Chapter 678: Chapter 294: Secretly Going to Her Place with Her!
Her eating was just like those princesses in a documentary about the Ying Kingdom Royal Family Zhang Jingdong watched in a past life. Not only was it very proper, but it also had a unique aesthetic.
Zhang Jingdong then said, "Up until now, how many countries have you visited?"
He Jieyu quickly recalled and then said, "About thirty or forty, I guess."
"That’s a lot, impressive!"
"Mainly because those countries in Europe are too small; visiting dozens of countries isn’t much different from traveling around our own country."
"For instance, the Vatican, Monaco, Luxembourg, and San Marino, you can practically finish visiting these countries in a day."
"With all these countries you’ve visited, what do you think are the characteristics of the people from each country? For instance, people from England, France, and Germany."
He Jieyu paused for a moment and then said, "As for the people of the Ying Country, I think they have a particular penchant for seeking sophistication in public."
"For example, my classmates from the Ying Country get at most 200 pounds of pocket money a week, yet they’d spend 180 pounds for one afternoon tea at the best cafe, living on bread with the remaining 20 pounds for the other six days."
"Their parents are willing to spend a lot of money on bespoke high-end attire, yet they wouldn’t spend on raising the indoor temperature during winter."
"I went to verify this myself, and many of their homes are particularly cold in winter, not even 20 degrees, and they stay at home wrapped in quilts or wearing thick clothes."
"What about the French?"
"I find most French people are typical artistic youth; they are passionate, romantic, naturally skilled at dating. They’re not just excellent at conversing but also adept at preparing various surprises."
"Yet, at the same time, they can be somewhat superficial, as we’d say in Huaxia, not very manly, lacking resilience and bloodiness."
Zhang Jingdong laughed heartily, "What you said is indeed accurate; their military performances over the past century or two reflect this."
"And the Germans?"
"I think Germans are indeed very meticulous and resilient but also stubborn, very conservative, and lack flexibility when handling matters."
Zhang Jingdong nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, it’s precisely this trait that allowed them to start two world wars in less than 30 years, yet now they are brought to this feeble state by the Supreme Emperor of the Beautiful Country, whooping it to pieces."
He Jieyu blinked her beautiful eyes, "You’re right; the Beautiful Country indeed has tremendous influence over the whole of Europe, especially the Ying Country, which is almost like its dependent now."
Zhang Jingdong then picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork, popped it into his mouth, and said while chewing, "In essence, both the Ying Country and the Beautiful Country are companies run under the leadership of a particular family."
"The reason why the Ying Country is still barely holding on is that those securities companies in London earn dirty money for them, while Wall Street makes them apparently legal money."
"Do you know why the Western world has always advocated for freedom and democracy?"
He Jieyu had always thought of herself as knowledgeable, having read many insightful books, feeling she already understood the reality of this world well.
But hearing Zhang Jingdong’s words just now, she realized that her understanding seemed as shallow as a child’s compared to his.
So, both awed and curious, she asked, "Why?"
Zhang Jingdong didn’t answer directly but said, "Do you know why there are so many grey organizations in the Beautiful Country? It’s because they can rely on the law to protect themselves—isn’t it ironic?"
"Similarly, the more free and democratic a country is, the more the wealthy can rightfully and lawfully indulge in exploiting the lower classes and plundering the wealth of the lower people."
Hearing this, He Jieyu suddenly felt enlightened.
Although she had some understanding of this before, it was never as profound and precise as Zhang Jingdong explained; she felt her comprehension of the world had suddenly increased several levels.
At the same time, she once again discovered Zhang Jingdong’s uniqueness.
Most of the so-called excellent men she had encountered before mainly relied on the money given by their families to indulge in various pleasures, and flaunted their so-called taste by buying luxury items.
Though Zhang Jingdong also bought luxury cars and watches, it was obvious that he didn’t care about these things.
Moreover, through the conversation just now, she keenly realized that Zhang Jingdong was a man with thoughts and pursuits, who had a clear understanding of the world.
She had already thought that Zhang Jingdong was an almost perfect man, but now she found that he was even better than she imagined!
Thus, she couldn’t help but exclaim, "Jingdong, you know so much, how did you learn about these things?"
Zhang Jingdong certainly couldn’t say he had gleaned it from those short videos of future generations, so he casually said, "By reading, watching the news, and independent thinking."
"Actually, these things, they can be as complex as they are simple, because we are all humans, so many of our natures are connected, and with a bit of empathy, one can know a lot of truths."
"For example, why do we praise someone? It must be because they have benefited us, then we can think about why Westerners praise Mandela so much; naturally, it is because his actions truly benefited Western countries."