Near the end of 1990s, the forestry industry began to “reduce production, limit logging, and lay off workers.” For the first time, Gu Changshan’s family and members of the 923 work team faced the choice of staying or leaving. Gu Changshan has adopted Xingjie, the orphaned son of his late colleague who died on duty. Despite their initial hesitation, the Gu family decides to help Xingjie continue with his studies. Meanwhile, the layoff crisis among forestry workers gradually resolves itself as the younger workers became the first to leave. Gu Changshan leads the remaining people to participate in the “family ecological forest” project. In 2007, in order to protect the ecology and improve people’s livelihoods, the resettlement project in remote areas began, and the 923 team once again faced a tough choice. Xingjie is pulled back to the mountains as he takes over the task of mobilizing immigrants and bears the mission of forestry reform. Given the logging restrictions in 2014 and 2015, Xingjie actively responds to the call that “gold and silver mines are not as good as blue waters and green mountains” and leads the people towards a better life.
