Last night I had a late-night snack with my cousin. He hasn't worked as a security guard since last year and has been staying at home, saying he plans to find something to do after the New Year.

He genuinely looks down on ordinary people working nine to five, can't stand a life of monotony, and boldly claims that only by getting a bit of dust on himself can he have a chance to stand out now. He also asked me if I knew any big players in the gray industry, willing to start from the bottom as a minion.

On the bright side, my cousin knows what he wants and has some ideas. He’s also willing to endure hardships.

On the negative side, his ideas are somewhat distorted and outdated. Not to mention anything else, just looking at the risk-reward ratio, Chen Zhi would rather get caught before he even tries to grow big and create brilliance. He’s rushing to eat hot food, and most likely, he won’t make any money—he’ll get caught, and he’ll be fed and housed by the system.

After chatting for a while, honestly, I felt exhausted. No matter what I said, he wouldn’t listen. He’s solely focused on finding shortcuts to make quick and big money. He’s too impatient.

But I used to be impatient too. Six years ago, a big brother told me to do WD traffic diversion, saying if I did well, I could buy a Ferrari in a year. The worst case was spending a few years in jail. You have to understand how tempting that was for me, earning only 8,000 a month back then. I hesitated, and luckily, that plan fell through. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know where I’d be now.

Everyone has their own cross to bear.