Power and Wealth

Next day.

The sun shone into the room.

Wang Fu standard room. Dong Xuebing woke up and looked at the time. He yawned and entered the bathroom to wash up before leaving his room.

A service staff was standing near Dong Xuebing’s room and quickly walked over when he left. “Mr. Dong.”

Dong Xuebing asked. “What is it?”

The service staff replied cautiously. “Please let me know if you need anything.”

Dong Xuebing smiled. “It’s fine. I am going out for a walk.”

The staff took out a Mercedes key. “My manager asked me to give you this key if you go out. The car is parked in the carpark. It is our hotel’s car.”

Most bigger hotels will have luxury cars, like BMW or Mercedes, to fetch or send their VIP guests. They also have drivers. Wang Fu’s staff knew Dong Xuebing did not drive and prepared a car for him.

Dong Xuebing waved his hand. “Thank you. But we are here for work and should not be driving such a good car.” They were from a National-level impoverished county and were here to ask the Finance Ministry for funds. They cannot be driving a Mercedes Benz there to ask for assistance.

The staff was troubled. “But… my manager instructed me…. I….”

Dong Xuebing replied. “Alright. Hold on to the keys. I will not be using it today. I will use it if I am going out tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“Carry on with your work. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Help me thank your leaders too.”

Dong Xuebing walked to the end of the corridor, and the staff ran before him to press the elevator button.

Dong Xuebing smiled at her and entered the elevator.

“Can I clean up your room if it is convenient?” The staff asked before the door closed.

“Sure. Thank you.” Dong Xuebing replied.

The staff bowed. “Have a nice day.”

The door closed.

8.40 am.

Hotel lobby.

Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaomei were waiting in the lobby when Dong Xuebing walked out of the elevator. They were supposed to meet at 9 am, but their ranks were lower than Dong Xuebing. They cannot let their leader wait for them, and they come early. They were chatting on a sofa in the lobby.

Chen Xiaomei said. “Chief Yan, I could not sleep last night and ordered a drink. However, they refused to accept any payments.”

Yan Yizhi was surprised. “Oh, it happened to you too?”

“Yes. Did you order something too?” Chen Xiaomei asked.

Yan Yizhi replied. “I asked for a packet of cigarettes, and they refused to take my money. The staff told me that someone had paid for everything.”

Chen Xiaomei smiled wearily. “Did Mayor Dong pay for it in advance?”

Yan Yizhi replied. “It should not be. These orders should be paid on the spot. I find something is wrong. They are treating us too nicely.”

Chen Xiaomei thought for a while. “Maybe Mayor Dong had deposited some money with the room charges.”

Yan Yizhi sighed. “Maybe. Sigh…. This trip might cost ten of thousand RMB.”

Chen Xiaomei nodded. “I think Mayor Dong is from a wealthy family. He did not even blink when he spent money.”

Yan Yizhi replied. “Mayor Dong is from Beijing and has worked in big cities. He should be wealthier than us in Zhen Shui County.”

“Eh, Mayor Dong is here.” Chen Xiaomei said.

They quickly stopped talking and walked over.

“Mayor Dong.”

“Good morning, Mayor Dong.”

“Good morning. Are you all ready?”

“Yes. Chief Chen had contacted her cousin.”

“Alright. It’s getting late. Let’s go.”

“Ok. I will get a cab.”

Half an hour….

One hour….

The Finance Ministry is not far, but Beijing’s traffic was bad. They arrived at the Finance Ministry around 10 am.

Chen Xiaomei called her cousin, Zhang Hui, immediately. “Hello, Cousin. We arrived. We… we are at the entrance.”

A while later, a middle-aged man walked to the entrance slowly. Zhang Hui frowned at his cousin. “Why are you all so late?”

Chen Xiaomei smiled. “We were caught in a traffic jam.”

“You all should leave earlier.”

“Huh? We did not expect the traffic to be so bad.”

“I have spoken to a person in charge, and he is willing to meet you all. He was free earlier, but Chief Qian had gone for a meeting. You all had missed him.” Zhang Hui said impatiently. “Alright…. Let’s talk inside. I will ask for you all again.”

Chen Xiaomei apologized. “Sorry, Cousin. Oh, this is Chief Yan. You had met him before, and this is our County Mayor, Mayor Dong.”

Zhang Hui was surprised. He looked at Dong Xuebing and felt this ‘Mayor’ was too young.

Dong Xuebing smiled and shook his hand. “Hi. I am Dong Xuebing.”

“I am Zhang Hui.” Zhang Hui shook Dong Xuebing's hand and nodded toward Yan Yizhi. “Let’s go in.”

Finance Ministry guardhouse.

Zhang Hui walked over and said. “These are my friends. They are here for work.”

The guard replied. “Director Zhang, we have tightened the security recently, and a leader will be here for inspection this afternoon. We need to register their names first.”

Zhang Hui nodded. “Ok.” He turned and told Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing, Yan Yizhi, and Chen Xiaomei registered their names at the guardhouse before following Zhang Hui into the compound.

They could tell Zhang Hui did not think highly of them and only spoke to Chen Xiaomei once in a while on their way in. Yan Yizhi was not surprised. Zhang Hui is a Deputy Chief in the Finance Ministry, and his status is higher than him. That’s why Yan Yizhi dare not to say anything. Dong Xuebing did not seem to mind Zhang Hui’s attitude toward them. He followed behind and looked around curiously.