Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

"Are you trying to remind me not to make the same mistake I made last year?" Old Bai said indifferently, "Don't worry, I've already suffered a loss once. I won't spend money easily if I don't get any benefit or if I haven't thought it through."

"There are many reasons why listed companies acquire small companies. Some want to stimulate stock prices and increase market value to cash out. Some want to use acquisitions to attack and eliminate competitors, become industry leaders in one fell swoop, become bigger and stronger, and create greater glory. Some want to prevent delisting. In short, the needs are very different. If you really want to acquire a small company, it's okay to acquire a license, but you must control the number of employees and do a good job of cost management. As for the valuation of the company after the acquisition, it's fine if it's too high. It's not conducive to subsequent financing."

"Hey, I know how layoffs work. I can do it again easily."

Dong Qiangqiang guessed that the "layoffs" mentioned by Lao Bai referred to the termination of cooperation with the tour guides and drivers who were asking for a pay cut. However, these two were cooperation partners with Le Bai, not employment partners, so there was no question of layoffs. However, there was no need for him to teach Lao Bai how to do things. To go into details would be a boring sermon. He naturally introduced a new topic: "There is one more thing I forgot to mention this afternoon. The training in Luxembourg will be suspended three times in September, which means I have three consecutive weeks to lead tours. Do you still need people for the Berlin Radio Expo you mentioned last time?"

"That job has been accepted and cannot be changed. Hey, are you really not going to accept the simultaneous interpretation job in Munich?"

"You didn't tell me that they asked you to find a translator?"

"If you want to go to my place, just ask me if you want to do it," Lao Bai got Dong Qiangqiang's advice and wanted to return the favor. At the same time, he also wanted to show off that he has many connections and is not the incompetent person he thought he was. "(Simultaneous interpretation) is not as difficult as you think. The book fair is not the United Nations General Assembly. Just do it roughly."

Lao Bai's last words reminded Dong Qiangqiang of the translator at the Frankfurt Book Fair mentioned by Sun Tao. He said sincerely, "If I really can't do it and my level is not good enough, I won't go out and embarrass myself. I will work hard and strive for it in the future."

Dong Qiangqiang's retreat made Lao Bai's enthusiasm burn in vain. He couldn't help but complain: "Then why don't you practice? You live in a German's house, you have plenty of time every day. The landlord speaks German, you can translate it into Chinese in your mind and let her practice with you for free. Otherwise, you are cleaning the house and the yard for her for nothing?"

Dong Qiangqiang thought to himself, I don’t have plenty of time, I can’t even finish all the books, so I had to explain that I never thought that I would have the opportunity to be a simultaneous interpreter one day, so I never practiced deliberately, so my ability was not good enough, which made Mr. Bai laugh at me.

Lao Bai made a few sarcastic remarks, but seeing that he was not interested, he tactfully changed the subject: "There is no SARS in China anymore, and more and more people are traveling every month. This wave of floods is really troublesome. Germany and several neighboring countries that were hit by the floods are not suitable for the short term. The destinations of several European tour groups have to be readjusted. As long as domestic tourists do not cancel their trips, there are still many countries that are not flooded and can be visited and shopped. It is possible that some of the originally arranged tour guides are no longer suitable to lead the group due to adjustments in time and destinations. Please save some time, and I will find you when I need help."

"You asked me to implement the 'Wine Road' before, but the flood destroyed all the vineyards and the 'Wine Road' was ruined. There's no need to do any research. I have plenty of time and can lead a tour. You can contact me anytime." Dong Qiangqiang then described what he saw and heard near little Josefina's home in the afternoon and evening.

Lao Bai listened carefully without interrupting and was silent for a long time. Dong Qiangqiang thought that he was disconnected and was about to hang up and call again, but he heard Lao Bai say word by word: "Next week, if you are free, please help me to implement two things as soon as possible. Both are related to the 'Wine Road'."

“It’s fine for implementation, but I’m afraid the ‘wine route’ is not suitable.”

"I've heard that when natural disasters occur, winemakers will sell wines that were not destroyed by the flood but cannot be sold at a low price in order to recover funds as soon as possible. You can ask the little girl's father if he has this kind of flood wine, and if so, whether he will sell it, and if so, how much per bottle, how many bottles in total, etc. I need it." "It's okay to ask," Dong Qiangqiang quickly wrote down Lao Bai's question on paper, "You don't plan to buy this kind of wine? If you want to drink it, why don't you buy it in the supermarket? The supermarket must be cheaper than the flood wine."

"You should try to find as many winemakers as Josefina's who are related to the 'Wine Road' and ask them if they are willing to receive buyers and provide vineyard tours if someone organizes to buy their flood wine."

"Visit the vineyard?" Dong Qiangqiang asked curiously, "But the vineyards in Josefina's village were almost destroyed by the flood. Only some rotten vines and broken leaves are left, and the grapes are all hanging. There is nothing to appreciate. If you want to take people there to visit, you will definitely be scolded. No one likes to see a decaying scene, right? I can try to find out if there are any vineyards that survived the flood."

“Normally everyone appreciates a good vineyard, but now we have a rare opportunity to see a ruined vineyard. I wonder if this will arouse the interest of Chinese people in watching the fun.”

"What's so interesting about ruins?" Dong Qiangqiang felt that Lao Bai was a little bit crazy.

"People in China are used to admiring the powerful Germany, which is used to being so arrogant. It's a rare occasion that they are unlucky this time. There are not many opportunities to watch the Germans being arrogant and amusing them. If there are any, we must find a way to seize them. Don't forget that watching the fun is part of the dark side of human nature."

"This is ridiculous. No one would want to watch this stuff." Dong Qiangqiang muttered and emphasized again.

"Don't be too hasty to make any assertions. Let's work on two legs. You go find the vineyard owners and I'll be responsible for securing the clients. If there are many people who sign up, the original itinerary won't need to be changed, and you can lead the tour legitimately." Lao Bai laid out his painstaking efforts. "If no one signs up, I'll have to change (the itinerary), and you'll have to work harder. Don't worry, whether it's designing the route or running errands, Le Bai won't let you work in vain. No matter how much time you spend, I'll pay you according to the hourly rate of the tour guide."

Dong Qiangqiang felt a little embarrassed by what he said, and quickly explained: "That's not what I meant. It's fine for me to run errands. I'm also a shareholder, and shareholders should get their share of the work they do for the company."

"Needless to say, I am also a shareholder, and I still get paid. Just listen to me on this matter. Anyway, visit a few more companies and give me a plan as soon as possible."

The two chatted for a while, Dong Qiangqiang mentioned that the landlord agreed to let him work on the home decoration website, Lao Bai congratulated him on his hard work, Dong Qiangqiang did not ask Lao Bai about the things he was worried about, such as Lao Bai instructing Lao Ding to take tourists to the casino and secretly opening bank accounts for tourists, because he felt that it was useless to ask, what if Lao Bai admitted it? What if Lao Bai did not admit it? He was powerless. Except for Tong Lele who was far away and might have some influence on Lao Bai, there was no third person who could restrain Lao Bai, not even him, he secretly prayed that Lao Bai would not harm Lao Ding, an honest man.

The two of them talked for a long time, and the battery was so hot that Dong Qiangqiang couldn't hold the phone anymore. The low battery alarm began to fade away, and he felt like he was about to fall apart. He hung up the phone in a hurry, glanced at the clumping noodles in the bowl and pushed it aside. He really didn't have the energy to clean the pots and bowls, so he staggered back to the room, connected the phone charging cable, and fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he slept. When he woke up, his head was still heavy, as if it was supported by a large buckwheat pillow. (End of this chapter)