Monday.
Jiaolin County is foggy in the morning.
Dong Xuebing walked out of the quarters in high spirits. There was a layer of water on the ground. It had just rained yesterday, and the air was cool.
"Secretary." Su Yan was waiting for Dong Xuebing downstairs.
Dong Xuebing asked. "Is there a Party Committee meeting in the morning?"
Su Yan said, "According to your instructions, I informed them last night."
Dong Xuebing nodded. "Alright. Let's have something to eat before going to the office."
Dong Xuebing boarded Xiao Wang's car and drove out of the County Party Committee Quarters.
… …
8.30 am.
Dong Xuebing arrived at the County's Party Committee Quarters.
But when Dong Xuebing's car arrived, he was surrounded by a few groups of reporters. Some are from the newspaper agencies, and some are from the TV stations. Their cameras are swinging from side to side, and Dong Xuebing felt dizzy. Why are there reporters here? Although there are only about eight to nine reporters, Jiaolin County had never met reporters before. Furthermore, from the logo on their microphones, there are reporters from the Provincial and Beijing newspapers.
"Are you Secretary Dong Xuebing?"
"Secretary Dong, I am from Shanbei Daily."
"Can you accept an interview?"
"I heard there will be an emergency Party Committee meeting today. Can you tell me the details?"
Thinking back to the past, the Jiaolin County's Standing Committee had always been quiet. At most, they would report to the county's media outlets after the event. That was about it. When had there ever been such a situation? It was just a county's Standing Committee, yet even the provincial television station and Beijing's newspapers had sent people over? It's all thanks to the Ancient Tomb. Jiaolin County is different now, and what happened in yesterday's Youth Daily had been reported by many media all over China. Last night, when Dong Xuebing was flying back from Beijing, CCTV's news broadcast reported the discovery of the Han Dynasty Emperor's Ancient Tomb in Jiaolin County. But Dong Xuebing was on the plane and did not catch the live broadcast. He wanted to watch the replay first thing after work. In other words, Jiaolin County was now the focus of everyone's attention. Whether it was the common people, the media, or the academic community, many people were paying close attention to it. They all wanted to get first-hand information about the ancient tomb. According to Su Yan's report, Jiaolin County had vacated all the guest houses since yesterday to accommodate the media comrades who had rushed over from all over the country. Soon after the ancient tomb was discovered, there would definitely be a live broadcast, so it would be a long-term reporting process. Many media reporters would probably be temporarily stationed here. This was what they called a follow-up report.
This time, the lineup was a little big.
Every media outlet had a powerful background.
Sweeping a glance across the courtyard, many of Jiaolin County's civil servants' expressions were stiff. There was also a reporter interviewing them, but Jiaolin County's civil servants had never encountered such a situation before. The county's reporters and city's reporters were still fine, but the Provincial TV Station and Central TV Station's reporters were all nervous. With this nervousness, they couldn't even speak properly. But Dong Xuebing is experienced and does not care about this. He straightened his clothes and alighted from the car.
"Secretary Dong!"
"Can I ask you …"
Dong Xuebing raised his hand calmly. "Everyone, please speak." He looked at his watch and said. "There is still half an hour left. I will answer all the questions that I can."
A female reporter asked. "I heard you are not in the County this weekend and had gone to Beijing to treat your injuries?"
Dong Xuebing's eyelids did not twitch, and he lied. "Yes. I am fine now."
The female reporter said, "According to the news, you single-handedly subdued more than 20 armed grave robbers and protected the country's property, history, and culture. I personally admire this. I don't have any other questions. I just wish you a speedy recovery."
Dong Xuebing laughed. "Thank you. I will be counting on your blessings."
This shows the relationship between Dong Xuebing and Zhang Dongfang. Dong Xuebing had told Old Zhang that he had some personal matters to attend to. But when he was not around, Old Zhang told the reporters that Dong Xuebing had returned to Beijing to treat his injuries. Everyone knew Dong Xuebing had fought off more than 20 criminals alone, and no one asked anything. If Zhang Dongfang really told the reporters that Dong Xuebing had taken time off for personal matters, the discovery of the Ancient Tomb will be reported by CCTV. How can the County's Party Secretary not take it seriously? Not only did he refuse to follow the County's command, but he even went back to his hometown? This doesn't sound right. Of course, in principle, there was no problem. After all, it was a Saturday and a Sunday, not a normal working day, so it could not be considered as a real leave. However, this was not a matter of principle, but a matter of attitude, which would cause people to question. But Old Zhang managed to fool Dong Xuebing.
The next question came.
Dong Xuebing answered all the questions calmly.
After half an hour, Dong Xuebing used a meeting as an excuse to leave.
… …
Around 9 am.
Temporary meeting room.
Because the old quarters had not been renovated, they had to work in their old apartment. But there were many reporters in the meeting room. Although most of them were on Qingluan Hill, there were also many reporters from the County. Dong Xuebing was afraid the soundproofing of the meeting room was too poor, and the reporters might overhear them. So, he asked a few staff to stand guard around the meeting room. This way, he can be at ease.
The rest of the County's Party Committee members had arrived.
Dong Xuebing was the last to enter the meeting room. After the door was closed, Dong Xuebing sat down. "There are many reporters here today. Try to control your volume when you speak later." Then, he joked and looked at the Director of the Public Security Bureau, Chang Lin. "Especially you, Old Chang. You're famous for having a loud voice." There were very few people in the Public Security Bureau who had low voices. There was no helping it, as they were all trained.
Chang Lin laughed. "I will take note."
Chang Lin thought to himself. Do you think I have a loud voice? No matter how loud I am, I can't make everyone faint!
The rest of the County's Party Committee members remembered Dong Xuebing's loud voice when he rescued the students trapped on Qing 'e Hill. They all laughed and thought to themselves. Even a hundred Chang Lins added together cannot be compared to Dong Xuebing's loud voice.
Dong Xuebing did not have any self-awareness. "Let's start the meeting."
After the joke, everyone stopped laughing and became serious.
"Let's talk about the situation on Qingluan Hill first. What's the latest progress?" Dong Xuebing asked.
Deputy Secretary Wei Zhixuan said, "Let me tell you. We have already discovered dozens of cultural relics. Some are still on the mountain, while others have been sent to the relevant provincial agencies by the archaeological team. As for the accompanying tombs, we have already discovered four. The main burial chamber has not been excavated yet and is still being cleaned up. As for the protection, the military has already stationed themselves there, so safety is basically guaranteed. The staff that we have freed up are now doing the work of checking the identification. Unless it's an archaeologist, related staff, or a reporter with a pass, they will not be allowed to enter. Yes, that's roughly the situation now." Old Wei's explanation was very concise.
Dong Xuebing nodded and looked at Zhang Dongfang. "Old Zhang?"
Zhang Dongfang exchanged looks with Dong Xuebing and took out a few Kraft paper bags from his bag.
"Today is not a regular Party Committee meeting. The reason why I called everyone here is because of something. This matter concerns the entire County." Dong Xuebing replied mysteriously. "But this is a sensitive topic, and there are lots of uncertainties. That's why I had only met Old Zhang and did not reveal this information to the public. Now, it's about time to announce it."
Many people were stunned. What is it? Why is it so mysterious?
Zhang Dongfang passed the few Kraft paper bags to everyone. "Pass them around."
Dong Xuebing laughed. "Mayor Dongfang, you should speak first. You are the one who prepared the documents."
"Then … alright." Zhang Dongfang did not stand on ceremony and looked at everyone. "Secretary Dong and I had discussed this matter last week, and we had started to prepare. What you all are looking at now is the application document for Jiaolin County to become a County."
"What?"
"County?"
Everyone paused for a while and kept quiet.
There were also those who were well-informed or had guessed it, such as Wei Zhixuan, who was not surprised at all.
Meng Hanmei was excited and worried. "Err … how confident are we?"
Executive Deputy Mayor Xu Zhuang also replied excitedly. "That's right. After all, our application had been rejected a few years ago. Will it be more difficult this time?"
Zhang Dongfang explained: "To be honest, our County is still not up to the standards for becoming a county-level city. There are strict regulations for becoming a county-level city. Other than our infrastructure and infrastructure, we are still lacking in other areas, such as population density and GDP. This is the reason why we failed last time. But I had discussed with Secretary Dong. Although we are not up to the standards, we are not far from it. Now, we have discovered an ancient tomb in our County, and it is the tomb of a Han Dynasty Emperor. I believe all of you know what this means. This will give our County more points when we apply to become a county-level city."
Dong Xuebing added. "The standards for removing Counties and establishing Cities are not absolute, and it can fluctuate. There were precedents in the past, and this ancient tomb discovery is our pass. We are only one step away from becoming a County City, and I have reason to believe that if our County works together to publicize this ancient tomb discovery, we will not be far from becoming a County City. Once the tomb is found, we can submit the application documents. What do you all think? "
Think?
What else is there to think?!
Of course, we must do it! This was a great thing!
This time, all the County's Party Committee members are in agreement!
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