(My brothers, you must read this chapter slowly, as my friend who studies Marxist philosophy and Chinese philosophy and I have researched and written it together. There should be no significant issues with the philosophical logic in this chapter—feel free to discuss the intricacies of the arguments, but the overall content should be fine.)
'What is your purpose? Is it just?'
This question had already strayed far from the realm of everyday conversation and was more akin to a clash between the spirits of two idealists.
It was essentially asking, 'Who are you? Where are you going?'
And such a self-evaluation of a person never has a standard answer, so Cheng Daqi's response couldn't be considered wrong no matter what he said.
A materialist answer can be the truth, and so can an idealist answer, but Cheng Daqi's response was neither materialist nor idealist—he was an idealist who revered pragmatism.
"I might want to go to the docks for some fries?