Hold Your Ground, Don't Leave the Poker Table

At twenty-two, they said civil service jobs were secure for life. He threw himself into hundreds of grueling rounds of competition, but never made the cut.

At thirty, they said buying a house was the only way to settle down. He bought at the market's peak and took on a thirty-year mortgage.

At thirty-five, they said things would get better once he'd made it through the tough years. Then he was laid off overnight, with elderly parents to support and children to raise. Education, medical bills, and retirement all weighed on him at once.

Hu Su spent his whole life being obedient and conscientious, never slacking off. He managed to fall into every trap an ordinary person could. He had no benefactor, no comeback, and no sudden windfall. He became everything everyone expected of him, while turning himself into a string ready to snap.

Only after life had knocked him flat did he see the painful truth: ordinary people aren't exhausted because they haven't worked hard enough. They're trying to play a new era's game by the rules of the old one.

This book offers no empty pep talks and doesn't stoke anxiety. It's a hard-won reckoning with every pitfall he encountered over half a lifetime, and practical ways ordinary people can avoid risks and find a way through when it comes to careers, mortgages, work, raising children, medical care, and retirement.

The era of easy gains is over; now it's about holding your ground. The more volatile the market, the less you should rush to leave the table. For ordinary people, standing firm is the best way to turn the game around.