Power and Wealth
Chapter 1912 – The Stars Are Here!
Noon.
Outside the Airport.
Inside, a few people from the commerce bureau and the county television station were on guard. Dong Xuebing and Zhang Dongfang went to a large bus they rented. This was to pick up the investors arriving in the afternoon. Though the county’s flight arrangements tried to get everyone there by around 10 or 11 a.m., some investors with special circumstances still couldn’t catch flights in the morning. So, many were scheduled for noon or later.
In the Car.
Dong Xuebing could finally sit down for a moment. He plopped into the front seat, rolled down the window, and immediately lit up a cigarette. “Old Zhang, how’s it going at the train station?”
Zhang Dongfang sat beside him, his round face dripping with sweat from the morning’s hustle and bustle. “The train station’s all set. I just got a call—one batch is nearly here in our county, and another is returning. Everything’s going smoothly. Our local investors have mostly gone straight to their arranged hotels. We can’t make it to the lunch today; we’ll have to stick with Old Wei instead. Um, can the actors make it this afternoon? Will we both be attending the dinner tonight?”
Dong Xuebing checked his watch. “There’s a lot of uncertainty on my end. I don’t even know when people will arrive. Many I can’t even reach—no contact information. Whether I can return for dinner tonight is still up in the air. I might not even attend. If not, go ahead and take care of it. Tomorrow’s the opening day of the cultural festival anyway.”
Zhang Dongfang sounded dubious. “Can’t reach them?” It just didn’t sound trustworthy.
Dong Xuebing had just delegated the task to others and had no control over who could or couldn’t come. He would have to make a few calls to confirm.
“Secretary, County Mayor, the boxed lunches have arrived,” a staff member called, rushing onto the bus.
“Alright,” Dong Xuebing said, already feeling hungry. He took the lunch and quickly opened a pair of disposable chopsticks to dig in.
Zhang Dongfang and the other officials grabbed a boxed lunch and ate quickly on the bus, not knowing when to return to duty.
Just after finishing his meal, Dong Xuebing’s phone rang. He put the lunchbox on the seat and picked it up, saying, “Hello? Who’s this?”
“It’s Zhang Dongxing from the Bao Hong City Commerce Bureau,” came a middle-aged man’s voice on the other end. His tone was rather authoritative.
Zhang Dongxing?
Director of the city’s commerce bureau
Dong Xuebing nodded, saying, “Director Zhang, alright.”
Zhang Dongxing continued, “Just letting you know about your county’s cultural festival. I was aware, but the timing hadn’t been confirmed. We haven’t given you a response before. Now I can confirm—I’m afraid I can’t attend tomorrow’s evening event. Something’s come up, so I’ll send one of our deputy directors instead.”
Dong Xuebing nodded again, “No worries. You take care of what you need to do.”
This response momentarily took aback Zhang Dongxing. He thought Dong Xuebing would try to negotiate more significantly since his absence might affect the county’s efforts to attract investment. Some savvy investors would consider the relationship between Bao Hong City and the county. But Dong Xuebing didn’t even press for it; he said, “No worries,” and let him go. No wonder the city leaders didn’t take this county secretary seriously—he was such a loose cannon.
“That’s it then,” Zhang Dongxing said with little enthusiasm and hung up.
Dong Xuebing was even less interested in talking to him. He merely mumbled an “Mm” before ending the call.
Dong Xuebing didn’t get angry or think much of it. The call had flared up some anger in Zhang Dongxing. Initially, Zhang Dongxing thought he was a big shot, someone to be begged and courted by Jiaoling County. Who would have thought Dong Xuebing didn’t take him seriously at all? It felt like he was almost hoping Zhang Dongxing wouldn’t attend tomorrow. Zhang Dongxing couldn’t accept it—“This guy doesn’t take me seriously at all, huh?”
On the Bus.
Zhang Dongfang glanced over. “It’s Zhang Dongxing.”
“It is,” Dong Xuebing said nonchalantly. “He said he’s not coming tomorrow.”
Zhang Dongfang furrowed his brows. “I think you should try again. Maybe I should ask the deputy mayor in charge.”
Dong Xuebing’s stance didn’t change. “No need to ask. If he comes, we’ll welcome him. If he doesn’t, we won’t force it. It’s not a big deal. We can still hold the cultural festival this time.”
Zhang Dongfang insisted, “We can hold it, but the impact will likely—”
“Old Zhang, listen to me,” Dong Xuebing said confidently. “Don’t worry about guest leaders. I guarantee we won’t be missing anyone. Right now, I’m more worried about not having enough chairs in Central Park.” He then called Su Yan over. “Xiao Su, how many seating tickets have you prepared?”
Su Yan blinked. “We made two thousand, which is about the limit considering the venue space. We could have fewer, but not more.”
Dong Xuebing nodded. “That’s fine then. Stick with two thousand. Pass on my instructions. These tickets are for the investors attending, as well as for our county’s officials. Consider their family members too—two to three tickets per person. Any remaining seats have to be approved by me and County Mayor Zhang. I don’t care who they are—city leaders or city officials—if anyone comes to you for tickets, tell them you can’t make the decision, and they should call me. Unless I approve, no city leaders who have turned down our invitation before can sit in to watch the performance at the cultural event.”
Standing-room tickets are unlimited; anyone with a park ticket can get in. But finding a seat will be more difficult.
Su Yan gasped.
Zhang Dongfang couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “Secretary Xuebing.”
Dong Xuebing shrugged. “Just go ahead with it. If anyone gives tickets to city leaders without my consent, I’ll hold them accountable.”
Su Yan immediately nodded. “Got it. I’ll inform them right away.”
Several officials from the commerce bureau in the car overheard and exchanged knowing glances, chuckling bitterly. It took a county secretary like them to stand up to the city. Well, it wasn’t standing up to the city; Secretary Dong was intentionally trying to irritate the city’s officials. We invited you, but you didn’t come. Well, it won’t be your call if you decide to come later. Secretary Dong’s style and temperament were well-understood by them.
But there was a problem.
Why was Secretary Dong so confident that the city leaders would try to grab their tickets?
Was a big star coming this time, making Secretary Dong so confident?
But that seemed unlikely. Why would any big-name star lower their fees to perform in such a small place on such a small stage with no appearance fees? Either they were crazy or a living Saint. Forget big names; even lesser-known actors would need money to get involved. Back at the meeting, Secretary Dong was so confident, and now he was equally resolute, but few people had much faith.
Suddenly, a female staff member from the commerce bureau ran out, breathless. “There’s a woman just off the plane looking for Secretary Dong. She said she’s here to perform at the evening event.”
Performing?
Had she arrived?
Hearing this, Dong Xuebing quickly straightened his collar and exited the car. “Where is she?”
“She’s in the lobby. Our people are greeting her. Though she’s wearing sunglasses, she looks familiar,” the female staff member panted.
Dong Xuebing’s expression tightened. He turned to Su Yan. “Tell the TV crew to be ready—don’t live-stream it, just shoot. Clip it for tonight’s news later.”
Su Yan blinked in understanding.
Zhang Dongfang just sighed, “Secretary Xuebing.”
Su Yan nodded and hurried inside.
At that moment, Zhang Dongfang and the others exited the car. Even though they weren’t investors and not directly responsible for the event, as the county mayor, he certainly had to welcome them. Besides, they were all curious about what kind of actor Secretary Dong could pull off without spending a dime—it was just too intriguing.
In the Lobby.
Everyone went inside.
Under the red welcome banner stood the people from the Commerce Bureau and a beautiful woman.
Dong Xuebing saw her from a distance and recognized her immediately, his surprise evident. “Oh, Chen Ying!”
The woman also saw Dong Xuebing, smiled, and took off her wide-framed sunglasses, revealing a fairly pretty face. She waved to him, “Old classmate, it’s been a while.”
As soon as the sunglasses came off, the atmosphere in the room fell silent.
“Ah!”
“Chen Ying, is it Chen Ying?”
“That’s the actress who played the noblewoman, right?”
“Wow, it is Chen Ying.”
“Oh my God, I love her acting, especially that recent TV drama.”
Chen Ying, Dong Xuebing’s elementary school classmate. Only during their last meeting did Dong Xuebing learn she was a celebrity. He even had his aunt help her find a role. Since then, Dong Xuebing has been following her career. Though he didn’t usually watch TV, he kept an eye on her career—knowing that Chen Ying’s fame had skyrocketed with her recent roles. The expression on Zhang Dongfang’s face showed that even someone like Old Zhang, who didn’t watch much TV or movies, recognized Chen Ying. It was clear how far his old classmate had come.
Many people in the room immediately recognized her. Some airport staff and passengers started calling out, and Jiaoling County’s staff were ecstatic. They never expected Secretary Dong to pull in such a big-name TV star—it was a pleasant surprise.
But Dong Xuebing’s following words nearly knocked the people of Jiaoling County off their feet.
“Why are you here?” Dong Xuebing hadn’t contacted her beforehand.
When those words were out, Zhang Dongfang and the county’s staff nearly fainted. Damn, you didn’t even invite her?
Chen Ying laughed. “I heard you needed an actress here, so I cleared my schedule and came. If an old classmate needs help, I naturally don’t hesitate. Though my main job is acting, I’ve also released a couple of singles. Not many have heard them, but I can still lend a hand at your evening event. On the other hand, you didn’t even tell me—I have to hear about it from someone else. Not cool.”
Dong Xuebing was quite moved. “You’ve been busy recently, taking on two projects, right? I didn’t want to bother you and hold you back.”
“Stop with that,” Chen Ying smiled. “I didn’t make a fuss last time, and you’re still being so polite with me? You don’t need to be.”
Chen Ying’s easygoing attitude and Dong Xuebing’s gratitude brought smiles to everyone’s faces. They were all amazed at the impact this unexpected guest star would have on their cultural festival.