I can’t guarantee how long this article will stay up — one careless moment and we’ve wandered into some fairly sensitive territory.
But you know me. Master Chi has never been in the habit of speaking anything but the truth, and I treat every one of my brothers and sisters with the same candid honesty.
So whatever you take away from this — remember it yourself, because every word counts.
1
Objectively speaking, victory is genuinely drawing closer. With each new generation of high-precision military technology we successfully develop, the anxiety and panic on the other side of the Pacific grows louder.
Anxiety leads to second-guessing. Fear leads to retreat.
That’s precisely why last month, the Eagle and the Land of the Rising Sun suddenly began sending us signals of goodwill, searching frantically for off-ramps and exit strategies.
You’re smart enough to understand: a dramatic shift in attitude always has a mountain of hard logic behind it.
They’re not fools either. At its core, they’ve come to realize that if things continue at this pace — with our complete industrial supply chain and formidable R&D capacity — we will, one day, cost them their battlefield advantage.
In the cold war and the hot war, the hot war has quite clearly become an unacceptable option for them. The price is too high, and they can’t afford to lose.
2
You might think what I just described is far removed from your daily life — that it won’t touch your paycheck, your mortgage, your spending.
In reality, the ripple effects are far larger than you imagine.
Because 40% of the pressure you’re feeling right now comes, at its core, from the fact that the world’s two largest economies had a serious falling out.
Put it even more plainly: countless big deals and big interests can no longer flow the way they once did because of that falling out. Is that our fault?
No. We Chinese are perfectly capable of building cars, chips, semiconductors, advanced technology, LNG carriers, and large commercial aircraft — high-value industries, every one of them. We still want to do business with this world, happily.
But some people feel threatened and envious, and they want to use force to keep us confined to “making T-shirts and jeans for all eternity.”
I’m sorry — if that’s how it is, then we have no choice but to let our strength do the talking.
3
Remember this: in the eyes of truly world-class power, the economy is certainly important — but what always matters most is national interest.
That includes international relations, scientific research capacity, military strength, and the fabric of social life.
A weak nation might squeeze out some economic gains in the short term through special measures, but in the long run, things cannot possibly go well overall.
Think about it: if you can’t even protect the bread in your own home, what good is hoarding more of it? You just become an ATM machine for whoever is strong enough to take it.
So some temporary hardships and difficulties — we have to face them with clear heads.
On a personal note: I travel the world almost every two years — especially to North America — and I have friends spread across New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Toronto.
Whether from my own experience or from what those friends tell me: inflation in North America has reached an almost absurd level. The cost of living is crushing. Life is not easy there.
I won’t draw comparisons or dig deeper. I’ll simply repeat one point: the world’s two largest economies had a falling out.
Keep that at the center of your thinking, and almost everything else will suddenly make sense.
4
Some of my brothers and sisters ask me: so when does it get better?
Master Chi has no interest in empty inspiration or in changing the subject. My straight answer is this: 2025 will be a clear turning point for us — especially starting in the second half of this year, life will begin to ease, gradually.
Whether it’s the stock market or the property market, the bad news will have run its course, and good news will slowly start to appear, one piece at a time.
Understand this: the water hasn’t disappeared from the sky. It just hasn’t come down as a real, large-scale downpour yet — and so naturally, moods remain low.
We are a civilization with more than five thousand years of history. Deep in our bones, we carry the farmer’s simple wisdom: a field flourishes best when you do the work of watering it yourself, and when the rain comes to help every now and then. That’s when cultivation feels light.
So wait. It won’t be long.
The other side of the Pacific has already understood: they cannot keep going like this, inflicting a hundred wounds on others while taking eight hundred themselves.
5
A few words for my younger readers.
If you’re a fresh graduate, I hope you understand this: the value of that diploma in your hand has become very thin indeed.
The past several cycles of disruption have already built a social consensus: except for a very small number of highly specialized fields, 99% of fresh graduates are simply fresh-faced young people — nothing more, nothing less.
And being fresh-faced means you lack real-world experience. You don’t yet have the skills to navigate a world full of seasoned veterans. So naturally, it’s hard to earn your bowl of rice in a game where everyone else has been playing much longer.
What do you do? Just lie flat and give up? That doesn’t solve the real problem.
Uncle Master Chi’s advice is clear: do not have eyes bigger than your stomach. Don’t expect a well-paying, comfortable job to be waiting for you the moment you step out into the world. That’s almost never going to happen.
I have a fairly wide network in Shanghai, and in the past I often helped prominent people find placements for their children. But these past couple of years — I simply cannot pull it off.
The bosses themselves say it plainly: “It’s not that I don’t want to help, brother. It’s that I genuinely can’t afford to take on anyone new. My own kids are just getting by.”
That is reality. We need to see it clearly.
So take a short breather if you need to — but then find your way forward. Any job that lets you feed yourself and stops you from depending on your parents is a good job.
Even if the boss is demanding, the colleagues are sharp-tongued, the work is tedious, and the pay is poor — remember, you’re still young. All of this is a “class” you must pass after entering society. Learn to get through it.
Learn to handle a difficult boss. Learn to build real friendships. Learn to work efficiently. Deepen your inner skills. And above all, learn to find the solution for every problem that comes your way.
The sooner you accept this reality, the sooner you’ll find your way out.
Welcome to the adult world. This world never promised anyone it would be easy.
6
And a few words for my middle-aged readers.
As a middle-aged person myself, I understand deeply the weight of the pressure you carry — and the constant, gnawing fear that you might become obsolete.
Let Master Chi give you an honest, if harsh, answer: nature itself runs on the law of survival of the fittest — the strong prevail, the weak yield. This is the way of heaven, and no one can stop it.
Given that, we should simply play the game calmly, according to those rules.
Survival of the fittest? Then let’s be among the fit.
The strong prevail? Then let’s be among the strong.
We must evolve ourselves inch by inch. Even when it’s painful, we must grit our teeth and push through — because on the other side is a completely new world.
Start with your daily work. Do every task with efficiency and quality. Make sure everything you touch has follow-through and resolution. Continuously seek out the knowledge and judgment that belongs to the level above you.
Start with your daily downtime. Read books and articles of real substance. Build sharper, more rigorous logic. Master more survival skills, workplace skills, and investment skills.
If time allows, spend it with your family and children. Exercise.
Honestly: in all my years, I have never once seen a self-disciplined, earnest, strong-willed middle-aged person fall into a completely hopeless situation with no way out.
And I don’t believe that you — someone who has been reading my work — will be stuck in that abyss forever.
How could you be?
Heaven never seals off every path — unless we lie down and surrender ourselves.
I know that for years now, you’ve felt that late-night dread and anxiety. Not knowing how to keep going. Not knowing who to turn to about a struggling career, an uncertain future, a troubled marriage, or a life that seems to have stalled.
Hey — haven’t you noticed? Master Chi has been right here with you all along.
You have never been alone.