Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

Chapter 1161. Environmentalism
Lu Shan took the subway to BMW, and Dong Qiangqiang took the subway to the conference center. Although they had talked until midnight again last night, they both felt that they should get up early and not let staying up late interfere with their work.

While Lu Shan was washing up, Dong Qiangqiang prepared breakfast for the two of them. He skillfully placed a thick slice of oat bread on the cutting board, took a small bowl from the cupboard, inverted it in the middle of the square bread slice, and gently turned it to remove a round slice. He then placed a non-stick pan on the induction cooker and, while heating it, dropped the perforated bread slice into the pan. He poured a few drops of sunflower seed oil into the center of the bread, and when the oil droplets rolled back and forth in the circle, he cracked an egg into it. Once the egg turned from yellow to white, he took it out of the pan and repeated the process for the second one.

He arranged the bread, milk, sausage slices, and salad on a plate and placed them on the table. Meanwhile, Lu Shan had finished washing up and was changing clothes in her room while watching the news on her computer.

Dong Qiangqiang casually slipped the money for the past few days' rent and food expenses under Lu Shan's milk cup. He knew Lu Shan was a loyal friend, as evidenced by the fact that Lu Shan had treated him to a lavish meal without batting an eye. He was confident that if he didn't bring it up, Lu Shan wouldn't ask him for money. But one must know one's limits, especially among friends. He didn't want to eat and stay for free; he couldn't bring himself to take advantage of a friend.

After finishing all that, he went to the bathroom to wash up. When he was done and sat down at the dining table to open his laptop, Lu Shan still hadn't come out.

Dong Qiangqiang shouted, "I'll start eating first," and began to eat on his own. The egg yolk wasn't fully cooked, and a few drops dripped onto the sausage slice. Dong Qiangqiang pressed down on one of the drops and casually drew a curve on it, instantly creating a smiley face on the sausage slice.

Since getting internet access at home, Dong Qiangqiang has gradually developed the habit of getting up early to read domestic news, especially the progress of international and domestic efforts to combat SARS, as well as the latest trends among the public.

A news item caught his attention: this morning, BAIC Group announced that it had signed a framework agreement with DaimlerChrysler Automobiles, a joint venture between Germany and the United States, to jointly invest one billion euros to produce Mercedes-Benz cars and transport vehicles in the capital for the first time.

The advantages of localized production are self-evident. Dong Qiangqiang immediately realized that DaimlerChrysler must also be optimistic about the Chinese market to have made this move. It seems that another heavyweight player has emerged to compete with Volkswagen in the market.

As he was thinking, Lu Shan quickly walked out of his room carrying his bag.

"This is a feast, thank you, brother," Lu Shan said, plopping down at the table. Just as he picked up a piece of bread, he spotted the banknotes next to the milk.

"Brother Qiang, what are you doing?" Lu Shan put down his cup and placed the money in front of Dong Qiangqiang. "Take it back."

“I have to spend money on business trips anyway, but here I have plenty to eat and stay in, I have internet access anytime, and I even have someone to chat with. It’s worth the money, so please don’t think it’s too little. Well, we need to get ready to go, or we’ll miss the subway.” Dong Qiangqiang pretended to check the time and gently pushed the money back.

“You and Sister Lan have always taken care of me, helping me find my sister, apply to university, find a job, and arrange accommodation. You even broadened my horizons. I got this job thanks to you. How could I possibly accept your money?” Seeing that Dong Qiangqiang wouldn’t accept it, Lu Shan seemed angry. Her face turned red, and she grabbed the money and stuffed it into the side pocket of Dong Qiangqiang’s backpack without saying a word. “How am I supposed to treat you like this in the future?”

Seeing that Lu Shan refused to accept it no matter what, Dong Qiangqiang couldn't persuade the child and had other ideas in mind, so he stopped insisting.

The subway has different areas above ground and underground. Dong Qiangqiang saw a lot of people and bicycles stuck on the main road of the city and thought it was a car accident. Before he could take a closer look, the subway roared into the underground. After agreeing to meet again in the evening, the two parted ways at the subway station.

The subway wasn't crowded. German office workers were mostly reading newspapers, while students huddled together, headsbands around their necks, discussing something in hushed tones. There was no noise or speakers in the carriage, only the rumble of the tracks and the occasional station announcements.

As Dong Qiangqiang stepped out of the subway, he looked towards the Munich International Conference Center. In the distance, he saw a large crowd gathered at the main entrance, and many more people on bicycles were heading towards the main entrance. He couldn't help but marvel at how early the visitors had arrived, and he unconsciously quickened his pace.

The cool sunlight pierced the light mist on the tranquil water in front of the conference center, casting a slanting glow on the surface. A morning breeze swept in from the other side of the lake, carrying the fresh scent of water and grass, just the right temperature to caress your face, as if the entire morning had just been awakened. Reeds swayed gently on the bank, creating tiny ripples on the water's surface, and subtle golden patterns spread slowly across the mirror-like surface. Several white birds flew across the water, their shadows and sounds leaving soft arcs in the interplay of light and shadow before quickly disappearing behind the buildings. The world was quiet and orderly, as if not yet fully awake, with only the sunlight, the wind, the birds, and this flowing play of light and shadow together awaiting the start of a new day.

As he got closer, he finally saw it clearly.

The group in front of me numbered about two or three hundred. At the very back were people pulling various balloons, some quite tall, some depicting the Earth with a crying face, others shaped like an upside-down car belching black smoke, with the words "Last Generation" printed on it. In the middle of the crowd were people holding up banners with slogans like "Stop using internal combustion engines," "We only have one Earth," "Too many roads, too few bike lanes," and "Large vehicles are highly polluting, small cars are more environmentally friendly." On the outermost edge of the crowd were people waving small flags of different colors and shouting encouragement. At the very front were dozens of people all dressed in uniform white windbreakers and blue masks, holding up signs with slogans like "Stop making SUVs," "Stop destroying the Earth's environment," and "Only by reducing fuel-powered vehicles can humanity have a future."

Having been there for a long time, Dong Qiangqiang could tell at a glance that these were all protesters. He couldn't understand why there would be so many protesters on the car forum. Weren't the best-selling German cars their own national brands?
The protesters were about 100 meters away from the main entrance. There was a buffer zone between them and the main entrance, consisting of armed German police and police dogs. Behind the buffer zone were security personnel from the car forum. Dong Qiangqiang observed carefully for a while and found that the police and security personnel did not seem very nervous. They seemed indifferent, as if they were used to it. The protesters did not shout or get agitated, nor did they chant slogans or storm the venue. Both sides seemed very restrained and calm.

Just as Dong Qiangqiang's gaze swept across the faces of the protesters, a familiar face suddenly caught his eye. He unconsciously glanced at it a few more times, and when he saw it clearly, his heart skipped a beat. What was he doing here?
It was Zhou Zhihai.

He had gained far more weight than Lu Shan, especially his beer belly, which looked like someone nine months pregnant, and his face was full and round.

If it weren't for her deep loathing for that face, Dong Qiangqiang would never have recognized it.

Zhou Zhihai, without wearing a mask, was carrying a sign that read "The city should not belong to cars" and chatting and laughing with another Chinese boy next to him.

Dong Qiangqiang immediately recalled Du Lan's words: After SARS, Lao Bai specifically targeted Zhou Zhihai's clients, so why did he still have time to participate in this kind of activity? Was he an environmentalist? Du Lan was busy taking on tour groups, so why wasn't he? Could it be that he had completely gone out of business?

He didn't look back at Zhou Zhihai until he reached the police. After showing his invitation, he was allowed to continue.

The official opening time of the car forum was 9:00 AM. Dong Qiangqiang thought he could enter directly with his invitation, but the person in charge of the registration office told him that his invitation was conditional and he could not enter on his own. He had to ask the company that issued the invitation to send someone to pick him up. Fortunately, the registration office had the emergency contact number of the company. Dong Qiangqiang called and explained the situation in a few words. The other party understood what was going on and the person arrived in no time.