Power and Wealth

Outskirts.

In front of a row house.

Dong Xuebing’s bastard attitude, full of insolence, completely enraged the provincial investigation team. His tone and demeanor were enough to make anyone want to spit blood. Cheng Wei and the other members of the Monitoring Division were from the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission, a department one level higher than the city-level discipline commission responsible for Jiaolin County. This was a county party secretary under investigation, yet he was acting with complete disrespect. This wasn’t just ignoring them. It was almost like he was deliberately challenging them!

Cheng Wei’s face darkened. "What’s the deal with these photos? Care to explain?"

Another investigation team member looked at Dong Xuebing and said, "We already know the situation. We’ve received reports, and we have concrete evidence. You can't deny this. The provincial authorities have already decided, and this investigation will go all the way. We hope you stop harboring any illusions. We wouldn't be here without solid proof that this is your county’s construction. Secretary Dong, I hope you set an example and take the lead by coming clean."

Dong Xuebing blinked. "What problem? What do we have to explain?"

Another female investigation team member angrily said, "So you’re not going to cooperate?"

Dong Xuebing shrugged. "Of course, we’ll cooperate with the provincial discipline commission’s work, but we’re in the middle of moving. Let us finish what we’re doing first. It’s important to cooperate, but we also can’t neglect our county's work. You guys from the provincial commission have your duties, and I have mine. Just because you came doesn’t mean I have to drop everything. Everything must follow the proper order, right? Otherwise, you may be responsible for your work, but how can I be responsible for my county's work? Don’t you agree?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Wei and the others were utterly furious!

You’re just brushing us off like this?! Are you trying to rebel?

The members of the investigation team exchanged looks. These were all provincial discipline commission officials and supervisors. Usually, when they went to the grassroots level to conduct investigations, everyone treated them with respect and fear. But with Dong Xuebing, it was different. He had shown them no respect, not even a bit of the automatic deference people typically gave to higher authorities. Cheng Wei had heard about Dong Xuebing's bad reputation from his time at the Central Discipline Inspection Commission, but now he was seeing it firsthand. He fully believed the rumors — this guy was indeed a complete rogue, and the rumors were not exaggerated!

How did they end up meeting someone like this?

Cheng Wei knew that this investigation wouldn’t go smoothly now. With a county party secretary like him, anyone would be frustrated.

But no matter what, Cheng Wei had to continue the investigation because the orders from the provincial authorities were clear. Cheng Wei could tell from the leadership's directives that Jiaolin County was one of the critical targets for investigation in the province. The province wanted to "clean house" in Jiaolin, and even though the leadership hadn’t stated it directly, Cheng Wei could tell. He also understood why the province was so harsh with Jiaolin County. Three counties were involved in this case, but why was Jiaolin County being targeted so severely? It was most likely because of Dong Xuebing. A bastard like him, who didn’t even care for the face of the provincial government, was bound to bring trouble to the province. He deserved this.

Cheng Wei thought this way.

But Dong Xuebing had a different idea. This situation had a clear sequence from his perspective—he wasn’t ignoring the province. It was the province that had first disrespected him. So, what else could he say? Naturally, he wasn’t going to let himself be easily bullied!

You want to mess with me, provincial authorities?

I may not be able to make you suffer, but I can give you a little taste of your own medicine!

Cheng Wei stared at Dong Xuebing, “So, are you saying you won’t cooperate?”

Dong Xuebing replied calmly, “Let’s wait for a while. We’ll finish what we’re doing first. I never said I wouldn’t cooperate with Director Cheng's investigation team, so don’t try to twist my words.” With that, Dong Xuebing turned around, waved his hand at the stunned Jiaolin County people, and said, “Start moving everything in. Each department gets one room. Suppose there’s not enough space, two rooms per department. Everyone can decide among themselves. I’ll repeat it: the conditions here may be a bit tough, but I hope everyone will uphold the spirit of hard work and simplicity. Don’t let these small difficulties scare you. Our county’s ordinary people live in conditions like this and don’t complain. What complaints do we, as public servants, have? Don’t just stand there—let’s get moving! Start unloading the trucks!”

Everyone stood frozen for a moment before quickly going to unload the trucks.

They weren’t even thinking about the poor environment at this point anymore. What shocked them was that Secretary Dong stood up to the provincial investigation team. The way they argued made everyone nervous and uneasy. They all felt it was a bit inappropriate. This was the provincial Discipline Inspection Commission! They had come to investigate! How could Dong Xuebing treat them like this? Wouldn’t things worsen after they found the new county party headquarters?

As everyone moved inside, Dong Xuebing completely ignored the provincial investigation team and followed them into the yard, acting as the temporary commander. “Secretary Wang, the Discipline Inspection people can stay here for now, make do with it. Minister Sun, you and the publicity department comrades can settle here. There are many of you so that you can take a few rooms. Handle it yourselves.”

At this point, Zhang Dongfang walked up with a grim expression. “Secretary Dong!”

“Mayor Zhang,” Dong Xuebing looked at him. “What’s the matter?”

Zhang Dongfang was not happy. “Why wasn’t I informed about this move? Why wasn’t I notified?”

Dong Xuebing replied, “I made the decision. There was no time to notify everyone—it was a last-minute decision. My bad, sorry?” But Dong Xuebing’s face had no hint of regret, and instead, he wore an expression of total assurance, as if everything was natural.

Zhang Dongfang nodded heavily and walked off. He didn’t want to say anything more. He just wanted to see how Dong Xuebing would handle things from now on.

Move here?

But the new county party headquarters is still out there!

When the time comes, you’ll still have to face the investigation! What will you do then?

Zhang Dongfang thought Dong Xuebing was too naïve. This temporary delay wouldn’t work; it would only increase the pressure on the provincial authorities. It was utterly counterproductive, and because of his defiant attitude, it could even cause trouble for everyone—especially for Zhang Dongfang. This was the last thing Zhang Dongfang wanted to see. But now that things had reached this point, there was nothing he could change or say.

Meng Hanmei, Chang Lin, Sun Changzhi, and other officials from the Jiaolin County faction saw that the investigation team had not entered, so they quickly went to find Dong Xuebing secretly.

“Secretary.”

“So, what’s going on here…”

Dong Xuebing’s abnormal attitude since the morning had everyone puzzled. Now, it was even worse. They didn’t understand why Secretary Dong would make such a wrong decision. Their county was wrong from the start, having made mistakes and gotten caught. Dong Xuebing had offended the investigation team even more—was he trying to play a trick on them? This wasn’t going to solve the fundamental problem. It was only going to make things worse. If Dong Xuebing kept going like this, their county would undergo a significant reshuffle, and Dong Xuebing’s position as the county party secretary would undoubtedly be lost. He would either be dismissed or relegated to a meaningless position. It was clear as day. They couldn’t understand why Dong Xuebing couldn’t see the situation—didn’t he understand the severity of the problem?

But Dong Xuebing interrupted them. “I said, I know what I’m doing.”

Of course, Dong Xuebing’s delay was purposeful. First, it was to push back against the province, and second, it was to buy some time for the final wrap-up of the urban management bureau’s work.

Outside.

The provincial investigation team was furious.

“What kind of county party secretary is this?”

“Who handles things like this?”

“He’s challenging us!”

“Director Cheng, should we contact the higher-ups and explain the situation? They’re not cooperating at all—how can we investigate?”

“Maybe we should bypass them!”

“Let’s go to the new county party headquarters and investigate ourselves!”

Everyone was voicing their opinions.

They’d investigated many cases before but never encountered such a situation. Even when investigating at the city level, the other side wouldn’t dare challenge the provincial Discipline Inspection Commission. Yet now, in a small county, the county party secretary had this attitude. The people from the second monitoring office found it hard to accept!

Cheng Wei spoke up, “We’re not concerned about this moment. The yard’s not going anywhere, so let’s wait for the rest of the investigation team to arrive.”

About half an hour later, other professional team members began arriving. The province had sent them to facilitate the investigation.

“Secretary Dong!” Cheng Wei walked into the yard.

Dong Xuebing had nearly finished organizing everything and was ready. “Director Cheng?”

With the last bit of patience, Cheng Wei asked, “Is everything done? Can we leave now?”

Dong Xuebing glanced around, gave a few more instructions, and then said to Cheng Wei, “Sorry for making the investigation team wait so long. Alright, we’re ready. You want to see the place in the photos. Fine, I’ll take you there.” He turned to the others, “Mayor Zhang, Director Meng, Director Chang, let’s go. The team needs to conduct their investigation, and we’ll cooperate.”

He called all the county leaders to join him.

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