Power and Wealth
Chapter 1917 – Uproar!
Evening.
County Committee Family Compound.
Dong Xuebing didn’t accompany the celebrities until the end, nor did he socialize with the investors until the end. Instead, he briefly attended a few conversations and then returned home. Upon entering the house, Dong Xuebing glanced at his watch; there were still five or six minutes until the county TV station’s evening news. He quickly stripped off his clothes, rushed into the bathroom, and enjoyed a hot bath. After a quick hair rub, he hurried out, not even bothering to use a blow dryer. He plopped on the sofa, turned on the TV, and tuned in to the news broadcast.
Sun Changzhi, the head of the Propaganda Department, was already one of Dong Xuebing’s people, and the tone for this ideological segment was already set. There was no need to worry about surprises, but Dong Xuebing couldn’t help but feel excited. He returned from the restaurant early, specifically to watch the evening news.
Exactly at six o’clock.
The news began.
The host of the county TV station appeared on the screen, “Hello, everyone, welcome to today’s news broadcast.” After a few opening remarks, the host reported the first news item: the upcoming Jiaolin County’s first-ever business culture festival. “Jiaolin County will host its first business culture festival at its central park tomorrow. Today, actors and numerous well-known domestic and international celebrities have arrived one by one by plane. The following are scenes captured at the airport.”
Chen Ying.
Amy.
Aaron.
Liu Han.
And so on.
The footage recorded everyone disembarking from the plane and Dong Xuebing greeting Zhang Dongfang. Some casual words were not captured because they were more personal, while others, pre-approved by the Propaganda Department, were made public. These included harmless pleasantries and well-wishes for the successful festival hosting, all visible on the screen. Dong Xuebing used numerous connections, including his family, to bring in these celebrities. Even those who didn’t know who Dong Xuebing was would not put on airs. Everything they said sounded beautiful, congratulating the success of the cultural festival. The signal was evident, surprising everyone.
Some insiders already knew about this.
But most city and county officials were unaware. They learned about the event and were shocked only by this news.
Celebrities really came here!
Dong Xuebing truly brought all these celebrities without spending a penny!
This was truly surprising to everyone. There hadn’t been a single actor seen until the last minute, but now almost all of them had arrived—big-name celebrities, actors, and first and second-tier domestic stars. This was a complete turnaround. People suddenly viewed Dong Xuebing’s networking skills in a new light. It’s not just something one can talk about but requires real connections. Getting a celebrity is easy, but bringing in so many celebrities, especially big-name domestic stars, without paying a penny in appearance fees—no one else could boast about this. No one else could do it.
At the same time, the provincial TV station’s news also broadcast Jiaolin County’s business culture festival. This was footage provided by Jiaolin County, but the provincial TV station just copied it. However, the provincial TV station’s influence and viewership were clearly not comparable to those of a county TV station. What had caused a stir earlier might have been Jiaolin County, but as the provincial station reported it first, almost the entire province was in an uproar.
Provincial leaders would watch provincial news.
City officials would watch provincial news.
The local people in the townships and counties below also watch provincial news.
Suddenly, it was as if many people across the province got the news. The shockwaves were unimaginable; the province was not a major one, the environment was average, and the weather wasn’t great, with very few celebrities coming to perform. Usually, if someone were holding a concert or event, it would be in a major city, not in their province. Yet, this time, an unknown county chose them, Jiaolin County, to attend a cultural festival. With so many celebrities, including internationally renowned SS groups and Aaron, it was surprising that it caused such a stir. Many people couldn’t believe their eyes when they first saw the news. But once the news was broadcast, there was no denying it—a bunch of big-name celebrities had landed in Jiaolin County.
Astonishment.
Elation.
Many couldn’t contain their excitement.
“My God.”
“Jiaolin County has brought so many celebrities!”
“I know that county; how could it have so much influence?”
“My favorite Aaron came to Jiaolin County. I have to go there and see Aaron up close. I’ll be so happy!”
“Liu Han is here too! Oh my God.”
“Mom, weren’t you a big fan of Zhou Xuiguo?”
“How can I get tickets? They’re talking about overtime tomorrow. What overtime? I’m calling in sick right now.”
“You can forget about tickets. They’re probably already distributed to the cadres and leaders at the agencies. Where would ordinary folks get them? But even if it’s just standing room, I’m going. So many celebrities are coming; it’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime event. I can’t miss it.”
The local people were discussing it excitedly.
At the same time, many places on the internet also reposted the news. The loyal fans and enthusiastic followers of those celebrities expressed their excitement. Some fans outside the province even mentioned they planned to catch the earliest flight to Jiaolin County to see the performance. The cultural show would be in the evening, around six or seven, so they could still make it by leaving early the following day. There were also some voices on the internet expressing disbelief. Even those who were not fans of Chen Ying, Liu Han, and Amy or didn’t particularly like them couldn’t help but know about their popularity. They expressed disbelief that this group would form a team to go to a previously unheard-of county for a performance. It was almost like a provincial TV station’s Lunar New Year Gala.
Jiaolin County—what kind of place is this?
How could it have such considerable energy?
The leaders and cadres of Bao Hong City and Shanbei Province were also unable to understand. Some who hadn’t been paying attention or got the news slowly learned about it through news reports, friends, and colleagues. They were all stunned. Actually, after the county committee meeting in Jiaolin County earlier, Dong Xuebing let the county report this business proposal and cultural festival strategy to Bao Hong City as a report. Given the scale of such a significant project and planning, it must be reported to the city first, which would not block it. The city gave its written approval, but the relevant cadres didn’t think much of it. They didn’t think Jiaolin County could hold a decent cultural show within a two hundred thousand RMB budget. They felt it was unlikely, thinking that even if they did hold a show, it would probably be just a few temporary or small actors. They were set in their ways. So, when the news broke, people in the city were wide-eyed, wholly shocked that Jiaolin County had managed to bring in such big-name celebrities.
“How could this be possible?”
“Two hundred thousand RMB would be tight to organize a business meeting. How could they hold such a large-scale cultural show with so many celebrities?”
“Funds aren’t enough.”
“This isn’t enough.”
“Many cadres in the city have never dealt with business investment, but anyone involved in such matters would know that two hundred thousand yuan isn’t much for an ordinary citizen, let alone for a county’s investment project. It wouldn’t be nearly enough, just enough for a modest one-bedroom apartment in the city or a two-bedroom in the suburbs. Let alone a county’s business venture, it’s simply not enough. So, for so many big-name celebrities to come for the show, many leaders in the city found it unbelievable. Even if there were enough funds, those big-name celebrities wouldn’t lower themselves to come to a county, let alone with insufficient funds.”
“How did they manage it?”
“How did Jiaolin County pull it off?”
“No one knows. People felt like Jiaolin County might be making a big comeback.”
“One of the city’s leaders in charge thought it was fake news and didn’t believe it. After hearing the news, he called up Jiaolin County directly. The news he got was that all these celebrities had been brought in by Dong Xuebing, the county party secretary, through personal connections and favors. No appearance fees were paid. Even Zhou Xuiguo’s General Political Department Art Troupe didn’t cost Jiaolin County any money; Dong invited all for a free show without any financial involvement. After that, the leaders in Bao Hong City knew it wasn’t fake news.”
Just half an hour after the news aired, it was reported on all major media websites and social platforms. The click-through rates skyrocketed, and it’s clear from this trend that tomorrow, including online dissemination, many other provincial media outlets and newspapers will follow suit in reporting on this.
There’s a lot of controversy surrounding this event. Many people are questioning Jiaolin County’s right to host such an event. Even a provincial TV station’s Lunar New Year Gala might not manage to invite such a celebrity lineup. Why could Jiaolin County do it? Even if it’s the biggest and most developed county, it’s still just a county. How could it compete with a city or province?”
There are voices of skepticism.
Opposition.
Praise.
Excitement.
Various voices flooded the discussion.
The internet has always been a platform for free expression, so it’s no surprise that people have different opinions.
But no matter how much people question, no matter how people comment, one thing is sure: Jiaolin County is entirely on fire after this event. It’s likely to spread across the region within a day. In this era of information overload, the influence of celebrities is undeniable.
Dong Xuebing went online to check at home, opened the news in other places, and smiled slightly. He knew that the business task for this cultural show had already been mostly successful.
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