Chapter Summaries

Gu Xiaoxia gave Wu Xiufang and her mother a ride home before hearing that Li Long had sold a high-horsepower tractor. As the Li family’s business and local cotton plans developed, Xie Yundong proposed forming a cooperative, leaving Li Long to consider whether it could work.

• Gu Xiaoxia drove Wu Xiufang and her mother home after Mingming and Haohao asked her to honor their promise to give their friend a ride.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia that he had sold a high-horsepower tractor to a grain grower from Jimsar.
• Liu Gaolou brought Li Long more tractors, trucks, cars, hides, and cotton-lined shoes, while Li Long paid for the shipment with money and white sugar.
• Li Long hosted his relatives and friends for a meal, where they discussed how much reclaimed land each family planned to plant with cotton next year.
• Liang Dacheng pointed out that their reclaimed plots were near one another, and Xie Yundong proposed forming a cooperative with Li Long overseeing it.
• Li Long considered the proposal and decided he would need to investigate how such a cooperative could work.

Xie Yundong proposed forming a cotton-growing cooperative, and Li Long helped the group work out a system for shares, paid labor, management duties, and penalties. The men agreed to keep developing the plan over the winter, and Li Long assured them that forming a cooperative was allowed.

• Xie Yundong proposed pooling land and machinery to organize cotton farming and hiring workers through a cooperative.
• Li Long outlined a framework in which families contributed land and equipment as shares, managers received extra compensation, and field workers earned wages.
• Li Long proposed penalties for managers who failed their duties, and the men agreed that workers should be held accountable for poor performance.
• The group discussed valuing land and machinery shares and decided to continue refining the cooperative's details over the winter.
• Jia Weidong asked whether officials would allow the cooperative, and Li Long said the state had not forbidden cooperatives, so they could form one.

Li Long and Li Jianguo paid the farmhands their wages for the year, and Liang Yuemei gave Dong Xiaojuan 500 yuan for her household work. After the workers prepared to head home, Li Long and Li Jianguo divided the cooperative’s remaining earnings, with Li Long taking 40,000 yuan and Li Jianguo keeping the rest.

• Li Long returned to the Li family home, where the workers gathered to collect their pay and discuss traveling home.
• Li Jianguo and Li Long paid the workers, including 4,000 yuan to Chen Qianjin, 3,500 yuan to Li Junxian, and 5,000 yuan to Li Junfeng.
• Liang Yuemei gave Dong Xiaojuan 500 yuan in recognition of her cooking and housework.
• Li Long and Li Jianguo discussed the cooperative’s income and agreed that Li Long would take 40,000 yuan while Li Jianguo kept the remainder.

After the seasonal workers went home, Li Long joined Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang, and Liang Dacheng to fish and discuss forming a cooperative among their five households. Their plans grew more concrete, and the chapter ended with the group catching a large common carp as Li Long decided the cooperative had a solid foundation.

• Li Jianguo and Li Long took the workers to Wu City Railway Station after they packed up, and the workers returned home for New Year.
• Xie Yundong, Tao Daqiang, and Liang Dacheng visited Li Long, and the four men drove to East Big Ditch to catch fish.
• Xie Yundong asked about cooperative bookkeeping, and Li Long explained that they needed an accountant and fair rules for admitting later members.
• Li Long said later members could buy shares at a different valuation and would need to pay wages to workers; the group agreed the five households had a good basis for cooperation.
• While they fished, Li Long discussed the coming cotton season and heard that Tao Dayong had bought a tractor and Wang Sanwa planned to plant thirty mu of cotton.
• Liang Dacheng caught a common carp weighing about three kilograms, and Li Long concluded the cooperative had a solid foundation.

Li Long bought a snow leopard pelt from Bolati to help the family of a man arrested for hunting, then warned Harimu that Forest Public Security was cracking down on hunters. He also learned that Xu Haijun wanted to join the cooperative, and planned to discuss its structure with his eldest brother.

• Li Long and his friends caught fish, ate hot pot at Xie Yundong's house, and discussed forming a cooperative among five households.
• Bolati told Li Long that his friend had been fined three thousand yuan and detained for shooting a Siberian ibex, then sold him a snow leopard pelt for thirty-five hundred yuan.
• Li Long visited Harimu and warned him about the hunting crackdown; Harimu said he would tell Talihaal to avoid hunting that winter.
• Li Long learned that Xu Haijun wanted a share in the cooperative and told Li Jianguo he would explain the plan the next morning.
• Li Long told Li Qingxia that the cooperative would be a private partnership rather than a commune.

Li Long explained his proposed farming Cooperative to Li Jianguo, then heard Xu Haijun make a serious case for joining it. The chapter left Li Long and Xie Yundong considering Xu Haijun’s offer to contribute an extra thousand yuan to prove his sincerity.

• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia that Xu Haijun wanted to join the Cooperative, and she said Xu was wise to follow someone capable.
• Li Long described pooling 280 mu of land and hiring workers to Li Jianguo, who discussed the Cooperative’s structure and approved its general plan.
• Xie Yundong and Xu Haijun arrived, and Xu explained that he wanted to grow cotton with Li Long’s help rather than risk falling behind on his own.
• Li Long warned Xu that joining required substantial upfront costs and carried the risk of losses before the harvest.
• Xu insisted he understood the risks and offered to contribute an extra thousand yuan while accepting the same shares and duties as the others.

Li Long explained how a cooperative could share farming risks while giving his family a large stake through land and machinery, then returned to the Fourth Team to review Xie Yundong’s proposed rules with the other members. The meeting settled the cooperative’s staff roles and yield-based share calculations, and Li Long anticipated that the next provision would cause conflict.

• Li Long told Xu Haijun to wait for the cooperative’s rules before deciding whether to join and said no one else could be added for now; he asked Xie Yundong to draft the terms.
• Li Long explained to Liang Yuemei that contributing a high-horsepower tractor could earn his family a substantial share, while the cooperative would also spread farming risks.
• Factory Director Du told Li Long that snow-clearing machine orders were increasing and that his factory had developed a sixth improved model.
• After Xie Yundong finished drafting the terms, Li Long returned to the Fourth Team and gathered the prospective members, Li Jianguo, and Li Junfeng for a cooperative meeting.
• Xie Yundong outlined management roles, and the group agreed to create a paid technical officer position for Li Long.
• Xie Yundong proposed calculating shares according to land yield, and Li Long backed the proposal; Li Long expected the next provision to provoke disagreement.

The villagers worked out the cooperative’s shares, equipment contributions, wages, and staff positions, while Li Long withdrew his high-horsepower tractor to avoid dominating ownership. The cooperative began to take shape with Xu Haijun joining, though the members planned to hold further meetings before finalizing everything.

• Xie Yundong calculated shares from land and common farm equipment, and Li Jianguo and Li Long’s combined contributions gave them close to sixty percent of the initial shares.
• Li Long declined to contribute his high-horsepower tractor as shares, but offered his small four-wheel tractor and stalk beating machine instead.
• The members agreed Xie Yundong would manage the cooperative, Li Long would serve as technical supervisor, Jia Weidong would keep accounts, and other positions would cover machinery, field management, and water management.
• The members accepted Xu Haijun as a cooperative participant, with a thousand-yuan contribution and about a hundred mu of land, and agreed no further outsiders could join.
• Li Long explained that the high-horsepower tractors could earn money by plowing and sowing for other teams, while Tao Daqiang and Liang Dacheng chose machinery and field-management roles.
• Xu Haijun accepted the remaining water-management position and asked to attend the next meeting as the cooperative’s plans continued to develop.

The Fourth Team’s cooperative took shape and was formally approved, while Li Long learned that men had been watching Li Juan outside First Middle School. He confronted two knife-wielding robbers as they threatened Li Juan and her friend, and the chapter ended with him swinging his wooden club at them.

• Ma Jinbao loudly threatened to report Li Long’s proposed cooperative, then denied ever saying so the next day.
• Xie Yundong presented the cooperative to Xu Chengjun and registered it with the township, which placed it on file.
• Six households signed the cooperative agreement, and Li Long arranged its initial supplies, irrigation, and machinery.
• Li Qingxia told Li Long that two young men had been watching Li Juan outside First Middle School, so Li Long kept watch near the school.
• Two men drew knives and demanded money from Li Juan and her friends, and Li Long rushed at them with his wooden club.

Li Long rescued Li Juan from two knife-wielding robbers and pushed the police to investigate instead of dismissing the crime. The investigation exposed a school-extortion gang, while Li Long warned Li Juan to stay cautious and considered proposing stronger protections for students.

• Li Long disarmed and injured two young men who were robbing Li Juan, then took them and their knives to the police station.
• Officer Saimaiti tried to minimize the crime, but Deputy Station Chief Guo Tiebing ordered the suspects questioned after Li Long reported the armed robbery.
• Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia he planned to propose better safety measures for middle-school students and discussed concerns about school discipline.
• Guo Tiebing told Li Long that the suspects belonged to a gang of more than a dozen people who had extorted students for over two years, and that police had arrested most of its members.
• Li Long warned Li Juan to be careful, and she explained that her teachers had instructed students to avoid going out at night.

Li Long investigated the school extortion case, then responded to rumors that his actions undermined ethnic unity by drafting an article against people who used unity to sow division. After Harimu and Jade Mountain River visited to support him, Li Long contacted the leader's secretary, whose response left him uncertain.

• Li Long gathered information about the extortion case as schools disciplined students who had aided the gang, and Guo Tiebing told him that Saimaiti had tipped off the suspects and received a severe internal warning.
• Guo Tiebing reported that the case had been tried, with seven people imprisoned, several sent to the Juvenile Detention Center, and others criticized and educated; Li Long completed a proposal based on the investigation.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that rumors accused him of undermining ethnic unity by helping get the students arrested, so he contacted Ma Xiaoyan and dictated an article condemning people who distorted unity to avoid responsibility or stir up division.
• Ma Xiaoyan polished the article and told Li Long that the county leadership approved it; she planned to submit it for publication and broadcast.
• Harimu and Jade Mountain River visited Li Long to reassure him, and afterward Li Long read his article to the leader's secretary, who gave no clear response.

Li Long investigated rumors accusing him of undermining ethnic unity, while his article defending his actions gained attention in local media and official circles. Zhu Yuzhang traced the rumor to a visitor from Southern Xinjiang, but the visitor had already left, and Li Long returned to preparing his cooperative proposal.

• Li Long asked resellers at the Purchasing Station about the rumors, and Zhu Yuzhang described how he had corrected people who repeated them.
• Li Long explained the arrests to Li Qingxia, while Zhu Yuzhang and Fan Mingcheng offered to help counter the rumors and find their source.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that his article was being broadcast on the radio, and Ma Xiaoyan reported that it had appeared on the Beiting Daily front page while officials planned an investigation into the rumors.
• Secretary Zhang told Li Long that a leader approved his proposal and praised his sense of social responsibility; Li Long explained the village cooperative and began refining his proposal.
• Zhu Yuzhang told Li Long that the rumor had come from a visitor from Southern Xinjiang, but Li Long concluded the man could not be tracked down and resumed his proposal work.

Li Long’s Purchasing Station faced a surprise inspection by Wu City Customs and the prefectural Tax Bureau, but his records were complete and local officials backed him. Director Qian traced the inspection to a higher-up’s remarks about Li Long’s article, and the article itself drew the attention of senior leaders.

• Li Long received ten cars from Liu Gaolou, who warned that winter roads and the Guozigou avalanche made future deliveries dangerous.
• Wu City Customs and prefectural Tax Bureau inspectors demanded Li Long’s car and tax records, and Liang Shuangcheng caught one inspector secretly passing a document to his colleague.
• Li Long confronted the inspector, while county Industry and Commerce and Tax Bureau staff, Li Xiangqian, and Zhou Yuan arrived and confirmed that Li Long’s paperwork and taxes were in order.
• The inspection team left without finding a problem, and Li Long rewarded Liang Shuangcheng for spotting the missing document.
• Li Xiangqian reported the incident to Director Qian, who learned that a higher-up’s criticism of Li Long’s article had prompted the inspection and that senior leaders had now noticed the article.

After their article earned quiet praise and the inspections stopped, Li Long’s purchasing station drew support from visitors. Regimental Commander Qi Wusheng inspected and test-drove one of Li Long’s high-horsepower tractors, then considered buying it for his regiment but left to consult the political commissar.

• Li Long learned that the authorities had praised his and Ma Xiaoyan’s article, while the inspectors faced discipline and people visited the purchasing station to show support.
• Li Juan told Li Long that police patrols had made her school and other secondary schools safer, and Ma Xiaoyan said she might receive a new assignment after the New Year.
• Li Long and Li Qingxia discussed winter purchases and antiques as they cleared snow at the purchasing station.
• Wang Mingjun brought Regimental Commander Qi Wusheng to see Li Long’s three high-horsepower tractors, and Qi inspected and drove one around the courtyard.
• Qi Wusheng praised the tractor’s condition, learned its price was 260,000 yuan, and considered Li Long’s offer of a 10,000-yuan discount before deciding to consult the political commissar.

Li Long visited Harimu and Jade Mountain River in the mountains, where he learned that more herder families wanted their children to attend school in the County Seat. After discussing how to help them find housing and caregivers, he was stopped by Meng Hai, who said he had something to discuss.

• Regimental Commander Qi and Wang Mingjun left the Purchasing Station to discuss the high-horsepower tractor at Division Headquarters, while Li Long estimated his hide-trading profits and talked with Sun Jiaqiang about Tie Lanhua's family.
• After hearing that jade prices had risen, Li Long's family decided to bring more dogs to guard their courtyard and the Purchasing Station.
• Li Long bought vegetables and drove to Harimu's winter camp, where Harimu told him that other herding families wanted their children to go to school in the County Seat but were worried about money and leaving their pastures unattended.
• Li Long, Harimu, and Jade Mountain River agreed to count the interested families and consider buying nearby courtyards or arranging for several families to care for the children together.
• Jade Mountain River told Li Long that Bek's dog had puppies, and Li Long decided to take some back to raise.
• On his return, Meng Hai stopped Li Long and invited him home, saying he had something to discuss.

Li Long agreed to establish a company base in the County Seat and arranged casual laborers to load Zhao Hui’s purchase of over ten thousand hides. Zhao Hui asked Li Long to find rare pelts, especially a Northern Xinjiang tiger skin, leaving Li Long to ask around without promising success.

• Meng Hai proposed finding a company yard in the County Seat, and Li Long approved the plan and left the search to him.
• Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia decided to repay Meng Hai’s generosity with a schoolbag and stationery for his child.
• Li Long hired workers at the Day Labor Market to load hides and learned that the former village teacher Xia Minghai had lost his job after his school closed.
• Zhao Hui arrived, inspected samples from Li Long’s bundles, and arranged for his men to oversee loading the hides.
• Zhao Hui asked Li Long to find rare pelts and offered twenty thousand for a tiger skin, and Li Long agreed to ask around without guaranteeing he could find one.

Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and Talihaal took elders and children from the tribe to visit Harimu’s mother in the County Seat, where the women admired the courtyard homes and discussed whether they could live there. Talihaal’s grandmother decided to buy a home near Harimu’s, and Talihaal brought Li Long a snow leopard pelt to sell; meanwhile, Regiment Commander Qi bought a high-horsepower tractor from Li Long.

• Harimu, Jade Mountain River, and Talihaal drove elders and children from their winter camps to visit Harimu’s mother in the County Seat.
• Talihaal’s grandmother urged Talihaal to buy a courtyard home after seeing Harimu’s mother’s house, and the women discussed the comforts and difficulties of moving there.
• Jade Mountain River hosted the visitors for lunch and took them shopping before the group returned to the mountains, where most of the women fell quiet about their families’ reluctance to move.
• Talihaal’s grandmother told him to take a snow leopard pelt to Li Long and ask him to sell it and find a courtyard home near Harimu’s.
• Regiment Commander Qi bought a John Deere high-horsepower tractor and its implements from Li Long for 250,000 yuan.
• Talihaal gave Li Long the pelt and asked him to arrange a nearby courtyard home, renovations, and furniture; Li Long agreed to look for a place and planned to raise the puppies Talihaal brought.

Li Long arranged a courtyard in the County Town for Talihaal’s family and prepared to report to a leader in Yanjing about cooperatives, rural conditions, and ethnic unity. After being told he could fly there, Li Long planned to build an asphalt road for his home team and discussed household registration for his relatives with Li Jianguo.

• Meng Hai told Li Long he had rented a village courtyard on the Urban-Rural Fringe for the company, and Li Long agreed the location was suitable.
• Li Long showed Talihaal and his grandmother a courtyard in the County Town, and they accepted it and completed the paperwork.
• Li Long received wolf pelts, deer antlers, and jade from Talihaal’s family as payment, then planned to equip their new home.
• Secretary Zhang told Li Long that a leader wanted him to explain his ideas in Yanjing, and Li Long learned he could fly there before New Year’s Day.
• Li Long prepared notes on cooperatives and rural development, then told Gu Xiaoxia about the trip and invited her to join him, but she declined.
• Li Long visited Li Jianguo, learned that only some of Li Junfeng’s family could currently apply for household registration, and proposed funding an asphalt road from the Fourth Team to the township.

Li Long traveled from Northern Xinjiang to Yanjing, reunited with Gu Xiaoyu at the courtyard house, and met the leader after Secretary Zhang arranged an appointment. He left the meeting with gifts from the leader and was told to remain in Yanjing and await further word.

• Li Long obtained a letter of introduction and a plane ticket, visited Yusufu, and learned that a desert family had a tiger pelt for sale at a high price.
• Li Long flew to Yanjing through heavy snow, settled into the Big Courtyard, and reunited with Gu Xiaoyu, who told him about her life and their family.
• Li Long visited Director Dai and the Ethnic Affairs Commission Beijing Office before Director Dai drove him to the leader's residence.
• Secretary Zhang escorted Li Long into the leader's office for a forty-minute meeting and told him to stay in Yanjing for the next few days.
• Secretary Zhang gave Li Long some gifts from the leader, and Director Dai arranged for him to rest and receive more local specialties at the Beijing Office.

Li Long learned about Gu Xiaoyu’s unhappy experiences with matchmaking and worried over how to help her find a suitable husband. The chapter left him considering whether he could persuade her to visit Northern Xinjiang, while he also prepared to heat and air out his courtyards in Yanjing.

• Dong Xiaojuan told Du Chunfang that Li Junfeng’s family hoped to register locally and build a home nearby, while Li Jianguo discussed Li Long’s planned asphalt road with Lu Yingming.
• Ma Jinbao complained that Li Long was showing off by paying for the road, but villagers defended Li Long and his contribution to the team.
• Secretary Zhang told Li Long that a leader supported his cooperative and road plans, praised his approach to revising ethnic-school textbooks, and said Li Long could contact him if problems arose.
• Li Long cooked lunch for Gu Xiaoyu and asked about her marriage prospects; she described failed introductions and a disappointing relationship.
• Li Long advised Gu Xiaoyu to settle down and suggested she learn to drive, then wondered whether he could persuade her to visit Northern Xinjiang.