Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

"Don't bite off more than you can chew. Being pragmatic is the most important thing." Zheng Chunhua's advice showed her emotional intelligence. She didn't say Dong Qiangqiang was being reckless, so she didn't offend him. "How is the Foreign Affairs Office? Is everything going well? I heard from the teacher at the Foreign Affairs Office that because SARS was so severe, not only the special university, but other universities in the state have received a lot less university application letters from China this year than in previous years. Is that true?"

"You heard it right. If we exclude those who have incomplete application materials, such as those without APS review certificates, or without German preparatory diplomas, or those who do not provide copies and translations of domestic university diplomas, the number of applicants will plummet."

Dong Qiangqiang did not feel sorry for the applicants who did not provide APS certificates and German preparatory diplomas. He just felt sorry for those students who provided the former two but forgot to provide copies and translations of their domestic university diplomas. However, he did not simply throw these people's application materials into the "unqualified materials" basket. Instead, he called the phone number left on the application materials as soon as possible. If the person answered the phone, he would give a direct reminder. But if the other party left a public phone, he could only ask the person who answered the phone to convey his message. At the same time, he would send an email to the applicant's email address, reminding him to complete the materials as soon as possible before the application deadline.

He didn't want the people behind him to experience the same bad things he had experienced.

"I just met Boss Li. He said that the new shop needs to recruit more student workers and asked me if I have any acquaintances to recommend. If you still have time and energy, you can come and give it a try." Zheng Chunhua suggested, looking at Dong Qiangqiang's slightly tired face.

"Forget it. I don't even have time to read. Let's give this opportunity to other students."

"Actually, I was just about to say that you don't look very well. Are you so tired?" Zheng Chunhua joked with a sly smile, "Are you busy reviewing or digging the pond?"

When Dong Qiangqiang heard Zheng Chunhua say this, he knew that she must have consulted with the landlord, and he was annoyed by this matter recently. His plan was very beautiful before: study at the university until six o'clock after class every day, read a book after dinner, and then go to work or work directly at the neighbor's house, but when he put it into practice, he found that the ideal was full and the reality was very skinny.

This summer was indeed one of the rare hot and humid seasons in Germany. However, after entering July, although it was humid every day, the rain did not decrease at all. It was not the kind of dripping that seemed to be caused by prostate congestion, but it rained day and night for several days in a row. Sometimes it even rained only during the day and not at night, which was so annoying that Dong Qiangqiang could not work at all during the day. When the weather was good, if he dug too late at night and went back to the house to read after digging, he would easily not get up the next morning, and it would be easy to forget the content reviewed the night before. As the saying goes, spring is sleepy, autumn is tired, and summer is napping. If he changed to getting up early in the morning when the weather was fine to work first, it would affect the quality of his study during the day. Although the excavator could improve his work efficiency, the rental price was extremely expensive, so he finally relied on his small shovel. As a result, sunny days affected his review progress, and rainy days affected his work progress. Originally, he thought that as long as the plan and price were determined, he only needed to do a good job of execution. Who knew that he would encounter various unexpected events and could only sigh that man proposes, God disposes.

He told Du Lan about his unhappiness in the hope of finding some comfort, but Du Lan urged him not to lose sight of the big picture and that he must get enough sleep every day. He had already started preparing for the exam and would be under high pressure for a long period of time. According to her experience and that of the students around her, students of their age can only concentrate on their studies for a maximum of ninety minutes at a time. Once this time is exceeded, the brain will be overloaded and lose focus.

On the one hand, Dong Qiangqiang admitted that Du Lan was right, and he also noticed that his learning efficiency was rapidly declining. But on the other hand, he felt that digging ponds was already a very good way to make money. Not only was the risk much smaller than catching wild boars, but the income was also considerable. He was worried that if he missed this opportunity, he would never have it again. He was filled with reluctance, and Du Lan was so angry that he scolded him for being an incorrigible child.

When Dong Qiangqiang was digging the pond most vigorously, even the landlord who introduced this job to him advised him that if he wanted to maintain mental health, he must pay attention to the combination of work and rest. Enjoying nature is one of the simplest ways to prevent psychological stress and depression and give the brain sufficient rest. Dong Qiangqiang should take more walks along the ridge when he has time, feel the breeze passing through the woods, and listen to the various melodious bird songs, so as to relax his body and mind.

Dong Qiangqiang, who could understand the landlord's German, couldn't do these things. He was too busy and wanted to hold everything in his hands. There were several times when he was tired of digging and even lay down by the pit with a shovel in his arms, looking at the stars, and fell asleep directly, completely ignoring the possibility of being attacked by wild boars.

Seeing that Dong Qiangqiang fell silent, Zheng Chunhua thought that he was reminded of something bad. Before she could change the subject, she heard someone calling their names in the distance. "Zheng Chunhua, Dong Qiangqiang. Over here." Fang Shuang waved to the two enthusiastically at a table by the window.

It turned out that the two of them had unknowingly returned to the restaurant hall. The hall was now crowded with people. The plates containing different meats had been ruthlessly swept away, but few people were interested in the colorful vegetables. The young waiters were busy restocking the dishes.

After walking through the crowd that was returning with their goods, the two finally sat down. Dong Qiangqiang then noticed that a large table made up of two tables was filled with meaty food and fruits.

In addition to old acquaintances such as Fang Shuang, Gu Xin, Ji Fengping and Zhao Ke, he also saw a familiar-looking girl whose name he couldn't remember sitting next to Fang Shuang and smiling at him. Before he could match her name with the address book in his mind, she took the initiative to greet him: "Hello, Dong Qiangqiang, we meet again."

"Oh, hello. Can you finish all the food you take? You are not allowed to pack up if you can't finish the buffet." Dong Qiangqiang wanted to ask the other party's name but felt it would be impolite. He quickly pointed to the "Dining Instructions" next to the buffet table and made an excuse about cherishing food to avoid this awkward question-and-answer session.

The boys were busy eating, only Gu Xin put down her chopsticks and answered his question seriously: "Do you see anyone around who has taken less?"

Dong Qiangqiang looked around and saw that all the Chinese diners had their plates and dishes filled to the brim or were constantly filling their plates. No one left empty-handed. Their tough attitude scared the young girls nearby and made them look at each other in dismay and back away. It also made the other foreign diners stare at each other with confusion and puzzlement in their eyes. Dong Qiangqiang noticed that among those who took the most were Chen Xiaofei and Wang Yun, as well as a few classmates who seemed to be familiar with Chen Xiaofei.

"If you only take a little each time, there will be nothing left when you want to eat again. It won't be useful to take more here after you finish eating." Zhao Ke put the crispy meat into his mouth nonchalantly. "Besides, we didn't take all the food here ourselves. Some of it was delivered by Boss Li himself. We can't just refuse it, right?"

That’s indeed not possible, Dong Qiangqiang thought to himself but said nothing.

"By the way, Boss Li just asked me to introduce someone to work here. Did he tell you all about it?" Zheng Chunhua picked up a lotus root box and dipped it in the salt and pepper in the small dish. "Mm, it's delicious, crispy and tender."

"They have already discussed this with Boss Li." Fang Shuang squinted his eyes as soon as he took a sip of orange juice, "Wow, it's really sour."

"It's freshly squeezed, how can it not be sour?" Ji Fengping wiped the beer foam left on his lips after taking a big sip of beer, "By the way, have you watched the news recently?" (End of this chapter)