Chapter 8: The Foreigner Who Came to the National Defense Department to Snatch People

Chen Geng's demeanor was very much like that of a new student reporting for duty. He cautiously handed over the documents and shyly said, "From Tsinghua."

"From Tsinghua..." The head of the personnel department was instantly stunned. In the next moment, he quickly stood up, walked around the desk, and came to Chen Geng, shaking his hand vigorously with overflowing enthusiasm: "Ah? You're the Chen Geng from Tsinghua who can speak English, Russian, and German, and is also proficient in computers? Welcome, welcome..."

"..." Chen Geng was a bit dazed by the enthusiasm of the person in front of him: Who can tell me why this person is so excited? This is like the realm of 'hearing the great name of the elder brother and bowing down immediately.'

Before Chen Geng could figure out what was going on, the female officer who had been sitting in front of the only computer in the room since he entered turned around and immediately switched to gossip mode, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at Chen Geng: "You're the little Chen from Tsinghua, right? Welcome, welcome. Little Chen, you might not know, but now the whole building knows that a top student from Tsinghua is coming to our National Defense Department."

Fortunately, Chen Geng had lived for many years and was not short of social skills. No matter when, in today's domestic environment, being modest is always the right approach. He smiled modestly and acted shy, as if saying, "I'm a bit shy, don't tease me": "I just had good luck and a good teacher, so I could learn more."

But the gossipy female officer became even more enthusiastic. Looking at Chen Geng, she seemed to have the eyes of a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, praising him with a sigh: "Tsk, tsk, tsk... Look, Ma Ke, no wonder students from prestigious universities are different. They have such good qualities. Knowing so much and still being so humble, none of the new students this year are as polite as Little Chen."

"Big Sister Dong, I've never heard you praise the new students this much," the enthusiastic head of the personnel department joked, then turned to Chen Geng with a smile: "Little Chen, you don't know, Big Sister Dong is one of the three battalion-level typists in our building. Her typing speed... tsk, tsk... even the minister has personally praised her."

"Really? Big Sister Dong, you're amazing!" Chen Geng quickly showed a look of genuine admiration, which was not an act. He was truly impressed. Could it be that he had encountered a legendary battalion-level typist?

If converted to a military rank, a typist would be a major. Can you imagine that?

Chen Geng's expression of shock and admiration had an excellent flattery effect, making Big Sister Dong feel very comfortable. She giggled and gave the head of the personnel department, Ma Ke, a flirtatious look: "Ma Ke, you're just teasing me. What battalion-level typist, I'm just one of your soldiers."

Chen Geng's skin crawled.

Well, it wasn't all bad. One benefit was that Chen Geng now knew the head of the personnel department was surnamed Ma.

Just as Chen Geng was secretly speculating whether the enthusiasm of the personnel department was because Li Jianguo had specifically instructed them, the mystery was quickly revealed as they quickly processed his onboarding procedures...

"Little Chen, I heard you're not only proficient in English but also in Russian and German. Is that true?" Big Sister Dong, who was enthusiastically helping Chen Geng with his onboarding, asked curiously while working: "I heard foreign languages are very difficult. Learning one is already a headache, and you learned three. Tell Big Sister how you did it?"

Chen Geng remembered that in a new unit, he should always act modest and shy. He scratched his head, seemingly embarrassed by Big Sister Dong's praise: "Maybe I just had good teachers..."

"That also shows you're a serious learner with great talent. Not everyone can do this," Big Sister Dong nodded in agreement, clearly very satisfied with Chen Geng's modest and well-mannered behavior, and gave him more praise.

Chen Geng was almost disgusted by his own act of being young and innocent.

After praising Chen Geng, Big Sister Dong suddenly seemed to have a realization and turned to Ma Ke: "Right, Ma Ke, your daughter is taking the college entrance exam next year, right? You were worried about finding a good English and math tutor. What do you think of Little Chen? He's a top student from Tsinghua."

Chen Geng's sweat poured down: He had thought the organization treated and cared for everyone so warmly, but now he realized he was too naive...

For a father eager to improve his daughter's grades, what tutor could compare to a Tsinghua student who knows three foreign languages and is proficient in computers?

"Oh, look at me!" Ma Ke was stunned for a moment, then slapped his head and looked at Chen Geng with a face full of expectation and excitement, his smile so warm it was almost frightening: "Little Chen, do you think you could..."

The act of pretending to have a sudden realization was a bit fake; he had probably been planning this for a long time.

"That's no problem," Chen Geng quickly said before Ma Ke could finish: "Let's see when it's convenient for you. I'll first assess Little Ma's level, and then I'll help her make a study plan." He added, somewhat embarrassed, "I'm not familiar with her situation, so I can't make any promises yet."

Of course, he wouldn't guarantee that she would definitely get into an ideal university.

Chen Geng's agreement made Ma Ke's heart bloom with joy, and he couldn't contain his excitement. He shook Chen Geng's hand like a windmill: "Thank you! Thank you, Little Chen! Thank you so much. With your help, I can finally put my mind at ease... Hmm, how about this afternoon? If you're free, come to my house this afternoon. I'll have my wife make some of her best dishes."

"This afternoon?" Chen Geng was touched by Ma Ke's dedication to his daughter and pretended to be hesitant: "I'm free, but... is it convenient?"

Hearing Chen Geng agree, Ma Ke almost wanted to fly home. He nodded vigorously: "It's convenient, as long as it's convenient for you, it's convenient for me." Ma Ke, skilled in interpersonal relations, squeezed Chen Geng's hand and whispered, "I'm old friends with Old Zheng from logistics. I'll help you get the best housing..."

Before Ma Ke could finish, a voice full of surprise and urgency came from outside the door: "Eh? Comrade Chen is here? Didn't you take a few more days off?"

"Director Li..."

Chen Geng quickly turned to greet Li Jianguo, but before he could fully turn around, he saw a bear-like figure charging towards him, shouting in German: "Chen, oh God, I finally found you."

Then, a bear filled Chen Geng's vision and hugged him tightly.

"Uh... Mr. Kandler, why are you here?" Chen Geng was so surprised he almost bit his tongue.

Chen Geng was just surprised, but the people in the personnel department were all stunned: What's going on? Why is there a blonde foreigner here?

Chen Geng was very familiar with the excited blonde foreigner in front of him, very familiar.

This blonde foreigner was named Sven-Christian Kandler, a typical German. His current role was a German expert and automotive engineer sent by Wolfsburg to assist in the localization of the Pusang project. Last year, during Chen Geng's internship and assistance at Pusang, he was assigned to work with Kandler, the one we mentioned earlier.

Chen Geng's enthusiasm and eagerness to learn had earned Kandler's special admiration. Over the past year, Kandler had taught Chen Geng a lot. In the previous life, Chen Geng's entry into Pusang was due to Kandler's recommendation, and even his German was learned from him. In a sense, Kandler had opened the door to the modern automotive industry for him. However, Chen Geng had never imagined he would see him at the National Defense Department, in the office building of the Central Military Commission. It was simply too incredible.

Kandler, apparently unaware of the tense atmosphere in the room, excitedly said to Chen Geng: "Chen, it's so good to see you again. Oh, you must come back with me. I can't imagine how hard it is to be without you..."

"Mr. Kandler, please wait a moment..." Chen Geng, completely confused, turned to Li Jianguo: "Can you explain what's going on?"

The straightforward foreigner Kandler clearly didn't realize how shocking it was for a foreigner to appear in such a place. He excitedly pulled Chen Geng out: "Chen, I've been looking for you for a long time. I finally found you. Come on, let's go back to the Pusang project. I've already recommended you to the headquarters in Wolfsburg. As long as you help me complete the work, you will officially join Wolfsburg..."

Although Ma Ke and Big Sister Dong were still confused about why Director Li had brought a blonde foreigner here, they both looked at Chen Geng with immense envy.

Thanks to the Pusang project, Germany's image in the minds of the Chinese people had risen from "foreigner" to "good friend of the Chinese people" over the past two years. People also learned that the Federal Republic of Germany was one of the most developed countries in the world, with a per capita annual income of over 10,000 US dollars in 1984.

In an era when the average monthly wage in the country was around 40 RMB, a monthly income of over 1,000 US dollars was an astronomical figure that ordinary people could hardly imagine. It was the mid-1980s, and people were no longer as secretive about overseas connections as they were a few years ago. On the contrary, having overseas connections became something to be envied, and having a relative abroad was even better: foreigners ate beef until they were tired of it, lived in villas, and had private cars.

Everyone was desperate to go abroad, but they lacked the ability. Now, the scene of a foreigner begging a Chinese person to work for them, something that wouldn't even appear in a novel, was right in front of them. It was truly... enviable.