Gao Zhanxi was born in a deep mountain forest in Hunan Province where traffic is extremely closed. Surrounded by high mountains, the village is surrounded by mountains and has a steep cliff slope with little to no flat land to see outside the village.
There are thirty or forty families in the village, and if you want to leave here to get to the county seat, you have to walk for several hours down the hill and then take an old long-distance bus.
Due to its remote location, the mountains block the signal, making it difficult for the villagers to communicate with the outside world. The necessities of life are scarce, and even the most basic vegetables are hard to buy. There is only one dilapidated primary school in the village, and it is difficult for children to go back to school after they finish sixth grade.
The mountains block all possibilities from the outside world, and the villagers have been repeating a single pattern of life for generations in this barren living environment, with low expectations and miserable life.
Gao Zhanxi's family is the worst in the village. His father was blind at an early age, his younger brother was still very young, and the whole family was barely supported by his mother alone. Unable to make ends meet, they live in a simple wooden hut on the edge of the village, where it is difficult to obtain even the most basic necessities.
Gao Zhanxi, who grew up in this environment, has struggled with food and clothing since he was a child, and his difficult survival is unimaginable.
One day in 2011, a huge television production team of dozens of people suddenly appeared in Gao Zhanxi's village, coming from a popular TV show called "Metamorphosis".
The main model of this program is to select a few children from poor areas, let them live in wealthy families for a period of time, and then return to their original environment as a way to "change their fate".
The program team was very interested in Gao Zhanxi, who lived in extreme poverty, and decided to make him the first "protagonist" of the new season. When the producer approached Gao Zhanxi and told him that he wanted to take him outside, his mother was extremely panicked and scared, hugging her son and crying bitterly.
She thought it was a human trafficker who wanted to take her child away and sell it. It wasn't until the village chief explained that it was just filming a show that she let down her guard.
Mother finally understood that this was a rare opportunity for Gao Zhanxi to see the outside world and live a good life for a few days. That night, the staff simply packed Gao Zhanxi's luggage, and took the children from the mountain village who had never seen the world to the county seat, took the high-speed rail, and went to a distant big city.
Coming to a strange city is another world for Gao Zhanxi, who has never been far away. He lived in a wealthy family that the host specially found for him, and lived with his father in the city and his mother in the city.
The couple gave Gao Zhanxi a separate bedroom with televisions, game consoles, and a wide variety of toys that he had never seen before.
In the first day or two, Gao Zhanxi was still shy and introverted, and he didn't dare to leave with his mother. Later, he gradually let go of his nature, indulged in electronic products and games all day long, had no interest in studying Xi work, and slept until noon at night before getting up.
His mother in the city gave him dozens of dollars a day as pocket money, and he squandered it, buying the most fashionable clothes and eating the most exclusive food.
During the six-day vacation, Gao Zhanxi completely fell into consumerism and hedonism, and lost the virtue of thrift. He has become lawless and self-motivated, and he is no longer the docile and diligent country boy he was at the beginning.
Many viewers couldn't stand it and asked whether the program team was destroying a good-natured child in this way.
After six days of depravity, the production team designed a telephone script in order to create buzz and drama: Gao Zhanxi's father accidentally fell off a cliff while crossing the river to fetch water, and his legs were broken in multiple places.
This sudden bad news immediately broke Gao Zhanxi's paralysis. Without saying a word, he left the food, clothing, shelter and transportation in the city, and hurriedly got on the bus for the return journey.
When the car entered the village through the rugged mountain road, Gao Zhanxi was full of tears. He rushed home and found that his father had not broken his leg and that his mother was busy in the fields with his younger brother.
Only then did he realize that he had been deceived, but he was not the slightest bit annoyed. On the contrary, returning to his humble but warm home and eating dry pancakes with a straight face, Gao Zhanxi's heart swelled with an unprecedented sense of steadiness.
He never wanted to leave his family again. From that moment on, he was determined to change this difficult state of existence.
After returning to his hometown, Gao Zhanxi gradually realized the profound impact of this "metamorphosis" experience. Although the production team set a trap, it was this sudden change that made him wake up.
He began to think deeply about whether he would be like the villagers in this life, trapped in the mountains forever and toiling to live, or whether he would fight hard and rewrite his fate.
He found that the power of reading to change one's destiny was immense. As a professional who graduated from college, my mother in the city earns more than 10,000 yuan a month, while my father's friends only have a primary school or junior high school education, and they have been doing manual work all their lives, only struggling to make ends meet.
Therefore, he made up his mind not to complain about the heavens and people, no longer complain about this closed and backward environment, but to support himself and work hard to learn Xi get out of this deep mountain. He worked out a detailed study plan overnight, working hard in the fields during the day to earn money, and studying hard at night.
His determination to work hard infected the people around him, and the villagers encouraged and supported him, and Gao Zhanxi also became the pride of the village.
After graduating from high school, Gao Zhanxi did not give up the idea of further study. He decided to leave his hometown and go out to college. But his family did not allow his parents to fund this huge expense, and Gao Zhanxi could only rely on himself.
With the help of his family and friends, he was able to raise money for his first year's tuition and living expenses, and left his hometown where he had lived for 17 years to come to a normal university in another country.
In this unfamiliar campus, Gao Zhanxi struggled to adapt to study and Xi life, and at the same time, he had to work odd jobs to earn living expenses. During the day, he has to complete heavy academic tasks, and at night he works as a waiter or manual labor in the campus cafeteria and supermarket.
In his spare time, Gao Zhanxi soaked in the library every step of the way, because he understood that this was the only hope to get out of poverty and change his fate.
Although his life was extremely difficult compared to that of other classmates, Gao Zhanxi was never discouraged or complained. He firmly believes that as long as he does not give up, he will eventually see the light of day. Sure enough, four years later, he received his degree with honors and completed his university studies as he wished.
It was an unprecedented feat in the village, and everyone was proud of him.
After graduating from university, Gao Zhanxi gave up the stable path of returning to the village as a teacher and chose to challenge himself again. He applied for the national defense student examination and entered the armed police force for training through layers of selection.
After joining the army, he truly realized what hard-working and iron will are.
The daily high-intensity physical training and shooting training caused him to collapse and cough up blood, but Gao Zhanxi never flinched. At night Xi the Art of War taught Fan and lived a day with only four hours of sleep.
Many comrades-in-arms during the same period chose to give up in this cruel environment, but Gao Zhanxi did not waver in the slightest, because protecting his family and defending the country and serving the motherland was his original intention to join the army.
Two years later, Gao Zhanxi completed the training with full honors and successfully became a qualified armed police soldier. Now, time has passed, and he is already a platoon commander who cherishes the motherland and is passionate and enthusiastic, leading his comrades-in-arms to train recruits and protect the people to live and work in peace and contentment.
This is the proudest achievement of his life.
In the past 17 years, hundreds of rural children have been given the opportunity to change their faces like Gao Zhanxi in the "Metamorphosis" program, but he is the only one who can really change their fate with their own hands.
Time can melt many dreams, but Gao Zhanxi has never given up, step by step from the deep mountains and old forests, until he grows into an excellent armed police soldier.
During this period, he did not complain about the barrenness of the environment, did not complain about the inaction of his parents, and even after the illusion of comfort of city life was shattered, he cherished his country and family even more, and this firm will and emotion made his life brilliant.
Gao Zhanxi's experience is a vivid portrayal of man's victory over fate, and it also brings great courage to people in the same predicament.