Student Question (L茵Z):
A question for you! Was our traditional so-called “provider and reproducer” functional structure formed precisely to suppress education costs — including educational risks — within the family, the smallest unit of social division and cooperation? And is it feasible to transfer those costs elsewhere?
Looking at successful pro-natalist policies overseas — from reward systems and reduced education spending, to legislation protecting workplace rights for mothers, to policies encouraging fathers to take paternity leave — at their core, all of these transfer a portion of the cost onto society. One of the reasons these policies actually work, in my view, comes down to a difference in mindset: the question of who “owns” children.
In truth, all the problems we face revolve around a single core issue. Every problem we encounter today, the West encountered first. Social atomization pulls individuals out of their original stable, low-cost structures. Once extracted, these individuals — whether materially or spiritually — are left helpless, without foundation or support. This state of acute instability inevitably drives people to do two things: 1. seize resources through overconsumption, and 2. squander resources in their spending. Both of these accelerate the intensification of social division of labor, and more importantly, the rapid concentration of social wealth.
Frankly speaking, I am myself a living, breathing example of someone who “drew close to wealth and destiny, and in doing so, obtained it.” So I speak on today’s topic with particular authority.
Those familiar with me know that my family background was genuinely favorable — though it had its share of turbulence, it afforded me the rare fortune, from a very young age, to grow up alongside a circle of extraordinary figures.
Student Question
Hello, Master Chi. For those working in operations and marketing, and for professionals broadly who feel stuck in their personal development — how can they learn more effectively given the current environment?
Master Chi’s Response
There are essentially two points.
The first concerns today’s broader environment. Most working professionals — especially those with operations and marketing backgrounds — need to seek out new paths for personal development. But inevitably, only a small number will actually get results.
Every person — you and I included — is destined to pass through a period of profound darkness.
During that passage, your confidence will be trampled. Your efforts will be dismissed entirely. Everything you have given will be met with betrayal.
But do not be afraid. This is the necessary road of growth. Sit quietly with that pain, and draw from it the nourishment that will help you mature.
Only through this can you become truly resilient — truly formed.
Student Question: Master Chi, when facing the many choices along life’s path, how does one make a decision they won’t regret?
In elementary school, agonizing over which flavor snack to choose. In middle school, torn between devoting everything to competitions for a guaranteed university recommendation, or studying the curriculum to prepare for the upcoming high school entrance exam. After the entrance exam, torn between attending the experimental class at a nearby high school or boarding at a top provincial high school farther from home. At the start of high school, torn between joining the school’s competition track or working through the standard curriculum step by step. In the second semester of high school, torn between the humanities and sciences tracks. In the second year of high school, torn about whether to confess feelings to someone I liked. After graduating from university, torn about what kind of career to pursue.
I have experienced poverty deeply myself.
Especially during that period when the family business collapsed — fortunes exhausted, every property gone.
Through those years, every single day was a scramble, exhausting both body and spirit. Even a few yuan could make my heart suddenly lurch.
In those moments, it meant nothing that the family had once been prosperous, that we had thrown money around freely, that we had connections and private jets on a whim. None of it mattered.
I’ve been traveling around North America lately — looking at assets, catching up with friends, handling various matters — and I happened to catch a cold along the way.
So just a quick note to my readers: the longer pieces will have to wait until I’m back in the country and recovered. Give me a few days.
Today, let me share one simple yet profoundly effective principle.
That principle is: flowing water brings wealth.
Author: Commander of the Night Watch
Preface
This is a man-made countercyclical distortion. Without fundamental reform, a cliff-edge demographic collapse is inevitable — one that will disrupt numerous industries, eliminate countless jobs, and alter the destinies of millions. The cyclical continuity of human civilization cannot be stopped, but institutional reform is achievable. And the first obstacle any reform must overcome is the weight of ingrained beliefs.
As long as the existing marriage institution remains intact, a cliff-edge demographic collapse cannot be avoided. Yes, it will generate profound social problems and reshape the futures of countless industries and individuals. But at this stage, no one has the courage to reach for the key that could actually solve the problem.
I’ve been traveling these past couple of days, but I found a moment to jot down some thoughts — consider this a gift to you.
When you’ve experienced enough in life, you’ll come to realize something.
Whether you can become wealthier and more capable ultimately comes down to one thing: whether you can handle what gets thrown at you.
To be honest, almost all of it will be trouble — messy situations, bad developments, difficult problems. But you still can’t run from them. You have to learn to meet them head-on, because these are the test questions Heaven itself has arranged for you. Pass the test, and your rank goes up.