Power and Wealth
Chapter 1329 – The Wolves Are Here
Afternoon.
1.30 pm.
County Government, Jiang Fangfang office.
Dong Xuebing felt relaxed after clearing their misunderstandings. They started to talk about work.
Jiang Fangfang looked at him. “The Finance Department was a mess when you were not around.”
Dong Xuebing nodded. “I heard about it. They are here to request for funds, right?”
Jiang Fangfang nodded. “Yes. Secretary Meng and I are facing the same situation. They came wave after wave. You must be prepared. You will not get any peace after you return.”
Dong Xuebing asked. “What is your plan for the money?”
Jiang Fangfang replied. “Secretary Meng and I decided to discuss this during the meeting tomorrow. This meeting is critical, and I asked your secretary to call you back about it. Although we have not decided the uses for the money, we will not use it for improving facilities like building hostels, renovating classrooms, buying equipment, etc. These are unnecessary. We must use the money effectively. Secretary Meng agreed. You must not give in, too. It would be hard to reject the rest if we set a precedent.”
Dong Xuebing smiled. “I understand.”
“I am assured when you are the gatekeeper.” Jiang Fangfang puts down her document and pours a glass of water for Dong Xuebing. “This fund exposed lots of problems.”
Dong Xuebing agreed. He took the water and thanked her.
Their County’s leaders were short-sighted. They always sit in their offices and do not do any real work. But when they see money, they behave like wolves.
Knock… knock…
Someone knocked on the door.
Jiang Fangfang looked up. “Come in.”
Dong Xuebing stood up. “Then I am going back to work.”
“Ok. Take care of yourself.” Jiang Fangfang said.
Dong Xuebing walked out of the office, and someone entered. It was Deputy County Mayor Ci Boyang. Ci Boyang was Secretary Meng’s man, and they had clashed previously. They nodded at each other in greeting.
Dong Xuebing left the office.
“Mayor Jiang.”
“What is it, Mayor Ci?”
“It is about the fund. Our department is facing difficulties. The promised bonus has not been issued, and the staff is unhappy. Can you…”
Another one is here to ask for money. These people…
Dong Xuebing closed the door behind him and left.
Before Dong Xuebing opened the door to his office, he heard his office phone ringing. He entered and answered.
“Hello, I’m Dong Xuebing.”
“You are back, Mayor Dong.”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“I am Old Liu from the Health Bureau. When can we get our funding, Mayor Dong? This equipment is critical to our County. It can increase our County’s medical standards. We placed the order a few days ago but still have not gotten the funds.”
“Don’t your Health Bureau have funds?”
“It’s not enough. These are imported equipment and cost a few million RMB.”
“Why did you order when you all don’t have funds? Who promised to give you the fund?” Dong Xuebing frowned. “Did you go ahead before getting approvals?”
“No. The equipment was decided a while ago. Mayor Ci agreed, and the County has money now. That’s why we thought the County would solve our fund issue. It’s not a lot of money, and the order was placed. They are imported equipment, and we got to order in advance.”
“We will talk about this again.”
“But the order…”
“Since Mayor Ci promised you, go and look for him!”
“Mayor Dong, we…”
Dong Xuebing could not be bothered with them and hung up.
The phone rang immediately. Ring… ring… ring… Dong Xuebing was afraid it might be an emergency and asked.
“Hello?”
“Is that Mayor Dong?”
“It’s me. Who is this?”
“Good afternoon, Mayor Dong. I am a Qing Shui Village Government staff. My name is Jiang Dashui. I am County Mayor Jiang Fangfang’s third uncle.”
Third uncle?
A distance relative?
Dong Xuebing replied politely, as this person was Mayor Jiang’s relative. “What is it about?”
Jiang Dashui sighed. “It’s hard to say.”
Dong Xuebing replied. “I am listening. Tell me.”
“Our village was severely affected by last year’s drought. The villagers are having a hard time. The villager leaders are anxious. You should know we depend on live stocks. Natural disasters will affect our villagers’ livelihoods. This year is not looking good too. It’s tough, and our village is requesting financial aid. One million RMB is enough. It’s a small amount, and I don’t want to bother Fangfang. She is busy. That’s why I called you.”
One million RMB is a small amount?
You are daring to say such things.
You also keep bringing up Mayor Jiang to pressure me. It made Dong Xuebing uncomfortable. If Jiang Fangfang agrees, Jiang Dashui would not be calling him. The money would be given out. Mayor Jiang must have rejected him.
Dong Xuebing replied. “I cannot decide.”
Jiang Dashui replied. “The County had gotten 50 million RMB, and we are asking for one million financial assistance. Why can’t you decide such a small matter?”
“I will ask for you all. Please wait for a few days.”
“The villagers and villager leaders are anxious. We cannot wait any longer.”
“I can’t do anything even if you are anxious. We need to go through the procedures.”
They spoke over the phone briefly before Dong Xuebing could hang up. He thought for a while and called Yao Cui.
The line was engaged.
Dong Xuebing tried calling for a few minutes before it got through.
“Cui Er, are you busy?”
Yao Cui replied. “I just ended a call with a former classmate. He insisted I ask if you can approve a sum for their village farming aid. I spoke to him for a long time to reject him.”
“You also receive these calls?”
“This is not the first time. A relative came to my house a while ago to ask for money. My parents were frustrated.”
“Thanks a lot. Oh, do you know about Qing Shui Village? Are they affected by the drought?”
“Of course not.” Yao Cui replied softly. “Did Mayor Jiang’s relative call you? They are lying. It’s only been a few days without rain, and they exaggerated. They came to the Finance Department a few days ago and created a scene.”
Dong Xuebing shook his head. “Who are these people?”
Yao Cui said. “These are nothing. Someone asked Secretary Meng’s father for help, and he came to the Party Committee Building to look for Secretary Meng. Secretary Meng disagreed and was scolded by his father. This… Sigh… I am speechless.”
The County would have approved their requests if it was an emergency. They would not give in to anyone, even if they were the leaders’ relatives. This is a critical period, and Dong Xuebing could feel the difficulties faced by Secretary Meng and Mayor Jiang.
“Oh, Xuebing.”
“What is it?”
“Many people called me after they knew you were back. They want to invite you to lunch and dinner. Health Bureau’s Director Liu, Industry Bureau’s Chen…”
“Help me reject them. Tell them I have not recovered.”
“Ok. I understand.”
After hanging up, the office phone rang again.
Dong Xuebing looked at the phone and did not answer. He sat at this desk and smoked.
Dong Xuebing thought he could have peace if he did not answer the calls. But someone knocked on his door a while later. It was the Civil Affairs Bureau’s Chief.
“Mayor Dong, I am Xu Xuelong from the Civil Affairs Bureau.” It was a middle-aged man.
“Chief Xu. Have a seat.” Dong Xuebing looked at him. This was their first meeting. Although they had met during meetings, Dong Xuebing could not remember him. “What is it?”
Xu Xuelong sat and started complaining. “The Civil Affairs Bureau staff are upset. It’s because other departments in the County have cars. Even the Culture Bureau has a van, and only our Bureau does not have a vehicle. It’s inconvenient for us to do our job. I am not asking because I want it. I am asking for our Bureau’s work. Our County’s roads are bad and full of potholes. It’s hard for our staff to ride bicycles to attend work calls.”
Dong Xuebing kept quiet.
Xu Xuelong looked at Dong Xuebing. “Mayor Dong, we submitted the request and got no replies. Can you…”
Dong Xuebing said. “I will consider. Go back first.”
Xu Xuelong did not leave. “Our Civil Affairs Bureau is the County Government’s department. The County should treat us equally. A few cars do not cost much. Our County’s finance has the money now. You should not let us…”
Before he could finish, someone knocked on the door.
The person outside entered before Dong Xuebing ask him to.
It was a tanned old man with a few people following him. They should be the village leaders. They shouted after entering. “Mayor Dong! Why is our village’s fund not out yet? How many days has it been? Why is it not approved? We almost cannot operate now!”
Dong Xuebing frowned. “Your village? Go and look for the village township! This is the County Government!”
The old man firmly replied. “The Town Mayor said the County did not approve the funding! They don’t have money to give us! That’s why we are here to ask for money!”
Money!
Money!
All of you only want money!
F**k! All of you are crazy!