Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

Chapter 1150. Autumn Dining Table (Part 1150)

"What smells so good?" Zhao Ke sniffed hard, "Is it our crab?"

Before he finished his words, the timer that Dong Qiangqiang had placed on the dining table jumped up with a scream.

Dong Qiangqiang got up and went back to the kitchen. After a while, he came out with a large plate of bright red crabs. After putting the plate down, he went back to the kitchen. When he reappeared, he had a tray in his hand, which was filled with small plates containing ginger vinegar juice, cooking wine, sesame oil, light soy sauce, sugar and other condiments.

The aroma of crabs filled the entire yard. "Radar" had no idea what good stuff Dong Qiangqiang had taken out of the kitchen, so he stood up with his two front feet on a chair and stared at the motionless crabs. Dong Qiangqiang saw this and took two pieces of meat from the ribs and threw them on the grass. "Radar" immediately gave up paying attention to the crabs and lowered his head to work hard.

"Let me have one first." As soon as the plate was put down, Zhao Ke's hand had already impatiently placed on the crab claws. He endured the heat and flicked the claws, and the crab was on his plate.

"Hmm, this smell is refreshing. What are these vegetables on top of the crab?" Zhao Ke used his fingers to pick off the green leafy vegetables on the crab shell.

"These are all vegetables grown by the landlord. They are particularly effective in removing fishy and greasy smells. I have eaten them before and thought they were good, so I followed the recipe this time." Dong Qiangqiang explained.

"No wonder this crab smells like grass." Zhao Ke said no more. He exerted force with both hands and split the crab shell in two. Crab oil splashed out. He plucked out the gill hairs and couldn't wait to devour it.

Others also reached out.

"Oh no, we forgot to sober up just now." Fang Shuang said with regret, "Is it too late to wake up now?"

"The wine merchant told me that dry or off-dry Riesling white wine does not need to be decanted to make the drinker taste light and fresh," Dong Qiangqiang learned and applied it on the spot, "You can drink it right after pouring it out. You don't need to dip Riesling in vinegar."

"Hey, that's easier. Let's change to champagne. Hey, Old Ji, pour me more. Who can drink it in one gulp? Pour more, more." Zhao Ke was quite dissatisfied with Ji Fengping who was pouring the wine.

Zheng Chunhua, who was driving a motorcycle, did not have the pleasure of drinking Riesling, so she could only make do with beverages and enjoy the seasonings mixed by Dong Qiangqiang.

"Hmm, why does this wine smell like fruit?" Gu Xin took a sip and asked Dong Qiangqiang, "It tastes like apple, plum, and a little bit of strawberry, but not grape. It's also a little sour. Could this wine be bad? Have you been cheated?"

"How can your spoiled wine taste so fruity?" Zhao Ke said disdainfully, "You are uneducated. Riesling is like this, just like your soy milk. Those who like it love it, but those who think it tastes bad will feel sick when they hear the word 'unpalatable'."

"That's because you don't know how to drink it. Douzhi can help relieve the greasiness of fried dough sticks. Drinking only douzhi will choke you to death." Gu Xin retorted unyieldingly.

"Can't you two satisfy your appetite with such plump crabs?" Fang Shuang broke off a crab claw and threw it into Gu Xin's bowl. "To be honest, the crabs they picked are really good. They are all female and have a lot of crab roe. Eat them quickly, or they will become fishy when they get cold."

"Dong Qiangqiang's mud wine tastes better than I thought. It has a light sweet and sour taste of lemon, unlike some white grape wines that are too strong in fruit flavor. It is no different from the fruit wines in the supermarket. If you drink a sip of that kind of wine and then eat crabs, you can't taste the crab flavor. It's too overwhelming. I like the one recommended by Dong. Is this wine expensive? Tell me where you bought it later. If it's not expensive, I'll have a bottle too." Ji Fengping didn't care about Fang Shuang's praise and gave his own insights on wine.

"It's not cheap, more than 70 Euros. This wine is a late harvest wine, so it tastes sweet and a bit sour. It's not suitable to drink with crabs, so I didn't take it."

"Oh my god, it's so expensive? Then this sip of mine must cost... dozens of cents?" Ji Fengping smacked his lips and tasted it again. "Well, it's really delicious, but also really expensive. Thank you for your expense."

"It's the same for you. Your crabs are not cheap, and I can't fool you with bad wine. It's a rare occasion for you to come here, so we must eat and drink well." While speaking, Dong Qiangqiang took off a piece of meat from the ribs and threw it to "Radar" who had been whimpering for a long time.

Seeing that Li Lei had been sitting on the chair in aloofness since the crabs were served, only eating the dishes without reaching out for the crabs, Dong Qiangqiang guessed that he was embarrassed, so he took the initiative to pick up a crab and threw it on his plate: "If you don't eat it, it will be fishy."

Li Lei's face showed a look of surprise and delight. He quickly went along with it, nodded his head frequently, and made several polite remarks before starting to open the crab. He did not dare to touch Dong Qiangqiang's wine. He imitated Zheng Chunhua in drinking the beverage and dipping it in sauce. He seemed to have some knowledge of the world, but also seemed to have none.

Everyone was discussing their own topics in pairs. Zhao Ke, who was chewing pork ribs with the same relish as Radar, was suddenly attracted by the noise coming from the TV. After taking a look, he pointed at the TV not far away and said to the others, "Hey, look, there's fun."

All the topics suddenly disappeared, and everyone's eyes were focused on the TV. Ji Fengping tactfully turned up the volume.

A group of people were gathered above the river, discussing something fiercely. The streets beside the river were piled with cars and trucks of different sizes. Houses and shops were in ruins, with muddy exterior walls. The firefighters coming and going indicated that the rescue work here was still in progress. These were all familiar scenes to Dong Qiangqiang. The camera moved from far to near, and there were obviously two groups of people in the picture. A group of people with angry faces and disheveled clothes were surrounding a man wearing glasses and suits and cursing. The person being scolded was obviously a politician. There were three or four men in black clothes guarding him carefully. He showed no fear and angrily argued with the crowd. He had no intention of retreating, but his anger could not cover up the visible fatigue on his face. All kinds of "long guns and short cannons" were erected above the heads of the crowd, and there were people carrying cameras outside the crowd, concentrating on filming something.

Since the flood, there is no more news about SARS on German TV. SARS has disappeared from the lives of Germans as if it had never happened. Most TV stations broadcast either news reports related to floods or debates related to floods. Dong Qiangqiang doesn't know whether Germans are a nation that is good at reflection and summarizing, but they really love debates.

Amidst a fierce argument and repeated boos, jeers and sarcastic remarks, everyone clearly heard a politician shout: "I know you are all anxious to rebuild your homes. We have been working hard to deploy. Although the flood has receded, the danger is still everywhere. Any rescue cannot be blind. It requires careful planning and good logistics support. All of this takes time... No, I am not making excuses to evade you. I am not here to show off, and I have never said that you 'deserve it.' Hey, that person, why did you say that to me? This is a naked personal attack and slander! The flood was not caused by me."

His out-of-control emotions led to a more intense quarrel and the chaos at the scene intensified. The crowd began to push the bodyguards beside him out of anger. The bodyguards could only defend passively and did not dare to attack. Objects were thrown indiscriminately from all directions, some hitting the politician and his guards, and some hitting other angry people.

"It's him again," Zheng Chunhua said after taking a few glances. "After the flood, this congressman liked to travel around and especially loved to speak on camera. Every time he spoke, he would cause quite a bit of controversy."

"Don't they (politicians) just like to put on a show?" Gu Xin snorted. "In fact, whether it's a show or controversial, at least they are not occupying the toilet without doing anything, and they are willing to go to the disaster area. This is much better than those bureaucrats who just sit in their offices and talk cheap words." Zhao Ke retorted.

"That's right. The problem with people is that they wear a hat and stand in the court, but they just sit there and do nothing." Fang Shuang naturally thought of the trouble she encountered when she was selecting the photo wall for China Week. "We also had such people (during the SARS epidemic), but they were wiped out, weren't they?"

Zhao Ke understood Fang Shuang's words in a second and corrected him, "It's different. You said that person was dismissed, but here people are impeached and resign at any time. I think dismissal is indeed not a big deal, can't we just fire him? At worst, we can just recruit new ones. So many people try their best to get in every year, can't we find a suitable one? I don't believe it. This is not like playing football where you can't find eleven talented people. Civil servants don't need talent. The word 'seriousness' as the teacher said is enough. Of course, more importantly, they have to have a sense of responsibility."

Zheng Chunhua ignored the two people's group discussion and continued, "This man was criticized a lot. On the one hand, it was because of his position, but more importantly, his performance was not satisfactory. For example, not long after the flood, he appeared at the disaster site to cheer up the victims. It should be an inspiring thing, but he did not follow the usual path. In addition to chatting and laughing with his colleagues at the scene, he also expressed some controversial views such as "it is not a problem if the home can be rebuilt with money" and "the construction plans of some cities have no response to floods." After being pointed out and criticized by the media, he explained that the place he inspected happened to have a state-level natural landscape, and he laughed because the natural landscape was not damaged by the flood, but The excuses used by the victims to accuse him were as childish as those of a toddler. People complained that the natural landscape had actually been destroyed due to poor rescue efforts, but later investigations revealed that the delay in rescue efforts was due to local residents suing the city's flood control plan, which destroyed the natural landscape and delayed the overall progress. It felt like the government was not easy sometimes. Later, he came out crying at the landscape site, but the people did not accept his apology at all. It is useless for politicians to rely on sensationalism and preaching. If you don't solve the problem, people will continue to complain about you until you step down. He had a head-on conflict with the victims again this time, and I guess his future career will be difficult. "Zheng Chunhua said with emotion after introducing it to everyone in detail.

"It's not surprising that the victims are emotional," Ji Fengping stared at the TV screen intently. "This flood has dealt a heavy blow to the Germans. On the one hand, it has impacted their production and lives, and on the other hand, it has tested the efficiency of the government in providing reconstruction assistance to residents and businesses in the disaster area. Another aspect is that climate change has been one of their most important issues in recent years. Fortunately, the federal election was held last year. If it had been held this year, it would have been even more exciting. The aftermath alone would have been enough for the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party to have a hard time. The Green Party cares most about environmental protection."

Everyone agreed, but Dong Qiangqiang thought of another person.

"Speaking of the Social Democratic Party, Schröder was successfully re-elected as the chancellor last year. It seems that Germany's friendly policy toward China can be extended for another four years, which is good for finding a job." Fang Shuang put down the empty crab shell in his hand, turned his eyes away from the TV, and took a wet wipe to wipe the grease off his hands. "Hey, what are your plans? Will you return to your country after graduation or stay here to find a job first and then immigrate?"

Staying or returning home is an eternal topic for international students.

"Is it easy to find a job if you study IT or computer science? I heard that you can find a job before you even graduate. What Germany needs most in recent years is computer talents," Zheng Chunhua calmly followed the new topic.

Ji Fengping said calmly: "I will finish all the exams first before thinking about graduation. It's still early, no rush..."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Before Zhao Ke could say anything, Gu Xin put down the crab she had not finished eating with a worried look on her face, and said anxiously, "We are not graduating yet. I am so worried about this that my hair is falling out. You don't know that those of us who study business management have to read a lot of books before we dare to take the exam. Otherwise, we can't even understand the questions and don't know where to start. I couldn't recover for several days after the exam this time. In the end, I still failed two subjects. I have to take make-up exams next week. I really don't know when it will end. Sometimes I want to forget it and stop studying. I will just find a job when I return to China. But I feel sorry for the hardships I have endured for so many years. Oh, it's hard to say... Do you all regret coming to Germany to study?"

Li Lei was just about to put the crab meat on the chopsticks into his mouth when he suddenly heard Gu Xin's complaint. His hands trembled and the crab meat slipped to the ground. "Radar" pounced on it quickly and swallowed it in one gulp.

"I heard Fang Shuang say that she has never seen anyone more hardworking than Dong Qiangqiang, right?" Zheng Chunhua was absorbing the oil from a piece of pork ribs on the rice. When she heard Gu Xin's complaint, she looked up at Fang Shuang.

"That's right, I haven't seen it." Fang Shuang said affirmatively.

"Then Gu Xin, why don't you learn from classmate Dong? Although one of you is studying business administration and the other is studying national economics, some subjects are common, and the learning methods should also be common. You can always learn from others. Classmate Dong, don't be too selfish and share your valuable success experience with everyone. Sharing happiness is worse than enjoying it alone."

"Yes, introduce them and give a helping hand to our brothers and sisters." Fang Shuang encouraged.

"Didn't you just take one semester of advanced master's courses?" Gu Xin asked suspiciously, "How come they both know how you are doing?"

"Because you always sit in the back of the class, of course you can't see him sitting in the first row." Fang Shuang ruthlessly embarrassed Gu Xin.

"You two are flattering me. I didn't study well, so I failed a subject this time. If I don't understand it myself, how dare you mislead other students?" Dong Qiangqiang said modestly.

"Being too modest is a sign of pride and arrogance," Zheng Chunhua joked, "and it's dishonesty to our brothers and sisters."

"How many subjects did you take this time?" Gu Xin asked curiously.

"Five subjects," Dong Qiangqiang said calmly, "not including seminars, which don't require exams and require writing reports."

Li Lei, who was sitting in the corner of the table, was instantly petrified when he heard this. At the same time, his hand shook again and a piece of crab meat fell off. He was horrified and didn't know whether he should be upset about not getting to eat the delicious food or about the fact that Dong Qiangqiang was so studious and good at taking exams, while he was only in the second semester. The gap was like heaven and earth.

"So many?" Several people present exclaimed in unison, even Zheng Chunhua was no exception. She only knew that Dong Qiangqiang scored a lot, but she didn't expect it to be so many. He seemed to be planning to graduate in just two semesters.

"Isn't that too cruel?" Fang Shuang took a breath, "You signed up for five subjects and only one was rejected? It's simply... unbelievable. Unbelievable."

"Is it true?" Ji Fengping asked skeptically, his tone tactful.

"It's nothing. I can sign up for three or four courses in a semester. It's not difficult. It's really not difficult. Why are you making such a fuss?" Zhao Ke shrugged lightly.

"Science and liberal arts are different," Ji Fengping corrected, "He is really good."

"Really?" Zhao Ke asked in a serious and suspicious tone, "Dong Qiangqiang, tell me honestly, are you bragging?"