I heard yesterday that Mr. Tsai Lan has passed away, ending a brilliant life. I think he should have no regrets in this life.
Growing up listening to the legendary stories of the Four Great Talents of Hong Kong, Mr. Tsai Lan is probably the one I admire the most in my heart. I can't say he's an idol, but his carefree attitude towards enjoying food, drink, play, and the game of life has taken root in my heart since childhood.
Many old Guangzhous have never liked discussing ZZ since childhood, and they do not pursue luxury or a petite bourgeois lifestyle. When they grow up, they can't compete with Fujian in making money, and their horizons don't match up to ours. However, when it comes to eating, drinking, traveling in the mountains, playing in the water, and health maintenance, especially getting high, I think most of them are influenced by famous food gods like Cai Lan.
There was a time when I read some of Mr. Cai Lan's essays, and there is a sentence that I remember well: People should have some money; only with money can one have the courage to do what they like.
Perhaps many people do not feel much about this and think that money is a difficult problem to solve. However, looking back at my own life journey, it perfectly matches the meaning of this saying: one should do what one likes, and only then can one earn some money. With money comes greater courage, and with greater courage, one can do more of what one likes, thus earning more money. Therefore, as someone who studied finance, I ultimately chose to work in the restaurant industry, leaving my internship at a bank after graduation, joining a certain international restaurant brand, and gradually building my own company. I don't know if this is the power of belief, but I really enjoy the industry I am currently in. I can't say I am extremely wealthy, but my spiritual world is relatively abundant.
Have you noticed that Mr. Tsai Lan's influence is more widespread than that of Jin Yong? When Mr. Jin Yong passed away, it was mostly people from the 70s and 80s reminiscing about their youth, while Mr. Tsai Lan's influence has crossed over to the post-90s and post-00s generations because his lifestyle has become what contemporary young people aspire to. I've seen many young people in my friend circle mourning him; the last one who triggered mourning from both the post-90s and post-00s was Khalil Fong.
Mr. Tsai Lan enjoys movies, writing, and gourmet food. With these three passions, he has accumulated a fortune that would last several lifetimes. He claims to have 61 girlfriends, no children, and spends his later years in the most luxurious hotel in Hong Kong, employing eight people to take care of him. He sleeps whenever he wants, wakes up whenever he wants, and simply drinks tea, plays games, and gets massages. It can be said that his life is all about eating, drinking, playing, and living freely. Mr. Tsai Lan's annual copyright income is nearly ten million Hong Kong dollars, and he has calmly approached the end of his life without having spent all his money. Perhaps you think I am promoting extreme hedonism, but in reality, if a person earns money and does not enjoy it, then what is the point of earning it?
Poverty really can limit a person's imagination, but why do people become poor? It's because, from the very beginning, they did not choose what they liked, but instead opted for what was more suitable for making a living. One thing that you like might mean going hungry at first, while another thing that you don't like can allow you to fill your stomach. Among people from the 70s and 80s, over 90% chose the latter. Perhaps it was due to the rapid economic growth of the country; most of my peers, even if they had many dislikes about their jobs, gradually adapted to stable jobs within units or the system. Before the age of 40, life was indeed quite comfortable, but after these past few years of trials, the suffocating feeling of a midlife crisis has quietly arrived for our generation, especially for those friends who have experienced layoffs or business failures. It's become very difficult for me to articulate that sense of powerlessness.
As the saying goes, those who do not plan for the long term will surely have worries in the short term. A person who is struggling to make ends meet has neither the ability nor the qualification to consider longer-term matters. Therefore, I personally believe that at this special turning point in time, young people should pursue what they truly love, because in this era, even doing something you do not like may not guarantee that you can fill your stomach.
In real life, most young people have entered the service industry, engaging in relatively low-paying jobs such as intermediaries, delivery riders, street promoters, customer service representatives, and waiters. Some young people are unwilling to be constrained and, for the sake of time freedom, run deliveries, spending tens of thousands to buy cars on installment plans for logistics work. Some, in order to survive, have taken loans to purchase second-hand equipment to set up a late-night snack shop. Others, to fulfill their dreams, have teamed up with a few friends to start a nail salon... From what I understand, most people cannot consistently earn a stable five-digit income. Although there is no distinction of high or low in professions, and excellence can be found in all 360 trades, the income gap between industries can create an insurmountable distance in the first ten years of your career.
Can working in the WEB3 crypto industry achieve this number steadily? If you can take the time to study, it's actually not that difficult. I have a few young people around me whose vision and abilities have shown me a new world.
A person's achievements in their career depend on the degree of passion they have for it, combined with the timing of their choice of this path. If a person can choose a profession that they truly love in their twenties, then by the time they reach their forties or fifties, they would have traversed two cycles on this path and, theoretically, should have reached the peak of their life. At this point, those who are doing worse than them either do not have much passion for this work and are just doing it to make a living, or they are people who entered the industry later and are still trying to catch up.
Everyone has the opportunity to face several crossroads in life. Young people certainly have many choices available to them now, but the persistence and effort after making a choice are even more valuable. Even if you feel confused about life and the future right now, don't complain about fate. If fate is the worst screenwriter in the world, as long as you are clear about what you love to do, then go ahead and do it boldly, and give your all to become the best actor.
Be true to your passions and become the mountains and seas of life☕
