Power and Wealth - C.1572: Inspection is here

In the blink of an eye, it was already past ten o'clock. His wife still hadn't returned inside the secretary's office, so Dong Xuebing continued chatting with Sister Gao from the Propaganda Department while enjoying tea and fruit.

"You're from Beijing, right?" Sister Gao smiled.

"Yeah, you can tell?" Dong Xuebing nodded.

"I can tell. Your accent is heavier than Secretary Xie's. Um, forgive me for being forward, where in Beijing are you from?" Sister Gao asked more questions as they became more familiar with each other, or perhaps because Dong Xuebing seemed approachable. It wasn't just her; many people were curious about the husband of the City Committee Secretary.

Dong Xuebing smiled, "I'm from Beijing too, and I'm also a civil servant."

Sister Gao glanced at him and said, "You seem like a leader."

Dong Xuebing waved his hand, "I'm no match for my wife, and you're the first to say that to me. Heh, I'm not a leader."

"Not a leader? Is your rank not high?" Sister Gao blinked but said nothing further.

Dong Xuebing indeed held a nominal position without any leadership responsibilities. Those who knew him understood that he didn't have the demeanor of a leader. Even if he occasionally showed some leadership posture, it was probably him putting on a show for the sake of his identity. For example, because of his status, he had to maintain a certain level of authority to save face for his wife. Dong Xuebing wasn't one to swell with pride. Even if he became arrogant after a promotion, he would quickly rein himself in. This was his attitude towards life. He would live and act the same way, whether poor or rich, with a high or low rank. He believed it had nothing to do with rank but everything to do with mindset.

Having money meant dining at Western restaurants every day. Having a high rank meant carrying oneself with authority every day. Who dictated that? Dong Xuebing didn't care about these rules. People who came from humble backgrounds and made it big in the capital often had a natural sense of arrogance, which was why people from Beijing tended to be boastful and arrogant. They said what they wanted, did what they pleased, and didn't care about others' opinions.

Dong Xuebing was one of these people. At certain times, he didn't care much about the opinions of irrelevant people. He lived life on his terms.

As the teapot was nearly empty, a few more minutes passed. Dong Xuebing looked at the clock and couldn't help but stand up with his teacup. Walking to the window and glancing downstairs, he could see the courtyard where some staff had already raised banners to welcome the provincial leaders. More than twenty people, men and women, were waiting there. Xie Huilan and several city leaders were facing forward near the entrance. It seemed that the leaders hadn't arrived yet, and they had been waiting for nearly an hour. Seeing this, Dong Xuebing couldn't help but furrow his brows. He felt sorry for Xie Huilan's health. She had just given birth not long ago, and even though Dong Xuebing hadn't been too demanding yesterday evening, he was afraid of pushing her too hard. Now, Xie Huilan had been standing outside for most of the morning, and with the sun getting stronger, Dong Xuebing couldn't help but worry about her.

"They still haven't arrived." Dong Xuebing's expression was grim.

Sister Gao was surprised, "The leaders should have arrived by now."

Dong Xuebing turned back, "What time did they say?"

Sister Gao said, "The Propaganda Department received the news around nine o'clock. It shouldn't be more than ten or twenty minutes even if they were late. Oh, it's already past ten."

"They were notified in advance."

"Yeah, we were notified yesterday. The provincial office also called this morning. The call was made to the City office, so there shouldn't be any mistake," Sister Gao said as she joined Dong Xuebing in looking out the window. Indeed, the provincial leaders had not arrived yet. The reporters and cameramen from their TV station were also waiting on the sidelines. After a pause, Sister Gao continued, "Maybe the provincial leaders went somewhere else on their way here. Perhaps they're conducting a surprise inspection. But if they knew they wouldn't be here by nine, someone should have called to inform us. We can't just let Secretary Xie and the city leaders wait like this."

This situation was difficult to handle. There was no way around it. After all, they were dealing with provincial leaders. Being late was always a leader's prerogative even if they were informed of a nine o'clock arrival time. If the leaders suddenly decided not to come, the subordinates could do nothing. Moreover, they couldn't inquire about the delay. Calling to ask about the situation would mean rushing the provincial leaders. However, if the local leaders left with their team first and the provincial leaders arrived right after, it would make the local officials seem disrespectful. In any case, there was no right way to handle it. The only option was to wait until the leaders arrived or they received a notification. This was what Xie Huilan and the other city leaders were currently doing.

Deputy Governor Jia

Won't arrange our flights…

Now they're leaving Xie Huilan and the others hanging here.

Dong Xuebing was getting angry. He remembered what Xie Huilan had said in the morning, "Today's inspection must have some substance to it." His heart sank slightly.

This is disrespectful to my wife.

Intentionally undermining Xie Huilan's authority.

Damn it, who do you think you are?

Dong Xuebing knew things weren't as simple as they seemed. He didn't have the political wisdom to understand or speculate about these layers of struggles and considerations. He didn't even bother to try. From Dong Xuebing's perspective, it was as simple as this: "Oh, so you, Deputy Governor Jia, favor someone else for the position of City committee secretary. Therefore, you've targeted my wife, making things difficult for her everywhere. Do you think you can hinder us at every turn? Well, I won't give you a friendly face either. Who cares about your intentions, strategies, or goals? It's all bullshit. It's not complicated at all. If you don't treat my wife with respect, don't expect me to treat you with respect. Do you want to mess with us? Let's see who's afraid of whom."

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes passed.

Evidently, the cadres and civil servants in the courtyard were getting impatient. Some of the older ones were sweating profusely, panting heavily. However, none of them returned to their offices. After all, a provincial leader was coming, and the heads of the relevant departments responsible for the inspection had to be present. Even if they were exhausted and couldn't stand any longer, they all had to endure and wait.

Xie Huilan stood there, too.

Next to her was someone who seemed to be the mayor of Xiaoxing City. He appeared to be balding from his back, and the shirt on his back was damp.

Many of the prominent leaders of the city were present.

The amount of work in a city on any given day was terrifying. The documents received by just one city leader here would probably be in the dozens. They needed to read, sign, and discuss them. With over an hour of delay, a considerable backlog of work had already accumulated. Several city leaders and department heads were on the phone, unable to work directly and having to handle urgent matters through calls.

Finally, after everyone had waited a full hour and a half, someone outside loudly said a few words, and then four or five Audi cars slowly drove in. They had been told it would be an hour and a half, but in reality, they had waited for almost two hours because the provincial office had notified them a little after nine, and everyone had come out a bit earlier, not wanting to be late.

People from Xiaoxing City immediately went to greet them.

Some people had been standing too long and limping as they walked.

As the cars stopped, officials and staff from the provincial office got out.

The last person to emerge was a very fat middle-aged man. He had a large belly and was about five feet three inches tall. His hair was almost completely gone.

"Deputy Governor Jia."

"Deputy Governor Jia, Director Zhou."

"Welcome the provincial leaders to inspect the work in Xiaoxing City."

Banners were also unfurled as Xie Huilan led her team to welcome them.

The affectionate and plump middle-aged man seemed to be Deputy Governor Jia, not a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, just a lower-ranking Deputy governor, but his actual power was not insignificant.

Upstairs, Dong Xuebing couldn't hear the conversation downstairs clearly, so he opened the window wider.

Sister Gao also understood the situation. She had already had a substantial conversation with the secretary's husband today and felt she should leave a good impression on him. So, seeing Dong Xuebing staring intently downstairs, Sister Gao said goodbye and left, closing the door behind her.

In the courtyard, everyone from the provincial office had come out.

Quite a few people had arrived, scattered in groups of ten or so. There were secretaries and staff members, but not many provincial officials, just enough to count on one hand.

It was eleven o'clock.

It's almost time for lunch.

However, Deputy Governor Jia and the other provincial officials showed no signs of embarrassment. They didn't even have the decency to acknowledge that the comrades from Xiaoxing City had been waiting for two hours. After getting out of the car, they perfunctorily shook hands with Xie Huilan and some local leaders, not even mentioning why they were late. It was as if it was only natural or perhaps deliberately making them wait. They seemed pretty self-righteous.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Deputy Governor Jia entered the building without speaking to Xie Huilan and the others. Instead, he looked at someone beside him. "Let's take a look over here first," he said.

Director Zhou nodded. "Alright."

They walked inside, followed by the group of people behind them.

Combined, there were over fifty people, creating quite a commotion.

After that, Deputy Governor Jia mostly interacted with Director Zhou and a few other officials who had come with him, completely ignoring the comrades from Xiaoxing City.

Xie Huilan maintained a faint smile, her expression unchanged.

The mayor did the same. Wherever Deputy Governor Jia and his group went, he and Xie Huilan followed.

Some other leaders from Xiaoxing City were starting to feel uneasy, exchanging glances and whispering to each other. They knew Deputy Governor Jia probably had some grievances against Xiaoxing City, or he wouldn't have this attitude. Sigh, they were probably going to get scolded during this inspection. Everyone was mentally prepared for it.

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