw floodwater pouring through the reservoir breaches and silver carp and crucian carp in the water.
• Li Long and Li Junhai set nets across the ditch, and villagers joined them as a large common carp was pulled ashore.
• Li Juan and Li Qiang watched Mingming and Haohao by the trap net while children and villagers celebrated each new catch and tried different ways to catch fish.

After flooding washed fish into East Big Ditch, Li Long and the others caught a large haul, sold much of it to a fishmonger, and shared the earnings. On the way home, Li Long noticed that the flood had reached the branch canals, where more fish were gathering.

• Chen Qianjin returned to the Li family’s place and learned that Li Long and the others had gone fishing at East Big Ditch after floods washed out three reservoirs.
• Chen Qianjin and Li Junxian drove to East Big Ditch, where Li Long’s dragnet and the children’s blocking net had caught many fish.
• Li Long caught a grass carp over a meter long, while Li Qiang and the children gathered a sack of smaller fish and gave departing children fish to take home.
• A fishmonger from Stone City offered to buy the catch, and Li Long agreed to sell most of the fish and divided the proceeds among the workers and children.
• Li Long and the others headed home for lunch, and Li Long noticed that the floodwater had spread into branch canals full of fish.

Li Long and his family caught a large haul of fish in East Big Ditch and sold most of it to a fish dealer. Li Qiang caught a large common carp and, remembering his maternal grandfather, asked Li Jianguo to take him to visit him with fresh fish.

• Li Long and the others returned to East Big Ditch, where people caught fish in the feeder ditches and waited by the dam for fish to leap upstream.
• Li Qiang caught several large silver carp with Li Juan and Mingwa, then gave his big silver carp to Mingwa to take home.
• Li Long sold the family’s fish to the crew-cut dealer, while Li Qiang chose a common carp for his maternal grandfather and exchanged two silver carp for it.
• Li Qiang joined the people waiting by the dam, caught a large common carp, and tore the rim of his scoop net as the fish struggled.
• Li Qiang asked Li Jianguo to drive him to his maternal grandfather’s house with fresh fish, while Li Long and the others prepared their catch for dinner.

After the flood, Li Long managed fishing, trade, machinery work, and a construction project while preparing for the next season. The chapter ended with Harimu and the others bringing Nasen and Sasiken to their new courtyard near Second Primary School, where the children were delighted to live and attend school.

• Li Long arranged for Zhao Hui to take a large shipment of hides and bring him three-layer gill nets, then traded more goods with Liu Gaolou.
• Li Jianguo reported that the Kangmaiyins had harvested nearly three thousand mu of wheat, and Li Long split the earnings with his family.
• Li Long visited Meng Hai's construction site, confirmed the enclosures met standards, and asked him to improve the workers' meals.
• Li Xiangqian told Li Long that the broom-making work would begin in early September and agreed to ask around about construction projects for Meng Hai's crew.
• Harimu and the others came down from the mountains with Nasen, Sasiken, Ye'erjiang, and Jiana, and Nasen and Sasiken were pleased with their new courtyard beside Second Primary School.

Harimu and Jade Mountain River settled their families into the county seat while Li Long arranged schooling, supplies, bicycles, and televisions for their children and relatives. After they left to cut hay, Li Long turned to construction and village work, leaving the chapter with the cotton crop still at risk from pests and weather.

• Harimu and Jade Mountain River brought hides, jade, and other goods to Li Long, who sold them toward the cost of their houses and gave each family additional money.
• Li Long showed the children where to buy food, then bought provisions and bicycles for both families and left each household a thousand yuan.
• Gu Xiaoxia suggested televisions for the families, and Li Long bought one for each household before the children started school.
• Meng Hai gave Li Long his share of the construction company's profit and prepared to take the crew into the mountains to repair the road.
• Li Long arranged for Wang Mingjun and Zhao Zongming to prepare for broom-making and kept watch over the cotton fields after hearing hail had destroyed another company's crop.

As cotton harvest approached, Li Long visited the herders and road crew in the mountains, arranged tutoring for Jiana and Ye'erjiang, and went hunting. He spotted a bear-like animal by a river, leaving its identity unresolved.

• Gu Xiaoxia and Li Long noticed that Mingming and Haohao had grown exceptionally tall after spending the summer at Fourth Team.
• Li Long checked the Purchasing Station's seasonal purchases, including several pieces of Ma River jade, and later drove his vehicles to be serviced.
• Li Long brought a sheep and watermelons to Harimu and the other herders, shared news about Nasen and Sasiken's schooling, and offered to find a tutor for Jiana and Ye'erjiang.
• Gu Xiaoxia found a retired teacher to tutor Jiana and Ye'erjiang, and both children agreed to the extra lessons.
• Li Long visited Meng Hai's road crew, suggested providing matching work clothes, then hunted in the mountains and spotted a black, bear-like animal eating a fish beside a river.

Li Long hunted a wolf after witnessing a mother bear and her cub confront a pack, then secured new construction work and managed the big-broom quota. By late September, the quota was complete and the cotton harvest was beginning.

• Li Long shot the largest of four wolves threatening a bear cub, then carried the wolf back to Meng Hai’s construction crew and shared some of its meat.
• Yang Bo told Li Long that Meng Hai’s crew had been awarded a larger irrigation-canal project, and Li Long delivered codonopsis and sold two cars to the Water Conservancy Bureau.
• Li Long informed Meng Hai about the October canal project, and Meng Hai urged the workers to extend their road as far into the Mountains as possible before then.
• Li Long collected big brooms from Wang Mingjun, Zhao Zongming, Xu Haijun, and other suppliers while monitoring their quality and arranging delivery to the Prefectural Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
• Li Long observed that some farmers had mishandled their cotton crops and started picking early, but focused on completing his broom assignment, which finished ahead of schedule in late September.

Li Long supervised day laborers picking the Li family’s cotton, monitored the quality of their work, and discussed the season’s yields and prices with Xie Yundong. After the first day went smoothly, he hired reliable pickers again and ended the chapter with several workers proposing to buy cotton for mattress filling.

• Li Long oversaw ten day laborers picking cotton, deducted two kilograms from one picker’s pay for cotton contaminated with leaves, and drove the workers back to the County Seat.
• Li Long returned to the Big Courtyard, told Gu Xiaoxia about the day’s work, and discussed the family’s cotton fields and newly reclaimed saline-alkali land.
• Li Long picked up ten workers at the Day Labor Market the next morning, choosing familiar pickers who had done clean work the day before.
• Xie Yundong visited the field, and Li Long discussed expected cotton yields, day laborers’ work, cotton prices, and whether cotton might be more profitable than seed watermelons.
• That evening, several cotton pickers asked to buy cotton to make Cotton Mattress Fillings.

Li Long sold the Li family's first large batch of cotton at a high grade and then searched for a supplier of padded leather coats to meet demand in Kazakhstan. He reached the Hongguang Leather Factory with Liang Shuangcheng and a truck, where the staff came out to meet their potential buyer.

• Du Chunfang and the old ladies cleaned and dried the Li family's cotton, which Li Long and Li Jianguo later loaded onto a truck and tractor for sale.
• The Cotton and Hemp Company graded the Li family's 5.1 tonnes of cotton as grade one, bringing them more than eleven thousand yuan.
• Li Long told Li Qingxia about the cotton sale and discussed improving the saline-alkali land for next year's crop.
• Liu Gaolou asked Li Long to bring cotton-padded shoes and leather coats to Kazakhstan, so Li Long arranged shoes with Bai Xiuming and sought leather coats from local factories.
• Li Long learned about the Hongguang Leather Factory's stock and traveled there with Liang Shuangcheng, where the gatekeeper called out to Director Hong about their arrival.

Li Long bought a large stock of leather clothing from the Hongguang Leather Factory to test whether sheepskin overcoats would sell in Kazakhstan, then received Bai Xiuming’s shipment of winter shoes and discussed buying two cars. The chapter ended with Bai Xiuming preparing to inspect the cars while finding Li Long had only a small supply of watermelon seeds.

• Li Long negotiated with Zhang Xiangdong and bought 260 leather waistcoats, 100 leather jackets, and 500 sheepskin overcoats for 45,200 yuan.
• Li Long inspected samples of the overcoats, paid for the goods, and left the factory with two trucks of clothing.
• Li Long returned to Ma County with Liang Shuangcheng and unloaded the shipment with help from local sellers.
• Bai Xiuming arrived four days later with 3,000 pairs of rubber cotton shoes and 1,000 pairs of cotton-lined leather shoes, which Li Long inspected and bought.
• Bai Xiuming asked to buy a Volga and a Lada, and Li Long quoted prices of 70,000 and 50,000 yuan.
• Bai Xiuming asked about Li Long's watermelon seed stock and learned he had only about ten tonnes.

Li Long expanded his used-car and cross-border trade businesses, secured permission to sell cars, and oversaw the first cotton harvest. The chapter ended with Liu Gaolou calling to say the leather-coat deal had finally been settled.

• Bai Xiuming bought two cars from Li Long and transported them to Wu City, while Li Long decided not to lower the watermelon-seed purchase price again.
• Liu Gaolou arrived with ten cars and a convoy of goods, and Li Long arranged to send sugar across the border along with shoes and leather coats.
• Li Long obtained official paperwork to buy and sell cars after the county offices created a special channel for his business.
• Li Jianguo reported that the family's first cotton picking yielded nearly fifteen tons, while Jiang Zhiyu filmed the harvest for a television report.
• Li Long visited Nasen, Sasiken, Jiana, and Ye'erjiang at school and learned that their studies and social lives were improving.
• During the October 1 holiday, Liu Gaolou called Li Long to say the leather-coat matter had been settled.

Li Long expanded his leather-goods trade with a large order from Hongguang Leather Factory while the Li family harvested a strong cotton crop. After seeing their success on reclaimed saline-alkali land, Xie Yundong and the others planned to lease more land and grow cotton themselves.

• Liu Gaolou confirmed that leather goods were in demand, so Li Long ordered the factory’s stock and contracted Factory Director Zhang to produce at least five hundred more pieces.
• The Li family celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival as their first two cotton pickings averaged over 170 kilograms per mu, and Li Long arranged machinery to cut the cotton stalks.
• Li Long watched Li Junhai and the others irrigate the newly reclaimed 280 mu, flushing salts from the fields with water from Little Haizi.
• Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang, Liang Dacheng, and Jia Weidong praised the cotton yields and discussed their own harvests with Li Long.
• Xie Yundong planned to seek approval to lease a hundred mu, while Liang Dacheng also intended to look for suitable land and expand cotton farming.

Li Long expanded his farming plans and turned his purchasing station into the Soaring Flood Dragon Trading Company while managing growing trade and construction ventures. The chapter ended with Meng Hai planning to extend the mountain road before winter and finish it the following spring.

• Jiang Zhiyu explained that the Fourth Team's cotton crops were thriving, and the township approved its saline-alkali land reclamation contracts and assigned its agricultural extension school to teach cotton cultivation.
• Li Long persuaded Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei to focus the family’s planting on wheat and cotton, and the family flooded the newly reclaimed land before winter to wash away surface alkali.
• Li Long converted his purchasing station into the Soaring Flood Dragon Trading Company and expanded its agricultural-supply and vehicle sales as resellers helped him find customers.
• Liu Gaolou arrived with ten vehicles and left with sugar and leather goods, while Gu Boyuan returned from Ili and described his business and travels to the Li family.
• Li Long hired day laborers to clean and sort hides, then heard Meng Hai report that the canal project had passed inspection and lay out plans to extend the mountain road before the snow.

Li Long investigated reports that fertilizer bought from his Purchasing Station was ineffective and discovered that a seller in the Third Team had blamed him for counterfeit fertilizer. Recognizing the seller might be tied to a larger counterfeit operation, Li Long decided to act rather than accept the blame.

• Li Long sold Zhao Hui nearly ten thousand cleaned hides, dried meat, and a Volga, then went to the tax office to file his taxes.
• At a meal with the Fourth Team leaders, Tao Daqiang told Li Long that people in the Third Team were claiming fertilizer from his Purchasing Station was fake.
• After reconsidering the rumors, Li Long went with Tao Daqiang to the Third Team to ask Yang Pingping’s family what had happened.
• Yang Pingping’s father explained that the Wang family’s Erwa had brought in several truckloads of cheap fertilizer, and villagers later confronted him after it proved ineffective.
• Li Long realized Erwa had blamed his shop for the fertilizer and suspected he was connected to the counterfeit fertilizer dealers from Li Long’s previous life.

Li Long reported Wang Erwa’s counterfeit fertilizer and gambling operation to the police and helped Jiang Zhiyu support a public investigation, clearing the rumors against his business. After the case was exposed and Wang Erwa was sentenced, Li Long received updates on his road crew and Jiang Zhiyu’s transfer, then considered giving cars to local offices.

• Li Long and Tao Daqiang reported the suspected counterfeit fertilizer and gambling to the police, and Li Long urged Jiang Zhiyu to publicize the investigation rather than conceal it.
• Three days later, Tao Daqiang told Li Long that police had arrested Wang Erwa and seven gamblers and found more than ten tonnes of suspect fertilizer at Wang Erwa’s house.
• Jiang Zhiyu told Li Long that the case involved over a hundred thousand yuan in fake fertilizer sold across three counties and cities, and that news coverage would clear his name.
• Wang Erwa was sentenced to seven and a half years, while some accomplices received sentences of more than ten years after their fertilizer ruined a household’s crop.
• Meng Hai told Li Long that snow had ended the roadwork near Harimu’s Summer Pasture and that his crew had enough money and expected more canal work the next year.
• Jiang Zhiyu told Li Long she was transferring to the County Youth League as deputy secretary, and Li Long later considered giving cars to local offices.

Li Long donated vehicles to the township and two police stations, earning praise for supporting his hometown. He then arranged to buy excavators and trucks from Liu Gaolou and agreed to help Jia Tianlong by supplying antelope horn.

• Li Long spoke with Jiang Zhiyu and the township leader, then drove a Lada to the township and donated it.
• Li Long donated GAZ vehicles to the township police station and the station near his compound, where Guo Tiebing was deputy chief.
• Li Xiangqian praised Li Long's donations, and Li Long brought him goji berries and codonopsis roots.
• Liu Gaolou asked whether Li Long wanted to buy excavators, and Li Long agreed to purchase two and arrange for trucks and cars to be brought over.
• Jia Tianlong asked Li Long for about a thousand kilograms of antelope horn, and Li Long agreed to supply it without first discussing the price.

Li Long received excavators, trucks, and cars from Liu Gaolou, then traveled to Wu City and Beiting to visit contacts and discuss business. He left after arranging more visits and hearing that Yusufu might obtain old tiger pelts from Southern Xinjiang.

• Liu Gaolou delivered two tracked Caterpillar Excavators, five used trucks, and several cars, and Li Long asked him to seek high-horsepower wheeled tractors.
• Li Long promised to arrange sheepskin overcoats and padded shoes for Liu Gaolou’s second uncle, then planned a trip to Wu City and Beiting.
• Li Long visited Professors Wu, Luo, and Yang in Wu City, shared firsthand details about his cotton harvest with Professor Yang, and exchanged gifts and goods with Engineer Liu and Yusufu.
• Yusufu offered to look for old tiger pelts held by hunters in Southern Xinjiang, and Li Long said he would buy them if Yusufu found any.
• In Beiting, Director Qian told Li Long he could keep using the Jeep, and Chen Hongjun reported that his purchasing station had made over 150,000 yuan in profit.
• Li Long encouraged Chen Hongjun to seek a People's Congress Representative or Political Consultative Conference position, then stayed in a hotel before visiting the television station and newspaper office.

Li Long advertised Soaring Flood Dragon Trading Company’s used vehicles and wanted goods on Beiting Television Station and in the Beiting Daily. Before the television ad aired, a caller became his first customer, and the next day Li Long sold a GAZ-69 while discussing a possible goods-for-car deal with another buyer.

• Li Long bought a week of prime-time television advertising and a month of newspaper advertising, then told the Purchasing Station staff to expect calls.
• Before the television ad aired, General Manager Liu called to ask about cars and offered to bring along his friend Wang Jun, who traded in winter clothing.
• Liu and Wang visited the Purchasing Station, inspected the cars, and chose an army-green GAZ-69 and a black luxury Volga.
• Liu test-drove the GAZ-69, accepted Li Long’s discounted price of thirty thousand yuan, and signed the contract and paid.
• Wang discussed exchanging winter clothing for the Volga, but Li Long postponed finalizing the deal until Wang brought his goods.

Li Long bought sheepskin coats from Hou Junxin and Boss Wang, then sold most of his cars to greenhouse farmers from Wu City. The sales brought in substantial profits, and Liu Gaolou was preparing another shipment as Li Long’s remaining inventory dwindled.

• Hou Junxin brought Li Long four hundred sheepskin overcoats from Stone City, sold them for 160 yuan each, and bought a GAZ-66 truck.
• Boss Wang arrived with five hundred pairs of rubber cotton shoes and five hundred sheepskin overcoats, traded them toward a Volga, and paid the remaining balance, with Boss Liu receiving a referral commission.
• Nine greenhouse farmers from Wu City inspected Li Long’s cars, and seven bought vehicles after testing them; Li Long collected 525,000 yuan and gave his father and workers money.
• Huang Tiesheng returned with six more villagers, who bought two standard Volgas and two Ladas, and Li Long paid Huang a 2,000-yuan referral fee.
• Li Long continued selling cars and trucks, collected over a hundred more leather goods from small sellers, and looked forward to Liu Gaolou’s next shipment because few vehicles remained.

Li Long’s vehicle sales surged after Wu City Television Station featured Beiliang Village’s new car owners, while he handled a shipment of goods and sold antelope horns to Jia Tianlong. The chapter ended with a grain farmer from Jimsar agreeing to buy Li Long’s high-horsepower tractor for 260,000 yuan.

• Liu Gaolou delivered vehicles, farm equipment, hides, antelope horns, and other supplies, and Li Long prepared his winter goods for sale.
• Wu City Television Station reported on Beiliang Village’s car-owning villagers, bringing more customers to Li Long’s Purchasing Station.
• Li Long advised Jia Tianlong that antelope horn prices would keep rising, and Jia bought a ton of horns for 300,000 yuan.
• A prospective customer inspected Li Long’s high-horsepower tractor but left without buying it, while other customers bought a truck and a Lada.
• The Jimsar farmer returned, negotiated with Li Long, and agreed to buy the tractor for 260,000 yuan.