When I was younger, I didn’t really understand why people who had achieved real status and accomplishment always needed a capable right-hand man by their side. Now, having reached a modest position myself, I finally understand: having an assistant isn’t about showing off or putting on airs, as outsiders might assume. Most of the important decisions and calls still have to come from you personally. The real purpose of an assistant is purely practical — to handle the physical labor and daily minutiae of life: driving, running errands, handling logistics, and so on.
So why is it necessary? You might think: couldn’t you just handle these things yourself with a bit more effort? No real reason to have one, right? Because by that point in your life, you simply can’t afford to spend your time swimming in the mud of low-level social interactions anymore. Your energy is genuinely limited. You can’t afford to lose face. And most critically — you no longer share a common language with those people.
What do I mean by that? Have you noticed something? As your career develops and you climb higher, what changes isn’t just the numbers in your account or your inner state of mind. Another crucial reference point is the people and environment around you. The higher you climb, the more refined, cultured, and able to “speak like civilized humans” the people around you become.
Of course, Master Chi is well aware that the world of social power is dark and people’s hearts are treacherous. All that polished packaging is largely meaningless. But at least it establishes a shared understanding: people at this level are entitled to speak of etiquette, because the distribution and maneuvering of interests, on one hand, goes without saying, and on the other, there’s always a natural under-the-table struggle taking place.
But when your environment is lower-tier, you’ll find the bottom-feeders multiplying around you. Note — when I say bottom-feeders here, I’m not using wealth or status as the measure. I have many friends who aren’t wealthy or prominent, yet their character and moral cultivation are exceptional. But that doesn’t change the broader trend: the lower the tier, the more human garbage you encounter.
So when you try to communicate with people in those circles using courtesy, politeness, and dignity — it’s pointless. In fact, they’ll take it as a sign that you’re a pushover, a fool, a coward. You’ve probably felt this yourself. Maybe it was a colleague, a relative, or some stranger you encountered in a poorer neighborhood. Your gentleness and goodwill became the very opening they used to hurt and humiliate you.
This is where having an assistant becomes meaningful. He handles all these undignified, low-grade situations for you. Assistants are young, sharp, and full of fire — what might take a grown adult lengthy argument to resolve, a young man can settle with a single sharp counter and a flash of temper, and the other side backs down immediately.
Simply put: some people may walk on two legs just like you and call themselves “human,” but you and they speak fundamentally different languages. All the reasoning and elegant logic in the world is no match for a direct, hard attitude — or even a subtle threat of force. It’s like when someone around you is endlessly unreasonable, buzzing around you all day with passive-aggressive nonsense. You reach your absolute limit, let out a roar, maybe even raise a fist — and they immediately fold, then put on a wounded face saying, “Was that really necessary? You could have just talked to me reasonably.”
This is what Master Chi always says: the reason you get bullied isn’t because people are deliberately targeting you — it’s purely because your consistent image is one of softness and easy exploitation. In the eyes of these scoundrels, every bit of your goodwill is just scraps to feed dogs. And they’re perfectly happy to be dogs, as long as they can extract benefit and convenience from you in the process.
So with these people, you must be firm, decisive, and unwavering. No means no. Refusal means refusal. Don’t be afraid of losing such connections. Because if you feel that losing them would be a great loss — that only proves, my friend, that your circle is genuinely in poor shape. What you should be doing is seriously examining yourself: how did you end up in such a garbage pile in the first place?
And one more crucial thing to note: the “assistant” I’m describing isn’t just some errand boy. In our circles, assistants are essentially half-apprentices at your side. So what looks like a young person handling trivial matters is actually the son of another powerful figure or a respected brother. Through this arrangement, we gain capable subordinates while building relationships and connections with other powerful people in society. At the same time, it gives these young men of noble origins real-world experience and exposure. And of course, it gives them the chance to receive direct mentorship — experience, knowledge, and perspective — from figures like us, their uncles in spirit, because many things simply cannot be taught between father and son, or mother and daughter.
The result is that all three parties benefit. Master Chi’s own rise began through exactly this kind of arrangement. What you see in my knowledge and perspective today is the inheritance of both my own family’s learning and the teaching of my own mentor. The result — family tradition plus the inner knowledge of noble benefactors (Gui Ren) plus real-world experience — is a formidable combination.
This brings us back to a social event from recent days: the killing of Dr. Yang. Let me be unequivocal — I feel profound sympathy and grief for what happened to her. By every measure, she was an exceptional physician: her medical ethics, her character, her clinical skill — all outstanding and exemplary.
But she encountered a family with absolutely no moral floor, a family of human refuse. And yet, because of the nature and constraints of her profession, she had no choice but to return good for evil — to respond to their insults with her best attitude and maximum effort.
And the result? We all saw it. Your weakness becomes the very justification these beasts use to slaughter you.
Many people who don’t understand the world will call this an impulsive murder. That’s a mistake. Anyone with even a basic understanding of human nature can see through it. The reason this family of refuse committed such an atrocious crime is precisely because they knew — doctors are soft targets. Doctors can be insulted and abused, and they’re still required to serve you. Doctors must satisfy your every demand and give without limit. Otherwise, they deserve to be cut down with a knife.
This victim had spent five years as an undergraduate, three years in a master’s program, three years earning her doctorate, three years in standardized clinical training, passing her attending physician examinations, publishing multiple high-quality research papers — fourteen years of grueling effort — to arrive at the position she had finally reached.
And yet, in the eyes of the outside world, she remained a weak, helpless young woman, with no one willing to provide even basic protection and backing. Then, with two slashes of a knife, some psychotic individual ended her life.
Tell me — where does the problem and responsibility lie?
Without question, the beast of a patient’s family member bears absolute primary responsibility. But those who knew the danger existed, and yet no one stepped up to give this gentle doctor any backing — they are far from innocent either.
This is exactly what I said at the beginning: many times, speaking reasonably to certain people is simply pointless. You need to make them understand that they are not entitled to respect and decent treatment — and the reason you can say that is because you have a system that is sufficiently just, neutral, yet powerfully backed, to protect and support you.
For us, we have our assistants. But what about doctors?
The truth is, if hospital systems want to prevent incidents like this, the solution is actually quite simple: set up inspection checkpoints at every institution’s entrance, like subway security screening — every bag gets checked — while giving staff access passes.
What’s that? You say this would waste money and resources? I’m sorry, not everything is about money as the first priority — especially not a public institution like a hospital. Protecting the comprehensive rights and wellbeing of all parties is the most critical matter. Installing security checkpoints amounts to little more than adding a security team of a dozen people. But in return, you get stability and peace of mind throughout the entire hospital system. Which outweighs which? Which is heavier?
Additionally, let me give everyone one sincere piece of advice: please treat and respect every doctor you encounter with genuine care. For any questions or uncertainties, approach your doctor in a tone of inquiry and learning. Only then will doctors be willing and confident to reason through things with you honestly.
Furthermore, while I don’t advocate anything that breaks protocol, I do hope that after receiving quality treatment, you’ll offer your doctor an expression of gratitude — not some vulgar cash gift, perhaps just a small thoughtful gesture, or even a banner of appreciation.
Never assume the goodwill of others in this world is something they owe you. Always return others’ kindness with greater warmth and generosity. This is how you attract more and more resources and connections drawing close to you.
The reason Master Chi has so many friends among Shanghai’s well-known physicians is simply this: doctors are people too, and they also want to make friends with decent, dignified people. It’s that simple.
Many people don’t understand: after all their years of hustling, why can’t they attract a single powerful noble benefactor (Gui Ren) or build a circle of genuinely capable friends? Why do they always end up mixed in with snakes and bottom-feeders, drowning in shallow drinking and foolishness?
This question — please genuinely ask it of yourself. Don’t ask why you can’t socialize with the elite. Ask instead: why aren’t the elite willing to associate with you?
In terms of destiny framework (格局), stars like Tian Ji, Tian Liang, Tian Xiang, and Tai Yang tend to bring strong human support, enabling great accomplishment — meaning much of what gets built isn’t built alone, but because powerful people around you are willing to give you a boost. On one hand, your own ability can’t be too lacking — those powerful people understand that what you’re missing is trivial for them, and they’re naturally willing to help a good thing flourish. On the other hand, your character must genuinely pass muster, so powerful people believe that what they give you today will come back to them tomorrow — and from there it keeps compounding and escalating, mutual benefit all around, everyone growing stronger together.
So people at the bottom always wonder: why do some big shots seem almost simple, straightforward, even a bit naive — nothing like their own cunning, calculating, scheming selves?
Who ever said cunning, scheming, and deep calculation lead anywhere good? Do you really think others can’t see through it? Even if someone can’t see through it immediately, once you’ve burned them once, your reputation is ruined. And upper-level circles are small — destroy your reputation once, and the entire circle knows.
But people at the bottom won’t accept this, because the bottom is forever engaged in mutual cannibalism. They’ll never understand that among the powerful, the highest form of care is to help each other succeed. Only among genuine big shots does the alliance and union of power and wealth occur. Have you ever seen the small-time boss downstairs willingly cooperate with someone? He’d sooner take advantage of you first.
So yes — in this world, wisdom, strategy, and technique all matter. But the magnanimity and openness to embrace the whole world, to draw in rivers and mountains — that is the supreme achievement that everyone mouths throughout their lives and almost no one ever truly attains.