What “legend” really means
The word legend can point to all kinds of things.
There is the film I Am Legend, with Will Smith alone in a ruined world, trying to stay alive. There is Legend, the well-known song sung by Faye Wong, remembered for its beautiful melody and reflective lyrics. There is also Legend, the online game launched by Shanda under Chen Tianqiao, which once swept through an entire era of internet culture.
But not every legend belongs to movies, songs, or games. Some are much quieter.
For the past several years, the lock screen on my iPhone has been a simple line: “Cultivate oneself through მშვიდness; nurture virtue through frugality.” It is the kind of sentence that stays with you. It reminds me to keep my mind calm and my life plain.
A friend whose thrift feels almost unbelievable
I once had a conversation about saving money, and one friend immediately came to mind. He is single, extremely frugal, and has managed to save quite a lot.
When the topic came up, Erbao asked why he needed to save so much money in the first place. Dabao joked, “Maybe he’s preparing financially for a second marriage.”
My own answer was much simpler: saving is not only about some grand future plan. It is also about being ready for accidents, emergencies, and major life events. When you have money set aside, you panic less.
Still, what impressed me most was not just that he saved money, but how he lived.
Frugality taken to the extreme
His thrift is so thorough that it almost feels legendary.
A pair of slippers can last him for years. A single T-shirt can stay in rotation for a very long time. He cooks at home almost every day, and his oil use is astonishingly low: a 1-liter or 2-liter bottle of peanut oil can last him one or even two years.
At first, that sounded hard to believe. Later I understood why. He uses almost no oil when cooking. Part of the reason is economy, of course, but there is also a practical side: less oil means less dish soap, and the bowls and chopsticks are easier to clean quickly.
His meals are simple and repetitive in a way most people would probably struggle with. Noodles at noon, rice at night, everything very light.
A few years ago, when I used to buy vegetables at the wholesale market, I would sometimes pick up fried tofu puffs for him. Back then, I assumed he ate fairly well. Only later did I realize just how little oil he actually used in daily cooking.
Light eating, strict habits
What makes this even more striking is that he is not someone living passively or carelessly. He is highly disciplined.
Even on such a plain diet, he often runs 10 kilometers, and he does it to lose weight. He does not eat sweets. He does not drink sugary beverages. His habits are restrained across the board.
And somehow, his digestive system seems to operate with extraordinary efficiency—so much so that it leaves people amazed.
The kind of legend that lives next door
I genuinely admire this way of living, even if I know most people would not want to copy it completely. His frugality, his self-control, and his consistency are rare.
It is easy to think of “legend” as something distant and dramatic: a blockbuster film, a classic song, a game that defined a generation. But sometimes a legend is simply a person nearby, living with a level of restraint and discipline that most of us can only stare at in disbelief.