First, let me be clear — nearly everything in this article is my own subjective, personal perspective.
The reason I’ve arrived at these views is that after accumulating some wealth of my own, I’ve been able to witness and deeply feel certain things firsthand.
So I think it’s worth having a brief conversation with the small number of readers who have genuine ambitions to grow.
After all, information — like wealth — becomes more refined and concentrated as you move up through the tiers.
I’ll speak as plainly as I can without being explicit about it. I’m sure you understand why.
1. In my personal view, given the current trajectory, being purely “cash rich” is no longer a good position — especially holding large amounts of liquid cash, which will feel increasingly hot to the touch.
The reason you don’t feel the problem yet is that the torrential rain hasn’t arrived — but it’s coming. Especially when everyone around you still treats their “savings” as their primary store of wealth.
(That sentence alone is worth sitting with for a while.)
2. That said, even so — choosing not to make reckless moves for at least the next six months is still the right call. Keep your hand close to your chest.
Combined with current macro planning and the trend toward declining birth rates, the minimum you can do in the next six months is offload any second- or third-tier properties you’re holding and look for opportunities to trade up into what’s called “4+7” (China’s top-tier and key second-tier cities).
Some readers are genuinely slow. I started warning about this two years ago and they kept asking me whether some second- or third-tier city was still viable. Those places have already dropped by half — and some are still asking. Well…
3. There’s no point listing pure numbers. Those who understand already know it in their gut; those who don’t won’t find the data useful.
What I will say is this: when a truly era-defining tailwind hits, making one right call is worth more than forty years of grinding.
Many people still don’t grasp this — 2023 to 2025 is absolutely the last window that most people will ever have to upgrade their city platform, for themselves and their descendants. Once that window closes, the doors are essentially locked for good.
4. If you’re currently drawing a decent salary, I genuinely urge you — don’t get too comfortable.
A salary is far more fragile than it looks. You never know what day it disappears.
When times were good, nobody thought about it. But now, everyone who’s been through a layoff regrets not deliberately building a secondary income stream when they had the chance.
If you have even a sliver of energy left, don’t squander it — put it to work on a small side business or hustle. Not to get rich, but to learn how the mechanics of a business actually flow from start to finish.
5. Fully shift yourself into low-power mode. Before any purchase, ask yourself: Is this necessary?
Is it necessary?
Let me remind you: unless your destiny chart (命盘) is genuinely exceptional — one of those rare charts built to rise against the current — these few years are for quiet cultivation and building your inner strength.
Don’t stir things up. Don’t make unnecessary moves. And above all, don’t borrow money carelessly, unless you’ve already made peace with the idea that that money is simply gone.
6. Over the next two years, simplify your life to the point where your entire existence can be summed up in a few sentences: Start each day with a simple breakfast. Put in seven parts effort at work. Reserve the remaining three parts for researching your side business and building your own small venture.
When you get home, express love to your family simply and sincerely. Let household spending be pared down to the essentials — stop chasing meaningless face.
With whatever time remains: read, exercise, and work alongside your partner to explore legitimate, practical ways to grow wealth through whatever channels you can find.
That’s it. Keep it that clean. Every word you add beyond that is a crime against your own life.
7. Cut out the negative noise as much as possible. I’ve said this repeatedly.
I know — gathering with a group of people to sigh together, knowing others have it worse than you, gives a strange sense of security.
But sustained negativity and constant sighing genuinely drain your vitality.
Spend that time in the sun instead. Read the classics. Stay close to the few people in your life who remain genuinely optimistic. That’s how you replenish your Chi (气) — it’s the intelligent move.
8. Be honest with yourself: you’re an ordinary person, and with only the information sources available to you, you cannot make reliably good judgments.
For most people, once they hit their early thirties, the upward channel essentially closes. Beyond momentum, there’s no other force left that can positively alter the trajectory of their life.
Without someone to help them read the currents clearly, and without the ability to see how the tides are shifting, the result is missing opportunity after opportunity.
The best solution is simpler than it sounds: find the right circles.
The most direct path is to learn from people in your life who have already achieved results. Don’t let embarrassment stop you. Be humble, kind, and sincere — ask openly and generously. Even if they only share a third of what they know, that’s more than enough. A framework sketched out in a few sentences can illuminate your entire path.
And beyond that: genuinely integrate yourself into communities where people have already built something. Study how they think about positioning. Absorb their hard-won, practical knowledge.