"Hehe," Dong Qiangqiang smiled sheepishly, "Aren't you anxious to see how round the moon is in Germany?" He paused, "I just arrived at Hannover Airport."
"Well," Lao Jin hesitated on the phone, "I'm at work. I'll call you later. Do you have a mobile phone number?"
"Mobile phone number? Well, I haven't bought it yet."
"Then buy one as soon as possible. Are you still at the airport? There are mobile phone cards sold at the airport. Remember to choose O2 as the operator. Chinese people use it a lot."
"Well, okay, I've written it down. That...the house I asked you to find before..." Dong Qiangqiang hesitated for a moment and then said it directly.
Lao Jin hesitated for a while and said politely: "Well, this is a bit troublesome..."
"Trouble?" Dong Qiangqiang was surprised. He looked down at his suitcase and took a breath, "What trouble?"
"I couldn't say a word or two on the phone. Hey, I won't say any more. My boss is here. What's the matter? You write down an address and I'll go over first. If anything happens, let's meet later."
Dong Qiangqiang hurriedly took out his pen: "Okay, you tell me."
"No. 54, Hippo Street. 30059." After speaking, a rustling interference sound came from the receiver, and Dong Qiangqiang couldn't hear it clearly.
Dong Qiangqiang quickly wrote down: "Is it 30059? Then who should I look for when I get there?"
A blind tone of "beep" came from the phone.
"Hello? Hello? Lao Jin..." Dong Qiangqiang shouted twice more without giving up.
Hanging up the phone with a "bang", Dong Qiangqiang stared at the address on the book: There is no other way now, I will go there first.
Dragging his luggage to the automatic ticket vending machine, Dong Qiangqiang entered the address Jin Yuan told him at the bottom of the LCD screen. Three or four "Hippo Street" came out. Dong Qiangqiang didn't know which one to choose. While hesitating, there was a sudden sound behind him. An old woman's voice: "Need help?"
Hannover is located in northern Germany, and people speak standard German with fewer dialects and accents. Dong Qiangqiang turned around and saw an old German lady with a kind face.
The old lady was thin, dressed in professional attire, with neatly combed silver hair. She was holding a briefcase in her hand and was looking at him intently.
"Hello," Dong Qiangqiang seemed to have seen a savior, "I want to go to Hippo Street, but there are many 'Hippo Streets' here. I don't know which one to go to?" Dong Qiangqiang explained his dilemma in detail.
"Well, let's take a look at Hippo Street..." The old lady walked closer, put on her spectacles, and carefully looked at the giant map of Hannover posted next to the ticket vending machine.
"No. 54," Dong Qiangqiang repeated, "I'm going to No. 54. By the way, the postal code is 30059."
The old lady said nothing and entered the address while looking at the map. Dong Qiangqiang looked at her operation, which seemed to be nothing special. When he was considering whether to call Jin Yuan again to confirm, the old lady suddenly pointed out happily. He looked at the LCD screen and said, "This is it."
"Huh?" Dong Qiangqiang heard this and quickly put his head in front of the machine, stared at the address on the LCD screen and asked, "Why is this?"
The old lady said with a smile: "Because the other addresses either don't have the number 54, or the zip codes are different."
"Thank you so much!" Dong Qiangqiang bowed deeply.
The old lady pointed at the LCD screen and said, "Remember, the place you want to go is in District 3. I wish you all the best."
Watching the enthusiastic old German woman go away, Dong Qiangqiang's heart was filled with gratitude.
The numbers on the LCD screen showed that the price of a day bus ticket was 10 marks, while the combined fare of subway + bus was close to 18 marks. Dong Qiangqiang was about to buy a day ticket when he suddenly saw a "student ticket" next to the day ticket. , the price was only 7.5 marks. Dong Qiangqiang was overjoyed and immediately paid and issued the ticket.
Sitting on the train, looking out the window at the receding trees and farmland, Dong Qiangqiang couldn't help but wonder what trouble Jin Yuan was talking about.
The train swayed regularly, and suddenly the door opened and a uniformed conductor walked in carrying a ticket gate machine.
Dong Qiangqiang didn't notice the other party approaching, and was still looking out the window in a daze. It wasn't until the other party called him for the second time that he was pulled away from his thoughts.
"Please show your ticket." The conductor, a young blond German guy, said politely.
Dong Qiangqiang handed the ticket over. The conductor checked it with the machine in his hand, and then said a few words to the intercom on his shoulder. Before Dong Qiangqiang could react, the conductor said to him again: "Please show me your ID."
Dong Qiangqiang was a little confused. Did he need to bring his passport when taking the train? Even so, he handed over his passport obediently.
The conductor shook his head: "Student ID card. I want to see your student ID card."
Dong Qiangqiang quickly took out the "Admission Notice" from the University of Hannover from his backpack and handed it to the other party. The conductor shook his head after reading it: "This is not a student ID card."
"But it says that I can enroll as a German university student in September?" Dong Qiangqiang argued.
The conductor took out a red and white manual, turned to one of the pages, and said patiently: "According to regulations, your ticket must be used in conjunction with your student ID card to be valid, otherwise it will be regarded as fare evasion."
Dong Qiangqiang suddenly remembered that when he bought the ticket, he did see two lines of German prompts at the bottom of the screen, but because he was in a hurry to leave, he did not read it carefully. He did not expect that there were so many rules. No wonder the ticket he bought was cheaper than the day ticket. .
"What should we do?" he asked.
"First you have to pay the ticket and then you accept the fine."
"What kind of ticket should I make up?"
"You can choose to buy a day ticket, or a combined train ticket + bus ticket."
"Then I'd better buy a day ticket." Dong Qiangqiang reluctantly handed over 100 marks to the other party, and asked nervously and concernedly, "What about the fine?"
While issuing the receipt, the conductor said without looking up: "The fine is 60 marks."
Dong Qiangqiang thought he heard wrongly: "How much?"
The conductor didn't say anything, but directly handed him the ticket receipt that had been issued.
Looking at the ticket, Dong Qiangqiang shuddered and felt extremely distressed: It's so expensive.
"Please remember that if you are caught trying to evade fares again, in addition to being fined, it will also affect your ability to attend college here," the conductor reminded.
"No, definitely not." Dong Qiangqiang muttered, "How can I have so much money to pay fines all the time." He complained in Chinese.
The conductor shrugged and continued walking to the next car.
Hannover's transportation system of intercity trains, subways and ground buses is very developed. Although he was carrying a lot of luggage, Dong Qiangqiang did not encounter any trouble when transferring.
After getting off the bus, Dong Qiangqiang dragged his suitcase and walked while paying attention to the names on both sides of the street and observing whether there was a mobile phone store facing the street.
While walking, Dong Qiangqiang suddenly discovered something strange.
