Power and Wealth

It's nine o'clock.

The sun is getting higher.

The square in front of the city center park is warm, and the weather is excellent.ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ɴovᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet

"Not much time left."

"Hurry up with the project details."

"Get the English version printed for them."

"Where are those college graduates from our unit? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

"Be smarter in a while. The district has already given orders; make sure to retain people."

"Show the best attitude. This task is not ordinary; we need everyone in top shape. If there's a mistake, accountability will be at the individual level."

"Yes, Director Ma."

"Quick, everyone, move!"

"The delegation from the foreign company should be here before noon."

"Good; as soon as the delegation arrives, everyone studies them carefully and comes up with targeted solutions and breakthroughs in all aspects."

"Yes, Director Chen."

"We guarantee to complete the task."

"What are you waiting for? Don't wait. Those who know English, get ready."

The noise was incessant, with the voices of various county investment leaders shouting instructions and the busy responses of their subordinates. It was not quite on the city side either. Initially, Deputy Mayor Hua Liang wouldn't stay at the investment promotion meeting the entire time, but he broke the norm this time. He sat in a temporary tent next to the rostrum, seeming prepared to work and stay there all day. Lu Weiguo was on the side making phone calls, chattering away to someone, and people kept coming in through the park gate, some of them being temporary reinforcements and others being investment promotion staff with good English skills. Everyone rushed over, creating a tense atmosphere.

However, in Zhen Shui County, it was a completely different scene.

"Director Chang."

"What's up, Xiao Gong?"

"Can I borrow your mirror? I forgot to bring mine."

"Hehe, of course, here, take this one."

"Mayor Dong, things are almost sorted out. We're just waiting for the investors to arrive."

"Alright. Let's all take a break then. Old Zheng, have a smoke."

"Smoke mine."

"Alright. I brought them out. Xiao Chen, want one?"

"Uh, sure. Thanks, Mayor Dong."

Chang Juan sat there with her legs crossed, applying makeup, while Gong Na also fixed her hairstyle in front of the mirror. They discussed the difficulties and key points of the morning's aerobics routine while preparing. Dong Xuebing, Zheng Dayou, and Chen Yunsong leaned against the exhibition stand, smoking and chatting happily about the breakfast at the hotel. Since the investors hadn't arrived yet, they could relax.

The contrast was quite significant.

In the bustling square, Zhen Shui County's calmness stood out.

Deputy City Mayor Hua Liang noticed. He glanced at Dong Xuebing's group with a stern face, looking somewhat displeased.

On Lu Weiguo's side, after hanging up the phone and catching his breath, he also observed the situation in Zhen Shui County. His brows furrowed slightly. He and Deputy Mayor Hua Liang had just instructed everyone to be well-prepared to secure this task. Who would have thought that Zhen Shui County would take it so lightly, chatting and smoking casually? It reflected their kind of leadership: no initiative or motivation whatsoever.

Hua Li waved his hand, "Let the investment promotion bureaus of other counties handle it. I'll talk to the higher-ups later. If necessary, cancel Zhen Shui County's investment promotion booth."

Lu Weiguo nodded, not saying anything more.

Canceling the booth was already the most severe measure. It was usually taken when a county or district had committed a serious mistake, falling within the authority of Hua Liang and Lu Weiguo. However, the current issue was that Zhen Shui County hadn't made any mistakes. While it's true that Dong Xuebing personally booked the presidential suite, their investment promotion results were not good, creating chaos in the process. It wasn't a mistake for Hua Liang to arrange the worst booth for them. Also, the calmness in Zhen Shui County was deliberate, with everything prepared and the investors not yet arrived. People from many other counties and districts had a similar approach but never faced such severe consequences. Still, Hua Liang and Lu Weiguo were considering the harshest punishment—revoking Zhen Shui County's booth. The meaning behind this punishment was too obvious.

Other counties' representatives also looked at Zhen Shui County with suspicion.

After a while, a city investment leader walked over. It was the same person who had clashed with Chang Juan yesterday. As soon as he approached, he started criticizing Zhen Shui County, "The foreign investors are about to arrive. What are you all doing? Why aren't you ready? If you continue this attitude, the city can cancel Zhen Shui County's booth. Without it, you have no place in the city's investment promotion event. Think it over yourselves." He had been nearby when Hua Liang and Lu Weiguo were talking, clearly overhearing their exchange.

"What?"

"Cancel the booth."

Zheng Dayou and Chen Yunsong were stunned. Then, a strong sense of anger surged up.

They had been holding back for too long. From the moment they arrived at the investment promotion meeting, they had been humiliated by the city, time and time again. First one time, then two, then three. Unexpectedly, it wasn't over yet. Everyone in the city seemed to have targeted Zhen Shui County for some reason, without any clear justification—just because they found them displeasing.

Chang Juan stared at the person and said, "Why?"

Zheng Dayou was also furious, "We've done everything we needed to do. What's wrong with our attitude? We've prepared everything. After the preparations, why can't we take a break? The investment has not arrived yet. What we do in our free time is our freedom."

The city investment leader coldly said, "You're not taking your job seriously, and you still have the nerve to argue?"

Zheng Dayou, who used to be quite calm, started following Dong Xuebing's lead in temperament and working style. He immediately retorted, "Fine, then point out where we're not taking it seriously."

The leader said coldly, "You're putting on makeup and smoking. That's not being serious."

Zheng Dayou replied, "We've finished our preparations. Tell me, what are we doing insincerely? Are we just pretending to be busy? Smoking? Look around yourself now. There are at least dozens, if not hundreds, of people smoking. Some of your city's investment promotion staff members are also smoking. Look at that one and that one. Aren't they from your bureau? Why is it fine when they smoke, but we'll be held accountable for it?"

Chang Juan added, "What's wrong with putting on makeup? It's also for work. When the investment promotion bureau recruited people, there was a unique requirement compared to other units—facial features must be proper. Why? It's to leave a good impression on investors, not making them disgusted at first glance. Putting on makeup is also the same. It's not for our vanity but for our work, showing respect to the investors. How can you say putting on makeup is not serious? I saw you smoothing your hair just now; isn't that also putting on makeup? Why don't you criticize yourself?"

The leader clearly couldn't win the argument against Chang Juan and retorted, "You're just causing trouble."

Chang Juan remained unyielding, "Who's causing trouble? I'm just ignoring you. You got excited by yourself. Are you addicted to finding fault with others?"

The leader found himself outnumbered and couldn't argue with them.

Finally, Dong Xuebing spoke, looking at him, "If you want to cancel our booth, fine. List the serious mistakes we've made, then submit it for approval. If the order comes down from above, we won't say a word, pack up, and leave. Right now, there's no such approval. If you have nothing else, we're busy and won't bother you. Okay?"

Nearby exhibitors heard this, giving them a few glances. But everyone was busy with their matters, not caring much about others. They exchanged some words but were occupied with their work.

"Where did this Mayor Dong come from?"

"He speaks too bluntly, a bit uncultured."

"He's not being polite with the investment promotion leader from the city, sighs."

"They brought it upon themselves. This is the City Investment Promotion Event. You might not attract any investment if you don't build a good relationship with the responsible team."

"Yeah, he's too straightforward."

"Zhen Shui County is in trouble this time."

"They won't be able to retrieve a single penny. Let's see how they explain it to the county."

Due to Zhen Shui County collectively staying in a presidential suite that was much more expensive than everyone else, other investment promotion personnel from different counties harbored animosity toward them. The conflict focused on Zhen Shui County, and people from other counties enjoyed watching their misfortune.

Ring, ring, ring.

Dong Xuebing's phone rang.

Checking the number, he ignored the investment promotion leader, who had been silenced, moving a bit away to answer the call. "Hello, Sister Zhang."

"Where are you?"

"In our city. How about you? Your phone was off earlier."

"I turned it off while on the plane."

"You've arrived in the city."

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Hey, why didn't you say so earlier? I would have arranged for a car to pick you up."

"No need. I said I wanted to give our handsome boy a surprise. Wait for it."

.