Power and Wealth

by Stayrr

An accident let him have a special ability to turn back time up to 1 minute. When he said the wrong things in front of his leader, he was able to return back to 1 minute before to correct what he said. During jade stone gambling and there was no jade inside, he turns back time to pick another stone. When the woman he likes met an accident, he can return back to 1 minute before to s

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Power And Wealth

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An accident let him have a special ability to turn back time up to 1 minute. When he said the wrong things in front of his leader, he was able to return back to 1 minute before to correct what he said. During jade stone gambling and there was no jade inside, he turns back time to pick another stone. When the woman he likes met an accident, he can return back to 1 minute before to save her…… A small fry's rise through the ranks of the government service starts……

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Power and Wealth #Chapter 1 - Read Power and Wealth Chapter 1 Online - All Page - Novel Next

Power and Wealth

Chapter 1 – An accident and the ability to turn back time

Hiss...

It hurts...

Am I dying?

The strong smell and taste of blood could be felt in the nose and mouth. Dong Xuebing could not move even his fingers, and it was total darkness. He tried to move his neck, but there was no reaction. He finally mustered all his strength to open his eyes, but he could only open a slit. He could make out a blurry vision of an overloaded dump truck. Beside him, there was an old man in his 70s or 80s and a beautiful woman in her late 20s lying in a pool of blood motionless. There was a crowd of onlookers. From their mouth movements, they seem to be shouting something. However, Dong Xuebing could not hear anything.

The old man was dead. Aunt Xuan was dead. He was badly injured... Most likely he would not make it.

Looking at the pretty face of the woman he secretly admired, Qu Yunxuan, Dong Xuebing felt like his heart was being stabbed by a knife.

Neighbour Qu Yunxuan was a kind woman. Earlier at the traffic junction, she saw the old man having difficulties walking and offered her help to help him cross the road. Despite the traffic lights in their favor, a truck came speeding towards them. The driver might be drunk or had fallen asleep on the wheel. Dong Xuebing, who was some distance away saw the danger and came running towards Qu Yunxuan. He wants to push her out of the way of the truck. But he was too late, and he was also knocked down by the truck.

Regrets.

Dong Xuebing had never regretted so much in his life.

If Dong Xuebing noticed the out-of-control truck earlier and rushed out to save them, the 3 of them does not need to die.

But now... It was too late.

Dong Xuebing could feel his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. He could no longer bear to see the twisted bodies or Qu Yunxuan and that old man. He shut his eyes and waited for his time to be up.

Kaboom!

There was a loud thunderclap. It was so loud that it could shatter someone's soul.

The next moment, Dong Xuebing felt his vision blurred, and he felt jumped out of the darkness.

Dong Xuebing could feel his strength, hearings, and vision coming back to him. He was in a dazed and looked around him. He noticed that he was all fine and standing in front of the traffic junction. Around him was the traffic in Beijing. Cars, taxis, and vans were zooming past him. Under the dim lightings of the streetlights, people were walking as if nothing had happened.

"Sir, let me help you cross the road."

"It's fine. Thank you, young lady. I am fine by myself."

"I am just staying opposite, and it is not a hassle. Come, let me help you."

Dong Xuebing turned around towards the voice in shock. A smiling Qu Yunxuan was at the pedestrian crossing not far away. She also saw Dong Xuebing and said: "Xiao Bing, you are back? Are you out with your friends?" The person beside her was the old man who had just passed away. The old man also looked at Dong Xuebing and coughed.

"Ah... Ya... I am back." Dong Xuebing was looking around him and answered unconsciously. He was still trying to figure out what had happened.

What happened? I am not dead? Aunt Xuan was not dead? The old man was also not dead?

Dong Xuebing slowly lifted his hand up and opened his palm. He clenches his fist and then opened it up again. There was no blood or wounds.

Was he dreaming? There was no accident? Everything was only a hallucination?

The traffic lights changed from red to amber, and then the traffic lights opposite the road turned green and showed the green pedestrian man. The pedestrians start to cross the road. The old man with his walking stick was the slowest, and Qu Yunxuan was helping him to cross the road.

This was familiar.

This was a very familiar scene.

Suddenly, there was the roar of an engine, and Dong Xuebing instantly turned towards the engine sound. A truck was moving on the right turning lane from another road. The truck was overloaded with gravels and was not traveling very fast, at about 40 Km/h or 50 Km/h.

Dong Xuebing rubbed his eyes. He was shocked. Wasn't this the scene before the accident?

What was happening? Time had rewinded? That was not a hallucination?

Dong Xuebing had no time to think and immediately shouted: "Stop, look out for that truck!"

Everyone paused for a while and started looking around them.

"What truck?"

"Where's the truck?"

Qu Yunxuan saw that truck and turn to Dong Xuebing: "Why are you shouting? It's red light there."

The old man also felt there was nothing to be worried about. That truck was turning and would not affect them crossing the road.

Dong Xuebing knew that this truck will not slow down and will be knocking them down. He immediately ran over while shouting: Aunt Xuan, move! Move away from there!"

Qu Yunxuan paused for a while and smile: "Xiao Bing, what's wrong with you? That truck is ..."

Before she could finish, the truck had crossed the stop line, and there was no indication of the truck slowing down.

In front of all the pedestrians at the crossing, the truck beat the red light.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Run..."

"It's going to knock someone down!"

People were shouting.

Qu Yunxuan was stunned. When she finally came back to her senses, she immediately pulls that old man: "Hurry up. Run!"

"Leave me and run by yourself." The old man gave Qu Yunxuan a push.

There was not enough time. The sounds of the roaring engine were getting nearer.

4 meters...

3 meters...

Qu Yunxuan and that old man had given up hope.

When everyone there thought the both of them would be killed by the truck, Dong Xuebing, who knew the truck would be beating the red lights, rushed to the backs of the two of them. Using the momentum, he used all his strength to carry both the old man and Qu Yunxuan by the waist with both his arms outstretched. He continued to run forward with the old man and Qu Yunxuan on his left and right. He roared as he carries on running ahead with all his might and two people hanging on his arms.

"Shit!"

"They are going to die!"

Many of the more timid bystanders closed their eyes.

Zoomed... The truck brushed just Dong Xuebing's back with only centimeters to spare.

The old man was sent sliding on the road forward for half a meter.

Qu Yunxuan was also sent tumbling forward from Dong Xuebing's push.

Dong Xuebing fell the worst. He was gasping for air while lying on his side in the middle of the road. He could feel the pain in his waist and legs.

Time seems to be frozen for a while and then there were cheers.

"All of them are still alive!"

"Young man, you are so brave!"

It was not sure who started clapping and soon everyone was clapping and cheering for Dong Xuebing.

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Power and Wealth

Capital Beijing

Eastern district, North Heping Street.

Dong Xuebing was still in shocked over his death experience yesterday. If time had not miraculously rewind, he would not get the chance to see his mother and Aunt Xuan. This was the first time he was grateful for being alive. He fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning, as lots of things were going through his mind. This was why it was 10 plus in the morning when he woke up. He got up from his old squeaking spring couch and headed for the washroom. He washed his face and yawned. He called out at the bedroom: "Mum, are you awake?"

Dong Xuebing's mother, Luan Xiaoping, replied: "I am awake, and I am cleaning up the room. Do you still want breakfast?"

"I will wait for lunch." Dong Xuebing could feel something was off from his mother's voice. He immediately pushes the door open and saw his mother sitting on the bed. She quickly wipes off her tears with the back of her hands when Dong Xuebing entered the room. His mother turned and looked at him and forced a smile and keeping an old black and white photograph into her wallet. It was her wedding photo, taken more than 20 years ago.

Dong Xuebing could feel his heart aching as he sat down beside his mother: "Thinking of dad?"

"No... I'm not." Dong Xuebing's mother carefully kept the wallet and rubbed her eyes. "I took it out for a look when I saw it while cleaning."

This had happened countless times over the years. Dong Xuebing's mother character was weak. Every time she remembers some unpleasant memories, she would hide in her room and cry. Dong Xuebing felt guilty and said: "Mum, it is all my fault for being so useless. I cannot study and does not have any skills. I don't think I will pass the Civil Servant test. All I can do is to work part-time at Panjiayuan Antique Market during my holidays. If I was slightly more capable, I might have raised enough medical bills for dad, and he might still be around."

His mother patted his legs: "Stop talking nonsense. I know my son is the most capable and he will be a top government official in the future."

Dong Xuebing moved his lips but did not say anything.

His mother smiled and touch his hand: "Don't think so much. I will make you a good lunch later."

A plate of stir-fried garlic pork, a plate of steam cabbage and half a pot of congee. This was considered a luxurious meal in Dong Xuebing's household. Usually, when he was alone at home, he would not bear to eat such dishes. He would just cook some rice and stir-fry some vegetables and eat it for lunch and dinner. It was not because Dong Xuebing was thrifty. It was because his family was really poor.

Dong Xuebing was 23 years' old and was a graduate.

He had average looks and height. Everything about him was ordinary.

The savings at home was not more than 5 figures.

During the year when Dong Xuebing's father was hospitalized, they had used up all their savings. In the end, they even have to sell away their house. The one-bedroom apartment they were living was rented. After his father passed away, his mother lost her job for taking too much time off. The living expenses in Beijing was too high, and his mother returned back to her hometown in the countryside to work as a teacher there. She was trying her best to earn enough money for Dong Xuebing's university's fees. She will only return to Beijing to be with her son for one or two months during the school holidays.

All the living expenses, rents, bills, etc. depended on Dong Xuebing's mother miserable salary, which was not enough. This was why Dong Xuebing took out part-time jobs as cashiers in supermarkets or some odd jobs at the Antique Market during his holidays and weekends. Other than his school fees, he was paying everything else. He could make his own living without asking for money from his mother.

Life was tough, but 4 years had passed in a flash.

After lunch, Dong Xuebing's mother kept the dishes and watched some old black and white programs on the TV. Dong Xuebing returned back to the bedroom and lay there staring at the ceiling in a daze. Now, all the universities in Beijing no longer provide a job for their graduates. He had just graduated from Beijing Union University. What will he do if he fails his Civil Servant test?

Sigh... how good will it be if I really have supernatural powers?

But I had tried so many times last night and did not succeed even once.

Shall I try again?

The door creak and opened. Dong Xuebing's mother came in and said gently: "I will be going upstairs to speak to Mrs. Xu. I heard that her son will be taking the Civil Servant test this year at the same location as you. I want to see if she can ask her son to help you out with your revisions. Xiao Dong is good with his studies."

Dong Xuebing felt uncomfortable in his chest and mumbled a reply.

"I will be back later." She said and closed the door.

Dong Xuebing gritted his teeth and calm himself down before he starts on his experiments.

Turn back! Move back! Retreat! Back!

Dong Xuebing felt his body moved, but when he looked around, there were no changes. Fine. Those were not the magic words.

Just when Dong Xuebing was about to start to say some random words, the bedroom door opened.

His mother came in and looked at him: "I will be going upstairs to speak to Mrs. Xu. I heard that her son will be taking the Civil Servant test this year at the same location as you. I want to see if she can ask her son to help you out with your revisions. Xiao Dong is good with his studies."

Dong Xuebing was stunned and shouted: "Ah?"

It was exactly the same tone and words.

This was what just happened 50 to 60 seconds ago.

Seeing her son's reaction, she said softly: "Mum knows that you have your pride, but her son, Xiao Dong had almost scored full marks for his exams last year. If he can help you with your revisions, you might stand a better chance of passing."

Dong Xuebing replied in a daze: "That's not what I meant"

His mother looked at him and said: "Then I will be going."

After his mother left, Dong Xuebing gave himself a slap. That's it! I succeeded!

Dong Xuebing quickly suppress his excitement and grabbed a small orange-colored alarm clock from the shelves. He stared at the hands of the clock and begin to repeat the "magic words."

Turn back! Move back! Retreat! Back!

Dong Xuebing continued to chant these words from afternoon till night. After dinner, he continued chanting the words. Finally, at 12.02 am 28 seconds, he successfully made a move back the time and returned to 12.01 am 28 seconds. It was precisely 1 minute!

No words could explain the excitement Dong Xuebing had.

Dong Xuebing knew that the time on this alarm clock was not accurate and he ran over to switch on the old 29in TV.

A military program was on and the time was shown on the top right corner. 23: 59: 19.

Switching on the Tv should take about 19 seconds. That means when Dong Xuebing uses "Back" just now, it was exactly midnight. He blinked and made a bold hypothesis. This "Back" will reset at midnight, and he can only use it once a day. When he uses it, time will return back to 60 seconds before.

Oh my god!!!

If this was indeed real, lady luck had smiled on him!

Translator's notes:

Panjiayuan Antique Market

Beijing Union University

https/en./wiki/Beijing_Union_University

Power and Wealth

Chapter 3 – Qu Yunxuan

Afternoon.

11.40 am.

Dong Xuebing's mother was in the kitchen preparing lunch.Dong Xuebing helped his mother to cut some celeries and then he had nothing todo. He went out to the living room and watch TV. Dong Xuebing was hoping thattime will pass faster that day. He can't wait for the day to be over to try toturn back time. If he could no longer control the time again, he would be happyfor nothing.

Ding Dong. Ding Dong.

Someone was ringing the doorbell.

Dong Xuebing opened the door, and there was a hint of perfume. Through the gates, he could see abeautiful face. It was Qu Yunxuan from unit 302 next door. Big eyes, longlashes, and fair complexion. She was gorgeous. Qu Yunxuan was wearing light colored office attire. Her tight skirtshowed her perky ass. Her sexy long legs were in skin colored stockings with apair of white heels. She had the attractiveness of a matured woman.

"Ermmm... Please come in." Dong Xuebing dares not to look atQu Yunxuan any longer and hurriedly let her in.

"Hee hee. I am herefor a visit." Qu Yunxuan walked in with her pair of alluring long legs. Click,click. The sounds of placing heels on the floor sounded so lovely.

Dong Xuebing's mother walked out of the kitchen: "Yunxuan,you are here? Is today your rest day?"

Qu Yunxuan looked at the kitchen and answered: "I have oneoff day today. Sister Luan is cooking lunch now? Stop cooking. Come over to myplace with Xiao Bing later for lunch."

Dong Xuebing's mother immediately refused: "No need, noneed. I am done with the ingredients."

Qu Yunxuan thought for a while and said: "Then... I hadbought some fresh vegetables and meat. I will bring everything over and cooksome dishes, and we can have lunchtogether." Before Dong Xuebing and his mother could say anything, Qu Yunxuan walkedout and returned with meat and vegetables. She also took out a white shirt froma bag and held it against Dong Xuebing. Qu Yunxuan smiles, flashing her dimple:"Aunt had bought this shirt for you. I am not sure if it's fit. Hmmm... Itshould look good on you. Hurry try it on now. If it does not fit, I can changeit to another size."

Dong Xuebing embarrassedly said: "How can I let you buy me ashirt? You don't need to buy me anything."

Qu Yunxuan blinked her eyes and playfully flicked DongXuebing's nose: "Hurry and change into it."

In the past, Qu Yunxuan would never have such actions when both of them were talking. Dong Xuebingblushed. But when he thought about being so close with the woman of his dreams,he could hardly contain his excitement. Dong Xuebing took off his t-shirt andchanged into the white shirt.

Qu Yunxuan smiled and helped him with his buttons: "Hmmm...quite fitting."

Virtuous, caring and gentle. These were the words thatrepresented Qu Yunxuan.

Although Dong Xuebing addressed her as Aunt Xuan, Qu Yunxuanwas only older than him by a few years. She was still single. However, she wasvery matured. When Dong Xuebing's father passed away, and his mother returned back to the countryside to teach, DongXuebing was left alone in this rented apartment. It was Qu Yunxuan's smile thatgave him hope, and she accompanied himthrough the most challenging phase of hislife. Qu Yunxuan would drop by his unit every few days to chat, console,encourage with him, and sometimes give him some home cook food. Dong Xuebingwas grateful to her and slowly developed feelings for her. But he knew that hewas not good enough for this beautiful woman. He could only keep his feelings to himself and did not tell anyoneabout this.

When Dong Xuebing's mother saw Qu Yunxuan helping her son wearthe shirt, she felt it was weird. She knew that when she was not in Beijing, QuYunxuan would sometime cook for her son. But this was very common among neighbors. Helping each other out are theduties of neighbors.

But Qu Yunxuan was too helpful, and Luan Xiaoping feltweird.

Could it be that Qu Yunxuan was interested in her son?Impossible. Both Qu Yunxuan and her son were not a good match. Even though DongXuebing was her son, but Luan Xiaoping got to admit that her son was not goodenough for Qu Yunxuan and Qu Yunxuan would not fall for her son for no reason. LuanXiaoping was well aware of where she and her son stands. When she thought aboutthis, she looked at the both of them suspiciously: "Yunxuan, you have broughtso much food over and still buy Xiaobing a shirt... Why are you..."

"Xiao Bing, you did not tell Sis Luan about it?" Qu Yunxuanmoved closer to Dong Xuebing.

"Ya." Dong Xuebing was scared that his mother would getworried and he did not tell her about the accident.

Dong Xuebing's mother asked: "What happened?"

Qu Yunxuan sighed, andtears start to well up in her eyes: "Theday before yesterday, at the cross junction downstairs, an old man and I werenearly knocked down by a truck. LuckilyXiao Bing rushed over and saved us both. You did not see what happened. It wastoo dangerous. We almost..." Tears startto fall. She could not continue. During the accident, her mind was completelyblank when the truck was closing in. Her legs were rooted to the ground, and she thought that she would be dead forsure. Qu Yunxuan did not expect Dong Xuebing to rush in and save her in such a dangerous situation. She was really shocked bywhat happened.

Dong Xuebing's mother jumped: "Something like this happened?"

Qu Yunxuan wiped her tears and patted the back of Dong Xuebing's head. She pursed her red lips andsaid: "Xiao Bing, I will not say how much I thank you for saving me. In thefuture, you will be my younger brother. Sister Luan, you should not treat me asan outsider too. If you and Xiao Bingneed any help in the future, just let me know."

Dong Xuebing said: "Aiya... you do not need to do this."

"What's wrong?" Qu Yunxuan glanced at him: "You think I amnot good enough to be your older sister?"

Dong Xuebing immediately wave his hand: "No, no. That is notwhat I meant." Why do you want to be my older sister and not my wife? DongXuebing grumbled in his heart.

Dong Xuebing's mother realized the seriousness of thisaccident and asked more about the details. She tapped Qu Yunxuan's hand andsaid: "Wow... it was indeed very dangerous.Luckily all of you are alright. Yunxuan, you have been helping me take care ofXiao Bing these few years. We had never treated you as an outsider. Nowadays,it is rare to find such a sweet and caring woman. It is Xiao Bing's fortune tohave someone like you to be his sister." Dong Xuebing's mother really likes this gentle Qu Yunxuan. She was more thanwilling to be closer to Qu Yunxuan as she would be returning to the countrysidenext month. She would not worry too much if there was someone in Beijing lookingafter her son.

Qu Yunxuan moved slightly towards her right, closer to DongXuebing and stroke his head: "Don't say that. It's my honor." Her thighs hadtouched Dong Xuebing's knee. Her smooth skin colored stockings felt really goodand tempting.

Dong Xuebing was feeling antsy and to hide hisembarrassment, he moved his head and rolled his eyes: "Aunt Xuan, I rememberedthat you are only older than me by a few years. Can you stop patting me on myhead?" Although Dong Xuebing said that, he really like the way Aunt Xuan strokeand patted his head.

Dong Xuebing's mother and Qu Yunxuan burst out laughing.

After a while, Dong Xuebing's mother and Qu Yunxuan went intothe kitchen together to cook.

They had lunch together, andQu Yunxuan insisted on doing the dishes.

In the afternoon, when Dong Xuebing and his mother were notnoticing, Qu Yunxuan took a rag and start wiping the windows.

That evening, Qu Yuxuan insisted on washing the dishes again. No matter what Dong Xuebing and hismother said, it was no use.

7.30 pm

Qu Yunxuan washed the bubbles off her hands and walked outof the kitchen: "All the dishes are clean. I will go back first."

Dong Xuebing was worried that she would be too tired: "Ok.You should hurry to go back and rest. Youhave been busy the whole day."

"Your Aunt does not have lots of hobbies and cooking, doinghousehold chores can be considered as my hobbies. Hee hee... How can doing something I like be tired?" Qu Yunxuan's smile was as sweet as candy. She removed the apron she was wearingand walked into the restroom. When she came out, she was holding a plastic basinfull of dirty laundry. Those were all Dong Xuebing's clothes he worn yesterday."Your mother's back is not very good and should not be tiring herself. I willhelp you wash these clothes and return to you tomorrow after they are dry."

Dong Xuebing's mother immediately said: "How can we let youdo this? Xiao Bing can wash his own clothes."

Dong Xuebing was blushing and rushed forward to try tosnatch that basin of laundry from her: "I can wash it by myself."

Qu Yunxuan did not listen and hold on to the basin. When she saw Dong Xuebing refusing to let goof the basin, she laughed and raised onehand. She acted like she was going to hit people: "I will punch you. Hurry upand let go of the basin. If it was someone else, you think I will help to washtheir laundry? I just want to help you have more time to prepare for your CivilServant test." Qu Yunxuan forcefully snatched the basin and returned to herunit.

Dong Xuebing was feeling very embarrassed. His underwear andsocks were still in the basin.

But despite feeling embarrassed, Dong Xuebing was alsograteful for what happened. If he wereslightly slower on that day of the accident, he wouldnot see Qu Yunbing's beautiful smile today, andhe would be facing a cold and motionless dead body. He would regret his wholelife.

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 4 – I must pass the test

Next day.

Morning.

The scorching summer sun was covered by dark clouds. It wasa gloomy day, and it felt cooler than the previous few days.

Dong Xuebing woke up and remembered that his underwear andsocks were still at Aunt Xuan's house. He felt uncomfortable and hurriedly wentto unit 302 to press on the doorbell. Aunt Xuan was the woman he secretlyadmired, and he wanted to show her the best side of him. He did not want her tosee his underwear and smelly socks. If he had known about this, he would fight with his life to stop Aunt Xuan fromtaking away all the dirty laundry. He was hoping that Aunt Xuan still had notwashed those clothes.

Clicked. The door opened. "Oh, it's Xiao Bing. I am justabout to go to work. Come in."

Qu Yunxuan was staying alone, and her house has a pleasant smell. It was the smell of a singlewoman's room. The living room was neat and clean. There was not even a spark ofdirt on the windows. Dong Xuebing entered the house and embarrassedly rubbedhis nose. He was blushing: "Ermmm, my clothes..."

Qu Yunxuan was bending over to wear her socks and heels. Shelooked up and laughed. She pointed towards the washroom with her chin: "Yourclothes are hanging in the washroom. I had washed them yesterday, and it might still be wet. What's wrong? Areyou in a hurry to wear those clothes? You need me to help you dry the clotheswith a hairdryer?" She was squatting down on one leg, and the other was rise higher, showing a gap between her legs inthe office skirt.

Dong Xuebing faced turned redder: "Ah... No need. I will bringmy clothes back to dry them. Thank you."

Qu Yunxuan rolled her eyes: "Do you need to be so formalwith me? If we want to talk about thanking, I should be the one who should bethanking you."

Qu Yunxuan was standing outside the restroom while Dong Xuebing rushed in to collect his clothes. Hist-shirt and pants were hanging on a rack, andhis underwear and socks were hanging from a hanger behind. Dong Xuebingimmediately grab all his clothes. He could imagine Qu Yunxuan's soft handsscrubbing his underwear. He felt embarrassed.

Dong Xuebing had lost focus, andhe only wanted to quickly return home with his clothes. Suddenly, he realizedhe was holding on to a skin-colored lacypanty. Damn! I took the wrong one. This was not my underwear. Dong Xuebingslapped his forehead. He had taken Qu Yunxuan's underwear by mistake. His handwas shaking as he held the lacy underwearin his hand. He was excited and nervous. He could feel the soft and wetmaterial of the underwear. He looked at the underwear closely.

This was Qu Yunxuan's underwear...

It was so beautiful...

When Dong Xuebing was still in a daze, staring at the lacyunderwear, a head appeared at the door of the washroom. "Hurry up and take yourclothes. I need to leave for my work..." Before the sentence was finished, QuYunxuan saw Dong Xuebing holding her underwear, andshe blushed.

Dong Xuebing almost fainted. His first reaction was to throwthe underwear into the washing machine. "Aunt Xuan, it is not what you arethinking.

Qu Yunxuan was giving him a look and did not say anything.

That's it. Dong Xuebing knew his good impressions he hadleft with Aunt Xuan was gone. He tried to explain: "It is really not what youare thinking. I had grabbed the wrong..." He could not give a good explanation.He suddenly remembered that he still had not usedhis time control today. He immediately shouted: "BACK!"

...

Sceneries were flying.

The next moment, Dong Xuebing saw his outstretched hand inmid-air. He was about to grab that skin colored underwear from the metalhanger.

This was preciselywhat happened one minute ago.

He had successfully turn back the time again.

He immediately stopped his hand/ He was relieved and grabbedhis clothes before walking out of the washroom. "Aunt Xuan, I am going backnow."

Qu Yunxuan laughed: "If you have dirty laundry in thefuture, pass it to me. I will help you wash."

Phwee... So close.

When Dong Xuebing returned home, he tried to use Back a fewmore times but was unsuccessful.

It seems that he could only use this power once a day.

Alright! I am going to be rich!

Breakfast was the leftover porridge from last night'sdinner, an egg and a small plate of preserved vegetables. Recently, the priceof eggs had increased. Dong Xuebing and his mother do not bear to eat eggs for some days. Dong Xuebing was swallowinghis saliva as he carefully peels the shells off the egg.

"Mrs. Xu might bedropping by later." Dong Xuebing's mother said. "How is your revision for theCivil Servant test?"

"So-so." Dong Xuebing's good mood was all gone. He sighed:"I don't think I will do well. You also know that I have never been good withmy studies." After graduating from the University, Dong Xuebing had not beenworking. One reason was that he needs to prepare for the Civil Servant test.Another reason was he had graduated from an average school. His results werealso average. The chances of him passing and becoming a civil servant were very slim. It can be considered almostimpossible.

"It's fine. If you did not pass this time, there is alwaysthe next time. If you really can't enter the government agencies, then just geta job in the meantime." Dong Xuebing's mother held his hand. "You will surelypass it one day."

Facing the expectations ofhis mother, Dong Xuebing could feel the stress. "I... I will try my best."

Sighed... Civil Servant.

Nowadays, there was fierce competition in the governmentservice. Can he really enter thegovernment service? No matter how Dong Xuebing thinks, he felt it wasimpossible. He knew his chances were veryslim. His university classmates, who had better scores and smarter than him,could not even pass the test. Other than the written test, there was still aninterview. Also if one had passed both the testand interview, the department that wasbeing applied would take only one person. The chances for one to be selectedwas extremely slim.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone was knocking on the door.

Dong Xuebing's mother immediately grabbed him over to thedoor. Two people were standing at thedoor. One was a woman in her 40s, and theother was a bespectacled young man in his 20s. They were Dong Xuebing'sneighbors, Mrs. Xu and her son, XiaoDong. Behind them,a middle-aged man was walking down from thefourth floor. He had a big belly and looked at some leaders.

Dong Xuebing's mother saw him and immediately greeted thatman: "Section Chief Xu, are you going to work?"

Dong Xuebing also greeted them: "Mr. and Mrs. Xu."

Section Chief Xu had an air of arrogance. He nodded andcontinued walking down the stairs without saying a single word.

Mrs. Xu shouted toSection Chief Xu from his back: "Your son's test is nearing. Remember to comehome early tonight. We will be eating out."

Section Chief Xu and Mrs.Xu were husband and wife. He had been recently promoted and was now a sectionchief at the customs. It was not sure if he was a deputy section chief or thesection chief. But he had been doing well in his job. However, Dong Xuebingdoes not like this family. Especiallythat Section Chief Xu. He seems to be used to ordering people around and veryarrogant. He had never looked at people in the eyes. His eyes seem to be on topof his head.

When Dong Xuebing's mother let Mrs. Xu and her son enter thehouse, Dong Xuebing heard one of his neighborgreeting Section Chief Xu downstairs.

"Oh, Section Chief Xu, why are you so early today?"

"Chief Xu, thank you for your help. Can I have the honor totreat you today?"

Someone was bootlicking him.

Dong Xuebing was thinking in his heart. Being a government official was good. If only Icould be a civil servant.

After closing the door, Dong Xuebing returned to the livingroom. His mother had taken out their besttea leaves in the house. She poured two cupsof tea for Mrs. Xu and Xiao Dong. Butthese "best tea leaves" were only the best for him and his mother. Mrs. Xu and her son do not think so. Mrs. Xu tooka sip and frowned. She placed the tea back on the table and never touch itagain. "Xiao Ping, I heard that your son will also be taking the test on the 15th?Is he confident of passing?"

Dong Xuebing's mother pulled him over and sighed: "I do nothave high hopes. How about Xiao Dong?"

Xiao Dong pushed his spectacles. He was holding on to therevision materials and did not say a word. He was also very arrogant like hisfather.

Mrs. Xu laughedproudly: "Xiao Dong will surely pass. Last year's national exams he did not putin his best. The essay questions were too simple, and he could not show his true capabilities. He had been studyingseriously this year. It should not be a problem for him to be among the top."After pausing a while, Mrs. Xu loweredher voice and proudly said: "I will just tell you and no one else. His father hadmade arrangements with the Customs. As long as Xiao Dong can pass theinterview, the customs will recruit him."

"That's good. Your son will have a bright future." DongXuebing's mother enviously said. She moved closer to Mrs. Xu and asked: "If Xiao Dong is not busy, can he help Xiao Bingwith his revision?"

Xiao Dong did not want to come over with his mother. When heheard Dong Xuebing's mother request, he immediately said rudely: "Mum, I do nothave the time."

Dong Xuebing saw him speaking so rudely to his mother, hegot furious: "You think I have the time for you?"

Dong Xuebing's mother became nervous and gave Dong Xuebing alight push with her elbow: "What's wrong with you? Can't you be nice toothers?"

The mood in the room was awkward. Mrs. Xu laughed softly and said: "Actually, there is no need forXiao Bing to enter take the civil servanttest so urgently. I know many graduates started work outside for a few yearsbefore taking the test. With the experiences they accumulated when working, itwill help them with the test. How can someone without experiences pass thetest? Look at how many graduates arerecruited into the Civil Service? The percentage is lesser than 0.1%."

Dong Xuebing's mother smiled and did not say a word.

Dong Xuebing was thinking in his heart. Are you looking downon me? How do you know I cannot pass the test?

He could tell that Mrs.Xu had brought her son over to show off.

Half an hour later, Mrs.Xu left with her son. Before leaving thehouse, Xiao Dong looked at Dong Xuebingcoldly and then left. To him, he feltthat Dong Xuebing's family was too poorand he was just a loser. Dong Xuebing might even have problems securing a job.These were the people who were destined to be at the lowest level of society for their whole life. This person wasnot worth his time.

Noon.

Dong Xuebing's mother went back to her room for a nap, whileDong Xuebing was looking through a stack of past year essay questions in theliving room. He was doing his best to prepare for the test. But after studyingfor a while, he knew that there was no way he could pass the test. He might noteven reach the minimum score. He was wasting his time revising.

Dong Xuebing suddenly heard someone speaking softly.

The sound came from inside the house, but Dong Xuebing couldnot make out what that person was saying.

Dong Xuebing followed the sounds, and it was coming from the bedroom. He slowly turned the doorknoband opened a slit.

He saw his mother holding on to his father's black and whitephotograph. She was crying silently. "Why her son gets to enter the governmentservice and my son can't? Dear, you must watch over our son and help him passthe test. If our son can enter the government service, I... I don't mind givingup a few years of my life."

"Mum..." Dong Xuebing opened the door and walked in.

Dong Xuebing's mother saw her son had caught her cryingagain and she quickly wiped her tears: "I am fine. Don't worry."

Standing in front of his mother, Dong Xuebing gritted histeeth and said: "You do not need to worry. I will surely pass the test even ifit cost my life!" Seeing how sad his mother was, Dong Xuebing was determined topass the test. Why other people's families were all government officials andtheir children can also be government officials, and he has to be a commoner? He could not even afford to give his mother abetter life?

I also have a head on my shoulders like others. In what wayam I inferior to them?

Dong Xuebing must pass the test and become a civil servant.

This time, Dong Xuebing was determined to prove himself andmake his mother proud!

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 5 – Preparations! Preparations! Preparations!

It was a few days more to the Civil Servant entrance test.Since Dong Xuebing had promised his mother, he had to do his best.

After dinner, Dong Xuebing returned to his room and startedto go through all the cupboards and drawers, looking for something. He found a stackOptically answer sheet and a stack of writing papers from under his bed. He hadused these Optically answer sheets during his high school days. he placed the sheetsand paper on his desk and prepared his stationaries, like eraser and 2Bpencils. He started training his memory. ABCD, 1234...

This was the only way Dong Xuebing could pass the CivilServant Test. Although the chances of him passing was less than 20%, he wasdetermined to try.

The next morning.

Dong Xuebing woke up on the couch among the stacks of answersheets. He immediately continued practising. "AABDDCCABDC..." He closed his eyesand started to rattle off the answers from his mind.

Dong Xuebing's mother felt he was being weird and asked:"Xuebing, what are you doing?"

Dong Xuebing coughed and replied: "Preparations."

His mother looked at him: "Didn't you bought the revisionmaterials for the test? Why are you looking at those old answer sheets?"

"Oh... don't mind me. I know what to do." If Dong Xuebingcould still use Back on the day of the test, all his efforts will not bewasted.

Practice... Practice... Practice...

One hour... Two hours... 3 hours...

Ring, ring, ring. Dong Xuebing's handphone rang. He took alook at the caller ID and it was an unknown number. "Hello?"

"Hi, are you Xiao Dong?" The caller asked. He sounded quiteold.

"Yes, you are...?"

"My surname is Hu."

Dong Xuebing replied: "Oh... You are Grandpa Hu? How's yourhealth?"

"Thanks for asking. I am feeling good. Haha... are you busytoday? If you are free, can you come over to the hospital to accompany me?"

"Huh? Sorry, I am taking the Civil Servant test in a fewdays. I am still doing my revisions."

The other party on the phone sounded a bit surprised: "Youare taking the Civil Servant test? Did you register earlier this year inBeijing for this test?" There was a slight pause. Grandpa Hu continued: "Hmmm...if you do not have confident with the written test, come and look for me at theCancer Hospital's Oncology ward. Don't think I am old, I am able to teach youabout the techniques to answer the written test, especially the essayquestions. Are you interested?"

Dong Xuebing was stunned. "Ah... Really?"

"Of course. Do you think this old man will lie to someonewho had saved his life?"

Dong Xuebing had found the way to handle the multiple-choicequestions. But hhe was not confident on the essay questions. "Alright. I willgo over now. Thank you."

After hanging up, Dong Xuebing told his mother where he wasgoing and ran out with his materials and books.

Beijing Cancer Hospital.

Dong Xuebing was not working for some time, and he did not have much savings left. On theway to the hospital, he bought some cheap fruits from a roadside stall. At thehospital, he asked around and found the ward. It was ward 3016. He stoodoutside the ward and knocked on the door.

"Come in." On a bed near the window, Grandpa Hu was lookingat a photograph with his reading glass.

Dong Xuebing walked over and place the fruits on the sidetable. "Grandpa Hu, I wish you a speedy recovery."

"You should not waste your money." Grandpa Hu smiled andpull Dong Xuebing to sit down. He touched his family photo and showed Dong Xuebing."This is my eldest son, and this is my daughter. This is my youngest son andhis wife." The woman in the picture was pregnant. "sighed... I almost miss thechance to see my new-born grandson. Xiao Dong, thanks for pulling me back fromhell that day. I really want to thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Tears start to well upin Grandpa Hu's eyes: "There is no hope for my lung cancer. Sometimes I feellike I should just die earlier. But when I was almost killed, I realized that Ican't let go. I still want to live."

Dong Xuebing had changed both Grandpa Hu and Qu Yunxuan's fatethat day, and he was also deeply moved.

After some pleasantries, Grandpa Hu suddenly said: "Show meyour revision materials for the test. Which part of this you are unclear about?I will explain it to you."

Dong Xuebing immediately asked some questions about theareas where he does not understand.

Grandpa Hu thought for a while and answered: "If you answerthis question this way, your answer will be too subjective. It is not a goodanswer. After all, this is not an argument. There will be bound to havemistakes here and there. The markers might deduct your marks with your answer."

Dong Xuebing did notunderstand and asked: "How should I answer this question then? Paint a goodpicture? Answer in a high-sounding way?"

Grandpa Hu laughed: "Xiao Dong, don't look down on being 'Fake,Lies, Empty Promises.' It is not easy tomaster this art. If you learned this, youwould be able to score points in your answers.When you need to be fake, you got to be fake. When you need to lie, you got tolie. When you need to make empty promises, you got do that. This does not applyonly to the Civil Servant entry test. Even when you become a governmentofficial, you need to use this too. Come... Let this old man explain this toyou..."

Dong Xuebing listened thewhole afternoon attentively.

Grandpa Hu was very knowledgeable. His explanations were clear and easy to understand.

After a few hours, Dong Xuebing got more comfortable withGrandpa Hu. He was able to talk freely. "Sighed... The person who set thesequestions is too much. Why did he set such difficult questions? Is he trying tomake things difficult for us?" Dong Xuebing grumbled. "I had practiced the past year's questions and noticed that the questions were getting harderand harder each year. It is easy for the one who set these questions. He justmoves his mouth. But we are the ones who are suffering. Who did we offend?"

Grandpa Hu frowned and did not say a word.

"Huh?" Dong Xuebing was shocked. Did I say the wrong thing?

After a while, Grandpa Hu said: "You should not be sayingthese. If these questions are easy, then what's the use of having this test?There will only be one or two vacancies, andif all the candidates scored full marks, they wouldstill have to compete with each other. Itwill still be the same." Grandpa Hu flipped open a reference book and pointedto the page: "My son and I are scholars. But he is more capable than me and hadbecome a professor years ago. Look, he is the one who set most of last year'sShanghai Civil Servant Test's essay questions."

Dong Xuebing realized that when he grumbled about the personwho set the questions, he had also scolded Grandpa Hu's son indirectly.

Shit. Me and my big mouth...

Oh yes, I still have not use"Back" today.

Back!

...

The time returned back to one minute ago. Dong Xuebing couldfeel his mouth moving. He should be in the middle of saying something. GrandpaHu who was listening to him frowned. Dong Xuebing looked at his facialexpression and knew that he had used Back too late. "Errr... Grandpa Hu, wheredid I stop?"

Grandpa Hu smiled weakly and said: "You are saying that theone who set these questions is making things difficult for you all."

"Yes." Dong Xuebing immediately thought of how to continue."Making things difficult for all of us."

Grandpa Hu knitted his brows.

"But..." Dong Xuebing continued and picked up the revisionbook who contains all the past years'questions. "But two years ago, Beihe Province and last year's Shanghaiquestions was quite meaningful. Look at the questions. Although it isdifficult, but from the questions, youwill know that the person who set these questions have a higher standard ofeducation. If I encounter these questions during this year's test, I will haveno grumbles even if I can't answer them."

Grandpa Hu stared blankly at him for a while and burst outlaughing: "Xiao Dong... I will tell you something. My son is the one who set theessay questions for last year's Shanghai essay questions."

Dong Xuebing pretended to be surprised: "Ah?"

"My son is more capable than me." Grandpa Hu stroked hisbeard and smilingly said: "Haha. Xiao Dong, I will teach you how to answeressay questions, and I promise you willscore high marks."

"Really?"

"Of course. If you can't pass, you can come and look forme!"

Translator'snotes:

I googled the hospital mentioned, and the address is 52 Fucheng Rd, WuKeSong,Haidian Qu, Beijing Shi, China, 100142.

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 6 – Conflict with Section Chief Xu!

The next 3 days.

Dong Xuebing woke up early for memory practice. He had usedBack 3 times for his test preparations. He tried several methods and angleswhile using Back. He needs to get used tothe feeling of turning back time and become more familiar with this power.

Time flies, and itwas the day before the test.

Beijing Cancer Hospital, Oncology ward.

Dong Xuebing continued to study under Grandpa Hu. GrandpaHu's son was the examiner in Shanghai, andGrandpa Hu seemed to have the experiencedand had researched into these essay questions. This was why Dong Xuebing forcedhimself to memorize everything he said and listened attentively. The lessonshad changed from Dong Xuebing asking questions, to Grandpa Hu asking questionsand Dong Xuebing answering them. The questions asked by Grandpa Hu was not fromthe materials. It was not sure where he got those questions. Sometimes, GrandpaHu would tell him about the rules and responsibilities of the variousgovernment departments. This was to let Dong Xuebing understand what the dutiesof a Civil Servant were.

"... The data presented to you is about our citizensmisbehaving while on holiday overseas. Using the data, write a suggestion tothe head of the Tourism Bureau. The required answer needs to be relevant andimplementable. It needs to be concise and not more than 400 words. Try toanswer it."

Dong Xuebing starts to answer.

Grandpa Hu shook his head and pointed out where he got itwrong and then told him the answer in his mind.

Dong Xuebing wanted to write Grandpa Hu's answer down, buthe was stopped by Grandpa Hu. "You don't need to record it down. You need tounderstand the general direction of my answer and the important points in theargument. Once you understand the answer, you will automatically remember theanswer. Do you still have any questions? Good. I will give you one morequestion to test you. China has rich resourcesin the surrounding sea, but our Per capita income is low. Bo Sea is China'sbiggest inland sea. It is crucial to the economies of the Northeast region..."

Afternoon.

Grandpa Hu coughed and asked: "Did you remember everything?"

"Yes." Dong Xuebing quickly pass a few pieces of tissues toGrandpa Hu.

Grandpa Hu smiled and patted Dong Xuebing on his arm: "Yourfriends and classmates are also taking this test in Beijing with you? Keepeverything I taught you to yourself. Don't tell your classmates. Hahaha. Thisold man's knowledge is limited, andthat's everything I can teach you."

"You are too modest. Ireally learned a lot from you." Dong Xuebing rubbed his nose embarrassedly andcontinued: "I do not have many friends as I did not stay at my university. The classmates I knewwerenot interested in being a civil servant. They had already found jobs in theprivate sector. I am the only one still dreaming of entering the governmentservice. Sorry for troubling you the past few days. I really appreciate yourhelp. Thank you."

Before Dong Xuebing left, Grandpa Hu patted his shoulder andsaid: "Do well for the test. China's future will depend on you youngsters."

Dong Xuebing nodded.

North Heping Street.

Dong Xuebing walked up the musty stairs and press thedoorbells of his home.

Click. Dong Xuebing's mother who was at home helped him openthe door. At the same time, there was another sound of someone opening the doorfrom the fourth story. Section Chief Xu and his family walked down the stairs.Dong Xuebing's mother saw them and immediately greeted: "Section Chief Xu, youare back so early? Are you all going to have dinner outside?" Dong Xuebing alsoreluctantly greeted them.

Section Chief Xu did not say a thing and just noddedarrogantly.

Mrs. Xu laughed: "Tomorrow is the test. Both of us are bringing Xiao Dong to Quanjudeto have dinner."

"Oh, that place is expensive." Dong Xuebing's mother said.

"Quanjude is still fine. It is not some fancy restaurantanyway." Xiao Dong said and glared at Dong Xuebing. He reached over to press QuYunxuan's doorbell. When no one opened the door, he pressed it again.

Dong Xuebing's mother quickly said: "Yunxuan might still beat work."

Xiao Dong disappointedly mumbled a replied and turned to hisparents: "Mum, Dad, let's go." Dong Xuebing knew that this Xiao Dong was wooingQu Yunxuan recently. Although Qu Yunxuan's family was not well-off, she was beautiful. This was why Section Xu's family didnot object their son from going after someone a fewyears older.

When Dong Xuebing entered his house, Section Chief Xu andhis family continued their way towards the stairs. Section Chief Xuaccidentally kicked the garbage bag outside of Dong Xuebing's home. Dong Xuebing's mother had placed thegarbage bag there, and the bag was oilyand stained with leftover foods. Section Chief Xu's shoes and pants werestained.

Section Chief Xu's face changed and turned to Dong Xuebing'smother: "What's wrong with you? Why did you leave your garbage here? Did you dothis on purpose?"

Dong Xuebing's mother immediately apologized: "I'm sorry...Really sorry... I... was just about to take the garbage downstairs."

Xiao Dong frowned: "Can you all be more cultured? You thinkour corridors are not dirty enough?"

Dong Xuebing's mother replied: "I will clear it now. I'msorry."

Seeing his mother being scolded, Dong Xuebing becamefurious: "You are cultured? If you are cultured, will you still throw rubbishout of your windows?" The last time Dong Xuebing returned home with his mother,they were almost hit by a garbage bag thrown out of Section Chief Xu's window.It was not sure if it was Xiao Dong or Section Chief Xu who had thrown it. Allthe neighbors knew that Section Chief Xu's unit hasbeen throwing their garbage bags out of their windows. But no one dares to sayanything as Section Chief Xu was a government official and they were commoners.

Dong Xuebing's mother tugged his son's clothes: "Xuebing!"

Xiao Dong stared at Dong Xuebing: "What are you saying?Who's the one who throw rubbish out of the windows?"

Dong Xuebing coldly replied: "You should know who it is."

"Are you even qualified to speak here?" Section Chief Xustared at Dong Xuebing. "You have dirtied my shoes, and you still want to argue?"

"You are the one..." Dong Xuebing was about to continuearguing when his mother pulled him back.

Mrs. Xu tried to calm the situation: "Old Xu, why are youarguing with a kid? We are all neighbors. Let it rest." Mrs. Xu turned to DongXuebing's mother: "Xiaoping, we are off for our dinner. You should not placeyour garbage outside your house. This is not right. Don't do it again."

Dong Xuebing's lungs were about to burst. That Chief Xu wasthe one who kicked the garbage bag, andhe wants to blame his mother?

Section Chief Xu used a napkin to wipe his show and turnedaway: "Fuck. Let's go. The car is waiting."

Xiao Dong looked at Dong Xuebing and his mother scornfullyand followed his parents down the stairs.

Dong Xuebing's mother just smiled at them until they disappearedfrom her view. She quickly closes the door and sighed. "Xuebing, we can'tafford to offend them. You...

Dong Xuebing was still pissed: "What sort of person is he?Government officials can be unreasonable?"

"Sigh..."

In the evening, Qu Yunxuan returned from work and knocked onDong Xuebing's door. She was carrying bags of vegetables and meat.

These few days, Qu Yunxuan had integrated into DongXuebing's family. She hadbecome closer with Dong Xuebing and his mother.They would have dinner together and would joke and chat. It was like a family.

"Yunxuan, eat more." Dong Xuebing's mother picked somevegetables and place in her bowl.

"Sis Luan..." Qu Yunxuan hesitated for a while and askedworriedly: "When I was on my way back, I heard from the lady downstairs said...What happened?"

This apartment building was an old building built in the1980s. The soundproofing was not verygood, and neighbors could hear each otherclearly. Dong Xuebing's mother tapped Qu Yunxuan's hand: "Yunxuan, listen tosis. If you are looking for a boyfriend, don't ever look for someone like XiaoDong. I am not talking behind their backs, but they are all bullies..." DongXuebing's mother told her what happened just now.

Qu Yunxuan frowned after she heard what happened. She heldLuan Xiaoping's hand and sighed: "I know that family is all not decent people. I have not told anyone else. Do you knowthat Xiao Dong is wooing me? But I had rejected him several times. A few daysago, I met Section Chief Xu at the supermarket on my off day. He pointed at mein the face and said. Don't think you are somebody because my son likes you. Itis your honor for my son to like you... He still said many nasty things. I...Sighed..."

Dong Xuebing clenched his fist: "Does he thinks that he isthe mayor or governor?"

"Let's not talk about him." Qu Yunxuan smiled sweetly andtook a napkin and wiped off a grain of rice on Dong Xuebing's face. "Tomorrowis your test. You must do your best and not let that Xu family look down on you.Show them that not only Xiao Dong can enter the government service. Our XiaoBing can also do it!"

Dong Xuebing took a deep breath and replied: "Don't worry. Iwill surely pass the test!"

Translator's notes:

Bo Sea

https/en./wiki/Bohai_Sea

Quanjude

https/en./wiki/Quanjude

Power and Wealth

Chapter 7 – Civil Servant Entry Test

Next day.

Morning.

Dong Xuebing was sitting on the couch, preparing to go out.

Qu Yunxuan was behaving like she was the one taking thetest. She looked very nervous: "Xiao Bing, when you answer the questions, takenote of the time. If you don't know the answer, just make a random guess andmove on to the next question. I heard that there will not be enough time. Oh,did you bring pencils? Remember to bring an extra pencil with you. What abouterasers and 2B pencils? Did you bring yourID? You must make sure not to leave anything out." She helped Dong Xuebing tostraighten his T-shirt and then wiped his shoes with a damp cloth.

Dong Xuebing got a fright: "Stop, stop. I will wipe my shoesmyself."

"Qu Yunxuan continued to wipe his shoes carefully and gentlysaid: "The test is at 9 am. You should take this opportunity to do somelast-minute revision."

Qu Yunxuan was behaving like an elder sister to him.

Dong Xuebing's mother walked out from the kitchen with abag. "I have packed some fruits in case you are hungry or thirsty."

There was a bottle of mineral water and some ears and applesin the bag. Qu Yunxuan took the bag and said: "Sister Luan, I will be going tothe venue later with Xiao Bing. After the morning test, I will bring him outfor lunch. We will not be coming back for lunch as the venue is a bit far. Hestill has a second test in the afternoon."

Dong Xuebing's mother asked: "Don't you need to go to worktoday?"

Qu Yunxuan replied: "I took a day off."

Dong Xuebing's mother: "You don't need to take the day offfrom work. I can accompany him."

Dong Xuebing added: "That's right. You don't need to comewith me."

"You rascal." Qu Yunxuan playfully pinched Dong Xuebing'scheeks. "Your Aunt is worried about you. Sis Luan, you should rest at home. Theweather is too hot, and you have highblood pressure. You should rest more."

"Errr..." Dong Xuebing's mother was very close with QuYunxuan and did not stand on ceremony: "Yunxuan, then I will have to troubleyou. Xuebing, just do your best for the test."

Dong Xuebing nodded: "Yes."

Beijing No.15 Middle School.

After turning from Zi Xin Road, one could see a big redbanner hung across the gate of a school – Beijing Government agencies CivilServant Test Venue. No. 15 Middle School. There was also a notice outsidestating, "Please show your ID and admission letter." and "Do your best for thetest." There were lots of people standing outside. Some parents were there tosend their children for this test, andsome wives had sent their husbands over. There was even a family of more than10 members waiting for their child.

Children were their parents' hopes. If they could becomeCivil Servants, their parents will be proud of them.

Dong Xuebing and Qu Yunxuan stood outside the school afteralighting from a Taxi.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Qu Yunxuan.

Qu Yunxuan was too beautiful, and wherever she goes, she would attract the stares of all the men.She was used to this, and she spoke likea mother to Dong Xuebing: "Don't be nervous and just try your best. If you areable to pass, I will treat you to a big meal. Do you prefer Western or Chinesecuisine? Oh, do you still remember what I told you in the Taxi? You need tokeep track of your time. The multiple-choice test is only 2 hours. You need toplan your time carefully."

Dong Xuebing smiled and took out his phone from his pocket:"Yes, I remember. I cannot bring my phone in. I will leave it with you."

Suddenly, someone called Qu Yunxuan's name from their back.They turned and saw Mrs. Xu and Xiao Dong.

"Yunxuan, you are here too? You send Xiaobing over?" Unlikeother parents, Mrs. Xu was calm and relax. She seems to be confident that herson will pass. "That's great. Later when Xiao Dong and Xiao Bing go in fortheir test, we can have tea together. It's been a while since we chatted." Sheturned to Dong Xuebing. "Do your best." Although she said that, she neverexpects Dong Xuebing to pass the written test. Her son had taken this testtwice. How could Dong Xuebing pass on his first try?

Xiao Dong ignored Dong Xuebing and spoke to Qu Yunxuan: "SisQu, why are you here with him?" He does not understand why Qu Yunxuan was soclose with Dong Xuebing's family so suddenly. She was not like this in thepast.

Dong Xuebing was thinking in his heart. If she is not herewith me, you think she will come here with you?

Qu Yunxuan had a different attitude towards Xiao Bing. Shenonchalantly replied something to that mother and son pair and turn to DongXuebing. She pushes a small cloth bag into his hand. "I have gotten this fromthe temper, and it is supposed to bringyou good luck."

Dong Xuebing was moved by Qu Yunxuan's concern for him. He slowlyturned and walked through the school gates.

The school has 3buildings, and the test venue is on thewest building.

When Dong Xuebing entered the building, he noticed Xiao Dongwas near him. He turned to Xiao Dong and asked: "Did you really almost got thefull marks in last year's national exams? You only got a few logic questionswrong?" Both of them had grudges, and dong Xuebing had no reason to be nice tohim.

Xiao Dong looked at him with a black face and replied in anunfriendly manner: "What's wrong? You are jealous?"

Dong Xuebing sneered: "What's there to be jealous?"

Xiao Dong: "You want to be a civil servant? Maybe in your nextlife. Do you want to bet to see who will enter the government agency first?"

Dong Xuebing could feel his blood boiling: "Ok! We shall see!"

Xiao Dong continued to make some snide remarks and then walktowards his room. He was well prepared for this test, especially themultiple-choice test. He was confident that he would score well and there wasno way to lose to Dong Xuebing who was taking the test for his first time.

Dong Xuebing did not look for his own classroom. He stoodthere watching Xiao Dong. When he was about 7 to 8 meters away, Dong Xuebingstart to follow him. He looked at Xiao Dong's back nervously. He watches asXiao Dong made a turn and entered a classroom alongthe corridor. Dong Xuebing stopped and take note of the classroom number. He walkedcloser and look at Xiao Dong's seat. Hmmm... middle of the 2nd row. Not far from the door.

Xiao Dong saw Dong Xuebing standing outside of the room andfrowned: "What do you want?"

Dong Xuebing smiled: "Nothing. I just want to know where youare seated."

"What does that have to do with you?" Xiao Dong glared athim. "Both of us are also not in the same room. Are you thinking of copying myanswers?"

Dong Xuebing shrugged his shoulders: "Maybe... Be carefulwith your answer sheet."

"You are nuts." Xiao Dong ignored him and start to arrangehis stationaries.

After leaving that classroom, Dong Xuebing starts to lookfor his own class, Class 026. His classroom was two classes away from Xiao Dong.

Dong Xuebing found his seat in his class. It was the thirdtable by a wall.

The examiner entered the class and observed every candidate in the room. He wants to make sure noone had brought cheating materials.

A young man seated near the windowwas sweating profusely.

A girl in the front row was fidgeting uneasily.

A man seated at the back of the class was slapping his facewith both of had hand.

Dong Xuebing could feel the tension in the room. He lookedaround the half-filled classroom and exhaled. He calmed himself and said asilent prayer. In his heart, he was thinking: "Finally this is the day. Pleaselet the questions be easier..."

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 8 – Copying other people's answers

Administrative Aptitude Test is also known as AAT in short.

This was a test to evaluate the candidate's potentialabilities. There is a series of logic questions included in it. This test isdifferent from IQ test and does not test the candidate's knowledge. This test candetermine the potential of the candidate's abilities and suitability of being aCivil Servant. The candidate's potential is built up over the years throughtheir experiences and education.

The test was a closedbook test, and there were about 135multiple choice questions.

Morning, from 9 am to11 am. The duration of the test was 2 hours.

Room 026. The examiner had read out the rules and the thingsto note before the start of the test. The test papers and answer sheets weregiven out to the candidates. Dong Xuebing touched the question booklet andprayed in his heart. Please let this test be an easy one...

Dong Xuebing looked down at the questions and start toanswer.

First question. Eh? I have done a similar problem from one of the reference books. Easy.

Second question. Huh? This question is also easy. It issimilar to one of the questions from the Jiangnan Civil Servant test 3 years ago.

Third question. After thinking for about 10 seconds, DongXuebing shaded C on his answer sheet. This was another easy question.

Fourth question. Dong Xuebing chose B. Although he was notvery confident, it should be the right answer.

The first 4 questions were not difficult, and Dong Xuebing felt more confident. He thought that this test was not as difficult ashe expected. He carried on answering the questions. But from the sixthquestion, the difficulty of the test increases. Dong Xuebing could not answerquestion 6 to 10. He could only guess the answers. When he reaches question 33to 47, he was not even confident of guessing the answers.

This was a dangerous sign.

Dong Xuebing became more anxious as he tried answering theremaining questions.

The test was too hard. It was more complicated than last year's papers.

The math questions were not very difficult, as Dong Xuebinghad just graduated and he could still remember what he had learned. He was ableto answer almost all the calculation questions. He was confident of gettingmost of these questions right. Languagequestions should also not be a problem. He should get most of it right. But thelogic and general knowledge questions were too difficult.Dong Xuebing would be jumping with joy if he could get half of his answersright. As for the questions about data analysis, he was sure that he did notget a single answer right.

Shit. That's it. Hehad flunked the test.

Dong Xuebing was cursing and swearing the person who had setthese questions in his heart.

20 minutes passed.

40 minutes passed.

There was still 15 minutes left on the clock. Manycandidates had put down their pencils. Some were in a daze staring at the ceiling. Some were scratching their head, andsome were looking depressed. Everyone in the room has different expressions, but one thing in common, all of themdoes not seems to be confident of passing.

Dong Xuebing felt that he should not wait any longer. Ifnot, he would not pass this test along with most of the candidates.

He took out his 2B pencil and start to mark out thequestions that he was not confident and those he does not know the answers. Hecounted, and there were 45 questions. Asfor the remaining questions, he was 70%sure that he got those correct.

"Eh? What are you writing?" The middle-aged examiner walkedover to Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing looked at his watch and took a deep breath.Let's start!

Looking at the answer sheet with all the markings, theexaminer frowned and said: "You are not supposed to write on the answer sheet.The machine will not be able to detect your answers. Hurry and erase them."

Dong Xuebing did not reply and suddenly stood up from hischair. The examiner and the rest of the candidates were shocked. He immediatelygrabbed his answer sheet and push the examiner aside. He ran as fast as hecould out of the room.

"WTF? What is he doing?"

"Who knows? Maybe he became crazy."

"Stop! You are still in the middle of your test!"

Everyone was shocked. Theycould not comprehend why that person suddenly run out of the room. Was hegiving up on this test?

One of the examiners remained in room 026 to maintain order,and the other ran out to the corridorshouting. "Old Li, Old Zhang, help me catch that man. He is still holding on tothe answer sheet. Don't let him disturb the rest of the candidates."

Two examiners who were walking along the corridor werestunned. They have never encountered such a situationbefore.

As the examiner was shouting, Dong Xuebing had entered thethird classroom. He kicked the door opened. Everyone in the room was staring athim in shock. Dong Xuebing did not say athing, and he kicked a desk in front ofhim aside. He ran over to Xiao Dong and snatched his answer sheet. Xiao Dongwas too shocked to say a thing. He was rooted in his seat.

Xiao Dong stuttered: "What are you doing?" He could notbelieve what he was seeing. Never in his wildest dreams, he had expected Dong Xuebing to "copy" his answers so openly.

Dong Xuebing said: "I had warned you to be careful with youranswers before the test."

The examiners in this room were all females and were quiteyoung. Both of them did not dare to stopDong Xuebing after they saw him kicking open the door and snatching onecandidate's answer sheet. They were rooted to the ground and shouted: "Whichroom are you from? What are you doing? Put the answer sheet down!"

When Xiao Dong heard the examiners shouting, he reacted. Hetried to snatch his answer sheet from Dong Xuebing: "Give it back to me."

Although Dong Xuebing was not someone with good physicalfitness, he was still much stronger than Xiao Dong. He dodged Xiao Dong'sattempt and ran out. He jumped out of an opened window along the corridor intothe garden outside and started running towards the school's empty sports field.While running, he was looking at both answer sheets in his hand. He comparedhis answers with Xiao Dong and memorized the answers to those questions hemarked.

ABBCADDDBCADAB...

Dong Xuebing had already used up 30 seconds from the time heran out of his room to get Xiao Dong'sanswers. He still has 30 seconds left.

There was still enough time.

"Stop there!"

"Stop running!"

A few workers and securities had caught up with him and hadsurrounded him.

Dong Xuebing ignored them and continued to recite theanswers. ABBCADDDBCADAB...

"Catch him!"

Dong Xuebing felt an impact on his back, and the next moment, he was pinned down on theground.

An examiner shouted from the back: "What is he doing?Disqualified him!"

Another person said while panting: "Call the police!"

Xiao Dong, who hadalso caught up asked: "Are my resultsstill valid? He is the one who snatched my answer sheets."

Dong Xuebing who was pinned under the securities, ignoredhis pain and gritted his teeth to finish reading the last row of answers,before shouting: "Back!"

...

The surroundings were quiet.

This was room 026. Everyone was doing their test, and no one was saying a word.

There was only the sound of pens and pencils scratching onpaper.

Dong Xuebing felt some giddiness, and the next moment, he saw the balding examiner standing in frontof him looking at his answer sheet. "You are not supposed to write on theanswer sheet. The machine will not be able to detect your answers. Hurry anderase them."

Time had returned to one minute ago.

Dong Xuebing wiped his sweat with his heart still beatingvery fast: "Yes."

The Examiner looked at him and then walked away.

Dong Xuebing dare not to waste any more time. He immediately picksup his pencils and starts shading theanswers. I must not forget the answers. I must remember the answers...

ABBCADDDBCADAB...

Since a week ago, Dong Xuebing had started training hismemory. The training was for him to cheat in the test. Dong Xuebing was shadingthe answers as fast as he could. The first 20 answers were easy to remember.Most people were able to temporary remember about 20 something alphabets. Butit becomes harder as the number increases. Dong Xuebing tried his best, and he was able to write down slightly morethan 30 answers. He knew he was unable to remember the rest of the answers andhe used some tricks to help.

For example, AACBA, hewill remember it as AAAAA.

If the answers are ABAD, he will remember it as ABCD.

2 minutes later, Dong Xuebing had finished writing down allthe answers he copied from Xiao Dong.

If Xiao Dong really had almost scored the full marks forlast year's National exams, then his scores for this year's AAT should not betoo far away. There should be at least 90% of him getting the answers right.That's enough. With the rest of the answerswhich Dong Xuebing was confident, he should be getting a high score for thistest.

Phwee...

Cheating... Success!

Power and Wealth

Chapter 9 – These are the Essay Questions?!

The AAT test was over.

In the corridor outside of the classrooms, Dong Xuebing metXiao Dong.

Xiao Dong glanced at Dong Xuebing and sarcastically said:"The AAT this year is harder than the national exams. Are you still confidentof passing?"

Dong Xuebing looked at him and asked: "Did you screw up yourtest?"

"Me? Screw up?" Xiao Dong laughed and confidently replied:"You think I am the same as you? Other than 2 logic questions which I know Igot it wrong, and a few general knowledge questions which I am not confident, Iam confident that I got the rest of the questions right. Before I handed overmy answer sheet, I calculated, and I am confident that the questions I got itwrong will not be more than 7%. Hmph! What about you? I think you should get atleast 40 to 50 questions wrong."

Dong Xuebing smiled: "Don't worry about me. If you areconfident of passing, then I should not be a problem."

"Stop putting on a brave front." Xiao Dong does not knowwhat Dong Xuebing meant.

After this first test, Dong Xuebing felt relieved. But whenhe thought of the essay test in the after, he became nervous again.

Dong Xuebing had no appetite for lunch.

Qu Yunxuan and Mrs. Xu, who were waiting for them, did not ask them about the test. They do not want togive them additional stress. They had a quick lunch in dumpling restaurant nearthe school, and soon it was time for theafternoon test.

Back at No. 15 Middle School, Xiao Dong looks calm and confident. "Do your best and do not fail."

Dong Xuebing had no confidence at all, but he stillstubbornly replied: "Speak for yourself."

"Hmph!" Xiao Dong went back to his classroom.

The written essay test was 2 and a half hours.

13:30 to 16:00.

This written test was to test the candidates in 7 aspects. Reading comprehension, analyticalskills, problem-solving skills, language,writing, knowledge of current political affairs, and administrative skills.There were no fixed answers andcandidates had to answer in short essays.

Dong Xuebing was not good at critical essays. However, hedid improve slightly under Grandpa Hu'sguidance over the past few days. Dong Xuebing knew that he was still not goodenough to pass this test. Actually, Dong Xuebing had planned to use Back duringthe essay test, if the morning test was not too difficult.

But his plan had failed. The morning test was too hard, andhe got to use Back. Now, he had no more tricks up his sleeves.

What do I do now?

If the essay test is on the same standard as the morningtest, Dong Xuebing knew that he will not pass.

Maybe it's fated that I can't enter the government service.

Half an hour before the start of the test. Room 026. Onceagain, Dong Xuebing could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was affected bythe difficulty of the morning test, andthey were frowning.

Dong Xuebing sighed and tapped his cheeks. In his heart, hewas praying.

He was now not hopingto answer all the questions, he only praythat his scores will not be too low. He might still be able to pass with theoverall marks. This was his only wish.

13:30, test starts.

Dong Xuebing picked up his pen and immediately start on thefirst question.

He read the article given and then looked at the requiredanswer. He could feel a shiver. This test was on the same difficulty as themorning test. Dong Xuebing read the article twice and does not understand whatthe article was about. There was no wayhe could answer the question.

Damn.

As good as dead.

Dong Xuebing gritted his teeth and just answered whatever heknew, hoping to score at least somemarks. He flipped the question booklet to the second question.

"China has richresources in the surrounding sea, but our Per capita income is low. Bo Sea isChina's biggest inland sea. It is crucial to the economies of the Northeastregion..."

Eh?! Dong Xuebing could not believehis eyes. Why was this question so familiar?

He flipped over to the third question.

"Write a suggestion to the head of the Tourism Bureau withregards to our China tourist misbehaving overseas. The required answer needs tobe relevant and implementable. It needs to be concise and not more than 400words..."

Dong Xuebing was stunned and gasped out loud: "Eh?"

"What's wrong with you?" The examiner looked at him. "Doyour test quietly and don't make any noise."

Dong Xuebing immediately said: "I'm sorry." He looked at thequestions again to make sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him. He wassurprised and overjoyed when he saw the fourth question. He does not know howto describe his feelings.

Are these really the test questions?

Are these really the test questions?

Are these really the test questions?

Dong Xuebing asked himself the same question thrice. Hecould hardly believe what he was seeing.

It was half an hour into the test, and Dong Xuebing could not afford to be still in a daze. He picksup his pen again and starts to answer.

Dong Xuebing was writing down his answers smoothly with nopauses in between.

The examiner had been watching Dong Xuebing, and he suspects that Dong Xuebing was cheating.He walked over to Dong Xuebing and stood behind him to watch him. He glanced atDong Xuebing's answer sheet. A minute passed, andthe examiner was surprised. He stoodthere until the bell announcing the end of the test rang. He and the otherexaminer collected all the answer sheets from the candidates and sealed it inan envelope.

When Dong Xuebing was about to leave the room, that examinerlooked at him and nodded with a smile.

Dong Xuebing was surprised and smiled back. He slowly walkedout of the room. What had happened? Why were all the essay questions the sameas what Grandpa Hu taught me?

Complains of the candidates could be heard when they weremaking their way out of the school. "Sigh... I'm dead. The questions were toodifficult."

"That's right. The AAT was hard enough, and the essay test was even harder. Especiallythe third question. How many of us can answer that?"

"I know I had flunked this test. Sighed... Guess I have to tryagain next year."

9 out of 10 candidates were pulling a long face.

Outside of the school gate, Mrs.Xu, Dong Xuebing's mother, and Qu Yunxuanwere waiting in the shade under a tree. Dong Xuebing was still in a daze. Whenhe saw his mother and Qu Yunxuan waiting for him, he put up his hand suddenly:"Wait. I need to go somewhere urgently. Please go back first."

Before his mother and Qu Yunxuan could react, Dong Xuebingflagged a taxi.

"Sir, please send me to the Cancer Hospital." Dong Xuebingtold the driver.

At the Oncology ward, Dong Xuebing was surprised to findGrandpa Hu's ward empty. There was no luggage, andhe asked a nurse who was passing by. Grandpa Hu had discharged last night. Itshould be not long after Dong Xuebing left. Dong Xuebing immediately called thenumber in his handphone. The call got through, anda woman answered: "Hello, Cancer Hospital, Oncology ward."

This was not Grandpa Hu's number? He had used the hospitalphone to call me that day?

Dong Xuebing ran to the nurses' station to try to getGrandpa Hu's contact number and address. But the nurses there told him thatthey could not reveal their patient'sdetails.

Dong Xuebing stood in the corridor, staring at the emptyward.

Grandpa Hu should not have many days left. Could yesterdaybe the last time I see him?

Dong Xuebing faced the empty ward and bowed deeply 3 times.

He understood why Grandpa Hu had told him that he willsurely score high marks for the essay test. He realizedwhy Grandpa Hu does not allow him to reveal what he taught to others. Maybe itwas his son who had set the questions, or perhapshe knew the questions through hisconnections. Grandpa Hu had taught himhow to answer almost 70% of the questionsin the Essay test.

If Dong Xuebing still could not get high marks for thistest, he might as well kill himself!

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 10 – Joy and Sorrow

North Heping Street.

In front of an apartment building.

Dong Xuebing had takena cab to the Cancer Hospital and then took a taxiback home. He returned at about the same time as Qu Yunxuan and the others.They had taken public transport and the time taken to reach home was longer. Asthe taxi turned towards his residential area, Dong Xuebing saw his mother, Mrs. Xu, andthe others walking in front. He immediately alightsand walked over to explain himself: "Mum, Aunt Xuan, I'm sorry. I had somethingurgent to do and had rushed off.

"Xuebing..." His mother said his name and then stoppedtalking and sighed.

At the hallway, Section Chief Xu who had just returned fromwork, walked over with a briefcase. "You finished the test? How is the essaytest?"

"I... I..." Xiao Dong was a different person from thismorning. He no longer has that cocky, arrogant look.

Dong Xuebing wanted to laugh out.

"Tell me!" Section Chief Xu pulled a long face. "I had madearrangements with the Customsdepartment."

Mrs. Xu looked at his son. Xiao Dong mumbled: "The essayquestions were tough. I don't thinkanyone can answer these questions. I am only confident of getting one questionright. The rest... The rest of the questions should be wrong... I don't think Iwill be able to pass with my overall scores."

Section Chief Xu shouted: "What have you been doing? Didn'tyou prepare for this test? Didn't you keep telling me that you will pass thistest without any problem?"

Xiao Dong was in despair. "I also did not expect thequestions to be so difficult. I don't think the other candidates are able toanswer them too."

Section Chief Xu continued: "Stop telling me that thequestions are difficult. You are the one who did not work hard."

"Don't blame Xiao Dong." Mrs. Xu helped to speak up for herson: "The questions were really too difficult. I heard many people outside thetest venue complaining about it. Not only XiaoDong, I think everyone will fail this test. Oh, Xiao Ping's son, Xiao Bing hadtaken the test too. He will also fail the test. At least our Xiao Dong didbetter than him. His multiple-choice test will get almost full marks."

Dong Xuebing rolled his eyes. Who's the one who told youthat I will fail this test?

Section Chief Xu replied angrily: "If the overall scorecannot reach the minimum passing mark, he can't even qualify for theinterview."

Mrs. Xu sighed: "He can try again next year." Section ChiefXu turned and went upstairs. Mrs. Xu looked at Xiao Dong and then turned toDong Xuebing's mother: "The National entry exams for the Civil Servant is in afew months. Is your son going to tryagain?"

Dong Xuebing's mother replied: "Yes..."

Qu Yunxuan patted Dong Xuebing's hand. "Don't give yourselftoo much pressure. You can just take the test again next year."

Xiao Dong had always been good with his studies. If he can'teven pass the test, Dong Xuebing should not be doing well either. This was whateveryone was thinking.

Xiao Dong glared at Dong Xuebing and followed Section ChiefXu upstairs.

Dong Xuebing knew that Qu Yunxuan and his mother thoughtthat he did not do well for the tell. He rubbed his nose but did not try toexplain.

Just let them misunderstand. Even if he had passed the written test, hewas also not confident of passing theinterview. What if he told his mother that he had done well for the written test, andhe failed the interview later? His mothermight not be able to handle this roller coaster ride. She had high bloodpressure, and this might affect her health. Dong Xuebing intends to tell themthe truth after he had passed the interview.

After dinner, Dong Xuebing returned to his room and power uphis old Pentium 3 CPU. He needs to prepare himself for the interview bysearching for the past few years' interview questions on the internet.

5 minutes later, Dong Xuebing could not get any results fromthe internet. He remembered that the department he was applying did not evenhave its own website, let alone past year interview questions. There was notmuch information about the department either.

The department Dong Xuebing applied was State Security.

The full name of State Security was the Ministry of State Security. It is an agencyunder the jurisdiction of the State Council and considered a policingdepartment. This department was a Provincial-Ministerial level department andhad subsidiaries in all regions. In the provinces, the office was called the State Security Department. In the PrefectureCities, it was called the State SecurityBureau.

As Beijing was the capital and a municipality directly underthe Central Government, the State Security office,there was slightly different. It still reports to the Ministry of StateSecurity and was also called State Security Bureau. But Beijing State SecurityBureau was Bureau-Director level. TheBranch Bureaus in the different zones of Beijing were Deputy-Bureau-Directorlevel.

The State Security department was a mysterious department.However, everyone knew what this department does. It collects intel.

But Dong Xuebing heard from someone that not all people fromthe State Security department were mysterious. It depends on the departmentthey were working in.

For instance, the office Dong Xuebing applied for, was the State Security Bureau's Administrative Office.The people working there will have regularoffice hours, and they need to squeezethe morning peak hour buses. They are also allowedto attend gatherings and tell others where they are working. It wasnothing confidential. One of Dong Xuebing's senior in his university wasworking in the State Security. He often jokes that the people who sit in the office doing administrative workslike him have no chance to access to theconfidential reports from the intel officers. There was nothing good aboutworking in the State Security. They were not allowed to drink or tell otherswhat they were doing. They cannot reveal to others where their families werestaying and had many more restrictions. The only good thing was that theirovertime pay was slightly higher than other departments.

To be honest, it was not Dong Xuebing's choice to apply forthis department.

He had no other choices. There were too many restrictionsimposed on the candidates when applying for the various department.

For example, the Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Safetysupervision bureau, etc. requires the candidates to not only pass the AAT andWritten Essay test. The candidates need to passone more test. Dong Xuebing was already struggling with two tests. How can hecope with one more professional test? He gave up on applying these departmentswithout thinking.

The Municipal Political Consultative Conference, Municipalcommission of education and other bigger departments requires at least 2 years of working experiences.

Some departments like the Red Cross and Ministry of Culturerequires the candidate to be a Communist Party member.

Some departments like Land and Resources Bureau requires the candidate to have at leasta Master or Doctorate.

Some departments require Accounting certification, heightabove 180 cm, female only, etc.

Dong Xuebing realized that the positions he could apply were less than 3% of all the positions. Some of these positions were inrural areas where the requirements were not so strict. Even fresh graduates canapply. But there was only one vacancy. Competingwith other candidates for that one vacancy would be tough. Dong Xuebingknew he will not stand a chance.

When Dong Xuebing had almost given up hope, he coincidentallyoverheard someone from the City's State Security speaking to someone.

The State Security was also recruiting, and as long as the candidate had no physicaldefects and did not stay overseas for a prolonged period, anyone can apply. Itwas not limited to male or female, a partymember, work experiences, etc. The department was going to recruit 4candidates. Compared to other departments, this was a lot.

Later, Dong Xuebing found out that the State Security would usually recruit fresh grads.

This was because fresh grads were not corrupted by society, complicated backgrounds andrelationships. They were considered 'Clean.'Those people who had 2 years working experiences, will not be recruited by theState Security.

This was why Dong Xuebing convinced his mother to let himapply for the position in the State Security. This was the only position withthe highest possibility of hiring him.

Let's hope that everything will go as planned.

Translator'snotes: The hardest part of this novel was to find the correct name for thevarious departments, ranks, etc. of the Chinese Government. It was morecomplicated than I thought.

StateSecurity

https/en./wiki/Ministry_of_State_Security_(China)

CommunistParty of China

https/en./wiki/Communist_Party_of_China

Power and Wealth

Chapter 11 – Interview

Day 1...

Day 2...

Day 3...

Some days passed.

As Dong Xuebing had gotten good results from using Backduring the test, he did not waste this special power these few days. Heexperimented with this power every day to see what else he got use it for. Hedecided to use this power to change his current life. He wants to get out ofpoverty. This was the reason why he needs to be familiar with all the uses ofBack.

After experimenting for a few times, he found out something.

The results of his experiments: First, when he was chattingwith someone and said or thought of the words like "Back" or "Return," there will not be any effect. It was onlywhen he consciously wanted time to return back to 1 minute ago, and he said the words "Back," "Return,""Reverse," etc. then it will work.

Second, Back might indeedbe an "unlimited" power. When the clock struck00:00 hrs and started a new day, he will be able to use the power without fail.But Dong Xuebing did not test if he usedBack 2 seconds after midnight and returned to the previous day, 11:59 hours,will he get to use Back again when it reaches the next day.

Third, Dong Xuebing was still not accustomed to the timechanges from the time he uses Back and after he uses Back. It was okay if he was sitting. But if he was walking,speaking, or making some movements, when using Back, he was not able to reactwhen the time returns. He might trip or unable to continue talking. He made areminder to himself to be careful when using his power. He does not want totrip and fall in the middle of the road and then die from a traffic accidentagain.

Of course, after practicingfor so many days, Dong Xuebing had gotten used to using Back, and not every time he will trip.

On the other hand.

Dong Xuebing's mother and Aunt Xuan tried to cheer him up byavoiding talking about the Civil Servant Entry Test. They tried to say somehappy topics in their conversations to distract him.

"Haha, Xiao Bing, look at that hippo on TV. Why is it sougly?"

"That's right. But the hippo is still cute... Hahaha."

"Eh, I have never seen that type of parrots. There are somany species of birds in Africa."

Looking at his mother and Aunt Xuan trying to cheer him up,Dong Xuebing could only smile. "Mum, Aunt Xuan, I will go and study now. Youtwo carry on watching TV."

Dong Xuebing's mother looked at her son worryingly: "TheNational Civil Servant Exams is still far away. You should have a break. Don'ttire yourself."

Dong Xuebing nodded.

Qu Yunxuan uncrossed her leg and stroked the back of DongXuebing's head. "You have been hiding in your room for so many days. This isnot right. Come and watch this documentary with me. It is dinner time soon. Iwill cook personally today. Tell me, what do you want to eat?"

"Ok, ok." Dong Xuebing replied while sneaking a peek at hercleavage from her loose top.

Ring, ring, ring. Dong Xuebing's handphone rang.

"Let me answer this call first." Dong Xuebing looked at the caller ID, andit was an unknown number. He walked away towards the potted plants near thewindow and answered: "Hello?"

"Hi, are you Dong Xuebing?" It was a sweet female voice.

"Yes, I am. May I know who'scalling?" Dong Xuebing used his shoulder to hold the phone and picked up thespray bottle to wet the leaves. The water mist became water droplets on thegreen leaves and dripped onto the dry soil.

The woman over the phone said: "I am calling from the City'sState Security Political Section. As our department is a bit special, we do nothave a website and will not upload the results and information of thecandidates. Therefore, we are notifying you about the interview over the phone.Please take down what I am going to say." The other party should be a Beijingnative from her accent. The way she speaks was professional and courteous.

Dong Xuebing was stunned for a while before replying: "Ah...Please give me a min."

Dong Xuebing's mother who was on the sofa looked at him:"Xuebing, who is calling?"

Dong Xuebing nervously gestured to his mother and said:"Mum, pen, and paper."

Qu Yunxuan blinked and took out a pen and a supermarketbrochure from the drawer under the coffee table and pass it to him. "There isno white paper. Is this ok?"

"Yes, yes. Thank you." Dong Xuebing placed the supermarketbrochure on the windowsill and said: "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I got a pen and paper with me."

The woman paused for a while and said: "It's like this. Youhave passed your entry test, and youroverall marks are the fourth among allthe candidates. Please be at the Municipal personnel bureau at 09:00 am foryour interview on the day after tomorrow. The address is City West Lianhuachi EastRoad A, No. 5, Baiyun Times Mansion Building, 22-floorroom 2216..."

"Yes, yes... Thank you... Thank you..."

The woman told Dong Xuebing about the things to note andreminded him to bring his ID before hanging up.

Dong Xuebing was excited. He kept his phone in his pocketand turned around: "Mum, I will havesomething on in the morning the day after tomorrow. You must remember to wakeme up. I cannot be late."

Dong Xuebing's mother asked curiously: "Where are you going?Why are you so happy?"

Dong Xuebing laughed: "I will tell you on that day. I amgoing into the room to do my revision."

Qu Yunxuan tugged Dong Xuebing's mother and pointed to thedirection of the room with her chin: "Could it be that Xiao Bing had found ajob?"

"Maybe." Dong Xuebing's mother replied. "It's good that hefound a job. He can't be staying at home all the time." She said and sighed."Hope he will be able to pass next year's National Exams."

Back in the room.

Dong Xuebing folded the brochure with the address and placeit carefully into his wallet. He looked at the books and notes on interviews onthe desk and said a prayer. This was the day he was waiting for. Fourthposition? It was lower than he expected. Seems like many people had applied forthe job at the State Security.

Dong Xuebing, you must get the job!

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 12 – Making things difficult

Day of the interview.

Dong Xuebing was afraid that his mother and Aunt Xuan'shopes will give him too much pressure and he was scared of disappointing them. This was why he did not tell themabout his interview. He woke up early and had a bowl of porridge for breakfast,before secretly leaving for the "battlefield" alone.

Baiyun Times Mansion.

On the 22nd floor of this building, there was a row of offices. At the door of theoffices, there were signages like Earthquake Bureau, Customs, etc. After askingthe directions with the receptionist, Feng Yu was directed to an office rightat the end of the corridor and saw Unit 2216. There were no signages outside.There was only a piece of A4 paper "Waiting Room for candidates" pasted on thedoor.

The door was open, andthere was a stench of cigarette smell.

Dong Xuebing looked at his watch. It was 10 minutes to 9 am.He clenched his fist and knocked lightly on the opened door.

"Come in." It was a man's hoarse voice.

"Good morning, I am Dong Xuebing. I am here for theinterview."

"Oh, show me your documents."

There were 2 men in civilian clothes sitting behind a desk.One was taller and about 45 years' old, the other was shorter, about 50 years'old. Both of them looked at Dong Xuebing's documents and waved to him to sitdown. There was an empty chair in front of them. Dong Xuebing sat upright. Hewas nervous, and his heart was beating very fast.

After waiting for a while, a middle age woman walked in from outside and sat behind the desk.She was much shorter than the taller man.

"It's about time." The taller man took out a stack ofdocuments. "Can we start?"

Dong Xuebing replied: "... yes."

Dong Xuebing was perturbed. He had thought that with hisresults from the AAT and the written test, he should be one of the top 3candidates. But the woman from State Security who called him told him that hewas fourth place. That means he was the fourth person that was interviewed. Ifhe could not answer the interviewers' questions, he might even lose hisposition to the 5th and 6th candidates.

The State Security wasonly recruiting 4 people in this recruitment exercise.

The 3 interviewers looked at each other, and the taller man said in a stern voice: "Whatdo you think of this year's stock market?"

Here it comes.

Dong Xuebing's mind was working as fast as he could. He hadtraded shares before when his family still had money. He knows a bit about thestock market. He also watched the news regularly and had keep track of thefinancial markets. Dong Xuebing could answer this question in many ways. Butwhen he was about to open his mouth, he remembered Grandpa Hu's reminder. Hehad told Dong Xuebing that behind every question, there was a hidden meaning.

Close. Dong Xuebing nearly told the interviewers about hisanalysis of the stock market.

The interviewers asked this question was not to know if DongXuebing play shares. They should be looking for other answers.

Dong Xuebing reorganized his words in his mind and said:"The earlier part of the year, all the major markets were doing well. I thinkthis is a good thing, but also a bad thing. From the perspective ofeconomics..." Dong Xuebing starts to talk about how the global economicsituation can affect China's economy. This was what he learned over the past two weeks. Although it was not veryimpressive, it was better than repeating what was reported in the papers. Atleast he did not say anything wrong.

Dong Xuebing just wanted to besaved and secure his 4th position. This way, he would stillbe able to be a civil servant.

"... That's my thoughts about the stock market." After 2minutes, Dong Xuebing stop.

The taller man looked at him: "That's all?"

Dong Xuebing was stunned: "... That's all." What does hemean? I did not answer his question correctly?

The taller man did not say anything. The 3 interviewers startto write something. It should be their comments and ratings of Dong Xuebing.After a while, the shorter man asked: "If you are now working with thegovernment and your men on the ground often make a lot of suggestions over theinternet. What will you do?"

Dong Xuebing thought for a few seconds. He remembered thestandard replies he memorized a few days ago. Those replies were to answerthese types of hypothetic questions. He felt that it can be used to answer thisquestion. He immediately rephrases the replies he memorized in his mind and responded: "Currently, the internet has becomea channel for people to voice their thoughts and sentiments. This is animportant channel for the government. When the subsidiary units use theinternet to make suggestions to the higher-ups,they will also reflect the issues they are facing on the ground. As thehigher-ups, it will be easier for us to understand what they are going throughand find ways to deal with the problems..." Dong Xuebing speaks for about 2minutes. "That's my answer to your question."

The taller man fanned himself with the stack of papers infront of him: "That's all?"

Still not enough?

Dong Xuebing thought for a while and said a bit more fromthe various answers he memorized: "If the subsidiary units made suggestionsabout our working attitudes and operating models, I would consolidate all heir suggestions and all for a departmentmeeting. We should look into improving our work attitudes and operations. As aservice provider, we should constantly refine and improve the ways we dothings..." Dong Xuebing continued for another 2 more minutes.

The woman and the shorter man were writing something.

The taller man asked with the same tone: "Is there any morethings you want to add?"

The woman frowned and looked at the taller man withoutsaying a word.

The shorter man was tapping the desk with his pen. He keptlooking down on the document in front of him and seldom raise his head.

"Ermmm... that's all." Dong Xuebing was frustrated.

Dong Xuebing continued to answer the next few questions. Hefelt that he had responded to thequestions well. But that taller man does not seem satisfied with him. He keptasking "That's all? Finished? Nothing else? What about the rest?" after DongXuebing's replies. He made it sounds like Dong Xuebing had givena very badanswer. He will indirectly influence theother two interviewers.

Damn, who did I offend?Why was this person making things so difficult for me?

Were all Civil Servant interviews like this? Cannot be. DongXuebing had never heard of such interviewers.

Dong Xuebing's heart sank. He knew that he will not passthis interview. He could tell from the taller interviewer that he was trying tomake things difficult for him.

Damn.

He will not pass the interview...

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 13 – Unbelievable person

Swish, swish, swish...

The pages of the documentwere flipped over slowly. All the interview questions were asked.

Dong Xuebing was feeling frustrated, but he could not blowup. He could only bear with it.

The taller interviewer tapped on the document in front ofhim with his fingers and not saying a word. This interviewer had indeed wantedDong Xuebing to score poorly for thisinterview. On the second day after the written test results were released, hehad received a call from a leader. That leader had told him the name of a youngman who will be going for the interview. Although the leader did not sayanything, the taller interviewer knew that the young man was this leader'snephew. The leader was hinting to him to let his nephew pass the interview andget the position.

The tall interviewer checked the results, and the young man's resultswere 5th.He needs to get rid of one person in the top 4.

The first 3 people had handled the interview very well. So,this interviewer decided to fail the 4th position candidate, DongXuebing. This person did not have anybackground and was from an averagefamily. Dong Xuebing's results were onlyslightly higher than the 5th place. If he suppresses Dong Xuebing's interview results, Dong Xuebing will drop to the 6th or 7thplace. This was why he was trying to make things difficult for Dong Xuebing.The other interviewers knew what he was trying to do.

But here's the problem.

Although Dong Xuebing's answers were not fantastic, he didnot make any mistakes. If the tall interviewer gave Dong Xuebing a low scorefor no reasons, he might get into trouble if he was found out. He decided to focuson the last interview question. Based on the interview procedures, the last question of the interview was up to theinterviewer. The interviewer can ask anything.

Dong Xuebing does not know that the moment he steps footinto this interview room, he was destined to fail.

"Uh, this is the last question..." The taller interviewer wasthinking hard about what question to ask.

Just when Dong Xuebing was preparing to listen to the finalquestion, a group of people walked pastthe interview room.

A younger woman was laughing and saying: "If you want to buya phone, you should buy an iPhone. It is the trendiest phone."

A slightly older man replied: "I am still used to Nokia phones."

"We should support our country's domestic products." Anotherman in his 30s said.

Their voices were quite loud. Dong Xuebing and the 3interviewers looked at them. When those people walked further away, the tallerinterviewer who was closest to the door, stood up and close the door. Hereturned to back to his seat behind the desk and asked: "This is the lastquestion of this interview. What are the colors and brand of those people'sclothes and shoes, who walked past justnow?"

"Ah?" Dong Xuebing thought he had heard wrong. "Can you please repeat your question?"

The taller man repeated his question impatiently: "What arethe colors and brand of those people's clothes and shoes, who walked past just now?"

Dong Xuebing was stunned. All his focus was on theinterviewers in front of him. He did not notice those people who walked past.

The taller interviewer looked at him: "You can't even tellme the color of one person's clothes and shoes?"

The female interviewer's face changed. She wanted to saysomething, but she paused and shook her head.

WTF was this question? How can one remember those people'sclothes and shoes without preparation? This was an interview and who would dareto be distracted to notice those people? This was too much. Dong Xuebing couldnot stand it any longer and asked: "Sorry, I do not understand what has theirclothes and shoe color got to do with myinterview."

The taller interviewer looked at him emotionlessly: "We takea lot of factors into consideration during the interview. For example, yourobservations, memories, focus, etc. Can't you answer me?" Seeing Dong Xuebing'spale face, the tall interviewer wrote something on his document and said:"That's all. You can go back and wait for our call."

That's it?

I can't get this position?

Fuck! Dong Xuebing was mad. Fine, you want to test myobservations, memories, focus skills?

Back!

...

The scene changes.

Dong Xuebing could hear the footsteps, "...buy an iPhone. Itis the trendiest phone."

A slightly older man replied: "I am still used to Nokiaphones."

"We should support our country's domestic products." Anotherman in his 30s said.

A younger woman was laughing and saying: "If you want to buya phone, you should buy an iPhone. This is the trendiest phone."

"I am still used to Nokia phones."

"We should support our country's domestic products."

The two men and that woman walked past the office again. Dong Xuebing immediately stared at them.

The taller interviewer closedthe door and returned to his seat: "This is the last question of thisinterview. What are the colors and brand of those people's clothes and shoes,who walked past just now?" Theinterviewer was confident that Dong Xuebing was unable to answer him. Even hewho tried to remember what those people were wearing, he could not see theirshoes properly. Let alone the brand of their shoes. No one should be able toknow.

The female interviewer could not stand it. What sort ofinterview question was this? However, because of the leader notifying themabout his nephew in advanced, she kept quiet and did not stop the tallinterviewer.

Dong Xuebing closedhis eyes and did not say a word.

The tall interviewer looked at him: "You can't answer me? Ok.This interview is over. You can go back and wait for our call." He finishedsaying and was about to write down the results of the interview.

Dong Xuebing slowly opened his eyes and said with his eyeshalf-open: "That girl is wearing a cottonmaterial top, orange in color and a white pleatedskirt. She is wearing a pair of grey and white open toe heels. There is apurple colored flower print design on the heels." The 3 interviewers wereshocked. Dong Xuebing continued: "That man in his 30s is wearing a brown andwhite strip T-shirt. He is also wearing a gold necklace. His pants are black incolored, and his shoes are a pair ofblack pointed toes leather shoes. At the pointed part if the shoes, there wassome dust."

The taller interviewer dropped his pen on the desk, and the pen rolled to the edge and dropped ontothe floor.

Dong Xuebing took a deep breath and continued: "The last manwas wearing a casual shirt with embroidery patterns. The shirt is black incolor, and the embroidery pattern is adragon. The embroidery pattern has many colors, but it is mainly gold andwhite. His pants are a pair of grey jeans. The material is a softer material, and his shoes are of canvas material. The toppart of the shoes is brownish yellow in color, andthe bottom part is greyish white. The shoelaces on both feet are of a differentcolor. The left foot is red in color, andthe right is green." Dong Xuebing had practiced his memories to cheat in thewritten test. He was able to remember things quickly. He looked up at theinterviewers: "Ermmmm... That's all."

The taller interviewer immediately ran out of the room.

3 minutes later, he walked back into the office. The othertwo interviewers looked at him, and henodded listlessly.

They took in a deep breath to calm themselves.

The taller interviewer looked at Dong Xuebing as if he was amonster. "Ermmm... Very good. You... erm...you go back and wait for our notification."

Dong Xuebing stood up and bowed to the interviewers. "Thankyou for the interview."

After Dong Xuebing left, the taller interviewer lit acigarette. "Incredible."

"That's right." The shorter man said. "I have never metanyone like him. How did he remember all those details?"

"I also want to know how." The female interviewer said. "Hedid not know what you are going to ask beforehand and had just glanced at thosepeople. How come he can even remember the color of the shoelaces and the dustat the tip of the shoes? This cannot be described as having good observationskills and memory. This was too unbelievable."

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 14 – Pass!

Two days later. Morning.

Qu Yunxuan's apartment living room.

Dong Xuebing and his mother had wanted to ask Aunt Xuanalong to buy groceries in the southern part of the city. The meat andvegetables there were cheaper. But when they entered her apartment, they sawXiao Dong and his mother, Mrs. Xu, sitting in the living room chatting withAunt Xuan. Dong Xuebing's mother pulled a chair over and join in theirconversations. The Dong and Xu families were not on good terms, especially DongXuebing and Xiao Dong. But Beijing people had lots of pride and tried to benice to each other. Even when they dislike each other, they will still chat fora while whenever they met.

"Xiao Ping, I heard that your son Xiao Bing had beenrevising these few days."

"That's right. The National Civil Servant exams are in 6 months. What about your Xiao Dong?"

"He is also doing his revision. If the questions are not toodifficult, he should be able to pass."

"Sighed... You do not need to worry about your son, unlike me.My Xuebing had never been good with his studies since young."

Dong Xuebing sat there quietly drinking a glass of cokegiven to him by Aunt Xuan. He did not take part in their conversations. He knewthat his chances of passing the interview wereslim. The main interviewer had somethingagainst him, and most likely he will failthe interview. Dong Xuebing had been feeling down and had been quiet the pasttwo days.

"Drink slowly." Qu Yunxuan took a tissue paper and helpedDong Xuebing's mouth. What are you thinking?"

Xiao Dong saw the way Qu Yunxuan wipe Dong Xuebing's mouth.He glared at Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing smiled: "I am thinking about the exams."

Qu Yunxuan sighed. "Don't give yourself too much pressure. Iam worried about you."

Mrs. Xu said with an air of superiority: "That's right. Ihad said previously. The chances of fresh graduates passing the Civil Servanttest is too low. You should get a job and have a few years of workingexperiences first. After 2 to 3 years, you can try again for the nationalexams. Treat this few years as training. One of my colleague's kid had taken the National Exams for a few years after he graduated but had not passed.He had wasted his time."

Qu Yunxuan does not like the way she speaks. "You can't beso sure."

Mrs. Xu nodded. "Ifyou are lucky, you might pass the written test after a few tries."

Qu Yunxuan rubbed Dong Xuebing's head and said: "Our XiaoBing is very smart. He should be able topass the next National Exams."

Xiao Dong took his eyes away from Qu Yunxuan and looked atDong Xuebing. After one month, he had regained his confidence. "My written testresults are out. I got 85 marks for the administrative aptitude test. I heardthat very few candidates got more than 90 marks for this year. How much did youget?" 85 marks for AAT? That means Xiao Dong did not score any marks for the essay test. If not, he would havemet the minimum required marks of 100 to qualify for the Custom's interview.

Dong Xuebing replied without even looking at him. "Iforgot."

Xiao Dong sneered. "Your results are not good? Do you needme to give you some tuitions?"

"No need. I can do my own revisions." Dong Xuebing was notinterested.

Maybe it was because Qu Yunxuan was around and Xiao Dong tried to leave a good impression:"Ok. You can always ask me if you have difficulties answering any questions."

Mrs. Xu smiled happily and patted Xiao Dong on his back: "Myson is very good in administrativeaptitude test. I asked all the neighbors around here who's kids had taken part in this test. None of them hadscored more than 80 marks. The best was only 65 marks. But my Xiao Dong had notdone very well for his essay questions. At least he was better than a lot ofpeople. Many of them did not even get 15 marks."

Dong Xuebing's mother sighed: "Your son will definitely beas successful as Section Chief Xu in the future."

Mrs. Xu laughed proudly: "Who knows what will happen in thefuture?"

Ringringring... Dong Xuebing's phone rang. He took it outfrom his pocket and answered: "Hello?"

"Hi, are you Dong Xuebing?" It was a man's voice. From his voice, Dong Xuebing could not tell his age. Hemight be in his 40s, 50s and even 60s.

"I am. May I know who's calling?"

"I am calling from West District's State Security Branch Bureau,Political Section. The City Bureau had sent the results of your application inthe morning. I am calling to notify you. You are required to report to WestDistrict's State Security Branch Bureau on next Monday, 9 am. You can take downthe address. Western district, Zixin Road East, south of the 50 meters mark.You will see a building with no signages. Because we are a special unit, wewill not be issuing any written notification to you. You only need to bringyour identification card, Household Register, the original and a photocopy ofyour school's certificate."

Dong Xuebing was in a daze. "Ah? You are saying... saying..."

The man on the phone said in a firm tone: "You have passedthe Civil Servant test and interview. We are short on manpower. This is why weneed you to report earlier than other departments. If you have any other reasonthat prevents you from reporting latestby next Friday, we might cancel your application. Do take note."

Dong Xuebing anxiously said: "No, no. I have no problems. Iwill surely be there on Monday."

"Good." The sound of paper rustling could be heard over thephone. "The section you are being posted to is General Office. You will knowthe detail when you report on Monday." State Security was different from othergovernment agencies. Applicants for the other agencies could write down thespecific section or departments on the application form. But for StateSecurity, the applicants can only write "Administrative Department" or othergeneral terms. It was up to the office to assign the applicant.

"Yes. Yes. Thank you."

"That's all." Too, too, too... The line was cut.

Dong Xuebing kept his phone and return to his seat. His handwas shaking.

Dong Xuebing's mother looked at him concernedly: "Did youfind a job? What company is it? How is the benefit?"

Mrs. Xu said: "That's right. Get a job outside while tryingfor the test or exams again. I am being frankwith you. Even if you are not able to pass, at least you can still supportyourself."

Xiao Dong looked at Dong Xuebing arrogantly: "Is your salarymore than 2,000 RMB?"

Dong Xuebing can't be bothered with him. He turned to facehis mother. "Mum, I need to tell you something."

His mother looked at him: "What?"

Dong Xuebing cleared his throat. "Ermmm... I passed the test,and I am a Civil Servant now."

Dong Xuebing's mother almost choked on her tea. She coughedand put down the teacup. "What did you say? What did you pass?"

"I said I passed the Civil Servant test and I am a CivilServant now."

"Nonsense." Dong Xuebing's mother stared at him. "Do youthink it is funny to trick me?"

Qu Yunxuan and pinched Dong Xuebing's arm. "You are not evencall up for the interview, how can you be a Civil Servant? Since when did youbecome so humorous? It's fine. You can retakethe test. Just work harder and stop thinking about the past test. Cheerup."

Dong Xuebing raised his voice. "Mum, Aunt Xuan, since whendid I lie to you all? I really pass the test, andthey have already notified me over the phone."

"Ah?" Dong Xuebing's mother, Aunt Xuan, Mrs. Xu, andXiao Dong were all stunned.

...

Translator'snotes:

HouseholdRegister or Hukou

https/en./wiki/Hukou_system

Power and Wealth

Chapter 15 – The Road Ahead!

Qu's apartment.

Living room.

Dong Xuebing's mother immediately asked: "What's going on?Tell me."

Qu Yunxuan also asked: "You pass the test? But didn't youdid badly for your administrative aptitude and essay tests?"

"Ermmmm. I did not do badly for the test. You all are theones who misunderstood me and all of you had never asked me about the test."Dong Xuebing laughed embarrassedly. "Later, I felt that I still have to passthe interview and I am not confident. That's why I did not tell you. I don'twant to give you false hopes. Errr... Do you still remember I had gone out inthe morning of the day before yesterday? I had gone for the interview thatmorning. During the interview, I felt my replies were not good, and I was in the 4th place. Ithought I had failed the interview. But they had just called me, asking me toreport to the Western District Branch Bureau next Monday. They told me that Iam hired."

Dong Xuebing's mother grabbed his hand. Her lips weretrembling: "You really pass? You are not lying to me?"

Dong Xuebing replied: "Hahaha. I don't dare to lie to you."

Mrs. Xu stuttering asked: "Is this a mistake? What is yourscore for the written test?"

Dong Xuebing looked at the mother and son. "My overall scorefor the test is about 130."

"130?" Xiao Dong grasped. "You really scored 130 for youroverall score?"

"My clever boy... my clever boy..." Dong Xuebing's motherstarted to cry. Her tears were flowing. She was holding on to Qu Yunxuan's handand was lost for words. "Yunxuan, did you hear it? Xuebing had passed. My sonis now a Civil Servant."

"Yes, yes. I heard it." Qu Yunxuan helped to wipe her tears."This is a good thing. Stop crying."

Dong Xuebing's mother could not stop her tears from flowingdown. "I am too happy. Really very happy."

Qu Yunxuan laughed and playfully knocked Dong Xuebing'shead: "You this rascal had done usproud."

Dong Xuebing was feeling very emotional too.

After a while, Dong Xuebing's mother finally stopped hertears. She wiped her face and immediately said: "Yunxuan, don't cook lunchtoday. Come over to my place for lunch. I will go downstairs to buy morevegetables and meat. I will prepare a feast." She turned to Mrs. Xu and XiaoDong. "You and Xiao Dong don't leave e over to my place for lunch."

Mrs. Xu slowly forced a smile: "No thanks. I... I still havesomething on in the afternoon."

Xiao Dong gritted his teeth: "Mum, let's go."

Qu Yunxuan asked politely: "Why not stay a while longer?"

"We still have something on later. You all can carry on."

Mrs. Xu dragged Xiao Dong out. Before leaving, Xiao Dong looked at Dong Xuebing jealously. Hecan no longer be arrogant and proud. Dong Xuebing becoming a Civil Servant wasa massive blow to this mother and sonpair.

About 10 minutes after they left, there was the soundof things being thrown about from upstairs. Shouts could also be heard.

"Stop hitting our son." It was Mrs. Xu's voice. "Stop hitting."

"Dad..."

"Even that kid from the Dong Familyis better than you! I will break your legs today!" It was Section Chief Xu'svoice.

"Ahhhhh..."

Dong Xuebing felt good hearing Xiao Dong screaming in pain.

During lunch, the overjoyed Dong Xuebing's mother drank twobottles of beer. "Xuebing, you have made me proud. Mum had never been so happy my whole life. Help me top up my glass. Iwill finish this bottle today."

Dong Xuebing was also feeling proud and helped his mother, and Aunt Xuan poured beer.

Qu Yunxuan reminded: "Don't let Sister Luan drink so much.She will get drunk."

"It's ok, it's ok." Dong Xuebing's mother was smiling andraised her glass. "Yunxuan, let me toast you. These few days, you had helpedXuebing a lot. If it were not for youhelping him to cook and wash his clothes, he wouldnot have so much time to study."

Dong Xuebing heard this and quickly raise his glass too."Aunt Xuan, thank you."

Qu Yunxuan waved her hand and said: "Sister Luan, Xiao Bing,don't say that. Xiao Bing had saved my life. Let's not thank each other. I amyounger than you, so I should be the one toasting you. Cheers."

Evening.

Qu Yunxuan returned home, andDong Xuebing's mother was humming an eighties song while packing her luggage.

Dong Xuebing can't bear to see his mum leaving: "Why do youhave to leave so early? Can't you stay for a few more days?"

"The village is starting school soon. I had wanted to returna few days ago, but I saw you were down. That's why I stayed to accompany you."Dong Xuebing's mother smiled. "Now, you have entered the government service, and I have no more worries. It's time I go backto the village." Beihe Province was not far from Beijing and was only a 3 hourscar ride away.

Dong Xuebing helped his mother packed two middle schoolChinese Language teaching materials. "Let me send you off tomorrow. You mustremember to take care of yourself."

Dong Xuebing's mother smiled. "Don't worry about me. Youmust be careful when working in a governmentagency. It is the most competitive place in China. Our family has no background, and it will not be easy for a commoner to be promoted. It's fine ifyou remain as a low-level staff and not be promoted. I just want you to besafe."

Dong Xuebing nodded listlessly. "I know."

If it were 2 monthsago, Dong Xuebing would be contented if he could find a 2,000 RMB a month joband an average woman as his wife. He and his wife will take a loan to buy anapartment and live happily ever after. He had never imagined his life willchange so much. He was now a civil servant.

Since getting the specialpower, things had been going smoothly for him in the right direction.

Be an officer? It does not seem to be an unrealistic goal.

What's the road ahead?

What's my next step?

At night, Dong Xuebing was deep in thoughts while lying onthe couch. Since he was able to enter the government service and have the specialpower 'Back,' he felt he should plan hislife. If he were still an average person, he would be satisfied to be promoted to a Deputy Divisional Chiefafter working there for 10 to 20 years. But now, Dong Xuebing can turn back time. He should be able to usethis ability to get power and wealth.

Set the goal as Section Chief? A village mayor? A County Mayor?Or a Provincial Bureau head?

Getting the rank of a Section Chief before retirement at 60years' old? Huh? Is this goal set too low?

Then how about Divisional Chief? Will it be too high? DongXuebing was not even confident of reaching the rank of a Deputy Section Chief.Divisional Chief was too far away.

But...

After a while, Dong Xuebing slapped his lap. "That's it!"

Dong Xuebing decided to set his goal "higher." Of course, if it was possible, he alsowanted to be promoted from a Staff Member to a Section Head level, from aSection Chief level to a Divisional Chief level, from a Divisional Chief levelto a Bureau Director level, from a Bureau Director level to ProvincialMinisterial level and from Provincial Ministerial level to National Level...Yes. This will be my goal.

Dong Xuebing wants to enter the Central Committee.

He wants to enter the Political Bureau of the CentralCommittee of the CPC!

Dong Xuebing had set this unrealistic goal as his target inhis heart.

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 16 – General Affairs Department

...

Monday.

Morning, at 8 am.

Dong Xuebing was walking towards Western District StateSecurity Branch Bureau. He was still thinking about the ridiculous goal he set for himself two days ago. But when heremembers that he had not even reportedfor work and he was already dreaming ofbecoming a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, heblushed. If his mother or his classmates knew about his dreams, they would surely laugh at him. But Dong Xuebing willnot give up so easily. He will work hard to achieve this goal.

Western District, Zhixin Road.

West side of a cross junction.

Looking at the time, it was only 8.20 am. There was stilltime before 9 am. Dong Xuebing walkedover to a roadside stall and bought an egg crepe for breakfast. He ate the crepe behind a pirated book store. He wasfamiliar with this area. The venue for his written test, No. 15 Middle School, was just ahead. Just across thewalkways was the South entrance to Jiangong Hospital. Further east was thenorthern entrance of Tao Ran Ting gardens.

Just after Dong Xuebing finishes his crepe, he saw a busentering a bus stop in front of him.

A man alighted from the bus. All the passers-by turned tolook at him. He was a young man about 1.9m in height and about 150 Kg inweight. He should be about Dong Xuebing's age and had a fierce look. All theother office workers at the bus stop thoughthe was a hooligan and stepped away from him.

After alighting from the bus, the tall and fat man lookedaround and walked towards Dong Xuebing.

When Dong Xuebing thought that he was going to be beaten upby this big size hooligan, that big size man squatsdown on a step 1 m away from him. He reachedout his hand and patted a dirty stray cat sleeping on the steps. He stroked thecat, and the cat was meowing and lickingthat man's hand.

"Are you hungry?" That man asked the cat gently. "What doyou want to eat? I will go and buy now."

The cat was meowing and playfully scratching that man withits claws.

That big size man played with the cat for a while beforewalking over to a roadside stall to buy a sausage and start feeding the cat. "Eatslowly. Don't choke." His actions were a stark contrast to his outerappearances. Dong Xuebing was still not accustomed to this, but he felt thatthis was a caring person.

It was finally 8.50 am.

Dong Xuebing walked past that big size man and made a turnaround the corner. He walked towards a rusty gate. He could see 2 old buildingswhich were built in the 70s or 80s in the compound. The metal gates were closed,and there was only an opened window by the side of a small guardroom. A few people were pushing their bicycles slowlythrough the gate. Dong Xuebing felt hewas in the wrong place. He thought this was an office building and thecondition of this place was too poor.There were even no guards outside. This was more like a state-owned factory,rather than a State Security branch.

There were no signages at the entrance.

Dong Xuebing looked around and then tried to follow a middleage man, who was pushing his bicycle, through the gates.

"Eh! You. Wait!" An old man's head sticks out of that open window of the guardroom. "Who are youlooking for?"

Dong Xuebing immediately replied: "Is this the WesternDistrict State Security Branch Bureau? I have just passed my Civil Servant testthis year, and the Political Sectionoffice had called me to report today at 9 am. My name is Dong Xuebing."

The old man nodded and picked up the landline phone to make a call. After a few seconds, that old man hung up the phone and nodded to Dong Xuebing.He hands over a registration book to him. "Sign this, and you can enter. The Political Section office is at the southeastbuilding. That grey colored building. It is on the second floor, right at theend of the corridor. You proceed there straight. Don't wander around."

"Ok. Thank you."

The mood in the compound was very different from othergovernment agencies. Beijing people were very hospitableand will greet and chat for a while when they see someone they know. They willtalk about some meaningless stuff, like "Have you eaten breakfast?" "how's yourflu?" "Are your kids in school?" Etc. But in this compound, the people onlynodded to each other and did not speak. Only when they saw a leader, they willopen their mouths and greet them "Good morning, Section Chief." Or "Goodmorning, Director." There was no pointless chatting.

Grey building.

Second floor's corridor.

Dong Xuebing saw the sign "Political Section office" on thewall. But there were lots of offices there, andhe does not know which office to enter. When he was hesitating, he heardfootsteps behind him. He turns around. Huh? It was that big size man he met atthe bus stop. Was he also from the State Security?

"Excuse me." Dong Xuebing asked. "This is my first day. Doyou know which office should I go?"

That big size man paused and scratched his headembarrassedly. "I am also here to report, and I am also looking for theoffice."

"Huh? What a coincidence." Both kept quiet. Dong Xuebingcould feel this person was not good at talking like him. He cleared his throatand said: "Errrmmm... My name is Dong Xuebing."

That big size man smiled: "I am Sun Zhuang. I have justgraduated from University. My friends in school callme Zhuang Zhi (means pillar in Chinese)."

Both shook hands and walked into an office nearest to them.They entered the correct office. A staff member in civilian clothes told themto wait there. A Deputy Chief from the Political Section office entered theroom and go through all the paperwork and told them the rules and regulationswithin the department.

More than an hour past.

The Deputy Chief took a sip of tea: "That's all. The both ofyou will be posted to the General Affairs Department. I heard that the department is short on manpower. Try tofamiliarize yourselves with this place. Tomorrow will be your official firstday. As for your uniforms, we will give it to you when it is ready. Anyway,other than some meetings in the City Bureau, we do not need to wear the StateSecurity uniforms. This is not important."

After finishing what he had to say, he asked the staffmember to show Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi where their office was.

The General Affairs Department was located on the groundfloor. It was a partitioned small office. There were 8 to 9 desks in it.

That staff member from the Political Section office walkedin and said: "We have newcomers. Both are fresh graduates. This is DongXuebing, and this is Sun Zhuang."

Dong Xuebing knew the firstimpression was essential and he modestlysaid: "I am new here and do not know anything. Please guide me along in thefuture. Thank you."

Zhuang Zi heard Dong Xuebing, and he quickly said: "Me too. Please guide us along."

The people in the office look at both of them from head totoe.

One girl in the office laughed. "Don't worry. Once you enterthis office, we are one big family."

That staff member from the Political Section office pointedto the 5-6 people in the office. "Chief Zhou had gone to the doctor? He doesnot seem to be around. This lady is Tan Limei, that is Old Yan, Guo Panwei, GuoShunjie, Changjuan..."

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 17 – Staff members

Tuesday.

Western District Branch Bureau, General Affairs Department.

Today was Dong Xuebing's official first day of work. Hisdesk was by a window in a corner. Sun shone brightly on his desk through the window's panels. It was warmand bright. Pulling the curtains had helped a bit. Directly opposite of DongXuebing was Zhuang Zhi's desk. They were facing each other. In the middle,there were 2 17in monitors and a table calendar separating them.

In the office, other than Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi, the rest of the staffs were very busy.

A cheerful girl standing at the photocopier machine wasorganizing some documents. She said without raising her head: "Guo Shunfa, Ihave too many things to do. Help me photocopy some documents. The Bureau needsthem urgently."

Guo Shunfa, in his late 20s, was busily typing on hiskeyboard: "I am also very busy. Asksomeone else to help you."

The oldest staff in the office, Old Yan was sitting at hisdesk reading the newspapers. He does not have any intention to offer his help.

Guo Panwei, who looks like a monkey, was looking down,writing something. He shouted: "Let me finish writing this and I will bethere."

The woman, named Changjuan, was holding up a small mirrordrawing her eyebrows.

Dong Xuebing looked around and walked over. "Sister Tan, letme help."

"Ok." Tan Limei passed a stack of documents to Dong Xuebingand said: "You know how to photocopy? Place the documents here along this lineand press that big button. Remember its single side and I need 4 sets. Staplethem when it's ready. Oh, what did youcall me just now? Sister Tan? Haha... Don't call me that. I attended schoolearly and had only just graduated one year ago. I might even be younger thanyou and Zhuang Zhi."

"I will also help." Zhuang Zhi walked over.

Tan Limei casually said: "Fine. One of you photocopy and theother staple. Better be quick. The Leader is waiting."

While waiting for the copier to print the documents, ZhuangZhi clumsily stapled the stacks of papers.

When Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi finished with thedocuments, Guo Panwei, who had been looking down, and Changjuan who was drawingher eyebrows, stood up and said at the same time: "I will send the documentsover." Both looked at each other, andChangjuan smiled seductively: "I will send the documents to the PoliticalSection and the Confidential Department. You can send the documents to the Bureau Chief." They arranged the documents andGuo Panwei straighten his shirt, while Changjuan touched up her makeup. Afterthat, both of them walked out of the office with the papers at the same time.

Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi were puzzled.

Tan Limei was used to this and grumbled behind their back: "Lazingaround at work all the time and only rushed forward when there is a chance tomeet the leaders. Hmph!"

Dong Xuebing was new and does not know the characters of thepeople in the office. He smiled and did not say anything.

Suddenly Guo Shunjie waved: "Xiao Dong, Xiao Sun, come overhere."

Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi walked over: "Yes?"

"Create one more copy for these tables. Do you know Excel?Just use the same format and recreate a table. The data you can get from thisWord document. Copy and paste will do. Don't paste into the wrong table. I needthis file before noon. Once completed, print it out." Guo Shunjie spoke like aleader, and his instructions were clear.When Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi were creating the table, he was free and wasdrinking tea and surfing net. He was reading some aquarium fish forum.

Noon.

Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi completed their task. GuoShunjie looked at the printout and nodded. "Hmmm... Good."

Tan Limei joked: "Leader Guo, it is lunchtime now. Can we go for lunch?"

Guo Shunjie did not get angry and laughed: "I am not aleader yet. Stop poking fun at me."

Guo Panwei looked at his watch and took his clutch bag: "Iwill be going to the hospital to visit Chief Zhou." He left.

Changjuan also stood up: "I will not be eating at thecafeteria. Someone is treating me for lunch."

"Xiao Dong, Xiao Sun." Old Yan, who did not speak a singleword the whole morning, smiled to themboth: "You still have not bought the lunch tickets? Come, let's go. Both of youcan use my tickets first."

Dong Xuebing hurriedly waved his hand. "No need, no need.Thank you. Both of us can eat outside."

Zhuang Zhi also said: "Yes, yes. Thank you."

Tan Limei said: "There is nothing good to eat outside. Don'tthink our cafeteria here is small. The food is delicious. Come, let's go. OldYan, I will bring them to the cafeteria, andthey will use my lunch tickets."

Old Yan smiled at her:"Fine. You, youngsters, should get together more. These two young men seem quite hardworking."

Tan Limei had average looks, but she was very talkative. Shewas able to chat with anyone and dares to say everything. During lunch in thecafeteria, located on the northern sideof the compound, she told them all sorts of gossips.

But thanks to her, Dong Xuebing learned a lot about thisoffice.

In other agencies, the General Affairs Department and theadministrative office were the same things.But as the State Security was a particularunit, there were many confidential documents. This was why the General AffairsDepartment here had a separate office to handle meeting materials, writing andediting Leaders' speeches, transferring of files, and other miscellaneousstuff. The Chief of this office was Deputy Divisional Chief rank, and he does not really care about the workhere. He let his Deputy Chief Zhou, take charge of everything in the office.Zhou Changchun was in his 50s, and hishealth was not very good. He often needs to take sick leaves.

Under Deputy Chief Zhou, were the staff members like them.

Old Yan was the most senior in the office. But many yearsago, he had offended a leader from City's State Security Bureau and could notbe promoted. He was now in his 50s andwas still a staff member, despite almost reaching his retirement age. He hadalso got over it. He just comes to work and read the newspaper the whole day.He will not do any work and does not care about everything.

Guo Panwei was an ambitious person. He likes to hang aroundthe leaders bootlicking, and he knows most of the leaders.

Guo Shunjie had someone in the Bureau. Hearsay, the DistrictDirector / Political Commissar, was goodfriends with his father. This was why, other than Deputy Chief Zhou, GuoShunjie does not listen or care about anyone else. He thinks he was the"biggest" among the staff members.

Changjuan in her 30s. Althoughher looks were average, she likes to doll up and flirts with the leaders. Shelooks like she was hoping to be some leaders' mistress.

Tan Limei was the only person in the office that does actualwork. She handles almost all thedocuments in the office.

That's the situation in this office.

Offices... were complicated...

Translator'snotes:

PoliticalCommissar

https/en./wiki/Political_commissar#China

Power and Wealth

Chapter 18 – Said the wrong things!

As usual, Dong Xuebing practicedon familiarizing his power Back yesterday.

Wednesday morning, after Dong Xuebing woke up, he received acall from Qu Yunxuan over for breakfast.

Someone famous will bevisiting Aunt Xuan's workplace,and she was wearing formal office wear today.She was beautiful with her faircomplexion and hourglass figure. Tan Limei and Changjuan were too far awaycompared to her. Even the prettiest girl in Dong Xuebing's university could notbe compared to Qu Yunxuan's beauty.

"Aunt Xuan." During breakfast, Dong Xuebing could not helpbut praise her. "You are so pretty today."

But after saying that, he immediately regrets. Why did I mention that?

Qu Yunxuan blushed. She stared at Dong Xuebing and pretendedlike she was going to hit him: "You want me to hit you?"

Dong Xuebing kept quiet and quickly continued with hisbreakfast.

"Eat slowly. No one will eat your food." Qu Yunxuan rolledher eyes and wipe the corner of his lips with a paper napkin. She asked gently:"How was your first day of work yesterday? Aunt Xuan has a piece of advice foryou. Watch what you say at work. There are a lot of unspoken rules in the workplace. If you offended any leadersunconsciously, it would be hard for youto carry on working there. So, talk less work more. If you need to bootlickyour superiors, then you bootlick them. Do you remember what I said?"

Dong Xuebing replied: "Yes."

After breakfast, Dong Xuebing bid Qu Yunxuan farewell andleft for work.

At the foot of the apartment building, Dong Xuebing met Mrs.Xu and her son. She seemed to be bringingher son out and was flagging for a taxi. When Mrs. Xu saw Dong Xuebing, shebattered her eyelid and smiles. "Xiao Bing, are you going to work? How is yourwork?" Mrs. Xu's attitude towards Dong Xuebing changed a lot after the latterbecame a Civil Servant. She was no longer arrogant like before.

Dong Xuebing replied: "It's fine. Things were slightlybusier in the morning, and I have notmuch work in the afternoon."

Xiao Dong looked at him with a black face and entered thetaxi.

Mrs. Xu also opened the door of the taxi and said: "We willmake a move first. Xiao Dong wants to visit the antique market."

"Bye." Haha, things change when I entered the governmentservice. I am still not even an official.

With a relaxed mood,Dong Xuebing boarded a public bus to the Western District Branch Bureau. Hesmiled to the old guard at the guardhouse and entered the compound with someother staff members he did not know. He walked to the grey building and entered the office. After putting his things athis desk, he picked up a broom and start sweeping the office.

In the past, cleaning up the office was Guo Panwei's duties.He did that was to show how "hardworking" he was to the leaders. But after DeputyChief Zhou was hospitalized last week, Guo Panwei no longer cleans up theoffice. Why? Because the leader was not around to see him working. Why shouldhe do it?

"Oh, Xiao Dong? Why are you so early today?" Guo Shunjiewalked in with his bag.

Dong Xuebing smiled: "There are no traffic jams thismorning, so I arrived early."

Soon, Guo Panwei and Changjuan entered the office together,chatting.

Tan Limei was the fifth person to arrive, and Zhuang Zhi was the sixth. Old Yan was thelast to reach the office.

The workload on Wednesday was much lower than Monday andTuesday. Dong Xuebing saw that Tan Limei does not need his help, he took a mopand clean the toilet outside the corridor. He also mopped the hallway outside the office. Someone had dirtiedthe area with spit and melon seeds shells.

While Dong Xuebing was cleaning up, he heard footsteps at the end of the corridor.

He looked up and saw a man in his 50s, walking slowly towards his direction. That manwas walking with a slight limp. His left leg could take a bigger step than his right. He looked like hehad a mild stroke before. Dong Xuebing knew that this person should be theDeputy Chief Zhou Changchun, who was hospitalized last week. He was the head ofthis General Affairs office.

Dong Xuebing wanted to leave a good impression with theleader, and he pretended not to see him.He continued to mop the floor diligently.

"You are?" Zhou Changchun asked puzzledly.

Dong Xuebing pretended to just notice him, and he paused for a while, wiping his sweatfrom his forehead: "Ah... You must be Deputy Chief Zhou? Nice to meet you. I amjust posted to this office. My name is Dong Xuebing, you..."

Zhou Changchun just gave a short reply and entered theoffice: "Ok."

"Deputy Chief Zhou, i..." Dong Xuebing thought the leaderwill ask him some questions, but he just walkspast him. He was thinking in his heart, what's wrong with the leader?

But when Dong Xuebing thought Deputy Chief Zhou was someonevery stern and does not speak much, he heard Zhou Changchun greeted the rest ofthe staff members in a friendly manner. "Thanks for working hard everyone.Haha, did anything important happen when I am in the hospital?"

Tan Limei joked: "Chief Zhou, you still don't trust us?"

Changjuan also laughed seductively: "That's right. ChiefZhou, since when did we create problems for you?"

Guo Panwei also walked over to Deputy Chief Zhou: "I willhelp you brew a cup of tea."

"Chief Zhou, are you feeling better?" Guo Shunjie asked.

Dong Xuebing was stunned, andhe slapped his forehead. He realized why Zhou Changchun treated him so coldly.Everyone in the office addressed him as Chief Zhou, leaving out the wordDeputy. Dong Xuebing was the foolish one who greeted him as Deputy Chief Zhou.Although it was just a word, there was a huge difference.People will feel better without the word Deputy. It also shows that yourespected that leader. This was an unspoken rule in the government sector.Everyone does this.

Actually, Dong Xuebing also knew about this rule. Grandpa Huhad told him about this in the hospital. But Dong Xuebing did not really pay attentionto this. But now, he was accepted into the government sector, and he had offended his direct superior on hissecond day of work. This was a grave mistake.

Dong Xuebing quickly shouted: "Back!"

...

The surroundings changed.

Melon seeds shells appeared on the clean floor again.

Tap, tap, tap. It was the sound of footsteps.

"You are?" Zhou Changchun pale looking face appeared infront of Dong Xuebing.

"Ah? You must be Chief Zhou?" Dong Xuebing repliedenergetically. "I am the new staff member. My name is Dong Xuebing. Nice tomeet you, Chief Zhou."

Zhou Changchun smiled and nodded. "You seem energetic. Youstarted yesterday? How are you adapting?"

Dong Xuebing replied: "Thank you, leader, for asking. I hadfamiliarized myself with the work."

Zhou Changchun patted Dong Xuebing on his shoulders: "Good.Work hard."

Zhou Changchun's attitude was totally different now.

Dong Xuebing wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead. Soclose.

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Chapter 19 – Sitting posture

Thursday.

General Affairs Department Office.

With Chief Zhou around, everybody's working attitude wasdifferent. Guo Panwei was had not been doing anything the past two days wasvery hardworking. He not only helped Tan Limei with her task, but he also helpsChief Zhou clean up his office. Every 10-20 minutes, he would go into ChiefZhou's office to help him pour tea. Changjuan evendid not touch up her makeup in office. She andGuo Shunjie were pretending to work hard. The only person who was stillthe same was Old Yan. He was stillreading newspapers at his desk.

"Xuebing." The big size Zhuang Zhi who was sitting oppositeasked: "What is the password for Word read-onlydocuments?"

Dong Xuebing walked over and look at the monitor. He pressedsome keys on the number pad. "I think it is 5776."

But the file still could not be opened. The password waswrong.

Tan Limei who was sitting not far away turned to face themand smiled: "Excel is 5776, Word is 3328. The both of you must remember thepasswords. Not only you need these passwordto open documents, but you also need toset password access for all your documents. Hahaha. Although we cannot accessto confidential documents here, we still need to follow these protocols." She lowered her voice: "The both ofyou still have not seen the Confidential Files department. They were stricterthan us. Their computers cannot even access the internet."

After the past few days, Dong Xuebing, Zhuang Zhi and TanLimei became closer.

The 3 of them had just graduated from university not longago and were about the same age. Compared to Changjuan, Guo Shunjie and GuoPanwei, who were in their 30s, the 3 of them had more common topics. The 3 of them were also more down to earth anddoes not have too many ideas.

Suddenly Chief Zhou's office door opened.

Guo Panwei immediately picked up his pen and start toscribble on his notebook. He looks like he was working hard. Changjuan, who wasseated the nearest to Chief Zhou's room, immediately closed the Tao Bao page onher monitor. Tan Limei also minimized her QQ windows. From Dong Xuebing's seat,he could see Guo Shunjie resizing the window of the aquarium fish forum to thesmallest. Even Old Yan who had been reading newspapers stood up and walked tothe water dispenser to get a cup of water.

Shua, shua, shua...Gazhi... gazhi...

The only sounds in the office were typing and photocopiermachine.

Zhou Changchun nodded with satisfaction. He walked aroundthe office and see what the staff members were writing or typing. After awhile, he slowly walked back to his room and close the door. The next moment,things returned back to normal. They returned to read newspapers, shopping onTaobao, and whatever they had been doing.

After a while, two men whom Dong Xuebing had never metbefore, came to the General Affairs office. The younger man waited outside andthe older man, in his 30s entered. He was carrying some documents in a brownenvelope. That man looked at Changjuan who nearest to him and then looked atChief Zhou's room. Changjuan nodded, andthat man walked over to knock on the door. He entered the room, and when he left with the young man, he was notholding on to the envelope.

5 to 6 minutes later.

Ring, ring, ring. The phone beside the printer rang.

Tan Limei picked up the phone: "Hello, this is the General AffairsOffice... Oh, Chief Zhou... Yes... Yes..." After hanging up, she looked at DongXuebing and said: "Xuebing, Chief Zhou is looking for you. There is a documentto be sent to the Confidential Filesdepartment. He said, after getting the document from him, Guo Shunjie will showyou the way there and teach you the procedures. Guo Shunjie are you busy now?"According to the regulations, any confidential documents have to be escorted by2 people.

Guo Shunjie replied: "No problem. I will bring him there."

"Then I will go and get the documents now." Dong Xuebingwalked over to Chief Zhou's room. This was his first task given by his leader.He must do a good job.

Knock, knock. "Come in."

The way Chief Zhou speaks was authoritative. Being a leaderwas so good. He could just open his door and call for Dong Xuebing to deliverthe document. But if he does that, hewill not look like a leader. This was why he called the office phone and calledfor Dong Xuebing. His office was only a few meters away from Dong Xuebing desk.Even if he raised his voice slightly, Dong Xuebing could hear him.

Zhou Changchun was sitting in front of a monitor and writingsomething. "Sit and wait a while."

Dong Xuebing replied politely and sat down on a leather couch in the office. The leather couch was old,and some parts were peeling. But it was very soft. It was more comfortable thanthe couch outside in the main office. Dong Xuebing was a bit tired from hiswork, and he leaned back onto the couch.He relaxed his back muscle.

Comfortable.

Zhou Changchun glanced at him and continued writing withoutsaying a word.

Dong Xuebing had good vision, and from where he was sitting, he could see what was on ChiefZhou's monitor. It was a Golden Sun Shares Trading program. Eh? Chief Zhou alsotrades in shares?

Dozens of seconds passed, and Zhou Changchun stoppedwriting. But he still did not pass the document to Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing was puzzled. He thoughtabout why he was called in when the documents were not ready.

He had heard of stories about the leader purposely asksomeone to wait for one side while he does something. It might be the leader does notlike that person. But Dong Xuebing thought about what he had done and does notunderstand what he did wrong. Yesterday he had address Chief Zhou wrongly, buthe had used back to correct it. This morning, he also did not do anythingwrong. What's the reason for Chief Zhou to dislike him?

When he was thinking, Guo Shunjie knocked on the door andentered the room. "Chief Zhou, I am here to collect the document."

Zhou Changchun replied: "Seat and wait for a while."

Zhou Shunjie nodded and walked to the couch. He saw DongXuebing sitting comfortably on the couch. His lips twitched. He thought in hisheart. This newcomer still does not learn the rules? He sat down on the couch with only half his bottom touching the couch and his body upright.

Dong Xuebing saw this and was stunned. Damn! Tan Limei hadsaid that Guo Shunjie had someone backing him in the City Bureau. Why was hestill so tense when sitting? Dong Xuebing was not stupid. He immediatelyrealized the unspoken rule. Although Guo Shunjie was not afraid of Chief Zhou,he still must abide by the rules. If not, the leader will feel that you donot have respect for him.

Fuck!

I did something wrongagain.

Back!

...

Swish, swish, swish. It was the sounds of the pen writing onpaper. Chief Zhou was writing something.

The time had returned to before Zhou Shunjie entered theroom.

Dong Xuebing looked around and realized that he was leaningback on the couch. Chief Zhou still had not noticed him. He immediately satupright with half his bottom touching the edge of the couch. He placed both his hands on his lap looking straight.

2 seconds later, Chief Zhou looked over and saw Dong Xuebingwith a serious expression. Chief Zhounodded and passed the document to him. He smiled. "Ok. Send this document tothe Confidential Department. Haha, you don't need to be so serious."

Dong Xuebing also smile. Don't be serious? Stop bullshittingme. If I am not sitting here pretending to be serious, will you be happy withme?

Dong Xuebing walked out with the document. His back was allwet from his cold sweat.

Officialdom... One wrong step and that's it.

There were even rules about sitting postures.

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 20 – Follow you?

Friday.

At about 10 am, Guo Shunjie returned to his desk afterreceiving a task from Chief Zhou in his office. He looked at the thick stack of documents and frowned. He thenstood up and walked towards Dong Xuebing, who was doing some data entries. Hesmiled and place the stack of papers onthe desk: "Xiao Dong, are you busy? Go through these documents. Chief Zhou saidthat there were too many spelling mistakes. You need to amend it. He needs itby noon."

Should this be your job?

But Dong Xuebing wanted to maintain a good relationship withhis colleagues. "Ok. I will do it now."

Guo Shunjie nodded and returned to his desk. He crossed hislegs and sat there drinking his tea.

11.30 am. Dong Xuebing and Tan Limei went upstairs todeliver a document.

On the way, Tan Limei asked softly: "Guo Shunjie asked youto do his task for him again?"

Dong Xuebing nodded. "We are colleagues, and we should help each other."

"Hmph! What help each other? Guo Shunjie likes to order thenewcomers around because he knows the District Political Commissar. He acts asif he is the leader in the office. When I just arrived here, he had also askedme for lots of things. It's sosickening." Tan Limei grumbled. "Oh, before you and Sun Zhuang came, there wasa hardworking young man. But he left because of Guo Shunjie. Who can toleratebeing ordered around by him?"

Dong Xuebing was surprised. "Really?"

"Why should I lie to you?" Tan Limei did not say any more. "Just be careful."

"I will. Thanks for telling me." Dong Xuebing was thinking.Being in an organization was so much different than in school.

During lunch, Dong Xuebing passed the documents back to GuoShunjie. "Brother Guo, it's done."

Guo Shunjie did not say anything and flipped the documentand read a few pages. He nodded. "Good. Thank you." Guo Shunjie saw Guo Panwei,Changjuan and the rest going out for lunch, he patted the empty seat besidehim. "Xiao Dong, sit. Let's have a chat."

Dong Xuebing sat down: "What is it?"

When both were the only ones left in the office, Guo Shunjiesmiled and said: "I think you are a smart person. You are much smarter than SunZhuang. What are your plans for your future? Have you have thought about it? Doyou have any goals?" Guo Shunjie's tone was like a leader asking hissubordinate.

Dong Xuebing cursed in his heartandhalf-heartedlyreplied: "No. I still do not know if I could keep my position as a staffmember. I think I need to have some good results first." Not everyone whobecame a civil servant will have an iron rice bowl. According to the rules, ifa newly posted civil servant received "Bad" appraisal continuously for 2 years,he will be asked to go. Of course, very few agencies will do this unless theperson's performance was atrocious, or he had offended some leaders.

Guo Shunjie laughed. "Stop your pretenses. You have entered this office for a few days, and you should have heard about it." He wasreferring to his relationships with theleaders. "Xiao Dong, if you follow me I can help you. I should be promotedlatest by next year. When the time comes, Ican easily give you a helping hand. There is nothing to lose." He was very straightforward.

Huh? What's the meaning of this? He tries to pull me over to his side? Follow him?

But you are also not a leader. Do I need to follow you?

Dong Xuebing knew that if he became Guo Shunjie's follower,Guo Shunjie would surely order himaround. He might even have to serve him tea. Promotion? He does not have theauthority to promote anybody. Also if hehad the power to promote someone and he refusesto promote Dong Xuebing, there wasnothing Dong Xuebing could do. This was like a blank cheque.

Dong Xuebing wants to be promoted, but he was not stupid.After thinking for a while, he replied: "Brother Guo, thank you for thinking sohighly of me. But I have just entered the GeneralAffairs Department, and I am stilllearning the ropes. I just want to focus on the tasks on hand. I hope..." DongXuebing had to reject Guo Shunjie nicely. Dong Xuebing also did not want tooffend anyone, especially those with backgrounds.

Guo Shunjie's facechanges instantly. "I have given you a chance.Have you thought it through?" He had asked the District's Political Commissarcommittee for a promotion. He was thinking of how to get his own men to betransferred over to the new department if he got promoted next year. Bringinghis own men to the newworkplace would make his job easier. This waswhy he wanted to rope Dong Xuebing in. But Dong Xuebing rejected him, and he felt he had lost face.

Dong Xuebing hesitated for a while and replied: "I reallythank you for your offer, but I..."

Guo Shunjie immediately stood up with a grimace face: "Youdon't know what's good for you!" Dong Xuebing had successfully aggroed him.

Dong Xuebing slapped his forehead. Damn. In less than aweek, I had offended my colleague.

2 pm.

Guo Shunjie walked out of Chief Zhou's room and walkedstraight to Dong Xuebing's desk. He threw a stack of documents on the desk: "Copy 5 sets. Don't mess up the pages. Iwant it before 4 pm." Guo Shunjie's tone was like a superior giving order to asubordinate.

Everyone in the office looked over. All of them wondered howdid Dong Xuebing offend Guo Shunjie.

Dong Xuebing was furious. Thiswas Guo Shunjie's true colors. He really wanted to give him a kick inhis face.

If I follow you, I will be your underlings. If I don't follow you, I still have to do your work. Whatother choices do I have? Damn. I had never seen anyone so unreasonable.

What a bitch.

After a while, Guo Shunjie went to the restroom for a smoke.Tan Limei and Zhuang Zhi asked: "Xuebing, what happened?"

Dong Xuebing replied with a forced smile: "Nothing."

Both saw that Dong Xuebing was not willing to say and theydid not press on further. They returned back to their tasks.

Guo Panwei who was sitting nearby, looked at Dong Xuebing:"Xiao Dong, are you busy?" He pointed to a box beside him. "I am busy now. Helpme bring these to the Finance Department later." Guo Panwei saw Dong Xuebing couldbe bullied and he also passed him his tasks. After that, he entered ChiefZhou's office to brew tea for him.

Damn it!

When will this ever stop?

Dong Xuebing almost cursed out loud. Both Guo Shunjie andGuo Panwei were assholes.

Dong Xuebing finally understood "Being nice will be bullied." He clenched his fist tightly. He knew thathe must do something to get out of this. If not, he will have to remain as a lowlystaff member forever.

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Power and WealthChapter 21 – Troublesome Speech?

One day...

5 days...

10 days...

Dong Xuebing had started working at the General Affairsdepartment for some days. He became morefamiliar with the work there, but he felt the chances of being promoted wasslim. There were too many unspoken rules at his workplace. He was new and stilldoes not know many of these rules at work. Almost every day, he got to use hispower "Back" to rectify his mistakes. Furthermore, Guo Shunjie was purposelymaking things difficult for him, and GuoPanwei had asked Dong Xuebing to do his task for him. The past few days, DongXuebing was suffering at work.

Today.

Dark clouds covered the sky, andit was drizzling.

Dong Xuebing reached the office and kept his umbrella. Heopened the office door: "Good morning, Sis Chang, Tan Zhi, Zhuang Zhi."

Tan Limei scolded: "Bing Zhi, you are late today. Did you goout on a date last night?"

Changjuan was putting on her makeup, as usual. She turned toDong Xuebing: "Xiao Dong, you have a girlfriend? Who is your girlfriend?"

"Dong Xuebing laughed: "Stop poking fun at me. Which girlwill like me?"

Guo Shunjie knocked his desk a few times with his pen. "XiaoDong, you are just in time. Here, do this." Dong Xuebing had lost count of thenumber of tasks given to him by Guo Shunjie in the past two weeks.

Guo Panwei also waved to him: "Xiao Dong, after you are donewith your task, come and help me."

Dong Xuebing gritted his teeth. These two bastards...

In the morning, Dong Xuebing delivered a few documents andreturned to his desk. He was thinking about his prospects in this office.

Suddenly he thought of an idea. He decided to apply to be amember of the Communist Party of China(CPC). Since Dong Xuebing's goal was to enter Central Bureau, then becoming amember of the CPC is essential. Once he was a member of the CPC, he would beable to build up his portfolio and increase his chances of promotion.

Click, click, click...

Dong Xuebing went online to search for information and fillin his application form.

Dong Xuebing was able to complete his application formbefore the end of the say. Looking at the almost 10,000 words applicationletter, he felt proud of himself. He was amazed at what he could do when he focusesall his energy into it. When he was writinghis thesis at University, he could onlywrite about 5,000 words over 10 days. But now, it was for his promotion, and he was motivated.

"Bing Xhi, what are you writing the whole afternoon?" ZhuangZhi, who was seated opposite Dong Xuebing asked.

Dong Xuebing waved his application form: "Application to theCPC."

Zhuang Zhi scratched his head: "You are joining the CPC?"

"Oh, you also want to join the CPC?" Tan Limei overheardtheir conversation. She smiled: "I have submitted my application one year agoand had just become a Party Activist. Iam still learning to about the Party's programmes and submitting periodicalreports. I think I should be able to become a Probationary party member theyear after next."

"I think I got to wait for 4 years." Dong Xuebing laughed.He knew the application process to be a CPC member would be very long. Even 3years was considered short. "Oh, I should pass my application form to the PartyBranch. Who is the secretary?"

Tan Limei replied: "You can submit to Li Qing, Director Li.He oversees all the applications."

Li Qing, General Affairs Department's Deputy Director, and General Affairs Office's Chief. He had aclose relationship with Deputy Chief Zhou, andhe let Deputy Chief Zhou take charge of the office. He only visits the office once in a while and let Deputy Chief Zhou handles all the work.Dong Xuebing had only met him 3 to 4 times from afar.

Actually, Li Qing should be addressed as Chief Li as he wasthe head of this General Affairs Office. But 'Chief' does not sound better than the Director. His rank was Deputy Director. So, everyone addressed himas Director Li. This was one of the unspoken rules in the government sector.The lower levels must address the higher-ups with the best soundingtitles.

Suddenly, the office became quiet.

Dong Xuebing looked up from his desk. Speaking of the devil,Deputy Director Li had entered the office.

"Director Li."

"Good afternoon, Director Li."

Everyone stood up and greeted Director Li.

"Hi, carry on with your work." Li Qing waved his hand,gesturing them to return to their work.

Li Qing was very skinny. Like bamboo. The feeling he gave others was cheerful and friendly,unlike Zhou Changchun. Zhou Changchun had a pretentious smile, whereas Li Qingseems more sincere. Li Qing's family was poor. His daughter had Leukaemia orsome other illness. He was in financial difficulties. There were rumors thatTan Limei had wanted to help him raise funds for his daughter's medicaltreatment, but Li Qing stopped it for some unknown reasons.

The other end of the mainoffice, Zhou Changchun walked out of his room. "Chief."

Li Qing, in his 40s, walked over and patted Zhou Changchun'sarm: "Old Zhou, you must take care of your health.:

Zhou Changchun straightenedhis back and replied: "Thank you Chief for your concerns. I am fine."

Zhou Changchun was the one person who addressed Li Qing asChief.

Dong Xuebing had asked his senior Tan Limei about this.There was a lot more to the way Zhou Changchun address Li Qing as 'Chief". Thiswas not a mistake. It was to show that he was grateful to Li Qing for lettinghim oversee the office. If he addressed Li Qing as 'Director' like the rest ofthe people, it would show that he wasarrogant and had taken over Li Qing's role as Chief. This was to imply to LiQing that he was still the person in charge of General Affairs Office and ZhouChangchun had not forgotten that.

There were too many of such complicated rules there.

Dong Xuebing was still learning about these unspoken rules.

After a while, Li Qing walked past Dong Xuebing, and Dong Xuebing immediately passed hisapplication form to him. Dong Xuebing said some "fake, exaggerated claims" about how much he wanted to enter theCPC, while Li Qing flipped through the pages of the application form. He gaveDong Xuebing some encouraging words andsuddenly remembered something. He turned around and pass a document to ZhouChangchun.

"What's this?" Zhou Changchun took the document from him.

Li Qing rubbed his temple: "Bureau Chief Yang is going tothe City's Bureau office for a meeting. This isthe contents of what he is going to say. Put in some effort and write a goodspeech for Bureau Chief Yang. Don't mess it up like the previous time. OldZhou, I will leave this task to you. Don't let Bureau Chief Yang thinks thatour General Affairs Office are all useless."

"This... Yes... We... We will do this well." Zhou Changchunreluctantly replied.

Dong Xuebing looked around. When everyone heard that theyhave to write a speech for Bureau Chief Yang, everyone's face changed.

Huh?

What's happening?

Only Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi who did not know what wasgoing on were confused.

What's so difficult about writing a speech?

Translator'snotes: The characters in this novel addressed their peers as Tan Zhi, ChuangZhi, etc. It is a common way in China to addresssomeone lower or equivalent. Zhi, or 子,means son or child.

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Power and WealthChapter 22 – The opportunity to shine

General Affairs Office.

The office was dead silence after Deputy Director Li left.Zhou Changchun frowned and rubbed his forehead. He was looked through thedocument in his hand and then looked around the office. "This is about the sameas last time. Bureau Chief Yang did not give any specific instructions. Xiao Tan?"

Tan Limei, who had never complained about her work looked atZhou Changchun pitifully. "Chief Zhou, please let me off."

Zhou Changchun gave some encouragement: "Writing speecheshave always been your job. As a university graduate, it should be an easy task.You can't expect me or Old Yan to write it, do you?"

Tan Limei sighed: "Chief Zhou, you also know that BureauChief Yang's expectations were so high.The last time, Sis Chang, Guo Panwei and I had spent 2 days on his speech. Wewrote 6 versions, and he did not use anyof them. I was still scolded by him. I... I..."

Zhou Changchun interrupted: "Bureau Chief Yang told me thathe has high hopes for you. This time, you should put in more effort."

Tan Limei lowered her head and replied reluctantly: "Fine. Iwill try."

Zhou Changchun looked at Guo Panwei and the rest: "Panwei,Xiao Chang and Shunjie, all of you will also write a draft. Do your best."

Changjuan immediately said: "Sir, I am not good at writing.Bureau Chief Yang will surely not use my draft.

Guo Shunjie also said: "Chief Zhou, I..."

Zhou Changchun was slightly pissed and knocked on the desk:"Look at all of you. What are all of you trying to do? No matter how difficultthis task is, all of you still have to do it. This is your job! Start workingnow and tomorrow send the drafts to Bureau Chief Yang." Zhou Changchun was alsoafraid of Bureau Chief Yang. Bureau Chief Yang was not satisfied with theGeneral Affairs Office's drafts the previous time. Not only the staff workerswere scolded, even Li Qing and he werereprimanded. This was why Li Qing and Zhou Changchun were troubled when theyknew Bureau Chief Yang wanted them to write out his speech again.

After work.

Dong Xuebing walked up to Tan Limei: "Tan Zhi, let's leavetogether."

Tan Limei listlessly sighed: "What bus are you taking?"

"Number 46." Dong Xuebing walked out to the pouch with her."What's wrong? Is it tough to write thespeech?"

"It's not that difficult if it was for other Bureau Chiefs.The rest does not even need to write a draft,and I alone am enough. But this Bureau Chief Yang is different. He... He..."After Tan Limei's explanation, Dong Xuebing understood what happened. BureauChief Yang's full name was Yang Yizhong. He was the Bureau Branch DeputyDivisional Chief. He was transferred over from East City Branch not too longago, and the staffs were not familiarwith him. They only knew that this Deputy Chief had a bad temper and had highexpectations for his speeches. He was not interested to even look through thedrafts. A while ago, the whole General Affairs Office were scolded by him.

Dong Xuebing thought deeplyabout what Tan Limei said.

The next day.

The first thing Zhou Changchun asked when he stepped intothe office was the drafts.

Tan Limei replied weakly: "I have finished the draft, but Iam not sure if Bureau Chief Yang will approve it."

Guo Panwei, Guo Shunjie, andChangjuan had the same facial expressions as Tan Limei. They were all notconfident.

"Ok." Chief Zhou said. "Send the drafts over and see whatBureau Chief Yang says."

Dong Xuebing looked at those 4 people who left for to the "Execution Grounds."After they left,Dong Xuebing opened a few Word documents and look at the samples of speeches.He had downloaded these examples from the internet last night. He had learnedabout the sentencing structures and the words used.

1 minute...

5 minutes...

10 minutes...

Guo Shunjie was the first to return.

"Chief Zhou, Bureau Chief Yang says that my draft is notstructured well enough."

The next person to return was Guo Panwei. "Bureau Chief Yangsays... he says..." Bureau Chief Yang might havesaid something very nasty, and Guo Panweiwas too embarrassed to tell Chief Zhou. "He asked me to rewrite."

Changjuan also returned with an awful expression. "My draftdid not make it."

The last to return was Tan Limei. Everyone looked at her andasked: "How was it?"

Tan Limei did not say anything and returned to her desk andstarted sobbing.

Zhou Changchun understood immediately. She must be scoldedby Bureau Chief Yang too. Sighed... What's wrong? How come no one could write adraft that can appease Bureau Chief Yang? If this carries on, Bureau Chief Yangwill think that the General AffairsOffice had no one capable.

Ring, ring, ring. Zhou Changchun's office phone rang, and he immediately went to pick it up. "Hello?... Oh, Bureau Chief Yang... Yes... Ah... Ok... I understand... but we... Ok... Then...Yes... I will ask them to rewrite... Yes... Rest assure..."

Outside of the office, Zhuang Zhi was trying to comfort TanLimei.

Zhou Changchun rubbed his temples and slowly walked out:"Bureau Chief Yang said that the City Bureau's meeting has been brought forwardto tomorrow. So, no matter what, he wants to see the speech today. Let's do ourbest and write out a speech which meetshis requirements. Go through the first drafts and see if we had missed outanything."

Tan Limei who was still crying: "I... I had written the draft based on what he wanted..."

Changjuan: "Chief Zhou, we really tried out best."

Zhou Changchun sighed: "I know this is not an easy task. Butthis is the task given to us by the higher-ups. We must complete it. Let's putour brains together and think of a solution.

Everyone in the office lowered their heads, and no one said a word.

Zhou Changchun frowned and wanted to say something, but DongXuebing slowly stood up.

Zhou Changchun looked at him: "Oh? Xiao Dong have an idea?"

"Huh? It's not what idea." Dong Xuebing smiledembarrassedly. "Chief Zhou, if there are really no other ways, can I try?"

"You?" Zhou Changchun paused for a while. "You know how towrite speeches?"

Dong Xuebing does not dare to claim that he was good atwriting speeches. He does not want to let other people think he was too proud."A little."

"Fine. Go ahead and try." Zhou Changchun did not have many expectations from this new guy. Even thedrafts written by the experts from the office were not accepted by Bureau ChiefYang, let alone this newcomer. Zhou Changchun thought to just let him try.

Dong Xuebing felt that this was an opportunity for him!

An opportunity to shine!

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 23 – He is not scholarly. He is illiterate!

The whole morning, everyone in the office was rushing out the drafts.

Zhou Changchun did not only asked Dong Xuebing to write a draft. To be safe, he asked everyone in the office to draft out a speech, hoping Bureau Chief Yang would be satisfied with one of them.

Dong Xuebing wrote confidently. Although he had not met Yang Yizhong before, from the rejection of Tan Limei and the rest drafts, he concludes that Bureau Chief Yang must be a "scholarly" person since he was so fussy about his speech. So, Dong Xuebing wrote the draft using flowery words. He put in some idioms and references from Classic literature into his drafts.

Dong Xuebing stopped typing at lunch. He looked at his monitor and nodded.

Alright. This should do it. Xuebing... This is your chance to shine in front of the leader.

Dong Xuebing went upstairs to Yang Yizhong's office with his speech draft. He took in a deep breath and knocked on the door confidently.

"Come in."

Dong Xuebing entered the room and saw Yang Yizhong. Dong Xuebing was shocked by his appearance. Yang Yizhong looked nothing "Scholarly" as he imagined. He looks rugged. But Dong Xuebing thought that looks can be deceiving. Maybe he had a "Scholar" living underneath this appearance.

Yang Yizhong frowned, squeezing his thick eyebrows together. "Who are you?"

Dong Xuebing replied politely: "I am Dong Xuebing. I am new to the General Affairs Office."

"Oh. Is the speech ready?" Bureau Chief Yang stretched out his hand. "Let me take a look."

Dong Xuebing excitedly passed an A4 paper to him and stood there waiting for praises. He wants to claim this credit, and everyone in the office will look at him differently when he returns.

But in just 3 seconds, Dong Xuebing's daydreams were shattered. Bureau Chief Yang threw the draft back at Dong Xuebing.

"What are you writing?" Yang Yizhong had a dark expression, and he banged the desk. "Rubbish!"

Dong Xuebing's face turns green. "Ah?" Have you even read it?

Yang Yizhong shouted: "What is wrong with the General Affairs Office? I just wanted a simple speech. What's so difficult? Especially you! I wanted you to write a speech according to my topic. What did you write?" Yang Yizhong pointed to the first few lines of the draft. "Knowing honor and stop to achieve prosperity. What are you talking about? Ah? What the fuck are you writing?"

Dong Xuebing weakly replied: "Bureau Chief Yang, you misread it. It is 'Knowing Honor and understanding shame to achieve prosperity.'"

Dong Xuebing had touched Yang Yizhong's nerves with that sentence, and he burst out in anger: "What's wrong?! I only have primary school standard of education and does not know many characters!"

Dong Xuebing was in a daze. Fuck! Was this a joke? This guy was not the "Scholarly" type? Doesn't he have high expectations of his speeches? Primary school standard? Damn! He was an illiterate and not a scholar!

Oh shit! I am in trouble!

Dong Xuebing knew he had offended Yang Yizhong and immediately shouts: "BACK!"

...

The shouting ceased.

There was only the ticking of the second hand of a clock.

"You are?" Yang Yizhong looked at Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing immediately knew which time it was now. He was relieved and replied: "I am Dong Xuebing. I am new to the General Affairs Office."

"Oh. Is the speech ready?" Bureau Chief Yang stretched out his hand. "Let me take a look."

Dong Xuebing will never let him look at his draft. He hides the draft behind his back and thought of an excuse. "I'm sorry Bureau Chief Yang. It is not ready yet. I am here to ask what time is the latest deadline."

Yang Yizhong frowned impatiently: "Didn't I say I want it as soon as possible?"

"Sorry for disturbing you. I will go back now."

Yang Yizhong stood at the window after Dong Xuebing left. He lit a cigarette and stared outside. He had started work early at a chemical factory in the outskirts of Beijing, and then he followed his leader to join the government sector. His education level was very low and does not know a lot of Chinese characters. This was why he rejected all the General Affairs Office speech drafts and did not tell them the reason. How to tell them the real reason? Tell them that he only has a primary school education? He is illiterate? He was too embarrassed to say it. If the General Affairs Office still cannot give him a draft that satisfies him, he will have to look for his old subordinates from the East City Branch to write his speech.

Before Dong Xuebing returned to the office, he threw away his draft. This stupid draft had almost cost him his career. Luckily, he was able to use BACK. If not, it was the end of his life there.

Tan Limei and the rest had returned from their lunch and saw Dong Xuebing entering the office. She asked: "Bing Zhi, how is your draft?"

"Ah? Almost done..."

Guo Shunjie commented sarcastically that he was too eager to perform. Even the seniors of the office could not write the draft, yet Dong Xuebing wanted to try.

Changjuan pushed her keyboard away from her: "I can't do this. I can't write anymore!"

Guo Panwei also scratched his head in frustration.

Tan Limei grumbled: "What sort of speech does he want? I had already tried my best."

Old Yan was the only one that was calm in the office. He was still reading his newspapers relaxingly. As if it was none of his concern.

Dong Xuebing had no time to chat with the rest. He sat behind his monitor and was typing furiously. He knew what Yang Yizhong wanted, and he was able to write out the draft effortlessly. Idioms? References from classics? Those must not be in the draft.

Simple and straight forward.

The speech must be very simple and straight forward.

Speech: Dear leaders. This topic I will be talking about is Raising the concept of honor. After typing this, Dong Xuebing immediately felt this was wrong and deleted it. No. Deputy Bureau Chief Yang might not know this character. He changed it to It is every man's responsibility for China's rise and fall. Yes. These are all simple words.

Dong Xuebing thought hard about the words and continued to type.

It was not easy to write in primary school's choice of words. This speech must be simple, and the contents must be straight forward. It was really challenging for Dong Xuebing.

"Huh? Bureau Chief Yang?"

"Bureau Chief Yang!"

Tan Limei and the rest immediately stop what they were doing. All of them could feel the hairs on their back standing.

Yang Yizhong had a gloomy expression when he asked: "Is the speech ready? Almost half the day is gone!"

Zhou Changchun walked out of his room quickly. "It's done, and I was about to send them to you. Xiao Tan, Xiao Chang, bring the drafts over."

With Zhuang Zhi and the other two Guo, there were a total of 5 drafts.

Yang Yizhong took the drafts and scanned through: "No... Wrong... This is also not right... What is this? This too... Cannot..." Within a minute, all the drafts were rejected. "Old Zhou, your General Affairs Office can't even write a simple speech?"

Tan Limei and the rest lowered their heads.

"Bureau Chief Yang, we..." Even if it were one rank higher, heads would roll. Furthermore, Yang Yizhong was several ranks above Zhou Changchun. If he was unhappy with Zhou Changchun, Zhou Changchun might not be able to be the Deputy Chief for long. This was why Zhou Changchun tried to establish a good relationship with this new Deputy Bureau Chief. But now, his plans were in jeopardy.

Zhou Changchun was also getting pissed, but he could not show it in front of Deputy Bureau Chief Yang. He stared at Guo Shunjie and the rest. All of his subordinates seem capable and eager on regular days, but during crucial times, all of them were useless.

"Bureau Chief Yang." Dong Xuebing took the printout from the printer. "My draft is done."

Guo Panwei looked at Dong Xuebing and thought to himself. Was this idiot fearless or ignorant? You hand up your draft now? Are you looking for a scolding from Bureau Chief Yang?

Yang Yizhong had lost his patience and did not say a word when he took the draft from Dong Xuebing.

Everyone in the office sighed in their hearts and closed their eyes, waiting for another round of scoldings.

1 minute...

2 minutes...

3 minutes...

No scolding was heard. After a while, everyone was shocked. Yang Yizhong laughed. He raised his right hand and hit on the draft a few times. "Look at what he has written. This is the speech I want."

This outcome had made everyone in the office speechless.

Yang Yizhong patted Zhou Changchun's back: "Old Zhou. Seems like your General Affairs Office have strong potential. Not bad..." Yang Yizhong turned and look at Dong Xuebing. He nodded: "I remember your name is Dong... Dong Xuebing right? Good job. In the future, you will be in charge of writing my speech."

"Thank you, Bureau Chief Yang." Being able to leave an impression with the leaders was rare. Dong Xuebing straighten his back to try to look as smart as possible.

The office was in chaos after Yang Yizhong left.

Tan Limei was the first to ask: "Bing Zhi, what did you write? Why is Bureau Chief Yang so happy?"

Changjuan laughed: "Our office has Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons."

Guo Panwei stared at Dong Xuebing with jealousy.

Guo Shunjie was not looking too good either. Why was that picky Bureau Chief Yang satisfied with Dong Xuebing's speech and the rest of them who had sent over 10 drafts were rejected?

Dong Xuebing could not tell the rest that Yang Yizhong had a limited vocabulary. If Bureau Chief Yang knew he was the one who told others about this, he would be in trouble. So, Dong Xuebing explained that Yang Yizhong likes simple and clean words.

After all of them saw the draft on Dong Xuebing's monitor, they understood what the meaning of "Simple and Clean" words was.

Tan Limei was deeply impressed. She gave Dong Xuebing a thumbs up: "Terrific."

Zhou Changchun also did not expect the problems lies in Yang Yizhong's education levels. He was impressed with Dong Xuebing's attention to details. He patted Dong Xuebing's back: "Good work. You have done a great job." Zhou Changchun felt what the General Affairs Office lacks was someone like Dong Xuebing. Someone who would stand up and save the situation in critical moments.

Translator's notes:

Yang Yizhong had read Dong Xuebing's draft as 知荣明止, but what Dong Xuebing had written was 知荣明耻. This was some Chinese idioms. It meant to be righteous and not to do anything dishonorable.

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Power and WealthChapter 24 – Helping the leader to trade shares

The next day.

Dong Xuebing was in a good mood. Because he had donesomething well, he could hold his head high.

Dong Xuebing had just gotten his salary for his first monthof work. He decided to give himself a treat by having a lavished breakfast atthe roadside dumpling store. A bowl of goat innards soup, bake sesame cake anda tea leaves egg. Dong Xuebing had a good appetite, and after finishing all the food, he still did not feel full. Hewent to the crepe store to buy a crepe. He used up all his change in his pocketfor this hearty meal.

After a big burb andDong Xuebing walked past the gates of Western District Bureau Branch.

"Oh, the great hero is here." Tan Limei laughed and waved toDong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing was feeling good, but he did not show it on hisface. He modestly said: "What hero? It was only a coincident yesterday. Interms of writing, I am not as good as the rest of you."

Changjuan, who was putting on lipstick, laughed. "Hehe, XiaoDong is trying to be humble."

Old Yan also laughed as he straightens his newspaper."That's right. I heard after Chief Li Qing knew about this matter, he alsopraised you."

Dong Xuebing smiled: "Stop making fun of me. I am not asgood as what you say."

Guo Panwei was writing and drawing some lines at his desk.After Dong Xuebing sat down at his desk, he looked over to see what Guo Panweiwas doing. Guo Panwei was drawing some candlestick chart and 5 days moving averageof the stock index. Dong Xuebing knew Zhou Changchun love to trade shares, and Guo Panwei was trying to bootlick throughshares trading. After all, there was only so much work the leader could assignto them. That was the duties of the staff workers. But if the staff workercould help the leader with his personal matters, then it will be different. Thestaff will be closer to the leader.

9.30 am.

Guo Panwei took the Candlestick Chart he was drawing into DeputyChief Zhou's office. He remained in the room for about half an hour. At about10 am, he came out of the room and closethe door gently. He was grinning. He seems to be praise by Zhou Changchun.

At the fax machine on the other end of the office, Tan Limeiwas organizing some documents. "There is a document that requires Chief Zhou'ssignature. Who is free to bring it to him?"

Guo Panwei raised his hand unconsciously. But he rememberedthat he had just come out of the officeand he lowered his hand.

"I will do it." Dong Xuebing walked over and took thedocument to the small office room and knocked on the door.

"... Come in."

Dong Xuebing entered the room. "Chief Zhou, this documentrequires your signature."

Zhou Changchun held the few copies of A4 papers in his hand.He was looking at the stock daily charts on his monitor while reading thedocuments. If it were a few weeks ago,Zhou Changchun would surely minimize the window to not let Dong Xuebing seewhat he was doing. Now, Zhou Changchun got to know Dong Xuebing better and feltthat he was an obedient young man. He does not mind Dong Xuebing knowing thathe was trading shares at work. "Xiao Dong... Yesterday, the Chief had praisedyou over the phone. Good job. Continue to work hard."

"Yes. I will not let all the leaders down..." Dong Xuebingcould feel Zhou Changchun's change of attitude towards him. He was jumping withjoy in his heart. He immediately says some useless things that he will continueto work hard and do all the leaders proud, etc.

After Dong Xuebing had finished, Zhou Changchun nodded andgestured to Dong Xuebing. "Sit."

Dong Xuebing sat down on the chair. He does not know whereto look, so he looked at the monitor.

It was the chart of a stock named Daqin Railway.

Dong Xuebing remembered that the news had reported some newsyesterday and railway and automobile shares had raised. From the charts, DaqinRailway shares had increased a lot. Since the start of the trading day, it had raised from 8.59 to 9.03 RMB. It then drops to8.89 RMB, before rising to 9.25 RMB. Itwas almost at almost reaching the daily limit price.

This was a good share.

Dong Xuebing looked at Zhou Changchun and noticed he wassmiling.

After a while, Zhou Changchun had signed the document andsmiled. "Here. Take it."

Dong Xuebing used both hands to collect the documents fromhim and was about to leave. Zhou Changchun's eyes were still glued to themonitor.

But 2 seconds later, Daqin Railway shares dropped suddenly.There was a trade of someone selling 12,000 shares. Half of these shares werebought out by the buying orders. Soon after, someone sold 8,000 shares,followed by 5,000. Immediately Daqin Railway share prices fell below 9 RMB.This happened almost instantly.

Zhou Changchun slapped his leg and groaned. "The big playershave sold the shares so early. If I knew, I should have sold the sharesearlier."

Dong Xuebing who was about to leave the room heard this andturned around to look at the chart on the monitor. He knew that this was anopportunity.

"BACK!"

...

The scenery around Dong Xuebing changed.

He was now facing another direction.

Swooshed. Zhou Changchun was signing on the documents. Hesmiled: "Here. Take it."

Daqin Railway share prices werestill hovering at about 9.26 RMB. It looks like it was about to reach 9.3 RMB.

Although Dong Xuebing felt it was very sudden and rude, hedoes not want to give up this opportunity to be closer to the leader. Heimmediately points to the monitor: "Chief Zhou, if you own this share, youshould sell it immediately. Yesterday, the automobile and railway shares hadincreased a lot. The speculators will be taking out their profits. From thecurrent graph, it seems dangerous. The prices might fall anytime now."

Zhou Changchun frowned. He was not bothered by what DongXuebing said: "Really? I think it will riseto the daily limits."

Dong Xuebing replied: "I am not sure about the trend laterthis afternoon and the next few days. But before noon, Daqin Railway shareswill fall below 9 RMB."

Zhou Changchun seems irritated and shook his head. He turnedback to the monitor without saying a word.

After being in the government sector for a few weeks, DongXuebing had learned a lot. He knows thatif he remained in the office to look at Daqing Railway's share prices falling,he would be proving the leader wrong. The leader would not look good, and it was like giving him a slap on the face.The leader might even feel that Dong Xuebing was mocking him.

Dong Xuebing immediately left the room and returned to hisseat. He was looking at Chief Zhou's office door.

5 minutes...

10 minutes...

20 minutes...

Dong Xuebing keep looking at the door until it was almost lunchtime. He was about to leave the officewith Tan Limei and Zhuang Zhi for the cafeteria when Zhou Changchun walked outof his office. There was no change to his expressions. He chatted withChangjuan and Guo Panwei for a while, andwhen everyone was about to leave for lunch, Zhou Changchun called Dong Xuebingover. "You know shares trading?"

Alright. Here comes my opportunity!

Dong Xuebing replied: "Yes. I know a little about the chartsand graphs."

Zhou Changchun nodded and patted his shoulders. "Go for yourlunch. Help me look at the shares, tomorrow."

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Power and WealthChapter 25 – Prices had increased!

Next day.

General Affairs Office.

Dong Xuebing had read up on the stock market in the morningand left home slightly later. He reached the office precisely on time.

Tan Limei joked: "Bing Zhi, why are you so late today? Tellme. Did you go out on a date with your girlfriend last night?"

Dong Xuebing smiled and placedhis bag on his glass desk. "Stop making fun of me. I don't have a girlfriend."Dong Xuebing had never dated any girls before while he was in school. He hadaverage looks and was from a poor family. Without car and house, no girls wereinterested in him.

"Oh?" Changjuan laughed. "Do you want elder sister here tointroduce you some girls?"

Dong Xuebing smiled: "Thank you, Sister Chang. I am currently good by myself."

"If you are interested to know girls, tell me. I will keep alookout for good girls for you."

Dong Xuebing did not really want to be single. He enviedthose with girlfriends. But with his looks and family background, it was hardto get a girlfriend. He rather focusseshis energy on his career. Once he was promoted to be a leader, he will havemoney, and it will be easier to getgirlfriends.

10 minutes later, Zhou Changchun entered the office. It wasthe leader's privilege to be late. No one will say anything.

Guo Panwei had been waiting. Once he heard the footsteps, heimmediately went to brew a cup of tea.

Guo Shunjie was pretending to be hard at work. After ChiefZhou had entered his office, he continued to laze around. He turned to DongXuebing: "Xiao Dong, you should clean up our office. Don't wait until Chiefcomes in and scold us. Later if you are free, mop the floor." The cleaner OldWang will only clean up the corridors outside and send bottles of water to theoffice. The cleanliness of the offices was usuallydone by the staff workers.

Dong Xuebing was pissed when he heard this. He was the one thatcleans up the office the last time. He was also the one before the previoustime. Why was it his turn again? Are you trying to challenge me? If it wasChief Zhou's instruction, I don't mind. But who are you to order me around? Youasked me to do all your task at work, andyou still want to boss me about non-work-related matters?

Dong Xuebing had tolerated him for too long and was about toblow his top.

Zhuang Zhi was really someone worthy to be friends with. Hesensed the tension in the office and immediately say: "I will clean up theoffice."

Dong Xuebing did not say anything and picked up a rag andclean the office with Zhuang Zhi.

Guo Shunjie glanced at Dong Xuebing and snort.

Everyone in the office wasbusily doing their things in the morning.

Chief Zhou had gonefor a meeting on level 3 and returned back at noon.

At about 2.05 pm. Ring, ring, ring. The General AffairsOffice's phone rang. Dong Xuebing happened to be at the photocopier and was thenearest to the phone. He reached over and answered: "Hello. General AffairsOffice." It was Chief Zhou. "Xiao Dong? Come into my office now."

"Yes. I will be right there." Hah! My opportunity finallycomes!

Zhou Changchun's office.

Zhou Changchun was laughing happily and pointing to thestock charts on his monitor. "I had just sold off all my shares, and I am going to buy one or two blue chips.But I am not sure which to pick. Give me some of your opinions."Zhou Changchun did not mention about DaqinRailways shares, and Dong Xuebing was notfoolish to talk about that.

"Sure. But I need to take a look first."

"Come, bring the chair over."

"No need. I will stand."

The stock market was doing well in the morning. The top-performing share was new stock. It had risen by about 98.03%. The second to the eighth shares hadincreased by about 10%. The rest of the shares like Pharmaceutical shares,technology shares, had increased by atleast 7%.

"How is it?" Zhou Changchun asked. "Which shares should Ipick?"

Dong Xuebing used the mouse and clicked on the charts ofsome shares. "Please wait a while. Let me analyzethese charts."

Zhou Changchun slowly sipped on his tea. "No hurry. Takeyour time to analyze the shares. Mostimportantly, the share must be doing well and stable."

The performing shares had almost reached their peak, and Dong Xuebing looked at the top losers list.The top loser was a company called Hainan Rubber. It had dropped 10.03% and wasabout to reach the daily limits. Dong Xuebing looked at the chart and scannedthrough the company's latest news. This company was listed not long ago, and itwas considered an agriculture share. The profits were average despite owning a considerable market share. Basically, thiscompany had not met the expectations of the investors, and the share prices had been dropping since trading starts.

Zhou Changchun frowned as he looked at the monitor. He wavedhis hand: "Look at the next company. It is not advisable to touch those sharesthat had reached the daily limit. There are so many orders queuing to sell.Tomorrow, this share will surely continue to fall. This company is also notdoing well. Look at other shares."

"Ok." When Dong Xuebing was about to close the window,Hainan Rubbers share prices start tojump.

There was an order to buy 80,000 shares of this company.

Soon, another order to buy 20,000 shares came in and canceled out all the orders to sell. The percentage fall of the share prices was reducedto -7.26%.

-6.17%...

-5.32%...

-3.78%...

-2.02%...

In a blink of an eye, the share prices had almost breakeven.

It was so shockingly fast.

Dong Xuebing did not hesitate and said "BACK" in his heart.

...

The time returns back to 1 minute ago.

Dong Xuebing's eyes blurred and in front of him was HainanRubbers share prices chart.

This share was still at the lower side of the daily limits.There were still no signs of this share moving.

Zhou Changchun looked at the monitor and said: "Look at thenext company. It is not advisable to touch those shares that had reached thedaily limit. There are so many orders queuing to sell. Tomorrow, this sharewill surely continue to fall. This company is also not doing well. Look atother shares."

After so many days of training with his extraordinary power, Dong Xuebing wasaccustomed to this. He immediately points to the monitor: "Chief Zhou, hurryand buy this Hainan Rubber shares. It will be rising soon."

Zhou Changchun was shocked. "Didn't I tell you that it isnot advisable to touch those shares that had reached the daily limit?"

Dong Xuebing immediately replied: "Don't worry. It willsurely rise. I dare not trick you."

Zhou Changchun was still hesitating. "... How can you tell?"

"Just trust me this time. There is not much time left." DongXuebing said anxiously.

Because Zhou Changchun did not listen to Dong Xuebingyesterday, he made lesser profits. Now, Dong Xuebing seems very confident thatthis share will rise. He frowned and thought for about 1 second and said:"Fine. I will buy this company's shares." Zhou Changchun was using trading software to trade online. His passwordwas saved on his computer, and he couldlog in and place the trade very fast.

After buying the shares, both of them were staring at themonitor in silence.

Hainan Rubber share prices remained unchanged. There weresales orders of almost 100,000 shares in the queue.

Zhou Changchun looked at the monitor and tapped on his teacup.He was tapping faster and faster.

Rise!

Hurry up and rise!

Dong Xuebing also clenches his fist nervously.

1 second...

2 seconds...

Suddenly, a big order to buy the shares appeared on themonitor.

Followed by 20,000shares traded.

Another 7,000 shares traded.

Chief Zhou could see the share prices of Hainan Rubbershooting up like a rocket.

Chief Zhou banged the desk excitedly. "It had gone up. Theshare price had risen!"

Dong Xuebing was jumping in joy in his heart. "It will stillgo up further."

-7.26%

-6.17%...

-5.32%...

Zhou Changchun points at the monitor: "This is a goodshare!"

-3.78%...

-2.02%...

The share prices kept going up.

Zhou Changchun laughed and slapped Dong Xuebing's back. "Howdo you know it will rise?"

Dong Xuebing made up an excuse: "From my analysis of thecharts."

Zhou Changchun laughed heartily. "Good. You are reallycapable!"

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Power and WealthChapter 26 – Bullied!

Morning.

Dong Xuebing had secretly downloaded a stock market softwareon his office computer to analyze thestock market.

Dong Xuebing also wanted to make some money. But he thoughtit through. He does not think it was a good idea to trade shares. He does nothave the capital, and the currentregulations restrict the sales of the shares on the same day. He would have towait for the next day. Which was also known as T1. Dong Xuebing's BACK couldonly return to 1 minute before. He might be able to know the shares will rise in the next minute, but he could notpredict what would happen when the market close. The risk was too high.

Just like HainanRubber shares. Yes, in 1 minute, the share prices had climbed up from thelowest point and had made Chief Zhou happy. But as when the market was closing,the share prices fell back again. The next day, the prices continued to decline. There were not many profits, and Chief Zhouhad almost made losses.

The only securities that could be traded on the same day of purchase at T0 were warrants. But there was only one warrant left - ChanghongCWB1. This warrant was like a dead fish. The prices fell by a few cents everyday. There were almost no fluctuations. This was why Dong Xuebing gave up theidea of making money through trading. He only wants to analyze the stock market for Zhou Changchun. Although he might notbe able to guarantee to make money forhim, at least he could make him happy. This way, he would be closer to hisdirect supervisor.

Dong Xuebing, you must work hard!

All these are for your promotion.

"Hehe, Bing Zhi is so early today."

"Good morning everyone."

"Good morning."

Everyone had slowly arrived at work.

Dong Xuebing greeted his colleagues and quickly close thestock market program.

Guo Shunjie was the last to arrive in the office. He saw there was some dust on the floorand said: "Why is the floor dirty again? There is an inspection today." BecauseZhou Changchun had been coming in late these few days because of his health,Guo Panwei could not be bothered with cleaning up the office. It had been DongXuebing who was cleaning up. Guo Shunjie walked to his desk and turn to DongXuebing: "Xiao Dong, go and sweep the floor."

Why was it me again?

Dong Xuebing was not afraid of doing work. Compared to thepoverty lifestyle he had been through all these years with his mother, this wasnothing.

Dong Xuebing could not stand that arrogant look on Guo Shunjie's face.

Dong Xuebing had been bullied by Guo Shunjie again andagain. He was almost on the point of breaking.

But when Dong Xuebing remembered that he had just joined theagency and Guo Shunjie had someone among the higher-upsbacking him, he gritted his teeth and roll up his sleeves. He took the broomand dustpan from behind the door and start to sweep. Dong Xuebing could feelGuo Shunjie's hostility against him getting stronger these two days. He couldalso guess the reason. A newcomer had embarrassed him by completing a task hecould not complete. Guo Shunjie wasjealous.

Changjuan and Guo Panwei pretended not to see anything.

Tan Limei and Zhuang Zhi could not stand it. They stood upand started to help Dong Xuebing sweep the office.

Guo Shunjie glanced at the 3 of them and continued to surfsome online forums.

Dong Xuebing was very tired today. He could feel his backaching as he bends over to sweep a corner. These few days, he had to clean upthe whole office and still must complete his daily work. On top of that, GuoShunjie had also ordered Dong Xuebing to do his tasks for him. He did not havetime to rest.

"Bing Zhi, go and take a break. I can do it." Zhuang Zhisaid.

Dong Xuebing stopped massaging his back and forced a smile:"It's fine. Thank you."

Tan Limei pointedtowards the direction of Guo Sunjie with her chin and whispered: "That guycannot tolerate anyone better than him." Although Tan Limei had a big mouth andlikes to gossip, she knows her place well. Just now, when Guo Shunjie waspicking on Dong Xuebing, she was pissed, butshe did not voice out against Guo Shunjie openly.

Guo Shunjie was the senior in the office and still havebackings in the agency. It was not wise to offend him.

10 minutes later, Dong Xuebing finished sweeping the officeand returned to his seat. He was still panting and was about to continueworking on a task he could not complete yesterday.

But before Dong Xuebing could even stop panting, GuoShunjie, who was at the water dispenserpoints to the empty container: "There is no more water. Xiao Dong, go and carrya bottle in." Guo Shunjie was not happy with Dong Xuebing for staring at himearlier. His father was close to the District Political Commissar, and even Chief Li Qing and Zhou Changchun hadto speak to him politely. Who was this Dong Xuebing to stare at him?

Dong Xuebing was furious. "Carry water?" I am ignoring youand yet you are still trying to find trouble with me?

Guo Shunjie looked at him coldly: "Yes. Bring in a bottle ofwater for the dispenser."

Old Yan also felt Guo Shunjie was too much. He looked up from his newspaper: "Xiao Dong is alsotired. You can just give the cleaner Old Wang a call. He is the one who hasbeen topping up the water for the dispenser." Old Yan was not afraid ofoffending the District Political Commissar. He had offended a leader who was two ranks about the District PoliticalCommissar before, and he was not afraidof offending one more person.

Guo Shunjie replied without facing Old Yan: "Old Wang iscleaning the corridors now. He is not free to top up the water."

Dong Xuebing asked: "You did not even call him. How do youknow he is busy?"

"Why?" Guo Shunjie stared at Dong Xuebing. "I cannot ask youto bring in a bottle of water? Do you know the rules here? These jobs are doneby newcomers. Are you expecting me andPanwei to go and carry in the water?"

Changjuan tried to calm the situation down: "I think ChiefZhou is coming in soon. Stop arguing."

Tan Limei look at Guo Shunjie with disgust: "That right. Isthe document which Director Li wants with you? I met him earlier when I wascoming in. He says to bring the documentsto him as soon as possible."

Guo Shunjie uttered a reply and took a brown envelope fromhis desk before turning to Dong Xuebing again: "I don't believe that I can'torder you around. No one is allowed to help him. Let him carry the water inhimself." He walked out, and when he passed by Dong Xuebing, he said: "If the waterbottle for the dispenser is not changed when I return, you are dead."

"Ok. I will wait for you." Dong Xuebing could no longertolerate him. He sneered: "I will not change the water. What can you do to me?"

Guo Shunjie replied with a smirk: "Fine. Go ahead and try."

Bang! Guo Shunjie walked out of the office and slammed thedoor close.

The mood in the office was still tense and before Tan Limeiand the rest could say anything, the door opens again.

"Huh? What's wrong with everyone?" Zhou Changchun walked inwith his briefcase.

Changjuan immediately replies:"Nothing. Good morning Chief Zhou."

Zhou Changchun nodded and was about to enter his room whenhe remembered something. "Oh, Xiao Dong. Come to my room."

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Power and WealthChapter 27 – The share prices rise again!

Zhou Changchun's office.

Dong Xuebing was still furious when he followed ZhouChangchun into his office. If this were in the past, he would surely complainto Zhou Changchun and let him know the true colors of Guo Shunjie. But now,Dong Xuebing would not do this. He had learned how to matter such matters. Ifhe told the leader about this matter, this matter might also not be solved. Theleader would also look down on him for not being able to resolve such a pettyissue himself.

"Xiao Dong, are you unwell?" Zhou Changchun could seesomething was wrong with Dong Xuebing and asked him out of concern.

Dong Xuebing recollected himself. "Thank you for yourconcern. I did not sleep well last night."

"You must take care of yourself and rest well." ZhouChangchun sat down. "Bring the chair over. Trading is about to start."

Dong Xuebing immediately said: "No need. I will just stand."

Zhou Changchun unhappily said: "I am asking you to sitbeside me. Stop saying all those things."

"Thank you, Chief Zhou." Dong Xuebing was aware of hisposture now. Even this was a small round stool, he also sat down on half hisbuttocks.

Dong Xuebing looked at the o'clock computer screen, and itwas 09.50 am. Trade orders were coming in for the stock markets of 2 cities. Theseorders were competing, and it was still considered unofficial. The more peoplethat buy the shares, the higher the share prices will rise when the marketopens.

"Xiao Dong, how long have you been trading shares?"

"About 3 to 4 years." Dong Xuebing lied.

"Do you have any tricks or secret techniques? How come youare so confident Hainan Rubber share prices will rise that day?"

Dong Xuebing wanted to say that he has no secret techniques.But that will make the leader feel that he does not want to share and will hatehim for being selfish. So, Dong Xuebing continued to make up stories. "It isalso not considered secret techniques. Look at this chart. This trade volumeand this fluctuation mean the probability of this share rising is higher. Youstill need to look at the candlestick chart, daily average, Moving AverageConvergence Divergence (MACD) and KDJ indicator to analyze the market."

Zhou Changchun does not know about this but pretends heknows it all. "Good. You are right. We must analyze all these to understand themarket well." He was feeling good. Although he did not make much money fromHainan Rubber shares, he must admit that Dong Xuebing have a good eye for thestock market. He could only blame himself for being unlucky that the shareprices fell the next day again.

Market opens.

The index rises a little.

Zhou Changchun was staring at the monitor. "Come. Help mepick a share."

"I am only confident in the ultra short term trading. Therest... errr... if the shares did not rise later, you..."

Haha. Ultrashort-term is good enough. Don't give yourselfpressure. Just pick a good share."

Dong Xuebing agreed and click on the trading software'soverview. He had discovered this function of the software in the morning. Itwill indicate the prices of all the shares and the latest trade information.For example, which big player had sold a high volume of shares, which stock hadrisen. With this overview, Dong Xuebing does not need to look for stocks like aheadless chicken.

This time, news of a few railway companies had appeared onthe smaller overview window in the bottom right corner of the monitor.

Daqin Railway – High volume of shares were sold.

Guoheng Railway – Share prices plunged

Guangshen Railway - High volume of shares were sold.

Daqin Railway - Share prices plunged

"The big boys are selling the shares." Because ZhouChangchun had bought Daqin Railway shares a few days ago, he monitored thisshare closely. "Railway shares are done. The past two days, the share priceshad increased too high and were overrated. I think it will not be able torecover in the next few months."

Dong Xuebing also thinks this way. He continues to look atother shares.

Both of them were looking at the pharmaceutical shares whenan update appeared on the bottom right corner's window. Dong Xuebing and ZhouChangchun were shocked by that update.

Daqin Railways – Trading stopped for reaching the higherdaily limits.

Dong Xuebing thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

A while ago, there were still many trades selling thiscompany's shares. How come it had reached higher daily limits?

BACK!

...

Time was returned to one minute ago. Dong Xuebing saw theupdate "Daqin Railway - Share prices plunged" in the small window.

He immediately clicks on the share's average graph. Theshare prices had fallen 0.78%. The share prices did not drop too much. Butcompared to yesterday, today's index had increased a lot. But the big boys werestarting to sell off their shares, and the share prices had plunged suddenly.From this trend, it might reach the lower daily limit and ordered to stoptrading.

"The big boys are selling the shares." Zhou Changchunsmiled. "Railway shares are done. The past two days, the share prices hadincreased too high and were overrated. I think it will not be able to recoverin the next few months."

"Chief Zhou." Dong Xuebing could not wait any longer. "Hurryand buy Daqin Railway shares. The share prices will rise soon."

Chief Zhou was surprised. "Daqin Railway? Rise? Isn't itfalling now?"

"It should be the big players trying to scare the smallerplayers to sell their shares."

Chief Zhou shook his head. "Railway shares cannot make it.Look, the share prices are still falling."

Dong Xuebing quickly said: "Trust me. I can tell from theUltrashort term that the prices will rise a lot. It's true."

"Errrr..." Chief Zhou was still hesitating. But because DongXuebing was accurate the previous two times, he moved forward. "Fine. I willlisten to you." Zhou Changchun had medical conditions, and his legs were weak.But this stock addict's hands were very agile. Click, click, click. He typed onthe keyboard. As Chief Zhou was not very confident of Daqin Railway shares, heonly bought 3,000 shares.

Will the share price really rise? Zhou Changchun wonders.

Dong Xuebing also could not believe what he saw. After all,the share prices were in the red and had risen to reach higher daily limits andstopped trading. The trade volume must be enormous. But Dong Xuebing did nothave to time to see the reason for the rise. So, he could only stare at themonitor now to find out what caused the sudden increase.

Huh? Did the overview show the wrong information?

Dong Xuebing's hands turned cold when he thought of thispossibility.

-0.78%...

-0.92%...

The share prices fell by a few more cents.

Dong Xuebing's palms were all sweaty. Please rise...

Suddenly, a string of numbers appeared, and the colors ofthe graph changed.

Dong Xuebing and Zhou Changchun blinked. They saw a hugetrade order to buy Daqin Railway shares coming in, and the share prices became3.58%.

6.42%...

8.38%...

8.92%...

9.37%...

10.01%...

The price shot up and reached the daily limit.

The shares stopped trading.

Zhou Changchun took in a deep breath and slapped his thighs3 times. "Good, good, good!"

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Power and Wealth

Chapter 28 – Guo Shunjie in trouble!

The disadvantage of BACK was it could only return back to 1minute ago. After Daqin Railways had reached the daily limit, Dong Xuebingcould not predict what would happen next.

Half a minute past. Daqin Railway share prices fell slightlyto 6.28%.

Even though the prices had fallen slightly, Zhou Changchunwas still excited. He was impressed with Dong Xuebing's observation of theultrashort-term trading. Even those experts on TV could not be compared withDong Xuebing. Who dares to claim that this share will surely rise? Who dares toguarantee a stock which was plunging will rise? Dong Xuebing had beenaccurately forecasting these.

Zhou Changchun looked at Dong Xuebing, who was sittingbeside him. He likes this young man.

"Come, drink some water." Zhou Changchun took out a papercup and poured a cup of water for Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing stood up and received the cup with both hands."Thank you chief. I will pour myself."

Zhou Changchun smiled and patted his shoulders, asking himto sit down. "You don't need to be so courteous with me. From the first day Imet you, I know you are exceptional. Hahaha... See, I am right! Your skills inpredicting the ultrashort-term trend are on a different level."

"Thank you for your praises."

Dong Xuebing felt these words were not sincere. The firsttime he met Zhou Changchun, he accidentally addressed him as "Deputy Chief,"and he was frowned upon by him. The other time, it was because of his sittingpostures. If he does not have the ability BACK, Zhou Changchun should be givinghim a hard time now. Hah, someone exceptional? Who are you trying to fool?

This was how it works in government agencies.

Still, water runs deep here.

The leader had helped him poured water, and he must finishit. After drinking the cup of water, Dong Xuebing said: "Chief Zhou, I will goback to work now?"

Zhou Changchun nodded. "Let me know immediately if youencounter any issues at work."

Everyone in the office looks at him when he walks out of theroom. Dong Xuebing remembered that Guo Shunjie had ordered him to do somethingand his anger rise again. He looked around the office. Guo Shunjie had notreturned back to the office. So, he returned to his sit and continued with hiswork.

Since both of them had fallen out, Dong Xuebing decided toignore him.

Zhuang Zhi wanted to say something to Dong Xuebing butchanged his mind.

Suddenly the door opened, and Guo Shunjie walked in.

The General Affairs Office became tense again. Dong Xuebingdid not look at him and continued typing on his computer.

Guo Shunjie saw the water dispenser was still empty and felthe was being challenged. His face changed, and he walked closer to Dong Xuebing.He pointed at Dong Xuebing and angrily said: "Fine. I can't even order you tocarry a bottle of water up? Who do you think you are?"

Dong Xuebing looked back at him coldly. "It's not me. It'syou who thinks you are somebody."

Guo Shunjie grabbed Dong Xuebing's collar. "I am giving youone more chance. Go and bring up a bottle of water now! You hear me?" Hethought Zhou Changchun had not arrived at the office yet and did not controlhis volume.

Old Yan shouted: "Guo Shunjie, you are too much."

Tan Limei stole a glance at Chief Zhou's office and shoutedlouder than Old Yan. "Don't fight! Let's settle this peacefully."

Changjuan and Guo Panwei also did not warn Guo Shunjie thatChief Zhou was in the office. They were sitting at their places as spectators.

"Settle peacefully? I had told him nicely earlier." GuoShunjie tried to control his anger. "But he is the one who is disrespecting theseniors in this office."

Dong Xuebing knew that Tan Limei and Old Yan had shoutedloudly because they wanted to let Chief Zhou know and he could step in tosettle this dispute. But Dong Xuebing suddenly had an idea. He replied nicely:"I am busy just now and had no time to do it."

Guo Shunjie saw Dong Xuebing "admitting defeat" and becamemore arrogant. "Busy? What are you busy with?"

Dong Xuebing purposely did not saw Chief Zhou had looked forhim and replied. "Something very important."

"Important?" Guo Shunjie grabbed his collar more tightly andshouted. "What is more important than bring up the water? Huh? I have justfinished my work, and I can't even have a cup of hot tea when I return? Youstill have the time to do other things? You should put aside all other task andbring up the water first!"

A door opens. It was the small office room's door."

"... Chief Zhou?"

"Chief Zhou."

"Errr... you are around?" Guo Shunjie was not panicking. Heslowly releases his grip on Dong Xuebing's collar and retracts his hands. Hetried to complain about first. "Chief Zhou, this Xiao Dong is too..."

Zhou Changchun facial expressions were not too good. Hestared at Guo Shunjie in the eyes and interrupted him: "I am the one who askedXiao Dong to do something. Are the things you said for me?"

Guo Shunjie was dumbfounded. "Ah... I... I don't know aboutthis. I did not..."

Zhou Changchun continued: "I want to know which is moreimportant. Is your task more important or mine? Whose tasks is more urgent?Yours or mine? Huh? Xiao Dong have to help you change the water for thedispenser first before he can do the task I assigned to him? Huh? Are you theChief or am I the Chief?"

Guo Shunjie knew that he had said something wrong. Heimmediately said: "I... That's not what I meant..."

"Shouting and grabbing a colleague's collars during workhours? Are you trying to beat him up? Where do you think this place is? Do youstill have any respect for the leaders? Huh?" Zhou Changchun asked with a sternlook. His following words were obviously siding with Dong Xuebing. "Can't youcall Old Wang to bring the water? Why must you call Xiao Dong to do it? Did heoffend you?"

Guo Shunjie was embarrassed, and his face turns red. "No, Iwill call Old Wang now." But no one answers his call. "... Old Wang is notaround."

Chief Zhou continued scolding. "He is not around, the wholeoffice no need to drink water?"

Guo Shunjie had not expected his words would make ZhouChangchun so angry. He immediately replied. "I will go and carry the water up."

Guo Panwei looked at Dong Xuebing in shock. He was puzzledwhy Chief Zhou would help Dong Xuebing. Seems like he could not order DongXuebing around in future.

Dong Xuebing immediately says: "Chief Zhou, I am alsoresponsible for this. I should have changed the water first."

Zhou Changchun waved his hand. "Call Old Wang to do thosemanual work next time." Zhou Changchun also felt Guo Shunjie had become morearrogant recently. He wanted to make use of this opportunity to give him awarning. If Guo Shunjie carries on like this, he might not give Zhou Changchunany respect. Although Zhou Changchun had been nice to Guo Shunjie, it wasbecause he respects the Political Commissar. It was not because he was afraidof Guo Shunjie. No leaders will be afraid of their subordinates. Guo Shunjiedoes not have a direct relationship with the Political Commissar, even if the PoliticalCommissar was his father, he still has to listen to Zhou Changchun in theoffice. Guo Shunjie must also obey his instructions.

Not long later, Guo Shunjie returns with a bottle of water.He was panting when he places the water bottle beside the dispenser. He musthave lack exercise and seldom do manual labor. He spent a long time to changethe water and still got wet. His expression was really pathetic.

Dong Xuebing was laughing in his heart when he saw thepathetic Guo Shunjie. Don't you like to order people around? How do you feelbeing ordered around?

Old Yan and Changjuan were secretly laughing at him.

Tan Limei also showed Dong Xuebing a thumbs up under thetable secretly.

Most of the people in the office had experienced GuoShunjie's arrogance, and everyone was happy to see him getting into trouble. Atthe same time, every one of them saw a different Dong Xuebing. Chief Zhou seemsto value him more recently.

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Power and WealthChapter 29 – Sudden increase of Warrants!

Monday.

Dong Xuebing was having his breakfast at a shop near hisworkplace when he saw the General Affairs Office, Chief Li Qing. Li Qing waseating a Xiaolongbao. Dong Xuebing did not dare to sit with his leader on thesame table. He greeted Li Qing from far and sat at a nearby table. AlthoughDong Xuebing had only met Li Qing a few times, because of Deputy Bureau ChiefYang's speech, Li Qing remembered his name. He finished his breakfast and wipedhis mouth with a napkin. "Xiao Dong? I heard from Old Zhou about your recentperformances. Good. Continue to work hard." He took out a packet of cigarettesand threw one stick to Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing was surprised and replied: "Director Li, errr...I don't know how to smoke."

Li Qing laughed: "Which man does not know how to smoke? Youhave to learn."

"Thank you, Director Li."

The leader had spoken, and Dong Xuebing could not refuse.But Li Qing giving him a cigarette made him happy. This was a sign that theleader was willing to be close to him. He borrowed the lighter and lights hiscigarettes after a few tries. He carefully took a small puff. Maybe it wasbecause he had inhaled a small puff, he did not choke on the smoke. He onlyfelt some giddiness.

Li Qing laughed, patted his shoulders and left for work.

After breakfast, Dong Xuebing did not go to work straight.He went to a small store and bought a pack of cigarettes for 10 RMB.

Dong Xuebing knows that if he were to survive in thegovernment sector, he had to smoke or give out cigarettes. This was why hebought this packet of cigarettes, Hongtashan. The cigarettes he purchasedcannot be too cheap. If he brings a pack of cheap cigarettes with him, otherswill look down upon him. He could not bring a pack of better cigarettes either.The leaders will see that his cigarettes are better than theirs and might beunhappy. Some petty leaders will think that he was trying to make them lookbad.

General Affairs Office.

Dong Xuebing entered the office and greeted: "Good morningeveryone."

"Xiao Dong, you are here?"

"Good morning."

Almost everyone was in the office except for Guo Shunjie.When Dong Xuebing was still wondering if that guy was skiving in the toiletagain, Tan Limei pouted towards his back and smiled. Dong Xuebing turned around,and the door opened suddenly. He got a shock and saw Guo Shunjie sweeping theback of the door with a broom.

Dong Xuebing was laughing in his heart. This guy still knowshow to clean up the office?

Guo Shunjie stared at Dong Xuebing and said: "We shall waitand see."

"Oka." Dong Xuebing shrugged his shoulders and returned tohis desk.

Guo Shunjie was wondering why this Dong Xuebing had been solucky recently. Even Deputy Chief Zhou was looking out for him. If ZhouChangchun were not looking out for Dong Xuebing, he would not scold Guo Shunjiethe other day. To try and reverse Zhou Changchun's impression of him, he camein earlier to clean up the office. He also did not ask Dong Xuebing to do anytask.

It was not Guo Shunjie did not want to ask the PoliticalCommissar for help. It was because he could not ask him for help.

As a subordinate who was scolded for saying the wrong thingsby the leader was normal. It's impossible for the Political Commissar tointerfere with such petty issues. Furthermore, Guo Shunjie was not that closewith the Political Commissar. The Political Commissar was close to GuoShunjie's father and will help to take care of him in the agency. But he willnever support him without principles.

Guo Shunjie had no choice but to keep low and bear with it.He dares not to look for trouble with Dong Xuebing.

Noon.

Dong Xuebing, who was in a good mood, looked at the stockmarkets. A few days ago, he had helped Zhou Changchun picked a company's shareand had risen a lot. He was also tempted to trade himself. But he can't buy andsell the same day. His BACK was not useful for this. That day, Daqin Railwayshares had risen sharply and reached the daily limits, but today, the priceshad plunged. Chief Zhou would be lucky if he did not lose any money.

Dong Xuebing thought for a long time. Was there really no wayto trade?

The only thing that could be traded on the same day was that580027, Changhong CWB1. But the price was always dropping.

...

Dong Xuebing keyed in the code for Changhong Warrants. Hewanted to see it's recent performance.

Dong Xuebing had a shock when he saw Changhong CWB1 warrantprice. It was at 0.002 RMB. It had fallen to 0.002 RMB! He immediately searchedon the internet and knew that today was the last trading for this warrant.Tomorrow, it will stop trading forever. This was why it had fallen by so much.Based on the past warrants, there were no limits on how much the warrant pricewill fall or rise on the last day of trading. Most of the warrant prices will dropto 0.001 RMB. Whoever that was unable to sell it, was unlucky.

0.01RMBmore will be at it's lowest price. It will surely not rise again today.

Dong Xuebing decided to give up the idea of making moneythrough trading.

"Eh, Bing Zhi also trade?" Tan Limei saw his screen when shewalked past Dong Xuebing's desk.

Dong Xuebing laughed. "No. I am just taking a look. Tradingis too risky."

"What shares are you looking at? Huh? Changhong Warrants?How come it had fallen to 0.002 RMB? Is it going to stop trading tomorrow?" TanLimei knew about the financial markets. "Hahaha. I wonder who issued thesewarrants. They are just trying to con people. Look, no matter if it's put orcall, the warrant prices had plunged to 0.001 RMB. I think no warrants will beissued in the future. Only fools will buy those."

"Zhuang Zhi who was listening to their conversations:"That's right. You can buy anything except for warrants."

Changjuan also overheard the conversation. "My husband hadbought Magang warrants in the past, and he ends up losing all his money. Listento Sis advice. Don't meddle with warrants."

Lunchtime was over, and Tan Limei brought a stack ofdocuments to the copier machine.

The stock market also resumes trading for about 2 minutes.Dong Xuebing took one more look at Changhong Warrant price. It was still 0.02RMB, and he closes the software. But the next moment Dong Xuebing was stunned.He stood up from his chair. Damn!

0.02 RMB was two cents.

It was not 0.002 RMB!

Was it real? Did Changhong warrant prices increase by 10times after trading resumes?

Translator'snotes:

Hongtashancigarettes.

https/en./wiki/Hongtashan

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Power and WealthChapter 30 – Made money!

Dong Xuebing was in a daze because of the warrant prices forabout 1 second.

BACK BACK BACK!

...

The scenes changed.

"Time to start work." Changjuan was keeping her cosmetics.

"It's 1 pm. I will go and photocopy some documents." TanLimei walked towards the copier machine.

Time had returned to the past. Trading had just resumetrading.

Dong Xuebing took in a deep breath. He had not the time towaste. He quickly looks at Changhong CWB1 warrant prices. It was still at 0.002RMB. More trade orders were selling the warrants compared to the orders buying.A few million warrants were waiting to be sold. There was no indication thatthe prices will increase.

There's still enough time...

There's still enough time...

Dong Xuebing quickly click on the trading software. If it werea few months back, he would surely not remember his account's passwords. He hadnot to trade shares for a few years. But the past few days, he had been helpingZhou Changchun to choose shares, and he recalled his account's password. Click,click, click, click. He logged in to his trading account. He looked at hisavailable balance in his account. It was 2.35 RMB.

When Dong Xuebing set up this trading account with hismother in the past, he had used his current ICBC bank account. All of DongXuebing's savings and salary were in this bank account. It still has about2,000 RMB. Click, click, click. He clicked on the fund transfer. 2 secondslater, 2,000 RMB was transferred from his bank account to his trading account.

He could buy the warrants now.

Dong Xuebing did not hesitate a moment. He used his fastestspeed to enter the number of warrants he could buy with his 2,000 RMB. Then, hepressed the confirmed button with his trembling fingers. He looked at the mainscreen again. A trade at the price of 0.002 RMB was completed. From thenumbers, it was his trade. Although it was only 2,000 RMB, the price ofChanghong warrants was too low. The number of warrants that was bought with2,000 RMB was astronomical!

Transaction completed.

Dong Xuebing was right on time.

He sighed in relief. He felt that his heart had never beatso fast in his entire life.

Come on. Rise!

It was as if the market had heard Dong Xuebing's prayers. ChanghongCWB1's screen refreshed. There was a super big call order worth 5 million RMB.It had bought all the orders that were selling for 0.003 RMB. A while later,millions of warrants were sold. The prices had changed from 0.002 to 0.004 RMB.It was still increasing.

Dong Xuebing clenches his first and stared at the monitor.He was breathing heavily.

0.004...

0007...

0.011...

The prices of Changhong CWB1 warrants was like a rocket.

Dong Xuebing was very excited. But he came back to hissenses. He knows that it not the time to celebrate yet. He quickly opens thetrading window and entered a put order. He was not sure Changhong CWB1 priceswill rise until how much. But he knew that it will increase to 0.02 RMB in awhile. He wanted to be safe and entered 0.02 RMB as the put price. He does notwant to be greedy.

0.015...

0.017...

0.020...

Dong Xuebing slapped his thighs. "It's sold."

0.021...

0.022...

Changhong CWB1 prices paused at 0.022 RMB for a while. Thena lot of put orders came flying in. The volume of warrants traded was huge. Theplunged was much faster than the time it rises.

0.019...

0.017...

0.013...

0.009...

0.007...

0.005...

The prices had plunged back to the bottom.

Dong Xuebing wiped the sweat on his forehead. He could notdescribe his feelings. Changhong CWB1 was the last warrant on the stock marketsof two cities and today was the last trading day. He thought he had no chanceto use BACK to make money from trading. But who knows that Dong Xuebing managedto get a chance to make some money.

"Xiao Dong, what's wrong?" Old Yan went to the waterdispenser to get some water when he saw Dong Xuebing sweating profusely.

Tan Limei and Changjuan also turned to look at him.

Dong Xuebing immediately minimized the stock marketsoftware. "Nothing. I just feel a bit hot." Zhou Changchun dares to tradeshares in the office openly, and no ones dare to say anything. But Dong Xuebingcould not do the same. He must be mindful of his actions in the office toprevent getting into trouble.

At this moment, Zhou Changchun entered the office fromoutside. "Xiao Dong, come in for a while."

Dong Xuebing could not look at his trading account anymore.He quickly follows the leader to his office.

Hou Changchun had called him to his room to help him pick ashare. "Daqin Railways did not perform well today. Luckily, I did not buy a lotof that company's shares. Help me see which share is good."

Dong Xuebing was very careful. He knows that Zhou Changchunwould get suspicious if he were to be 100% accurate every time he picks ashare. It might be okay once in a while. But his ability BACK might still haveother uses. He cannot be using this ability for Zhou Changchun to pick shares."Chief Zhou, recently the market is not doing well. I am not very confident.Why not wait for a few more days?"

Zhou Changchun looked at him: "Your analysis of the past twotrades is quite accurate. What's wrong?"

Dong Xuebing smiled wearily. "But in the end, you did notmake any money. The market looks bleak. Have you seen the market today? Therewere almost no shares that were rising. There is nothing I can do."

Zhou Changchun thought for a while. He only manages to makea small profit from Hainan Rubbers and Daqin Railways shares. But if he did notmanage to sell off the shares, he might be stuck with the shares. "Already. Ithink the stock index should reach 3,000 points in a month or two. Let's waituntil then."

Dong Xuebing returns to his desk.

He secretly opens the trading software in a small window. Hecan't wait to see his account balance.

After deducting the charges, the account balance was 20,000RMB.

2,000 RMB was multiplied by 10 times within seconds.

20,000 RMB! 20,000 RMB! 20,000 RMB!

Dong Xuebing was overjoyed. This amount of money might meannothing for some families. But for Dong Xuebing's family, it was an enormousamount.

In the future, he could call his mother over the phonewithout worrying about the phone charges. They could afford to eat meat likebeef and mutton...

Dong Xuebing tears start to well up in his eyes. It's been 4years. He and his mother had been living in poverty for too long...

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Power and WealthChapter 31 – Shopping with a beautiful lady

Tuesday.

The money in the trading account could not be withdraw onthe same day. Dong Xuebing got to wait for the next day to transfer his moneyinto his bank account. Zhou Changchun had gone to the hospital for his followup and was not in office. Dong Xuebing took the opportunity to leave the forlunch earlier and went to ICBC bank to transfer 3,000 RMB to his mother'saccount. He wanted his mother to have a better life.

After transferring the money. Dong Xuebing called his motheron his mobile phone.

Ring, ring, ring. A woman answered the phone. "Hello, HuiTian Secondary school."

Dong Xuebing replied: "Hi, I am looking for Luan Xiaoping."

"You are looking for Teacher Luan? Please hold the line."The woman was silent for a while before shouting: "Teacher Luan, you have aphone call. It might be your son."

A few seconds later, Dong Xuebing's mother answered thephone. "Xuebing?"

Dong Xuebing sat down on a blue plastic chair in ICBC bank'swaiting area. "Mum, are you having lunch now? I have just gotten my pay andhave just transferred 3,000 RMB to you. If you are free go and withdraw it fromthe bank. The weather has turn cold recently. Buy a coat or something. Justtreat it as a gift from me." His mother had lost a lot of money in the stockmarket in the past. Dong Xuebing knows that if he told his mother that he hadmade money from trading, his mother would surely be worried. He also can'texplain his special ability BACK to her. So, he decided to keep it from her.

Dong Xuebing's mother grumbled. "I don't need your money. Istill have money with me. You should keep it for yourself."

Dong Xuebing replied: "The money has been transferred. Stopnagging at me."

Dong Xuebing's mother sighed. "Then... okay. But next timedon't send me any money. My salary is still enough for me. You should save yourmoney. These few years we are poor, and I don't even have money to buy you newclothes. You have already started working in the government. You must giveothers a good impression.Throw thosepatched and torn clothes away and buy some new ones."

Dong Xuebing looked down at his clothes. He was wearing afaded T-shirt. "Errr... Then I will go and buy some new clothes tonight."

Dong Xuebing's mother wanted to save on the phone chargesand she just ask Dong Xuebing briefly about his work before hanging up.

Evening, after work.

On the bus back home, Dong Xuebing send Qu Yunxuan amessage. "Are you working overtime today? I will prepare dinner and wait foryou to return?" After sending the message, Dong Xuebing felt blissful. How comethis message feels like a couple sending to each other. Beep, beep. He wasstill day dreaming when Qu Yunxuan replied. "Don't. Wait for me to return homeand I will cook for you. Oh, there is no more vegetables at home. I don't knowwhat you want to eat. How about you come over to my workplace to fetch me? It isalmost time for me to get off work. We can go to the nearby market to buy somevegetables." Dong Xuebing looked at the message and replied: "Okay."

Beijing 2nd Ring Road

Beijing Daily (Newspaper) Headquarters

Although Dong Xuebing and Aunt Xuan were close these fewyears, but their relationship were only normal neighbors. But after DongXuebing saved her life a few months back, they became closer and Dong Xuebingknew more about her. Qu Yunxuan had started a business with some friends aftershe graduated from University but the company closed down not long after. Shethen got a job with Beijing Daily's advertising division. She was now a teamleader there.

10 minutes later. People starts to walk out of the building.

The was the first time Dong Xuebing came to Qu Yunxuan'swork place. He also did not know which exit she will walk out from. He juststood there looking at the crowd trying to spot her.

Suddenly, Dong Xuebing saw Qu Yunxuan walking out from anoffice building not far away. Her hair was tied up in a bun and was wearing awhite blouse, brown office skirt, stockings and black high heels. She wasbeautiful and Dong Xuebing was mesmerised by her again. How come Aunt Xuan wasso beautiful? Dong Xuebing wondered.

"See you tomorrow, Team Leader Qu."

"Bye. See you tomorrow." Qu Yunxuan nodded.

"Sister Qu, is the proposal which I told you yesterdayready?"

Qu Yunxuan turned to that person: "Oh, Xiao Lu had completedit. You can talk to him tomorrow."

"Ok. Take care. Bye."

Qu Yunxuan have the aura of a career woman. This was DongXuebing's first time seeing the other side of her.

Qu Yunxuan saw Dong Xuebing and she walked quickly towardshim. "Have you waited long? There is a waiting area inside. Why didn't you goin and wait for me there?"

Dong Xuebing's eyes stop wondering around and said: "I amlazy to register."

Qu Yunxuan laughed and pointed to a direction. "Let's go tothe market and buy the food you want to eat."

While they were crossing the road, Dong Xuebing noticed QuYunxuan rubbing her shoulders and he asked: "Are you tired? You want me to helpyou carry your handbag?"

Qu Yunxuan brought him to a market: "It's okay. I am gettingpaid to do work and I should be tired. When I started my own business, it wasmore tiring than now. Not only it was physically tiring, it was also mentallytiring." In front of the market store, Qu Yunxuan changed from being a careerwoman to a housewife. "How much is your eggs? 4 RMB for 3? Then give me 1 Kg...How much is your chicken wings? Oh... give me some of it..." Qu Yunxuan boughtthe ingredients and then carry on the conversation with Dong Xuebing. "It's a pity.I was young back then and didn't know a lot of things. If I have a company now,I am sure I will manage it better."

"Are you still thinking of setting up your own business?"

"Yes. But I do not have the capital now. Let me save up fora few years first."

Dong Xuebing noticed that the both of them had similargoals. He wants to be a top official and she wants to make lots of money.

North Heping Street.

Dong Xuebing wanted to help Qu Yunxuan with the cooking. Hewas embarrassed for having her to cook for him every time. But Qu Yunxuanchased him out of her house. She asked him to go back to have a shower firstand change before dinner.

Unit 302, Qu Yunxuan's house.

After blowing his hair dry, Dong Xuebing rang the doorbellof Qu Yunxuan's unit. The door opened, and he could smell the fragrance of beerchicken wings. He took in a deep breath and walked into the apartment. "Wow, itsmells nice. Is the rice ready?" There were a few pipping hot dishes on thedinning table. Just looking at the food on the table made Dong Xuebing hungry.He rolled up his sleeves and wanted to start eating.

Qu Yunxuan slapped the back of his hand playfully. "Washyour hands before you eat."

Dong Xuebing retorted: "I had just taken a shower."

"You don't need to use your hand to knock on the door? Youdon't need to touch the door knob when you open the door?" Qu Yunxuan poked hishead. "Go and wash your hands now."

Dong Xuebing rubbed his nose and walked into the kitchen.

Qu Yunxuan, who was still wearing an apron, laughed. "Whenyou come out, bring two pairs of chopsticks."

"Okay."

Aunt Xuan was great at cooking. She could be the head chefof any 5 stars restaurants. Dong Xuebing ate until his belly could not holdanymore food. He burb and rubbed his bulging tummy on the sofa. Qu Yunxuan wasclearing up the dishes like a housewife. He felt he was really lucky and reallywanted this feeling to last forever.

Whoever marries Aunt Xuan will definitely have a blissfullife.

Dong Xuebing was looking at Qu Yunxuan's beautiful whitethighs while she was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen. He was fantasizingabout those legs when he realized the pair of legs coming closer and closer tohim. "What are you think?" Qu Yunxuan was standing in front of him.

Dong Xuebing quickly look away. "Ermmm... I had just gottenmy salary. I wonder if you can accompany me to buy a few new clothes."

Qu Yunxuan laughed and playfully pinched his cheeks. "Okay.Your Aunt here will help you choose some nice clothes and turn you into ahandsome young man."

Dong Xuebing replied shyly. "Stop making fun of me. With mylooks, no matter what I wear will also not be good looking."

"Nonsense." Qu Yunxuan slapped his head lightly. "I say youare handsome means you are handsome. Come, let's go to the mall."

Translator'snotes:

Beijing 2ndRing Road

https/en./wiki/2nd_Ring_Road

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Power and WealthChapter 32 – iPhone 4

Yansha Youyi Shopping City.

It was almost Autumn, and the shopping mall's air conditionwas still blowing cold air. It was a bit chilly.

Many people were walking in and out of the mall. Qu Yunxuanwas wearing heels, and she almost fell when she tried to avoid a woman carryinga child. She grabbed onto Dong Xuebing's arm. She continued to hold on to DongXuebing's arm into the mall. Dong Xuebing was nervous. Aunt Xuan was holding onto him. He looked at her holding on to his arm and secretly peeped at her chest.

The first floor was mostly selling cosmetics and perfumes.The place was filled with sweet scent.

Both of them went upstairs and stop by the section sellingmen's apparels.

Qu Yunxuan squeezed Dong Xuebing's arm. "Xiao Bing, Auntsuggest that you should buy a suit. You will leave a good impression with yourleaders."

Dong Xuebing nodded. "Okay. I will listen to you." Having abeauty like Aunt Xuan shopping with him was more important than buyinganything.

A sales assistant walked over to serve them. She got asurprised look on her face when she saw Qu Yunxuan. Qu Yunxuan was toobeautiful. "Hi, what sort of suit are you looking for?" Dong Xuebing noticedthat the nearby sales assistants and customers were looking at their direction.They were all looking at Qu Yunxuan.

Qu Yunxuan started to choose the clothes for Dong Xuebing."Do you have anything more casual?"

"Yes." The sales assistant pointed to the back. "Over hereplease."

Qu Yunxuan immediately spotted a beautiful design. "Thisshirt is not bad. Xiao Bing, come over here." She picked up the shirt and placeit in front of Dong Xuebing. "Hmmm... Quite nice."

The sales assistant smiled: "Yes. I think this shirt suitsyour friend."

Your friend?

Dong Xuebing was very sensitive to this word. In Beijing,people will associate "friend" as being in a relationship. For example, if DongXuebing were to introduce his girlfriend to others, he will say "This is myfriend." It meant his girlfriend. It was the same as the others. For instances,"Oh, I heard that Xuebing have a new friend."

Dong Xuebing starts to imagine things.

Suit, leather shoes, belt.

Long sleeve shirt, long pants, sports attire.

Dong Xuebing had bought a set of new presentable clothesselected by Qu Yunxuan. Of course, the whole set was not cheap.

Dong Xuebing saw the sales assistant packing all the clothesand shoes, he took out his wallet. "Where is the cashier?"

Qu Yunxuan tugged his arm and laughed. "Let's go. I havealready paid when you are trying the clothes."

"Ah?" Dong Xuebing gasped in surprised. "Aunt Xuan, how canyou pay for me? No. How much do all these cost? I will return you the money."Aunt Xuan had been taking care of him by washing his clothes and cooking forhim. He was still thinking of getting her a gift since he had the money now.Instead, she bought the clothes for him.

Qu Yunxuan lifted her fist and said with a straight face:"If you say one more word, I will hit you. Let's go."

Dong Xuebing shut his mouth unwillingly and carried all theshopping bags. He followed Qu Yunxuan out of the mall. He was still feeling badfor letting her pay for the clothes. Oh yes. It was time to change thehandphone. The battery life was getting shorter and shorter, and the buttonswere not responding. This type of imitation phones was also quite embarrassing.Aunt Xuan was also using an old Nokia phone for almost 3 years. Yes. I will buyher a new phone too.

"Aunt Xuan. I am thinking of changing my handphone. Shall wego to the Electronic Mall to have a look?"

"Okay. There is a Suning not far ahead. Let's go."

The skies turned dark, and stars appeared.

200 meters away, Suning Electronics.

It was almost National Day, and there were lots of people inthe shop. The carpark in front of the shop was fully parked. The moment theystepped into the store, they saw rows of counters selling computers andhandphones. Around the corner, it was the home appliances section. It was alsofull of people. It seems that there was a promotion before the National Day.

Qu Yunxuan helped Dong Xuebing to carry 3 bags. "What brandof handphone are you buying?"

Dong Xuebing does not mind about the brand of handphone. Hewas more concern which brand of phone Qu Yunxuan likes. "What brand do youthink is good?"

"Nokia, Sony, Motorola, are all good brands."

After walking one round in the handphone section of themall, Dong Xuebing saw iPhone 4 advertisement on a lightbox. This was thelatest model of Apple phone. A while before, it had been out of stock. Applefans had queue up since 4 am to buy this phone. Dong Xuebing had also heard QuYunxuan talking about this phone. She was also an iPhone fan. But because itwas too expensive, she could only envy others.

Dong Xuebing said. "iPhone 4 seems to be very popular."

"Of course. The design and specs are outstanding. But it wastoo expensive."

"You think it is nice?"

Qu Yunxuan laughed. "Of course, it's nice. If not, why wouldso many buy it? I remember when iPhone 4 was launched in China, the prices hadreached more than 10,000 RMB per phone. Now, the prices had fallen. It is alsoabout 6,000 RMB. Haha. I just think that this phone is pretty. Wait for thelaunch of iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 prices will drop further. I will buy one then.I cannot afford it now."

Dong Xuebing made his decision in his heart. "Go over andtake a look?"

"Okay. Taking a look will also not cost money. Hahaha."Qu Yunxuan really likes this phone. She stoodin front of the counter and stared at the iPhone 4 on display. She even askedthe staff to show her a display set.

The staff was a young girl who was good with her words. "Sister,iPhone 4 currently has two colors. White and black. We are having a promotionfor our black color model. 16G for only 5,580 RMB. You are so pretty, and thisiPhone 4 really suits you."

Qu Yunxuan looked at the display set and did not say a word.

"If you buy now, we will give you a screen protector and aleather casing. Also..." The sales girl could tell that Qu Yunxuan really likesthis phone and starts to recommend.

Qu Yunxuan was hesitating. She seems to be thinking aboutsomething. But she looked at the price tag again and shook her head.

Dong Xuebing stepped forward and said: "Okay. Give us 1set... No... 2 sets."

Translator'snotes:

YanshaYouyi Shopping City.

Suning

https/en.

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