It is Kokang and Changchun

　Changchun listened carefully to Z23's story, nodded frequently, and agreed, "As expected of Nimi-chan, you're quite insightful."

　Z23 quickly waved his hand and said modestly, "Comrade Changchun, you're too kind. This was just an impromptu speech. My humble opinion still has many loopholes that need to be addressed..."

　Chapter 331 Z23's China Tour (3)

　The next morning, the delegation headed by Z23 prepared to go to Shanghai according to the scheduled itinerary.

　At eight o'clock in the morning, the German and Chinese representatives had breakfast together. During breakfast, Changchun asked Z23 about other German shipgirls.

　Changchun was shocked to hear that Tirpitz and Z23 were getting close. In Changchun's mind, a lazy anime and gaming nerd and a hardworking student couldn't possibly be related, right?

　In response to Changchun's question, Z23 sighed and slowly spoke, "Ah, this is a long story. It's mainly because Commander Bismarck has been focusing on Tirpitz. He always forces Tirpitz to come to me during every cultural class.

　Secondly, I tailored my teaching to her needs, and in order to be able to report to Commander Bismarck, I took great pains to explain various subjects to her using comics, and played games with her during her spare time.

　Z23 did not tell Changchun that Eugen's bizarre dream of Tirpitz becoming emperor and Tirpitz's later exposure to the Choice Party's leaflets were the reasons why she truly valued Tirpitz's ideological education.

　"How is Tirpitz now? I mean in terms of his ideological awareness." Changchun asked about Tirpitz's situation.

　Z23 said: "Good news! From a political novice who was just a few steps away from being misled by the AfD, she has become a communist. At least we can call her a comrade."

　"That's great, everyone's happy." Changchun smiled and continued, "That's perfect. Since Tirpitz loves playing games and is a communist, Changchun recommends her a game with socialist educational significance. It's definitely suitable for her."

　"What game is it? Something like Atomic Heart?" Z23 is not against moderate games, especially those with socialist elements and educational significance.

　“This game is called ‘Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic’, and it can be said to be a socialist planned economy version of ‘Cities: Skylines’. The official version has recently completed its last major update.

　This game mainly involves managing all aspects of society under an ideal planned economic system, including mineral resources, industrial construction, transportation construction, and resident management, and doing business with the two major camps of the Soviet Union through customs and NATO.

　Changchun has played for nearly 300 hours and believes that this game allows people to experience the basic characteristics of a planned economy in various senses, so I would like to recommend it to Tirpitz.

　Z23's eyes lit up. A socialist city-building simulation and farming game—that was quite novel. She continued, "So, what do you think of this game, Comrade Changchun? How does it embody the basic characteristics of a planned economy?"

　Changchun said: "First, in addition to adopting an ideal socialist planned economic system, this game does not use currency for domestic economic activities; it is only needed for imports and exports. Second, the biggest difference between it and other city-building games is its hardcore nature.

　If you open the real mode, you have to build all the buildings and infrastructure in the game yourself. There is no such thing as a building appearing directly or within a few seconds after placing it. You can only get a cleared piece of land when you put it down.

　There is a special construction office for building a building, and several engineering vehicles are arranged inside. These engineering vehicles will load the resources and manpower needed for construction from the designated customs or factories/warehouses and go to the cleared land to build the building.

　In addition, even the resources needed for factory production cannot be purchased directly in the factory's detailed interface. Resources must be loaded from customs/other factories/warehouses using dispatch trucks and then transported to the factory for unloading. The distribution and sale of products are the same, except that one is transported to stores and the other is transported to customs.

　In terms of residents' lives, the production and supply of consumer goods, water, electricity, and heating networks is also a complex system, and there are also various demands. The demolition and maintenance mechanisms for garbage, buildings, and vehicles are also complex.

　Demolition is similar to building a building yourself: the building is dismantled piece by piece, and the resulting construction debris and scrap metal are removed from the site. Alternatively, you can simply demolish the building, but that requires importing explosives, while using domestically produced explosives would require setting up a dynamite factory.

　The most realistic point is that the game starts with nothing; in terms of industry, you can only build the primary industry. If you want to develop the secondary and tertiary industries, you can only research and climb the technology tree. It directly simulates how an agricultural country can use socialism to develop its economy.

　Industrialization of the planned economic system.

　When I played it, I truly understood how difficult it was for both the Soviet Union and China, especially China, to tighten their belts and pursue industrialization. No matter how hardcore a game is, it's still easier than reality. In Changchun, accumulating primitive industrial capital through agriculture alone wouldn't be easy, let alone real life.

　So how do you climb the tech tree? You need a highly educated population and university facilities. Therefore, in this game, highly educated populations are crucial. Not only do highly educated populations have higher labor productivity than those with only a primary education, but more importantly, some jobs in the game can only be performed by highly educated populations.

　For example, university professors, radio and television hosts, engineers in the nuclear industry, electronics/mechanics/road vehicles/rail vehicles/ship/aircraft manufacturing industries cannot be done without a population with higher education, and you cannot produce with workers who only have primary education.

　However, this game is not without its flaws. Some elements in this game, while not necessarily black socialism, still reveal a certain degree of prejudice against socialism and the Communist Party. However, the flaws outweigh the merits, and this game still embodies the basic characteristics of a planned economy.

　"Sounds good, and certainly educational." Changchun's explanation gave Z23 a general understanding of the game. She then asked, "Which country produced this game? The United States?"

　Changchun said, "It's Slovakia."

　"A game from a former Eastern European socialist country. No wonder there's a bias against socialism and communism." Z23 said with a sigh.

　"Well, it doesn't matter. As long as it's not heavily biased, it's fine. It's more rare for a capitalist country to produce cultural works that aren't biased against socialism."

　Z23 believed that Tirpitz wouldn't be blinded by a small amount of prejudice. Since the benefits of this game outweighed the disadvantages, it was still worth recommending to Tirpitz.

　"I will continue to learn about the game "Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic" when I get back and recommend it to Comrade Tirpitz," said Z23.

　After breakfast, the German and Chinese representatives chatted for a while. At ten o'clock in the morning, the Chinese personnel accompanied the German representatives to the berth of Z23 to say goodbye.

　Before Z23 and his crew boarded the ship, Changchun gave Z23 a 5.8mm rifle shell.

　A closer look at the Z23 revealed it was indeed made of steel. I'd previously learned from online readings and books in Germany that China's copper shortage meant its cartridge cases were made of steel. But seeing it in person for the first time was still a bit of a novelty.

　"Comrade Changchun, thank you for your gift. What is the meaning of this bullet shell?" Z23 asked, thanking Changchun for the gift.

　Changchun explained with a smile but without losing his seriousness, "The shell may seem ordinary, but it possesses a precious quality—it shakes the world in battle, spewing out a blazing fire when it is most needed, yet remains silent after victory."

　"Hmm, that's a very unique insight." Z23 thought this viewpoint was quite interesting. He had never noticed the tiny existence of the bullet casing, and it actually had such a meaning.

　"Actually, this meaning comes from a Chinese military song called 'Giving You a Small Bullet Shell'. This song uses objects to describe people and reflects the true qualities of soldiers," Zhenhai added.

　Z23 suddenly understood. She stroked the shell casing again, feeling its texture, and thanked them again. "I see. I'll definitely appreciate this Chinese military song when I have some free time. Thank you again for your gift."

　After saying that, Z23 wrapped the shell in toilet paper and put it in his pocket.

　After waving goodbye to the Chinese personnel and the ship's hostess, the Z23 crew walked up the gangway to their own ship. After blowing the whistle, they left the Guzhenkou military port under the guidance of relevant personnel in the port area.

　----------------

　It takes 36 hours to travel from Qingdao to Shanghai by cruise ship. But the Z23 is a destroyer, so how can it be faster than a ship? The Z23 arrived in Shanghai in just one day.

　In Shanghai, there were also Chinese personnel to pick up Z23 and others. In addition to some unfamiliar human faces, there were also some familiar ship girl faces.

　"Wait a minute, didn't we just say goodbye yesterday? We meet again today? And you, Senior Zhenhai, are the only ones here?" Z23 looked confused.

　Zhenhai smiled softly and said, "When a shipgirl from another country visits, our shipgirls must accompany them, so as to fulfill the hospitality of the host. Since Qingdao is far away from Shanghai, the superiors only sent me as the Chinese shipgirl representative to accompany them."

　Z23 curled his lips inwardly and said humorously, "No wonder when we said goodbye in Qingdao yesterday, everyone else said goodbye, but you, Senior, said we'd meet again some other day. So that's why..."

　Since Shanghai is so huge, it is impossible to visit all the attractions within two days. Zhenhai, Z23 and others only chose to visit the more representative places.

　For example, on the first day, Z23 and others visited Lujiazui and the Bund in Shanghai, two landmark areas in Pudong and Puxi, as well as the Sihang Warehouse, one of the symbols of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

　On the morning of the next day, before Z23 went on a "pilgrimage" to the location of Shanghai Manjiu Network Technology Co., Ltd., the Chinese personnel invited Z23 and the German representatives to taste Guangdong morning tea.

　Zhenhai knew that when he visited Shanghai, he had a very delicious breakfast at a Cantonese-style dim sum restaurant, so he strongly recommended it to the Chinese and German representatives.

　"What's the name of that Guangdong morning tea shop?" Z23 asked.

　"Red Tea House." Zhenhai replied.

　"I'm not asking whether this shop sells black tea, I'm asking the name of the shop." Z23 reiterated the purpose of his inquiry.

　"Just call it 'Red Tea House', Red/Tea House." Zhenhai and Z23 clarified the ambiguity.

　"A teahouse called 'Red'?"

　"correct."

　Z23 complained: "Can some businesses choose store names that are not ambiguous?"

　In this way, under the guidance of Zhenhai, the Chinese and German representatives came to the "red" teahouse.

　At the door, I saw a pretty, tall red-haired woman, about 1.7 meters tall. She was wearing a dark green dress with white accents (somewhat like a cheongsam, but not really).

　"Master Hong! How are you?" Zhenhai called out, waking up the red-haired woman in a green dress who was dozing off by the teahouse door.

　"Hey, hello, Miss Zhenhai. What brings you here?" The woman whom Zhenhai called Master Hong opened her eyes and looked up. Seeing Zhenhai coming, she responded happily.

　"Who is this Master Hong?" Z23 asked Zhenhai.

　"The proprietress and doorman of this teahouse." Zhenhai said.

　A drop of sweat slid down Z23's forehead. "Is it really okay for a security guard to nap? Besides, she's guarding her own store..."

　Chapter 332 Z23's China Tour (4)

　Since Z23 was speaking German when he complained about Master Hong, Master Hong naturally had no idea what Z23 was saying.

　Zhenhai walked over and chatted with Master Hong in a familiar manner, "Master Hong, I brought a few foreign guests with me today. Let them taste your Guangdong specialties and bring you some business."

　Chef Hong took a closer look at the scene behind Zhenhai. Wow, there were quite a few people here. It would be no problem to fill up a large round Chinese-style dining table. She said to everyone, "Welcome to our restaurant. I'll open a private room for you."

　After saying that, Chef Hong walked into the restaurant and shouted to the waiter in Cantonese: "Xiao Li, is the largest private room occupied? (Xiao Li, is the largest private room occupied?)"

　"No! (No!)" A loud response came from the teahouse.

　"That's good, open a room quickly, I have an important guest here." Chef Hong asked the waiter to open the private room quickly.

　Then Master Hong turned to Zhenhai Z23 and the others and said enthusiastically, "Please follow me, everyone. I have opened the largest private room for you."

　When Master Hong and Z23 walked into the shop, they asked Zhenhai, "Senior Zhenhai, was the lady speaking the local dialect just now?"

　"It's a dialect, but it's not a local dialect." Zhenhai explained, "What she said just now was the Cantonese dialect. Shanghai has its own Shanghainese dialect."

　Z23 had learned something new. "No wonder I only half understood what Miss Hong said just now."

　Zhenhai said casually: "Cantonese is quite friendly. If you go to Guangxi, Fujian, or Hainan and listen to the locals speaking their dialect, you will feel as if you are in Southeast Asia rather than China.

　In short, Chinese dialects are divided into two major regions, the northern and southern regions. The northern dialects are basically variations of standard Chinese, while the pronunciation of many words in the southern dialects is so different from standard Chinese that it's like they're talking at cross purposes.

　"Miss Hong is from Guangdong?"

　"Yes."

　Z23 was surprised and lost in thought. If China's language situation were to occur in Europe, national/regional independence movements would undoubtedly surge.

　In a Europe that has been fragmented for years, both in ancient and modern history, Germany, or rather, Germany, is a typical example of a loose European nation, in stark contrast to China. This makes Z23 once again have a deep respect for China.

　"Why didn't Europe produce a European version of Ying Zheng after the Roman Empire?" Z23 complained to himself about European history.

　Similar questions have arisen in Chongqing before.

　"England's history still lacks a Qin Shi Huang, who standardized the wheel gauge and the written language. If Britain had completed the necessary steps for unification before national consciousness emerged, and maintained its stability for three to five hundred years, there wouldn't have been so many independence-seeking strife in modern times.

　Of course, a lot of this is also due to the inhumane behavior of the exploitative government." - Complained Chongqing in Europa Universalis IV.

　After the group entered the store, they were greeted by the unique atmosphere of a Guangdong dim sum restaurant, accompanied by the noisy chatter of diners.

　Z23 frowned slightly. She could understand chatting while eating, but wasn't the noise a little too loud? Here, the voices of one table could drown out the voices of ten tables in Germany.

　"Senior Zhenhai, is this restaurant so crowded in China a special feature of this place?" Z23 asked.

　Zhenhai nodded and said, "It's especially obvious in food stalls, teahouses, and traditional restaurants, but other non-traditional restaurants aren't so noisy. Just think of these Chinese restaurants as German beer halls, and the comparison will make sense."

　In order to take Z23's feelings into consideration, Zhenhai also added, "Considering the guests' feelings, won't we open a private room this time? Don't worry."

　As they were talking, Master Hong led them to a private room and seated them. As soon as they were seated, the waiter skillfully served them tea, water, and dishes. Then he took out the menu and handed it to them.

　"Narvik, let's go and order food."

　Hai picked up the menu and asked Z23 to go and order.

　Z23 was puzzled and asked, "Wait a minute, Senior Zhenhai, isn't it the waiter who gives us the menu, and then we order according to the menu and wait for the food to be served?"

　Zhenhai laughed cheerfully and explained, "That's a regular restaurant. This is Guangdong dim sum, which is different. For Guangdong dim sum, you take your order and go to the pick-up counter to pick up your food directly."

　Whatever food you take, they'll mark it down in the corresponding price box on your bill, and every mark in these corresponding boxes will be used as the basis for calculating the price when you pay."

　"It saves me the trouble of waiting for the food. It's pretty good and it broadens my horizons." Z23 heard about this way of picking up food for the first time and felt it was very fresh.

　Like Aurora, Z23 also encountered the trouble of fancy Chinese dish names when ordering. Fortunately, Zhenhai was there to help translate and explain, otherwise Z23 would have been terrified.

　"The phoenix's claws (phoenix claws) are actually chicken claws? This name sounds like the name of an alchemy ingredient in fantasy works..." Z23 complained after Zhenhai explained what phoenix claws meant.

　After taking the order, Z23 stopped Chef Hong, who was about to leave the room, and said, "Chef Hong, please stay. May I ask your name? And when did you meet Senior Zhenhai?"

　Master Hong turned around and replied with a carefree smile, "Ah, my full name is Hong Meiling, surname Hong and given name Meiling. I met Miss Zhenhai when she came to Shanghai for a visit at the end of last year when the lockdown was just lifted."

　Zhenhai said, "Yes, I came to Master Hong's shop for morning tea. She was reading Sun Tzu's Art of War. I happened to be reading Sun Tzu's Art of War recently, so we started chatting and that's how we got to know each other."

　"So that's how it is. Then why do you, Senior Zhenhai, always address Miss Hong as Master?" Z23 asked again.

　Zhenhai cut towards Hong Meiling with his right hand and said, "This one is a boxer..." Afraid that Z23 wouldn't understand the term "boxer", Zhenhai deliberately changed the topic and said, "You know martial arts, right? It's also called Chinese Kung Fu. Her Chinese Kung Fu is very powerful, so I respectfully call her Master Hong."

　"Chinese Kung Fu? Like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan?" Z23's eyes lit up. When foreigners think of Chinese Kung Fu, they often think of Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan.

　Hong Meiling shook her head and said modestly, "Oh, no, I don't deserve it... Miss Z23, you're too kind. Mr. Bruce Lee is the spokesperson for Chinese Kung Fu to the outside world. How can I compare with him?"

　Zhenhai also said humorously, "Narvik, if you want to see the impression of Bruce Lee by foreigners, you should have gone to Zhaohe the day before yesterday. Her idol is Bruce Lee; Zhaohe is quite good at swinging nunchakus."

　"Senior, why didn't you tell me earlier... We can't read what you said now." Z23 suddenly felt regretful.

　"Every Kung Fu master has his own areas of expertise. For example, Bruce Lee was a very powerful Jeet Kune Do master. So Miss Hong should also have her own areas of expertise, right?" Z23 asked Hong Meiling.

　Hong Meiling leaned back slightly, and said with a slightly mysterious smile, "Every master has his or her strengths and weaknesses, that's normal. As for me, I know a little bit of everything."

　"Old Ye asked, yes." Zhenhai covered his mouth lightly and teased.