Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

Chapter 1120. Each Going His Own Way
Dong Qiangqiang took a bath so hot that his skin almost fell off. Every pore was grimacing from the heat and breathing out hot air. Only then did he feel like he had returned to life.

He wrapped himself in a comfortable and soft cotton bath towel, revealing his red shrimp-like legs, and walked slowly to the basement, stuffing all his wet clothes into it.

In the drum, wet clothes were constantly thrown up and dropped. He stared at it absentmindedly for a while, and felt tired, hungry and sleepy at the same time. Worried that he would be woken by hunger in the middle of his sleep, he decided to cook a bowl of instant noodles and a poached egg, and then go to sleep after the meal.

The water in the pot had not yet fully boiled, and small bubbles kept popping up and bursting. He prepared instant noodles, seasonings, eggs and bacon at hand. Realizing that the heat in the kitchen was increasing, he remembered the landlord's taboo and opened the window wide. His eyes unconsciously looked out the window as his hands moved.

It was so dark outside that I couldn't see anything. I could only see white smoke lingering around the peaks in the distance.

He felt proud and happy when he thought that none of the neighbors who had dug the pond had called to complain about the problem.

Without trivial matters and academic pressure, life will be less tense during the semester and more relaxed, with a sense of taking things as they come.

"Radar" curled up obediently under the table and watched his every move, while the cat lay on the kitchen balcony with its eyes closed and dozed off.

The pot soon boiled, and Dong Qiangqiang added the ingredients one by one. Just as he closed the lid, he heard the landlord's whisper behind him: "Oh, there is something I want to hear your opinion on."

"You say."

"Li Lei who came to see the house was introduced by Zheng Chunhua. He claimed to be your college classmate."

"Yes."

"Because of what happened last time, I have been thinking about how to improve the tenant system so that everyone living here can live in peace and avoid any conflicts and chaos. At present, I have thought of one thing: the new tenants should not only be recognized by me, but also accepted by the current tenants."

Dong Qiangqiang knew that the last incident was referring to Lao Bai. He didn't expect that the landlord would come up with some tenant system for this.

"Then what do you need me to do?" Seeing that the noodles in the pot had been soaked, Dong Qiangqiang turned off the fire, placed the lid on the edge of the pot at an angle, wiped the stove and table with a towel, wiped his hands with the towel, and then hung the towel on the rack to dry. His movements were skillful and he completed them in one go. The landlord was very satisfied when he saw it.

"It's very simple, just vote. I'm the landlord, Zheng Chunhua is the introducer, and you're the current tenant. Each of you has one vote. The candidate who meets the majority rule can move in. But you can't ask other people for their opinions before voting. Put your decision in an envelope and give it to me. I'll count it. Of course, I'll write down my opinion first to make sure I won't be influenced by you."

"We need to vote right away?" Dong Qiangqiang thought to himself: Germans are really troublesome. It's just a snap decision, why do we need to vote? It's unnecessary.

"It better be."

"I don't have an envelope."

The landlord placed the cream-colored envelope delicately on the dining table.

"I'll give it to you in a minute."

"One more thing. I agree to install the network, but the installation plan can only be constructed after I approve it. My requirement is very simple. The network wiring cannot damage the structure of the house. No holes can be drilled in the doors or windows."

Dong Qiangqiang remained expressionless, but the thought in his mind was: What's the point of pretending? Isn't this just going back on one's word? But he was too hungry and tired to argue back, so he thought he would find time next week to consult with a few more network operators, and then reply to the landlord when he had a better idea.

"I see." He nodded.

The landlord reached out and tapped the corner of the envelope twice, then walked out of the kitchen with a smile.

Thinking of what he had promised Li Lei, Dong Qiangqiang tore off the note paper without saying anything, and wrote the word "agree" on the paper with a big stroke. After the two of them said a few words, the dough in the pot was just right.

Dong Qiangqiang slurped the noodles, his eyelids drooping with sleepiness. He felt sleepy after eating. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he remembered what Lao Bai had not finished saying in the afternoon and the call from Duanmu who he hung up. He resisted the sleepiness and took out his cell phone, but before he could think of who to call first, Lao Bai called him first.

"Nothing, just telling you that we all arrived at the hotel ten minutes ago." A noisy, shouting voice and car sounds came from the receiver. "I called you in the evening, and your female classmate answered the phone and said you were on the roof rescuing people."

"Is everyone okay?" When Dong Qiangqiang heard the word "save people", he thought of the little girl and suddenly became a little more sober.

"There were twists and turns, but it was a safe bet."

"That's good. You said this afternoon that you would tell me in detail when I get home. Can you tell me now?"

"You only get salary and tips in Rome. The finance department will pay them two days late. I'm afraid you'll be anxious."

"I'm not in a hurry for this kind of thing," Dong Qiangqiang sorted out his thoughts, "By the way, let me give you a heads up. On the train this afternoon, I only told you that Lao Xu called me to ask me to persuade you to say something soft to Lao Tang and the others, but she also said something else. She praised Le Bai for his good foundation, how popular he was in the overseas travel circle, and how he was the first to grab orders."

"Lao Tang? Haha, that's a funny word. There's nothing we can do. Qinxing competes on speed and service quality. These days, it's not easy for anyone. You know, I usually don't bully people, but if someone bullies me, I won't back down. Whoever provokes me, I will fight him to the death. The most effective way to fight to the death is to start a price war, which works every time."

"You mean Zhou Zhihai's travel agency?"

"Hey, Du Lan told you, right?" Dong Qiangqiang could sense Lao Bai's unconcealed pride just by listening to his voice, "That travel agency is screwed."

Dong Qiangqiang frowned, not understanding why Lao Bai was uttering more and more swear words. He felt that he could not let Lao Bai continue to sigh and express his feelings, so he took the initiative to bring the topic back to his own track.

"Listen to what I have to say. After praising you, Old Xu turned around and criticized me, saying that I did not play the role of coordinating and resolving the conflicts between you, the major shareholder, and the minority shareholders of the investment party, and that I was too lazy. I thought her words were ridiculous and completely incomprehensible, so I scolded her. I said that it was the investors who intervened too much and did nothing seriously, which delayed the development of Lebai. She was very unhappy to hear that, and I guess (she) will complain about me to you."

After hearing what Dong Qiangqiang said, Lao Bai clapped his hands in delight and praised with a smile: "Good rebuttal, I would say the same thing, this kind of person is just taking advantage of others."

"But later she asked me to confirm one thing with you."

"what's up?"

"She asked me if I knew you were preparing for the next round of financing. I said I didn't know, so she told me to keep a close eye on you."

"Oh, it seems she is well-informed." Lao Bai praised.

"Are you really raising funds?" Dong Qiangqiang was surprised to find that Lao Bai would admit it so directly.

"Of course, it's normal for a startup to raise funds once a year. I wanted to tell you in detail after I had a clear explanation. Now that you know, it would be a shame to keep it from you."

"It should be that Lao Tang and his team heard about Lebai's financing and asked Lao Xu to come and confirm with me. According to her, Lao Tang and his team were very angry that you didn't tell them anything. They didn't know the valuation of the next round, nor the financing amount. If you insist on doing it, they will ruin the financing and you won't get a penny, not to mention the performance bet between you. But after she made the harsh words, she pulled back and said that everything can be discussed. I asked her if the bet can also be discussed, and she said that the possibility is not ruled out."

Lao Bai snorted, "It sounds nice, but they just tricked me into going over to talk. I can't do this or that anymore, and they're restricting me everywhere. I can't use the money. This year I've figured it out. Those two are not investors. They're here to trip me up and set traps. I don't have that much time to play house with them and ruin my big plans."

"Let's talk about it. What if (the performance bet requirements) can really be lowered? There's no point in completely tearing each other apart. It's better to offend gentlemen than villains. Isn't politics all about making fewer enemies and more friends?"