Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

Chapter 1148. Autumn Dining Table (Part 1148)

What no one expected was that the last few days of August were all rare good days, and the outdoor temperature rose by nearly ten degrees. If you didn't look at the calendar, everyone would believe it was the height of summer in July. Dong Qiangqiang didn't remember that there was a hot autumn in Trier last summer, so all the summer clothes were washed, dried and put into the closet early, and were forced to be taken out again when the weather got hot.

The good weather put him in a good mood as he was preparing for the make-up exam. Taking advantage of the many favorable factors such as Duanmu not making any new requests, he did not have to go to Munich to attend the automobile forum for the time being, and the school starting early, he suddenly decided to invite all the classmates who had been close to him and had a good chat with him in Trier over the past year to have a dinner together and share the rare leisure time. He felt more and more that reading more was right, and necessary relaxation was also indispensable. He should still socialize when it is time, but without too strong utilitarianism.

Zheng Chunhua, who helped him the most in the past year, was the first to be invited. Fang Shuang, Gu Xin, Ji Fengping, Zhao Ke, who he met through the China Week activities, were also on the dinner list. Hearing that Dong Qiangqiang had invited many people, Zheng Chunhua suggested that he rent the public kitchen on the first floor of the dormitory building next to the university. The kitchen was fully equipped with a refrigerator, color TV, coffee table, sofa, stove, pots and pans, and was most suitable for large groups to dine together.

Dong Qiangqiang immediately called the dormitory manager's mobile phone, but was disappointed to learn that the public kitchen needed to be booked two to three days in advance, and it was impossible to make a reservation one day in advance, so he had to give up the idea.

The unexpected end of summer has filled the freshly tidied yard with a beautiful autumn scenery. The autumn wind that had robbed many branches and leaves in the yard a few days ago has warmed up after being baked by the sun. It is neither cold nor hot when blowing on the body, which perfectly reflects the cool and refreshing autumn weather in Germany.

After obtaining the landlord's consent, Dong Qiangqiang planned to bring a group of people to the landlord's house to spend the weekend. He hoped that everyone could feel the pleasantness and beauty of autumn.

Everyone who received the invitation, whether they were close to Dong Qiangqiang or had an average relationship with him, felt happy, especially the few who had done well in the exams this semester. Everyone had a similar idea in their mind: seizing the time to have fun before school starts is the secondary priority during the holidays; the top priority is still to work.

The landlord, who became increasingly interested in Chinese culture, had to regretfully give up the gathering with the students because she had to go to the city's St. Mary's Cathedral to attend a memorial and fundraising event related to the flood. Before leaving, she made an exception and agreed that Dong Qiangqiang could cook Chinese food at home. The only requirement was that the room must be ventilated continuously after cooking and that no smell of oil smoke should be left.

During the holiday, when the landlord was traveling domestically, Dong Qiangqiang had already gained some experience in clearing out the smell of cooking smoke, so he agreed confidently.

Of course, Dong Qiangqiang did not forget to invite his old friends and new neighbors who were not successful. Li Lei was no longer under the pressure of the second class exemption talk. He was free from the burden of being an official. He politely asked Dong Qiangqiang if he needed help. Dong Qiangqiang was used to being alone and modestly said that he would be fine after dinner. As the saying goes, one dares to speak and the other dares to listen. Li Lei took Dong Qiangqiang's courtesy seriously and stayed in the room playing World of Warcraft. Dong Qiangqiang was too lazy to argue with him. He rushed down the mountain to buy all the ingredients for cooking before everyone got home. It happened that a new Russian supermarket opened at the foot of the mountain. For some reason, a kilogram of large ribs was less than one euro. If you bought too many ribs, you could get a pig's tail directly. He remembered that several dishes of China Zhou Shang Wanfu left a deep and good impression on the landlord. He happened to fry them today and used them to offer flowers to Buddha as a thank you for borrowing the landlord's kitchen. Knowing that Dong Qiangqiang cooked personally, the invited people also said that they would not come empty-handed.

Zheng Chunhua was familiar with the place and drove a motorcycle. She was the first to arrive with Fang Shuang. The two girls smelled the aroma of meat as soon as they entered the house. When they asked, they found out that Dong Qiangqiang's secret pressed duck was being roasted in the landlord's super-large oven. The two had thought that the dinner was just an ordinary home-cooked meal. They brought Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Tofu and Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes. They didn't expect Dong Qiangqiang to make it so formal that he even brought out roast duck. Although they hadn't tasted it yet, they all praised him for his ingenuity and did not hesitate to praise him. Dong Qiangqiang didn't mean to show off by making roast duck. He thought that when Christmas came, his friends would probably come to Trier from all over the place to have a party like last year. He had just moved last year and was not very familiar with the landlord. He didn't dare to be too ostentatious when his friends came to his house. The Christmas Eve dinner was abruptly stopped due to the sudden outbreak of SARS, and everyone retreated in embarrassment the next day. Many things have improved this year compared to last year, so he has to practice more now so that he can have something to show for Christmas. The landlord's oven is too advanced, and he has never used many of its functions, so he needs time to try and make mistakes.

In addition to roast duck, Dong Qiangqiang also made two other dishes, one is braised spareribs and the other is sweet and sour trout. Germans usually cook trout by brushing it with sauce and then baking it in the oven, but firstly, the roast duck takes up the oven, and secondly, another roasted dish is too homogeneous and meaningless, so it is better to try other methods.

While he was cooking, others arrived one after another. Gu Xin brought mixed vegetables and shredded potatoes with vinegar. The two science guys didn't usually cook, but they didn't come empty-handed. As soon as they entered the door, they handed Dong Qiangqiang eight large crabs weighing 100 grams of gold, plus various drinks and snacks. Everyone couldn't leave Trier for various reasons and had been holding back for a whole summer vacation. Dong Qiangqiang's invitation to dinner undoubtedly provided everyone with a rare opportunity to relax.

Dong Qiangqiang was busy cleaning up the late seafood. The dining table was carried to the yard outside the kitchen. The girls laid out the dishes one by one. Two boys carried out another square table and placed the TV on it steadily. They tuned in a non-boring TV program as background music for chatting. When Dong Qiangqiang set up the steamer and prepared the ginger vinegar sauce, and came out of the kitchen, the dishes on the table were already in place, the drinks were already poured, and the people were talking and laughing around the table. Everyone bathed in the autumn afternoon sun had a comfortable and happy smile on their faces. "Radar" sat at the table, staring at the food on the plate, drooling on the grass. The cat lay on the sofa outside the kitchen, its head hidden in the shadow left by the sofa armrest when it was hit by the sun, its body basking in the sun, its eyes half closed and half open. Dong Qiangqiang drank his drink and saw everything. He was a little dazed for a moment. The laughter brought back his memories of some past events, as if he saw himself when he first arrived in Hanover.

The only one who appeared at the dining table empty-handed was Li Lei, who ran down from the room after hearing the noise downstairs. After getting to know each other, he heard that everyone brought food. Li Lei felt that it would not look good to go to the table empty-handed, so he hurried back to the kitchen, took out the just-bought ham from the refrigerator, and also contributed his treasured preserved eggs. Although everyone said that it was enough and asked him to sit down and eat and chat first, he still felt that something was missing. He ran into the house and reappeared in front of everyone after a while.

With a dull thud, a bottle of muddy wine was placed in the center of the dining table.

Except for Dong Qiangqiang, everyone was attracted by the wine bottle and the table fell silent for a moment.

"Is this wine yours? Why is it so dirty?" Zheng Chunhua asked with a smile.

"I'll treat everyone to a drink," Li Lei said in a heroic manner, "Although the appearance of this wine is not very good, this wine is actually very valuable, and most people can't tell that." He said mysteriously.