Let me be clear from the outset: nothing in this article constitutes any form of advice. I am simply sharing some “life wisdom” that I think you ought to know. This article also requires a certain degree of life experience and accumulated business or political acumen to fully appreciate — if you lack either, you may find all three sections of this article beyond your grasp, and I make no apologies for that.
To begin, let me share three important truths. Although Master Chi sincerely hopes you never have to experience any of the following firsthand, I believe that if misfortune ever brings you low, these three statements will give you an instant, bone-deep understanding of just how cold this world can be.
Never underestimate anyone who has left a mark on their era. No matter how the world mocks or ridicules them, study them patiently and learn from their strengths. Very few people have the wisdom to learn from others’ failures — most are content with the cheap pleasure of watching others fall from grace.
Never mistake a person’s struggle during their low moments for the full measure of their ability. You must observe a person across different seasons — examining their decisions at both their peaks and their valleys with care. Do not mistake a triumphant scoundrel for a hero, and do not mistake a fallen hero for a scoundrel.
When you are at the top, you are surrounded by flatterers. When you are at the bottom, you are surrounded by slander. Hold no illusions about anyone around you — family aside. The people in this world willing to offer you a hand when you’re down are an extreme minority. Most people would sooner step on you, because it makes them feel capable by comparison.
With those three points made, let’s talk about LeEco — yes, the same LeEco that recently hit sixteen consecutive limit-up days.
Mention this stock to almost anyone and the overwhelming consensus is: fraud company, fraudster founder. This opinion was largely manufactured by an ignorant media and a herd of people eager to kick a wall that’s already fallen.
But think carefully: why did Jia leave? Did he leave because LeEco failed, or did LeEco fail because he left? Once you trace the sequence of cause and effect, many things fall into place on their own.
That is why virtually everything written online about Jia — by media outlets and independent commentators alike — is 99.99% wrong. When you get down to it, a true fraudster would never behave as follows: 1. Build a real enterprise first, then play the capital game. 2. At the height of their financial power, not quietly stash away a massive personal escape fund. 3. After fleeing abroad with nothing left, still spend every day dreaming about a comeback.
Turn those three points over and over in your mind. Do not dismiss them as trivial, or you will never truly understand human nature.
Remember: no matter how elaborately a great fraudster stages their scheme, their ultimate goal is always measured in wealth — there’s always a number, always an exit. They do not rally around goals and grand ambitions after they have failed. Take that overseas-trained lawyer who swindled an enormous fortune from a certain place and simply vanished — that is what a real fraudster looks like.
So when people call Jia a fraudster, all Master Chi can say is that they understand neither fraudsters nor the tragic defiance of a cornered fighter.
Now let’s talk about Jia himself.
What Jia faces right now is a near-death trap — a deadlock that would break 99.9999999% of people on this earth.
The crux of the deadlock: 1. Without saving LeEco, he cannot return to China. 2. Without returning to China, he cannot save LeEco.
Each problem blocks the other. This is not just a puzzle that would stump the critics piling on from behind their keyboards — it would challenge even many high-caliber operators to find a way through.
And yet — what is he doing right now?
He is building a new electric vehicle brand, aiming to achieve mass production, list it on US markets, and grow its market capitalization.
Never mind whether it will succeed. Ask yourself simply: is he doing this? Yes or no?
Yes. And that is enough.
Because no matter how much the outside world attacks him, those three principles I opened with make everything clear the moment you apply them:
Never underestimate anyone who has left a mark on their era. No matter how the world mocks or ridicules them, study them patiently and learn from their strengths. Very few people have the wisdom to learn from others’ failures — most are content with the cheap pleasure of watching others fall from grace.
Never mistake a person’s struggle during their low moments for the full measure of their ability. You must observe a person across different seasons — examining their decisions at both their peaks and their valleys with care. Do not mistake a triumphant scoundrel for a hero, and do not mistake a fallen hero for a scoundrel.
When you are at the top, you are surrounded by flatterers. When you are at the bottom, you are surrounded by slander. Hold no illusions about anyone around you — family aside. The people in this world willing to offer you a hand when you’re down are an extreme minority. Most people would sooner step on you, because it makes them feel capable by comparison.
Yes — even if Jia were a fraudster, his caliber, his capabilities, and his mastery of the capital game remain intact. More critically, he is still in his prime, and he has not surrendered.
He is still fighting. He is still fighting. He is still fighting.
And in this world, there will always be people who can read that kind of force — and that is exactly why LeEco has been surging these past weeks.
As for his plan of action?
Master Chi won’t pretend to know for certain. But the most probable scenario is this: list and achieve mass production of the overseas EV brand Faraday Future, then work to inflate the valuation, and once the market cap is up, execute a share swap between FF and LeEco.
No one would object to that arrangement, because the alternative is holding onto something already confirmed as worthless. The choice comes down to: keep the trash, or trade it for chips that carry risk but also carry upside.
Which would you choose?
Under this scenario, as long as FF’s valuation bubble holds even moderately, LeEco’s debt can be absorbed outright.
Wipe the debt clean, and the man can come home. And once he’s home, the fight is back on.
Note: everything above is speculation — conjecture, guesswork, and reading between the lines. Nothing more.
Now, on the back of all this, let me share a few unspoken truths about this world that you must keep close to heart.
Brothers and sisters: unless your life is entirely free of rises and falls, you will at some point witness firsthand just how fickle human warmth can be.
When you are thriving, everyone smiles at you eagerly, offering flattery and compliments. You are the boss, the figure of importance, the great one, the noble benefactor (Gui Ren).
But the moment you fall — hah.
No matter what you once accomplished, no matter what truly lives in your heart — you are a fraudster. Every action you ever took will be reinterpreted as dirty scheming. Every word you ever said will be read as dark deception.
The ones who clung to you most closely, who flattered you most shamelessly — they are the very same ones who curse you most viciously and kick you hardest when you’re down. This is human nature: pile on the fallen wall, chase self-interest without scruple, bully the weak while fearing the strong, and abandon all effort to distinguish right from wrong or truth from lie.
The herd never learns anything from the parade of living examples right in front of them.
Trust me — if you ever hit rock bottom, your so-called friends, and even some family members, will be sharing your embarrassments and humiliations as their own proud dinner-table conversation.
“See? I always said he wasn’t capable.” “Look — he failed, just like I warned him.” “Ha — now you see how sharp I am. I saw through it all far more clearly than he did.”
A swarm of buzzing, useless flies.
For you, all Master Chi hopes is this: when you see a person of substance caught in the middle of upheaval, do not rush to judgment. Just do one simple thing.
Ask yourself honestly — if you were in that position, at that exact moment in time.
If you were Huang Guangyu in that moment. If you were Chu Shijian in that moment. If you were Jia Yueting in that moment — what would you do?
Just ask yourself. Just ask.
Life has its tides — peaks and valleys come in their time. Never judge a hero by whether they won or lost. Right and wrong, loyal and treacherous — let others debate; One grand farce, one fleeting dream.
Finally, Master Chi wishes you a life that never knows darkness — and yet, should the shadows come, may you find the light within them.