Chapter 1454 The More Knowledgeable I Become, the More I Feel Ignorant

Kasin and Bruch looked at each other. "Boss, what are you laughing at?"

Bruch was also puzzled: "You shouldn't laugh when so many people have died!"

Xiao Peng waved his hands hurriedly and said, "No, no, no, I'm not laughing for the dead, I'm laughing for something else."

"Anything else?" Bruch asked in confusion.

Xiao Peng nodded. "We have a catchy saying in our country. It's about all the fabricated stories of beautiful foreign countries that public intellectuals have been making up for years. Let me think about it. Oh, 'Americans are domineering little shields, Germany's conscience is a sewer, universal healthcare is like Somalia, Russia is giving away houses for free, India's Ganges River is therapeutic, Japan's summer camps are amazing...' Anyway, there are a lot more."

"The sewer of German conscience?" Bruch was stunned after hearing this.

Xiao Peng nodded. "Our country is quite large, and floods often occur every year, requiring various disaster relief efforts. Every time a city is hit by a flood, a city called Qingdao in our country is pulled out for a tour."

"Why?" Bruch and Kasin were even more puzzled.

Xiao Peng explained, "No matter how heavy the rain, Qingdao's urban area rarely floods. Even if there's water in low-lying areas, it generally recedes within two hours. Because Qingdao was once a German colony, some public intellectuals claim that Qingdao doesn't flood because the sewers built by the Germans were so high-quality."

"Is that true?" Kasim asked in confusion.

Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "When the Germans occupied Qingdao, their settlements were concentrated in an area of only about two square kilometers. How could this be possible without flooding? Qingdao's situation is due to the responsible leadership at the time. They placed great emphasis on sewer construction during the construction of Qingdao. This was no easy task. If you were a politician, with the same amount of money, would you build skyscrapers or sewers?"

Without thinking, Kasim said directly: "Of course it's the sewer. This is a good thing for the people to improve their livelihood!"

Xiao Peng shook his head. "So you're not a politician. Most politicians would choose to build skyscrapers! Because they're visible, tangible political achievements! Of course, I'm not saying other places don't prioritize sewage projects. There are other reasons for not being flooded, like the geographical environment. Qingdao's city center is right on the coast, so drainage is naturally convenient. Another crucial point is that urban construction is too rapid, and supporting facilities can't keep up. Just like in Qingdao's newly developed areas, they'll flood if it rains heavily."

Bruch said, "Even so, your sewers are better than ours in every way! Many of our sewer systems were built a hundred or two hundred years ago. How can they adapt to today's cities? Isn't this flood the perfect example?"

Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "I remember it was 2016, our country's traditional flood season arrived, and several provinces suffered flooding, especially along the Yangtze River, where many cities were submerged. The flood was so extensive, you can think of it as three Germanys being flooded at the same time! It directly affected 16 million people and caused dozens of deaths."

Bruch was shocked after hearing this: "Such a huge flood, and only a few dozen people died? So many people died in just a few cities here!"

Xiao Peng shook his head and continued, "It was thanks to the brave soldiers of our country who participated in the disaster relief that the losses were minimized."

"Then you should be proud too!" Bruch said angrily, "We should really let those German officials come to your Great Xia for further education!"

Xiao Peng smiled bitterly and said, "Proud? You know what? When the flood happened, our country was severely criticized by those public intellectuals online just because of you, Germany!"

"Why?" Bruch asked in confusion.

Xiao Peng explained, "There were photos of your country's officials inspecting the Rhine River. They were standing on what looked like an aluminum alloy plate. The public called that plate a 'flood-fighting artifact,' and criticized our country's lack of advanced emergency equipment and the disregard for human life in allowing officers and soldiers to participate in disaster relief."

Bruch was confused. "A flood-fighting artifact? Aluminum alloy plates? Oh, you're not talking about those so-called mobile flood barriers, are you? That's Belgian technology. It looks nice on display, but it's useless when a flood hits! We in Germany won't take the blame for this! That thing can only be used where the water flow is gentle. If the water flow is strong, the thin plates won't be able to withstand the impact. And it must have a good concrete foundation to use, otherwise it will be uprooted by the flood. At that time, Germany invested 20 million euros to build less than 20 kilometers of these flood barriers, but a small flood washed them away. Because of this, everyone protested that they wasted taxpayers' money! Your public intellectuals call that thing a 'flood-fighting artifact'? Are they idiots? Does anyone believe that thing works?"

Xiao Peng smiled bitterly and said, "Not only did some people believe it, but a lot of them did. During that time, they caused a lot of trouble for the relevant state departments. There's a saying called the 'One-Fifth Theorem', which states that if you say something to five people, one of them will definitely believe it, no matter what you say. Even if you say 'shit tastes good', there will be people who believe it. Our country has a large population, but many people have not received higher education or have never been abroad, so they are easily deceived by such nonsense. However, as people become more educated and travel abroad more frequently, their horizons will be broadened, and such people will become fewer and fewer!"

Ka Xin laughed and said, "Boss, this is the inevitable trend of development. Don't worry if you laugh at me, I used to think I was very knowledgeable. After all, I traveled all over the place when I was in the army. But since I've been with you for a long time and seen more things, I feel more and more ignorant!"

"Congratulations, you've grown." Xiao Peng said, "If you pay attention, you'll find that the more knowledgeable people are, the more they feel they are ignorant. Those online trolls and keyboard warriors who risk the lives of eunuchs to manipulate the emperor's heart and believe everything they hear are basically losers in real life."

Kasin grinned and said, "How can I not grow if I stay with the boss every day?"

Xiao Peng was about to speak when suddenly there was a noisy sound outside.

"What's going on?" Xiao Peng asked in confusion.

Bruch stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."

Before he even left the house, Hua Chong's voice came from Bruch's intercom: "Boss! Your car is back!"

"Huh?" Xiao Peng was stunned after hearing this: "When did the French police become so efficient?"

Hua Chong continued, "Boss, the French police didn't return the car. The thieves drove here and asked me to bring my men to bust them all!"

"Fuck! They stole my car and you dare to come here and challenge me?" Xiao Peng shouted angrily, "Bring them up here! I want to see who is so shameless!"