Power and Wealth - C.1574: Dong Xuebingg stepped up

City Party Committee building.

In the courtyard.

There were two groups of people: one from the city and one from the province.

Dong Xuebing stood in front of his wife, watching the provincial visitors. As soon as he appeared, he stunned everyone. His demeanor always amazed people wherever he went, leaving everyone speechless. For example, he openly questioned the province's inspection team, asking if they had finished speaking yet. He even used phrases like "don't expose your teeth to the sun" to mock Deputy Governor Jia and Director Zhou, among others. His words were indeed a bit too impudent.

"Don't run your mouth."

"Do you know who you're talking to?"

"Who do you think you are to speak here?"

"Secretary Xie, Mayor Xia, is this how things are done in your Xiaxing City?"

Director Zhou and several other officials were furious. Some scolded Dong Xuebing, while others reprimanded Secretary Xie, Mayor Xia, and the city officials. They had visited many places for inspections, but they had never seen a city like Xiaxing City, which dared to confront the inspection team from the province openly. Although Director Zhou and Secretary Xie, along with Mayor Xia, were of the same rank, and even the other comrades who came this time were not higher than Secretary Xie, they represented the provincial level, the superiors. They had no relation to the administrative level of the city officials. Moreover, the team was led by Deputy Governor Jia, a provincial leader. Criticizing them was within their rights, and they had to listen to us. How dare they talk back and even use language with insulting undertones? What did they mean by that?

The provincial officials were outraged.

The city officials, however, dared not say a word. Everyone looked at each other, and finally, all eyes fell on Secretary Xie and Dong Xuebing. Only the officials from government agencies and the clerks upstairs in the office building dared to whisper quietly.

"What's going on?"

"Isn't that the secretary's husband?"

"Oh my, how did he get involved?"

"This is chaos."

"Criticizing provincial leaders? This is outrageous."

The city officials also felt a bit incredulous.

Gao Jie from the Propaganda Department and the official from the City Committee who had just brought fruit to Dong Xuebing's office were also shocked, looking at Dong Xuebing as if they were about to faint.

Perhaps someone spoke too loudly, and it happened to be heard by several provincial officials.

"Husband?"

"He's Secretary Xie's family member."

"What nonsense is this? Isn't it just making trouble?"

This spread, and Director Zhou and the provincial officials also learned about it.

Oh, so it turns out that after causing such a stir, you're not even a city official. You're just the secretary's family member. This made them even more annoyed. How dare you not take the leaders seriously? You're just a family member. You shouldn't even be in the city committee courtyard during working hours. This is a workplace, a place for government work. Hey, not only are you not self-aware, but you also stand up to us. You're here wasting our time just because we criticized your wife a bit.

What kind of official is this?

It's a mess.

After learning that the other party was just a family member, Director Zhou couldn't be bothered to talk to Dong Xuebing anymore. He didn't even look at him again, and instead, he said to Secretary Xie, "Secretary Xie, deal with your family matters yourself." Then he hugged his shoulders and looked at her, passing the responsibility to Secretary Xie, hoping she would handle the situation herself.

The officials from Xiaxing City also understood the situation very well. It was true that Dong Xuebing had made a misstep. It was understandable that his wife had been criticized, and everyone could empathize with his emotions. They had already found it difficult to watch. The provincial officials who came to inspect this time were indeed overly critical. However, even if they couldn't bear to watch, they still had to endure it. After all, the wife was a leader. And being the husband of a city committee secretary did, to some extent, equate him with the city committee secretary. Husband and wife are one body and cannot be treated as ordinary family members or familiar people. However, this understanding was meant to be kept private. It was an unwritten rule that couldn't be openly acknowledged. Family members were still family members and should not interfere here, especially when facing a Deputy governor who was higher in rank than the city committee secretary. It simply didn't make sense.

With Dong Xuebing stepping forward, things became more complicated.

The officials from Xiaxing City knew that Secretary Xie might have to sacrifice her principles for the greater good. After all, what her husband said was not appropriate or timely. Secretary Xie would certainly bear the responsibility for this. At a time when Xiaxing City was already under criticism, this only made matters worse.

Everyone's mood was not very good.

Mayor Xia looked at Dong Xuebing and also thought he was too impulsive. This would only further harm his wife and the city of Xiaxing. However, Mayor Xia's mood didn't change much. Perhaps he knew that Deputy Governor Jia and the others were targeting Secretary Xie, not himself. Or maybe he thought this incident might benefit Secretary Xie, who had just taken office and hadn't yet firmly established her authority. For Mayor Xia, this might not be a bad thing.

Director Zhou stared at her and asked, "How will you handle this?"

Deputy Governor Jia didn't say anything but was also looking at Secretary Xie.

It seemed that all the officials from the province were waiting for Secretary Xie to explain.

But she surprised everyone when everyone thought they had guessed the outcome and how Secretary Xie would handle it.

Secretary Xie shrugged and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't handle it either."

"What?" The provincial officials were all astonished.

Director Zhou was furious. "He's your husband. What do you mean?"

Secretary Xie replied calmly, "Yes, he's my husband, but I can't deal with him."

Whether it was the officials in the office building or the courtyard of Xiaxing City, everyone took a sharp breath after hearing Secretary Xie's words.

Even Mayor Xia was stunned for the first time.

Everyone thought Secretary Xie would sacrifice her principles. Even if she didn't punish her husband, she would at least apologize on his behalf. Who would have thought Secretary Xie not only didn't do that but also boldly claimed she couldn't handle her husband? Wasn't this overly protective? Was she going to confront Deputy Governor Jia and Director Zhou? At least she could have been more tactful in her response. Why did she directly say she couldn't handle it?

A provincial official behind shouted, "What a Xiaxing City!"

Secretary Xie remained calm. "I said I can't handle his affairs."

Director Zhou pointed at Secretary Xie, unable to speak. He hadn't expected her to be so firm. It was one thing for her husband to confront provincial leaders, as he might be just an ordinary citizen who didn't know any better. But what about her? As a city committee secretary, didn't she understand the consequences of her words?

The scene fell silent.

The situation was developing in a direction that nobody had anticipated. This was a rare occurrence, leaving everyone unsure of how to proceed.

One second, two seconds, three seconds… "Have you all finished?" Dong Xuebing, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, looking at the provincial officials. "Then allow me to say a few words."

"Husband sings, wife follows; wife sings, husband follows.

The couple's actions managed to stun the crowd.

They seized a slight advantage in momentum, leaving many speechless.

However, what shocked everyone even more was what followed. Dong Xuebing in defense of his wife, dared to criticize others in front of so many people. It's his wife, after all; usually, he would only grumble about her a bit, never daring to criticize her. How dare you criticize my wife in front of so many people!

Fine.

You like to criticize others.

Then I'll criticize you, too.

Dong Xuebing, with his unchanging style of work, immediately retorted to the officials from the province. "What an impressive inspection team! Take a good look at yourselves, making everyone see your might. How mighty you are!"

Seeing the officials from the province turn pale with anger, some with faces blackened and ready to reprimand, Dong Xuebing didn't give them a chance to speak. He continued, irritated, "If you want to show off, return to your own homes and intimidate your children and daughters-in-law. Why are you showing off here and embarrassing us? What's the point of this inspection? Is it to help improve the work in the counties and cities below? But what have you done for our city? I haven't seen any intention to improve our city's work from your empty inspection. From start to finish, it's all about showing off and nitpicking."

"You."

"What are you saying?"

The officials from the province were furious.

The directors and others also pointed at him with black faces.

Dong Xuebing pointed to his watch and said coldly, "Take a look at the time. It's almost noon. You notified the local government to come at around nine o'clock. But what time did you arrive? You made the comrades in Xiaxing City wait in the courtyard under the sun for nearly two hours. Everyone knows how much work there is in a city. A single phone call and everyone has to wait here. You didn't even call to say you'd be late, and when you arrived, there was no reason given for being late. It's as if the comrades in Xiaxing City should accept it. What kind of logic is this? Are you not embarrassed? Can provincial leaders delay local work? Can inspection teams from the province be late without reason? Who decided this? I don't think you're here to help and supervise local work but to cause trouble for the local government. I want to ask you if the province intends to send you for inspection. It's not to help the locality but to prevent any work from being done in the city, making us wait on you like servants. Take a good look at yourselves. I'm embarrassed for you. I don't even know what the purpose of this inspection is. Go back and read through some documents; if you can't understand them, find me. Look at all of you, coming here and showing off your might. This inspection, in my opinion, is utterly meaningless. You should go back and not delay the work of the comrades in the locality."

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