The lightness of the world of mortals

"She has an elegant floral fragrance, the fragrance of brilliant apricot and white peach, and the sweetness of playful lime and apple."

Mingyu was in the hotel by the Rhine, reading the album of frozen wine sent by the winery. Her German had deteriorated, so she could only read a superficial reading.The hillside on the other side of the river outside the window is covered with thin snow, which is the best season for brewing cold wine.

This is the first time she has seen the Rhineland in winter. Like every shrewd tourist, she has only been here in other seasons, either bright or fragrant. The ice train has no scenery all the way until it arrives in Frankfurt, and then takes the local train to Going back to this small town in the west, the train stops at every picturesque town and country, and then runs slowly along the Rhine River. This place is very different from the United States. The highly developed public transportation closely connects the city and the countryside. At the same time, the small and fine territory and the relatively high-density distribution of civilizations all make the small places in Germany look more dreamy and refined.

Everything is worth seeing.Accompanied by the bell of "ding ding ding ding", the small train enters the platform of a small town that may have a history of 200 years, and maybe only two or three people get on the train, holding a cup of strong coffee bought in a small coffee shop next to the station A tall, thin and slightly bald middle-aged man walked in with air-conditioning in his arms. A corner of the woolen scarf fell from the back of his neck, as if he could see a burst of heat rising from the skin on his neck.There was another burst of "ding ding ding ding", and the little train left the platform with white smoke, taking her all the way to the small town where the winery was located.

Someone knocked on the heavy wooden door of the hotel room. Ming Yue turned around from the window, walked to the door, and glanced through the cat's eyes. He was a polite but listless middle-aged man. She opened the door.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Ming, I'm Mr. Bernack Jr. from the Bonneck Winery, welcome to Germany." He spoke in blunt but fluent English.

Germans don’t know each other well. They always use Mr. and Ms. to address others and themselves when they meet for the first time. It takes a while before you tell the other party, just call me by my name.

Ming Yu stretched out his hand, "Mr. Bernek, nice to meet you."

"Me too. I would like to ask Ms. Ming, is the trip going well? How is the hotel?"

"It's all good, thank you."

Ming Yue emailed him before, and the other party said that he would pick her up at four o'clock in the afternoon to visit the winery. She thought she would send a guy over, but she didn't expect to come in person. The owner of the dignified winery, aren't you busy?

"Very well, if you're ready, can we go?"

"Oh..." Ming Yu didn't adapt to the rhythm of coming and going at four o'clock for a while, "I'm fine, just wear a coat."

"Of course, take your time."

The little Bernaike didn't intend to come in, and Ming Yue didn't pretend to be polite, so he closed the door gently, put on his coat and bag, and set off.

It took less than 10 minutes to drive from the hotel to the winery. The young Bernacault was very self-cultivated, which was not the same as the self-cultivation of the upper class in the United States. He did not have the exquisite thoughtfulness and exaggerated politeness. He was alienated and caring, polite and self-centered.

The houses of the winery are very simple, and the little Beneke took her to a slightly larger house. A stone was hidden at the gate, and the lettering on it was in German acronym, which was difficult to identify and had not been renovated for a long time. , you can vaguely see the words 1869, and Mingyu remembered that the Bonneck winery was founded in 1869.

Pushing open the door, the inside looks like a small museum, full of information pictures of the winery.

There was no one inside, and the little Bernacre slowly introduced to Mingyu: "You know, the Bernacre Winery makes a living from Riesling. For 150 years, our Riesling series wines have been recognized as world-class, and Bernacre Our frozen wine is also made from Riesling. Due to the thin skin, this is not a variety that is easy to hang on branches until the middle of winter. We cannot allow the existence of noble rot. Every fruit must be perfect. The wine must be of high quality."

"High quality, so Beneco's target customers are a small number of people."

"j...jein," which is a combination of German ja (yes) and nein (not), means "yes and no", the little Bernek continued, "Quality never means high-end or expensive in Bernek, but rather A style."

"style?"

"We produce different grades of frozen wine, from cheap to expensive, but every bottle of wine from Bernacault must have its own personality and soul. A cheap bottle is not because of its poor quality, it may be that The sweetness of the bunch of grapes is not liked by most people, it may reduce the coldness and let it retain more original taste, it may be niche, but it must have its own soul.”

Mingyu found that when talking about wine, the alienation and listlessness in little Bernaike's temperament gradually melted away.

"Ms. Ming, when you are alone in the wine cellar, calm down, you will hear every barrel and bottle of wine whispering."

Ming Yue laughed, she thought, little Bernek's enthusiasm was all about wine.

"You're laughing," little Bernek said out her thoughts, "every apprentice laughs at me when they hear this sentence, you know, every year the winery's seasonal employees will leave one after another at the end of October, In December, when the frozen wine is brewed, only my partner and I are the front-line workers in the winery. We recruit volunteers at this time every year. Every year, five to ten people come to work, but they can listen I haven’t met one person who heard that voice in several years.”

California's frozen wine season is long overdue.

The expected "Zhenqi Island Title Sponsor" is also delayed.

Chen Xilin was helpless in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office, looking at the foggy sky outside the window.She was waiting for a call from her real estate agent. She wanted to know the current estimated value of the property on Mermaid Island.

If "Fantastic Island" does not have enough funds, she intends to solicit donations anonymously.

The secretary brought in two mobile phones, which were the new generation of Beluga's upcoming products. Chen Xilin pinched his cigarette and signaled her to throw it on the table. To be honest, she was not interested in the company's mass commercial products, and her ambition was not. here.

"Lynn, Mr. Wang from Damai is calling, do you want to answer?"

Chen Xilin raised his eyebrows slightly, he was the one who was worried, since he's here, he might as well have a chat.

"Mr. Chen, what do you think of that DTM?"

Chen Xilin was taken aback for a moment, "What?"

"Oh... You may not have seen the email, but a company called dtm sent me an email, copying Mr. Chen, and they intend to be the title sponsor."

Chen Xilin quickly unlocked the computer, "Wait a minute, let me take a look."

"It's all right, why don't you take a look at it first?"

Chen Xilin has already found the email that was sent half an hour ago, "Okay, I'll call you back after reading it."

The email was sent from a company called dtm. Chen Xilin had never heard of this company. When he looked at the address at the signature, he took a deep breath. No wonder he had never heard of it. Suo has been on the blacklist of US economic sanctions.

Looking at the email again, the sender is the CEO of dtm. He said that the three letters dtm are the abbreviation of "rose on the tomb" in Sisso language.

"On his tomb I scented; when the storm came, my petals fell upon it, and the singer of the Iliad became the dust of this earth, from which I Sprout and grow in the dust!"

Chen Xilin's world became silent. She went to the dtm website, but she didn't expect to see colorful and warm eyes when she opened it. Dtm is actually a manufacturer of children's products, mainly toys and baby clothing.

The CEO continued to explain the corporate purpose and culture:

Hisoka is fragmented. The long war has reduced the fertility rate and infant survival rate. If we don't take good care of our children, this country may perish on its own before the war is over.

War has turned this land into a tomb, and children are the fragrant roses on the tomb.

……

Knowing that the q fund will build a refugee city in the neighboring country Dongsuo to take in the refugees from Xisuo, we are willing to do everything we can to help this project.

But as we all know, 3000 million US dollars is a huge amount. We intend to invest this money, but we hope that every penny of it will be used in meaningful places. In addition to the project proposal issued by your foundation, we hope that You can see a more detailed project letter to help us make a final decision on whether to do this title sponsorship.

Either way, we'll be donating a batch of toys and clothing as an extra giveaway.

dtm is a non-partisan, non-political private company, we are against war and for peace.

……

Chen Xilin thought for a long time at the desk before dialing Wang Qi's number.

"Mr. Chen, have you finished watching?"

"Well," Chen Xilin sighed slightly, "Have they contacted you before?"

"We have never been in touch. This email is the first time they have communicated with us. They must have been paying attention to our 'Rare Island'."

"Well... what do you think?"

"I'm a bit embarrassed, how can a baby toy company come up with so much cash at once?"

"What's more, it's still in Hisoka."

"Uh, yes!"

Chen Xilin lit a cigarette. His motivation could be explained by his feelings. What about money?How do you explain money?

"Mr. Chen, should we investigate the background of DTM first?"

"Let me check." Chen Xilin blew out a puff of obscure smoke, "If there is no problem, you should prepare the detailed project proposal he asked for, and we will make an appointment with him."

Worried when the money is not available, and still worried when someone gives the money.Sure enough, it was a mediocrity, Chen Xilin smiled, he was just a mediocre person, and in his own eyes, the big thing was just a speck of dust in the vast world.

The phone on the desk rang again, and Chen Xilin picked it up. The secretary said it was Manfello Winery, not a real estate agent, "Take it here."

"Lynn, I know you are very busy. To make a long story short, Manfilo will organize a New Year's Eve trip to the Rhine this year, and I would like to invite a few distinguished VIP guests to visit the Bonneck Winery in the Rhine region of Germany on December 12th. Go, come back on January 29nd, I will send the invitation letter and detailed information to the house, I just want to talk to you first, what do you think?"

Chen Xilin couldn't react for a while, "New Year's Eve... There are only three weeks left, and now it seems that it will be difficult for me to make the trip... But I am curious why I want to visit the Bonneck winery?"

The other party smiled, "Good question! Do you still remember the frozen wine I mentioned to you? Our Manfilo's frozen wine technology is completely learned from Bernacco, and Manfilo has mastered the most traditional and authentic German Rhine wine. Zone frozen wine technology."

"Sounds great, can I get back to you next week?"

"That's right, Manfiro cordially invites you to travel with one of your guests."

Chen Xilin couldn't help but smile wryly, she was never the one to accept invitations with her companions.