Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

Chapter 1124. Big Country’s Face
The weather department said that as the rain area is moving rapidly toward the northeast of Germany, the highest level of Germany's severe weather alert has been reduced from red to yellow, and the situation across the country is expected to gradually improve by next Wednesday. Previously, the raging floods submerged many towns and villages in Germany overnight. In some towns, the rainfall in one day reached nearly 500 liters per square meter, which is equivalent to the total rainfall in a year. It can be called one of Germany's historic storms.

Heavy rains caused the water levels of major rivers in Germany to exceed the warning level. Although some dams were temporarily intact, the stored water had visibly overflowed from the top of the dam. Others broke their dams early, and water flowed out wildly from the gaps in the dam.

Through the reporter's camera, viewers can see that rescuers are organizing and stacking sandbags at key points of the embankment, and in the distance there are teams evacuating their homes moving slowly.

The scene suddenly changed, with trains derailing, bridges collapsing, highways closed, schools suspended, and cars of all sizes drifting in the vast ocean like dead leaves in the wind. In order to avoid being washed away, people trapped by the flood could only climb onto roofs, trees, and high buildings, waving their incomplete and eye-catching clothes to try to attract the attention of rescuers, who had to use rubber boats and searchlights to search for trapped people in the dark. Helicopters rescued bloody, terrified people from their homes surrounded by floods, water guards sent the wounded out of collapsed houses, and people drove tractors, bulldozers and other agricultural vehicles to rescue themselves. Terrified children sat in the bucket and jumped from the height of the building to the rubber boat in sequence. This scene instantly reminded Dong Qiangqiang of Josephine's father who also drove a bulldozer to rescue children at the time. It seemed that he had experience.

The head of the rescue command, wearing a raincoat and with his face soaked with rain, stood in the rain and told reporters solemnly that the floods have killed hundreds of people, some areas have suffered power outages and communication interruptions, hundreds of roads have been flooded and destroyed, thousands of people are missing, and thousands of others are waiting for rescue in the floods. According to the emergency relief bill promulgated by the federal government, thousands of federal reserve soldiers have arrived in different flood-stricken areas to participate in the rescue. Other rescue organizations from the International Red Cross and other EU countries have come to support. The tricky thing is that some of the people waiting for rescue are trapped in places that are difficult for emergency rescue to reach. Then the person in charge added as if to avoid suspicion that the inability of emergency rescue services to arrive is not due to lazy politics or lack of preparation, but that they cannot arrive at all. It is really powerless, but in the affected areas where the flood has receded, small-scale cleanup work has been carried out in an orderly manner.

When seeing large areas of grape vines in the vineyard being swept by the torrents and rushed to the river at the foot of the mountain, the landlord lamented with regret: "In the past, the last Sunday of August was the grand experience day of Trier's 'Wine Road'. On that day, all roads would be temporarily closed to prohibit cars from passing, and only tourists on foot, bicycles, roller skates and skateboards were allowed to enter. At that time, local wine producers and small bars belonging to the 'Wine Road' organization would provide unforgettable services for these wine lovers from all over Germany, Europe and even the world, but such an interesting experience was ruined this year."

The scene cuts to the TV station's studio, where male and female experts gathered around a table and expressed their opinions on the flood on the big screen.

Expert A said: Prevention is crucial. Even small communities can do something about flooding. As long as people use sandbags to build water barriers at key locations in the streets and alleys in advance, they can effectively reduce the extent to which residential areas are affected by flooding.

The landlord nodded as he listened to show his agreement.

Before Expert A finished speaking, Expert B immediately jumped out to object, saying that using sandbags to block the water was ridiculous. Even if it worked, it would be a drop in the bucket. The only way to control the water was to build medium to large reservoirs all over Germany.

Other experts were not willing to be left out and took turns to perform.

The landlord looked disdainful and said, "Waiting for the reservoir to be built is a foolish dream. Even if throwing sandbags to block the water is unreliable, it is many times more efficient than the prior research, voting and post-construction execution involved in building a reservoir. After all, with the efficiency of the Germans, any of these three links can be delayed for a long time. The reservoir may not be built for years. If things go wrong, the voting process may not be completed even if there is a once-in-a-century flood next time. Only young people who are not well-versed in the world will believe this possibility."

Dong Qiangqiang said nothing. In his opinion, these experts were all the same. If they had heard of Dayu's flood control, they would know that it is better to drain than to block. Only by constantly improving the city's drainage system can they avoid being panic and overwhelmed when faced with a flood that occurs once in a hundred years or once in a thousand years.

The scene shifted from the studio back to the scene, where officials-looking, fully armed people were inspecting the disaster site with solemn expressions. The narrator said that politicians from different parties came to the scene to comfort the victims.

The landlord sneered again, "These politicians just walked around the disaster area, made a few insincere remarks, showed up on TV, and then left. They were just putting on a show. After all, the election is coming up soon, and everyone wants to save more capital for themselves. They don't really want to control the floods."

Dong Qiangqiang didn't know why the landlord was so indignant, so he tried to comfort him with some kind words. The landlord's anger subsided a little, and he explained apologetically, "In fact, as long as you live near the water, you will have the chance to encounter floods in any year. The key to flood control is to deal with it in normal times. Waiting for the flood to come will not help. If we really want to control the flood, we need people who deal with it all year round. It's just that most of these capable people are abandoned, and mediocre people with no talent or virtue are in important positions, which leads to the unpredictable floods. Fortunately, the flood did not occur at night this time. If it were true, I'm afraid the number of casualties would have increased."

Thinking about the experts' passionate and inspiring suggestions and listening to the landlord's complaints, Dong Qiangqiang didn't expect that there was a similar situation in Germany. It seemed that everywhere was full of broken bells and thundering pots. He knew that continuing this topic would only be complaining and adding to his troubles, so he changed the subject and said, "Your house is built on a high ground. Are you storing so many supplies to prevent mountain torrents? But the mountain behind is so low. Have you ever encountered a mountain torrent?"

"No, but the experience in 1962 has always been fresh in my memory. Since then, I believe that it is better to be prepared. Didn't those things come in handy yesterday? What if there is a war someday? Speaking of which, I have to prepare some hand-cranked generators, wireless shortwave radios and so on."

Dong Qiangqiang thought to himself: People who have experienced war have different ways of thinking, but how could Europe fight a war? As long as they don't disobey the United States, Europe will surely be prosperous and peaceful, especially Germany, which was supported by the United States after the war.

The two chatted for a few sentences, and several experts who were originally debating suddenly changed the topic and started talking about the southern China which was also hit by floods this summer. The TV screen then turned to the raging floods in the country.

Dong Qiangqiang found it ridiculous to hear the experts criticizing China for doing this or that when it encountered a flood. He could see at a glance that the experts were trying to drag China into the disaster either to find psychological balance or to cover up the incompetence of certain departments and divert the attention of the German people. After listening to the speeches of several experts calmly, he said bluntly: "What nonsense." The landlord did not comment, but used the remote control to lower the TV volume to the lowest level and asked: "How does the Chinese government usually deal with floods?"

"Our country has rich river resources. There are more than a thousand rivers with a drainage area of ​​more than a thousand square meters. Not only are there many rivers, but they are also widely distributed. Floods can be considered semi-normal in the rainy season, so the flood prevention and control situation every year is particularly severe and complicated. Generally speaking, before a flood, we will issue early warnings through news, broadcasting, geological and meteorological departments to remind people to be vigilant as much as possible. When a flood comes, the government will actively organize various living forces to provide rescue. Just like Germany mobilized federal soldiers, we will rely on our most lovely people more or less every time. When the flood recedes, the government will continue to provide assistance to ensure that the reconstruction work in the disaster-stricken areas can be carried out in an orderly manner as soon as possible, and the people's normal life and work can be restored as soon as possible."

"The cutest person?" The landlord looked confused. "You mean... a child?"

"The People's Liberation Army of China." Dong Qiangqiang said seriously.

"I don't understand why you don't use the fire department or other rescue organizations"

"Of course we have fire brigades and other rescue organizations, but when faced with terrible natural disasters, the PLA is the most efficient in disaster relief. They are always there wherever there is danger, and they always reach the disaster area earlier than any other rescue team. This is an ironclad fact."

"I heard on TV that they are not like the Bundeswehr who carry guns throughout the disaster relief process. Is this true?"

"It's rare for them to tell the truth," Dong Qiangqiang asked in confusion after praising them, "Why do they need guns? They are going to disaster relief, not to fight."

"But they have to work and rest in a dangerous environment. You know, riots often occur when supplies are scarce, and people with ulterior motives will rob limited resources, and then violent conflicts will occur. In order to ensure the safety of most people, the Federal Armed Forces will be equipped with guns, so that the people will feel safer and they can help more people."

"I think this may be caused by different cultural backgrounds. German law allows people to own guns. Many disaster victims may have guns in their hands. In order to protect private property from infringement or to survive, guns may become weapons. The Federal Armed Forces must also shoulder the responsibility of maintaining public order while providing disaster relief, so it is inevitable to carry guns. But our country prohibits guns. Whether the People's Liberation Army enters flood-stricken areas, earthquake-stricken areas, snow-disaster areas, or mountain torrents areas, they do not need to bring any weapons. Just water, food and disaster relief tools are enough. In any place in China, whether there is a disaster or not, the people will have full trust in the People's Liberation Army, whether it is the army, air force or navy, because they will use tools, and sometimes their own hands, to rescue survivors from the ruins. , will carry the wounded out of dangerous environments, will actively donate blood to the wounded, will resolutely distribute food to the victims, will use their bodies as a human wall to block the collapsed breach, or build a human bridge to allow people to safely leave the dangerous area. Faced with such a righteous army, the kind-hearted Chinese people will not only not have any evil ideas about them, but are more willing to work together to overcome the difficulties. History has proved that the Chinese people, who have suffered many disasters, have shown more amazing unity and mutual assistance before disasters, and SARS is the best proof of this. It may be difficult for foreigners to understand this, but it is true, because this is the nature of us Chinese. Of course, if someone really dares to do this, even if the People's Liberation Army does not care, I believe it will be difficult for him to escape unscathed when facing other disaster-stricken people. "

Dong Qiangqiang was proudly introducing the national situation when the landlord suddenly pointed at the TV and said, "Dong, look, isn't this the cutest person you mentioned? Why are they being besieged?"

The TV showed a green Liberation truck moving slowly along a flooded road, with people holding all kinds of things crowded around the truck.

The narrator continued: "We noticed that the vehicles were blocked by the victims and could not move. We fully suspected that..."

"Did they do something bad? That's why they got into conflict with the public?" The landlord looked puzzled. "Why is it different from what you just said?"

After carefully listening to the German narration and the domestic dialect coming from the screen, Dong Qiangqiang said with a helpless smile: "The German media has started to take my words out of context again. You are right, they are indeed unable to move, but it is not because of the conflict with the victims. Instead, they are expressing their gratitude to the People's Liberation Army. This is the most classic... um... farewell feeling." Dong Qiangqiang did not know how to correctly translate "the close relationship between the military and the people" for a moment, and felt that there was indeed a huge gap between himself and the requirements of simultaneous interpretation.

Seeing that the landlord didn't seem to believe what he said, Dong Qiangqiang continued, "Look carefully, if it was really a blockade as the reporter said, then the people seeing them off would either block the car in front of them, or climb onto the car, or grab people. But you see these people were all throwing supplies onto the car. Who in the world would block others like this? They are just expressing their simple gratitude to the PLA, not an alarmist pursuit."

The landlord stared at the screen silently for a long while, and saw that the content on the screen was exactly as Dong Qiangqiang said, and the narration was still fanning the flames. Finally, the landlord came to his senses and turned off the TV: "Son, I believe you, some (reporters) are just like (showy) politicians, birds of a feather."

Dong Qiangqiang looked at the landlord with a smile and thought to himself: I just like to see you guys being surprised by things that are not seen before.