Power and Wealth
Chapter 1923 – Chaos!
At the park entrance, the atmosphere fell silent abruptly.
“Ow!”
“My leg!”
“Don’t crowd me!”
“Help me up!”
“Ah, I’ve fallen!”
Crying out and pain-filled calls echoed outside the iron gate. Dozens of people were knocked to the ground and couldn’t get up, while the remaining few hundred people around them staggered, the previously neat formation now a chaotic mess.
“What’s going on?”
“What the heck just happened?”
“Why is the gate closed? I thought the locks were open?”
With limited visibility, many people behind couldn’t see what was happening. They only noticed the young leader who had been loudly speaking earlier, standing alone behind the iron bars, one hand gripping the gate, silently watching the crowd.
“Someone closed it?”
“No way, seriously?”
“Just him alone?”
“Damn, how strong must he be?”
Everyone then slowly realized what had happened, and shock set in—they were nearly speechless.
The people from Jiaolin County had the same expression as if they had seen a ghost.
Everyone else was lost for words except for Zhang Longjuan, who was smiling and watching the scene.
It was terrifying—over a thousand people pushed against the gate, trying to rush in. Even though most people behind hadn’t exerted much effort, the sheer force of many pushing together created a significant energy transmission. The impact was felt mostly at the front, with only a small hundred people pushing hard. These were strong, grown men and women, well-fed and energetic. Considering the broken iron chains and the fallen policemen, the scale of the situation was clear. Yet, Secretary Dong Xuebing had used just one hand to forcefully close the gate, pushing back the crowd moments away from rushing in. Many people fell to the ground as a result.
The police officers blocking the crowd from storming the gate were also stunned. They had heard stories of Secretary Dong’s feats on his first day in Jiaolin County, like kicking over a minibus with a single powerful kick. They weren’t present then, and hearing about it, they were skeptical. A minibus was heavy and traveling at high speed; the idea of a person kicking it over seemed impossible. But witnessing Dong Xuebing’s actions firsthand, the officers exchanged shocked glances, realizing the rumors hadn’t been exaggerated. With Dong Xuebing’s strength, they now believed he could even kick over a bus if needed.
“Secretary Dong!”
“Are you okay?”
“Thank you so much!”
A few of the fallen officers quickly got up and thanked Dong Xuebing. They knew their safety would have been seriously compromised if he hadn’t stepped forward to block the gate. They would have been the first wave to feel the impact and get trampled. They were already on the ground and unable to move, making it impossible to evade the crowd.
Dong Xuebing, holding the gate with one hand, nodded to them with a smile. “I’m fine, no need to thank me. Just back up and let me handle this.”
An officer quickly said, “We can help you.”
“No need.” Dong Xuebing’s expression indicated he didn’t even consider this small task a big deal. He calmly instructed them, “The guests should be entering soon. There aren’t enough staff, so help at the side gate. Don’t let anyone without a reservation or a ticket in. The main gate will be closed now. If any tourists need to leave early, let them disperse through the side gate.”
Meng Hanmei ran up quickly, “Secretary, it’s dangerous here.”
“I’m fine, Old Meng.” Dong Xuebing said, “Don’t worry about me. You all get back to work, and I’ll join you once I’ve handled things here.”
Dong Xuebing’s display of personal heroism was evident for all to see.
Many young officers and staff from Jiaolin County were stirred by his actions, feeling a rush of blood. They thought Secretary Dong was just too badass. One person, one physical body, standing alone, blocking over a thousand people without blinking. That’s impressive!
“Secretary Dong is amazing!”
“Secretary, you’re so awesome!”
A few officials from Jiaolin County shouted, both men and women.
Zhang Dongfang glanced toward their cheers, wiping sweat from his brow, thinking, ‘What’s so awesome about this? That nearly scared me to death. If anything happened to Dong Xuebing or those officers in front of him, I, as the county head, would be in serious trouble, and the entire county would suffer. Thankfully, Dong Xuebing again showed his incredible fighting strength, seemingly never letting people down. Whenever he’s needed, he appears and manages to keep the situation under control—just barely. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.’
Because Dong Xuebing wasn’t new to doing these remarkable feats, people in Jiaolin County had heard about it before—like kicking over a minibus with one powerful kick or shouting down a hundred people. Many had seen it firsthand, and so accepting Dong Xuebing’s strength was relatively easier for them. No one even bothered to ask him how he got so strong.
But the investors and common folk couldn’t handle it.
Wang Ying and Zhang Shuibing, among others, felt a sense of overwhelming dizziness.
“That’s the secretary of Jiaolin County, right?”
“Yeah, he was the one who welcomed us at the airport.”
“Did Secretary Dong come from a weightlifting background or something? How is he so strong?”
“I didn’t get a good look earlier, but he closed the gate alone. There were so many people.”
“I saw it. It was Secretary Dong, and he did it with just one hand. That’s brutal!”
Even though they knew not as many were pushing the gate as it seemed, the visual impact was massive. And even though the force exerted was significantly diminished, about a hundred people were pushing, trying to rush in. This wasn’t just human strength anymore. These investors had seen a lot, dealt with many counties, and met many officials, but they’d never seen a county secretary like Dong Xuebing before. Thinking about it, just Dong Xuebing’s arm strength alone, even if he quit being a public official, he could become a champion at the Olympics—snatch, clean and jerk, discus throw—he’d excel at them all with that kind of strength.
“Xuebing,” Zhang Dongfang called out uneasily.
Dong Xuebing waved his hand. “Forget it. The evening is the priority. Don’t let any other problems arise elsewhere.”
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Dongfang said, “Alright, I’ll make arrangements. Just hang in there; the park staff is getting a spare lock.”
Zhang Dongfang didn’t want to withdraw Dong Xuebing. The problem was, if he let go here, everyone would rush in.
But Dong Xuebing didn’t appear to be “holding” at all.
He even pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, casually leaning against the door with one hand while smoking. He looked utterly relaxed. People who knew him, like Zhang Longjuan, could tell he was a bit annoyed. If Dong Xuebing had been a step late earlier, blocking the door might have cost lives—potentially more than one. The situation would have been severe.
“Everyone, move back,” Zhang Dongfang and the people from the Investment Bureau quickly dispersed the investors, directing them towards the stage and the main hall.
But Zhang Longjuan didn’t leave, smiling, “I’ll just watch a bit more.”
Zhang Longjuan was the wealthiest businessman inside, even wealthier than half the total assets of a hundred investors combined, so people in Jiaolin County couldn’t say much to her.
Suddenly, the shouting started again from outside.
“Everyone, rush! Keep pushing!”
“Yeah, we just got lucky earlier; don’t be afraid!”
“He’s just one person, and we’re over a thousand!”
“If we push once more, we’ll get inside. Everyone, put in some more effort—the evening’s about to start!”
Spurred on by a few, the crowd’s anger flared again. Those who had been knocked down earlier by Dong Xuebing quickly got up, livid.
“Yeah!”
“Let’s go!”
In an instant, the crowd regrouped and charged against the door again—thousands of voices echoing, deafeningly loud.
Dong Xuebing glanced at them, smiled faintly, and didn’t even flick his cigarette’s ember. He still held the door with one hand.
“Secretary!”
“Be careful!”
“They’re pushing!”
The people of Jiaolin County were on edge again.
But their concerns were unnecessary. Dong Xuebing didn’t seem to care about these people at all. If thousands of people were to combine their strength here, no one, not even Dong Xuebing, could hold back—they’d buckle. But the door’s width was limited, with only a few hundred putting in effort, which was no pressure for Dong Xuebing. He had built up quite a bit of reserve strength over the past few days.
Thud
Crash
Bang
A torrent of force surged against the door from every angle.
Once
Twice
Three times
But what was astonishing was that, even with all these massive forces coming from different directions, Dong Xuebing only lightly held the door with one hand, and the door didn’t budge an inch.
“One man guarding against the horde; no one can break through.”
“Secretary Dong, you’re amazing!”
“Hang in there, Secretary. The spare lock is almost here!”
Bam bam bam bam bam
The crowd didn’t give up. They repeatedly slammed into the door, faces twisted with fury, determined to get through.