Student Question
Hello Master, in a small city where house prices have shown little to no long-term growth, is it better to buy with a mortgage or pay in full? (I do have the means to pay in full.) Doing a rough calculation, the annual mortgage interest is quite significant — much higher than what a bank deposit would earn. Please advise. Thank you.
Master Chi’s Response
If house prices aren’t going up long-term, buying in full means you’re continuously losing money — it’s no different from just holding cash.
Student Question
Master, hello. Aonan Strait City is listed at 40,000 yuan per square meter. Is a 200-square-meter unit worth buying?
Master Chi’s Response
People say Strait City doesn’t appreciate — but at 40,000 per sqm in Aonan, Strait City is basically the only option at that price. When Strait City first launched, it was a very tough sell. It was pioneer territory in the Hexi South district, average quality at best. Back then, their sales team was cold-calling everywhere trying to move units at 10,000 to 20,000 yuan per sqm. It eventually rode the broader market upward.
These past couple of days have brought unexpected matters that needed handling — unavoidably disrupting my usual writing schedule. I hope you’ll bear with me.
But just now, in a spontaneous moment, I sat down and wrote this short piece — a warm bowl of winter soup, sent to you with care.
It isn’t long, but it comes from the heart. I hope you enjoy it and find something of value in it.
Student Question:
Master Chi, hello. I have a career direction question I’d like to ask your guidance on.
I’m currently working as a project lead for outside-hospital product sales at a distributor company. The products are gynecological HPV treatments — sanitization-category items and gynecological gel. We operate through the outside-hospital pharmacy channel. I’ve been running this model for half a year, but the boss keeps switching the products we represent — there’s been instability along the way, and our actual time in the market is short.
Student Question
Hello, Master. I remember when I first bought my home — I felt not only that I finally had a place of my own, but that I was absolutely certain the value would go up.
That was in 2020.
Then came the nationwide risk controls, and I felt like I’d been thrown off track.
Two years later, I relocated to a different city for personal reasons and started preparing to sell the property.
A New Year’s Message — Two Pieces of Advice
First Piece of Advice: Investment is a means, not an end. Hold off on large investments for now — whether in education or in projects.
Why? Because the economic situation is still unclear. What looks like an opportunity today can flip the moment policy shifts.
That opportunity could instantly become a trap.
You need to be able to wait. To endure.
Just speaking off the cuff here. This is only for those brothers and sisters who can actually read the big picture.
1.
People have been asking me to weigh in on this: should you back the pro-opening side or the lockdown side?
Honestly? I’m with neither. Because if you’re past 30 and you still think this debate is about right versus wrong, that tells me one thing: you fundamentally don’t understand the rules of the game on this land.
Yesterday, the comments section received a very interesting message: “Hello Master Chi, I’ve been your reader for many years. I’m writing today with a somewhat bold request.
A few days ago, I recommended your articles to my younger cousin in a small town. She read them and was immediately blown away — and scolded me for not introducing you to her sooner.
But since she came to your articles late and missed a great deal of content, I was wondering if you might find some time to distill and recap your core insights? I’m sure many other readers feel the same way, and I want to thank you in advance.”
For the past few days we’ve been talking about the sweeping currents of the broader world. Today, let’s bring it back to earth and talk about something both you and I care about — a “small” but deeply personal topic.
That is: what mindset should we carry as we face an uncertain future?
After much reflection, I’ve decided to say everything I want to tell you in a short piece of writing. Remember this above all else: no matter how difficult the coming season of your life becomes — do not doubt yourself. Do not deny your own worth.
I truly never expected these three years of turbulent journey to end with such decisive, unequivocal clarity.
Barring any surprises, what follows will be a gradual reopening — each region moving at its own pace, feeling its way forward step by step, before arriving at full openness around next Spring Festival.
While all of this is, by any measure, good news — after all, the arteries of economic life and wealth will slowly begin to pulse again — we must also understand that this pandemic has fundamentally upended many of the old rules.