In the muddy mess of Dogtail Alley in Lanzhou, 1993, Qin Yuni, a scrap collector; Zhou Ziyi, a slick operator; Mo Yisi, a quiet mixed-race boy; and Liu Weishuo, a simple, honest lad, are four youngsters who share moldy steamed buns and cigarettes, carry bricks to fight street thugs for their brothers, and scavenge for work among heaps of scrap.
A single "monkey stamp" earns them their first pot of gold. They collect and dismantle old equipment from demolition sites, saving up 500,000 yuan. "Yunyi Recycling" moves from a broken-down warehouse into an office building, eventually becoming a recycling empire that breaks into the capital markets. Over twenty years, Qin Yuni shoulders the burden of being the "boss," stumbles through three relationships, and clings to his old gloves so he never forgets his roots. Zhou Ziyi and Mo Yisi turn against each other over money, yet when one falls on hard times, his brother comes to his rescue. Liu Weishuo becomes the steadfast rock that holds their brotherhood together.
There is rough talk from street fights, underhanded blows from business rivalries, and, above all, brothers trusting each other with their lives in desperate moments. When Qin Yuni stands on the stage to ring the bell at the company's IPO, an empire worth billions lies behind him, but before his eyes is still the boy in the alley mud, sharing steamed buns. The words "brothers who would risk their lives for each other" may have been shattered and broken, but in the end they prove more enduring than gold. This is an epic, passionate tale of ordinary men from the bottom of society riding the tide of their times and digging a golden life out of a scrap heap.
