Power and Wealth

Morning.

At home.

Breakfast was nearly finished, and Dong Xuebing began drinking his red date porridge. He had already watched most of the county's news, so he switched to the provincial and city channels. The city news at this time was reporting on the investigation in two neighboring counties, without mentioning Jiao County, because the investigation team had already withdrawn the previous afternoon. Jiao County was no longer the focus of the news, which was exactly what Dong Xuebing wanted to see. The sooner it quieted down, the better. He didn’t want his county to stay in the limelight too long. The more people focused on it, the harder it would be for him to finish work. This situation was ideal. Once the storm passed, the incident would be over for good.

However, Dong Xuebing did see a report about their county on the provincial station.

This was also an interview-style report, but it didn’t involve interviews with Dong Xuebing or the public. Instead, it featured a commentator on a phone call, similar to how the central television station operates. The commentator went on and on about the cause of the incident, the process, the impact, and so on, talking for quite a while. But in the end, the commentator did give some recognition to Dong Xuebing and Jiao County’s decision-making process, praising them for the courage and decisiveness it took to demolish a complex worth over a billion yuan.

The commentator said, "Although there were issues, we can see Jiao County's handling attitude. It’s positive and proactive. I just watched Jiao County's news, and I think County Secretary Dong Xuebing's statement was very good. He said, 'Without a place to work, we can work on the street, but without the people's trust, it doesn’t matter if we work from a villa in the universe, it’s meaningless.' This statement is humorous, but it carries significant weight. It hit home for me, showing the caliber of a county party secretary. It gives the public a healthy image, showing they can correct their mistakes. I think Jiao County’s handling of the situation and the leadership's determination is worth learning from. At least compared to the other two counties under suspicion, Jiao County, under the leadership of this new county party secretary, has certainly risen to a higher level."

Dong Xuebing had indeed handled things well. He had dealt with everything that could be managed in advance and nipped any potential issues in the bud. His decisions from yesterday had proven to be far-sighted, and in the end, everyone had to give him credit. Even Zhang Dongfang and his people had to admit that Dong Xuebing's "radical" decision had saved them.

The provincial authorities couldn’t say much either. Even if they had issues with Dong Xuebing, with the county office complex demolished so early, there was nothing more they could do. Didn’t they see that even the investigation team had been withdrawn? From the reports, the provincial government was aware of what was happening. Of course, this commentator was probably not someone sent by the provincial government. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have praised Dong Xuebing and Jiao County so much. The commentator's take was still quite objective.

The news was over.

Wiping his mouth, he felt a surge of energy. He was delighted with how he had handled the situation. After getting dressed, he headed off to work.

On the way there, he asked the driver, Xiao Wang, to stop and buy a few newspapers from a kiosk. He flipped through them and saw some praise, but there was also criticism. Dong Xuebing couldn't control the media in the city or province, and his influence wasn't that far-reaching. Most of the criticism stemmed from demolishing the county office complex, but Dong Xuebing didn’t care. He thought I didn’t want to demolish it, but what else could I do? If I didn’t, could we have passed this hurdle? These reports are easy to criticize from the sidelines; they don't understand the situation. From Dong Xuebing’s perspective, this was his only course of action. Otherwise, he would be unfairly blamed. He had only just arrived and was expected to take responsibility for the mess left behind by his predecessors. Logically, it didn’t make sense, but logic didn’t always apply in politics. He would take responsibility anyway because that’s just how politics worked. He might not have had the best timing, but sometimes timing is part of politics. You could try to avoid bad situations, but if it hit you, it hit you, and there was nothing you could do about it. Dong Xuebing naturally had to take some unconventional steps to change the course of things. The county office complex cost over a hundred million yuan. Of course, he felt bad about it.

But there was no way around it.

So, Dong Xuebing ignored the criticism.

He had the mental fortitude for it. He’d been through plenty of criticism before. Who didn’t want to tear him apart? Probably at least eighty people’d like to see him fail, but here he was, still standing tall. Dong Xuebing had never been intimidated by that.

On the outskirts.

New office location.

When Dong Xuebing’s car arrived, he didn’t let Xiao Wang drive in. Instead, he had him park behind the cars outside and get out. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to drive in, but there was no way to get in. The new office was in a row of connected houses. While there were a lot of houses, the space inside was small, not due to multi-story buildings but because they were all single-story. Their cars could only park outside the complex. There was some parking space inside, but it was limited, and even if the cars got in, it wouldn’t be convenient for everyone to work.

"Secretary!"

"Secretary Dong!"

Many people quickly greeted him.

After what had happened yesterday, Dong Xuebing could feel that some people’s attitudes toward him had noticeably changed. They were now much more polite. Even some members of Zhang’s faction, who had previously looked down on him, now looked at him seriously, as if they had finally realized the respect they needed to show Dong Xuebing as the county party secretary.

Good.

It seemed like the hardship he had endured wasn’t in vain.

Dong Xuebing might not have realized it, but those who knew him understood. What made Dong Xuebing formidable was his ability to turn around situations that others would consider impossible. He could rapidly shift the course of a crisis using unconventional methods, resolving conflicts and avoiding any personal fallout. He often came out ahead because of it. No one would be if someone like Dong Xuebing weren’t considered capable. This was why he had risen despite constantly breaking the rules, cursing leaders, and even getting into physical fights. He didn’t fear the political consequences that would end others’ careers, and he could always turn the tables.

This was Dong Xuebing.

In the past, people didn’t understand him.

But today, for the first time, Dong Xuebing showed the people of Jiao County who he was and how capable he could be.

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