Power and Wealth

In the afternoon.

It was past four o'clock.

Dong Xuebing droves back to the City Party Committee's residential compound. Looking at the long-unseen neighborhood and the familiar buildings, he found the old poplar trees on the roadside pleasing. Although he was born and raised in Beijing, for the past two or three years of work, he had almost always lived in Fenzhou City. People are not indifferent, like grass and trees; Dong Xuebing also had a special affection for this place. He liked the streets here, liked the trees here, and also liked the people here. There was no rush to eat, so Dong Xuebing drove slowly, looking around.

Nothing has changed.

It's just like when he left.

As the car pulled in downstairs, Dong Xuebing carried bags of things and went upstairs. Knocking on the door lazily, he didn't bother to take out the keys.

The door opened.

Mom cout.

"Why are you back so late?"

"Hey, there was something on the highway."

"I know, Huilan called me. Oh, why are you covered in blood?"

"I was rescuing people, got sblood on me, not mine."

"Quick, cin and change your clothes. Where's Huilan?"

"She went to the hospital. Traffic and health are both under Huilan's jurisdiction; she must be busy."

"Not coming back for dinner?"

"She said she'll cback during dinner time."

"Your wife's due date is approaching, and you're letting her run around. Really."

"It was an emergency, and you know Huilan, she has to listen to me."

"As long as you're not hurt. I heard about the car accident and got a big fright."

"By the way, find a place to put this stuff."

"Why did you bring so much stuff back? We don't need anything; you just bought random things."

"Hehe, they were all gifts from my colleagues when I left. Local specialties and little trinkets from Zhen Shui County. You can give them away later."

Inside the house.

Dong Xuebing quickly changed his clothes and sat on the sofa. Grimacing from back pain, he said, "Mom, poura glass of water and helpmassage my neck. I've been busy rescuing people for half a day and am exhausted."

Luan Xiaoping glared at him, "You're orderingaround again."

Dong Xuebing chuckled, "Well, you're my mom."

She huffed. Luan Xiaoping handed him a glass of cold water, threw his bloodied clothes into the bathroom to soak, and then gave her son a shoulder and neck massage. "You rascal, do you miss mom?"

"Of course, I miss you. I think of you every day, even in my dreams. Oh, by the way, I bought you two sets of clothes on my way back. Try them on later. Massagea bit harder here. Ah, that feels good. It's comfortable. Mom is the best. No matter how much my wife loves me, it's not as good as mom's love."

"You sure know how to talk."

"Take a rest, mom. I'll peel sfruits for you."

"Why rest? I still need to cook. Yunxuan will bring the kids over from Lu An City after work, as Huilan called her this afternoon. I don't know what good fortune you had in your past life. Your two daughters-in-law get along well now. When I was busy the other day, Yunxuan cover to take care of Huilan. Yunxuan was busy for a few days, and Huilan also helped care for her daughter."

"They didn't argue, did they?"

"Sometimes they do."

"Uh. So, uh, let's change the topic."

"You lie down. I'll go wash the vegetables."

Just as Dong Xuebing was about to offer help, his phone rang. It was from Luo Haiting, the Commission for Discipline Inspection director of Fenzhou City. "Hello, Director Luo."

Luo Haiting's laughter cfrom the other end, "Xuebing, you're back."

Dong Xuebing laughed, "You're well informed. Yeah, I just got back this afternoon. How do you know?"

"It's not that I am well-informed. It's that I saw your car when I opened the window."

"Oh, my car is a Land Rover. I see. Your eyes are sharp enough to recognize it. Impressive."

"Hehe, everyone in Fenzhou City knows your car."

"Isn't that a bit exaggerated?"

"It's not exaggerated at all. Didn't you used to drive a Porsche? After transferring, you switched to the Land Rover with Mayor Xie. Something interesting happened at that time. About half a month after you left, when Mayor Xie went to inspect the townships below, the road was blocked, and many villagers were holding signs filing complaints, refusing to let the front cars pass, insisting on seeing Mayor Xie. Mayor Xie drove up from behind, but guess what happened? When many people causing trouble saw your Porsche coming, they all thought it was you. With a whoosh, they all ran away. Not a single person was visible after Mayor Xie got out of the car. None of us knew what was going on then, and we were all puzzled. Later, we thought about it and figured it out. This incident has beca funny story in the office, and many people know about it."

Dong Xuebing laughed upon hearing this.

Luo Haiting continued, "I know you're busy. I won't say much. We want to invite you to dinner, gather all our old friends. Our treat."

"Okay, no problem," Dong Xuebing readily agreed.

"You agreed so quickly. Don't stand us up again."

"Ahem, last twas an accident. We had all agreed to meet up, but something urgent cup. It won't happen again this time, and I have to stay in Fenzhou City for at least a week."

"Alright, let's set a date then."

"Sure, either the day after tomorrow or the day after."

As he hung up, several more calls from old friends cin.

Dong Xuebing busied himself with socializing, chatting with each person for a while, and finally arranging a dinner gathering.

Before long, his mother cout of the kitchen. "You just got back and are already making phone calls; you're always so busy."

"It's been a long tsince we've seen each other. We need to keep in touch. Mom, I won't be eating at hthe day after tomorrow."

Suddenly, the sound of keys jingled.

The door was pushed open from the outside.

Dong Xuebing saw Qu Yunxuan, dressed in professional attire commonly worn by TV hosts, standing at the door with a warm smile. "You're here."

Dong Xuebing immediately walked up to her. "Chere. I've missed you so much."

Qu Yunxuan was hugged tightly by him, feeling both annoyed and amused. She couldn't help pinching his nose affectionately. "Mom is still here, don't be silly. Didn't we meet just two months ago?"

"I missed you even after two months." Aunt Xuan was still so soft to hug.

Mom said helplessly from behind, "Don't dawdle at the door. Cin first. You don't care about your child."

"Where's the child, my good daughter?" Dong Xuebing was surprised not to see his daughter in Aunt Xuan's arms.

Then Qu Yunxuan turned to the side, and the cute little Qianqian in a lovely dress popped out from behind her mother, blinking her eyes and looking at Dong Xuebing. Then she started babbling happily, waving her little hands while her mother held onto her, although her little feet were kicking wildly as if she wanted to pounce on her father.

Dong Xuebing was overjoyed. "Oh my, our little princess can walk now."

"She's only one year old and can't walk yet." Qu Yunxuan smiled. "I have to hold her hand; otherwise, she can only take a few steps with great effort. If I let go, she'll fall."

Dong Xuebing quickly squatted down, opened his arms, and said, "Cto Daddy quickly."

Qu Yunxuan handed her daughter forward, "Go find your daddy."

Dong Xuebing immediately picked up his daughter, stood up, and kissed Qianqian's cheek, "So obedient, so cute. You've grown taller quickly, and we haven't seen each other."

Little Qianqian giggled mischievously and playfully extended her little claws to scratch her father's face.

Dong Xuebing allowed his daughter to scratch his face, laughing happily, "You little troublemaker. Look how elegant your mommy is. You should learn from her in the future."

It seemed like Little Qianqian understood, and she immediately stopped being naughty.

Dong Xuebing exclaimed with delight, "So well-behaved! Con, let Daddy reward you." After saying that, he lifted Qianqian and let her ride on the back of his neck. Then, like a child, he shouted and ran around the room with his daughter on his back, showing no sign of being a responsible adult.

Luan Xiaoping was used to it. "This child is always causing trouble as soon as he comes back. He was complaining about being tired and askingto massage his shoulders. Now he's more energetic than anyone else."

Qu Yunxuan smiled and said, "Let them have their fun. I'll help you with the cooking."

"No need. Sit withfor a while. I've already prepared the ingredients. I need to cook them." Luan Xiaoping took Qu Yunxuan to the sofa, watching them run around with a smile.ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ɴovᴇl(F)ɪre.ɴet

Qu Yunxuan said, "This little girl only sees her daddy being happy."

Dong Xuebing laughed, "That's right, it's all about personal charm."

Mrs. Lan revealed, "You're just bragging. When Qianqian wants to play, she looks for you. But when she's hungry or tired, she clings to Yunxuan. She's glued to her mom. She even insists on sitting on the sofa with her."

Dong Xuebing didn't believe it. After playing for a while, he got tired and sat on the sofa.

Sure enough, after a few breaths, Qianqian panted a few times and climbed down from her father's legs, struggling to climb onto Qu Yunxuan's legs. She sat on her mother's lap. Seeing her mother not moving, Qianqian tugged at her mother's arm, but seeing her still not moving, she tugged at her arm again.

Only then did Qu Yunxuan hug the little one.

Little Qianqian instantly felt satisfied and giggled happily.

Dong Xuebing, unwilling to admit defeat, clapped his hands and said, "Con, darling, mommy is tired. Cto daddy, daddy will hold you." He called out several times.

Little Qianqian finally reluctantly crawled onto her father's legs.

Dong Xuebing laughed heartily, "See, she also loves me."

Qu Yunxuan didn't argue with him and suddenly remembered something. "By the way, have you read the newspaper?" She immediately took out a newspaper from her bag. "It's the provincial newspaper."

Dong Xuebing blinked, "Is there something about me?"

"Both you and Huilan are in it, on the front page. Although it's not the headline, it's below the headline. I saw it on the way and bought it."

"Letsee."

The headline was about political news, which wasn't surprising.

On the bottom of the front page, Dong Xuebing hadn't read the title yet, but he saw a photo of Xie Huilan directing the scene with a big belly, and the background was a car that was hit crookedly. Dong Xuebing's figure was also in the photo, but it was just a silhouette, rescuing an injured person, covered in blood. Dong Xuebing couldn't help muttering, "They didn't even givea close-up shot. It was all for nothing. But he also understood that the main character of the rescue in this accident must still be the local officials, and the Provincial Propaganda Department might be boosting Huilan's image."