Dong Qiangqiang's Story of Leaving Germany

"Brother Tao, tell me."

"A few days ago, when I paid New Year greetings to the overseas Chinese here, someone asked me to help them find Chinese-style furniture."

"Chinese-style furniture?" Dong Qiangqiang has only seen Chinese-style furniture in costume dramas. He didn't understand why the other party would ask him about this. "Brother Tao, I have never seen the Chinese-style furniture you mentioned in Germany. In addition, I should not ask. Why don't you directly ask your colleagues in China for help? It should be easy to find in China."

"I found it. Overseas Chinese can accept the price of Chinese-style furniture in China, but they have to be charged by weight when transported to Germany. The cost is more than the cost of buying furniture. The shipping cycle is also long, and the budget of overseas Chinese is limited. I remember that you are engaged in tourism here. I have seen a lot of travel, so I would like to ask if you have any information about this."

"Sure, I understand, then I'll look for it. But I don't understand, so I can only try. Do overseas Chinese have any special requirements or particularities about furniture materials? For example, the furniture must be made of mahogany?" Dong Qiangqiang vaguely remembered that Lao Bai seemed to have mentioned that Lao Ding and Dong Yiqing would take a domestic delegation to Berlin to participate in the ceramic and mahogany furniture exhibition.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be mahogany, walnut, sandalwood, or even huanghuali. The focus is on style and craftsmanship. There are no special requirements for wood, but good wood is definitely better."

"Okay, is there an upper limit on the price?"

"Let's look at the wood and craftsmanship of the furniture. The budget is within 10 Euros, but it's okay if it exceeds. You don't have to worry about the price."

This figure stunned Dong Qiangqiang: Converted into RMB according to the latest euro exchange rate, the budget amount has exceeded 100 million, so much money can be spent on buying a piece of furniture. Dong Qiangqiang is very puzzled. The other party is so rich that he can directly ship it by sea?Why do you say that you don't have to worry about the price?Is it a matter of money?
"Then does he have requirements for furniture craftsmanship? I mean the ones that don't end in ten thousand words, and the rich peonies." Dong Qiangqiang knew that there was one word that couldn't end in ten thousand words.

"The ten thousand words you mentioned, the rich peonies are not craftsmanship, but decorative textures. Craftsmanship refers to manufacturing techniques, such as inlaying, lacquer painting, and gold sprinkling. Overseas Chinese have no requirements for craftsmanship, as long as it is typical Chinese furniture. It would be better if there is cloisonné porcelain, and it doesn't matter if you don't have it."

After Sun Tao explained a bit, the restaurant where Qin Youbo worked part-time popped into Dong Qiangqiang's mind, and within a second he thought of the decoration in Wanfu Chinese Restaurant in Hamburg. Isn't that the kind of Chinese furniture placed there?But Sun Tao has also been to Wanfu and helped the boss of Wanfu. Why didn't he ask the boss of Wanfu directly and ask himself?
"Brother Tao, it seems that the Hamburg Wanfu restaurant has the Chinese furniture you mentioned."

"Well, do you have the contact information of the boss? If there is something, you can ask him where he bought it from and what options he has. It is best that you can find out with the company that sells the furniture first, and then you can contact Huaqiao. I will text you the contact information of Huaqiao later." Sun Tao seems not surprised or surprised by Dong Qiangqiang's suggestion.

"May I contact you directly?" Dong Qiangqiang didn't understand again, "But what about the price..."

"It's okay, you just need to contact, remember to understand clearly before connecting, that's it." Sun Tao finished talking and hung up the phone.

Dong Qiangqiang still didn't turn the corner, he didn't understand how this matter fell on him, he thought for a while, it was appropriate to ask Du Lan about his studies, but he still had to ask Lao Bai for this kind of worldly wisdom.

After listening to Dong Qiangqiang's description, Lao Bai directly gave his judgment: "He may be really inconvenient, and he may also want to help you."

"Inconvenient? Help me?"

"Overseas Chinese are not of Chinese descent, and still hold Chinese nationality, so as the vice-consul, he is obliged to provide legal advice and services to overseas Chinese, but it is not appropriate to ask him to directly recommend companies selling furniture to overseas Chinese, especially if the company that sells furniture is run by a Chinese. It is hard to say whether he will be suspected of being an intermediary, whether it is easy to be misunderstood, or even violate discipline. Didn't you just pay Chen Xiaofei? He may think you are pitiful, so he introduced you to help you."

"You are right, but what does this have to do with helping me?"

"Hey, let me ask you, he asked you to find a furniture seller, and then connect him to the overseas Chinese. Did he tell you that you can't get the brokerage fee?"

"The intermediary fee is a commission, right? Then he didn't say anything."

"So, you have to talk to yourself who sells the furniture. If the overseas Chinese you introduced become an order, you ask for a few points as a commission. Although buying furniture is not like traveling abroad every year, the unit price of furniture is high, and there may be more than one buyer, so you can take a long-term view. The middle point does not need to be too high, and of course it must not be too low. Remember to talk about this and don’t always think about the traditional virtues of adult beauty and effort.

"That's impossible!" Dong Qiangqiang flatly denied, "Even if I negotiate a commission, I won't give Sun Tao a penny."

"Supposedly you are not a money fan." Old Bai Qi said, "The relationship between him and you is much more important than that little money."

"Of course I'm not a money addict, and it's not about money, but I just can't give him a penny. If I give him money, the nature will change. Then I will become a bribe, and I will commit a crime. That is tantamount to harming him and me."

"If you don't give money or things, you can give cards." Lao Bai hinted.

"No money, no stuff, no card." Dong Qiangqiang replied with a stiff neck.

"If you want to do this," Lao Bai sighed, seeing that Dong Qiangqiang couldn't be persuaded, "It's a one-shot deal, isn't it a pity?"

"I really don't think it's a pity," Dong Qiangqiang said honestly, "I didn't expect him to introduce me to me, so it doesn't matter if I don't have it in the future. By the way, is your side going well? Can you come back in March?"

"It's hard to say." Lao Bai sighed, "I'll go back in early March, and I'll see you then. Are you still thinking about traveling in March? Don't worry, I won't miss you."

"So fast? I thought you wouldn't be able to return until late March. It's a good thing to come back. Why are you so breathless? What's going on?"

"Le Bai Germany has a lot of things to deal with, and I have to go back. I originally wanted to ask Lei Lanting to help me deal with it, but the boy's phone has not been answered, and he seems to be missing. No one can contact him, so I will go back as soon as I finish handling the things at hand here. Lele will take care of the rest. She has to stay in BJ for a while."

"Lei Lanting is missing? Didn't you contact his family?" Dong Qiangqiang unconsciously remembered that after Lu Wei went to prison, her parents immediately called the police to find someone. Otherwise, he would not have known Sun Tao.

"Contacted. His family said that he made a call during the holidays, but he didn't say where he was. I think he avoided me on purpose. It doesn't matter. I don't have time to talk to him now."

"Old Bai, tell the truth, are you worried that you won't be able to come back if you rush back?" Dong Qiangqiang asked bluntly.

"Before I came back, I thought the Germans were alarmist, but now there are fewer people and cars on the road, and there are obviously more people wearing masks on the street than before the holiday. Places like shopping malls and amusement parks that should have a lot of traffic during the holidays are not popular. The situation seems to be much more serious than when I first came back. I now wear a mask when I go out, just in case." Lao Bai paused, "Yes, I do have the concerns you said."

This time it was Dong Qiangqiang's turn to sigh: "My mother said that my father was seriously ill, so I originally wanted to take some time to go back to China, but the airports in Europe either went on strike and had no flights, or resumed work but no flights to fly to China. In addition, my parents were also worried that I would not be able to get out, so they stopped me from going back. I have already applied for a tourist visa to the United States.

"Is the old man seriously ill? Last time I went to see them, your mother turned away the door. Only Lele saw her and said that she looked okay, but she was very thin."

Talking about his parents’ body made Dong Qiangqiang helpless and sad. He tried to drag the topic away: “By the way, can you do me a favor before you come back? Help me visit the factories of SAIC-Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen. It’s good to see them from the outside. look at you."

"It's okay to go, but what should I shoot?"

Dong Qiangqiang actually didn’t know what Lao Bai should photograph. He thought for a moment: “You look at the factory gate to see if there are many workers going to work? Then see if you can photograph the warehouse where the cars are stored. Also, pay attention to BJ, Shanghai and your hometown. Are there many Volkswagens and its brand cars running on the street? By the way, you should also pay attention to the advertisements in commercial streets and newspapers.”

"I remember, but why do you know these things?" Lao Bai asked while remembering.

"I think Volkswagen's domestic sales may blow out in 2003, far exceeding last year."

"Are you sure?" Lao Bai asked, "As far as the current situation is concerned, I doubt that even if the factory can start, the production efficiency will be compromised."

"I'm not sure yet, so I have to go and see first."

"Understood, I'll tell you later when I get to the place, and you can call me anytime you want to think of anything. By the way, what is the income of you and Duanmu in 2022? Can you disclose it?"

"Old Bai, if it was my company, I would definitely tell you." Dong Qiangqiang said it very tactfully, and Lao Bai understood it as soon as he heard it.

After Dong Qiangqiang finished speaking, he thought of something again, and changed the topic back: "You just said that Lele will not come back for the time being, so isn't she worried that she won't come back? Even if she is not worried, you two are separated before your honeymoon is over, don't you bother?"

Lao Bai never told Dong Qiangqiang about their cancellation of their marriage. Dong Qiangqiang's joke made him speechless for a while. Just when Dong Qiangqiang thought the phone was dropped and began to "hello", Lao Bai slowly replied: "We...we are not married."

Dong Qiangqiang was stunned when he heard this, and several images flashed through his mind like a montage: Lei Lanting and him complained that Tong Lele complained to He Yangjin that it was actually better to be single; Tong Lele and Lao Bai were arguing in the corner of the Christmas market;

"Is the wedding postponed?" Dong Qiangqiang asked uncertainly, "Because of the current special circumstances, the wedding cannot be continued."

"It's either postponed, or it won't end. Although Lele didn't say it dead, I can feel that she doesn't want to end it."

Although he knew for a long time that the two might not get married, Dong Qiangqiang felt very uncomfortable when he heard Lao Bai say the word "not to marry".

"I still have things to deal with, so go back and talk to me face to face. If you need me to do something for your parents, tell me anytime, my phone is on 24 hours a day." Lao Bai warned, "You are right about the commission, safety first."

Dong Qiangqiang was still immersed in the shock of the two not getting married, and didn't realize that Lao Bai had hung up the phone at all, and it took a long time before he heard the "beep" sound in his ears.

He felt that he did not say or do anything wrong, but for some reason he felt guilty towards Lao Bai.