Chapter 234 Encounter
Deputy Minister Zhou's face darkened. Although he did not fully understand Hans's insulting words, the other party's contemptuous tone and the laughter of the people around him said it all.
"Translate!" Vice Minister Zhou shouted immediately.
The translator immediately and carefully translated Hans' words to Vice Minister Zhou and other members of the Chinese delegation, and the air in the cabin froze instantly.
The expressions of the Chinese delegation members changed from confusion to anger.
Wang Zihua, a young engineer sitting in the seat behind Jiang Haitang, stood up with a jerk, his fists clenched so tightly that they made a creaking sound. "How could this foreign devil bully me like this?"
Jiang Haitang gently pressed Xiao Wang's wrist and said calmly in Chinese, "It's because our country is too backward. The saying that backwardness leads to bullying is the same in every era. If we want to avoid being bullied, we can only constantly improve ourselves and become stronger."
After hearing what Jiang Haitang said, the deputy minister couldn't help but look at him twice more.
"What?!" The expressions of several veteran engineers in the delegation suddenly changed. Engineer Li, with his gray hair, took off his glasses, his fingers shaking with anger. "How can this be! They clearly deliberately gave us the wrong parameters last year, and we almost bought a bunch of scrap metal!"
Deputy Minister Zhou slowly stood up, and the dignity he had developed during his military career brought the laughter in the cabin to an abrupt halt.
He adjusted the collar of his Mao suit and said in a strong voice, "Mr. Mueller, if the D Country Engineers Association sent you here to demonstrate so-called 'professionalism,' then I suggest you relearn basic etiquette."
Jiang Haitang immediately translated this sentence to Hans.
Hans didn't expect to be counterattacked, and his face flushed red: "I'm telling the truth! You Chinese are..."
"What is it?" Jiang Haitang suddenly interrupted him, her voice clear enough for the entire cabin to hear. "It's the invention of the compass that allowed you to navigate the world? It's the invention of gunpowder that ended the era of cold weapons?"
"Yes, my country has fallen behind temporarily for various reasons. However, in the past five thousand years of civilization, my country has always been at the forefront of the world. Do you need me to make up for this history lesson for you?"
"I also believe that one day, my motherland will soar and continue to be at the forefront of the world."
Jiang Haitang spoke these words forcefully, but in reality, almost no one present believed them. Not only foreigners, but even Chinese people did not believe them.
After all, we are really too backward. It will take a long time for us to take off and be at the forefront of the world.
The passengers around began to whisper, and a few passengers who looked like businessmen from Country D were pointing and talking, obviously thinking that Jiang Haitang was dreaming.
But Jiang Haitang knew very well that in her previous life, when she died, the country had already caught up in military and technology. Although it was not yet admired by the whole world, it was no longer synonymous with backwardness.
When Hans heard Jiang Haitang's words, he was stunned at first, and then burst into shrill laughter.
"Hahaha! Is this young lady dreaming?" He spread his hands exaggeratedly and said to the passengers around him, "Listen, a country that can't even make a good television actually dreams of returning to the forefront of the world?"
Several passengers from Country D started laughing, and some even whistled.
Jiang Haitang noticed that even several veteran engineers in the delegation lowered their heads.
They have personally experienced the humiliation of technological blockade and know better than anyone how big the gap is.
"In 1970, when our country successfully launched the Dongfanghong-1 satellite, your country was still using rocket technology provided by the United States." Jiang Haitang spoke slowly, and his tone was as if he was saying that the sun is very good today and the clouds outside the plane are very white.
Hans' expression froze. He obviously didn't expect that this seemingly weak Chinese girl could talk about the Dongfanghong-1 satellite.
"This... this is just a special case!" Hans pointed at the cabin in anger. "Look at this plane! Can you build a passenger plane like this?"
"Just because you can't do it now doesn't mean you can never do it," Jiang Haitang admitted frankly. "After all, your country couldn't build a jet aircraft decades ago."
These words hit Hans like a slap in the face.
The cabin suddenly became quiet. Several businessmen from Country D who were originally laughing exchanged surprised glances. This Chinese girl's English was incredibly fluent, and what was even more terrifying was the knowledge she displayed.
Vice Minister Zhou stood up at the right moment and said, "Mr. Mueller, instead of arguing here about who is more advanced, it is better to prove it with actual actions. When we visit your factory tomorrow, we are looking forward to learning real 'advanced technology'." He emphasized the last four words.
Jiang Haitang translated Vice Minister Zhou's words to Mueller and said, "Mr. Mueller, technology knows no borders, but respect is mutual. I believe this inspection will benefit both sides."
Hans felt provoked and was about to explode in anger when a flight attendant came over quickly.
"Gentlemen, please keep quiet." The flight attendant looked at Hans seriously, "Sir, you are disturbing other passengers."
Hans glared at Jiang Haitang fiercely, then deliberately knocked over the cup of water she had placed on the table as he turned around. The warm water spilled onto Jiang Haitang's notebook, blurring the ink.
"Oh, that was careless." Hans apologized hypocritically, but there was a malicious glint in his eyes.
Wang Zihua suddenly stood up and wanted to argue, but was pulled back by Jiang Haitang.
She took out a handkerchief from her bag calmly, pressed the wet pages gently, looked up and gave Hans a meaningful smile.
"It's okay, Mr. Mueller. Just like this ink, some things may seem covered up..." She turned to the next page, revealing the intact drawing, "but the truth is always clear."
Hans returned to his seat with a grim face, muttering swear words like "yellow monkey".
The Chinese delegation clapped in unison, attracting the attention of the surrounding passengers.
Jiang Haitang was about to sit down when she suddenly noticed a white-haired old man in front of her looking at her meaningfully.
Jiang Haitang didn't know whether this white-haired old man was an enemy or a friend, but no matter what, he would always fight back against the enemy with his troops and block the water with earth.
Some things will not not happen just because you are afraid.
During the long flight, Jiang Haitang did not waste a minute.
She repeatedly studied the technical data of the factory in Country D, and occasionally wrote down the key points in her notebook.
By the time the plane began its descent, she had memorized the key data.
"Dear passengers, we are about to land at *** Airport..." The flight attendant's announcement sounded. Jiang Haitang put away the documents and looked out the window at the foreign land that was gradually becoming clearer.
When the plane landed at Frankfurt Airport in Country D, Hans Muller deliberately squeezed past Jiang Haitang, bumped her hard with his shoulder, and sneered in a low voice: "Welcome to the civilized world, yellow monkey."
Jiang Haitang steadied herself, glanced at him coldly, and ignored him.
But her fingertips had already dug deep into her palm. This man's malice was deeper than she had imagined.
Perhaps they will have another intersection in the next journey, and even this person will cause them some trouble.
Sure enough, just as Jiang Haitang guessed, during the customs inspection, Hans stood aside with his arms folded across his chest and a sinister smile on his lips.
When it was the turn of Jiang Haitang and Vice Minister Zhou's delegation, the customs officials' attitude became noticeably harsher.
"Please open all your luggage." A hook-nosed official said coldly, with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.
Jiang Haitang cooperated and opened the suitcase, which contained clothes, notebooks and several technical documents neatly arranged inside.
However, the official suddenly pulled out a folded blueprint from the bottom of the box and demanded sharply, "What is this? An industrial blueprint? Are you here to steal technology?"
Hans stood not far away, a sneer of triumph on his face.
What else did Jiang Haitang not understand? All of this was Hans's masterpiece.
This man is even more petty than she thought. It seems that this trip to Country D will not be very smooth.
Vice Minister Zhou immediately stepped forward to negotiate: "This must be a misunderstanding. We have a formal invitation letter and are here for a legal exchange."
Unfortunately, the other party's attitude was still arrogant, and he didn't take Vice Minister Zhou seriously at all.
"Misunderstanding?" the customs official sneered. "Then please explain why there were undeclared technical documents in your luggage?"
Jiang Haitang took a deep breath, calmly took the blueprint, unfolded it, and sneered, "Sir, are you sure this is 'confidential technology'?"
She turned the drawing over and showed it to everyone. It was not an industrial design drawing at all, but a hand-drawn cartoon of Sun Wukong from Journey to the West, with a Chinese annotation next to it: "Reference for the retractable principle of the golden cudgel."
"This is a design of a character from our country's mythology. I just scribbled it when I was bored on the plane. Does Country D have to regulate even this?" she said sarcastically.
The customs officer's face froze, and Hans' expression instantly turned gloomy.
He had clearly found a way to put the information in the Chinese woman's suitcase, so why did this happen?
Jiang Haitang looked at Hans, his eyes full of sarcasm and disdain.
She already remembered who this person was. This person was the one who asked for $100,000 before helping Jincheng Textile Factory repair the machines.
It's really a narrow road for enemies to meet. I didn't expect that I would meet this person on the plane.
Fortunately, I met him on the plane, so I knew about him in advance and took precautions in advance.
Vice Minister Zhou immediately said seriously, "If your country's customs is also so wary of cultural exchanges, then we can immediately contact the embassy to see if this is in line with international exchange practices."
The customs officer's expression changed, and he could only wave his hand and let the person go in disappointment.
Hans glared at Jiang Haitang with gritted teeth and threatened in a low voice: "Don't be complacent, this is just the beginning."
Jiang Haitang sneered back, "Yeah, I'm also looking forward to the upcoming 'exchange'."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
