This is a story about fate and choice. A young man who walked out of the mountains was repeatedly crushed in the torrent of fate. He struggled, rose, fell, and rose again, and finally found that he had become the kind of person he least wanted to be, but he also found his own peace in the ruins. Before the Dragon Boat Festival in 2000, 16-year-old Gong Zaixuan climbed onto the bus bound for the provincial capital from the depths of the mountains in Zhenxiong, Yunnan, clutching a few dozen crumpled dollars. He fantasizes about finding a job that provides food and accommodation, saving money to send home, so that his parents can live a good life. He didn't know that what awaited him was not prosperity, but a bottomless quagmire. Regional discrimination blocked him from all formal workplaces. Hunger and despair forced him to steal a woman's bag. Eight months in the detention center became the first turning point in his life. After leaving the detention center, he defected to his hometown and wandered into the gray areas of Kunming's urban villages. Collect protection fees, collect bills for others, fight with the Sichuan Gang, and go shopping with the Hunan Gang. He relied on his brains to make a living, integrated train station ticket sources, won over Mr. Jiang, Mr. Meng, and Sichuan Lao Si, and gathered dozens of northeastern brothers under his men to open bars and casinos. He enjoyed unlimited fame and fortune, but he never imagined that the one who stabbed him in the back was his closest sworn brother. He never imagined that the girlfriend he tried so hard to protect would run away with his money after he was imprisoned. He was imprisoned twice, betrayed three times, and had four women come and go. He has made money that others will never make, and he has also been in jail that others would not want to spend their entire lives in.
Guess where the trajectory of life will go.