Afternoon.
Around 4 pm.
The sun is shining brightly in Dong Xuebing's temporary office. Dong Xuebing lit a cigarette and leaned against the desk. He closed his eyes to enjoy the sunshine. It's warm and comfortable.
Suddenly, someone knocks on the door.
It's Meng Hanmei. "Secretary."
Dong Xuebing looks at her. "They are here? Didn't they say they will be arriving at around 6 pm? "
Meng Hanmei panted and said, "No, they haven't arrived yet, but the phone rang. It was a translator from the British exchange team who called the county committee's office. Later, the call was transferred to me. I don't know where they found that translator from, but his Mandarin isn't very good. Coupled with the static on the phone, I only understood after talking to him for a long time. He asked us what we were preparing for dinner, and I told him that it would be a Western restaurant. It should suit their taste buds, but the translator said that they had been eating Western food all the time and were sick of it. Since they came to China, they wanted to try Chinese food. He also said that this was suggested by the British and that we should prepare it now."
Dong Xuebing looks at his watch. "What time is it now?"
Meng Hanmei replied unhappily. "That's right. It's already so late, and where are we going to prepare for them? Why must they wait until they arrive?!"
Dong Xuebing replied. "Seems like they don't know what it means to do in Rome. They think they are the masters and can do whatever they want!"
Meng Hanmei replied. "I can't refute them over the phone, and someone from the City Government answered the call. I don't know who it is, but it should be someone from the City Government. Anyway, they want us to treat them well and follow their instructions. What else can I say? I can only agree. "
Dong Xuebing is annoyed. These people are here to create trouble. He suppressed his anger and asked. "Will they arrive in an hour?"
Meng Hanmei nodded. "The translator said that they will meet some investors in the city and have lunch with them in an hour. Their next stop is here."
"Is it too late to change restaurants now?" Dong Xuebing asked.
"I don't know. Ten to twenty people are fine, but including our own people, there will be around forty to fifty people. Also, we need to book a banquet hall. We can't be eating with other customers, right? The time is certain … I can only try. "Meng Hanmei replied.
Dong Xuebing replied. "Try your best."
Meng Hanmei didn't say anything more. "Alright, I'll go now."
After she left, Dong Xuebing walked out and saw Zhang Dongfang and County's Deputy Party Secretary Wei Zhixuan chatting. Dong Xuebing greeted. "Secretary Zhang, Secretary Wei."
"Secretary Dong." Both of them turned around.
Dong Xuebing informed them. "There is a change of venue. It is no longer that western restaurant."
Wei Zhixuan was taken aback. "Isn't it already set?"
Dong Xuebing replied. "Old Meng had just received news that the restaurant is ready, but the British people are not satisfied and want us to change to another place. They say they don't want to eat Western cuisine, and we don't know where the location is. Old Meng had gone to arrange it, and we will go there after he is done."
Zhang Dongfang frowned and said, "I've already sent people to arrange the banners. I'll call them back as soon as possible. Sigh, what a mess this is."
Wei Zhixuan muttered unhappily, "Foreigners are always troublesome."
Dong Xuebing also felt the same. "They will be leaving tomorrow. We can just fool them."
The three of them chatted for a while and got along quite well. It was the complete opposite of the tit-for-tat scene during the first standing committee meeting. Now, the people of the Dong and Zhang departments had entered a period of ambiguity, or rather, a period of moderation. Both sides were more restrained, so there were no other disputes. For the time being, there was still a period of balance. This was a good sign. No county could continue to develop in an environment where the leaders of the county were constantly fighting.
… …
Around 6 pm.
Meng Hanmei had just booked the restaurant. She is the County's Party Committee Leader, and she had asked the restaurant to clear the venue and leave the banquet hall to them. Although she feels sorry to the people who booked the banquet hall in advance, she had no choice as the foreign guests are more important.
After knowing the location, everyone rushed over.
It's a mess to arrange the banners and decorate the banquet hall.
The British people's order is simple, but they did not expect Jiaolin County to be in a mess because of their order.
Dong Xuebing barely made it in time.
This is one of the best restaurants in Jiaolin County, and it's grand.
Dong Xuebing and Zhang Dongfang are standing in front of the restaurant, and the rest of the leaders are standing behind them. Deputy Party Secretary Wei Zhixuan, County's Party Committee Office Chief Meng Hanmei, Executive Deputy Mayor Xu Zhuang, Standing Committee Deputy Mayor Song Hefei, etc. Other than some Standing Committee Members, most of the related departments' leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs from Jiaolin County are here.
Xu Zhuang looked into the distance and asked. "Are they here?"
A County Government staff replied. "Mayor Xu is not here yet."
"They should be here soon." Wei Zhixuan looks at his watch. "It's already 6 pm. What time are they supposed to arrive?"
Meng Hanmei replied. "The higher-ups told them to arrive at the restaurant around 6 pm. Maybe there is a traffic jam. Hmmm … they should be here soon."
Let's wait.
What else can we do?
Five minutes …
Ten minutes …
Twenty minutes …
But it's almost 6.30 pm, and the convoy is still not here.
It was fine if the people here were just ordinary people. But the problem was, everyone from the County's Party Secretary to the County's leaders were here. Other than the civil servants, there were also a dozen entrepreneurs who were invited by the County's government. How could they stand here and wait for half an hour?
Many leaders' faces had changed.
Those entrepreneurs were also getting impatient. Which one of them didn't have a net worth of tens of millions? Why are they waiting outside in the cold for so long? If it wasn't for the county, they would have left long ago!
Dong Xuebing's face is also black. "Make a call! Ask! "
Meng Hanmei is in charge of contacting the leaders, and she took out her phone to call. "Hello, I'm Meng Hanmei from Jiaolin County."
It's a middle-aged man. "Oh, Chief Meng."
Meng Hanmei asked. "I want to ask when the exchange team will arrive?"
This person was obviously an official from the city. He said, "Sigh, look at my bad memory. I just wanted to inform you, but I forgot. They won't be going to your county for dinner tonight. The exchange team suddenly changed their minds and will be having dinner in the city, but they will still be staying at your place. They should be able to arrive before 8 pm."
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