Power and Wealth

Noon.

Afternoon.

The temperature had risen a bit.

Several electric fans in the Investment Promotion Bureau office area were whirring, blowing air with a wheezing sound. The only window air conditioner was still broken and has not yet been fixed.Follow current s on Novᴇ(l)ꜰɪre .ɴᴇt

It was a bit hot.

But still within tolerable limits.

After finishing his speech, Dong Xuebing sat down to work with everyone. When they worked overtime, Dong Xuebing worked overtime; when they worked, Dong Xuebing worked. He portrayed an image of sharing hardships with everyone, not just for show. In reality, Dong Xuebing was indeed doing just that, very seriously. The office was filled with the busy sounds of typing, phone calls, and document printing. Everyone had been mobilized, perhaps forced, by Dong Xuebing's trick of offering sweet rewards first and then the stick, making everyone feel a sense of urgency.

At this moment, Zheng Dayou found Dong Xuebing.

"Mayor Dong."

"Old Zheng, what's up?"

"Can we talk privately?"

"Sure, let's go to your office."

In the director's office, the two entered and closed the door.

Dong Xuebing sat on the sofa, took out two cigarettes, and handed one to Zheng Dayou. Both lit their cigarettes and began to puff smoke in the room.

"Old Zheng, go ahead," Dong Xuebing said.

Zheng Dayou hesitated for a moment. "Earlier, I didn't feel comfortable saying anything with everyone around. Mayor Dong, please don't take it the wrong way when I speak frankly. I know the county is facing difficulties now and urgently needs long-term financial support through attracting investments. That's the only way to fundamentally turn around our county's financial shortage situation, and I understand that. But the problem is our county's actual situation is too poor. You've seen the past achievements of the Investment Promotion Bureau—five million, an average of five million per year. Last year's one million was the best performance in recent years. Now, the county is asking us to bring in fifty million RMB. I understand the policy directive, but we cannot achieve this. How are we going to get this fifty million RMB?"

Dong Xuebing said, "There will always be a way."

Zheng Dayou smiled bitterly, "I can't think of a way. The City Investment Fair is a good opportunity, but attracting three to five million RMB of investments would already be quite good. That's how it was last year. Fifty million is simply impossible to achieve within a month. When the county investigates later, then…"

Dong Xuebing calmly said, "If we can't achieve it, I'll take responsibility. Old Zheng, I know you're under pressure. I'll share a bottom line with you. I proposed this investment plan. If there's any blame, I'll take it all. I can handle it, and you won't be implicated."

"Mayor Dong, that's not what I mean. I'm not afraid of taking responsibility, but the problem is, I just can't see any momentum for us to bring in fifty million RMB."

Outside.

After the two leaders left, the others began to chatter.

"Do we have to bring in fifty million RMB?"

"Fifty million RMB? That's our Investment Promotion Bureau's annual performance for ten years!"

"Yeah, this is too exaggerated. Where are we going to find it?"

"But Mayor Dong said the county has given us the task, and we must deliver, even if it seems impossible."

"Sigh. I don't know if our positions will be at stake if they investigate the responsibility."

The Organization Department just completed its inspection, and the appointments should be announced tomorrow. The positions are still warm, and they'll have to be moved in a month.

No one could accept that.

It's difficult to transition from luxury to simplicity.

After a while, Zheng Dayou came out of the office. Everyone quieted down and continued to focus on their busy work. From Zheng Dayou's expression, everyone could see that Director Zheng had no confidence. After all, having worked in the Investment Promotion Bureau for many years, he knew the county's situation better than anyone else. However, despite the expressions, Zheng Dayou did not show any slack or neglect in his actions. When he saw Chen Yunsong extending a phone with an ongoing call, Zheng Dayou cleared his throat and picked it up, encouraging investors to come.

Inside.

Dong Xuebing didn't leave the office but sat on the sofa, extinguishing his cigarette and closing his eyes, contemplating for a moment. Dong Xuebing could see everyone's mood and knew what they were thinking. However, Dong Xuebing was not infected by their lack of confidence. When he was in Yantai County, the targets given to them by the higher-ups for the Investment Promotion Bureau were much higher than this. Although the actual situations of the two counties couldn't be compared directly, strictly speaking, the difficulty of attracting investment in Zhen Shui County was more than ten times greater than in Yan Tai County. However, Dong Xuebing was accustomed to this kind of pressure and had walked out of similar predicaments step by step. He was used to this kind of pressure and had confidence in his abilities. He knew quite a few investors.

It's only a few days left.

Why not make a few calls to those old friends?

Seeing that there was no progress below, Dong Xuebing felt he also had to act. If he could bring in a few major investors, it could also reassure comrades in the county and the Investment Promotion Bureau.

Du-du-du.

The call went through.

"Hello, Xuebing."

"Brother Mu, it's me."

"Hehe, what's up?"

"Can you talk now? I have something to discuss with you."

"Sure, go ahead."

Dong Xuebing first called Mu Zhengzhong, a wealthy philanthropist, and an expert in cultural relic appraisal who owned a museum in the capital. The national treasure Dong Xuebing brought back from Japan was given to Mu Zhengzhong as a gift. In return, Mu Zhengzhong helped exchange several cultural relics with the country. Due to this favor, Mu Zhengzhong invested a substantial amount of money in the Investment Promotion Bureau during the investment fair in Yan Tai County, leading to Dong Xuebing's significant achievements and subsequent promotion.

"Oh, so you've been transferred to Zhen Shui County now. You might not know, but it's a nationally designated poverty-stricken county in the West. I'm in charge of investment promotion here. If you're available this weekend, could you help me? Do you have any plans?" Dong Xuebing asked.

Mu Zhengzhong replied, "Oh, I have something to do this weekend."

Dong Xuebing said, "How about next week? The investment fair will last for two weeks."

"Next week may not work either. Xuebing, I'm afraid I can't help you this time. Let me be honest with you. After the investment in Yantai County, there was an earthquake, causing significant losses. The construction had already started, and the money was almost wasted. I also have some financial problems now."

Dong Xuebing apologized, "I'm sorry about that."

Mu Zhengzhong said, "It's okay. It's not your fault. Besides, you couldn't have predicted the earthquake. That money was a favor I owed you, no hard feelings."

"If you can't make it, could you recommend some other friends who might be interested? We've arranged your flight and accommodation; we need investors."

"Which county are you in?"

"Zhen Shui County, part of Meihuo City."

"I know Meihuo City. That place is a bit remote. I doubt they'll go. Let me check for you."

"Great, thanks a lot."

"That's it for now; I have something to attend to."

After hanging up, Dong Xuebing, feeling a bit unlucky, continued to make a call, this time to Park Yong-hee, a grandmaster in the field of taekwondo in Korea.

"Hello, Master Park."

"Is it Xiao Dong?"

"Yes, it's me. Where are you now?"

"In Korea. What's up?"

"Well, next week, we have an investment fair. Would you be honored to join us?"

"Ah, don't mention investment fairs. Last time, the venue we invested in with your county collapsed halfway through construction due to an earthquake. Workers lost their lives after the earthquake."

"I take responsibility for that. I apologize."

"It's not your fault. It just happened."

"Right, I didn't call to ask you for investments. We've known each other for so long. I just wanted to invite you to help me and support the event."

"Next time, these days are quite busy."

"If you fly over, it's not far, just a few hours. We've arranged the plane tickets."

"Next time, next week, I have a competition."

"Okay, no problem. If you have other friends from your country who might be interested, could you introduce them to us? We have policies for foreign investments, and there are significant incentives."

"The reconstruction work in Yan Tai County…"

"It's not Yan Tai County anymore; I'm working in Zhen Shui County in the West now."

"In the West? No need to ask, my friends won't go there. If they want to invest, they prefer your country's first and second-tier cities."

"Alright, then. Thanks for considering. We won't bother you anymore. We'll contact you later. If you have time, come to our country, and I'll treat you to a meal."

"Okay."

After several unsuccessful calls, Dong Xuebing realized he had not reached anyone. He felt a bit embarrassed; he had spent hours persuading them and thrown away his dignity. Even if one or two people came, it would have given him some face, but no one had agreed.

Until the end of the afternoon, Dong Xuebing hadn't contacted anyone.

This made him blush a little, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Despite his efforts and hours spent, not even a single person agreed. Most of his contacts were billionaires, earning large sums of money every minute, even if they were just sitting at home. Delaying for a day meant losing a significant amount of money.

He called over a dozen people in the afternoon, but without exception, everyone turned him down. Those old friends and investors who had dealt with him before, when they heard about Dong Xuebing's investment promotion or that it was in a nationally designated poverty-stricken county either claimed financial difficulties or made excuses about being busy recently. Dong Xuebing even assured them they didn't need to invest, just attend as guests or tourists, but they still found reasons not to come. Dong Xuebing realized they had been scared off hearing the name Zhen Shui County.