Back to 1983: A Xing’an Mountains Hunter’s Rise to the Establishment

Tang Xiaoshan opens his eyes and finds himself back in 1983, in the Lesser Khingan Mountains. In his previous life, he was the spineless live-in son-in-law of the Liu family. This time, he’s a full-time employee at a state-owned forestry farm. Staring at the transfer order stamped with a red seal, he clenches his fists. In this life, he’ll make something of himself!

From logging-site foreman to founder of Xing’an Village, Tang Xiaoshan leads drifters in carving out a future on this black soil. He hunts sable, fights black bears, and builds traditional cone-shaped lodges. Every sable pelt is soaked with sweat, and every log bears the mark of dignity. When Niu Dayong shows up with official documents to make trouble, Tang Xiaoshan brings out three Type 56 rifles: “The rule in Xing’an Village is simple: nothing tastes better than the food you earn yourself!”

The insight of a reborn man lets him see through the tides of the times. Timber-smuggling parasites will eventually fall, while only those who keep their feet on the ground can hold onto a secure job. From a settlement of drifters to an officially recognized village, from temporary worker to provincial model worker, Tang Xiaoshan’s story of hard work is a true testament to that blazing era.

Here you’ll find the survival wisdom of old Oroqen hunters, the fierce passion of forestry workers, and the unyielding vitality of the Northeast’s black earth. As the spring breeze of reform sweeps across the Khingan Range, watch Tang Xiaoshan and his brothers carve out a new world between the planned and market economies!

Key elements:

Hardcore life at a Northeast forestry farm: an authentic recreation of 1980s logging and hunting

The struggle between job security and survival: a dangerous business venture built on the security of a permanent position

A passionate construction story: the development of a settlement, from earthen dugouts to brick houses

Individual striving amid the tides of the times: more than a reborn man’s comeback, it’s an epic about ordinary workers.

(The story stays true to the character of Northeast China’s forests in the 1980s, with no fantasy elements, focusing on an authentic, down-to-earth journey of hard work.)