Chapter Summaries

Li Long cleared the alley snow, met neighborhood officer Auntie Liu, and bought a truckload of coal to supply three courtyards. Xiao Liu helped unload it and began considering whether he could make money selling Northern Xinjiang raisins, while Li Long planned to talk with him after the work was done.

• Li Long cleared most of the alley snow and rebuffed Xiao Liu's questions about Gu Xiaoyu, prompting Uncle Song to advise Xiao Liu to find a proper job.
• Auntie Liu visited Li Long's courtyard, learned he worked in Northern Xinjiang and was married, and accepted a packet of raisins from him.
• Xiao Liu realized Northern Xinjiang raisins might sell well before New Year, but he lacked the capital to buy any.
• Auntie Liu shared Li Long's raisins with her colleagues, who discussed asking him to supply some as a staff benefit.
• Li Long bought a truckload of coal and arranged workers to carry it to three courtyards.
• Xiao Liu volunteered to help unload the coal, followed Li Long to the other courtyards, and continued working when Gu Xiaoyu briefly arrived.

Li Long encouraged Meng Yuchao to sell raisins as snacks himself, supplied him with stock, and considered whether he could become a reliable helper for watching the courtyards. The next morning, Meng Yuchao set out to test the idea, Uncle Song received some raisins for his children, and Auntie Liu arrived to speak with Li Long.

• After settling the coal delivery, Li Long agreed to let Xiao Liu have ten kilos of raisins on credit, and Xiao Liu revealed his name was Meng Yuchao.
• Over zhajiangmian, Li Long advised Meng Yuchao to sell raisins by the cup at busy places instead of wholesaling them, and Meng Yuchao decided to try it himself.
• Li Long arranged for Liang Shuangcheng to send Meng Yuchao twenty kilos of raisins and gave him the little over a kilo he already had.
• Gu Xiaoyu told Li Long that Auntie Liu had come looking for him, and Li Long explained he hoped Meng Yuchao might help keep an eye on the courtyard.
• The next morning, Meng Yuchao hurried out with a bag to test-sell the raisins, and Li Long gave Uncle Song the remaining half-kilo for his children.
• Auntie Liu arrived at Li Long's courtyard after meeting Uncle Song outside.

Li Long arranged for raisins to be delivered to the Subdistrict Office, surveyed Yanjing’s universities, and found that Meng Yuchao had made a strong profit reselling raisins. He bought jadeite and gifts after being turned away from the Antique Shop, then left Meng Yuchao eager to follow his business advice.

• Li Long agreed to arrange fifty kilograms of raisins for Auntie Liu and left the Subdistrict Office after a woman tried to steer the order toward jujubes.
• Li Long toured several Yanjing universities while considering Li Juan’s chances of studying there, then returned to the Big Courtyard.
• Meng Yuchao told Li Long that he had sold a little over a kilogram of raisins for 9.60 yuan by portioning them into small servings outside a cinema.
• Li Long planned to look for antiques and jadeite, and Meng Yuchao found shops near Qianmen and Chongwenmen that sold both old and new pieces.
• Staff refused Li Long entry to the Antique Shop, and the Consignment Shop had nothing he wanted, so he bought jadeite and gifts in three shops instead.
• On the ride back, Li Long dismissed the taxi driver’s claims about the Soviet Union and explained to Meng Yuchao that unusual business opportunities brought profits; Meng Yuchao resolved to stick close to him.

Li Long accepted the Meng family’s invitation to lunch after advising Meng Yuchao on business, and he confirmed with Secretary Zhang that he could return to Northern Xinjiang. Director Dai arranged his flight and promised assistance at both ends, while Li Long left the story preparing to depart the next day.

• Meng Yuchao took the leftover roast duck home, and his parents praised Li Long for helping their son and decided to invite him to a meal.
• Li Long accepted the Meng family’s invitation for zhajiangmian, while Gu Xiaoyu declined to join and learned he planned to fly back to Northern Xinjiang.
• Li Long visited the Beijing Office and called Secretary Zhang, who confirmed there were no further assignments and said the leader wanted occasional updates from him.
• Director Dai arranged Li Long’s travel documents and next-day plane ticket, with someone to meet him at his destination.
• Li Long packed his belongings and brought Northern Xinjiang specialties to the Meng family’s home, where he praised Meng Yuchao and agreed the family could help watch over the Big Courtyard.

Li Long finished preparing the Big Courtyard for his absence, said goodbye to Gu Xiaoyu, and left Northern Xinjiang by plane before driving home with jade and gifts. He arrived near midnight to find Gu Xiaoxia and Han Fang waiting to welcome him.

• Li Long tidied all three courtyards, and Auntie Liu visited to ask about parcels and learned that Li Long had also brought specialties for the Meng family.
• Li Long saw Gu Xiaoyu speaking with a male colleague and left without interrupting; the next morning, Gu Xiaoyu explained the man had come to discuss work and her personal life, and Li Long said goodbye before leaving for the Beijing Office.
• Xiao Wang gave Li Long his ticket and arranged a ride to the airport, while Li Long asked him to keep an eye on the Big Courtyard.
• After landing in Wu City, Li Long visited the Ethnic Affairs Commission, bought eleven pieces of river jade from Yusufu's son, and drove through the night toward home.
• Li Long arrived at the Big Courtyard around midnight, where Gu Xiaoxia and Han Fang opened the gate and welcomed him; he gave them gifts and ate the noodles Sister Yang had prepared.

Li Long returned from Yanjing with gifts and shared his news with his family, while a request to sell water from Little Haizi raised questions about who had the right to charge for it. He refused the request and headed home, leaving his brother to explain the matter to the team leader.

• Li Long showed Gu Xiaoxia the gifts he had brought and discussed Gu Xiaoyu’s difficult situation, suggesting she visit Northern Xinjiang the following summer.
• Li Long returned to the Purchasing Station, gave gifts to his father and coworkers, and heard a reseller wonder whether selling raisins in Yanjing would be profitable.
• Du Jincai asked Li Long to release water from Little Haizi for his family’s reclamation project and offered to pay, but Li Long refused because the water did not belong to him.
• Li Long visited his mother and eldest brother, distributed gifts, and described his trip to Yanjing to the family.
• Lu Yingming asked about Du Jincai’s reclamation plans and the water payment, and Li Long clarified that he owned the fish and reeds in Little Haizi, not its water.
• Li Jianguo told Li Junfeng that the family would not collect water fees, while Li Long drove home and planned to explain the issue to the team leader.

Li Long secured the Team’s approval to use Little Haizi’s water while keeping it under public management, then welcomed the new year as his Yanjing connections began trading raisins and other dried fruit. After the Yanjing trip’s effects faded, he started planning for the year ahead when Liu Gaolou arrived with a larger convoy and goods he planned to take home.

• Li Jianguo told Xu Chengjun that the Li family would leave Little Haizi’s water under the Team’s management, and Xu promised the cooperative could use it freely.
• Mingming and Haohao performed at their kindergarten party, then excitedly told Li Long about it when he picked them up.
• Meng Yuchao received Li Long’s twenty kilograms of raisins, sold them quickly near the cinema, and arranged through Liang Shuangcheng to buy fifty more kilograms.
• Auntie Liu gave Gu Xiaoyu the money for her parcel and asked about other dried fruits, while Li Long arranged for Liang Shuangcheng to handle future orders.
• Li Long visited Harimu’s and Jade Mountain River’s families, then met Liu Gaolou on January 7 as Liu arrived with a convoy and said he planned to take goods home.

Li Long advised Chen Hongjun to expand into agricultural supplies and used-car sales as hide and herb trading became harder. He also gathered schoolbooks and class schedules as evidence for a proposal he planned to present at the county conferences.

• Liu Gaolou left Li Long ten cars, payment for hides and antelope horns, and bundles of specialties before heading home.
• Chen Hongjun brought Li Long his quarterly dividend of ten thousand yuan and asked how to keep the purchasing station profitable as hunting and herb gathering declined.
• Li Long recommended opening a farm supply store or collecting waste materials, and Chen Hongjun chose to sell agricultural supplies.
• Li Long offered Chen Hongjun used cars to resell in Beiting and advised him to seek authorization for the business.
• Li Long delivered specialties to the Fourth Team, then obtained Kazakh and Uyghur schoolbooks and a class schedule from Ye'erjiang and Gu Xiaoxia for his proposal.
• Chen Hongjun secured approval for a farm supply store, bought wholesale supplies, and advertised it on television, with clear results.

Li Long’s proposal to stop religious scripture lessons for children passed at the county meetings, and Sun Wenlin agreed to refine it for the prefectural congress. After heavy snow, Li Long joined Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong on a rabbit hunt, which led them to a pool full of fish; the chapter leaves Li Long noticing something else at a threshing ground on the way back.

• Li Long argued that scripture lessons for minors violated the law and should not be treated as ethnic custom, and the county representatives passed his proposal.
• Sun Wenlin, a prefectural representative, asked Li Long to help refine the proposal for submission to the prefectural congress.
• After roughly forty centimeters of snow fell, Li Long and his companions agreed to hunt rabbits in the Red Willow Flats and East Big Ditch.
• Li Long caught seven rabbits while Tao Daqiang and Xie Yundong caught several between them.
• Li Long spotted fish beneath the ice in a small pool, and the three men lifted the ice and collected sacks of fish.
• On their return, Li Long stopped at a threshing ground after noticing something there.

Li Long joined a winter hunt, taught cotton-growing techniques at the Agricultural Technical Extension School, and continued building ties through the Cotton Planting Cooperative and Purchasing Station. As the New Year approached, the station made a major tractor sale, most of its cars sold, and Gu Boyuan returned from Ili.

• Li Long, Tao Daqiang, and Xie Yundong caught eleven Gugu Chickens on the snow-covered Threshing Ground, then shared a meal with their neighbors and Team Leader Xu Chengjun.
• Xu Chengjun told Li Long that the township wanted him to teach cotton cultivation at the Agricultural Technical Extension School, and Li Long agreed after speaking with Principal Yang Guoqiang.
• Li Long taught two classes on cotton cultivation, answered questions from village trainees, and declined a teaching fee while explaining that he might be busy with the Cotton Planting Cooperative.
• Li Long and the others later found a pool full of fish beneath the ice at East Big Ditch, then stopped outdoor trips as the weather grew colder and the New Year neared.
• Li Long and his coworkers sorted Liu Gaolou's hides, and the Purchasing Station sold a high-horsepower tractor for 260,000 yuan and most of its remaining cars.
• Li Long mailed gifts before the New Year, wondered whether Yusufu had obtained the hides, and saw Gu Boyuan return from Ili on January 31.

Gu Boyuan returned from Ili, paid Li Long his share of the Purchasing Station’s profits, and revealed that he planned to marry Teacher Song in the summer. After visiting Gu Xiaoxia, he drove to the Fourth Team for New Year, where neighbors welcomed him and Li Junfeng later checked that he had recovered from a long drinking session.

• Gu Boyuan gave Li Long the ledger and 150,000 yuan in profits, then told him about Ili’s business and his relationship with Teacher Song.
• Li Long and Gu Boyuan discussed holding a summer wedding, and Gu Xiaoxia supported her father’s marriage and began planning celebrations in both Ili and the Fourth Team.
• Gu Boyuan visited Gu Xiaoxia, then drove back to the Fourth Team and learned that Xu Haijun had joined Li Long’s Cooperative.
• Old Wang invited Gu Boyuan and Li Jianguo to drink, and both men returned home exhausted after the gathering.
• Li Junfeng checked on Gu Boyuan at Li Long’s request, and Gu Boyuan woke, drank honey water, and prepared instant noodles.

Li Long’s extended family gathered in Northern Xinjiang for New Year, sharing meals, stories, and plans as their lives continued to improve. After a pocketful of firecrackers injured a village boy, the family celebrated New Year’s Eve together and welcomed the Year of the Snake.

• Li Anguo’s family arrived at the Big Courtyard and continued to the Fourth Team, where the relatives reunited for the holiday.
• Li Qiang led the children in setting off Electric Firecrackers inside snowballs, and later took them to catch sparrows.
• Chen Xingbang arrived with his family, repaid Li Long for the car, and joined the relatives in discussing their work and the Cooperative.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Liang Yuemei that Gu Boyuan had found someone and might marry her in the summer.
• Li Long’s relatives prepared New Year’s Eve dinner, and Li Qiang’s firecracker experiments inspired the village boys to compete with snowballs.
• An older boy’s firecrackers exploded in his pocket, and the family later shared dinner, watched the Spring Festival Gala, and welcomed the Year of the Snake.

Li Long and his family visited Old Ma's Place for New Year, where a growing crowd of villagers made the holiday lively for the elderly residents, while the children collected generous lucky money. The family celebrated the following day with Gu Boyuan and later discussed a tractor debt, before Gu Xiaoxia revealed that Director Wang had offered her a school leadership position.

• Li Qiang led the children in lighting New Year's firecrackers, and the family shared dumplings before setting out on New Year visits.
• Li Long, Gu Xiaoxia, and their relatives visited Uncle Lao Luo and the other residents of Old Ma's Place, where villagers gathered to drink and offer greetings.
• Li Long carried home deer products to share with his relatives, while Mingming and Haohao counted the lucky money they had collected from visitors.
• Li Long took Mingming and Haohao to Gu Boyuan's home the next day, where they received additional lucky money before returning to play with their cousins.
• Li Jianguo gave Li Long ten thousand yuan as partial repayment for the 75 Tractor, and the two discussed whether Wenyu should lease land to grow cotton.
• Gu Xiaoxia told Li Long that Director Wang had asked her to become vice principal and Party Branch Secretary at Second Primary School.

After winter ended, Li Long funded an asphalt road from the township to the Fourth Team and arranged a large sugar shipment with Liu Gaolou. The chapter left the road project moving ahead, neighboring villagers raising money to extend it, and Ma Xiaoyan preparing an interview about Li Long’s donation.

• Sister Yang spent New Year with Han Fang at the courtyard, while Li Long took Han Fang to visit Li Juan in the Fourth Team.
• Liu Gaolou returned to Ma County on March 10, and he and Li Long arranged for fifty tonnes of white sugar to be shipped to Khorgos.
• Li Long gave the township head 150,000 yuan for the road and asked to send workers to learn asphalt construction techniques.
• Team Leader Zhang organized her village to raise money for a connecting road, and the township head agreed to include their stretch in the construction.
• Ma Xiaoyan interviewed Li Long about his road donation, while Harimu and Jade Mountain River arrived with mountain goods and three red deer fawns, which Li Long bought.

Li Long’s family and the Fourth Team prepared for spring as Li Junfeng’s family built a house, fields were irrigated, and Meng Hai’s crew repaired and extended the mountain road. Li Long strengthened business and government ties, while Gu Boyuan planned his wedding and Gu Xiaoxia prepared to return to school; the chapter ended with Li Long visiting the road crew and approving their progress.

• Li Junfeng’s relatives and neighbors helped build his family’s house, while Old Zhang explained that Li Long had funded the road that helped secure their household registration.
• Li Jianguo plowed saline-alkali land as Tao Daqiang, Jia Weidong, and others irrigated fields, and Meng Hai’s crew repaired winter damage to the mountain road.
• Zhao Hui bought hides from Li Long, and Liu Gaolou arrived with vehicles and arranged to load cement and white sugar.
• Gu Boyuan discussed a summer wedding with Teacher Song and showed her the courtyard home he had bought in Ili.
• Gu Xiaoxia learned that she would become Branch Secretary at County No. 2 Primary School, and Li Long agreed to handle the children’s kindergarten trips.
• Construction began on the township-to-Fourth-Team asphalt road, and Li Long visited Meng Hai’s crew in the mountains and approved their progress.

Li Long balanced transporting goods, raising deer, and overseeing the Cooperative’s cotton sowing as the road project advanced. A severe yellow wind tore plastic film from fields across the county, and Li Long told the affected farmers to resow, leaving the Cooperative facing the cost of repairing its crop.

• Li Long bought a red deer fawn from Bolati and planned to quarantine it before sending it to Old Ma's Place.
• Li Long and Xie Yundong organized workers to sow over a thousand mu of cotton and securely weigh down the plastic film.
• Meng Hai told Li Long that more people were entering the mountains and described finding gold prospectors and a dead person near the roadworks.
• Li Long recognized signs of an approaching sandstorm and secured the cars, livestock, and supplies before the yellow wind and rain struck.
• The storm lifted plastic film from cotton fields, and Li Long told Xie Yundong and the other farmers to resow the damaged areas because the exposed seedlings would freeze.

Li Long reopened the Small Wooden Cabin to trade supplies for fritillaria and other mountain produce, but no herb gatherers came on his first visit. He returned the next day after helping Harimu wash sheep and found Bolati waiting with jade taken from a herb gatherer, leaving Li Long surprised by his methods.

• Li Long resowed a damaged strip of cotton, advised Xie Yundong on checking emergence and arranging gap-filling, and inspected work at Li Junfeng's courtyard.
• Li Long drove into the Mountains with supplies, met Forest Public Security officers Qiao Yansong and Alimjiang, and learned they had checked the cabin's legality and warned him about herb gatherers.
• Li Long cleaned and stocked the Small Wooden Cabin, gathered coal, and invited hidden herb gatherers to trade; after Bolati arrived with a wild boar, they shared a meal, but no traders appeared before Li Long returned home.
• Li Long returned to the Mountains the next morning, helped Harimu and Jade Mountain River wash their sheep, and accepted wool to take home.
• Li Long prepared meat-filled buns and posted a trade notice at the cabin, then Bolati arrived and handed him a piece of jade he had pressured a herb gatherer into giving him.

Li Long expanded his mountain cabin’s trade by entrusting Bolati with bartering supplies for fritillaria while he hosted Liu Gaolou on a mountain outing. The chapter ended with Li Long and Liu Gaolou leaving for the Hot Spring as Bolati waited at the cabin for traders.

• Li Long visited his family, picked up Mingming and Haohao, and prepared for Liu Gaolou’s convoy to arrive at the Purchasing Station.
• Li Long refused Liu Gaolou’s suggestion to sell fertilizer across the border, then agreed to take him into the mountains for a barbecue and a visit to the Hot Spring.
• Bolati joined Li Long and Liu Gaolou at the cabin with a live fawn, and the three cooked and ate kebabs, mushrooms, and wild vegetables.
• Liu Gaolou suggested that Bolati handle fritillaria trades at the cabin, and Li Long offered him a commission and explained the exchange terms.
• Li Long gave Bolati the cabin key and left with Liu Gaolou for the Hot Spring while Bolati stayed behind to wait for traders.

Li Long took Liu Gaolou to Hot Spring Ravine, where he shot a wild boar after a herd appeared, then returned with him to the County Seat. The next day, Li Long checked on Harimu’s supplies and Meng Hai’s road crew, leaving the road project progressing toward the Summer Pasture as he considered exploring farther into the Inner Mountain.

• Li Long led Liu Gaolou to the hot springs, where Li Long shot a half-grown wild boar when a herd charged toward the stream.
• Li Long and Liu Gaolou returned to the Wooden Cabin, where Bolati told them he had traded for two sacks of fritillaria and Li Long paid him a commission.
• Li Long drove Liu Gaolou back to the County Seat, delivered boar meat to the Fourth Team, and later took Liu Gaolou to the Sugar Factory before he left.
• Li Long visited Harimu at the Winter Camp and agreed to bring medicine for the households as they prepared to move pastures.
• Li Long ate with Meng Hai’s road crew and agreed that they should finish the mountain road just below the Summer Pasture while he looked for an asphalt-road project for them.
• Meng Hai described the Inner Mountain’s brief afternoon rains and abundant mushrooms, and he offered some mushrooms to Li Long to take home.

Li Long saw Meng Hai's crew complete the road to the Summer Pasture, allowing Harimu and the other herders to move their supplies and livestock more easily. He took Gu Xiaoxia, Mingming, and Haohao to enjoy a picnic and pick mushrooms there, while the herders arrived with their tractors and prepared to move uphill.

• Li Long heard a distant tiger-like roar, collected fritillaria from Bolati, and returned to the Big Courtyard, where Gu Xiaoxia described a student bringing a snake to school.
• Li Long continued collecting fritillaria as the mountain road progressed, and Meng Hai's crew completed the road to the Summer Pasture on April 30.
• Li Long told Harimu that the road was open, and Harimu planned to haul supplies uphill before moving the cattle and sheep to the Summer Pasture.
• Li Long invited Gu Xiaoxia and the children to the pasture for May Day, and they drove through the mountains while Harimu and Jade Mountain River followed with loaded tractors.
• Mingming and Haohao picked mushrooms as Gu Xiaoxia photographed the family and scenery, and the family picnicked before the herders arrived at the Summer Pasture.