With everything settled, Li Long placed his right hand on his chest in a polite gesture as he accepted the bowl of milk tea from the woman with his left. Taking a sip, he felt a comforting warmth spread from his throat to his chest, warming him right up. This was far better than eating cold sesame cakes out in the open.

Tao Daqiang took a sip as well, then leaned over and whispered, “Brother Long, you planned all of this in advance, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Li Long nodded. “We’re here to gather wood, but we also need to find ways to make some money. They know this mountain better than we do, and they have ways to make a living that we don’t.”

“You mean like selling antlers?”

“Exactly. And that’s just one possibility.” Li Long sipped his tea, nibbling on the naan, and as he glanced around the tent, he noticed something on the wall that piqued his interest. Pointing at it, he asked the man, “Is that yours?”

“Yes, they issued it to us a couple of years ago,” the man replied, pointing at himself. “My name’s Halimu. And you?”

“I’m Li Long,” he said, pointing at himself before motioning to his companion. “This is Tao Daqiang. We came to collect wood since we’re running low on firewood back home.”

Seeing that Halimu’s family was burning coal, Li Long asked, “Brother Halimu, did you buy your coal?”

“Oh, no. We dig it from the coal seam in the mountain over there.”

“Dig it up?” Li Long asked, suddenly interested. “Is it far?”

“Pretty far, about a kilometer away,” Halimu explained, pointing up the mountain. “There’s no road, so it’s hard to get to in winter.”

Li Long felt a little disappointed. Hauling coal home would have been ideal if it were closer.

Meanwhile, Halimu placed a plate of sliced dried mutton on the table for them to share. Li Long and Daqiang each took a piece and began chewing—tough, but not overly dry.

As they ate, two young children approached. Smiling, Halimu handed each of them a piece of mutton, patting their heads before sending them off to eat.

Li Long asked, “With a gun, you probably don’t have to worry about wolves, right? There are wolves in these mountains, aren’t there?” He nodded toward the semi-automatic rifle hanging on the wall.

“Yes, there are wolves,” Halimu replied in a low voice. “They killed three of our sheep, and just a few days ago, two more froze to death in the snow.”

“Why didn’t you hunt the wolves?” Daqiang asked.

“Because we’re out of bullets,” Halimu explained. “They gave us very few bullets last year. Early in the winter, we had some wild boars come down, and I used up the last of the bullets on them.”

Li Long and Daqiang exchanged glances, and then Li Long offered, “I might be able to get more bullets.”

Since he was registered as a militia soldier, he had leftover bullets from training, usually around a dozen.

“Really?” Halimu’s eyes lit up. “If you bring me some, I’ll trade you a sheep for them!”

“Oh, no need for that,” Li Long said, waving his hand. “I’ll bring some when I can. By the way, what did you do with the sheep that froze?”

“I tossed them in the snow behind the tent,” Halimu replied. “Not sure if they’re still there.”

“If you don’t need them, I’ll take them,” Li Long offered.

He knew that many Kazakh herders avoided eating livestock that had died naturally, but to him, there was no difference between meat from an animal that had frozen versus one that had been slaughtered.

Daqiang was thrilled at the thought of bringing a whole sheep home. He nudged Li Long and whispered, “Brother Long, I have a few bullets too…”

“Good, hold on to them—they’ll be useful,” Li Long replied with a nod.

“So…when will you come back?” Halimu asked eagerly. The heavy snowfall was not only tough on the herders but also drove the wolves to become more aggressive in their hunt for food.

“Maybe the day after tomorrow,” Li Long replied after thinking for a moment. “I’ll try to come sooner, but I need to haul this wood back first. I’m not even sure if I can borrow the horse again.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Halimu said, then added generously, “I’ll trade you a live sheep instead of a frozen one when you return.”

“No need,” Li Long replied, though he was glad for Halimu’s generosity. “Besides, I’ll need your help with other things. Next time you hunt a wild boar, save it for me. Same for wolves—I’ll take the bones and meat if you’re only interested in the pelt.”

“Deal,” Halimu agreed without hesitation.

Finishing his tea, Li Long stood up and asked, “Mind if I go check if those frozen sheep are still there?”

“Sure, I’ll show you.”

Halimu led them to the back of the camp, where the snow was waist-deep. Using a stick to probe the snow, they eventually uncovered one frozen sheep.

“The others were probably dragged off by wolves,” Halimu said, disappointed.

“Brother Halimu, do you know any other herders nearby? If there’s been a snowstorm, there might be more frozen livestock. If you can find any, I’d be interested in trading for them. I can offer tea, salt, or other items in exchange.”

“Alright. I’ll check around tomorrow.” Halimu nodded. While each herder’s camp was spread out, it would only take an hour on horseback to reach another family.

After securing the sheep, they moved down into a gully and unloaded axes from the cart to start chopping a fallen tree.

With Halimu’s help, they quickly gathered wood. He knew where the best wood lay, taking them to a spot in the gully filled with branches washed down by a flood in the fall.

Within a short time, they had a sizeable pile of wood by the cart. Li Long added the frozen sheep, tied the wood in place, and hitched the horse. Halimu invited them back in for a final cup of tea and, after receiving the antlers from him, sent them on their way.

The sun was just beginning to dip in the sky.

“Brother Long, this was a fantastic trip!” Daqiang said, excited. “With all this wood, we’ll be set for a long time!”

“Yes, but it would’ve been even better if the coal seam was closer,” Li Long replied, still unsatisfied.

Both men walked beside the cart, trudging through the snow, but in high spirits.

Li Long mentally calculated their earnings. The two antlers weighed around six or seven kilograms, and they could fetch about ten yuan. The frozen sheep, after being skinned and gutted, would yield around ten kilograms of meat, which at the current price of 1.2 yuan per kilogram, would bring in around twelve yuan.

Not to mention the wood, which didn’t even factor into his calculations. If they could secure more frozen sheep on the next trip, the income over a few days would be as much as a month’s wages in the city.

And best of all, this was work they could continue throughout the winter.

With a few more trips, he could save enough to buy a bicycle by spring!

As he trudged through the snowy landscape, Li Long felt a renewed sense of hope.

A hope for a better life.