The recent business surrounding Elder Zong has everyone talking — and honestly, I’m a bit surprised too, because in Jiangnan circles, this has long been an open secret.
But never mind. That sort of trivial romance gossip is best left for the entertainment crowd to chew over.
Master Chi would rather use this moment to share a few thoughts:
1 — Never trust a public persona. Never be blinded by how polished someone appears in public.
Every human being has emotions, desires, and impulses. Every human being has the instinctive drive toward food, pleasure, and appetite. I’ve encountered far too many celebrities and members of the elite, so I genuinely advise you: approach everyone you admire — men and women alike — with a level head. Learn from their skills, capabilities, and foresight. But don’t hold too many illusions or expectations about their character.
2 — Don’t put the wealthy, the famous, or the celebrated on a pedestal.
Once you actually get close to them, you’ll find they’re just as caught up in drinking, romance, money, and temptation as anyone else. In fact, the dysfunction within their households is often worse than in ordinary families — they’re simply better at managing their image, making you think their home is a picture of “wise father, kind mother, devoted children.”
Let me be direct: I’ll make a prediction right now — as many of the older and middle-generation wealthy and famous figures grow old, there are at least three or four more jaw-dropping revelations still to come.
3 — A sincere word of advice to female readers: never be naive enough to think that marrying a powerful man means your life is set.
Remember this — without your own ability and foundation to stand on, you will only become more and more passive over time. This isn’t about not believing in love. It’s about having genuine respect for human nature. In a marriage, both partners must grow together for it to last.
4 — For families that have crossed the threshold into modest wealth, the gender of children doesn’t matter much. What matters is whether the children are capable of carrying on the family legacy.
But the prerequisite for all of that is having children in the first place.
At our core, humans are still animals — however advanced we become, the instinct to continue the bloodline remains. To the many women I’ve personally introduced into modest wealthy families, I’ve repeatedly emphasized: you must have children, and the more the better. Not just for the family — but for yourself.
5 — As a general rule, when it comes to the grievances and feuds of so-called wealthy families, I strongly advise against taking sides too early — because what’s currently public may not be the full picture.
Countless times, bitter experience has shown that after the storm passes, more and more problems surface, triggering new waves of conflict and debate. The person elevated to sainthood today could very easily be torn apart by a tidal wave of public sentiment tomorrow. That’s not unusual at all.
So the wise move is not to declare your position at a moment like this — but to watch how things unfold, and learn from it.