Tonight being a weekend, let me share some casual thoughts.
Pay attention — these next couple of years are going to be a concentrated high-risk period for the middle class to fall. Too many interlocking problems are primed to blow up at once.
The typical sequence goes like this: one spouse gets laid off, takes a short break, then gets restless and wants to try something new. And not some low-cost side hustle either — they want to open a shop, make some investments, that sort of thing.
What they’ve completely forgotten is that their previous executive title was essentially nothing more than “a technical specialist who understood one narrow slice of a large organization.” Nothing more.
It’s like comparing a senior sailor on an ocean liner to an actual captain — the gap in comprehensive capability and ambition is enormous.
The sailor assumes the captain’s job is nothing special. But the moment they take the helm themselves, they discover it’s a completely different story.
What follows is a flurry of excited activity, then a quiet fade into losses — slowly eroding a family foundation that wasn’t particularly thick to begin with.
Then comes the criticism and resentment from a spouse, the marriage deteriorates further, and the conditions become ripe for affairs and prolonged cold wars.
When a couple’s energy and will are misaligned, combined with fluctuating income, the family begins to teeter on the edge of crisis.
The worst outcome is when both parties, seeking their own escape, choose to end the marriage. That’s when it truly falls apart. A family foundation that was already thin gets split in two — and everyone ends up with little more than scraps, unable to build a decent life.
Both are in their thirties or forties. Both still have some fight left in them. But in reality, their physical stamina, mental energy, capabilities, and resources simply aren’t enough to sustain their ambitions.
So the breakup leads to both of their lives sliding further downward.
Over the past couple of years, quite a few couples of this type have come to Master Chi for wealth fortune and destiny readings. My answer is always clear: the single highest priority is that you absolutely must not rush into starting a business. Any expenditure exceeding six figures deserves serious scrutiny — is this truly necessary?
If it’s not absolutely necessary, don’t spend it. First protect the family’s economic vitality.
Fifty thousand, a hundred thousand yuan — that can sustain a family’s normal day-to-day expenses for a very long time.
After that, cherish your family. If you’re at home with time on your hands, do more around the house — buy groceries, cook meals, spend time with the kids. If you still have the energy, even picking up occasional odd jobs is worthwhile.
Don’t let your past accomplishments make you too proud to earn modest money.
Earning modestly isn’t surrender — it’s letting yourself lie low, slowly cultivating the opportunity to re-emerge.
I always make sure to lay out this foundational understanding clearly first, before diving into a detailed reading of each person’s destiny framework (格局) and wealth fortune.
Every family that has listened to this advice has generally come through these past two years steady and comfortable, with new ventures slowly beginning to take shape.
That’s just how life works — stability first, then victory.
What Master Chi respects least is the kind of person who is clearly just an ordinary mid-level manager, yet carries themselves with airs, acting as though they’re terribly precious.
In recent years, I’ve had several friends worth over a hundred million yuan who were willing to drive long-haul freight trucks or work as rideshare drivers.
These men still have money. Their foundations are intact. They drive not out of necessity, but because they know they’ve gotten older and can no longer keep up with the times — so they’re not going to recklessly chase things. Yet they don’t want to just sit idle and watch their assets drain away, so they come out and earn a little pocket money.
Once I was having tea with some friends at an old villa on Wukang Road when a Lalamove freight truck pulled up. Out jumped Old Zhang.
Old Zhang came strolling over in his orange work vest, all smiles, grabbed a cup of Ruiquan rock tea and drank it straight down: “I tell you, getting out and driving around really does change your mood. Seeing all kinds of people — it’s actually pretty enjoyable.”
I’ve gotten a bit off track. The point is: these next couple of years, stay steady. Don’t stir things up.
When setbacks come, don’t take them too hard. Life has its rises and falls — that’s what makes it a life.
The truly wise know how to appreciate their blessings when things are going up, and face the downswing with equanimity.
But here’s what’s interesting: over the past few years, the brothers and sisters in my community have generally been doing quite well. Whether in careers or investments, they’ve held steady under my guidance.
In life, having a good circle around you truly matters. A good circle creates a genuinely healthy and positive atmosphere — it helps you calm down and make the truly right decisions.
The danger is when you have no reliable friends or family nearby. You act on impulse on your own, then someone else’s recklessness starts making you itch to follow — and you end up making equally rash moves. That’s when things go wrong.