Power and Wealth

Next day.

Morning. County Party Committee Building.

Dong Xuebing walked to work slowly. He went straight to his office when he reached his workplace.

“Mayor Dong.”

“Good morning, Mayor Dong.”

Many people greeted Dong Xuebing politely.

Dong Xuebing smiled and nodded to them before going up the stairs.

Third floor.

Executive Deputy County Mayor office.

Dong Xuebing took out his key to open the door but realized it was unlocked. He opened the door and saw Yao Cui inside. She was holding onto the windowsill and wiping the glass. He looked around his office and noticed the books had been rearranged neatly. The floor and desk were cleaned, and some places had water stains. Someone had wiped it with a wet cloth.

Dong Xuebing smiled. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, you are here.” Yao Cui turned and smiled. “I am cleaning your office.”

Dong Xuebing quickly walked over. “Come down. You will fall.”

Yao Cui refused. “It’s fine. I am almost done. Cleaning the office is also my duty.”

Dong Xuebing replied helplessly. “You cleaned up my house yesterday, and you are cleaning my office now. The office is not dirty. Why are you cleaning it?”

“Haha…. I got to show others that I am a good secretary.”

“Why do you need to show others?”

“To prevent them from talking behind my back.”

“They will not dare to talk about you. Just come down before you fall.”

Yao Cui stopped cleaning the windows and got down from the windowsill. She wiped her sweat and poured a glass of tea for Dong Xuebing. “Please have some tea, Leader.”

Dong Xuebing laughed. “Why are you calling me that? There’s no one around.”

Yao Cui giggled and passed a document to Dong Xuebing. “I went to the County Government Office Department earlier. You have a meeting later at 10 am.”

Dong Xuebing nodded. “Let me see.” He looked at the document.

Yao Cui said while Dong Xuebing read the document. “Director Ma gave me your office’s spare keys. Our county is poor, and we lack resources. I will continue to work in the Secretarial Section, and he has given me a small office. I left my number on your desk. Call me if your hot water flask is empty, if you need any documents, or if you are going out. I will be here immediately.”

Dong Xuebing laughed. “You sound professional.”

“Of course.” Yao Cui laughed. “What do you think? Am I qualified to be your secretary?”

“Yes… yes….”

“Why do you sound like you are saying that to please me?”

“Haha…. I am not.”

“Anyway, I cleaned your office and stored your hot water. My job in the morning is almost completed.” Yao Cui replied and stretched. “It’s not easy to be a secretary.”

Dong Xuebing replied. “You don’t have to do these tasks.”

“No. It is my job, and I got to do it.” Yao Cui replied firmly. “People will talk behind my back if I do not do my job well, and you will be affected. Haha…. Most people will not use a secretary of the opposite sex in the government service. You faced tremendous pressure by hiring me, and I cannot drag you down. It’s fine when we are alone, and I know what to say in front of others. After all, I had worked in the Secretarial Section for three years.”

Dong Xuebing poured a cup of tea for Yao Cui. “Have some.”

“Sure.” Yao Cui took the teacup. “Thank you.”

Dong Xuebing and Yao Cui sat on the sofa. “If we are not classmates, I will not get a female secretary. It’s fine to have a female secretary in a County as there are not many restrictions compared to the City or Provincial Government.”

“I know you are trying to help me.”

“Yes. I am trying to help.”

“I understand. Oh, my younger brother has found a job. A State-owned enterprise’s leader visited our house to invite him to join. It’s all because of you. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Dong Xuebing looked at Yao Cui. “It was too late yesterday, and we did not have time to chat. I need your help. You had worked here for years, and you are a local. You should know better about the country’s situation and the leaders' relationships. I am new, and I dare not approach or trust others. That’s why I can only ask you.”

Yao Cui laughed and drank her tea. “You have asked the correct person. What do you want to know?”

Dong Xuebing blinked and said. “Let’s talk about our county’s situation generally. Although I had seen a lot, I am still unfamiliar.”

Yao Cui nodded. “Zhen Sui County is poor and does not have anything. That’s why our economy could not pick up.”

Dong Xuebing asked curiously. “This is a national impoverished county. Didn’t the higher-ups allocate more subsidies and funds?”

Yao Cui replied. “I can tell you had not worked in an impoverished county. Some impoverished counties are not as poor as you think. They declare themselves as an impoverished county for the additional funding. But some counties are impoverished. For example, our Zhen Shui County. Our deficits are getting worse each year. Our government could barely pay the department staff from the taxes and government income. I will not talk about the other areas as you should know every department lacks money. Our county owed millions each year and had to take loans to repay the previous year’s debts. It is the same for this year. Do you know why our County Party Secretary went to the Province?”

“Why?”

“He went to get money. The funding for this year had just arrived and was used to repay some of our debts. We don’t have enough funds to run the county.”

“Is this the same every year?”

“Yes. Every year is the same. We request additional funding, borrow money, and repay debts. It had become our county’s top priority and leader’s greatest headache. I heard Secretary Meng could not get additional funding this time as the Province Government got frustrated with us. The City Government’s situation is slightly better than ours and could not help. We will not last until the end of the year if we cannot get funding.”

“Don’t we have our industries?”

“Didn’t you see it? We only have hills and fields here. The weather is bad, and our farming industry stopped because of natural disasters.”

“What about livestock?”

“It is slightly better, but we don’t have money to develop it. Our County has nothing other than these.”

Dong Xuebing sighed. This county has nothing. No wonder it is so poor.

Yao Cui looked at Dong Xuebing. “That’s why our leaders had given up on developing the County. We got nothing to develop, and we are heavily in debt. We can only hope we can borrow money to maintain our status.”

“This is not right.”

“The county leaders know this is not a solution, but we have no choice. Our previous leaders had thought and tried all ways to change our situation and failed.”

Dong Xuebing asked suddenly. “I met Mayor Jiang, and she seems uninterested in everything. Is it because of this?”

Yao Cui paused for a second. “Mayor Jiang looks uninterested is not because of this reason.”

Dong Xuebing asked. “Oh, then what is it?”

Yao Cui looked towards the door and leaned closer to Dong Xuebing. “You have not met Secretary Meng. He should have lost confidence in our county and given up on developing our industries. All he thinks of is to get money to repay debts and pray nothing happens during her term here. Mayor Jiang…. I should not be saying this, but we are friends.” She thought for a while and said softly. “Mayor Jiang…. She is a widow.”

Dong Xuebing was surprised. “A widow?”

“Yes. She doesn’t have kids.”

“What happened to her husband?”

Jiang Fangfang is in her thirties, and Dong Xuebing thinks her child should be old enough to be in school.

Yao Cui continued. “Mayor Jiang’s husband was not in good health before they married. He passed away a few years ago when she was not the County Mayor. It was a huge blow to her, and I heard she was hospitalized for a month. She did not say a single word during that period. After that, she was promoted to Mayor and became a different person. She lost interest in everything, and her character became uninterested and calm. Of course, she still does her job well, but she gave everyone the feeling she was uninterested in it. Everyone thought she was still grieving and would be fine after a while. However, it’s been three to four years, and she was still the same. We are used to it.”

Dong Xuebing sighed. “Everyone has their problems.”

“That’s right.” Yao Cui continued. “It is Secretary Meng who decides on everything in the County. He is the Party Secretary, and Mayor Jiang is uninterested. The Party Committee Members did not want to follow an uninterested leader, and they joined Secretary Meng’s side. Of course, I am unsure if she is really uninterested or still grieving.”