Chapter 1318 The Art of Eating
When Xiao Peng returned home, Albrecht Heidegger and his entourage were sitting there waiting for him. When they saw Xiao Peng coming back, they stood up to greet him.
"Albrecht, my good friend!" Xiao Peng came up and gave Albrecht Heidegger a big hug, which confused Albrecht. When did Xiao Peng become so enthusiastic towards him?
"Uh...what exactly happened?" Albrecht felt a little dizzy.
Xiao Peng smiled bitterly and said, "Don't mention it. I was recognized at Delft University. Luckily I slipped away quickly, otherwise I would have been blocked there."
Albrecht laughed and said, "It's not often that the Dutch are this enthusiastic. Xiao, are you showing off by saying that?"
"What are you showing off?" Xiao Peng said helplessly, "What's there to brag about, Albrecht? I envy you invisible rich people. How comfortable your lives are. Just look at the security guards here and you'll know how tiring my life is."
"Believe me, I'd be happy to exchange with you! To be precise, 99.999999% of the people in this world would be willing to exchange with you." Albrecht said.
Xiao Peng stretched out his hand and said, "Don't talk while standing, sit down and talk."
After they were seated, Xiao Peng asked curiously, "Albrecht, why are you here? You didn't even call me in advance."
Albrecht smiled bitterly and said, "Xiao, can you get through on your phone?"
"Uh..." Xiao Peng was a little embarrassed: "I've been staying in the library these days. You know, it's better not to turn on your phone there."
Albrecht nodded and said, "I understand."
"What do you want to talk to me about today?" Xiao Peng didn't wait for Albrecht to answer and said directly: "I don't care what you want. If you have anything to say, you have to eat a full stomach first, Alfred."
"Here." Alfred responded from the side.
"Tell the kitchen that we have guests coming today, so bring out all your specialties!" Xiao Peng said.
"Okay, boss." Alfred nodded.
Albrecht laughed and said, "Xiao, how can this be so embarrassing?"
Xiao Peng was about to respond when Albrecht continued, "Can we have hot pot at the ski resort cabin?"
"Haha." Xiao Peng said, "Of course, but I'm afraid the people you bring won't be used to the food."
"They are used to eating it!" Albrecht said directly.
Xiao Peng curled his lips. It was obvious that he was a person who was used to giving orders. He didn't consider others at all when he spoke.
"Alfred, ask the kitchen to prepare another hot pot for Mr. Albrecht to enjoy." Xiao Peng said directly.
"Okay, boss." Alfred turned and left.
Preparing a hot pot for him alone was no big deal for Xiao Peng's kitchen. Xiao Peng often entertained foreign friends, and they were already used to the foreigners' "separate dining system".
Foreigners are used to eating in a "separate dining system", that is, each person eats one portion, while Chinese people are used to a "shared dining system", that is, everyone shares a dish.
The first thing that can be confirmed is that the separate dining system is something left over from the ancestors of Daxia.
The people of Daxia originally practiced separate dining. For at least four thousand years of Daxia's 5,000-year history, they practiced the habit of sitting on the floor and eating at separate tables. It wasn't until the Song Dynasty, with economic development and the integration of diverse ethnic cultures, that the current "communal dining" system emerged. The shift from separate dining to communal dining was truly a product of Daxia's economic development.
There is something interesting to say: now more and more foreigners are advocating the "shared dining system", while more and more people in China are advocating the "separate dining system".
With the development and increasing influence of Daxia, it has become fashionable in the West to use chopsticks and speak Chinese. They were very resistant to the communal dining system at the beginning, but now in Chinese restaurants everywhere in Europe, you can see foreigners using the communal dining system everywhere.
And in China, more and more people are advocating for separate dining, believing it to be the most advanced way of eating. Turn on the TV and you'll see advertisements featuring separate meals using serving chopsticks.
The benefits of separate dining are numerous, including improved hygiene and reduced food waste. In the Netherlands, separate dining is taken to its extremes. Visiting a Dutch family? Each person gets a portion, never more, and if they don't eat enough, they deserve it.
However, it is really difficult to implement the separate dining system in Daxia. After all, Chinese food is not a suitable dining method for separate dining, and Daxia's eating habits and food culture are not suitable for separate dining. The most important thing is: Daxia culture emphasizes family affection, atmosphere, nutrition, etc., and the separate dining system is incompatible with Daxia culture.
If someone says, "Let's split the food," it basically means, "I despise you guys." So it's really hard to promote this.
As for Xiao Peng's attitude? It doesn't matter. He supports the promotion of separate dining, but he is absolutely not against communal dining. To be more precise, in his family, most of the time they eat together, and only when foreign guests come, do they eat separately.
After all, eating tastes better when it’s done in a lively atmosphere.
While separate dining is indeed hygienic and can reduce the risk of transmission for some diseases, its effectiveness isn't as significant as one might imagine. Just look at the global pandemic. China, which employed the "unhygienic" communal dining system, successfully controlled the epidemic, while Western countries, which implemented the "hygienic and advanced" separate dining system, were unable to control the epidemic. For infectious diseases, whether separate dining or communal dining is the key to controlling disease transmission isn't the key.
The shared dining system exists in Daxia because it has other social significance. It is right to promote the separate dining system, but it is really unrealistic to implement a one-size-fits-all approach.
What about when everyone gets their own hot pot? The cooker should be the happiest. Similarly, when everyone has their own lunch box during New Year's Eve dinner, shouldn't they?
The change of a social custom requires a process and cannot be achieved in one day. Many contradictions will also arise during this process of change. Just like many people in China who advocate the practice of separate dining now use derogatory words such as "waste of resources, feudal dregs" as soon as they speak, which is really unnecessary.
There's nothing wrong with modern Western cuisine using separate servings, but how do you divide up Chinese food? How do you divide a piece of fish? How do you divide a piece of chicken? Who would accept a braised fish being cooked, with the meat given to me and the head to you? One fish per person? What if you can't finish it? Isn't that another waste of resources? Furthermore, it's difficult to standardize Chinese cuisine! And wouldn't cleaning the dishes require even more resources?
If you want to have separate meals, just do it yourself. Why do you have to stand on a certain height and criticize others? That's the real lack of quality!
After arranging dinner, Xiao Peng asked, "Albrecht, you haven't told me what you want to see me about?"
Albrecht smiled and said, "Xiao, I'm here to give you a gift."
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