It's raining again.

     I woke up early, hurriedly washed up, and headed out to visit a client. Just as I reached the hotel entrance, I discovered it was raining.

    Spring rain in Jiangnan always carries a chill. Although Qingming Festival has passed, this spring hasn't seen the weather warm up quickly like in previous years. The intermittent rain often causes sudden drops in temperature, making me hesitant to take off my sweater. But even after the coldest days of winter, the chill of early spring can be hard to bear. Don't underestimate this biting weather; one careless move and you'll catch a cold, a runny nose, and occasional sneezing. So I'll patiently wait until spring is in a better mood before shedding the sweater that prevents me from showing off my slim figure.

    There are some people in the world who seem very clever because they always seem to come up with "tricks" that others can't, like artificially inflating their reputation on Taobao... or like government officials constantly demolishing houses and selling land, euphemistically calling it overall urban planning. This not only increased their wealth but also boosted their own profile, while simultaneously contributing significantly to the GDP of our great nation. Watching the soaring housing prices and their ever-growing wallets, officials felt smug, but their greed, like the rising prices, grew ever stronger. Thus, they accelerated their demolition spree. Ancient cities were quickly transformed, and traditional courtyards with blue bricks and gray tiles became concrete jungles. Even "old buildings" with a lifespan of only about ten years couldn't escape collapse, razed to the ground after an official's authoritative "demolish" order.

    Real estate developers went even further, constantly buying land and building, relentlessly driving up housing prices. Ordinary people, like Mr. Fan, were repeatedly fooled by the false promises of sold-out properties. To secure a place to live, they emptied their savings, tightened their belts, and struggled to make ends meet. The number of housing developments increased, the buildings grew taller, the number of vacant houses increased, and housing prices rose ever higher. This raises the question: how much of China's GDP would be left after deducting the real estate sector? In the foreseeable future, housing prices will eventually collapse, just like in our neighbor Japan, where no amount of regulation could prevent market forces from bursting the bubble. At that time, the fate of these real estate developers will likely be dire. Their greed, blinded by the promise of huge profits from soaring prices, has led them to squander vast sums of money on vacant properties. Of course, banks will suffer even greater losses, as they won't be able to recover their loans to these developers. The worst off will be ordinary people! Their life savings will be almost wiped out by the bursting of the bubble. Of course, officials won't suffer much loss; at most, their income will decrease slightly, and they will continue their seemingly lavish lifestyles and remain officials! As for those real estate developers with connections to officials, I have no idea, because I am just an ordinary citizen and cannot see through the shady dealings between officials and real estate developers.

    Looking back, I thought of my father. He was truly an exceptionally intelligent man, foreseeing all of this many years ago. He went to the countryside in Hunan, bought a few acres of land, raised chickens and ducks, and lived a carefree and happy life. I used to wonder how a university professor could end up like an old farmer, cultivating the land. Now I understand a little better. It was simply a matter of human nature, not some particularly clever idea; it was just an old man's yearning for a better life, a thirst for the true essence of life, and a desire to live freely.

    Those who are too calculating, too scheming, and like to think they are clever are actually the most foolish!