The next day.
Today is the opening ceremony of the Business Fair.
Early in the morning, before dawn, Dong Xuebing woke up with an alarm. He woke up and washed his face with cold water. He took a deep breath and started to take a shower. After that, he went through his wardrobe to try on his clothes. In the end, he chose a rather formal suit and tie. He looked at himself in the mirror for a while before he is satisfied with his outfit. Today was a very important day, so they had to be very particular about what they were wearing. At their level, most of the time, they didn't care about fashion anymore. The most important thing was that they had to dress maturely and give people a feeling that they could be trusted. As for the style, color, and style, they were basically secondary.
It's fine.
Dong Xuebing set off.
His driver, Xiao Wang, is already waiting for him downstairs. He had brought breakfast for Dong Xuebing. Buns and porridge are still warm in a thermos flask.
"Secretary, have some breakfast." Xiao Wang passed it to Dong Xuebing.
"Ok." Dong Xuebing opened the flask. "Oh, did you buy this?"
The steamed buns were very big, and they weren't very white. It was obvious that they weren't sold outside.
Xiao Wang laughed. "It's too early, and the breakfast stall is not out yet. My wife had made this in the morning, and she is afraid there are no places to buy breakfast. She asked me to bring some over for you. You have been busy with your work in the County, and I am afraid you might forget to eat breakfast."
Dong Xuebing took a bite of the bun. "Ok … it's delicious. Thank you, Xiao Wang."
… …
5 am.
Central Park.
Dong Xuebing alighted after the car stopped. He asked Xiao Wang to go home and rest before walking into the park. He had arrived too early, and most of the Investment Promotion Agency and County Government staff are not here yet. Only a few people are here, hanging banners for the Culture Festival.
"Ah, Secretary Dong."
"Good morning, Secretary."
"You are here so early?"
Everyone quickly stops what they are doing and greet Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing smiled. "Good morning, everyone. Thank you for your hard work. It's only two days. Just work harder, and I will give all of you a reward after this period." He also knew that everyone was indeed too busy. For the past half a month, they had been working almost day and night, and he had seen it all.
A woman from the Investment Promotion Agency joked. "Is there a bonus?"
Dong Xuebing laughed. "Yes, and I guarantee it will be an amount that no one can imagine."
Everyone laughed happily and thanked Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing did not put on airs and chatted with everyone. He had shown his authority earlier, and everyone knows what kind of leader Dong Xuebing is. They are afraid of him and can't be too harsh on him. They still need to use the carrot and stick approach.
At this moment, Meng Hanmei came out with a few people carrying a few big boxes. They were probably some kind of publicity tools, the kind that could be inflated.
"Secretary," Meng Hanmei greeted from afar.
Dong Xuebing looks over. "Chief Meng, you are also here early?"
"I had just arrived not long ago." Meng Hanmei laughed.
Dong Xuebing points to the ticket counter not far away. There are about 20 people standing there. There are men and women, old and young, and some even brought a folding stool. They are sitting there, smoking, chatting, and smoking. "What are they doing?"
Meng Hanmei looked at the crowd and smiled. "They are all commoners from our County and other places. They are queuing up to buy tickets to enter the park."
Dong Xuebing was stunned. "So many people? So early? "
"There are too many celebrities this time." Meng Hanmei replied.
"But the event starts at 6 pm, and it's only 6 am now. There are still 12 hours left." Dong Xuebing doesn't understand.
Meng Hanmei was quite understanding. "Isn't it because they're afraid that they won't be able to get in? The people who are coming are all big shots. Fans from all over the world will probably swarm here. They're all afraid that they won't be able to queue up and get tickets. Besides, didn't you instruct us yesterday that once the park's capacity exceeds the limit, we'll restrict the ticket sales? I reckon that a lot of people won't be able to get in, so naturally, everyone will come earlier."
Dong Xuebing replied helplessly. "Our Central Park is quite big, and it can accommodate a few hundred thousand people. But it should not be a problem for it to accommodate tens of thousands of people. Restricting the ticket sales is just a precaution."
Meng Hanmei said, "I'm afraid that there will be more than a hundred thousand people. Our cultural festival does not rely on ticket sales to make money. The ticket price is only ten RMB. Now that so many celebrities are here, it's definitely worth it to spend ten RMB for a free standing ticket to watch so many celebrities. So there will definitely be a lot of people. We thought about it later and decided to arrest many civil servants from the county committee and government office to maintain order. It's better to be safe than sorry. We don't have the money to hire so many security personnel, so we can only find a way ourselves."
It's still early in the morning, and the air is still cold.
Dong Xuebing looked at those old comrades waiting in line and felt sorry for them. He said. "Old Meng, can you get someone to bring a few chairs for those old men?"
Meng Hanmei immediately replied. "Ok. I will arrange it."
They did not prepare any chairs and only have chairs for their staff to rest. After Dong Xuebing gave the order, everyone quickly moved their chairs over for the Elders to sit.
The old men were puzzled. "This is …"
A staff member points to the old men. "Our leader gave these chairs to everyone."
The old men were touched and thanked Dong Xuebing and Meng Hanmei.
Dong Xuebing nodded to them and said to Meng Hanmei. "Old Meng, I will let you and the people from the County Government take care of this. I will go inside to take a look."
"Ok. I will contact you if anything happens." Meng Hanmei quickly went to work.
Dong Xuebing walked into the park, and it's almost daybreak. Many workers had arrived at the park. Some of them are from the County's government, and some are the workers who rented out the stalls. All of them have their IDs and don't need to wait for the park to open before they can enter. Some food stalls must arrive early to prepare their ingredients and start cooking. Suddenly, the park is filled with the aroma of fried food. It's a pleasant smell and atmosphere. Dong Xuebing walked around the Cultural Festival venue and was satisfied. Next, he will be heading to the main venue, where the performances will be held at night. This is the highlight of the Merchants' Cultural Festival.
Lakeside.
In front of the main stage.
It was still Director Sun's busy figure, running back and forth, giving instructions here and there. He was the only professional here, and it was as if he was breaking his heart from worrying about it.
"Good morning, Director Sun." Dong Xuebing smiled and walked over.
Director Sun glanced at Dong Xuebing and spoke to the lighting crew for a while before turning to Dong Xuebing. "I will never take on such jobs again. It's killing me."
Dong Xuebing passed a cigarette to Director Sun. "Thank you for your hard work. Come, Director Sun. Have a smoke."
Director Sun took the cigarette and started smoking. "Anyway, that's about it. The stage should be ready, and the music and equipment are ready. We just need to wait for the actors to walk around the stage. We had also changed the sequence of the performances, but the rest is the same."
Dong Xuebing blinked. "Everything is ready?"
"I did not say it is ready. It's just about ready." Director Sun pointed to the podium. "The lighting and the equipment are all low quality. Even a small gala wouldn't use such things. But considering your county's budget, this is the best you can do. The hardware is unreliable, so we can only look for other ways. Luckily, you have found a few popular celebrities and they should be able to control the situation." Director Sun paused for a while and picked up the program list. "You and the Mayor will give the opening speech first, and the gala will start after that, right? I had looked at the program list yesterday, and I still feel that there are too many singing performances. Even the Central Government's Dance and Folk Music will not be able to escape from the music performances. It's a bit monotonous, and the variety of performances are not that good. "
Dong Xuebing replied helplessly. "It's too late to get actors now. We should be able to get a pair of crosstalk actors today."
"Crosstalk? This is not a bad idea. " Director Sun said. "For this gala, the more types of performances, the better. If there is a magic performance, it will be even better."
"Magic?" Dong Xuebing was stunned.
"That's right." Director Sun had high expectations, and this was also his way of showing his seriousness. He will do his best.
In the past, Dong Xuebing only wanted to get some celebrities to perform. But after seeing Director Sun's passion and attitude, he was touched. Dong Xuebing hesitated for a while and said. "If it's magic, I can perform. What do you think?"
"You?" Director Sun was stunned. "You also know magic?"
Dong Xuebing laughed. "Of course. Which number do you want me to perform?"
"What kind of magic can you perform?" Director Sun did not believe Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing replied confidently. "Anything is fine. As long as you say it out loud, I can change it." Dong Xuebing said confidently.
Director Sun still does not believe Dong Xuebing. He joked. "Forget it. You are a leader, and you don't know anything about magic. If you really know magic, you can make my mobile phone disappear first."
Dong Xuebing looked at Director Sun. "Where is your mobile phone?"
Director Sun took out his mobile phone from his pocket. "Here." After that, he put it back.
Dong Xuebing continued. "Take it out again and let me see."
Director Sun blinked and reached his hand into his pocket again. His expression suddenly changed and he quickly flipped open his pocket with a dumbfounded expression!
It's gone!
His mobile phone is gone!
Dong Xuebing laughed and flipped his hand. Director Sun's phone appeared in his hand. "Does this count as magic?"
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