Great Power

After receiving the chopsticks from Jessica, Zheng Jianguo picked up a few pieces of chicken and put them on the plate in front of him, and placed the chopsticks next to the spicy chicken plate.

Then Zheng Jianguo raised his head and looked at Bruce, who was looming with expectation, with a smile on his face, and said: "Unlike the mainstream food sharing in Europe and America, the table culture of the Republic is based on gatherings.

Of course, this is not to say that there is no concept of hygiene. In qualified families, public chopsticks will be prepared as a tool for taking meals, and then eat with their own chopsticks.

And if you really follow the old etiquette that has been passed down for hundreds of years, people will ask to be silent when eating, that is, not to speak when eating—"

"I have encountered this. When I went to the Republic, there was a dinner held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A waiter introduced this kind of public chopsticks. But Zheng, you should try it quickly and see how I learned the craft——"

Bruce nodded slightly in response to Zheng Jianguo's remarks, and quickly issued an invitation to taste. The latter did not immediately pick up the chopsticks, but made a gesture of please to the spicy chicken and said: "I talked about traditional culture earlier. Chinese traditional etiquette, then the traditional culture’s requirement for Chinese dishes is that they are full of color, fragrance and flavor.

Everyone, please see, although spicy chicken is a domestic home-cooked dish, it is usually not on top of the banquet, but it uses green peppers and red peppers with chicken as the main ingredient. Red, green and yellow are served in a plate. Just looking at it will make people's intestines and index fingers move. The hue of this spicy chicken is still good.

So the second fragrance, now this plate of spicy chicken has been served on the table, and we can all smell the aroma of the fat after being heated at high temperature. Of course I have caught it on the plate, which is stronger than yours, Jessie Card, can you please arrange food for you all."

Since it was the first time to entertain guests with Chinese food, Bruce ignored that the traditional Western-style long table was not suitable for everyone to take meals with chopsticks. Zheng Jianguo, who had only tasted the dishes, looked at Jessica who had not left, and immediately greeted each other His blue eyes smiled and said, the latter also quickly glanced at Bruce, then saw him smile and nodded: "Oh, this is my negligence, Jessica, you can help divide it with the dining spoon— —"

Jessica looked back at Zheng Jianguo again, then smiled and picked up the dishes and spoons to serve some people. Zheng Jianguo also smiled and took the chopsticks and said, "This is my negligence. I didn't notice that Jessica can't use chopsticks, but the reason why I asked her to help prepare dishes is because the most important part of the dishes, the taste!

After all, no matter how good the dishes are, and no matter how pleasant the aroma is, its function is still edible, so everyone will taste this spicy chicken. I will comment again—"

"Hehe, come here, now that Zheng said, let's taste it together—"

Looking at Zheng Jianguo, he took a piece of it and put it in his mouth. Bruce greeted the others to eat, but as he used chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth, the taste was almost the same as what he had eaten. When his gaze fell on the bone between the chopsticks, he thought of something as if he was awake: "Cagney, bring five plates."

"Yes, Mr. Bruce, it seems that you have already localized the spicy chicken—"

Looking at the chicken bones on the chopsticks in the same way, Zheng Jianguo was embarrassed to spit directly on the table, and there was no trash can under the table. Fortunately, people had already thought of it at this time, so after giving an ambiguous statement, he put the chopsticks The chicken bones on the top were placed on the plate that Cagney brought, and this dish is considered to be finished.

After eating the spicy chicken on the plate, Ignatius Brosnahan nodded at Bruce with approval. Then, as if the Chinese food introduced by Zheng Jianguo aroused curiosity in his heart, he quickly asked: "Zheng, it's been a long time since you came to America. Is there any delicious food that impresses you?"

"Coke and burgers."

Almost without thinking, Zheng Jianguo gave his own answer. He has been in the United States for so long, that is, he has only had time to cook for himself after graduation.

In the previous year of adaptive learning and exam preparation, most of them lived on these two combinations. When I think about it now, I quickly summarized the advantages: "Affordable, simple, and convenient."

"It doesn't seem to have the color and taste you mentioned earlier~"

Ignatius Brosnahan still had a faint smile on his big face, when Martha had already brought up a steak.

Zheng Jianguo took a look at this main dish represented in Western food, and continued to speak: "The pace of life is different, and the pace of life in the Republic is relatively slow. The time of work and life is almost a stable and fixed pattern, and there is no such requirement for time. tension.

And this is why the United States is full of burger fast-food restaurants, and if burger fast-food restaurants are opened in the Republic, there will be no living soil other than early adopters—"

"Are you early adopters?"

Ignatius Brosnahan’s brows frowned slightly, and Bruce said, “The domestic material conditions in the Republic are relatively scarce. Of course, the more important thing is that the consumption level there is not high, and the per capita income is also high. Just tens of dollars—"

"A dozen dollars is right—"

Zheng Jianguo quickly corrected Bruce's beautifying remarks. At this time, the domestic exchange rate is a fixed exchange rate. He has not seen the benefits of a low exchange rate. He only thinks that too much lower than the US dollar will reduce the image of a socialist country.

I don’t know if I want to become the world’s factory. Such a high exchange rate is counterproductive. At least the enthusiasm of investors will be reduced: "Last year, the income of urban residents across the country was only 375 yuan, while the income of members Less than 50 yuan—"

"Is it so low?"

Ignatius Brosnahan’s big face was shocked, but Bruce in the theme was not surprised: "This is only a net income in cash. The communes in the Republic are of a communist nature, and they work together. Enjoy, the above requirements are unified by the commune, which is different from ours."

"Oh--"

There was some neat suddenness, and Zheng Jianguo smiled and nodded at several people. These are facts in the major media.

Although he can say a lot, considering that the people present here are not ordinary people, but the staff of the U.S. State Department, and they are all diplomatic, so he said something indifferent in the next time. This meal The meal is over.

Although it was a family dinner, Bruce obviously worked hard, and the dishes were simple but followed the formal process.

After the appetizers, soups, side dishes, main dishes, and desserts, when Jessica brought up the coffee, everyone moved to the living room.

Catlin at the table said: "Martha, you should go to practice piano, Cagney and Jessica will go to the kitchen to help me with work—"

"Cagney still works?"

Ian Emmer just sat down on the sofa and was startled by what he heard. Bruce smiled with the tea in his hand, turned his head and said to Zheng Jianguo: "Ian, are you not? I know that most of the children in the Republic can do housework, and if they live in the country like Zheng, they have been working with their parents since they could run.

After I arrived in the Republic, I was shocked by their sensibility, so from then on, I asked Katrine to leave them some housework deliberately—"

"This is why there are so many outstanding graduates from Harvard University who go to backward areas, such as Africa, to contribute.

You don't need to live in a difficult environment, but you must realize the impact of a difficult environment on people, both positive and negative."

Hearing talking about himself, Zheng Jianguo could feel Bruce's shock at the time, just as the group of foreign students who came with him saw a bustling metropolis when they walked out of the airport.

This is a collapse of the worldview, so when he heard that an international student was unwilling to return to China, Zheng Jianguo’s choice could only be silence: “This can help people examine their actions and gains and losses, and can help them correct their own. Worldview——"

"It looks like you really learned a lot—"

Evelyn Tully glanced at Zheng Jianguo with approval, then smiled and said: "Listen to Bruce, Zheng, do you have some research on finance?"

"Oh, I can only say that I have understood it, but research is not counted."

Zheng Jianguo understood Bruce’s purpose for inviting him. He originally thought it was to say hello to Cagney to go to Boston to go to school, but now it seems to be deeper than he thought: "The luck was better at the time, and I followed Harrant. The family made some money while hoarding silver—"

"Zheng, don't be humble. Bruce is full of praise for you. If you say that silver and gold are your luck, then you can fully show your keen sense of the market in oil. This is not luck— —"

A smile flashed across Ignatius Brosnahan’s big face, and he was able to be pulled over by Bruce to attend this private gathering for the purpose of this doctor of medicine who is said to know the market well: "At the time, you were hearing about Soviet Chen Bing At that time, it was judged that the oil market was going to increase prices—"

"Zheng, Ignatius Brosnahan is not only a friend of mine, he is also the deputy director of the East Pacific Affairs Bureau, and talks about everything in work and life—"

Bruce sat next to him with a tea cup, smiled and looked at Ignatius Brosnahan, then continued: "He was surprised at the conclusion you reached after hearing the news. Because that represents an increase in global oil prices, and the impact this will have on the market and the economy is immeasurable—"

"Do you think oil will continue to rise?"

Evelyn Tully, who hadn't said a few words, suddenly interrupted Bruce, but the latter looked at Zheng Jianguo indifferently as if he was okay.

Zheng Jianguo also understood that these few people may have reached some kind of agreement before he came. He nodded slowly and then said: "I feel that there will be a high probability that it will rise. Oil countries do not expand production and exports—"

"Soviet?"

"Are we?"

Evelyn Tully and Ignatius Brosnaanziqi spoke, and Zheng Jianguo nodded: “At present, the Middle East is the region with the largest oil reserves, and several countries occupy the world’s With so many shares, the situation in that area is now unstable.

Refugees from Afghanistan continue to flow to neighboring countries, and the United States has severed diplomatic relations with Iran. Unguaranteed regional security has caused some countries to increase mining volume, but they must be shipped out after they are harvested. All are unstable factors.

As for other regions, although there are also a lot of oil reserves, it is possible to have the technology and capacity for large-scale development and utilization. Only the Soviet and the United States are the only two countries, considering that oil extraction plants and refineries cannot be built in a day. So oil prices will rise for a while."

"But now with the increase in oil prices, many people have proposed to expand coal production, develop nuclear energy technology and comprehensive new energy——"

Ignatius Brosnahan glanced at Bruce next to him, then turned around and said it uncertainly.

There was a flash of memory in Zheng Jianguo's mind, and he suddenly nodded: "Everyone wants to develop new energy, because this can get rid of the existing dependence on petrochemical energy and build a new industrial system.

However, the reality is that in the existing industrial system, will those with vested interests allow this to happen?

Imagine that if I use a battery made of atomic-grade graphite layers that I found, a car can run 1,000 kilometers on a 10-minute charge, and an airplane can fly 10,000 kilometers.

Do you think that the existing engine manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, oil companies, and even the group of oil kings in the Middle East, will they allow this to happen? This is almost an enemy of the whole world—

"Atomic grade graphite layer battery is so exaggerated?"

Ignatius Brosnahan's complexion suddenly changed, Bruce was also startled by what he heard, and quickly said, "I haven't heard you say--"

"This is the latest research result and has not been published yet~"

Zheng Jianguo talked about taking a sip of coffee, and found that all of them looked at each other in surprise, so he continued to laugh and said, "Of course, considering that the current atomic-grade graphite layer production technology is still very primitive, the production cost is very high. That is to say, starting with the production technology, a series of technological breakthroughs will be needed later to achieve this goal—"

"You are much better than the search for new energy proposed by that group of idiots, but looking for new energy also requires a breakthrough in technology that does not know how much—"

Ignatius Brosnahan’s complexion changed again. He quickly put down the coffee in his hand and glanced at Bruce. He opened his eyes and continued to speak: "Now the staff of the Council of State Councils are coping with the rising oil prices, suggesting that the president join others The country is looking for new energy to reduce the current high oil consumption, and then achieve the goal of lowering oil prices. Zheng, this news should be useful to you, right?"

"This news is useless because I haven't heard--"

Zheng Jianguo quickly denied it in a blink of an eye, and saw that Ignatius Brosnahan had already laughed, but before this one could speak, he continued to say: "It's the thing I said belongs to the laboratory. Confidential content, after all, is an unpublished research result, but Bruce, it’s time to close our oil contract—"

Bruce was full of question marks: "Why?"