Chapter 1939

Chapter 1939

Evening.

Around seven o’clock.

A private room not far away.

Xie Huilan walked ahead, while Dong Xuebing reluctantly followed behind. He didn’t want to see those leaders from the city, especially the City Party Secretary Qian Litao. This old man had always thrown obstacles at Dong Xuebing and treated him poorly. Dong Xuebing didn’t even want to look at him. If it weren’t for Fang Wenping helping out back then, Dong Xuebing might still be on suspension. But thinking it over, he decided to go. He didn’t want to see Qian Litao, but did Qian Litao want to see him either? Dong Xuebing, a county party secretary, had repeatedly overruled the City Secretary’s decisions through other means, making the city very uncomfortable. What was there to hide? If he felt slighted, it wasn’t Dong Xuebing’s fault.

“Let’s go.” Dong Xuebing came to terms with it and quickened his pace.

Xie Huilan turned back and smiled, “Why are you so eager now?”

Dong Xuebing grunted, “This is just to save face for my wife.”

Xie Huilan laughed, “Alright, you’ve got a sweet mouth. I’ll reward you later, haha.”

3rd private room.

This wasn’t a banquet hall; the space was smaller, just a large table. However, the room was still well-appointed.

Around ten people were sitting inside.

There were both men and women, old and young.

Half of them were from Xie Xing City’s entourage, while the other half were officials and staff from Bao Hong City. Both sides occupied half of the table. At the main seat were two extra chairs—one was occupied by Bao Hong City’s Party Secretary Qian Litao, and the other was empty, obviously reserved for Xie Huilan. The Secretary had just left the room, and the atmosphere inside hadn’t picked up much. Looking at the clock, it had been quite a while since the Secretary left, but nobody dared to ask what she was doing. After all, she was a woman.

“Come, let’s eat, " a Bao Hong City official called out to the others. Tomorrow is the first day of inspection. Has everyone decided on the itinerary yet?”

An official from Xie Xing City replied, “The itinerary probably hasn’t been set. The Secretary hasn’t said anything yet.”

Bao Hong City official said, “Okay. We'll arrange the cars as soon as you’ve set a place. We can go to our city’s investment bureau, the project sites, or even the counties. Just let us know if there’s anything you need. We’ll make sure your inspection activities go smoothly, haha.”

Xie Xing City official laughed, “Thank you, but it’s not an inspection. We’re just here for a study tour this time.”

The Bao Hong City’s investment department official smiled, “You’re too modest. I used to work in an investment department in the south. The investment environment in your Xie Xing City is way better than ours. Even though your city’s investment performance has been steady in recent years, your annual total investment amount is still much higher than ours. We welcome this visit and hope to learn from you.”

The two sides complimented each other.

Such exchange activities are just a formality; everyone knows it. Besides, there are no conflicts of interest or political issues. Naturally, it’s suitable for everyone and convenient for everyone. There’s no harm in it. And the reason why people from Bao Hong City are so friendly is what the Bao Hong City investment official said—it’s true. Xie Xing City’s investment achievements have become well-known in Jiangnan Province. The total investment amount in recent years has been steady, but even if Xie Xing City performs poorly, its annual investment amount is probably two to three times that of Bao Hong City, if not more. The basis is different. Although Bao Hong City and Xie Xing City are both prefecture-level cities, there are levels within those cities—like Xie Xing City, which has its airport, is coastal, has a large land area, a large population, and high average wages, making it a tourist city. There’s no way Bao Hong City can compare. It’s no wonder people from Bao Hong City are friendly—they see Xie Xing City as their big brother regarding development scale and overall conditions. They have the upper hand.

That confidence is there.

Many attitudes would subtly change because of it.

Qian Litao and the people from Bao Hong City don’t understand why Xie Xing City chose to do this exchange and learning with them. Let’s be honest—many coastal cities are much stronger than Bao Hong City. It would be more suitable to do this exchange somewhere closer, without needing to fly for so long. Some places could be reached by car. Why go so far to this underdeveloped and economically limited western region? It’s almost like seeking the long way around. They don’t know how Secretary Xie considered this, but since the City Party Secretary personally leads the team, these subordinates don’t have a say.

Over there, Qian Litao, sitting in the main seat, glanced at his watch.

The Xie Xing City officials also checked the time and thought Secretary Xie had been gone for quite a while, wondering if they should call her to check if something happened.

Just then, the door opened.

“Secretary.”

“Secretary Xie.”

The people from Xie Xing City stood up slightly.

Xie Huilan smiled at Qian Litao and the others, “Sorry to keep you waiting just now; I had a bit of a delay. My apologies, haha.”

Qian Litao smiled, “No worries, Secretary Xie. Please, take a seat. The food was almost finished anyway. Would you like more dessert or anything else you want?”

Xie Huilan replied, “I’m already full. I shouldn’t overeat; just had a baby. I need to keep my figure.”

Qian Litao laughed, “You already have a great figure now. If my wife were here today, she would be jealous of you. Good thing she didn’t come, haha.”

Xie Huilan said, “Secretary Qian, you’re flattering me too much.”

Behind her, Dong Xuebing squeezed in, closing the door.

Seeing Dong Xuebing, people from Bao Hong City, who might not have recognized him before, indeed did now. Even if they hadn’t seen him, they would have seen him on television recently.

“Secretary Dong.” A Bao Hong City official furrowed his brows, now understanding why Secretary Xie was out for so long. It turned out she was at the celebration banquet in Jiao Lin County. That was Bao Hong City’s territory. People took over the nearby banquet hall from Jiao Lin County. They recently learned about Jiao Lin County stealing the show in an investment promotion. Bao Hong City people knew that Xie Xing City chose to do this exchange here mainly because of the successful investment culture festival in Jiao Lin County. Meeting like this, they weren’t surprised.

Qian Litao also looked at Dong Xuebing, his expression neutral, showing little emotion, “So you two already know each other, Secretary Xie. This is Dong Xuebing, the County Party Secretary of Jiao Lin County. The investment culture festival you mentioned earlier was held in Jiao Lin County. When you come here for this exchange and inspection, you can have Dong Xuebing and the people from Jiao Lin County cooperate more with you.” After saying this, Qian Litao glanced at Dong Xuebing’s hand, which was empty—he didn’t have a wine glass. This made him slightly raise an eyebrow. Generally, subordinates at an upper-level’s dinner would have a drink in their hand, even if it’s just a cup of juice to make a toast. But Dong Xuebing’s hand was empty, which showed a bit of nonchalance—there are many rules within the system.

Dong Xuebing, however, didn’t seem to mind. He knew why he didn’t have a wine glass; he wasn’t prepared to have one. His presence here represented a different identity compared to the past.

Qian Litao said, “Xiao Dong, you’ve already met Secretary Xie, right?”

Dong Xuebing smiled, “We’ve known each other for many years, Secretary Qian.”

Suddenly, a staff member from Xie Xing City wiped his sweat and quickly stood up, respectfully calling out, “Secretary Dong.”

Xie Huilan walked towards the main seat, with Dong Xuebing following her. The staff member immediately vacated his seat for Dong Xuebing. He recognized Dong Xuebing—how could he not? When Dong Xuebing came to Xie Xing City as a leader from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, he was furious about the provincial attitude towards his wife, Secretary Xie Huilan. He raised a ruckus in the city party compound, driving away provincial officials in Jiangnan Province. While others in Xie Xing City may not have been present then, he had a clear view from above. It was impossible not to recognize Dong Xuebing.

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

“What’s this?”

Many people were taken aback, not understanding what was going on.

People from Xie Xing City also recognized Dong Xuebing but were confused by his attitude—why was he more humble towards Dong Xuebing than Qian Litao? Giving up his seat? What does this mean? Dong Xuebing, as a County Party Secretary, shouldn’t just waltz in here; there’s no place for him at this banquet. And what did Dong Xuebing mean earlier, saying they had known each other for many years? Did they have dealings in the past?

Xie Huilan paused, seeing everyone's confused expressions. She smiled and unlocked the mystery, linking her arm with Dong Xuebing and sitting down, “Maybe I didn’t explain things clearly before, and it’s partly my fault. Let me introduce again, haha. This is Dong Xuebing, my husband.”

“Oh?”

“Your husband?”

“Dong Xuebing is your husband?”

Besides the staff member from Xie Xing City who already knew, everyone else was dumbfounded.

“Wow, no wonder Dong Xuebing just walked right in and didn’t have a wine glass! He’s the husband of the City Party Secretary! The purpose of this banquet is also to welcome Secretary Xie’s husband. Therefore, Dong Xuebing doesn’t need to make a toast to Qian Litao as a subordinate. And people from Bao Hong City and Xie Xing City also realized why Secretary Xie insisted on coming to Bao Hong City for this exchange—to see Dong Xuebing. It wasn’t about learning any investment strategies but about reuniting the couple.”

Many things became clear.

Everyone couldn’t help but suck in a breath.

The headstrong County Party Secretary from Jiao Lin County has such a beautiful City Party Secretary wife—how mismatched they seem.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.