In the blink of an eye.
It was past 10 pm.
The Party Secretary's office. Dong Xuebing's wife had not returned yet, and he was chatting with Gao Jie over fruits and tea.
"Are you from Beijing?" Gao Jie laughed.
"Yes. You can tell from my accent?" Dong Xuebing nodded.
"I can tell you have a heavier accent than Secretary Xie. Err … may I ask where are you working?" Gao Jie felt Dong Xuebing was easy to talk to, so she asked more questions. She was not the only one who was curious. Many people were curious about the City's Party Secretary's husband.
Dong Xuebing laughed. "I am from Beijing. I am also a Civil Servant."
Gao Jie looked at Dong Xuebing. "I can tell you are a leader."
Dong Xuebing waved his hand. "I am not as good as my wife, and you are the first to say this about me. Haha … I am not a leader."
Not a leader?
His rank is not high?
Gao Jie blinked and did not say anything.
Dong Xuebing's rank was only nominal, and he did not have any leadership roles. Also, those who knew Dong Xuebing knew he does not look like a leader. He does not have the aura of a leader. Even if he showed some of the aura of a leader, it was most likely Dong Xuebing putting on an act to scare others. Just like now, because of his status, he had to put on an act to not embarrass his wife. Dong Xuebing is not someone who likes to be arrogant. Even if he was promoted, he will control himself. This is Dong Xuebing's attitude towards life. Be it rich or poor, high rank or low rank, he will still live and do what he wants to do. He felt this has nothing to do with his rank and attitude.
If you are rich, you must go to Western restaurants every day?
If you have a high rank, you must be dignified?
Who set this rule? Dong Xuebing doesn't care about this or that. As someone who grew up in the Royal Capital, he was born to be a hooligan. This was also the reason why the people in Beijing liked to brag. Whatever you say, it will happen. Why? I will not do this! I will say what I want and do what I want. I will wear slippers and pajamas and walk into the mall with my head held high. Who cares about me?
Dong Xuebing is a passerby. Sometimes, he does not care about what other people think. He wants to live his life freely.
The pot of tea was almost finished.
Another few minutes passed.
Dong Xuebing looked at his watch and stood up with his teacup. He walked to the window and looked down. The courtyard is below, and he can see the staff holding up banners to welcome the Provincial Leaders. There are more than twenty men and women waiting there. Xie Huilan and a few other City Leaders are standing near the entrance, looking ahead. It seems the leaders are not here yet, and they had been waiting for almost an hour. Dong Xuebing frowned and cursed in his heart. His wife had just finished her confinement period, and Dong Xuebing did not dare to do anything to her last night. But Xie Huilan had been standing outside for almost half a day, and the sun is getting brighter. Dong Xuebing's heart aches for her.
"Still not here?" Dong Xuebing asked angrily.
Gao Jie was stunned. "The leader didn't come? They should be here by now. "
Dong Xuebing turned and asked. "What time is it?"
Gao Jie said, "The news that the Publicity Department got is around 9 PM. It wouldn't be late by 10 to 20 minutes. Yo, it's already past 10 PM."
"Did they inform them in advance?"
"Yes. They informed them yesterday, and the Provincial Government also informed them this morning. They had called the City Government, and there should be no mistake." Gao Jie also looked down from the window. The Provincial Leaders are still not here, and their TV station's reporters and cameramen are still waiting. Gao Jie paused for a second and said. "Maybe the Provincial Leaders are on their way to other places. Maybe they had gone for an inspection. But the notice is 9 PM … if they are not here, someone should have called to inform them. We can't let Party Secretary Xie and the City Leaders wait here."
This matter was not easy to deal with. There was no other way. After all, he was a provincial leader. Although the notice said that he would arrive at 9 pm, being late had always been the privilege of leaders. Even if he suddenly did not come, the subordinates could not do anything about it. Furthermore, they could not ask. If they called to ask about the situation, wouldn't it be equivalent to urging the provincial leader? Of course not. But the Provincial Leaders must bring their men back first. If the Provincial Leaders arrive right after they left, the Provincial Leaders will think there is something wrong with their attitude. The only solution is to wait there until the Provincial Leaders arrive. This is what Xie Huilan and the other City Leaders are doing now.
Deputy Governor Jia?
You don't want to book the plane tickets for us?!
Now, you are leaving Xie Huilan and the rest here?!
Dong Xuebing is getting angry. He remembered what Xie Huilan said in the morning. "There must be a reason for today's inspection."
Are you not giving face to my wife?
Are you purposely trying to suppress Xie Huilan?!
F * * k! Who do you think you are?!
Dong Xuebing knows this is not so simple. He does not have the political wisdom and can't be bothered to think about the leaders' intentions. He only understands things based on his own thoughts. But now, Dong Xuebing understands. Oh … Deputy Governor Jia, it's because the person you want is not transferred over to be the City's Party Secretary, and you hate my wife? Making things difficult for me?! I did not offend you, and you are trying to make things difficult for us?! Do you really think the world revolves around you?!
Dong Xuebing's thinking is very simple!
He felt things are not that simple!
What's the other party's intention? What's the other party's strategy? What's the point of talking and doing things? Bullshit! Is it that complicated? Actually, it's not complicated at all, and it's useless to think too much. Dong Xuebing only needs to know one thing. You are not nice to my wife?! Then don't expect me to be nice to you! Whether it's a mule or a horse, we'll drag it out for a walk! Who is afraid of you?!
Five minutes …
Ten minutes …
Dong Xuebing can see the government officials and civil servants in the compound are getting impatient. Some of the older officials are sweating and panting. But no one returned to the office building. After all, it is a Provincial Leader, and the person in charge of the relevant departments must be present for the inspection. Even if they are too tired to stand, they must endure and wait.
Xie Huilan is also standing there.
The person beside her seems to be the Mayor of Xia City. He looks bald from the back and is a middle-aged man. His shirt is also wet.
Many of the City's leaders are present.
How many jobs are there in a City every day? That was a terrifying number. Just the number of documents sent to a city leader's office every day was estimated to be no less than a dozen. They needed to be read, signed, and discussed. After more than an hour of delay, a lot of things had piled up. A few City Leaders and government officials are on the phone, and they can't work directly. They can only communicate over the phone. Some urgent matters must be handled without delay.
Finally, after waiting for about one and a half hours, someone at the entrance said something to the people inside, and four to five Audis entered the compound slowly. Although it is one and a half hours, everyone had been waiting for almost two hours. The Provincial Government had notified them that the meeting will be at around 9 pm, and everyone had come out early.
The people from Xia City immediately went over to welcome them.
Some of them had been standing for too long and were limping as they walked.
The cars stopped, and the Provincial Government officials and staff alighted.
The last person to come out is a fat middle-aged man with a big belly. He is about 1.6 meters tall, and almost all his hair is gone.
"Governor Jia."
"Governor Jia, Chief Zhou."
"Welcome to Xia City for an inspection."
Xie Huilan and her men went over to welcome them.
That fat middle-aged man seems to be Deputy Governor Jia. He is not a member of the Provincial Party Committee and is only a low-ranking Deputy Governor. But he is quite powerful.
Dong Xuebing, who was upstairs, could not hear what they were saying and opened the windows wider.
Gao Jie is smart. She had interacted with the Party Secretary's husband today, and she felt she had left a good impression on him. She saw Dong Xuebing staring at the people downstairs, and she bade farewell to him and left.
In the courtyard.
The people from the Provincial Government had all come out.
There were quite a number of people there. There were secretaries and staff, but there weren't many provincial officials, which could be counted on one hand.
11 pm.
It's almost lunch break.
But Deputy Governor Jia and the rest of the Provincial Government officials are not embarrassed at all. They did not even know that they had let the people from Xia City wait for two hours. They shook hands with Xie Huilan and the other local leaders after alighting from their cars. They did not even mention why they were late. They acted like it's normal for them to wait for them.
After exchanging a few words, Deputy Governor Jia joined the group.
But he did not say anything to Xie Huilan and the rest. He looks to someone beside him. "Take a look at this side first."
Chief Zhou nodded. "Ok."
Deputy Governor Jia and the rest of the Provincial Government officials followed behind them.
The two teams added together had about fifty people. It was a huge scene.
After that, Deputy Governor Jia chatted with Chief Zhou and the rest of the Provincial Government officials. He did not bother with the people from Xia City.
Xie Huilan had a faint smile on her face, and her expression did not change.
The Mayor is the same. He and Xie Huilan follow Deputy Governor Jia and the rest wherever they go.
The other leaders of Xiaxing City were a little nervous. They looked at each other and whispered to each other. They knew that Deputy Governor Jia might have some opinions about Xiaxing City. Otherwise, he wouldn't have such an attitude. Sigh, they might be scolded during this inspection. Everyone was mentally prepared.
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