Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

Chapter 1136: Fear in the wine cellar, hope for revival in the vineyard (Part 1136)
Dong Qiangqiang knows that vineyards are the favorites of tourists on the "Wine Road" day tour. They love to stop along the idyllic trails, admire the juicy green scenery, sip fine wine and enjoy life.

Although he had witnessed other people's vineyards with his own eyes last week and Peter had repeatedly stated that the vineyards had been severely damaged, Dong Qiangqiang was still shocked when he actually stood in the vineyard and looked around. The once picturesque scenery had now turned into a muddy devastation, with the brackets supporting the grape vines lying down in pieces. There were grapes still stubbornly hanging on the vines crawling on the mud, and there were also grape beads with half of their bodies vaguely visible in the mud, like pebbles buried in the beach at low tide, reflecting the faint sunlight.

"Your garden is really big. Fortunately, most of the vines are intact." There are quite a few vines lying in the mud. Dong Qiangqiang is actually not sure whether they are still alive. He can only give nice compliments.

"When I was a child, the happiest time was the grape harvest." Peter took off his baseball cap, rolled his gray hair with his muddy hands, and then put the cap back on, recalling, "In late September and early October, the autumn mist would cover the valley, and the clouds would sometimes sway between the houses. When the sun shone through the floating clouds, the sky would become bluer and bluer, the kind of blue without any impurities. People would laugh one after another on the hillside. Everyone would gather in the vineyard wearing functional clothes, gloves, scissors and buckets. The journey back and forth between the vines was a long one every day. For us, the most terrible enemy during the harvest was the herds of wild boars that robbed the house. They could devour the entire vineyard overnight."

It’s a wild boar again, Dong Qiangqiang muttered.

"I'm not the biggest (grape grower) in the village. As far as I know, the flood destroyed more than a dozen hectares (of vineyards). Most (businessmen) who make wine and grow grapes suffered heavy losses this time, but there are exceptions, such as me. Compared with my peers, I am very lucky. In addition to buying natural disaster insurance, I only (lost) half a hectare this time. Just a week before the flood, I had just finished spraying antifungal agents on the vineyard. Because of the flood, those grape growers who haven't sprayed (antifungal agents) will not be able to spray for several weeks. The humidity in the past few weeks has greatly increased the probability of grapes being infected with powdery mildew and other fungal diseases, which will further reduce (grape growers') harvests."

"Then your wine production this year won't be much less than in previous years?"

"To maintain the (wine) output at 20,000 to 30,000 liters, the workload per hectare of vineyard must be guaranteed to be thousands of hours per year. The Riesling here is famous for growing on steep slopes, and picking grapes on steep slopes relies on pure manual physical labor. Under normal circumstances, it will take another four weeks to harvest the first batch of grapes, but now we have to race against time to get the grapes back from the vines and the ground as soon as possible. But even if I can find enough workers to harvest enough grapes, and then successfully add production equipment to ensure that we can resume work before the end of the year, this year's harvest may not catch up with previous years, because there are still many problems with winemakers, sales, logistics, etc. But no matter what, it is always right to start as soon as possible if you want to increase wine production. There are really too many things to do." Peter said firmly and sighed, "I heard from the association this morning that winemakers from other states have promised to come to help us. Our top priority is to find workers to pick grapes."

Thinking that Lao Bai might use the photos when he organizes a group to attract customers, Dong Qiangqiang asked tentatively: "Can I take a few photos? Some tourists have no idea about the vineyards after the flood, and I don't want this to affect their future consumption in the winery."

"Okay, but you and the people who see the photos have to promise not to send the photos to the media." Peter agreed generously while making a request.

Dong Qiangqiang agreed immediately, took out his camera, and searched the trails to find and record the scenes that touched him.

Peter's figure was hidden in the dark green, and no footsteps could be heard. All that could be heard was his regretful words: "The 'Wine Road' one-day tour in previous years was one of the biggest local events. It was as well-known and spectacular as the Cologne Carnival and the Munich Oktoberfest. After all, wine is the signature of both Germany and Trier. But judging by the current situation, I'm afraid it won't be held next weekend. You know that the local economy relies heavily on the brewing industry and its derived tourism industry. The brewing industry has been hit hard by this, and the small and medium-sized enterprises that rely on it and the families behind them will also suffer. Many people will even leave the industry completely because of this cursed flood."

"I heard that the government is discussing hundreds of millions of euros in emergency aid to help those most in need, and your local association is organizing a fundraiser. With so many favorable conditions, who would leave?"

"Those who left believed that even if it was rebuilt it would never be the same again."

"What about you? Will you leave?" Dong Qiangqiang put down the camera and asked the person behind him sideways.

"Of course not. My family, our life, my ancestors and my friends are all here. Although the flood makes people feel sad and helpless, and reconstruction may be a very long process, I will not give up, otherwise my ancestors will blame me for being too cowardly. I believe the darkest moment is over. We are at the starting point of a new long-distance race. Subsidies and fundraising are not the source of motivation. The future depends only on our own hands. I hope that after this disaster, our foundation here will be even stronger than before."

Peter's words made Dong Qiangqiang fully understand the determination of a wine practitioner: even if the world is difficult, you must grit your teeth and face it, after all, life must go on. With Peter's efforts, all the impacts of the flood will be solved, and the revival of vineyards, wineries and wineries is only a matter of time. When many Peters in the village gradually get out of trouble, the "Wine Road" will surely shine again.

Dong Qiangqiang couldn't help but sigh to the sky: Old man Lu Xun really hit the nail on the head. He is a real warrior who dares to face the bleak life.

"Dong, no Chinese has ever bought wine from us before, let alone Hongshui wine. Why would your friend be interested?"

Dong Qiangqiang thought to himself: I definitely cannot mention Lao Bai’s theory to the other party, but this is a rare opportunity to increase the other party’s favorability towards the Chinese people and improve their value. After a moment of contemplation, he calmly replied: "These bottles covered in silt have become a symbol of this region. In addition to reminding people of the damage caused by floods, they can also fully demonstrate the fearless spirit of wine practitioners who remain indomitable and strive to fight after encountering natural disasters. Just in the first half of the year, my country unfortunately encountered the SARS virus, and the Chinese also showed the same resistance and perseverance. We are such a nation, and we will naturally appreciate and support nations with the same spirit. In May, Chinese students organized a China Week event at Trier to raise funds for SARS patients and medical staff in our country. I remember very clearly that many Germans also donated money at that time, and we are grateful for this. Now that Trier has been hit by a flood, we also hope to support your reconstruction work with actions. We Chinese call this..." He wanted to say "When one side is in trouble, all sides will support it." He couldn't do it. He wanted to change it to "When someone gives you a drop of water, you will repay them with a spring of water." He couldn't translate it well, so he could only settle for the next best thing, "There is give and take, and everyone helps each other and supports each other."

"So that's how it is. I understand. Thank you." After walking around for about half an hour, Dong Qiangqiang said goodbye to Peter solemnly: "I hope your vineyard, winery and winery will resume business soon."

It was already evening when Dong Qiangqiang returned home from the vineyard. He had just stepped into the house carrying a box of wine when he ran into the landlord who was walking from the kitchen to the living room.

The landlord said, "Dong, we can now access the Internet at home," and immediately covered his mouth and nose with his hands. He looked at him for a few seconds, frowned, and asked, "Dong, why are you covered in mud?"

Dong Qiangqiang knew that the landlord hated tenants who were unhygienic, so he quickly explained in a few words the reasons why he met Peter in the afternoon. The landlord put his hand down halfway through, no longer nagging about his unhygienic nature, and instead pointed at the clock on the wall and complained: "Li Lei didn't read books or newspapers to me all day. I'm sure he didn't go out or show up. I wonder if he is sick. If it's convenient, can you go and ask him?"

Dong Qiangqiang was not surprised that Li Lei had a problem. What surprised him was that it was only the second day and Li Lei had done something too fast. Even if he was just pretending, he should at least get through the first month. What was the point of not showing up for a day? He didn't know if he was really sick or something else. Fortunately, he was not Li Lei's introducer, so the landlord would not be angry with him for anything Li Lei did.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

The landlord handed him a piece of paper with his internet account number written on it and slipped into the living room.

The temperature in the house and on the balcony was high, so the wine could not be stored there. Dong Qiangqiang moved the box to a cool and ventilated place in the basement. After making sure it would not affect anyone, he washed his hands before going upstairs to find Li Lei.

The corridor on the second floor was very quiet, and the sound of the TV could be clearly heard coming from downstairs. Li Lei's door was closed, and the yellow light leaking through the crack in the door showed that the light was on inside.

Dong Qiangqiang raised his hand and tapped twice: "Li Lei, I'm Dong Qiangqiang, am I here?"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

There was no sound from inside the door, it was surprisingly quiet.

"Li Lei, are you asleep?" Dong Qiangqiang knocked twice again, "The landlord said you didn't read to her today."

Still no movement.

Just when Dong Qiangqiang was about to go back to his room and come back later, the door creaked open. He turned around and saw Li Lei sticking out a sickly face. They were both startled by each other's appearance and spoke almost at the same time.

"sick?"

"Oh my god, buddy...what's going on? Why do you smell like rotten newspaper? Cough cough." Li Lei pinched his nose and coughed.

Noticing that the other party had no intention of letting him in and was making offensive remarks, Dong Qiangqiang tactfully took a step back and said, "The landlord said you didn't read the newspaper, so he asked me to ask what's going on."

"I caught a cold, and I didn't go out except to go to the toilet. I didn't go downstairs for fear of infecting her, ahem. It was strange to keep making phone calls upstairs and downstairs, so I didn't tell her." Li Lei explained weakly, "Please help me explain to her. I'll make up for the money I owe her in the past few days after she gets better in two days, ahem..."