Power and Wealth

A few days later.

A bright and sunny morning.

Dong Xuebing drove for three days and finally reached his location. His appointment date was a few days later, and he did not immediately report to the City Government. He decided to familiarize himself with the County and experience the local culture.

The roads were bumpy, and most of them were dirt roads.

Luckily Dong Xuebing’s Land Rover is one of the world’s top off-road vehicles.

Dong Xuebing saw an old man by the roadside, and he stopped the car.

Dong Xuebing got out and asked. “Sir, how do I get to Zhen Shui County?”

“Ah?” The old man looked at Dong Xuebing and started talking in the local dialect. Dong Xuebing could not understand a single word he was saying.

Dong Xuebing repeated his question slowly. “Sir, how do I get to Zhen Shui County? Which way should I go?”

The old man spoke in the local dialect and understood what Dong Xuebing was saying. However, Dong Xuebing does not understand him. They were in the western secluded mountainous region, and their accent differed from the northern region. This old man does not know how to speak mandarin, and he gave up asking him. He thanked that old man and saw a young man.

“Bro….” Dong Xuebing asked. “How do I get to Zhen Shui County?”

“Zhen Shui County?” That young man looked at Dong Xuebing. “This is Zhen Shui County.” He spoke with a thick accent, but Dong Xuebing could still understand.

“Here?” Dong Xuebing paused for a second. “Then where is the County town? Is it far?”

The young man pointed in a direction. “It is behind that hill.”

“Alright. Thank you.” Dong Xuebing got back into his car.

Dong Xuebing had no idea about National Level Impoverish Counties. Although Yan Tai County was considered impoverished, it was only a provincial-level county. This area was much worse than Yan Tai County. He did not see any private cars besides trucks or old vans on his way here. He could not even see bicycles on the roads. The most vehicles he saw were tractors and large plots of farmland. This place looked deserted, and his 4 million RMB Land Rover stood out. Almost everyone would turn and look at his car. He knew the people here could not recognize his car or the value as a 200,000 RMB local car was a luxury item.

This is what a national-level impoverished County looks like.

Dong Xuebing finally saw more people after driving into the County town. A few cars were traveling on the road. However, there were too few cars and people compared to Yan Tai County. He could estimate the poverty level of Zhen Shui County based on what he saw.

This place was too poor.

There were no high-raised buildings here.

Some neighborhoods do not even have main gates.

Dong Xuebing took a deep breath after discovering what an impoverished county looks like. Even a village in Fen Zhou City is more modern than this area.

How can this place be so backward?

Dong Xuebing wonders if he is still in China.

Dong Xuebing was born in Beijing. Although his family was poor, he was still living in the capital. No matter how bad his living conditions were, it was about the same as the counties on the outskirts. After that, he was transferred to Fen Zhou City and had never been to such places. That’s why he was not used to it.

This area was a challenge.

However, Dong Xuebing was not afraid of any challenges.

After Dong Xuebing’s father passed away, his mother survived on buns and preserved vegetables for a few years, he had experienced hardships before.

Dong Xuebing drove around the county town.

The living condition here was horrible.

Sportscars could not travel on the roads here with all the potholes and cracks.

Dong Xuebing sighed. He knew Zhen Shui County was a national-level impoverished County and one of the country's top ten impoverished counties. He was glad he did not drive his Porsche. This area does not even have money to repair the roads.

Never mind.

There’s no point in looking around anymore.

Dong Xuebing found a better-looking neighborhood and paid for a parking lot. He paid one year in advance to the guards for the lot and parked his car there. Most Beijing or Fen Zhou City places would not allow anyone to reserve a parking lot. But this area was different. The one-year fee was only 1,000 RMB, and he didn’t need to worry about causing inconvenience to the residents as most people were too poor to afford a car. He listened to Uncle Yang’s advice to stay low, and driving a 4 million RMB car to work would attract unwanted attention.

Alright.

Let’s find a place to have breakfast first.

Dong Xuebing decided to get a cab after leaving the neighborhood. He waited for twenty minutes and finally saw one cab with passengers passing by. He shook his head and knew he had forgotten where he was. a poor county will not have many cabs as most people could not afford to take them. Dong Xuebing started walking along the road towards the north to look for any breakfast shop.

In front.

Dong Xuebing saw a roadside stall.

His stomach was rumbling, and he walked over quickly.

It was spring, and the temperature differences between day and night were vast. However, it was not cold during the day. Dong Xuebing sat at a table and shouted. “Give me a bowl of bean curd.”

“Ah?” The stall owner was surprised.

“Huh? Your bean curd is sold out?” Dong Xuebing asked.

The stall owner shook his head. “We don’t have that here.”

“Then what about youtiao?” Dong Xuebing asked.

“We don’t have youtiao either.” The stall owner looked at Dong Xuebing. “Are you from the north?”

“Yes.” Dong Xuebing asked. “What do you have here?”

The stall owner replied. “Milk, eggs, and mantou.”

Dong Xuebing was speechless. “Give me a bowl of milk and two hard boil eggs. Thank you.”

The milk was pure and tasted different from the northern cities. Although the eggs were not tea eggs, they tasted good too. Dong Xuebing was surprised when he settled the bill. It was very cheap and cost less than a quarter of Beijing. The milk and eggs cost only 1 RMB.

The stall owner returned the change and looked at Dong Xuebing. “Why are you here, young man? We seldom have outsiders here, and you don’t look like tourists. Furthermore, who would come to this area for a vacation? Are you here for work?”

Dong Xuebing smiled. “Yes. I am here for work.”

The stall owner said. “You must have offended someone and got posted here.”

Dong Xuebing replied. “No. It was a same-level transfer.”

The stall owner sighed. “Sigh…. You had come to the wrong place. Our County is poor and doesn’t have anything. You cannot even spend your money here. Which factory are you working at? We have only a few factories here. Are you working at the leather factory or the livestock farm?”

Dong Xuebing did not answer him and smiled. “This is a good place for training.”

“You will not think like this in the future. Anyone with capabilities would leave this area or transfer to other places. Who would come here?” The owner sighed again.

Dong Xuebing wanted to know more about the County and asked. “How do I address you?”

“My surname is Yao.”

“Then I will call you Uncle Yao.”

“Your accent sounds like you are from Beijing.”

“Yes. I was transferred from there.”

Mr. Yao paused for a second. “My daughter attended a Beijing university a few years ago and returned to be a civil servant here.”

Dong Xuebing blinked. “Which department is your daughter in?”

Mr. Yao replied. “She is with the County Government Office.”

“Oh, that is a good department.” Dong Xuebing said.

Mr. Yao shook his head and lowered his voice. “What’s so good? Our County is too poor, and the salary is meager. It is those leaders who have a good life. My daughter is always angry because of work. If it weren’t for her mother and me stopping her, she would have resigned long ago.”

Suddenly, a woman said from outside. “Dad! Brother!”

Mr. Yao looked up. “Cui er? Why are you here? Why don’t you sleep a while more?”

“I am not working today. Let me help you clean up. Brother, pass me the bowls. I will wash it.” A woman took a tray and bowls from a young man.

Dong Xuebing looked at that woman and was stunned. “Yao Cui?!”

Yao Cui heard someone calling her name and turned. She was also surprised. “You are Dong Xuebing?!”

Dong Xuebing did not expect to meet his university classmate in this impoverished County.