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

2. 33

Power and Wealth #Chapter 33 - Read Power and Wealth Chapter 33 Online - All Page - Novel Next

Power and WealthChapter 33 – Massaging Aunt Xuan

"2 sets?" The sales assistant did not expect Dong Xuebing tobe so generous. She immediately smiled and said: "Please wait a while."

"Wait." Qu Yunxuan was stunned and then gave Dong Xuebing aslap on the back of his head. "What are you doing? It's costly."

Dong Xuebing rubbed his head. "It's fine as long as you likeit. I had never given you any gifts before. Now I have some money, just let megive you something."

"You are buying this phone for me? I don't want it. You havejust started work, and you should not be spending your money like this." QuYunxuan turned to the sales assistant. "Sorry, we don't want it."

Dong Xuebing ignored her and said: "We want. Please issuethe receipt."

Qu Yunxuan raised her hand in anger. "I will hit you."

"Even if you knock me out, I will also buy this iPhone 4 foryou."

"You..." Qu Yunxuan turned her head around and ignore DongXuebing.

Dong Xuebing chose the color of the phone, the screenprotector and also the leather casing. After making the payments, the salesassistant took out the iPhones to do the setup. Dong Xuebing thought buying aphone was a quick and easy thing. All he needs to do was to pay for it. Applephones need a different size sim card, put on the screen protector and registeronline. It was very troublesome.

After a while, the sales assistant smiled to Qu Yunxuan:"iPhone's sim card is different from our phones. Can you give me your sim card?I need to cut it smaller."

Qu Yunxuan kept quiet.

Dong Xuebing smiled and touched Qu Yunxuan's elbow. "Why areyou behaving like this?"

Qu Yunxuan continued to ignore him.

Dong Xuebing rolled his eyes. "I have already paid for it,and there are no refunds. If you really don't want it, I will give it tosomeone else."

Qu Yunxuan glanced at him and gave him a knock on his head."You are wasting your money." She paused for a while and then took out herhandphone slowly from her handbag. She took out the sim card and pass it to thesales assistant. "Do you have other colors for the leather casing? Can I take alook? Hmmm... This is nicer. Yes, we will take this... Oh, do you have movies andsongs here... help us store it in the phones too... yes... Thank you..."

Half an hour later, Qu Yunxuan was playing with her iPhone4. She really likes it.

Dong Xuebing smiled happily: "Aunt Xuan, this iPhone 4 looksnicer when you are holding it in your hands. I think Apple should get you toendorse their phones." If it were the past Dong Xuebing who was still inUniversity, he would never say such things. But after working for thegovernment, he learned how to speak pleasant words to others.

Qu Yunxuan laughed and rolled her eyes. "No more next time."She casually wrapped her hand around Dong Xuebing's arm. "Our Xiao Bing hadgrown up and can earn money. He also knows how to buy gifts for others.Hahaha... When our Xiao Bing becomes a great leader, I will also be proud."

She was holding on to Dong Xuebing's arm, and Dong Xuebingwas nervous.

This was the first time a girl was holding onto his arms.

At about 9 pm, Dong Xuebing and Qu Yunxuan reached home, andthey placed the shopping bags on the coffee table.

Qu Yunxuan sat on Dong Xuebing's home sofa and played withher new phone. "The shop was closing just now and could not find the songs Iwanted. Xiao Bing, tomorrow help me download some songs from the internet. Iwant to use it as my ringtone." She stood up and used her phone to take someselfies. She showed her pictures to Dong Xuebing and asked. "How is it?"

Dong Xuebing smiled: "No matter how you take the pictures,it will also turn out beautiful."

Qu Yunxuan laughed. "You really know how to cheer me up."

"I am telling you the truth. No matter if it is a 300,000pixels camera or a 5 million pixels camera, you will still look pretty."

"Nonsense." Qu Yuxuan rolled her eyes and pulled DongXuebing closer to her on the sofa. She wrapped her arm around Dong Xuebing'sarm and lifted the phone higher to take a selfie. "Smile when you are takingpictures with me."

Dong Xuebing could feel his arm pressing against QuYunxuan's breast. He forced a smile, and it looks weird.

After the picture was taken, Qu Yunxuan laughed. "What iswrong with this expression? You look stupid."

Dong Xuebing blushed and thought to himself. You arepressing against me and how can I not be nervous?

After playing with the phone for a while, Qu Yunxuan keptphone and start to pack the newly bought clothes. She packed the clothes intDong Xuebing's closet and cut those patched and faded clothes into small piecesof clothes. "It is a waste to throw these clothes away. I will cut them intosmall pieces, and you can use them as rags to wipe the tables." Qu Yunxuanmonthly salary was not low, but she was a thrifty person.

This was also why Dong Xuebing was attracted to her. Helooked at Qu Yunxuan and stuttered: "Aunt Xuan... I... I like..."

Qu Yunxuan shook the rag in her hands and turned around:"What did you say?"

"I like... like..." Dong Xuebing was sweating. But he couldnot say the full sentence. Qu Yunxuan was the prettiest woman he ever met inhis life. She had a good figure, kind-hearted, a good career, etc. She does nothave anything bad about her. Dong Xuebing really wanted to take her as hisbride and wanted to confess to her. But their relationship had just evolvedfrom being good neighbors to close friends. If he confessed to her, she mightfeel uncomfortable and, in the future, they might no longer be as close as now.This was not something Dong Xuebing wanted to see.

Dong Xuebing remembered that he still had not used BACKtoday.

If Qu Yunxuan rejects him, he can still use BACK to turnback the time. This way, both of them will not feel awkward.

That's right. This should do it.

"What did you say? Wash (Wash andlike sound similar in Chinese)?"Qu Yunxuan laughed. "You have dirty laundries to wash?" Why are youstuttering and so shy?"

Qu Yunxuan ignored him and walked to the washroom to pick upDong Xuebing's dirty socks and underwear. "Ok. Leave these to me. Is thereanything else you need me to help you wash?"

Dong Xuebing wanted to bury his head in a hole on theground. He rushed forward and tried to take back his socks and underwear. "Ican wash these myself."

"Go away." Qu Yunxuan moved her shoulders to avoid DongXuebing. But she shouted "ouch" when she moved her shoulders. "Stop trying tosnatch these clothes. My neck hurts."

Dong Xuebing panicked. "Are you okay? I'm sorry. I did nothurt you on purpose."

Qu Yunxuan sat down and massage her neck: "It's not yourfault. I have been having neck pains for a while."

Dong Xuebing felt guilty. "Let me help you massage your neck."

"No need. It should get better after a good night sleep."

"No..." Dong Xuebing replied. "Go and lie down in the room. Iwill massage you."

Qu Yunxuan hesitated and agreed. "Hahaha... Ok."

Dong Xuebing took in a deep breath and readied himself toconfess to her.

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Power and WealthChapter 34 – confessing his love for Aunt Xuan!

Dong Xuebing's apartment.

Bedroom.

Dong Xuebing placed a pillow on the bed and let Qu Yunxuantake off her heels. She took the pillow and put it under her chin before lyingface down on the bed comfortably. Dong Xuebing also took off his slippers andkneel beside her on the bed. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders andstart his massage. "Neck is very important. You must take care of it. When youare working, you must not stay in the same position for too long. You have tomove about once in a while. Is this strength okay?"

Qu Yunxuan's head was buried in the pillow and uttered areply: "It's good. Thank you."

"It's all my fault."

"I said it is not your fault. Ah... That's the aching spot.Softer."

Dong Xuebing reduced his strength and continued to massagethat spot. "Is this okay?"

"Ah... Okay..."

Dong Xuebing was organizing his words in his mind on how toconfess to Qu Yunxuan while massaging. At the same time, his eyes werewondering about Qu Yunxuan's body. Qu Yunxuan was facing down and will not knowwhere he was looking. So, Dong Xuebing looked at the back of her ears, neck,back, waist, bums, legs... Qu Yunxuan does not only look beautiful from thefront. Even her back view was pretty.

"Are you tired? Do you want to rest?"

"I'm fine. I will massage your back too."

"It's fine. You should be tired from working all day. Youshould rest early."

"It's fine. The muscles in your neck and back are linked. Iwill have you relax your back muscle." Dong Xuebing was memorized by herbeautiful back and does not want to stop touching her. He enjoys the feeling ofrubbing her back. He slowly moved his hands from her shoulders to her back.

Qu Yunxuan was also enjoying the massage. She was makingsome sounds from the relaxing massage.

Dong Xuebing could not control himself and suddenly said:"Aunt Xuan... I love you."

Ah... I finally said it.

Qu Yunxuan's body stiffed and did not say a word.

Dong Xuebing could not see her facial expression. Hecontinued: "A few years ago when my mum and I shifted here, I had secretlyadmired you. It's true. I... I am not good with words and don't know how toexpress my feelings well. I just want you to know that I really, really, likeyou. Aunt Xuan... Errrrr... Can you be my girlfriend?"

Qu Yunxuan continued to keep quiet.

The silence was torture to Dong Xuebing. His face was allred.

After a while, Qu Yunxuann sat up and looked at him. "XiaoBing, I'm sorry. I always see you as my younger brother."

Damn. Rejected. Dong Xuebing felt disappointed. But he knewhis place and was already prepared to be rejected. It would be a miracle if QuYunxuan accepted him now. Dong Xuebing wanted to know the reason why sherejected him. "Aunt Xuan, don't use brother as an excuse to reject me. I reallywant to know what I am lacking. Is it my looks? Ok. I do not look good enoughto be with you..." Penniless and no good looks. These were the things thatcaused Dong Xuebing's lack of self-esteem.

Qu Yunxuan interrupted him. "I am not that shallow. It isnot about your looks."

"No?" Dong Xuebing asked. "Then what is it?"

Qu Yunxuan did not look at him and faced the direction ofthe window. She said apologetically: "I only feel that you are not my type. Howshould I put it? Looks are given by God. No one can do anything with it. Butyou can make up the lack of looks with other things. Maybe it's our thinking. Iknow these are some of your habits. But I can only accept clean and tidy men. Icannot accept men with long fingernails. My boyfriend must be cleanly shaved,and his hair must be tidy. It is now about his looks."

In the past, Dong Xuebing had given up on himself. He didnot take care of himself and did not cut his nails, shave or combed his hair.

Damn. Points were deducted from all these minor details?

BACK!

...

The scene changed.

Qu Yunxuan face was in front of him with a confusedexpression. "What?"

Dong Xuebing battered his eyes and asked. "Errr... What was Isaying?"

"I don't know." Qu Yunxuan replied. "You just called myname. What do you want to tell me?"

Dong Xuebing was relieved. He immediately smiled: "Nothing...I only want to ask if I am pressing too hard." Lucky. A bit more, it will bemore than 1 minute.

"Hahaha, it is just right. Our Xiao Bing is also good atmassage."

Dong Xuebing wanted to massage Qu Yunxuan a while more. Buthe saw his fingernails on her back, and he instinctively retracts his hands."That's all for now. You have some water and rest for a while. We will continuelater. I will go and take a shower first."

Qu Yunxuan laughed at him. "Go. Oh, wear that suit for me tosee."

"Okay."

Dong Xuebing rushed out of the room with one hand coveringthe stubbles. He took the newly bought suit and went into the bathroom. Heswitched on the lights, closed the door and grabbed his shaver to shave. Hethen uses a nail clipper to cut all his nails short before taking a quickshower. He combed and used a hairdryer to style his hair neatly.

Ok. All done.

Dong Xuebing looked at himself in the mirror. He had a cleanand tidy look. He walked out of the bathroom after changing into his suit.

Qu Yunxuan was playing with her iPhone 4 again in the livingroom. "Why did you change in the bathroom? I came out of the room was for youto change in there... Eh?" She paused when she saw Dong Xuebing. She wassurprised. "When did you shave? Your hair..." She did not notice Dong Xuebing'ssuit first. Instead, she noticed his stubbles and hair. So, it's true. Shelikes men who look clean and tidy. She was not lying just now. It was all thesesmall details that will attract her.

Dong Xuebing was overjoyed. "My shaver was spoilt and can'tshave properly. It is the same for my hairdryer and nail clippers. I had boughtnew ones when I got my salary. In the future, I will not be so untidy. I can'tstand being so untidy. I like to look clean and tidy." He lifted both his handsand showed his clean nails.

Qu Yunxuan nodded and stepped forward to straighten hiscollar. "I still thought you don't like to cut your nails and shave. So, it wasbecause your shaver and nail clippers are spoilt. You look so much betternow..." Qu Yunxuan looked at him from head to toes and smiled. "Handsome..."

Hahaha, I had successfully left a good impression with AuntXuan!

Dong Xuanbing was thinking of confessing to Aunt Xuan again.

He hopes he will succeed the next time.

Translator'snotes: It's a waste for him to use his powers to find out what Aunt Xuan likes.He is wasting his power on stupid things.

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Power and WealthChapter 35 – Two very important documents

The next day.

Western District State Security Branch Bureau.

Dong Xuebing wore his newly bought suit to work. He greetedthe old guard at the guard house and before walking into the compound.

Only Tan Limei and Zhuang Zhi were in the General AffairsOffice. When Tan Limei saw Dong Xuebing, she gasped in surprise. "Bing Zhi looksso mature today. So handsome."

Dong Xuebing replied: "I do not have many nice clothes likeyou. You are dressed up so pretty every day."

Tan Limei laughed happily. "You are so good at praisingothers." There was no one else in the office, and Tan Limei playfully pattedZhuang Zhi's tummy. "Hey, you should learn from Bing Zhi. Look at him. He hadjust joined our office and had gotten the trust of Chief Zhou. If this carrieson, he should be replacing Zhou Panwei position in Chief Zhou's heart. Look atyou. You are not good with words. How can you leave a good impression with theleaders?"

Zhuang Zhi scratched the back of his head: "I... I cannotspeak well."

Dong Xuebing looked at Tan Limei. "Tan Zhi, why do you careso much about Zhuang Zhi?"

Tan Limei blushed. "Who do I care about so much? Hmph! It'smy turn to clean the office today."

Zhuang Zhi quickly stood up. "I will help you."

"That's more like it." Tan Limei passed the mop to him.

Was Dong Xuebing good with words? Knows how to make theleaders like him? This was impossible if it was in the past. He was a quietperson since middle school to university. He could not speak well and get alongwith others. But after he set his goal, he felt he had changed a lot. He forcedhimself to say things that will please others. He did it for his promotions.

He needs to be humble and modest first before he could getpromoted.

10 minutes later, all the staffs arrived in office.

Dong Xuebing felt his phone vibrates. He took out his iPhone4 to take a look. It was Qu Yunxuan who had messaged him. "My boss just gaveout an instruction. I need to work overtime today. I might not reach home untilafter 8 pm. You get dinner yourself." Dong Xuebing replied. "Ok. Be carefulwhen you are coming home." After sending the message, he was about to keep hisphone back into his pocket when a dark figure appeared beside him and snatchedhis phone away.

It was Tan Limei who snatched his phone.

"Wow!" Tan Limei shouted in surprised. "It's iPhone 4. BingZhi, you bought this iPhone 4?"

Guo Shunjie who was looking at his monitor snorted loudlyand did not say a word.

Guo Panwei who did not keep up with the latest trend asked:"What is iPhone 4?"

Changjuan explained: "It's a handphone model. It is thehottest handphone now. I heard that it cost 5,000 to 6,000 RMB with theaccessories. Hehe, Xiao Dong, you are really willing to buy."

Guo Panwei exclaimed: "How much? 5,000 to 6,000 RMB for ahandphone?" Civil servants' salary was not a lot when compared to those privatecompanies. He felt that 5,000 to 6,000 RMB was too expensive even to buy a PC,let alone a handphone.

Tan Limei looked at the phone in her hands with envy. "Thisphone is so pretty. I must also get one when I get this month's salary. Huh? Ican't afford it even with this month's salary. I can only wait for next month."She said and looked at the phone before pleading with Dong Xuebing. "Bing Zhi,we are good friends. Can we exchange our phones for a few days? Let me playwith it for a few days please..."

Dong Xuebing shrugged his shoulders. "I am ok with it. Butyour phone's sim card is different from iPhone."

Tan Limei slapped her forehead. "Ah... I forgot about that.Here, have your phone back." She gave the phone back to Dong Xuebingunwillingly. Tan Limei likes to follow the latest trends. She kept stealingglances at Dong Xuebing's desk while working and kept borrowing his phone toplay around once she was free.

There was a meeting in the morning at the small meeting roomupstairs. Chief Li Qing was not around, and it was Chief Zhou who chaired themeeting. The meetings in the government sector were all the same. It was notfor the department heads to talk about their staffs' performance. It was todiscuss the documents given to them by their higher-ups. Dong Xuebing felt thiswas meaningless but forced himself to listen to Zhou Changchun's "chanting"while thinking of how to get promoted.

10 minutes...

20 minutes...

Dong Xuebing was falling asleep and controlling himself fromyawning.

The people from the General Affairs Office were used tothis. Other than Old Yan was doing his own things, the rest were trying theirbest to pay attention.

"That's all for today." Zhou Changchun drank his tea andcleared his throat. "Two of you will follow me. The rest return to the office.There is a lot of work this morning. Do your best." Zhou Changchun lookedaround the meeting room thinking who to pick to follow him out for someerrands.

Dong Xuebing and Guo Panwei puffed out their chest andstraighten their backs.

Then Zhou Changchun said. "Panwei, Shunjie, both of youfollow me."

"Yes, sir." Guo Panwei replied immediately and proudlylooked at Dong Xuebing. It was as if he was telling Dong Xuebing that did yousee it? Even if you have some credits, Chief Zhou still trusts me more thanyou. Guo Panwei was had been upset with Dong Xuebing immediately felt better.

Guo Shunjie did not expect Zhou Changchun would call hisname. He brightens up. This means the leader had forgotten about the incidentthat day. He also looked at Dong Xuebing who had been trying to be closer toChief Zhou recently. He was delighted to see Chief Zhou not calling Dong Xuebing.Dong Xuebing was still a newbie.

"Oh yes." When everyone was walking out of the meeting room,Zhou Changchun suddenly said: "There will be two very important documents whichwill be sent to Chief Li Qing there. Two of you must go and collect it and sendit to the confidential department. Nothing must go wrong... Errr..."

Dong Xuebing puffed up his chest and had a "leave this tome" expression on his face.

After hesitating for a while, Zhou Changchun looked at DongXuebing for a second and said: "Xiao Chang and Xiao Tan, both of you will dothis. The Confidential Department might be having a meeting this morning. Ifthere is no one to collect the documents, don't bring the documents back to theoffice. Return it back to Chief Li Qing. There are no duplicates for thesedocuments. Nothing must happen to the documents."

"Rest assure Chief." Tan Limei and Changjuan nodded.

Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie looked at Dong Xuebing. Therewere laughing at him in their hearts.

Dong Xuebing felt helpless. After all, he was still new inthe office. Zhou Changchun had only started to trust him. But compared to therest of the staffs, he still trusts the seniors more. Especially Guo Shunjiewho was Zhou Changchun's, right-hand man.

Sighed... It will be a long journey...

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Power and WealthChapter 36 – Fire!

10.30 am.

General Affairs Office.

Guoo Panwei and Guo Shunjie went out with Zhou Changchun forsome errands. Tan Limei and Changjuan also went upstairs to collect the twovery important documents from Li Qing's office. But there was no one at theConfidential Department to receive the documents. It seems that they were stillhaving a meeting. There was only two staff on duty at the counter. But thesedocuments need the leader to acknowledge and signature. Tan Limei and Changjuncould only bring the documents back to DirectorLi Qing.

Dong Xuebing was looking at the attendance sheet when theyreturned. He asked: "You delivered the documents?"

Tan Limei sat down on her chair. "The leader of ConfidentialDocument Department is not around. Director Li told us to send the documentsagain in the afternoon."

Dong Xuebing looked around and saw there were no outsiders.He asked softly: "tan Zhi, is it because I am still under my probation? WhyChief Zhou never pick Zhuang Zhi and me to deliver those important documents?Is he afraid that we will look at the documents?"

Tan Limei laughed. "I am not sure about this. What's wrong?You are jealous of me and Sister Chang?"

Dong Xuebing sulked. "Do I need to? But I just feel that theleader does not seems to trust me."

"It's not he doesn't trust you, it's..." Tan Limei paused fora while and looked around the office. She picked up a document and pretended tobe discussing the document with him. "I had wanted to warn you yesterday. Ithink Chief Zhou might be slightly pissed with you."

Dong Xuebing was shocked. "Impossible... I did not doanything to make him angry."

Tan Limei continued. "This is only my opinion. That day whenyou had the conflict with Guo Shunjie, you purposely did not say you were inChief Zhou's office and lead Guo Shunjie to say those things. Yes. Guo Shunjiewas scolded by Chief Zhou. But have you ever thought that what you did wasforcing Chief Zhou to step in to scold Guo Shunjie? He had no choice as one ofhis subordinates was shouting outside. If he still did not step in, people willlose respect for him."

"Damn!" Dong Xuebing felt this might really be true.

"That's why although Chief Zhou did not say anything, in hisheart... you should know." Tan Limei had been in the government sector for morethan one year. She could see further than Dong Xuebing. "Chief Zhou had askedGuo Shunjie to follow him along for his errands was the leader's art of carrotand stick. Since he had shown that he is the boss of the office, there was noneed to make things worse. At the same time, he was giving you a warning."

Dong Xuebing was grateful. "Thank you so much for telling methis. If you did not tell me, I would still be wondering why Chief Zhou wastreating me differently. So, this was the reason."

Sighed... I was still too naïve.

Dong Xuebing reflected on himself. This was a lesson to him.Suddenly he felt slightly cold and walked over to press the remote of the airconditional. He tried to raise the temperature, but the button might be spoilt.It had no reaction after pushing for a while.

"You need to press harder. Press as hard as you can."Changjuan said. "The thermoset is faulty."

"Did we report it?" Dong Xuebing used his strength to pressand beep. The temperature indicator increased a notched. "Damn, adjusting thetemperature is also manual labor."

Old Yan who was reading his newspapers laughed. "It wasrepaired several times, but it was still faulty. Recently, the budget wastight, and the higher-ups do not allow us to replace it. Not only this airconditional, that water dispenser cold water is also faulty. The electrickettle in Director Li Qing's office was also faulty. It will stop working whenboiling water. Just make do with it first."

Someone opened the door of the office. It was GeneralAffairs Office's head. Director Li Qing. "Bureau Chief Yan need someone to helphim carry things. One of you needs to follow me." Bureau Chief Yan's full namewas Yan Liang. He was the Chief of this district's branch bureau. The real headof this place. He had more authority than the District Political Commissar.

When heard that it would be helping Bureau Chief Yan tocarry things, Dong Xuebing stood up. "Director Li, I will go."

Li Qing looked at him and laughed. "Never mind. Let Xiao Sungo. He is stronger."

Zhuang Zhi immediately stops what he was doing and followedLi Qing out of the office.

Dong Xuebing slapped the back of his head in frustration. Hefelt his presence in the office was getting smaller and smaller.

On the other side, a car was traveling back to the WesternDistrict Branch Bureau. Zhou Changchun casually asked. "What do you all thinkof Xiao Dong?"

Guo Panwei, who was driving, was surprised at this question."Xiao Dong is too young. Although his work attitude was good, he was tooimpulsive..." He was afraid of Dong Xuebing competing with him. So, he did nothold back his words.

Guo Shunjie saw there were no changes in Zhou Changchun'sexpression, he cleared his throat and said. "Chief Zhou, I am not saying thisbecause I had some conflicts with Xiao Dong in the past. He is too immature. Justbecause he had written a draft of a speech for Bureau Chief Yang, he became soproud and had no respect for you. That day, he tricked me. If I knew that youwere the one who called him into your office, I will also not..."

Zhou Changchun frowned.

Guo Shunjie also stopped speaking. He was laughing in hisheart. Seems like Chief Zhou was not very pleased with Dong Xuebing.

Guo Panwei was also thinking in his heart. Chief Zhou shouldnot trust that Xiao Dong much. If not, he would not initiate this conversationwith both of them.

Branch Bureau's cafeteria.

Dong Xuebing, Tan Limei, and Zhuang Zhi were sitting at asmall table having their lunch. Dong Xuebing was thinking of a way to changeZhou Changchun's impression of him and earn the trust of the two leaders of theGeneral Affairs Office while eating. He was thinking hard, but could not thinkof a good solution. He sighed. It was too complicated to survive in thegovernment sector. If this carries on, it might be years before he could gethis promotion. He needs an opportunity to prove himself.

Dong Xuebing looked around and saw Zhou Changchun and LiQing entering the cafeteria.

Dong Xuebing called out to them. "Chief Zhou, DivisionChief." But they did not hear him and sat down at an empty table not far away.Dong Xuebing sat down embarrassed and continued eating his lunch.

After eating for a while, Li Qing remembered something andfrowned. "Old Zhou, did I unplug the electric kettle in my office?"

Zhou Changchun replied. "I did not notice when we areleaving your office." He knew that the electric kettle in Li Qing's office wasfaulty. No matter how long the water was boiling, it will not stop heatingunless you unplug it. "Shall I go up and check?"

Li Qing replied: "Let's have lunch first."

Dong Xuebing and Tan Limei overheard their conversation.Dong Xuebing wanted to go up to them and offer to check the kettle for them.But he remembered that there were many important documents in Li Qing's officeand most likely he was not allowed to enter. So he did not approach them.

Suddenly there were shouts outside the cafeteria.

Everybody looked out. "What's wrong?"

"Fire. The grey building is on fire!"

"What?"

"Ah..."

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Power and WealthChapter 37 – Chance to prove myself again!

Outside of the cafeteria.

After Dong Xuebing, Tan Limei and the rest heard about thefire, they immediately ran out of the cafeteria and look towards the directionof the grey building. The fire was at the General Affairs Office's building.Thick billowing smoke was coming out from the second floor. It was slightlyfurther away from Dong Xuebing's office. The thick smoke had covered thecorridor and coming out from the windows. It seems that the fire was quite big.

"Whose office was that? Why did it catch fire?"

"Call 119!"

"We had called just now."

The compound was filled with people.

At first, Dong Xuebing still did not think much of the fire.It was none of his business. But when he saw Li Qing and Zhou Changchun's face,he immediately realized something was wrong. He looked at the second floorwhere the smoke was coming out. Damn! That was Li Qing's office!

Li Qing shouted: "Quick. All those from the General AffairsOffice, follow me!"

Zhou Changchun was wiping his sweat on his face and ranbehind Li Qing towards that burning building. "Hurry and put out the fire."

Guo Shunjie and Guo Panwei had caught up with them. DongXuebing knew that this was an emergency. He quickly ran forward with Tan Limei.Dong Xuebing knew that it was the faulty electric kettle that caused the fire.Li Qing and Zhou Changchun had forgotten to unplug it before leaving theoffice. They had to take responsibility for the fire, and the two veryimportant documents were still in his office. If the documents were damaged, thewhole General Affairs Office might be punished.

The corridor on the second floor was covered in thick smoke,and it was choking.

There were some people from the Political Section andFinance Department trying to put out the fire. They were throwing pails ofwater at the burning wooden door.

"The door is damaged by the fire and cannot be opened."

"Put out the fire on the door first. Stop it fromspreading."

"Get a few more pails of water! It is not enough!"

Li Qing was panicking. He grabbed a fire extinguisher alongthe way to the building and spray it on the door. Guo Shunjie and Guo Panweicould not find any fire extinguishers. They could only get the pails andcollect water from the washroom nearby. Changjuan, Dong Xuebing and the restarrived shortly and helped to put out the fire.

"What's happening? Li Qing, tell me what is happening?" Astern looking middle-aged man ran over from the end of the corridor. He was YanLiang, Director of the District Branch Bureau.

Li Qing was panicking: "Director Yan, I... I don't know whymy office caught fire." He was lying through his teeth and trying to avoidtaking responsibility.

Director Yan points at him: "I don't care. Hurry up and savewhatever documents in there!"

"Director Yan, I, I..." Li Qing was at a loss of words. "It'sfine if the rest of the documents were damaged. But... but the two documents youpassed to me this morning is... still in my office."

"What?!" Director Yan's face changed. "Say that again?"

Li Qing's fire extinguisher had run out, and he quicklyexplained: "This morning, the Confidential Documents Department was having ameeting and there was no one to accept the documents. So, I brought it back tomy office and will deliver it after lunch. But who knows..."

Director Yan shouted: "Are you allowed to keep thosedocuments in your office? What did I tell you when I pass you the documents?Those documents have no backups and were very important. How can you leave itin your office and go out for lunch? Do you know the procedures of handlingthese highly classified documents? Do you know?!"

Zhou Changchun was standing by the side sweating profusely.

Li Qing replied: "Director, don't worry. There should beenough time to get the documents out." The fire on the office door wasextinguished. Li Qing shouted to Guo Panwei. "Stop trying to put out the fireand kick the door down. Get the documents in my desk's second drawer on theright. Get it out of the fire even if it cost your life!"

Guo Panwei knew thatif he could rescue the documents from the fire, it will be a great credit. Herushed forward and kicked on the door. Bang! But the door did not open. DongXuebing also saw this opportunity and wanted to kick the door. But Guo Shunjiepushed him aside and kicked the door.

Bang!

The door fell off its latches.

Dong Xuebing nearly cursed out loud after seeing the chanceto gain credit was snatched by others.

Guo Shunjie was laughing in his heart and wanted to rushinto the office.

Guo Panwei was not far behind either. He ran into the roomafter him.

But after they stepped into the room, they could feel theheat in their faces. The room was covered in thick black smoke.

Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie got shocked. They used all theirstrength to avoid the fire and run out of the room.

Li Qing and Zhou Changchun who were panicking shouted outorders: "Go in and get the documents. It is in the second drawer!"

Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie thought the fire was only aroundthe door. But when they entered the room, they saw everything in the officewere on fire. The shelves filled with books, the stacks of documents in thecorners, computer, writing desk, etc. were all on fire. They were staring atthe raging fire in the office. Guo Shunjie and Guo Panwei were not willing togo in and risk their lives. No matter how big that credit was, it was not worthusing their lives to exchange for it.

"I can't. The documents must have been burnt by the fire."Guo Panwei moved back.

Guo Shunjie also took a few steps back. He was afraid thefire would burn him.

Li Qing cursed silently and clenched his fist. He wanted torun into the room, but he hesitated. He does not have the guts to enter theroom.

"The fire extinguisher is here!" Zhuang Zhi and Tan Limei wererunning from a distance with a fire extinguisher each. They tried to extinguishthe fire.

Everybody at the scene knew there was no way to save thosedocuments. The fire was raging.

Director Yan pointed at Li Qing and Zhou Changchun: "Whatthe hell is your General Affairs Office doing?!" He paused for a while andcontinued. "Do you know what those documents are? Do you know?! Your departmentcannot even do such a simple task. What is the use of keeping all of you here?I want your resignation letter on my desk tomorrow!"

Zhou Changchun knew there was nothing he could do. Helowered his head and kept quiet. He thought he would be able to retire at therank of Section Chief, but now...

Tan Limei, Guo Panwei and the rest were all looking down inshame.

Li Qing could not say a word. Resign? This job was essentialto him. His daughter needs his salary to pay for her medical treatment. If helost his job, what would he do? There was no way he could do anything now.

Suddenly there was a loud splash.

A man snatched a pail of water and splashed on himself,making himself all wet and ran into the burning office. Everybody was shocked.

It was Dong Xuebing!

Everybody at the scene was staring in disbelieve.

This person dares to jump into the sea of fire?

"Xiao Dong!"

"Bing Zhi!"

"Are you trying to kill yourself? Come back! The documentsare burnt!"

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Power and WealthChapter 38 – Saving the documents!

Dong Xuebing was afraid of dying. He was terrified of dying.

If it were in the past, he would never rush in even if a gunwas pointing at his head. It was dangerous.

But now, Dong Xuebing was different. He has the specialability, BACK, as his trump card. He has an extra life compared to everyoneelse in the world. He could use BACK to return to the time where he was unhurtif he encountered some dangerous situation. With this power, his wellbeing wasnot his top priority. He had died once before, what's wrong with dying again?Anyway, he will not really die. What matter the most to him was to gain creditand accomplish some achievement to gain the trust of his higher-ups. This wasthe reason why Dong Xuebing rushes into the burning office without secondthoughts.

The fire was burning everywhere around Dong Xuebing.

The thick smoke blocked Dong Xuebing's vision, and he couldnot see a thing in the office. He choked on the smoke and coughed a few timesbefore covering his mouth with his wet sleeves. Tears were flowing from hiseyes, and he quickly walks forward in the darkness.

Hot. He could feel his skin burning.

Dong Xuebing could not stand it after entering the officefor a few seconds. He avoided something burning on the floor and gritted histeeth.

There were shouts and screams behind him. Everyone wascalling him to get out of the office.

"Xiao Dong!" It was Li Qing's hoarse voice. "Come out! Don'tcare about the documents. Your life is more important!"

Zhou Changchun also shouted: "Xiao Bing, get out of theoffice immediately! This is an order!"

"Bing Zhi, are you mad? The fire is getting bigger! Come outnow!" Dong Xuebing's colleagues were all calling for him.

Dong Xuebing also thought that the documents should beburned to ashes by now. But his purpose was not to find the documents. He wantsto show that he was fearless and could help the higher-ups in critical times.He ignored all their cries and move quickly to a half-opened door in theoffice. He kicked the burning door open and entered the room. Crash! It was thesound of something heavy crashing down. He could feel the floor shook. Heturned around and saw a bookcase had collapsed, blocking the main door. His exitwas blocked!

Dong Xuebing got a fright from the loud sound. Damn!

"Oh no!"

"Ah... Bing Zhi cannot come out now!"

"Hurry and save him!"

Everyone outside was panicking. They used the fireextinguisher on the burning bookcase, hoping to clear an exit path for DongXuebing. If the fire on the bookshelf was not extinguished, Dong Xuebing wouldhave no escape route and will either be burned to death or suffocated from thesmoke.

Dong Xuebing hesitated for a while. But he still entered thesmaller room in the office.

Crash!

A desk on his left had crashed down, and the table top andlegs hit Dong Xuebing's pants. It immediately burned a hole in his pants andparts of his leg was burned. He screamed out in pain. Cold sweat was drippingdown his back. He endured the pain and extinguished the fire on his pants withhis hand. The pain made him more determined. He strained his eyes to seethrough the thick smoke and limped towards a burning pile by the side of theroom. It was Li Qing's desk.

Crash!

The fluorescent lights above exploded from the high heat.

The glass pieces fell on Dong Xuebing, and some cut hisback, neck, and hands. Blood was flowing out from his wounds.

Dong Xuebing cursed and limped forward. He was trying hisbest to keep his conscious.

He got closer, and he could see the burning desk clearer.Dong Xuebing was overjoyed to see that the drawers on the left were onlyburning slightly. It was not engulfed in flames entirely. He immediatelyreached out for the second drawer without thinking. Ah!!!! His fingers wereburned when he touched the drawer. It was excruciating. He quickly uses his legto kick the locked drawer.

Bang! Bang!

Two kicks.

Cracked! The scorched parts of the drawer cracked, and therewas a big opening. Dong Xuebing could see 2 brown envelopes in the drawer!

The documents were still around!

Dong Xuebing was very excited. He ignored the pain on hishands and reached into the drawer to grab the envelopes. The envelopes wereslightly burned on the edges. Dong Xuebing was coughing heavily from the thicksmoke. He covered his nose and mouth and lowered his body. He tried to make hisway back out of the office. But the collapsed bookcase was blocking the mainexit. He could not escape from there. The people outside were still trying toput out the fire and remove the debris of the bookcase.

Hurry up and let me escape!

Dong Xuebing could feel his head getting heavier andgiddier...

He wanted to use all his strength to move nearer to theexit, but he had inhaled too much smoke. His brains and body were not listeningto him!

Dong Xuebing's vision slowly became blurred. Bang! He fellonto the floor.

The moment the documents touched the floor, it startedburning. Dong Xuebing was also screaming in pain as the fire engulfs his wholebody.

Dead...

Dong Xuebing knew he was dying.

He used his final strength to shout out: "BACK!"

...

Everywhere around Dong Xuebing was still burning.

The 2 envelopes were still in the drawer and could be seenfrom the cracked opening.

Time had returned to 1 minute before.

Dong Xuebing could feel his mind shook. He could feel hisbody again, but he was still feeling giddy. No matter what, it was still betterthan the few seconds before he was about to die earlier. He knew that the thicksmoke was toxic, and he does not have much time. Even if he could get the documents,he still could not get out of the office alive.

Dong Xuebing could not afford to waste time. He grabbed thetwo envelopes again, and this time, he did not pick the earlier path which ledto his death. He ran towards the window panels of the office and picked up aporcelain teacup along the way. He threw the cup at the window panel with allhis strength, smashing the windows.

This office was located on the second floor. Although it wasdangerous to jump out of the window, it was better than suffocating to death bythe thick smoke.

Dong Xuebing could feel he was at his limits. He took insome fresh air near the windows and at the awning below. The awning was to shelterthe parked bicycles below. Dong Xuebing felt slightly relieved when he saw the plasticcanopy. He hugged the documents and slowly climb out of the window. He used hisfingernails to press hard on his temples to clear his mind, before using thelast of his strength to jump down.

4 meters...

3 meters...

2 meters...

Crash!!!

Dong Xuebing could feel the pain on his left shoulders, andhis body hit on the blue translucent plastic shelter. He landed on the awningand lost his balance and rolled down the sides. Bang! He fell from the canopyonto the concrete ground, barely missing a few parked bicycles.

He was gasping for fresh air.

Dong Xuebing resisted the urged to vomit and looked at theblue skies. He was finally safe.

He was alive!

He did not die!

3 minutes later...

Footsteps could be heard coming closer to him.

It was the people who were trying to put out the fire. Allof them had run to the back of the building. Among them, it was the Chief ofthe General Affairs Office and Dong Xuebing's colleagues.

"Bing Zhi! Bing Zhi!"

"Xiao Dong, how are you feeling?! Are you okay?!"

Dong Xuebing's body was covered with burns and bruises. Hecould not stand up. He tried his best to give them a smile.

Tan Limei, Zhuang Zhi, Changjuan and the rest got closer tohim and saw Dong Xuebing covered in blood and burns lying on the ground. All ofthem were shocked: "Call the ambulance! Quick!" Zhuang Zhi was the closest toDong Xuebing. He shouted and move forward to try to help him up.

Li Qing was deeply touched. "Xiao Dong... you... Sighed. Youknow that the documents were burned and yet you still..."

Dong Xuebing was still panting and said: "The documents arenot burned."

"What did you say?" Li Qing, Zhou Changchun and everyone at thescene were shocked.

Dong Xuebing turned his body painfully to his sides and tookout 2 envelopes under him. "Are these the documents?"

"You found it?" Li Qing and Zhou Changchun could not believetheir eyes. They're almost cried on the spot and quickly walk forward to pickup the bloody brown envelopes. "Yes! Yes! These are the documents!" Li Qing wasso ecstatic until he did not know what to say. "You... This... Xiao Dong... Goodjob! Terrific!"

Everyone was stunned by Dong Xuebing.

Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie looked at each other. They couldnot believe what had happened. Earlier when Dong Xuebing rushed into theburning office, no one expects him to come out alive. Let alone escaping withthe documents.

Zhou Changchun looked at Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie who werestaring at Dong Xuebing in disbelieved. His opinion of Dong Xuebing hadchanged. Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie had still claimed that Xiao Dong wasimpulsive and immature. But what did the both of them do just now? They werehiding away from the fire. Dong Xuebing was much more dependable than them.

Director Yan had also arrived and was shocked by DongXuebing's actions. He looked at Dong Xuebing and took the documents from LiQing. "You don't need to write your resignation letter, but you will still bepunished. Go back and write a report for me."

Li Qing replied. "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Director Yan."

Zhou Changchun also said: "Thank you, Sir." Both of themwere overjoyed for not need to resign.

"Don't need to thank me." Director Yan looked at DongXuebing who was still sitting on the floor. "If you two want to thank someone,you should thank him. Both of you are really lucky to have such a goodsubordinate."

Li Qing and Zhou Changchun nodded.

That's right. Which leader will also feel the same forhaving a subordinate who was willing to risk his life for his leaders. Atleast, there was no one else like Dong Xuebing in the Western District BranchBureau.

At this moment, everyone's impression of Dong Xuebingchanged. This person was crazy and was willing to risk his life...

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Power and WealthChapter 39 – Becoming a Party Member!

Beijing Jiangong Hospital.

Orthopedic inpatient ward.

Dong Xuebing was sent to the hospital by the ambulance.Zhuang Zhi who had accompanied him helped to get him admitted into thehospital. After a whole afternoon of checks and treatment, Dong Xuebing'sinjuries were under controlled. His arms and legs had some first-degree burns.He also sprained his shoulders and ankles. The cuts caused by the fluorescentlights were also bandaged. Overall, he was not too severely injured.

In the evening, everyone from the General Affairs Office,including the leaders, arrived at the hospital to visit him.

Dong Xuebing who was lying on the bed had just taken histemperature. 37.3 degrees. As the nurse took the thermometer away, Li Qing andZhou Changchun walked into the ward. Dong Xuebing immediately tried to sit up."Director Li, Chief Zhou." But Dong Xuebing's shoulders were hurting and couldnot sit upright.

Li Qing quickly steps forward and stop Dong Xuebing. "Don'tget up. Just lie on the bed."

Guo Panwei looked at Dong Xuebing who was wearing thehospital gown and did not say a word. Instead, he carried two chairs over forthe leaders.

Zhou Changchun and Li Qing sat down by the bed and asked."Xiao Dong, how are your injuries?"

Dong Xuebing was not used to be surrounded by so manypeople. He coughed. "Errr... Thank you for asking. I feel well now. I think Ican be discharged tomorrow."

Li Qing had asked Zhuang Zhi about Dong Xuebing's conditionand knew that Dong Xuebing was putting up a brave front. He frowned: "How canyou be discharged tomorrow? You can't even get off the bed now, how can thehospital discharge you tomorrow? Xiao Dong, don't worry about your work. OldZhou and I will take care of your probation performance report and yourhospital bills. You don't need to do anything and focus on recovering well."

Zhou Changchun nodded. "That's right. You need to restwell."

Li Qing and Zhou Changchun had escaped from being forced toresign because of Dong Xuebing. Both of them were grateful to him. Even Li Qinghelped Dong Xuebing poured a glass of water personally. Guo Shunjie and GuoPanwei had never seen Li Qing and Zhou Changchun treating a subordinate sowell. They were jealous of Dong Xuebing, but they could not show it. After all,Dong Xuebing had done something great.

Dong Xuebing had also said it casually. Seeing the leadersgranting him permission to recuperate in the hospital, he did not insist ondischarging. He did not want to be discharged. First, he was still injured, andhis mother was not in Beijing. There will be no one taking care of him at home.Secondly, if he discharged too early, Li Qing and Zhou Changchun will not feelthat they owe him a lot. He had to pretend to be "seriously injured" to showthe leaders that he risked his life to help them.

Dong Xuebing was not very smart but was still quick-witted.

Li Qing and Zhou Changchun took turns to say somepleasantries to Dong Xuebing. After a while, Li Qing's mobile phone rang. Hetook a look at the number and left the ward with Zhou Changchun to answer thecall.

After the leaders were gone, Dong Xuebing's colleagues weremore at ease.

Tan Limei laughed and showed Dong Xuebing a thumbs up. "BingZhi, I am impressed by your guts. The fire was so big, and you dare to rush in.I was so stunned back then.

Changjuan also laughed: "You think you are the only one?Everyone out there was stunned. Luckily you are alright."

Old Yan said gently: "Xiao Dong, you did us proud."

Dong Xuebing was feeling great, but he modestly replied:"Stop praising me. I did not think much and just know that if the documentswere destroyed by the fire, the whole General Affairs Office would be introuble. That's why I rushed in."

Guo Shunjie knew Dong Xuebing was talking rubbish.

Guo Panwei was also thinking the same thing. If there is nocredit for doing this, will you still risk your life by running into theoffice? Who are you trying to fool?

But they could only say all these in their hearts. No matterwhat, Guo Shunjie and Guo Panwei were impressed by Dong Xuebing's guts. Ifgiven a chance again, Guo Shunjie and Guo Panwei will still not enter theoffice to risk their lives.

The door opened.

Li Qing and Zhou Changchun entered the ward again. Thepeople surrounding Dong Xuebing's bed moved aside to make way for the leaders.

Li Qing sat down beside the bed and patted Dong Xuebing'shand. "I have just received news that the Bureau had approved your application andyou are now a Party member."

Tan Limei and the rest were surprised. "Didn't Bing Zhisubmit his application two weeks ago?"

Dong Xuebing was also shocked to hear this. "Me? Approved?"He had not even submitted a periodical report and had not enrolled in any ofthe courses. He needs at least one year to qualify as a Party Activist andanother year to become a Probationary Party member. How come he become a Partymember two weeks after submitting his application? This was not right.

Zhou Changchun laughed. "Your approval is an exceptionalcase."

Everyone in the ward understood why.

Joining the Party through exceptional approval happens quitefrequently during the rescue efforts of natural disasters like earthquakes, orwar. Those individuals with exceptional performances and contributions areallowed to join the Party immediately.

Li Qing explained. "This afternoon, after we put out thefire, Old Zhou and I had a discussion and decided to submit your applicationletter to the higher-ups. We applied for an exceptional approval for you. Thephone call earlier was to inform us that the application is approved and whenyou return to work, you will be sworn in. After that, you will be ProbationaryParty member." Actually, Dong Xuebing's performance in the afternoon was stillnot good enough to qualify for exceptional approval. But to repay Dong Xuebing,Li Qing and Zhou Changchun made a few trips to their leaders' offices to talkabout this exceptional approval. Director Yan had also seen Dong Xuebing'sbravery, and with his help, the approval was granted.

Gou Panwei and Guo Shunjie were jealous. It was rare to seesomeone getting exceptional approval.

Dong Xuebing was overjoyed! This was not what he expected.He will be a party member, and it will look good on his resume. He showed a"grateful" expression: "Thank you, Director Li, Thank you, Chief Zhou. I willnot let you all down. I will work harder for the Communist Party and will beprepared to sacrifice myself for the party and people..."

Li Qing laughed: "This is not the place for you to pledgeyour loyalty to the Party."

"Hahahaha..." Everyone laughs.

After all the visitors left, Dong Xuebing covered his wholebody under the blanket and laughed. All these injuries were worth it. Not onlyhe had gained the trust of Li Qing and Zhou Changchun, even the Director andall his colleagues were impressed by him. Most importantly, he had successfullyjoined the CPC.

Hahahaha... I am a Party member now!!!

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Power and WealthChapter 40 – Aunt Xuan

The next morning.

Orthopedic inpatient ward.

The morning sky had just brightened up. It was the start ofAutumn and the morning air was fresh. The nurse conducted her morning rounds andwoke Dong Xuebing. He yawned and greeted the old man, with a fractured leg, inthe same ward. Dong Xuebing slowly makes his way down his bed and pouredhimself a cup of warm water. He wore his slippers and was about to ask thenurse at the nurses' station on what other checks he had today when his iPhone4 rang. It was Qu Yunxuan's number.

Dong Xuebing cleared his throat and swiped the screen toanswer: "Hello?"

"Xiao Bing, where are you? How come you did not return homelast night?"

Dong Xuebing was afraid Qu Yunxuan would be worried and didnot want to let her see him lying in bed so pathetically. So, he did not informher and his hospitalization. He called her yesterday and told her that he willbe having dinner with his colleagues. "Ah... We had dinner until quite lateyesterday, and I stayed over at my colleague's place. I had just wake up and ispreparing to go to work now." When he finishes this sentence, a nurse walked inwith a few small plastic containers and shouted. "The medicine is here. Take ithalf an hour after breakfast."

"What medicine?" Qu Yunxuan asked nervously. "Xiao Bing,where are you?"

Dong Xuebing stuttered: "Nothing... nothing... It's thetelevision."

"You think I am stupid? Hurry up and tell me the truth!"

Dong Xuebing's lies were exposed, and he could only tell herthe truth. "Errr... I am at Jiangong Hospital. It's like this... Yesterday therewas a fire at my workplace, and there were some important documents in theoffice. I ran in to retrieve the documents and suffered some minor burns. It isnot very serious. I will be discharged in one or two days. You don't need tovisit me. I am fine."

"..."

"Aunt Xuan? What's wrong? Why are you keeping silent?"

"..."

"Errrm... I didn't mean to lie to you."

"Dooo... dooo... dooo..." The line was cut.

Dong Xuebing was sweating nervously. Was Aunt Xuan angrywith him?

Dong Xuebing tried to call Qu Yunxuan again, but she did notpick up his calls.

Breakfast was ready, and Dong Xuebing kept his phone. Hetook out a 10 RMB food ticket bought by Zhuang Zhi yesterday and paid the ladypushing the food cart. After getting his breakfast, he slowly peeled the shellsof an egg with one hand. He spent a long time removing the shell. The nurses inthe hospital will not care for the patients other than doing their jobs ofchanging the drips, changing oxygen tanks, taking temperature, etc. They willnot do anything extra for the patients. If you need someone to feed you, youwill need to hire a caretaker, and it cost tens of RMB a day. Dong Xuebing didnot want to spend that money and tried to do everything himself.

Half an hour after breakfast, he took his medicine, and hecould hear the sounds of heels down the corridor.

Click, click, click, click, the footsteps were fast and strong.

A person's figure rushed past the door of the ward, and thesounds of the heels stopped. The person turned back quickly, and push openedthe door of Dong Xuebing's ward. It was Qu Yunxuan.

Dong Xuebing, who was half lying on the bed, was nervous tosee her. "Aunt Xuan, didn't I told you not to visit me?"

Qu Yunxuan's eyes turn red as she saw Dong Xuebing coveredin bandages and burns wounds. She bit her lower lips and did not say a word."

"Errr... Aunt Xuan, take a sit." Dong Xuebing pushes a chairnext to his bed.

Aunt Xuan was still not saying anything and was stilllooking at his wounds.

Dong Xuebing's whole body was covered with severe and minorinjuries. He does not look like the type of men Qu Yunxuan likes now. DongXuebing tried to cover most of his wounds with his blanket, leaving only someminor injuries outside. "It is not as serious as you thought. I'm fine. Allthese are just minor injuries. I will recover in a few days."

Qu Yunxuan seems to be mad, and she shouted at Dong Xuebing:"It is the job of the firemen to put out the fire. Why didn't the others fromyour workplace go and put out the fire except for you? Are you the only personleft in your entire workplace?" Qu Yunxuan lifted her hand and slapped DongXuebing's exposed arm. "Try to be a hero? Huh? Who ask you to be a hero?" Sheslapped his arm more than 10 times.

Dong Xuebing had never seen Aunt Xuan so angry before. Hedid not dare to make any noise.

"I am worried sick for you." Qu Yunxuan was snuffled andwiped her tears with the back of her hand.

Dong Xuebing panicked. "Aunt Xuan, I'm sorry. Stop crying. Iwill not try to be a hero the next time." He felt good to be scolded by QuYunxuan. He could feel that she was anxious about him. "The next time I see afire, I will run away. Really! I promise you."

Qu Yunxuan looked at him and then touched the wounds on hisarm gently. "Is it painful?"

Dong Xuebing laughed. "No."

"Where else are you hurt? Let me see."

"I only sprained my ankles. There are no fractures. I'mfine."

Qu Yunxuan lifted his blanket and saw all the wounds on hisbody. She was about to start crying again before staring at Dong Xuebingangrily: "Xiao Bing, you must not hide anything from me in the future. If youdare to lie to me again, I will smack you on your buttocks!"

The old man and his son at the adjacent bed were laughing atDong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing blushed: "I will not lie to you again."

Qu Yunxuan continued to nag at him.

Dong Xuebing just went along with her and agreed to whatevershe said.

The old man with his leg in a cast laughed and interrupt:"Girl, stop scolding him. This young man had made a huge contribution. Hisleaders and colleagues had visited him yesterday, and I heard that he will begetting an exceptional approval to be a Party Member."

Dong Xuebing also replied cheerfully: "That's right. I willbe a party member soon."

Qu Yunxuan touched Dong Xuebing's face gently. "Nothing ismore important than your life. If something happens to you, how am I going toface Sister Luan?"

"Huh? Please don't let my mother know about what happened."

"Ok."

Qu Yunxuan stayed by Dong Xuebing and took care of him for awhile before going to see his doctor. She wants to ask about Dong Xuebing'scondition.

After she returns, Dong Xuebing said. "It's late. Hurry andgo to work."

Qu Yunxuan shook her head and used a wet towel to wipe hisface. "I had applied for leave. I still have 5 days annual leave left. I willaccompany you these few days in the hospital."

"No need. I am fine."

"You can't even walk by yourself, and you call this fine? Thedoctor had told me that you need someone to accompany by your side."

"I am really fine."

"If you say one more word, I will tear your mouth!"

Seeing that Qu Yunxuan could not be persuaded, Dong Xuebingcould only accept her help.

Accompany by the bed? Sigh... It would be better if she couldaccompany me in the bed...

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Power and WealthChapter 41 – Second confession!

Morning.

9 am.

Drip, drip, drip... The needle of the drip was injected intoDong Xuebing's wrist. It was excruciating. Qu Yunxuan had nothing much to do inthe ward, and she took his keys. She left for his home to help him bring histowels, underwear, socks, etc. She also needs to help him bring a set of cleanclothes. The newly bought suit and shoes were all damaged in the fire.

After Qu Yunxuan left, the nurse who was inserting the driplaughed: "Your aunt is so pretty."

The old man also said: "That girl is so nice to you."

Dong Xuebing felt proud. It was as if they were praisinghim.

Qu Yunxuan returned before 11 am with a small suitcase. Shehad brought clothes, toothbrush, shampoo, plates, etc. along with her andpacked everything into the small cabinet beside Dong Xuebing's bed. She wassweating and panting. But she did not stop. She lifted Dong Xuebing's blanketand change his socks for him. After that, she took a plastic basin and soap tothe washroom to help wash his dirty socks.

Dong Xuebing was touched. 'Aunt Xuan, rest for a while."

Qu Yunxuan turned and smiled. She still had foams on herhands. "I am not tired. You stop moving about. You are still on a drip."

"Ok."

Aunt Xuan was squatting down washing the clothes, and herback was facing Dong Xuebing. Her clothes were pulled up slightly, exposing herlower back. Dong Xuebing's eyes were glued to her back. Maybe he was imaginingsomething naughty and suddenly had the urge to pee. He looked at the bottle ofdrip hang above him. There were at least half a bottle more. It will last atleast half an hour more. He tried to control the urge, but could not stand itanymore. He endured the pain in his shoulders and legs and slowly got off thebed to wear his slippers.

Qu Yunxuan who had finished washing his socks was shocked."What are you trying to do?"

Dong Xuebing smiled. "I need to go to the toilet." Hereached out to grab the drip.

"Stop moving. You are not allowed to move." Qu Yunxuanhurriedly washed her hands. "The drip is attached to your moveable hand. Youcannot carry the drip with that hand."

It was hard for Dong Xuebing to visit the toilet yesterday.Today, it was harder with the drip. Dong Xuebing also knew that he was notallowed to move. But it was embarrassing for him to ask Aunt Xuan to help him."It's fine. I will be out in a minute to help you." Dong Xuebing ignored herand pressed the drip's valve, stopping the drip. He carried the bottle andlimped towards the toilet.

Qu Yunxuan walked towards him angrily. "Why can't you listento me? You want me to hit you?" She took the bottle from him and helped him tothe toilet. "Don't try to be a hero. Come, I will help you."

Dong Xuebing replied embarrassedly: "It's okay. I can do itmyself."

Qu Yunxuan waved her hand: "You want me to hit you? Hurry upand go!"

"Ok..." Dong Xuebing knew he could not win against her andlimped into the toilet.

Usually, the toilets in the hospital will have hooks forhanging the drip bottle. But Dong Xuebing and Qu Yunxuan looked around and didnot see the hooks. It was embarrassing, and both of them paused for a secondbefore Qu Yunxuan closes the door behind her and lifted the toilet seat. Sheraised the bottle of drip above her head and turned towards the wall. "Hurry. Iwill not look at you."

Dong Xuebing almost died from the embarrassment. "Errr... I...You..."

"What are you shy of?" Qu Yunxuan turned and stared at him."Hurry!"

Dong Xuebing almost cried when he saw Qu Yunxuan turning andlooking at him. He slowly untied his hospital pants but did not lower it.

"I will count to 3, and I will really hit you." Qu Yunxuansaid with her back facing him. "1... 2... 3..."

Dong Xuebing gritted his teeth, lower his pants and start topee.

The was the first time Dong Xuebing felt that the splashingsounds of peeing were so embarrassing.

After the splashing sounds stopped, Qu Yunxuan helped himflushed and helped him back to his bed. "Aunt had bought some bananas andapples on the way here. Which would you like to eat?"

Dong Xuebing who just laid down replied. "It's fine."

"How can you not eat fruits? You need the vitamins." QuYunxuan helped him peeled a banana and turned it to him. "Listen to me and openyour mouth. Ah..." Dong Xuebing thought to himself. This was also not the firsttime he embarrassed himself in front of Aunt Xuan. He ignored the looks of theold man and his son and took a bite of the banana. Qu Yunxuan laughed. "Goodboy. Take one more bite. Ah..." Aunt Xuan had one leg kneeling on the bed as shemoved closer to Dong Xuebing to feed the banana.

Qu Yunxuan's knee which was covered in her skinned coloredstockings moved under the warm blanket.

Dong Xuebing could feel something warm and smoothed touchhis hand. It was Qu Yunxuan's leg!

Dong Xuebing's mind started to wonder and said out the wordsagain. "Aunt Xuan, I really like you. Can you be my girlfriend?"

Qu Yunxuan was stunned and her hand, holding the banana,froze in mid-air.

With the previous experience, Dong Xuebing was moreconfident this time. "I have never met anyone as virtuous as you. I had fallenin love with you the first time we met. Aunt Xuan, I know I am not good enoughfor you. But I really hope you will give me a chance."

Qu Yunxuan blushed and placed the banana on the table. "Itis too sudden. I... I am not prepared at all."

Dong Xuebing was overjoyed. Aunt Xuan did not say that hewas not her type this time. Hahaha. Seems like becoming clean and tidy works.This was one more step to success. "I know it is sudden. But I really like you.Can you be my girlfriend?"

Qu Yunxuan kept quiet.

"Can?"

After a while, she sighed. "I'm sorry Xiao Bing. I have nointentions of dating now."

Although Dong Xuebing knew that he will be rejected, but hecan't help feeling disappointed. "Why? Am I not good looking enough? Is it mycharacter or something else?"

Qu Yunxuan shook her head and looked out of the windows. "Thereis nothing wrong with you. It's my problem. You are a good person." She pausedfor a second. "Do you remember what I said to you on the day you fetch me fromwork? I still have dreams of setting up my own company. I had been working hardfor years for this dream. I do not want to be distracted by being in arelationship.

Dong Xuebing asked: "Setting up your company? You shouldneed at least 1 million RMB as capital? Is your salary at the newspaper agencyenough?"

Qu Yunxuan kept quiet.

Dong Xuebing continued: "You will not date if you did notaccomplish your dream?"

Qu Yunxuan nodded. "That's what I decided. Sorry."

"Then after you have your own company will you be mygirlfriend?" Dong Xuebing asked.

Qu Yunxuan's face turns red and got up. "I will ask thedoctor about your condition."

Damn!

Was this a success?

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Power and WealthChapter 42 – Must make money!

Aunt Xuan's rejection did not disappoint Dong Xuebing. AuntXuan's attitude had surprised him.

Dong Xuebing noticed that he did not have enough time andimmediately shout BACK!

...

"Good boy. Have one more bite. Ah..." Qu Yunxuan was holdingthe banana towards his mouth.

Dong Xuebing took a bite and slowly chewed on the banana.

Qu Yunxuan took a napkin and helped him wipe his mouth."Look at the foolish smile. What are you thinking?"

"Errrr, nothing... I just feel like smiling. Hahaha." DongXuebing was still not very satisfied with himself. That's why he still has touse his powers. He still cannot let Aunt Xuan knows that he likes her. He doesnot want her to feel uncomfortable. He wants to wait until Aunt Xuan have agood impression of him and have a perfect confession. This way, the chances ofhim succeeding will be higher.

But there was a massive hurdle in from of Dong Xuebing.

Setting up a company... even if Aunt Xuan could get a commissionfor every advertisement sale, how long will she have to wait to save enough?

After thinking for the whole afternoon, Dong Xuebing decidedto help Aunt Xuan. If he had the money to help her set up her company, thenwill the chances of him succeeding higher? Dong Xuebing also wanted to makemore money to have a better life. If he could earn 1 million RMB, he would havea better life and might also have a girlfriend. That's right. Money was alsovery important in the government sector. Sometimes, he will need to give giftsto his higher-ups. Yes... This will be killing 3 birds with one stone.

Must make money.

Target: 1 million RMB

One day...

Two days...

Dong Xuebing was recovering well under the care of QuYunxuan. Most of the bandages on his body were removed, and he could move hisarm and legs better. Other than strenuous exercise, Dong Xuebing could walk andclimb stairs without limping. He asked the doctor when he could be dischargedas he was bored staying in the hospital. The doctor told him that he stillneeds to remain hospitalized for 2 more days for observations. Dong Xuebingwondered if the hospital wants him to say for a few more days was to make moneyfrom him.

Noon.

After eating the hospital lunch, Dong Xuebing listlesslytook his medicine.

The food at Jiangong Hospital was very cheap. 3 meals for 10RMB. But the food was only for the patients and not for the family members. QuYunxuan had to take her lunch at the nearby restaurants. After her lunch, shebought a packet of yogurt back to the ward and saw Dong Xuebing staring andblowing at the empty plastic lunch container.

Qu Yunxuan laughed and placed the yogurt on the table. "Areyou retard? How old are you?"

Dong Xuebing rolled his eyes. "I am bored." The past twodays, Dong Xuebing had been thinking of ways to make more money. But there wasnothing he could do in the hospital, and it made him bored.

"If you are bored, then drink this yogurt. Here."

"Aunt Xuan, I have recovered. Why don't you return back towork?"

"Your hand still cannot touch the water. If I return back towork, who is going to help you wash your face? Who is going to wash your foodcontainers?" Qu Yunxuan said as she inserts the straw into the yogurt drink.She held it up for Dong Xuebing. "Drink it. If you are really bored, I willaccompany you for a walk near the hospital. Where do you want to go?"

Dong Xuebing was delighted to hear that. "Ok. We will justtake a walk nearby." Dong Xuebing does not mind where they were going as longas Aunt Xuan was with him.

Half an hour later.

Dong Xuebing stood at the west entrance of JiangongHospital. He looked at the skies and sighed. "I finally see the skies again."

Qu Yunxuan was holding onto him, helping him to walk. Bothof them strolled slowly towards the north direction.

There was a couple in front playing badminton with theirchild along the pavement. Qu Yunxuan helped Dong Xuebing walked towards theleft of the sidewalk to avoid them. But as they were walking past the family, footstepswere moving closer to their right and knocked into Dong Xuebing's rightshoulders. "Ouch!"Dong Xuebing shouted.He could feel the pain in his shoulders, and he turned towards his right."Watch where you are going!"

The middle age man did not apologize and continued his way.

"Xiao Bing, are you ok?" Qu Yunxuan nervously asked.

Dong Xuebing rubbed his shoulder and replied with a frowned."I'm fine."

Qu Yunxuan was furious. She shouted at the middle-aged man:"Hey you! Stop right there!"

The middle-aged man turned. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Qu Yunxuan angrily replied. "You had knockedinto my brother and can't you even apologize?"

The middle-aged man who was carrying a leather bag repliedimpatiently: "I only touched him lightly, why should are you making a fuss?"

"My brother's shoulder was injured, and you had hurt him."Qu Yunxuan stared at him and said: "I want you to apologize to him now."

Dong Xuebing felt this man looks familiar. He tried torecall who this person was and where did he see him before.

The man frowned: "Are you crazy?"

"You are the crazy one!" Dong Xuebing was pissed. He pointsat the man and shouts: "I dare you to say it one more time!"

The man snorted and walked away quickly.

Dong Xuebing was furious and walked faster to chase afterhim. "Stop right there!"

Qu Yunxuan also wanted to chase after that man. But DongXuebing had not recovered. She stopped and pull Dong Xuebing back. "Forget it.It is pointless to argue with that man."

Dong Xuebing looked at the man's back and suddenlyremembered who that man was. "Aunt Xuan, I remember who that ma was. I had seenhim on TV. He is an antique authenticator from a TV program. His surname isCheng. The host and guests of the program call him Teacher Cheng. He is anexpert in authenticating ancient notes and coins." Dong Xuebing had worked part-timein the Antique City for some time and was interested in antiques. He oftenwatches these programs in his free time.

Qu Yunxuan shook her head. "Such a rude person can also bean expert?"

Dong Xuebing also snorted. "He looks so decent on TV. Ididn't expect his character to be like this in real life."

Qu Yunxuan's phone rang, and she answered. "Hello... hmmmm...yes... there is a problem? How come? Then you can speak to him... me? I am onleave... What did he say? Cannot?" Qu Yunxuan looked at Dong Xuebing. "How abouttomorrow? I will speak to him at his company... ok... ah... must it be today?Wasn't the project approved?"

Dong Xuebing knew that it was her work. He said: "You shouldgo. Your work is more important."

Qu Yunxuan hesitated and said: "Fine. I will go back to the officein a while. Bye."

"Is it your work at the Advertising division?"

Qu Yunxuan nodded. "There are some issues, and they need meto go back and settle it. Sigh... I can't even have a peaceful rest on my leave.Let's go back. I will send you to the hospital first."

"No. What if you fall down again?"

"Eh, I am not a kid anymore." Dong Xuebing walked a fewsteps quickly. "See, my leg has healed. You should go now."

"But..." Qu Yunxuan looked at him and swiped Dong Xuebing'sfringe to his side. "Then I will go off. You must take care on your way back.Watch out when you are crossing the roads and watch where you are going. Whenyou are walking up the steps, you must walk slower. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

After Qu Yunxuan left, Dong Xuebing rubbed his achingshoulder.

All antique authenticator experts were wealthy, but what'sthe use of being wealthy if their characters are like this?

That's right!

Antiques!

The risk of trading is too high. But I can make money fromantiques!

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Power and WealthChapter 43 – Ancient coin at a roadside stall!

Along the streets.

Dong Xuebing was thinking of how to make money with BACK atthe Antique City while walking down the underpass back to the hospital. Theunderpass was damp and reek of urine smell. There were two rows of small stallsin the underpass selling handphone accessories, mini fans, small kitchen tools,etc. Nearer to the stairs, there was a stall selling fruits like pineapples andice cream. It was bustling with life.

"Ice cream, 1 RMB for 1. 2 for 1.50!"

"Come and take a look! This is the newest peeler. 10 RMB for1!"

Dong Xuebing sidestepped to avoid stepping on the radishpeels on the floor. When he was about to go to the handphone accessories stall,he saw a familiar back view. It was that middle-aged man who had knocked intohim earlier. He was the antique coins and notes authenticator expert, TeacherCheng. He was walking towards a coin vendor. He bent over and examined the pileof rusty coins at the stall carefully.

Dong Xuebing could feel his anger rising when he saw him.

Dong Xuebing was standing not far away from Teacher Chengand could hear him asking. "How much for these coins?"

The vendor was a young man in his 20s. He was smoking andreplied listlessly: "5 RMB for 1 coin."

Teacher Cheng replied: "It is too expensive."

The young man did not reply and snubbed his cigarette.

Dong Xuebing frowned. When he was working part-time at theAntique City, he had followed his boss to stock up on antiques at thesuppliers. The ancient coins were sold by weight. On average, it was a fewcents per piece, and almost all the coins were not valuable. This roadsidestall's supplier should be worst than the one Dong Xuebing been to. Thosesuppliers were cunning and will surely not sell anything good to theircustomers.

What expert is he? Coming to a roadside stall to pick coins?

Do you know what you are doing?

Dong Xuebing was still thinking about this when he sawTeacher Cheng paused for a while. Huh? What was he doing?

That Teacher Cheng quickly picked 8 to 9 rusty copper coinsfrom the pile and sift through them. He held it tightly in his hand and did notput them back into the pile. He continued to search through the pile of over athousand coins. After searching for a while, he told the stall owner: "I willtake these 9 coins. 45 RMB? Take the money."

The young man looked up and saw him. "Right. 4... Eh? Youare..." The young man was stunned for a second. "I have seen you before. Youare that expert that appeared on TV. You are an Antique Coins authenticator."The young man looked at the coins in Teacher Cheng's hands and immediatelysaid: "Sorry, the 5 RMB per coins I said was referring to that pile. The coinsyou are holding is... 500 RMB per piece."

Teacher Cheng's face changed: "What is the meaning of this?"

The young man did not reply to him. He knew that the coinspicked by the expert should be valuable. Maybe those coins were worth muchmore.

Dong Xuebing was gloating in his heart.

But the next moment surprised Dong Xuebing.

Teacher Cheng sneered and nodded: "500 RMB? You are toomuch."

The young man smiled and reach out to take back the coins inTeacher Cheng's hand: "You can choose not to buy it."

"Wait." Teacher Cheng frowned and kept the coins in hispocket. He took out 4,500 RMB from his wallet and pass it to the young man. "Isthis enough?"

Dong Xuebing, the young man and the rest of the onlookerswere stunned.

No one expects Teacher Cheng to really buy those coins.

Those that knew antiques will know that there was a large numberof ancient coins in the market. Most of them were worthless. At most, the coinswere worth a few RMB to 20 RMB. But Teacher Cheng was willing to fork out 4,500RMB for those few coins? He was an expert in ancient coins and should not makethis foolish mistake.

Let that expert get this bargain?

What luck does that Teacher Cheng have? Getting a steal froma roadside stall?

Dong Xuebing was pissed. But he suddenly realized something.BACK! BACK! BACK!

...

The scenes changed in front of Dong Xuebing.

"How much for these coins?" Teacher Cheng asked whilesquatting by the roadside stall.

The young man was smoking replied without looking up. ":5RMB for 1 coin."

Teacher Cheng replied: "It is too expensive."

The young man did not reply and snubbed his cigarette.

Dong Xuebing knew this was the chance to make money. Hequickly moves forward. He remembered that Teacher Cheng had picked those fewcoins from the left corner. Eh, no... it should be at the bottom of the pile.Huh? That's not right either. He was moving the coins about, and the positionof the coins were all messed up. Dong Xuebing was standing from a distance andcould not see the wordings on the coins clearly. Picking those coins from thewhole pile was impossible. What should he do? He will be wasting thisopportunity?

Dong Xuebing suddenly got an idea. He ran to the stall:"Boss."

The young man got a shock. "What do you want? Buy coins?"

Teacher Cheng turned at looked at Dong Xuebing beforeturning back to the pile of coins.

Dong Xuebing saw he could not distract Teacher Cheng and hequickly squats down and pushes Teacher Cheng aside. He grabbed the cloth underthe coins and carried up the whole pile of coins. "Boss, how many coins do youhave here? Over 1,000? Let me estimate the weight." The bundle of coins wasquite heavy.

Teacher Cheng was pissed. "What is wrong with you? I amstill picking the coins."

Dong Xuebing scoffed. "So what? Have you paid for thecoins?"

The young man asked puzzledly: "Why are you estimating theweight? There are about 1,300 to 1,400 coins. Put the coins down. The othercustomer still has not finished picking."

Dong Xuebing replied to that young man. "How about this? Iam lazy to count the exact number of coins. I will buy all the coins in thisbundle. How much?"

The young man and Teacher Cheng looked at Dong Xuebing inshock. "Al the coins?"

Dong Xuebing nodded. "That's right. Name a price."

The young man was overjoyed: "If you are getting everything,I will give you a discount. 5 RMB per coin and 1,300 coins cost 6,500 RMB. Iwill sell everything to you for 6,000 RMB?"

Dong Xuebing held the bundle of coins tightly: "6,000 RMB istoo expensive. How about 4,000 RMB?"

The young man replied: "My cost is also very high. I can'tsell it to you any cheaper. Errr... Fine... let's meet in the middle. 5,000 RMB?I will just earn lesser."

"Fine..."

The young man was ecstatic. He had set up this stall formore than a year, and he finally met a sucker.

Teacher Cheng scoffed at Dong Xuebing and walked away. Hewas thinking in his heart that Dong Xuebing was a novice in antiques. DongXuebing had not even looked at the coins and bought all the coins. Was hecrazy?

Dong Xuebing did not have so much cash with him. The youngman followed him with the bundle of coins to a nearby ICBC ATM. Dong Xuebingwithdrew 5,000 RMB and passed it to the young man. He looked at his bankaccount balance. There was only a few hundred left. But Dong Xuebing was stillfeeling great. He carried the big bundle of coins back to the hospital.

Hahaha...

So, BACK can be used like this...

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Power and WealthChapter 44 – Sieving the coins!

Afternoon.

14:30 pm.

Dong Xuebing was panting as he carried a big bundle of coinsback to his ward. He dropped the big bundle of coins on the floor beside hisbed, in front of the old man and his son. Clink... Clank... the coins made a loudnoise as it was dropped on the floor.

The old man was stunned: "What are you doing, young man?"

The tired Dong Xuebing turned to him and smiled: "I boughtsome ancient coins."

The old man's son said. "You also do not need to buy so manycoins."

"Hehe... I am just buying these coins for fun." Dong Xuebingsaw the old man's son's Samsung laptop beside his bed. He asked: "Brother, Isaw you surfing the net yesterday. Are you using the 3G network? If you are notusing the laptop now, can I use it?"

The old man's son generously pushed his laptop towards DongXuebing: "Sure. Use it."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Your Aunt had helped my father get waterand wash his trays when I was not around. I still need to thank her."

To prevent the nurses and doctors from gossiping about him,Dong Xuebing did not dare to pour all the coins out. He placed the bundle ofcoins at a corner beside his bed and took out the coins bit by bit to countthem. After counting the coins, Dong Xuebing was pissed. What 1,400 coins?There were not even 1,000 coins in the bundle. Damn.

Dong Xuebing switched on the laptop and connect to theinternet. He starts to look at the pictures of ancient coins on the net andmatch it to the coins.

He was not an expert on antique appraising and had to relyon the internet.

5 minutes...

10 minutes...

20 minutes...

As Dong Xuebing examines each and every coin, he realizedthat there was a vast variety of coins in the bundle.

There were Chong Ning Zhong Bao, Kai Yuen Tong Bao, Xuan HeTong Bao, metal and copper coins mixed in the bundle.

Dong Xuebing starts to read up about coins collection on afew websites and forums, at the same time he was sorting out the coins. Thosethat were more prominent were easily picked out. He sorts it according to thedynasty like Song, Tang and by the types of coins. Most of the coins were notworth much. At most, it was worth a few RMB per coin. Some does not even havevalue.

Dong Xuebing picked those worthless coins and placed it intoanother bag.

1 coin...

10 coins...

50 coins...

This was tiring and tedious work. It needs lots of patients.

After sorting the coins for the whole afternoon, the mealtrolley appeared outside the ward. It was dinner time.

Dong Xuebing took a break and ate his dinner. After dinner,he continued to sieve through the coins.

330 coins...

350 coins...

410 coins...

He had sorted more than 500 worthless coins. There were onlyabout 300 coins left.

At 7.30pm, Qu Yunxuan called Dong Xuebing and told him thatshe was still at work. She will not be able to visit him this evening. She willdrop by tomorrow morning. Dong Xuebing asked her not to come if she was busy.But Qu Yunxuan does not listen and hang up.

That night, the old man's son did not leave the ward. Heremained in the ward to accompany his father. Dong Xuebing asked his permissionto continue using his laptop. The son was generous and told him to carry onusing and no need to worry about the internet charges. He can get reimbursementfrom his company. Dong Xuebing thanked him again. He made a mental note to buya laptop in the future.

Dong Xuebing was an impatient person and does not like toleave things for tomorrow. He decided to sieve through the coins all night. Hecan't sleep unless he found all the valuable coins.

So, he carries on with the tiresome task...

580 Coins...

650 coins...

670 coins...

The remaining coins were not quickly sorted. For example,Chong Ning Zhong Bao. This type of coin has several variations. It comes indifferent scripts and had different dominations. It was hard to tell thedifferences.

Dong Xuebing starts to check the coins one by one with thepictures on the internet.

Hmmm... This coin is from the Qing Dynasty. There is a largenumber of this coin circulating in the market. Pass...

Oh, this coin is chipped, and it was too rusty. Even if thistype of coins were valuable, it will also not fetch a high price. Pass...

Another 3 hours passed. He still did not find any valuablecoins.

At about 1 am, Dong Xuebing yawned and was about to give up.He noticed a rusty copper coin among the remaining coins. This coin is called "JiadingYuanbao". He checked on the internet, and there were all sorts of value forthis coin. The value differs by the year the coin was produced and the size.The difference was wide. Dong Xuebing took the coin and try to match it to thedescriptions on the website. Not this... Not this one either... It does notmatch this too...

After scanning through all the pictures on the website, hecould not see any coins that look like the one he was holding.

He went to another website and try to identify the coin inhis hand. He chanced upon an auction website and saw a description of a cointhat matches the one he in his hand.

Southern Song dynasty, Jiading Yuanbao, 10 cash. Square holeand diameter 54 millimeters.

From the picture, the color, wordings, and diameter werealmost exactly the same as the coin he was holding. The only difference was thepicture in the auction site was perfect. There was no rust on the coin. DongXuebing's coin was slightly rusty.

Dong Xuebing scrolled up and look at the transacted price.He was stunned.

Starting price: 30,000 RMB.

Transacted price: 62,000 RMB.

Damn! The price is high!

Yes! This must be the coin.

This must be one of the coins picked by Teacher Cheng!

Dong Xuebing took in a deep breath. He stared at thetransacted price on the website. He thought the coins would worth about 8,000to 10,000 RMB. Who would expect a coin to worth more than 60,000 RMB? Wait...The prices at auctions should be higher as there were still commissions andcharges. The real value should be lower than 60,000 RMB. Could this coin a fakecoin? Many counterfeit coins were circulating around. But this should not be.Although Teacher Cheng was an asshole, he was an expert in ancient coins.

Dong Xuebing put the coin aside and continue to check theremaining coins on the internet.

The remaining coins were only worth 1 to 2 RMB each.

Dong Xuebing wrapped all the coins with the cloth into abundle and stuff it under his bed. He took out the Jiading Yuanbao coin toexamine it closer. That Teacher Cheng must have picked those 9 coins yesterdayto deceive others. Jiading Yuanbao should be the only coin he wanted.

Hahaha... I can see the money already...

Translator'snotes:

List ofChina ancient coins

https/en./wiki/Southern_Song_dynasty_coinage

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Power and WealthChapter 45 – Another profit!

The next day.

Morning.

Dong Xuebing yawned as he woke up. He rubbed his eyes andgot off the bed. He went to bed in the early hours after sieving through allthe coins. The mosquitos at the hospital were very poisonous. Once bitten, itwill swell, and it was painful and itchy. Dong Xuebing could hardly fall asleepwith the mosquitos flying around him. In his mind, he was thinking about theancient coin and had a dream where he was buried alive by tons of coins.

"You are awake?" The old man's son asked. He was alreadydressed up and sitting beside his father.

Dong Xuebing smiled embarrassedly: "Sorry to disturb you alllast night."

"It's okay. We are just wondering why you bought so manycoins back." The old man's son asked. "I heard that many experts nowadays couldnot tell the difference between authentic and counterfeit coins. You must becareful not to be tricked. There are counterfeits everywhere."

Dong Xuebing chatted with them for a while and returned thelaptop. There were risks when dealing with antiques. Dong Xuebing knew aboutthe risks the first day he started working at the Antique City. But now, withhis ability, BACK, he could still make some profits with antiques.

Dong Xuebing needs to be on a drip at 8 am. But he secretleave the hospital before Aunt Xuan visits him.

He carried a big bundle of coins and took a taxi to thefamous Liu Li Chang.

The renovated Liu Li Chang was a crowded place with atraditional feel. The only thing Dong Xuebing does not like was the road. Itshould restrict vehicles from entering the area. Lots of luxurious cars wereparked along the street on both sides, leaving little space for pedestrians.

There are so many antique shops here. Which should I go?

Dong Xuebing decided to go to the shop Rong Bao Zhai nearthe entrance of Liu Li Chang.

After entering the shop, Dong Xuebing walked past aCaucasian and asked the shop assistant where the coins and notes counter was.That shop assistant pointed to a corner of the shop. Dong Xuebing thanked himand went to the counter. He saw a middle-aged man reading newspapers behind thecounter. "Excuse me, do you buy antique coins?"

The middle-aged man lowered his papers and saw DongXuebing's huge bundle. "So many coins?"

Dong Xuebing rubbed his nose and smiled. "No. You can justgive me a price for this bundle. What I really want to sell is this JiadingYuanbao coin."

The man nodded and put his newspaper aside. He took out amagnifying glass and some small tools from the drawer. "Ok, let me take a lookfirst."

"Ok. Here is the coin." Dong Xuebing passed him the coin.

Please... Please...

The coin must be genuine... Please let the coin beauthentic...

The middle-aged man scrutinized the coin.

1 second passed...

2 seconds passed...

3 seconds passed...

The man suddenly grasped. He moved closer to take a betterlook at the coin and had a shocked expression. "This coin..."

Dong Xuebing asked anxiously: "How is the coin?"

"Wait. I need to take a closer look." The man sat uprightand carefully examine every detail of the coin and nodded. "This coin is scarce.Young man, this is a 10 cash Southern Song Dynasty Jiading Yuanbao coin. It isproduced in the year 1208, and it is still in good condition. It is rare to seethis coin even in the auctions. It is very rare and valuable. You see this rustcolor? It shows the age of the coin."

Hahaha, the coin was indeed genuine!!

Dong Xuebing cleared his throat and asked. "How much are youwilling to offer for this coin?"

"Errrmmm..." The man hesitated. "Young man, you should havedone your homework before coming here with the coin. So, I will not cheat you.This coin can fetch up to 60,000 RMB at the auctions. But after commissions andcharges... The highest I can offer is 50,000 RMB. What do you think?"

Dong Xuebing felt this was a good offer. He thought for awhile and nodded. "Deal."

The middle age man laughed. "Great. Since you are soforthright, I will give you 1,000 for that bundle of coins. Ok?"

"Sure."

50,000 RMB!

Two years of his mother's salaries do not even amount to50,000 RMB.

For Dong Xuebing, 50,000 RMB was an astronomical amount.

Dong Xuebing hugged a brown colored envelope tightly as hewalked out of Rong Bao Zhai. He was afraid someone would jump out and snatchedhis money. He scanned his surroundings carefully and quickly ran across theroad to the ICBC bank. He deposited all the money into his account, and hisbalance suddenly became more than 51,000 RMB. With this amount, he could evenafford to buy a low-cost car. He very excited as he returned back to thehospital.

Yay! I'm rich!

50,000 RMB!!!

Orthopedic ward.

Dong Xuebing returned to his ward to find the nurse and AuntXuan staring at him angrily.

Aunt Xuan scolded: "Where did you go so early in the morningand why didn't you switch on your phone? Do you know I am worried for you?" Shewas holding on to the drip bottle. "The nurses have come here looking for youseveral times. You are supposed to be on a drip. How can you sneak out withouta word?"

Dong Xuebing smiled apologetically: "You did not help mebring the charger. My battery had been dead a long time ago."

Qu Yunxuan stared at him: "So you are telling me that it ismy fault?"

"No, no..." Dong Xuebing quickly poured a glass of water forAunt Xuan. "I am bored this morning and went out for a walk. I forgot the timeand came back late. I'm sorry. Don't be angry with me." He does not intend totell Aunt Xuan about the antique coin. He wanted to give her a surprise.

Qu Yunxuan calmed down. "Hurry and get back on your bed. Youneed to be on a drip."

Dong Xuebing took off his slippers and got back on his bedobediently. He extended his hand for the nurse to insert the needle. As thenurse inserts the needle, he shouted: "Ouch, ouch... It's painful... be gentlerwith the needle."

Qu Yunxuan laughed at him and playfully smacked hisforehead. "Do you dare to sneak out without telling anyone again?" Aunt Xuanwas wearing a light colored spaghetti strap top and white jeans. Her top wasshowing some cleavage, and her tight jeans outlined her shapely legs.

Dong Xuebing was mesmerized by her figure. He was determinedto make money for her.

Aunt Xuan, wait for me. I will help you raise enough money toset up your own company. I will help you achieve your dreams.

Yes... I should alsowork hard to achieve my goal of becoming a top official too.

Earn money and getting promoted!!!!

Translator'snotes:

Liu LiChang

https/en./wiki/Liulichang

Rong BaoZhai

https/en./wiki/Rong_Bao_Zhai

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Power and WealthChapter 46 – Meeting a great beauty!

3rd October, Dong Xuebing was discharged from thehospital. It was the third day of the National Day holidays.

State Security is different from the rest of the governmentagencies. Other than National Day, the staffs had to work on Oct 2ndand 3rd in shifts. Everyone had to return to work on 4thOct. Today was Dong Xuebing could rest before he returns to work. He returnedhome with Qu Yunxuan and saw his small one-bedroom apartment. He got the familiarfeeling as he sat on his couch.

Aunt Xuan helped him keep all his belongs: "Hehe... The homestill feel the best?"

Dong Xuebing replied. "Of course. I am almost going bonkersat the hospital. It was so boring!"

"Ok. I had escorted you safely back home, and I should go. Istill must work overtime during the holidays." Qu Yunxuan helped Dong Xuebingpour a cup of hot tea and pinched his cheeks playfully: "Sister Luan is notreturning back to Beijing for the holidays? Then you stay at home alone. If youneed anything, just send me a message. Don't go out by yourself and wait athome for me. Bye."

"Ok. Bye."

Clicked. The door closes.

Dong Xuebing had fully recovered from his injuries. He gotup and wanted to cook a bowl of egg tomato soup. But after the soup was cooked,he discovered he had run out of vinegar. He finished his soup and took theempty bottle to the supermarket nearby. While walking to the supermarket, hethought back on how Aunt Xuan took care of him the past few days, and he smiled.

Was there anyone else that's as virtuous as Aunt Xuan inthis world?

Was there anyone else that's as pretty as Aunt Xuan in thisworld?

No.

There's no one else as virtuous and pretty as her.

Dong Xuebing was still letting his imaginations run wildwhen he saw a stunning beauty appearing in his sights. He was shocked. Helooked at that slim figure. The woman was standing under a tree using herphone. Her hair was tied into a bun and was wearing a suit. Her eyes were a crescentshape with long lashes and had a small face which was beautiful beyond words.

There's really someone as pretty as Aunt Xuan.

Dong Xuebing took in a deep breath. He was a normal man andlikes to look at pretty women. He pretended to be waiting for someone and keptstealing glances at that woman. The woman should be about slightly older thanhim. She looked mature, and her movements were graceful.

Many passers-by also notice this beautiful woman and all ofthem were looking at her.

Dong Xuebing noticed a skinny man walked past that woman andstopped behind her. He seems to be looking at the woman carefully.

This graceful woman ignored everyone's looks and continuedto smile and talks on the phone: "Old Zhou, it is not that I am not helpingyou... It is beyond my ability to help... Yes... You can ask Xiao An. He is close toMinister Zhao. Ok?" After talking on the phone for a while, she hung up andkept the phone into her opened handbag. She turned and walked away in her backheels.

Dong Xuebing took his eyes off her and start walking backtowards his home.

Sigh... All he could do was to look at the woman from far. Heknew he was not good enough for this type of women.

After taking two steps, Dong Xuebing heard a sweet woman'svoice: "Eh? Where is my wallet?" Dong Xuebing turned around and saw the womansearching her handbag. She then looked around on the ground.

A kind old lady went up to her and asked: "You can't findyour wallet? Did you drop it somewhere?"

The woman frowned: "I should not have dropped it. It wasstill in my bag 2 minutes ago when I was on the phone."

"Oh, then your wallet should be stolen."

2 minutes ago?

Dong Xuebing paused. He remembered that skinny man standingvery close to her when she was on the phone just now. He stopped beside her forabout 2 seconds. Damn! That was a pickpocket?

BACK!

...

Time returns back to 1 minute ago.

The woman was still on the phone under the tree.

"Old Zhou, it is not that I am not helping you... It isbeyond my ability to help... Yes... You can ask Xiao An. He is close to MinisterZhao. Ok?" The woman was smiling as she talks on the phone. 2 meters from her,the skinny man walked away from her quickly with his hands covering hisstomach.

Dong Xuebing put down his bottle of vinegar on the floor andran over.

The bystanders were looking at him as he tried to make aslittle noise as he ran. When he was closer to the skinny man, he pounced ontohim. "Stop!"

The skinny man fell onto the floor and shouted: "What areyou doing?"

"What am I doing? You should know what I am doing. Where isthe wallet?" Dong Xuebing got into a tussle with that man.

The skinny man was very confident of his pickpocketing skills.He thought no one would know he had taken that woman's wallet. But this manexposed him and was very sure that he had stolen the wallet. The skinny man wasshocked and frightened. He quickly broke off Dong Xuebing's grip and threw aleather wallet on the floor before running away.

Dong Xuebing saw that man had left the wallet behind and didnot give chase. That skinny man might have accomplices around, and Dong Xuebingmight be ambushed or stabbed if he gave chase.

That beautiful woman looked at Dong Xuebing puzzledly. Shestill does not understand why this young man got into a fight with that skinnyman. But when she saw the wallet in Dong Xuebing's hand, she was stunned. Sheimmediately hangs up the phone and checks her handbag.

Dong Xuebing got up from the floor and walked over to passthe wallet back to that pretty woman. "That man had stolen your wallet."

"Oh..." The woman took the wallet from Dong Xuebing and shookhis hand. "I was on the phone and did not notice it. Thank you. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Dong Xuebing shook her hand. His heart hadskipped a beat.

The woman looks prettier closer. It's hard to find words todescribe her beauty.

After some pleasantries, the woman's handphone rang again.She thanked Dong Xuebing again. "I still have something to attend to. Give meyour number, and I will treat you to dinner some other day." From her tone,this woman seems like a leader at her workplace. The way she speaks wascommanding.

Dong Xuebing had wanted to reject her offer, but he couldnot resist her charms. He told her his mobile number.

The woman took out a notebook and jotted down his number."Ok. I will contact you another day. Bye."

Dong Xuebing was still in a daze as he looked at that womanwalked away.

Sigh... Whoever that marries her must be blessed by all hisancestors.

Translator'snotes:

NationalDay holidays.

https/en./wiki/Golden_Week_(China)

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Power and WealthChapter 47 – Firefighter

The next day.

Meeting, speeches and swear an oath. Dong Xuebing became a Probationarymember of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

After leaving themeeting room, Li Qing patted Dong Xuebing's shoulders and asked him to go tohis office. "My former office could not be used anymore. This is my new office.If you need to look for me, just drop by. Xiao Dong, you must not strainyourself. If you are still not recovered, you can rest for a few more days. Butyou do look better now compared to the time you were at the hospital." ZhouChangchun also entered the office. He smiled: "These few days Xiao Dong willonly deliver some documents. Leave the strenuous work to others."

Dong Xuebing replied with a grateful expression on his face:"Thank you, leaders. I will do my best."

Li Qing nodded. "Good. But don't push yourself too hard."

The sick looking Zhou Changchun also patted Dong Xuebing onhis shoulders.

"Old Zhou." Li Qing looked at him. "You need to take care ofyour health too. You are looking pale recently."

"Sigh... This is an old problem, and there's nothing I cando."

Dong Xuebing excused himself as he could tell Li Qing andZhou Changchun had something to discuss.

After saving the documents from the fire, Li Qing and ZhouChangchun trust in Dong Xuebing increased a lot.

This was a good sign.

Dong Xuebing happily return to the General Affairs Office.Everyone was around. Tan Limei and Zhuang Zhi were photocopying some documentsat the copier and chatting at the same time. Changjuan and Old Yan were hidingbehind their monitors. One was reading a woman's magazine, and the other wasreading his newspaper. Guo Shunjie was nodding off at his desk, and Guo Panweiwas writing a report with his right hand and massaging his thighs with hisleft.

Old Yan was the first person to notice Dong Xuebing. Helowered his newspaper: "Oh, Xiao Dong, you are back to work?"

Everyone looked up. Tan Limei smiled and waved to him. "BingZhi, congratulations for entering the party and being discharged from thehospital."

"Thank you."

Changjuan asked: "Our great hero is back. How are yourinjuries?"

"I am fine. Thanks for asking." Dong Xuebing moved his arms,showing that he had recovered.

Although Guo Panwei was jealous of Dong Xuebing, he stillshowed his concerns: "Xiao Dong, take care not to get your wounds wet if it isnot healed yet."

The only one who did not speak to Dong Xuebing was GuoShunjie. Both of them had fallen out before the fire. He only took a glance atDong Xuebing and continued dozing off.

After chatting with his colleagues for a while, Dong Xuebingreturned to his seat and start to work. He noticed a strange sign. Not only GuoPanwei and Guo Shunjie were listless, but even the big sized Zhuang Zhi alsolooks tired. They look liked they had just finished some strenuous exercises. WhenZhuang Zhi went over to Tan Limei at the copier machine, Dong Xuebing alsofollowed. He asked: "Zhuang Zhi, what's wrong with you? What did you doyesterday?" Dong Xuebing asked and winked at Tan Limei.

Tan Limei blushed. "Why are you looking at me?"

Dong Xuebing replied: "Nothing." He felt that something wasgoing on between both of them. Could they be dating?

Zhuang Zhi coughed and said. "Bing Zhi, stop making randomguesses. I am tired because of the soccer matches these few days."

"Soccer match?"

"Yes. Our City's State Security Soccer competition." ZhuangZhi explained. "I heard that the District Bureaus held competitions every year.But unlike the previous years, where the competitions were held within thedistrict bureaus, this year we have a combined competition. All of Beijing'sdistrict branch bureaus must send a team each to participate. The competitionhad started before the National Day. Yesterday, we had a match against Miyunbranch, and we lose 5-0."

Dong Xuebing nodded. "No wonder all of you look so tired."

Tan Limei loves to chat. She added: "Luckily you are not atwork. I tell you, our team play is too dirty..." She looked over at Guo Panweiand Guo Shunjie and lowered her voice: "Dirtier than the toilets. If it weren'tfor Zhuang Zhi, yesterday's match would have ended 6-0."

Dong Xuebing laughed. "Everyone here is amateurs. Win orlose still depends a lot on luck."

"Bullshit." Tan Limei pouted. "The other teams played well.Their forwards were forwards, and defenders were defenders. Look at our team.At the start of the match, our formation was still fine. But as the matchcontinues, all of our forwards became defenders. I was still cheering for themwith my friends from the Finance Department. It was so embarrassing."

Zhuang Zhi thought Tan Limei was angry with him and quicklysaid: "I will perform better in the next match."

Tan Limei rolled her eyes. "Other than playing dirty byknocking other players down, what else can you do? You can't even run."

Zhuang Zhi replied embarrassedly: "I... I am already tryingto lose weight."

"Cough... Errrr... Tan Zhi, Zhuang Zhi, are both of youdating?" Dong Xuebing asked.

Zhuang Zhi panicked: "I... We..."

Tan Limei blushed and stared at Dong Xuebing: "Don't tellanyone."

Really? Dong Xuebing said: "If I don't ask the both of you,are you two going to keep it from me? Don't worry. I will keep my mouth shut.When did both of you start? Have you met the parents? How far have the both ofyou going?" Dong Xuebing was happy for them as a friend. At the same time, hewas also envious of them. Sigh... How long do I need to wait to be dating?

"Huh?" Zhuang Zhi does not know what to said and quicklyreturned to his desk with his documents.

Tan Limei also took a set of printouts and smacked DongXuebing's arm. "You want to die, is it? Why are you so nosey? Hmph! If you wantto know gossips, I can tell you the hottest gossip in our bureau." She changedthe subject. "Do you know? When you are still in the hospital, rumors about youspread because of your bravery. You got a nickname. Firefighter."

Dong Xuebing was surprised. "Huh? Firefighter?"

"Hehe. Sounds good?" Tan Limei laughed. "When Li Qing andZhou Changchun heard your nickname, they also said that it suits you well. Notonly you saved the documents, but you also save everyone by writing the speechfor Deputy Bureau Chief Yang. Don't you think this is a good nickname for you?You can take on whatever issues we have. I think almost all the deputy chiefsof the General Affairs division knows about your nickname. Maybe even theDeputy Bureau Chiefs also know about the firefighter from the General AffairsOffice."

A firefighter has several meanings to it.

Dong Xuebing smiled: "Who was the one that came up with thisname? It does not sound nice."

Tan Limei replied uninterestedly: "Don't lie. You are feelingpleased now, right?"

Tan Limei was right. Dong Xuebing was feeling pleased. Thiswas the recognition given to him by the leaders and colleagues.

Hah! If I continue what I am doing, I should be up forpromotion!

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Power and WealthChapter 48 – Chief Zhou was retiring!

The next day.

"Good morning everyone."

"Morning, Xiao Dong."

"Good morning firefighter! Hahaha!"

"Don't call me that."

After a short chat, it was time to work. Zhou Changchun didnot come to work today. No one had seen him since yesterday afternoon. Maybe hewas on sick leave again. After all, Zhou Changchun had cerebrovascular diseasesand other chronic illness. His health had been in bad shape. Without anyonesupervising in the office, everyone was not doing their work. Guo Panwei waslooking at the stock market. Guo Shunjie was surfing some forums on theinternet. Most of the work in the office was done by Tan Limei, Dong Xuebing,and Zhuang Zhi.

"Chief Zhou had taken dozens of days of medical leave thisyear." Tan Limei grumbled.

Dong Xuebing was shocked. "So many days?"

Tan Limei replied: "It is considered not a lot. Last yearwas also the same. When Chief Zhou was not around, my workload increases a lot.Luckily you and Zhuang Zhi are around this year. If not, I can't cope with allthe work." She looked at Guo Shunjie and the rest. "Clinging to a post withoutdoing any work!"

Dong Xuebing laughed. "I think Chief Zhou will be backtomorrow. Let me help you with the printing."

During lunchtime, they received news that Zhou Changchun washospitalized for his cerebrovascular illness.

This was not surprising by many of them. They were used toit.

Guo Panwei immediately goes and ask which hospital and wardZhou Changchun was in. "I will go and visit Chief Zhou."

"I will go too." Dong Xuebing does not want to be left behind.Although he was now much closer to Zhou Changchun but visiting him at thehospital will leave a good impression with the leader. The leader will notthink: I am in the hospital, and you do not even visit me? What are youthinking?

Guo Shunjie and Changjuan also wanted to do. In the end, allof them went to Youyi Hospital in two taxis.

Neurology ward

"Chief Zhou, how are you feeling?"

"Are you feeling better?"

Zhou Changchun was lying in bed. He looked several yearsolder since he last appeared in the office a few days earlier. He does not lookwell. His wife was beside him clearing his lunch box. She forced a smile asDong Xuebing, and the rest entered the ward. She put the fruits and flowers bythe window and let them sit beside the Zhou Changchun.

"All of you are here?" Zhou Changchun sighed. "I am fine.But I should not be able to return to work these few days."

Changjuan pretended to be sad: "Chief Zhou, we will be lostif you are not in the office leading us."

Guo Panwei also pretended to be nice. He turned to ZhouChangchun's wife: "Auntie, if you need any help, let me know. I can stay behindin the afternoon to help you take care of Chief Zhou."

Zhou Changchun's wife replied. "Thank you. But I can stillcope."

Zhou Changchun waved his hand. "No need to stay behind toaccompany me. Go back to work. There are lots of work waiting for you all inthe office." His condition was quite serious. He even had difficulties walkingto the bathroom. His wife had to help him walk. Seems like he could not returnto work soon.

After chatting for a while with Zhou Changchun, Dong Xuebingand the rest were about to return to the office.

But Zhou Changchun hesitated for a while and called out: "Panwei,Xiao Bing, I want to talk to you two."

Guo Shunjie glanced at Dong Xuebing and Guo Panwei beforewalking away. Tan Limei, Changjuan, and Zhuang Zhi also walked out of the ward.All of them knew that Guo Panwei and Dong Xuebing held a higher status in ChiefZhou's heart. Dong Xuebing had helped Zhou Changchun rescued the importantdocuments. Guo Panwei had been loyal to Zhou Changchun for years and had beenhis right-hand man.

In the ward, Guo Panwei and Dong Xuebing looked at eachother. They were standing there waiting for Zhou Changchun to speak.

But Zhou Changchun kept quiet for a while before he sighed."The both of you are my most trusted subordinates. In the future..." He pausedfor a while before continuing. "In the future... Work hard." Dong Xuebing andGuo Panwei were wondering what Zhou Changchun was trying to say. Zhou Changchunwaved his hand. "Go back. My wife will send you out."

Zhou Changchun walked them out to the corridor.

Dong Xuebing turned to her and said: "Auntie, there's noneed to walk us out."

Zhou Changchun's wife seems like she had lots of things tosay to them. But in the end, she only said: "Please take care of the GeneralAffairs Office in the future."

Guo Panwei immediately replied: "Don't worry. We will do ourwork well."

Dong Xuebing felt something was off. It seems that thehusband and wife were implying something.

Back at the office, Dong Xuebing carried on with his work asusual.

At about 1pm, Guo Shunjie suddenly received a phone call andstarted to do his work seriously. He did his own photocopying and offered todeliver documents. After a while, Guo Panwei who returned from outside behavedthe same way as Guo Shunjie. They started to do their work eagerly with a smileon their faces.Guo Panwei even threwall his stock market graphs and charts away.

Dong Xuebing was confused. He asked Zhuang Zhi: "Whathappened?"

Zhuang Zhi looked at both of them: "I don't know. Maybe it'stime for our increments?"

Changjuan and Old Yan were also confused.

Just before they finished work, Tan Limei who returned fromthe Political Section Office told them a piece of shocking news. "Hey, hey,have you all heard the news?"

Dong Xuebing asked: "What news?"

Zhuang Zhi scratched his head: "Are we getting a raise?"

"You wish!" Tan Limei rolled her eyes at him. "It's aboutChief Zhou. Chief Zhou will be retiring due to his illness." Tan Limei' wordsattracted the attention of Dong Xuebing and Zhuang Zhi. "I heard this news fromthe Political Section, and they told me that the next Chief will be selectedfrom one of us in the office."

Dong Xuebing was shocked: "Is this real?"

"Ah?" Changjuan exclaimed: "Chief Zhou has not reached theretirement age yet. Is his illness so serious?"

Tan Limei lowered her voice: "I heard two versions. One wasthe leaders were unhappy with Chief Zhou for taking so many days of medicalleave. The other rumor is about Chief Zhou's finances. I heard that there weresome issues with his finances and he was "offered" to retire. It was notvoluntary. If it were, Chief Zhou would have told us just now at the hospital."

Finance issues?

Corruption?

This was a piece of alarming news. Old Yan heard this andpaused for a while before continuing reading his papers.

The two Guos should have received this news earlier. Nowonder they suddenly became so hardworking.

No matter Chief Zhou was forced to retire or retired voluntary,the position of Deputy Chief was up for grabs.

Translator'snotes:

cerebrovasculardiseases

https/en./wiki/Cerebrovascular_disease

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Power and WealthChapter 49 – Vying for the position of Deputy Chief!

The next day, it was busy as usual at the General AffairsOffice.

Dong Xuebing was printing something at the copier machineand observing the rest secretly.

"Xiao Tan, is the speech for Director Li ready? Give it tome. I will send it to Director Li." Guo Panwei said.

"Xiao Sun, is that document printed? Chief Xu is waiting forit. Give it to me." Guo Shunjie said.

After both of them finished speaking, they stared at eachother. It was tense. After the news of Chief Zhou's retirement was made known,Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie were competing for the position. Guo Shunjie usedhis bootlicking skills to "report his work status" with almost all the leadersin the District Branch Bureau. Especially the Chief of the Political Sectionand the District Bureau Chief. Guo Shunjie used a different tactic. He targetedother higher-ups. He tried his best to perform in front of the other leaders ofthe General Affairs Department and start to contact the District PoliticalCommissar more often. They were working all their means to get the position ofDeputy Chief of the General Affairs Office.

On the other side.

Old Yan was still acting normally. He was still drinking histea and reading his newspapers. He does not seem to be interested in the DeputyChief's position. Changjuan was also about the same as before. But compared tolast time, she chatted more often with Guo Shunjie. She should be placing hermoney on Guo Shunjie.

"Zhuang Zhi." When the two Guos left, Tan Limei cheerfullyasked: "Who do you think will become the Deputy Chief?"

Zhuang Zhi was a bit slow when replying. "I don't knoweither. But isn't everyone in the office had the chance of being promoted?"

Tan Limei rolled her eyes at him: "Are you stupid? Nevermind. Bing Zhi, who do you think?"

Dong Xuebing replied listlessly. "The 3 of us does not standa chance."

"You are speaking the obvious." Tan Limei laughed. "If oneof us were picked to be the Deputy Chief, the sun will rise from the westtomorrow. Bing Zhi, you seem like you also want to be promoted. Hehe... Don't overthink.We are still young. In another 3 to 5 years, it might be our turn to move up."

Zhuang Zhi scratched the back of his head: "Actually I thinkBing Zhi is the one most suitable to be promoted."

Dong Xuebing laughed: "Stop talking nonsense. I know mylimits."

Tan Limei also laughed: "To be honest, Bing Zhi is suitable.But the Government sector is different from private companies. Those withcapabilities might not be promoted. The length of services and connections isthe main criteria."

Dong Xuebing also knew about this.

After a while, Guo Panwei returned. He was walking with hishead held high and smiling. Some leaders must have told him he stood a goodchance and boosted his confidence. "Old Yan, stop reading the papers. Xiao Sun,the water dispenser is empty. Call someone to bring a bottle of water up. Latersomeone will be dropping by the office. All of you better work hard and don'tdisgrace our office." A bootlicker who was always hanging around the leaderssaying such things made the rest of them uncomfortable.

Dong Xuebing cursed him in his heart.

A few minutes later, Guo Shunjie returned to the office andlooked at Guo Panwei briefly before clapping his hand together to get theattention of everyone. "There is a meeting at 1.30 pm. Finish your lunch and beback earlier to prepare for the meeting. Xiao Dong, Xiao Sun, the both of yougo and clean up the meeting room on the third floor. Xiao Tan, you are incharge of the materials and documents for the meeting. Ok. That's it. Carry onwith your work."

Dong Xuebing was pissed. Both of them were not promoted, andthey were already giving out orders. What would happen if they were reallypromoted?

Seeing Dong Xuebing still sitting at his desk, Guo Shunjie'sface turns dark. "Did you not hear what I just said?" Guo Shunjie was 90% surehe would be promoted. Without Zhou Changchun around, he was no afraid of DongXuebing. After staying low for the past few days, he became arrogant again.

Dong Xuebing frowned and replied coldly. "No."

Guo Shunjie was furious: "Fine... fine..." He walked over toDong Xuebing and said softly: "Wait until I become the Chief and you will getit. Just wait..."

Dong Xuebing replied: "Ya... I'm waiting."

Guo Shunjie: "Hmph!"

Noon.

During lunch, Tan Limei pouted and looked at Guo Shunjie andGuo Panwei who were sitting at their tables not far away. "Did you see it? Theyare not even promoted, and they are already acting as leaders. Even when ChiefZhou was not as commanding as them. Hmph! I want to see what they will do ifthey are not promoted."

Dong Xuebing took a big bite off his bun: "That's right. Butthere is no one else competing with them for the position. The next DeputyChief of our office will surely be the surname Guo."

Zhuang Zhi quickly shushed them: "Lower your voices. Don'tlet others hear you."

Tan Limei angrily said: "This is so unfair. Bing Zhi will bein trouble this time. No matter which one of them became our chief, they willbe looking for trouble with Bing Zhi."

Dong Xuebing waved his hand and sighed. "What else can Ido?"

Dong Xuebing had analyzed the situation last night. Theposition of Deputy Chief of the General Affairs Office will definitely be outof reach for the 3 of them. He and Zhuang Zhi had only joined the office forless than 2 months. They were considered newbies. The Government sector focusesmore on seniority than ability. Even if Dong Xuebing did one or two moreoutstanding performances, it was also useless. It was the same for Tan Limei.She had joined the State Security one year earlier than them. She was stillconsidered too junior.

Old Yan had offended a leader from the City's Bureau. Hisrank had been stagnant for so many years. Now, he was near his retirement age,and it was almost impossible for him to be promoted. At most, the agency willgive him a promotion to Deputy Division Chief months before his retirement. Asfor Changjuan, she was senior enough to be promoted. But her character was hermajor flaw. The impression she gave others was too frivolous. The agency willsurely not consider promoting her.

After looking at everyone in the office, the two Guos hadthe highest chance of getting promoted.

Guo Panwei was close to many leaders in the Bureau. If heput in some effect in getting their support, he stands a high chance to bepromoted.

Guo Shunjie knew the District Political Commissar. If the DistrictPolitical Commissar really wants to groom him, Guo Shunjie does not even needto do anything, and he will be promoted. Furthermore, Guo Shunjie looks morematured, and his chances are slightly higher than Guo Panwei.

No matter what, one of them will be the Deputy Chief.

After analyzing all the possibilities, Dong Xuebing becamedepressed. If he had 6 months or 1 year, he would qualify for the promotiontoo. But now, there was no point to try and vie for the promotion. Dong Xuebingonly hope now was for the Bureau to transfer someone from another district overto be their Deputy Chief. It will be hell for him if any of the Guos getspromoted.

Damn!

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Power and WealthChapter 50 – Opportunity!

Afternoon.

Guo Panwei, Guo Shunjie, and Zhuang Zhi came back to theGeneral Affairs Office after their soccer match. Zhou Changchun's retirementwas confirmed by Li Qing. Dong Xuebing, who was still hoping that ZhouChangchun's retirement was only a rumor, was demoralized. He sighed. ChiefZhou, if only you could retire one year later, and I will have the chance totake over your place.

Good days were coming to an end for Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing clenched his fist. He whispered to Tan Limei ashe went over to the copier machine. "Let's visit Chief Zhou after work?"

Tan Limei looked at him weirdly: "Why?"

"See how he was recovering and at the same time ask him whowill be replacing him and if there will be anyone transferring over from otheroffices to take over him." Dong Xuebing was troubled.

Tan Limei laughed. "Are you out of your mind? Visiting himnow?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Dong Xuebing did not understandwhat she meant.

Tan Limei poked Dong Xuebing's temple: "Are you stupid? ZhouChangchun is no longer the Deputy Chief of the General Affairs Office. It ismeaningless for you to bootlick him. Don't you know this? His early retirementshould be arranged by the leaders of the bureau. Someone up there is not happywith him. He might even be involved in corruption. If you approach him now, youare asking for trouble."

"Damn." Dong Xuebing shuddered. "Is it that serious? What ifChief Zhou is really sick and wanted to retire?"

Tan Limei replied. "Bing Zhi, listen to me. Even if it is aswhat you said, no higher-ups are unhappy with Zhou Changchun, and he is notinvolved in any corruption cases, there is still nothing for us to gain forbeing close to him. He is already retired, and he might be involved withsomething which we do not know. We will be in trouble if we approach him now.The safest thing to do now is to stay as far away from him as possible. This isnot the time for you to be emotional."

Dong Xuebing thought hard at what Tan Limei said. "You areright." Dong Xuebing had wanted to foster a closer relationship with ZhouChangchun was because of benefits. There was no real friendship between both ofthem. Now Zhou Changchun was in trouble with his finances, only fools will tryto be kind to him. He might also be implicated with the investigations.

It was still safer to keep a distance from Zhou Changchun.

Sigh... I had wasted my time to help him trade shares.

Tan Limei stood up: "Zhuang Zhi should also not know aboutall these. I must remind him to stay away from Chief Zhou when he returns topack his belongings." This place was really coldhearted. When somethinghappens, everyone will try to keep away.

Dong Xuebing got a better understanding of the cruelty ofgovernment services.

The doors of the General Affairs Office were openedsuddenly.

Click, click, click. It was the footsteps sounds of leathershoes. Dong Xuebing looked up. It was Zhou Changchun. He was discharged fromthe hospital and was walking with a limp. He had recovered slightly, but still,have troubles walking. He should be back to pack his things and also to do thehandover. Maybe he was back for the investigations against him.

The office was silent.

1 second...

2 seconds...

No one greeted Zhou Changchun. Dong Xuebing felt it was toomuch. He greeted loudly: "Chief Zhou."

Zhuang Zhi hesitated for a while and looked at Tan Limeibefore greeting him: "Chief Zhou."

"Chief Zhou." Changjuan, Guo Shunjie and the rest alsogreeted him. But their tones were very different from the past. They seem to begreeting him for the sake of greeting. Even Guo Panwei, the loyal lapdog ofChief Zhou was like this. No, he was even worst. He only moved his mouth anddid not even make a sound.

Seems like everyone felt that there were really discrepancieswith Zhou Changchun's finances and wanted to cut all ties with him.

Zhou Changchun could feel their attitude towards him. Hesaid uncaringly: "Panwei, come to my office for a while."

Guo Panwei was really heartless. He immediately replied:"I'm sorry Chief Zhou. I need to deliver an urgent document." Guo Panwei hadgiven Chief Zhou lots of gifts over the past few years, and he was the closestto him in the office.

Chief Zhou frowned and looked at Guo Shunjie and the rest.

Guo Shunjie and Changjuan pretended not to hear anything andcontinued with their work.

Dong Xuebing was surprised by everybody's reaction. If itwas a month ago, when Zhou Changchun entered the office, he does not even needto say a word, and all of them will be crowding around him. But now, no one waswilling to help him carry his stuff. Dong Xuebing also lowered his head andpretended to be busy with his work.

This is the government system. Once you are out of power,you are nothing.

Zhou Changchun's face changed. He stared stare at DongXuebing and his former trusted aide, Guo Panwei. "Fine... fine... fine..." Helimped towards his room using the wall to support. No one went up to help him.

Guo Panwei, Changjuan and the rest looked at each other. Everyoneknew what was in everyone's mind.

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

The room's door was opened. Zhou Changchun seems to bemaking a phone call.

"Hello, is this Chief Yan? I am Zhou Changchun." ZhouChangchun purposely speaks loudly. Dong Xuebing and everyone outside could hearwhat he was saying clearly.

Guo Panwei and the rest were listening attentively. Theywanted to know if Zhou Changchun was under investigations or not and if theywere also implicated.

But everyone was shocked when they heard what Chief Zhou said."Yesterday, you had asked me to recommend someone to be the deputy chief forthe party committee to consider... After serious considerations, I thinkthat..." There was a pause of 2 seconds. "... I think that Xiao Gao from thePolitical section is the most suitable. He is hardworking and meticulous in hiswork... Yes. That's right... Yes... I recommend Xiao Gao to replace me... Theones from my office? Oh, they still need more experience... That's right..."

Everyone in the office was stunned.

What was happening? Why was Zhou Changchun recommendingsomeone to take over his position?

Damn! That Bureau Chief Yan trusted Zhou Changchun so much?He needs Zhou Changchun to recommend someone for the party committee to discussif that person was suitable for promotion?

No higher-ups in the bureau were unhappy with Zhou Changchun,and he was not involved in any investigations? Zhou Changchun was reallyretiring because of his illness?

"Ah..." Guo Panwei stood up from his chair. He wasregretting. Based on his relationship with Zhou Changchun in the past, he stoodthe highest chance of being recommended. Even Dong Xuebing could not becompared to him. If only he went over and helped Zhou Changchun just now, andZhou Changchun would surely recommend him. Zhou Changchun had called him to hisroom earlier was to discuss with him about the recommendation. He had wastedthis opportunity.

"Why is it like this?" Guo Shunjie was also regretting. Hethought it was the Bureau's Party Committee that will decide who to take overthis position. Zhou Changchun and Li Qing were not members of the committee andhave no say in the recommendations. But who knows Chief Yan would ask ZhouChangchun to nominate someone. If he knew this would happen, he would go overto help Zhou Changchun, and Zhou Changchun might choose him. He would havehigher chances to be promoted.

Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie face turned black. Theexpressions of the rest of the people were different.

Some were regretting, some were watching the show, somecouldn't be bothered.

Only Dong Xuebing was different from others. He onlyregretted for a split second and immediately looks excited.

Opportunity.

This is an opportunity for me!

Dong Xuebing took in a deep breath: "Hurry and reverse thetime."

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Power and WealthChapter 51 – Deputy Chief Nomination!

The scenes in front of Dong Xuebing changed!

"Chief Zhou."

"Chief Zhou."

"Chief Zhou."

The pale looking Zhou Changchun returned back to the officeagain. Soft and weak greetings could be heard again. Other than Zhuang Zhi,everyone else remains seated in their seats. Everyone was no longer have therespect and fear for Zhou Changchun.

Zhou Changchun was furious, and he looked at his formertrusted aide, Guo Panwei. "Panwei, come to my office for a while."

Guo Panwei points to a document in his hand: "I'm sorryChief Zhou. I need to deliver an important document."

Guo Shunjie immediately looks down. In his heart, he wassnickering. Who would still take your orders now?

Tan Limei had been scolded by Zhou Changchun for saying thewrong things when she just joined the agency. She was usually cheerful in theoffice, but today, she was the same as Changjuan and Old Yan. She just looksdown and focuses on her work. Anyway, Zhou Changchun can no longer order themin the future. Who cares about him? Zhou Changchun was someone who might beunder investigation for financial discrepancies. Whoever gets close to him nowwill be a fool!

Zhou Changchun looked around and understood why his formerstaffs were treating him this way. He laughed coldly. "Fine... Fine... Fine...!"He had been in the government sector for several years, and he knew whateveryone was thinking now. That's right. Who would want to get close to me now?No one! This was how cold-hearted people in the government sector were! Cuttingties with someone when they were in trouble.

The next moment, everyone in the General Affairs Office,including Zhou Changchun were shocked.

"Chief Zhou, I have some free time. Are you going to packyour office? Let me help you." A smiling Dong Xuebing ran over and supportedZhou Changchun. "You have just been discharged from the hospital. You must becareful. I will help you with your office. Watch your feet!"

Zhou Changchun was stunned. "... No need to help me. I canwalk by myself."

Dong Xuebing immediately said. "I'm sorry. I did not knowyou will be discharged today and the water in your office is empty. It's myfault. I will change the water bottle for you immediately."

Zhou Changchun felt better, and his face was no longer asblack as before. "Don't need to be so troublesome. I will be leaving after Ipacked my things."

Dong Xuebing ignored him and went out to get a bottle ofwater back to Zhou Changchun office. After he refilled the water dispenser, hepoured a cup of water for Zhou Changchun. Dong Xuebing did not stop after this.He continued to pack Zhou Changchun's belongings for him. He packed ZhouChangchun's stuff, like food tray, mug, tea set, etc. neatly for him.

Everyone else in the office was shocked by Dong Xuebing'sactions. What was this Dong Xuebing thinking?

Guo Shunjie shook his head. This Dong Xuebing was stupid!Why would he still bootlick an outgoing leader?

Guo Panwei was also laughing to himself. This Xiao Dong wasreally dumb. If Zhou Changchun were being investigated for corruptions or otherproblems and asked to "retire due to his illness", Dong Xuebing would beimplicated.

Tan Limei tried making eye signals to Dong Xuebing. But DongXuebing ignored her. She was pissed with him. She had just told Dong Xuebingabout the implications for being close to Zhou Changchun a while ago! What washe thinking?!

In the small room.

Zhou Changchun was touched when he saw Dong Xuebing sweatingfor helping him. "Xiao Dong, sit down and rest for a while."

"It's okay. I am not tired." Dong Xuebing replied. "Do you stillhave anything else to pack?"

"That's about it. Sit down and have a chat." Dong Xuebingsat down on a chair with only half his butt touching the chair. It was likebefore. The correct sitting posture when sitting in front of a leader. ZhouChangchun sighed when he saw this. He patted Dong Xuebing's shoulder: "It istime like this when you will see someone's true colors. Xiao Dong. Good. I amright about you!"

Dong Xuebing sincerely replied: "This is what my duties."

Zhou Changchun sighed again and squeezed Dong Xuebing'sshoulder. "I can finally see it! I should have known this before! You are theonly one in this office that is worth grooming. But all the paperwork for myretirement were completed, and I can't take care of you in the future."

Dong Xuebing immediately replied: "You have been guiding andtaking care of me since I joined the General Affairs Office. Thank you for yourguidance, Chief Zhou."

Zhou Changchun paused and seems to be thinking aboutsomething. He suddenly waved his fist and looks like he had made a decision. "Iwill not say anything else to you. Wait a while. I need to make a phone call."

Dong Xuebing held back his excitement and pretended to becalm. "Then I will go out first?"

"No need. Sit there." Zhou Changchun picks up the phone onthe desk and dials a number. Zhou Changchun had wanted to nominate Guo Panweiat first. But Guo Panwei's attitude just now had greatly disappointed him. DongXuebing on the other hand, still treated him with respect like before. ZhouChangchun was moved by Dong Xuebing's actions.

The line got through. "Hello, is this Chief Yan? I am ZhouChangchun... Yes. I have decided who I will recommend... Thank you for yourtrust... Yes... I think the position of the Deputy Chief of the General AffairsOffice..." Zhou Changchun paused and looked at Dong Xuebing. "... should go toDong Xuebing. He is the most suitable candidate to take on this role... youshould know him... Right. He is the young man that ran into the fire to get backthe documents... Yes. He just joined this year, and he had performedexceptionally well... Yes, this year... Although he lacks experience, but otherthan this, he is perfect. He is matured, meticulous, brave... Yes. I am onlynominating him..."

Dong Xuebing clenched his fist. His heart almost jumped outof his mouth.

Bureau Chief Yan on the line seems to be troubled. He hadmentioned "experience" several times in the conversation. It was not as smoothsailing when Xiao Gao from the Political Division was nominated. It was apparentthat Dong Xuebing was still too junior.

But when Dong Xuebing was about to give up hope, he heardZhou Changchun suddenly said. "Eh? Chief Li is at your office? You can also askChief Li about Xiao Dong..." After saying this, Zhou Changchun held thereceiver and kept quiet. About 3 to 4 minutes later, Zhou Changchun smiled."Chief Li is also nominating Dong Xuebing as the Deputy Chief of GeneralAffairs Office? Yes... Yes... What do you think?... Ok... Thank you, Chief Yan."Zhou Changchun smiled after hanging up. "Xiao Dong, you are fortunate. If onlyme and Chief Li put your name as one of the candidates, the Bureau Chief willnever approve it. But Chief Li Qing had only nominated you alone. That meansour General Affairs Office had the same view. Chief Yan did not say anything,and you are considered to have qualified as one of the candidates. The PartyCommittee will discuss your promotion during their next meeting."

Done?

Am I really promoted?!

Dong Xuebing said gratefully: "Chief Zhou, you... What can Isay?I still did not meet thequalifications... I..."

Zhou Changchun interrupted him: "Haha, it is only anomination. I will tell you the truth. This position might still be out ofreach for you. Even if the General Affairs Office did not nominate Guo Shunjueand Guo Panwei, their names would also appear in the meeting through otherdepartments. Both of them have backgrounds and connections. It is almostimpossible for you to win them." Zhou Changchun was already retired, and hedoes not hold back. "We nominated you is to let your name appear in front ofthe leaders and let them have an impression of you. This will increase yourchances of promotion the next time. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, Chief Zhou. Thank you!"

As long as he was nominated, he will have a chance!

Dong Xuebing felt he was too lucky. He did not make anywrong moves since the day he entered the General Affairs Office. He had helpedZhou Changchun traded shares, jumped into a burning office to retrievedocuments, and he had final see the returns for all the efforts he put in.

Dong Xuebing will not give up this chance for promotion!

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Power and WealthChapter 52 – Strategy to be closer to Xu Yan!

Afternoon.

2:08 pm.

After Zhou Changchun left, Tan Limei immediately pulled FengYu aside. "Bing Zhi, didn't you hear what I said? Why are you still so close toChief Zhou?! What if the rumors about the leaders who were unhappy with himknow about this? You will be in trouble! Chief Zhou had been here for a longtime. Even if there were some issues with his finances, the bureau will stilltake care of him and let him retire due to his illness! But you are different!Who would care about a newbie like you?"

Dong Xuebing laughed. "Actually, there is no problem withChief Zhou finances. You all are overthinking."

Zhuang Zhi also said: "I... I think what Bing Zhi did isright."

"Right your head!" Tan Limei stared at both of them. "Nevermind. Do what you want. I can't be bothered with you all."

Guo Shunjie and Changjuan who had gone to deliver documentsreturned.

"Xiao Tan, are you unhappy at work?" Guo Shunjie spoke likea leader when he saw Tan Limei talking angrily to Feng Yu.

Tan Limei, who had been unhappy with Guo Shunjie, repliedpolitely. "I'm fine."

Guo Shunjie nodded and walked back to his desk with hishands behind his back. He glanced at the small office. He can't wait to sit inthat office. Guo Panwei looked at him and mumbled something. He grabbed a pileof documents and seems like he was about to head off to "report his workprogress" to some leaders.

Guo Shunjie looked at Guo Panwei. "Panwei, why are youdelivering documents to the leaders again?"

"Hehehe, didn't you just return from Political CommissarZhou's office?" Guo Panwei replied to Guo Shunjie's sarcastic remarks.

Guo Shunjie said: "Hmph!"

Now, the General Affairs Office was the battlefield for GuoShunjie and Guo Panwei. Both of them were facing off each other, and it wastense. They treated each other as their biggest competitor and were unawarethat Dong Xuebing was nominated. Dong Xuebing also did not want to tell anyoneabout this. His chances would be higher if he kept it a secret. If this wasexposed now, people might gang up against him.

After a while, Dong Xuebing went to Li Qing's new office.

Li Qing was wiping the photo frame of his daughter's picturewith a napkin. "Xiao Dong? Take a sit.

"Thank you, but I will stand." Dong Xuebing did not sit downand said: "Director Li, is your daughter's health getting better?"

Li Qing sighed and put down the photo frame on his desk."She got leukemia, and it is not easily treated. She is so skinny now... Ok.Let's drop this subject. Your name has been submitted to Chief Yan. Work hardand perform well. Don't let Old Zhou and I down."

Dong Xuebing politely replied: "Yes sir. I will not let youdown. I will get this..."

"Haha... I am not asking you to get the position of DeputyChief. You are still too junior and do not have many chances. I am asking youto use this chance to let the higher-ups know you. The next time if there areopportunities to enter the Party School or something, the chances of yougetting it will be higher. Do you know to understand me?" Although Li Qinglikes this young man, he felt it was impossible for him to get the position ofDeputy Chief.

Dong Xuebing had a bitter taste in his mouth, but hepretended to be moved: "Yes sir. Thank you, Director Li, for this opportunity!"

Li Qing nodded and took out a stack of documents from hisdesk. "The Bureau committee meeting is in a few days. You should try to get intouch with the leaders these few days. Here, these documents are what Chief Xuwanted. Send these to her."

"Yes, Sir."

After walking out of Li Qing's office, Dong Xuebing thoughtabout his chances of getting promoted. The Bureau Committee meeting is in a fewdays and does he have the opportunity to overcome all the hurdles and beat thehot favorites, Guo Panwei, and Guo Shunjie? What should he do? Continue doingwhat he was doing? Impossible! The only way should be doing the same as whatGuo Panwei and Guo Shunjie were doing. Get help from the higher-ups! He needsto get one of the committee members to speak up for him! This way, his chanceswould be higher!

Who should he look for?

Zhou Guoan, Political Commissar Zhou? No. He is GuoShunjie's backing.

Political Section's Chief Pang Bing? No. He is very close toGuo Panwei.

Dong Xuebing thought about the few members from the BureauCommittee he had met or heard off. In the end, he found someone who was notclose to either Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie. This person had the highestpossibility of speaking up for him and had a strong influence on who should getthe position of Deputy Chief. Xu Yan!

Knock, knock. Dong Xuebing knocked on Deputy Bureau Chief XuYan's office.

"Come in!"

"Chief Xu, Director Li asked me to send these documents toyou."

A middle-aged woman, who was sitting crossed legged at herdesk, was looking at a piece of paper. She said in a deep voice. "Ok. Leave thedocuments there!" She is Xu Yan. She is almost 50 years old, and there wererumors that she was a divorcee. Her hair was permed, and there were aged spotsat the corner of her eyes. She had average looks and the aura of someonesuccessful. She was one of the District Branch Bureau's committee members andthe Deputy Bureau Chief. At the same time, she was the General AffairsDirector. She can be considered Dong Xuebing's top superior. Because she wasthe person overseeing the General Affairs Department, she had a bigger say thanthe rest of the Deputy Bureau Chief on who to take on the role of Deputy Chiefof General Affairs Office!

If Dong Xuebing could foster a good relationship with herand let Xu Yan put in good words for him in the meeting, the chances ofpromotion will be much higher!

Dong Xuebing placed the brown envelope carefully on thedesk. He paused for a while. He wanted to speak to Xu Yan and leave animpression on her. He wondered if she had heard of the incident of him runninginto a burning room to retrieve documents. If she knows about this incident, itwould be easier. "Chief Xu, I..." Dong Xuebing also do not know how to start aconversation. He had only seen Xu Yan during meetings before and had neverspoken to her.

Xu Yan waved the A4 paper in her hand and asked: "Is thereanything else?"

"Huh? Nothing... I will leave now."

Xu Yan finally lifted her head and looked at Dong Xuebing."Eh? You are... General Affairs Department? Didn't I instruct everyone above 20years old and below 35 years old to participate in the soccer match? Why didn'tI see you on the field" Xu Yan was in charge of Western District BranchBureau soccer team, and they were participating in the City's agencies soccertournament. She was also the coach of the team.

Dong Xuebing was disappointed when he realized Xu Yan didnot recognize him. Sensing Xu Yan was getting angry, he quickly explained: "Iwas hospitalized before the National Day holidays and was just discharged twodays ago."

Xu Yan just replied "Oh..." and waved him off.

Dong Xuebing was relieved and quickly walked out of theoffice and close the door lightly behind him.

Sigh... Seems like Xu Yan's character was similar to BureaChief Yan. Both of them were not easy to talk to. How can I establish a goodrelationship with her?

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Power and WealthChapter53 – Penalty!

Next day.

Afternoon at 1 pm.

Dong Xuebing was still thinking of how he could earn XuYan's trust.

Li Qing, who was in wearing his sports attire entered the GeneralAffairs Office. "The bus is here. Those that are participating in the matchshould change, or you all can choose to change at the stadium. The color is thesame as yesterday's match. The top must be white, and the shorts do notmatter." Li Qing's face changed." Everybody listen up. There are only 2 morematches, including this afternoon's game left. The higher-ups and Chief Xu hadgiven us a mission. We must not lose again. Put in your best performancelater!"

"Ah? Cannot lose?" Everyone was groaning.

Li Qing replied firmly. "You must treat this as a politicalmission! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Guo Panwei and Zhuang Zhi replied immediately. But they werenot confident.

Dong Xuebing was glad that he had escaped this fate. He hadheard from Tan Limei that their team had not won a single match out of the past6 games and they had lost badly for every game they played. The scores werelike 5:0, 3:0 and even 7:0. They had yet to score a single goal. This was whythe Bureau's higher-ups gave this "political mission" to them.

Dong Xuebing, Tan Limei, and Old Yan remained in the office.Changjuan, Zhuang Zhi and the rest followed Li Qing out of the office.

There was not a lot of work in the afternoon. Dong Xuebingmade himself a cup of tea and watched a movie online.

During the National Day Holidays, their working hours wereuntil 3 pm. It was 5 minutes to 3 pm, and Tan Limei started packing her things.She cheerfully patted Dong Xuebing's back. "Bing Zhi, let's go to YuetanStadium to watch their match. This time, the Bureau is anxious to get a win. Ifthey were lost all the matches in this tournament, they would surely bescolded."

Dong Xuebing had nothing to do at home, and he nodded. "Ok,let's go and have a look." Xu Yan was also there. Maybe there will be anopportunity to get closer to her.

Yuetan Stadium.

The Bureau had booked this stadium. Dong Xuebing and TanLimei showed their work pass and were allowed to enter the stadium. They walkedthrough the entrance tunnel, and they could hear cheers. Under the scorchingsun, over 20 State Security members were running on the field. Zhuang Zhi wassweating and panting near his goal post. Guo Panwei was running aroundaimlessly and shouting "Pass, pass to me!" Guo Shunjie was also holding on tohis soccer boots and sitting by the side of the fields. It seems that he was areserve.

"Defence! Defense!" By the side of the field, Xu Yan in hersports attire was shouting instructions to her team. "Everyone get back anddefense! Mark that no. 21!"

"Don't let him pass! Stop him!" Li Qing was carrying XuYan's bag by her side and was also shouting to the players.

Tan Limei whispered to Dong Xuebing. "Our Chief Xu is veryserious. Seems like she means what she said. Let's go. Sister Juan is overthere. Let's go over."

Dong Xuebing stopped for a while. "Shouldn't we greet theleaders first?"

"Can't you see the leaders are busy?"

Dong Xuebing looked at Xu Yn's back view helplessly andfollowed Tan Limei to where Changjuan was sitting. Changjuan was sitting withsome young men and women from the Political Section and Finance Department.They were cheering listlessly for their team. "Go forward and shoot!" But theircheers were too soft. Compared to the other team, their cheers could not beheard.

"Xiao Dong, Xiao Tan, you all are here?" Changjuan turned tothem and was holding a fan to block the sun.

Dong Xuebing casually asked: "Sister Juan, how's the match?What's the score now?"

Changjuan replied: "This time, we are playing much betterthan the previous few matches. The score is 0:0, and there are 10 minutes left.Seems this match would be a draw. At least we fulfill Chief Xu's requirement ofnot losing."

Tan Limei gasped. "We are playing well!"

It was coming to the end of the match, and all the playerson the field were tired. They were running slowly after the ball without anytactics or strategies. The Western District Branch Bureau's team was not of thesame standard as Chaoyang Branch Bureau's team. Most of the time, they wereplaying defensively. Their opponent was trying to score from far.

Xu Yan shouted with her hoarse voice: "Defence properly!There are only 10 minutes left!"

Li Qing also shouts: "Run faster! All of you, run faster!"

Chaoyang District Branch Bureau's no. 21 forward received apass from outside the penalty area, and he turned to shoot at the goal. Zoom!It was an awkward angle, and the ball missed the goal post by inches. No. 21held his head in anguished and then gave a thumbs up to his teammate who passedhim the ball.

Dong Xuebing blinked/ "Who is that guy? Why is he so good?"Dong Xuebing had played soccer with his University classmates. Although he wasnot good at it, he could tell the difference between a good player and anovice. This no. 21 was on a different level from the rest.

Changjuan replied: "I heard that guy was formerly from thenational youth team. He is more professional than the rest. He had almost brokenour defense several times."

Not far away, Xu Yan was shouting angrily. "Mark that no.21! Don't let him get the ball!"

These few days, Xu Yan was in a bad mood. She thought thesewere all friendly matches to let the staff workers participate in some sportsactivities. That's why she took on the role of the team manager and coach. Butthe rest of the branch bureaus were trying their best, and her team had beenlosing since the start of the tournament. Xu Yan was too embarrassed by her side.This was why she gave out the orders that they must not lose today. Even a drawis good enough.

8 minutes left...

5 minutes left...

The score was still 0:0.

Xu Yan was relieved. She looked at a middle-aged woman watchingthe match not far away and frowned.

The bespectacled woman also saw Xu Yan and returned a sneer.

Dong Xuebing was observing Xu Yan and watching the game whenhe noticed this detail. He asked Tan Limei if she knew who that woman was. "Whois that person? Chief Xu does not seem to like her. Is she the team manager forChaoyang team?"

Tan Limei looked at that direction. "I had never seen herbefore. Sister Chang, do you know that person?"

"Who?" Changjuan looked towards the direction where DongXuebing was pointing. "Why is she here?"

Dong Xuebing asked: "Who is she?"

Changjuan looked around her and dragged Tan Limei and DongXuebing to the side. "That person's name is similar to Chief Xu. Her name is XuYan too. She is the Deputy District Political Commissar of Eastern DistrictBranch Bureau. Oh, I know why she is here. Tomorrow our last match is against theEastern District Branch Bureau. She should be here to watch our team."

Dong Xuebing was puzzled. "Isn't this a recreationaltournament? Is there a need to be so serious?"

Changjuan laughed. "There are many things you don't know.Chief Xu and Political Commissar Xu are not on good terms. To others, thismight be a friendly match. But for both of them, it's not. I heard that both ofthem were often arguing during the City Bureau's meeting. Hmmm... I will tellyou all another secret. Keep it to yourself." Changjuan lowered her voice. "Doyou know Chief Xu is a divorcee? Her ex-husband remarried, and his new bride isthat Xu Yan. Because of this reason... Hehe... Do you all understand now?"

Tan Limei said: "Oh... I was still wondering why Chief Xugave out such orders. She does not want to be looked down by her rival!"

Dong Xuebing also understood.

Changjuan replied: "Don't talk about this anymore. It is notnice if this is spread around. The match is ending soon. Come, let's cheer forour team!"

There were only 3 minutes left on the clock.

Tan Limei waved her hands excitedly: "Western District Team!Go, go go!"

Dong Xuebing was also influenced by the atmosphere andstarted to cheer loudly for their team: "Defence! Defense!"

Dong Xuebing and the rest were only hoping for a draw.

But things did not go as they wished. Guo Panwei, who wasplaying defender, accidentally knocked into one of his teammate outside thepenalty area and both of them were slowed down. This gave no.21 a chance tobreak through their defense. He ran into the penalty area with the ball andtricked the central defender into the wrong direction with a feint. Hecontinued onwards, and only the goalkeeper was left standing before him!

The goalkeeper was Xiao Gao, from the Political Section. Hedoes not know how to play soccer. He was chosen to be part of the team becausehe was taller. He rushed forward to try to block no. 21, but he accidentallytripped no. 21 to the ground. Before no. 21 fell to the ground, he kicked XiaoGao with his boots!

Both Xiao Gao and no. 21 were rolling on the field in pain.

Beep! Beep!

The referee from the City Bureau blew the whistle and pointsto the spot! Penalty!

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Power and WealthChapter 54 – No one else wants to go? I will go!

The whistle was blown, and the crowd was in an uproar!

The players from the Western District were unhappy with thereferee's decision. "Where did we foul?"

Guo Panwei shouted anxiously: "This is a misjudgment! He isthe one who kicked Xiao Gao!"

The referee ignored the players' protest and points to thespot.

"Penalty? What is wrong with you?" Xu Yan ran onto the fieldand shouted to the referee. "We are defending properly! It is no. 21 that hadfouled! He knocked into the goalkeeper! How can you make this decision? You areso close, and you did not see it?" Xu Yan looks around and shouts: "Where arethe linesmen? Get the linesmen here!"

Tan Limei, who was in the stands, was also shouting:"Misjudgement!"

After Tan Limei started, the rest of the spectators alsofollowed.

Dong Xuebing kept quiet. He knew that it was hard to decidewho had foul in such a scenario.

The referee did not expect the Western District team managerto be so serious. Although the referee was from the City Bureau, his rank wasmuch lower than Chief Xu. He dare not to oppose Xu Yan's decision. He hesitatedand thought if he should give in to Xu Yan's demands. After all, this was onlya friendly match. "Errr... I think I might have..."

Before Chaoyang's team manager said anything, thebespectacled middle-aged woman walked over with her handbag.

That's Eastern District Branch Bureau's Deputy PoliticalCommissar Xu!

"Your decision is right. Where is the misjudgment?" Xu Tanwas wearing pants and a short sleeve shirt. Her eyes were small, and she shouldnot be as pretty as Chief Xu when they were young. She sauntered and glanced atXu Yan. "I saw the incident clearly. It is the Western District goalkeeper thattripped Chaoyang's no. 21 first."

Xu Yan's face turned black: "Deputy Political Commissar Xu,what is the meaning of this?"

Deputy Political Commissar Xu looked at her and replied."Deputy Bureau Chief Xu, I am saying what I had seen."

Xu Yan replied: "I saw the incident clearly too. You don'tneed to interfere!"

Deputy Political Commissar Xu: "But you are not the referee.The referee had awarded a penalty! Right?"

The referee was stuck in the middle and did not know what tosay.

Chaoyang Branch Bureau's team manager was only a DivisionalDirector, and he pretended not to see anything. Almost everyone in BeijingState Security's higher-ups knew Chief Xu, and Deputy Political Commissar Xuwere loggerheads because of that incident in the past. No one wants to getinvolved between both women.

Chief Xu and Deputy Political Commissar Xu argued for 5minutes.

In the end, they decided they had to escalate this argumentto their higher-ups. A call was made to the City Bureau, who was the organizerof this tournament and the phone was passed to Chief Xu. "Xiao Xu, think of thebigger picture. What's the use of arguing over such a trivial matter? This is afriendly tournament. The referee had awarded a penalty, and it should be apenalty! The referee's decision is final! Carry on with the match!"

After Chief Xu ended the call, Deputy Political Commissar Xusmiled: "Your team had lost how many matches in a row? 7? 8?"

"Mind your own business!" Chief Xu was trying to control heranger. She could feel her blood pressure rising, and she took deep breathes tocalm herself. She walked back to the sidelines and looked at the injured XiaoGao. "How is your injury? Can you still play?"

Xiao Gao, who was still half lying on the ground, replied:"I'm sorry, Chief Xu, my leg is too painful."

The no. 21 was already up on his feet and doing his warm-upfor the penalty kick. He did not seem to be injured at all.

Xu Yan looks terrible. She thought if Chaoyang Team scoredthis penalty, then Western District team will suffer 7 losses in a row. Shewill be laughed by Deputy Political Commissar Xu Yan. Chief Xu can afford tolose this match, but she was not willing to be laughed at by that woman! Shegritted her teeth and said: "Substitute the goalkeeper! I don't care what youall do, but they must not score! You all must block this penalty!"

Everyone could tell Deputy Bureau Chief Xu was furious andno one dares to say a word.

It was easy to substitute the goalkeeper as this tournamentdid not restrict the number of substitutes. Anyone who wants to play can just enterthe match as substitutes. But the problem was the no. 21 player. He can beconsidered a professional player.

It was all luck for penalty kicks. No one could tell whichdirection the penalty taker would kick. What if the substituted goalkeepercould not save the penalty and Chief Xu let that person take fullresponsibility? No one dares to say a word.

1 second...

5 seconds...

Xu Yan frowned. "Li Qing! You will pick the goalkeeper!"

Li Qing smiled wearily and looked at Guo Shunjie. "Xiao Guo,you go and try."

Guo Shunjie was stunned for a few seconds and immediatelydecline: "I had hurt my waist, and I can't dive to save the ball. Errr..."

The corner of Li Qing's eyes twitched and turned to anotherplayer from the finance department. "Xiao Zhao, you are taller. You will be thesubstitute."

Xiao Zhao replied with a long face: "Director Li, I havenever played goalkeeper before. I don't think I can save the penalty."

"Xiao Wang, you graduate from the Police School. You shouldnot have a problem. You will play."

"I..."

Bang! Xu Yan threw her handbag on the floor and points atGuo Shunjie and the other players. "No one can play goalkeeper?! What the hellare all of you here for?!"

Although this was only a friendly tournament, the WesternDistrict team had lost too many matches. All of them also do not want to losethis match, but...

Tan Limei, who was standing not far away, sighed. "That'sit. We thought this match is a draw. But now..."

Dong Xuebing nodded. "That's right. That no. 21 is too good.no matter who becomes the goalkeeper, it is also useless."

"7 losses in a row." Changjuan buried her face in her hands."If I know this would happen, I will not come here to cheer for them. It's tooembarrassing!"

A girl from Public Security Sixth Bureau also said: "ThatDeputy Political Commissar Xu Yan from Eastern District is too much. It is alsonot her team playing now. Why is she interfering in this match?"

All of them were from the Western district, and that girlwas on Xu Yan's side.

The referee walked over and told Xu Yan softly: "Chief Xu,it's time to take the penalty kick. Your side's goalkeeper..."

Deputy Political Commissar Xu and the other team also lookedover at the reserve bench. Some were getting impatient, and some were laughingat them.

Chief Xu scolded the players, but no one stepped forward tobe the goalkeeper.

Deputy Political Commissar Xu laughter was irritating. XuYan's face had turned red in anger. Her hands were already shaking.

Dong Xuebing was laughing in his heart when he saw GuoShunjie lowering his head. He was hoping for Xu Yan to pick Guo Shunjie to bethe goalkeeper and the other team scored the penalty. Xu Yan would surely hateGuo... Eh?!

Wait!

Wait a minute!

Dong Xuebing paused for a while. Penalty?

"I will repeat myself one more time!" Xu Yan was almost ather limits. "One of you have to be the goalkeeper! I don't care which one ofyou, but one of you must get onto the field!"

The 6 reserves kept quiet, and they were praying that theywill not be picked.

"You all!" Xu Yan was about to start screaming at theplayers.

At this moment, a voice came from behind her. "Chief Xu, ifno one wants to be the goalkeeper, can I try?"

Everyone turned back to see who was the one!

It was Dong Xuebing!

High-risk, high returns. This was an opportunity to getcloser to the leaders.

For the promotion... It's worth to take the risk!

Translator'snotes:

DeputyPolitical Commissar Xu Yan and Deputy Branch Bureau Chief Xu Yan had the samepronunciation, but the Chinese characters are different. So, this chapter mightbe slightly confusing.

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Power and WealthChapter 55 – Saving the Penalty!

"You?" Xu Yan looked at Dong Xuebing from top to toe. DongXuebing had average height. "Are you sure?"

Dong Xuebing replied. "I will try my best."

Li Qing, who was standing beside, was relieved. He knew thatat times like this, Dong Xuebing would surely step forward to help. This was nolonger whether if the penalty kick could be saved or not. It's an attitude. LiQing was lucky to have a subordinate which will offer to share his burden. Thiswas also why Li Qing did not wish for Xiao Dong to play in this match. Thatno.21 will not miss this penalty kick. Li Qing did not want Xiao Dong to beresponsible for their loss. "Chief Xu, this is Dong Xuebing. He is from ourGeneral Affairs Office. He is the one who ran into the burning office toretrieve the documents. He was injured by the fire and had just been dischargedfrom the hospital a few days ago. Can we don't let him..."

Xu Yan frowned and remembered about that incident: "He is thefirefighter?"

Li Qing smiled. "Yes, that's him."

Xu Yan turned and look at Dong Xuebing in his eyes. "Thispenalty will affect our Western District Branch Bureau's image. We cannotafford to lose this match. Are you sure you will be able to save this penalty?"Xu Yan paused and then continued in a firm tone. "I don't want you to try yourbest! You must save it! Can you do it?"

Li Qing immediately interrupts: "Chief Xu, Xiao Dong doesnot know how to play football. He..."

Dong Xuebing knew Li Qing was trying to protect him. Hereplied: "Chief Xu, I will definitely save this penalty!"

"Good!" Xu Yan nodded. "Get on the field!"

Dong Xuebing quickly ran to the sidelines. "Brother Gao, canI borrow your gloves?"

The injured goalkeeper, Xiao Gao, looked at him and passedhim his gloves. "Please do your best!"

Guo Shunjie's uneasy feelings were gone. He thought Xu Yanwould order him to be the goalkeeper. But when Dong Xuebing had volunteered, healmost cried out in joy. Foolish! What a stupid person! You are not even 1.8mtall, yet you want to be a goalkeeper? If that player kicked the ball slightlyhigher, you can't even touch it! Hah! You are just finding trouble foryourself. Once this penalty was scored, the whole Western District will put theblame on you! You really think you are a firefighter?

Dong Xuebing was not tall and strong enough, but he walkedcalmly towards the goal. Everyone from the Western District was covering theirfaces or rubbing their temples. They looked like they had already lost thematch. 7 losses in a row!

Guo Panwei also felt they had already lost. He walked overand said: "Xiao Dong, are you confident? Why not let someone take over?" He wasthe one who had knocked into another player, no. 21 would not be able to breakthrough their defense and be awarded the penalty. He did not want this penaltyto be scored. Everyone will pin the blame on him too.

Tan Limei, Zhuang Zhi, and Changjuan also move closer.

Zhuang Zhi asked: "Bing Zhi, have you played goalkeeper before?"

"Errr... No..." Dong Xuebing was also not very confident.

Tan Limei stared at him and shouted: "You have never playedas a goalkeeper? Then why did you volunteer? Are you crazy?"

Changjuan added: "That's right. It is not easy to be agoalkeeper. Did you even see how that no. 21 play? He is on a different level!"

Dong Xuebinng also knew about this. But he does not want tomiss this opportunity.

"Hurry up! Stop wasting time!"

"Hurry up! We are waiting for more than 10 minutes!"

"Are we still playing?"

Chaoyang District Bureau team shouted impatiently.

The referee points at the goal post, indicating Dong Xuebingto get over there immediately.

Seeing that they could not change Dong Xuebing's mind, TanLimei, Changjuan and the rest walked off the pitch. "Bing Zhi! Just dive withall your might!"

Zhuang Zhi also cheered: "Bing Zhi! You can do it!"

But other than the few colleagues from the General AffairsOffice, no one cheered for Dong Xuebing. All of them were listless. It was asif they had already lost the match.

Dong Xuebing was pissed. Damn! How come no one else cheeredfor me? Do I look like a loser?

In front of the goal post, Dong Xuebing stretched both hisarms out. He was trying to imitate the professional goalkeepers he watched fromthe English Premier League on TV. He was jumping lightly and waving his arms.After some simple warmup, he stood on the line and bend forward slightly. He wasstaring at no. 21.

No. 21 had placed the ball on the spot and had moved a fewsteps back.

Beep! The referee blew his whistle, signaling them to start.

Everyone was watching quietly.

It was tense. Dong Xuebing swallowed his saliva and prayedin his heart. Please shoot off target! Please kick the ball over the post!

Ta... Ta... Ta... No. 21 had started his run up to the ball!

1 step...

5 steps...

10 steps...

Dong Xuebing was concentrating on the ball. It's here!

Bang!

No. 21 kicked the ball, and the ball was curved towards thetop left corner!

Dong Xuebing did not gamble by choosing a direction to dive.He waited until after the ball was kicked and made an ugly save attempt.

"Ah!" Dong Xuebing shouted as he jumped and stretched out hishand!

But before his arm was fully stretched, Zoom! The ballentered the net!

It was a goal!

It was a beautiful goal... Maybe even a professionalgoalkeeper could not save it!

It was curved, and the ball had entered at an angle.

"Yay!!!! We won!!!"

"Hahahaha! 1:0!"

Beep, beeeeeep, beeeep! The referee blew the full-timewhistle!

Xu Yan and everyone from the western district was pale. 7losses in a row! Shame!

Dong Xuebing took a few deep breaths and was deep inthoughts. Seems like it was impossible for him to miss this penalty. He was outstanding!

2 seconds later, Dong Xuebing had a firm look in his eyes."BACK!"

...

The scenes changed! The cheers were gone!

It was dead silent.

Almost 90% of the people in the stadium felt it wasimpossible for Dong Xuebing to save this penalty kick. But Xu Yan and everyonefrom the Western District was looking at Dong Xuebing nervously.

Beep! The referee blew his whistle, signaling them to start.

1 second...

2 seconds...

No. 21 looked at Dong Xuebing and thought in his heart. Ihad been playing since young and had got into the youth team. I am still practicingnow. No one in this City Public Security can match my skills. If you allswitched to a tall and big size goalkeeper, you all might still have a chanceto save it. But this goalkeeper is short and small in size. How can he block myshot?! Are you all looking down on me?!

Dong Xuebing did not move an inch. He was still in the sameposition as before. He was worried that if he made any movements, that No. 21would kick the ball to another direction.

No. 21 took his eyes off Dong Xuebing and slowly ran up tothe ball.

1 step...

2 steps...

3 steps...

No. 21 was getter closer and closer to the ball!

Bang!

No. 21 gave a hard kick!

The ball flew towards the goalpost. No. 21 and the rest ofChaoyang District team were relieved. There was no mistake! No one would beable to save this ball! No even professional players!

Xu Yan and the Western District team were shocked. That'sit!

But when everyone felt the ball was surely a goal, theyrealized Dong Xuebing was no longer in his previous spot. He had moved beforethe kick. No. 21, Xu Yan and everyone else stared disbelievingly. Xiao Dongseems to be able to know the direction of the ball. Dong Xuebing did not have abit of hesitation and stretched out both his arms and dived towards the topleft corner of the goalpost!

Dong!!!

The ball hit Dong Xuebing's gloves!

The ball was stopped by Dong Xuebing and dropped onto theground!

Dong Xuebing shouted and dived again to stop and hug theball tightly under his body. He did not give the other team any chances toshoot again!

Saved!

The penalty kick was saved!

Guo Shunjie, Tan Limei, and Changjuan could not believetheir eyes!

No. 21 was standing there in a daze. Cannot be... How come heknows I am aiming for the top left corner?

The whole stadium was dead quiet for a moment. Xu Yan wasthe first to recover from the shock. She shouted: "Terrific! What a terrificsave!"

"Good diving save! Hahahaha! He saved that penalty kick!"

"Xiao Dong! You are the best!"

"Yay!!!!!!"

The Western District Team were celebrating!

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Power and WealthChapter 56 – Must win!

Beep, beeeeeep, beeeep!

It was the fulltime whistle!

0:0. It was a draw!

Dong Xuebing released the ball in his arms and supportedhimself up with both arms. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and panted. Tothe spectators, it was a great save. But only Dong Xuebing knew how close itwas. He nearly couldn't reach it. Luckily his fingertips on his left hand andhis right thumb touched the ball and stopped it.

It was really a close shave!

He was lucky to save it!

The Chaoyang team lowered their heads in despair. TheWestern District team and its supporters were cheering at the top of theirvoices!

"Bing Zhi!" The tall and fat Zhuang Zhi ran over. "Youreally did it!"

A player which Dong Xuebing does not know gave him a thumbsup. "It was a perfect save! If we know you are so good, we should have let yoube our goalkeeper in the past few matches! This way, we will not lose 6 gamesin a row!"

Tan Limei also shouted in her high-pitched voice: "Bing Zhi!You are terrific! You can even save that ball! You are the best!"

Changjuan only shouted: "Terrific!"

All the players crowded around Dong Xuebing to thank him.

Guo Shunjie saw Dong Xuebing had saved the day again and wasspeechless. That ball was aimed for the top left corner. How did Dong Xuebingblock it so easily? This Dong Xuebing was really lucky.

Eastern District's Xu Yan saw they did not lose the matchand she shook her head and walk away.

Chief Xu smiled as she looked at her back view. She walkedover to Dong Xuebing. "You did well! It was a nice save!"

Dong Xuebing immediately replied: "Thank you. It is allluck." Hahaha. I finally have the chance to impress Xu Yan. Her impression ofme should improve.

"Xiao Dong, don't be humble." Li Qing was full of smiles."You are our hero today. Without you, our team will lose!"

Actually, Xu Yan had heard of a capable newbie from the GeneralAffairs Office last month. She heard about Dong Xuebing from Deputy BureauChief Yang Yizhong. Later, she heard that it was that newbie who risked hislife to enter a burning office to retrieve some important documents. But shehad been swamped and did not have the time to meet this newbie. She only knewXiao Dong was that newbie just now. Xu Yan looked at Dong Xuebing closely andnodded. Dong Xuebing really deserved the nickname "Firefighter." He could evensave that penalty kick.

On the bus back, everyone was still talking about the matchexcitedly.

In the last row of the bus, Xu Yan asked Dong Xuebing to sitbeside her. "I heard from Director Li that you had just been discharged fromthe hospital and is not fully recovered yet. Can you play in tomorrow's match?I am thinking of letting you be our first-choice goalkeeper. I think the restof the players will agree to this."

"Huh?" Dong Xuebing was shocked. Damn!

Xu Yan asked with a stern look: "What's wrong? You cannotplay?"

Dong Xuebing knew how good he was at soccer. He was able tosave the penalty kick because of his power BACK. He can't use his power for theentire match. He can't imagine what would happen if he were to play the whole game.He was only able to take advantage of his powers within a minute. Heimmediately explained. "Chief Xu, I'm sorry. The doctors told me to avoidstrenuous exercise for some time. I don't think I will be able to play the fullmatch. Errr... How about this? If there is a penalty or some free kicks in adangerous position, substitute me in."

Xu Yan thought for a while: "Fine."

Dong Xuebing sighed with relieved.

After that, Xue Yan took out her pen and start scribbling onher notebook. She seems to be planning for tomorrow's tactics.

Xu Yan had influence over who to take over the role ofDeputy Chief of the General Affairs Office. These few days, Guo Shunjie hadtried to be closer to her but was unsuccessful. When he saw Dong Xuebingsitting beside her, he was furious. Guo Shunjie had made plans to get rid ofDong Xuebing once District Political Commissar Zhou helped him get theposition. He must get rid of him at all cost!

Dong Xuebing also noticed Guo Shunjie staring at him. Hefelt uncomfortable.

Dong Xuebing would rather offend a gentleman than to offenda villain. This Guo Shunjie must be up to no good!

No! He must not be the Deputy Chief! I must work harder toget the position!

Soon, the bus enters the Western District Branch Bureau'smain gates, and everyone starts to alight. It was after working hours, andthere were no one around.

Xu Yan was the last to alight from the bus. She stood therelooking at all the players. "Thankfully Xiao Dong was able to save that penaltykick today, and we can end our 6 matches losing streak. But remember this. Westill have not won a match for 7 matches. We are the last team of thetournament. Don't you all feel embarrassed?"

Guo Shunjie wanted to voice out that they were embarrassed.But the team was not strong enough.

Xu Yan continued with a cold look on her face. "Today, Iwant all of you to go back and have a good rest. At the same time, reflect onthe reason why we can't win a single match. Tomorrow is the last match of thetournament. I don't want to see us getting a draw or lose. Tomorrow we will befacing Eastern District. We must win! We will show them how good the WesternDistrict is! Are you all confident of getting a win tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"... Yes."

The players replied weakly.

"I can't hear you!" Xu Yan shouted. "Are you all confident?"

"Yes!" This time, the players' replies were louder.

"Good. Dismiss!" Xu Yan was acting like a coach.

Actually, the players who knew the insider information knewwhy Xu Yan was so serious. The opponent tomorrow was Xu Yan's long-time rival,Deputy District Political Commissar Xu. No matter whether it was officially orprivately, Xu Yan does not want to lose to Deputy District Political CommissarXu.

On the way home, Dong Xuebing was thinking about the day'sevent.

He had left a good impression with Xu Yan. But it was notenough. She would not help him get the position of Deputy Chief over such atrivial matter. If he wants Xu Yan to help him, he must do something moresignificant and will mean a lot to her. But what should he do? Eh? Tomorrow'smatch is significant to Xu Yan and the Western District team! 7 games without asingle win?! No one will want that result! This is a must win the match! Then...what should Dong Xuebing do to perform and let Xu Yan be grateful to him?

That's right!

Must make use of this opportunity to get closer with theleaders! This way, Guo Shunjie will not be promoted!

Penalty! Let tomorrow's match have a penalty!

I pray for a chance to save a penalty kick again tomorrow!

Tomorrow's match is critical!

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Power and WealthChapter 57 – We are losing?

Next day.

Yuetan Stadium.

The air in the stadium was tense. It was the calm before thestorm. Deputy Bureau Chief Xu Yan lead the Western District team into thestadium from the side gates. Across the field, the eastern district team, intheir red jersey, were doing their warm up. Xu Yan had a stern look on herface. She looked at every player on her team. "I will repeat this once more! Weaim to win! Do your best out there! Don't embarrass the Western Districtbranch!"

"Yes!"

Today's match was crucial, and many people from the branchbureaus were there to support their team. Tan Limei, Changjuan, and even OldYan were there. Guo Panwei and Zhuang Zhi were in the starting line up asusual. Maybe it was because Xiao Gao and another regular player were injured inyesterday's match, Guo Shunjie was in the starting line-up. The players tookoff their jackets and started their warm up on the field. Dong Xuebing and twoother reserves were standing behind Xu Yan and Li Qing, facing the field.

Deputy District Political Commissar Xu was standing about 10meters away from Dong Xuebing and the rest.

Deputy Chief Xu Yan stared at Deputy District PoliticalCommissar Xu coldly.

Deputy District Political Commissar Xu turned and smiled atXu Yan. "If your team prepared to lose?"

Xu Yan frowned. "This is the question I wanted to ask you."

"Hahaha, where did you get your confidence from?"

Deputy District Political Commissar Xu should have given herteam orders to win at all cost. The spectators could feel the tension betweenboth teams before the start of the match. The referee was still the samereferee from yesterday's match. When both sides were ready and in position, heblew the whistle to start the game.

The Eastern District Team kick off, and they immediatelybroke through the midfield defense.

Commissar Xu shouted loudly: "Attack! Put pressure on them!"

The Eastern District players were rushing forward. They didnot even care about their defense. Bang! A misjudged pass was intercepted byWestern District player from the branch's Commission for Discipline Inspection.But before his teammates could counter-attack, a boot with the studs facing himcame rushing towards him. He got a shock and quickly avoided that player. Inthe end, he lost control of the ball, and the Eastern District team got theball back.

The match was exciting.

Dong Xuebing clenched his fist and prayed silently in hisheart. Please have a foul or penalty kick. Huh? He suddenly felt bad. All histeammates and leaders wished for a win, but he was praying for his team to bein trouble. If anyone from the Western District knows what he was thinking, hewould surely be beaten up.

Beep!!! The referee blew the whistle for a foul.

Dong Xuebing look up and saw Zhuang Zhi on the ground,holding his feet and shouting in pain. A player was standing beside him withhis palms facing up, talking to the referee. The referee looked at Zhuang Zhi'scondition and hesitated for a few seconds before showing a yellow card to theother player.

Xu Yan was pissed. "That is dangerous play! That kick isabove waist level! Why is that only a yellow card?!"

Dong Xuebing skipped a heartbeat when he saw Zhuang Zhicould not get up on his feet. He immediately ran over with a reserve playerwith the first aid kit. They sprayed some medicine on Zhuang Zhi's leg. "ZhuangZhi! How bad is your injury?" Dong Xuebing knew Zhuang Zhi well. He was not thetype who would feign injury. He must be really in pain from his facialexpression.

Zhuang Zhi gritted his teeth and shook his head: "Ahhh... I... Can't carry on with the match..."

"It's okay. I will help you off the field." Dong Xuebinghelped support Zhang Zhi to the sidelines. The other reserve player made somegesture to Xu Yan.

Xu Yan stared at the referee with a long face.

The Western District players were unhappy with the referee'sdecision. They crowded around the referee: "He is not aiming for the ball! Heis aiming for his legs!"

"Red card! He should be sent off!"

Commissar Xu looked at Xu Yan and said: "I think it is yourplayer who is diving."

Damn! Feng Yu was furious.

The tempers were rising. It was only 5 minutes into the game,and there was 4 dangerous play by the opposing team. If this were not instructionsfrom Commissar Xu, the players would not dare to be so aggressive. Even theWorld Cup finals matches were not so rough, let alone a friendly match betweentwo government branches! This type of play was explicitly targeting the WesternDistrict team and Xu Yan!

Tan Limei ran over and took the medical spray from DongXuebing. She continued to spray the medicine on Zhuang Zhi's injured leg. Shewas almost in tears.

Dong Xuebing was furious. He glanced at the smiling, CommissarXu I will remember this!

In the end, the reserve player who went on the field withDong Xuebing earlier replaced Zhuang Zhi. After this incident, the WesternDistrict players became more aggressive in their play. Curses and swears couldbe heard throughout the match. They no longer care if leaders were watching thegame.

10 minutes...

20 minutes...

The Eastern District players were still tackling frombehind, aiming for the players' legs. They did not care even if they will getyellow cards or got sent off.

"Ahhhhh!!!!!"

When the first half of the match was about to end, there wasa horrible shriek!

Eastern District team's no, 13 had elbowed one of theWestern District players in the back when they were fighting for the ball. TheWestern District player was sent flying on the pitch and could no longer get upon his feet!

The referee could not see what happened from his position,and he just awarded a foul. There were no yellow cards.

Dong Xuebing and many others saw what happened. Everyoneshouted: "That's a red card!"

The Western District players surrounded the referee: "He hadelbowed him!"

"Are you blind? You did not see what happened?"

The referee stick to his decision and even showed the yellowcard to the player who scolded him!

Xu Yan had a terrible expression on her face. But sheremembered yesterday's phone call from her higher-up, asking her to think ofthe big picture. She took a deep breath and said: "Stop it and carry on withthe match!"

The first half was over. The Western District team got ayellow card, and the Eastern District Team got 4. The score was still 0:0/

During the half time break, a player from the PublicSecurity Sixth Bureau shouted: "Leader, they are playing dirty. Can this evenbe considered a football match?"

Another player complaint. "The referee is siding with them!There is no way we can win!"

Xu Yan frowning and not saying a word. She was also furiousby the actions of the opposing team. She suspects Commissar Xu did not want awin from this match. She was only aiming for a draw and wanted the WesternDistrict team to have zero wins from 8 games. She might also be trying to getthe Western District team to use up all their reserve players. This way, theWestern District team will have to play with lesser players!

Because of injuries, the Western District team only have 3reserve players today. Dong Xuebing was the reserve goalkeeper. With theinjured player injured substituted out before halftime, the Western Districtteam does not have any more reserve players except for Dong Xuebing. If therewere still players injured in the second half, goalkeeper Dong Xuebing mighthave to go on the pitch to play. A goalkeeper playing as a defender or astriker?

We are losing?!

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Power and WealthChapter 58 – I will play!

The second half of the match started.

The Eastern District continued with their tactics. Otherthan those players who got yellow cards were played cautiously, the rest of theplayers were playing "dirty." Both sides were attacking. When the WesternDistrict players threaten them, the Eastern District players will purposelyfoul them. They pushed, tackled, pulled, and even hugged. They will do whateverit takes to stop the Western District from scoring a goal.

The Western District players were not playing to their usualstandards. Xu Yan, Dong Xuebing and the rest of their supporters were vexed!

Because her boyfriend was injured, Tan Limei was supportingher team angrily. "Western District! Go for it!" Changjuan and a few othergirls from the Finance Department were also cheering for their team. When theopposing team played dirty, they will curse and swear at that player.

15 minutes...

30 minutes...

There was no progress in the match. The score was still 0:0.

Will this game ended in a draw? That will be zero wins in 8games!

Dong Xuebing was no longer hoping for the other team to beawarded a penalty kick. Even if he had saved the penalty kick, the match wouldstill end in a draw. He was pissed by the Eastern District team and Deputy PoliticalCommissar Xu. He was hoping for a win.

Finally, in the last two minutes of the match, anopportunity arises for the Western District team!

Guo Panwei was long pass from the midfield had touched anopposing team player, and the ball fell in front of their team's striker. Noplayers were guarding him, and that striker turned and ran with the balltowards the goal.

Xu Yan jolt up and shouted: "Everyone goes forward andsupports him! Press forward!"

The Eastern District team's defense line had been moved upthe field, and the striker only has to face a defender. If he gets past thisdefender, he might score the winning goal!

The Western District team saw a glimpse of hope and rushedforward to provide support!

At the same time, Political Commissar Xu also shouted. "Stophim! Don't let him through!" The defender heard her orders and increase hisspeed. The small size striker moved the ball slightly to his left and wanted toget past the defender. But that defender ignored the ball and went straight forthe striker!

Crash! The defender crashed into the striker!

The striker fell onto the ground and was rolling in pain.

Beep! Beep! The referee showed a yellow card and gave a freekick to the Western District team.

Yellow card and a free kick? If the striker gets past thedefender, it will be a goal!

Li Qing ran onto the pitch to check the striker's injuries.Seeing that he could no longer continue with the match, the Western DistrictTeam went into a rage!

"Fuck! I quit!" A player from the Finance Department tookoff his jersey and threw it on the floor!

Guo Panwei shouted furiously: "Shouldn't this be a redcard?!"

"You did it on purpose!" Two players from the PoliticalSection shoved that defender.

The Eastern District team players also ran over, and bothsides started arguing. The situation was getting out of control!

Maybe it was because this was the last match of thetournament, two leaders from the City Bureau entered the stadium through one ofthe side gates. They should be there to watch the game. But when they saw whatwas happening on the pitch, they immediately shouted: "What's going on? Whatare you all doing?"

Most of the players recognized the leaders, and thearguments stopped.

The leader with a small mustache looked over at the reservebench: "Xu Yan (Deputy Branch Bureau Chief Xu),Xu Yan (Deputy Political Commissar Xu),is this the way you all lead your teams? Look at them!" He pointed at theplayers. "Is this the way your players should act?"

Deputy Political Commissar Xu tried to push the blame:"Director Li, it is Chief Xu's team that is unhappy with the referee decision."

Xu Yan was furious. She immediately tried to argue:"Director Lu! The Eastern District team..."

"Shut up!" Director Lu ignored her. "I don't care what happened!I just want to know if this match can continue?"

Xu Yan paused for a few seconds and replied: "Yes!"

Director Lu waved his hand and said: "Hurry up and carry onwith the match!" He was no longer in the mood to watch the match. He turned andwalked out of the stadium with the other leader.

Deputy Political Commissar Xu smiled and looked at Xu Yan."Chief Xu, you should substitute your player."

Li Qing was furious at Deputy Political Commissar Xu, butshe was higher ranked than him, and he cannot show his anger. He can onlyshout: "Change player! I want a striker!" But the Western District supporterswere all women and middle-aged men. Dong Xuebing was the only reserve playerleft. There were no strikers to replace the injured player.

Xu Yan knew it was impossible to win today's match.

Ring, ring, ring... Xu Yan's mobile phone rang. She let LiQing take over and walked to the reserve bench to answer her phone. It was herex-husband, and also Deputy Political Commissar Xu's current husband. Xu Yanfrowned and answered. "Hello, what do you want?"

A man asked in a deep voice. "Where is my son?"

Xu Yan replied: "At home playing video games."

"Why are you letting him play video games again? I knew hewill be wasting his time when he goes over to your place!" The man growled. "Iwill be finishing my work early today and will fetch my son from your place.Tomorrow is Xu Yan's birthday, and he said he wanted to celebrate her birthdaywith her last week. He will not be staying with you this week. We shall talkagain next month."

Xu Yan tightens her grip on her phone: "What is the meaningof this? Our son must live with me for a week every month. This is what weagreed before we divorced! Why are you fetching him away after one day?"

"Didn't I said it is Xu Yan's birthday? Our son had agreed!"

"What has her birthday got to do with my son?"

"I don't want to argue with you! I will bring my son backlater! That's it!"

"You..." Xu Yan's ex-husband had hung up the phone. Xu Yanalmost threw her phone on the floor out of anger. Suddenly she swayed andknocked onto a pillar. She almost fell.

Dong Xuebing had been looking at Xu Yan and immediately ranover to help her. "Chief Xu, are you ok?"

Xu Yan did not reply and took out a half tablet of highblood pressure medicine from her bag. She swallowed the pill with some waterand sat there panting. Since the day Xu Yan (Deputy Political Commissar Xu)appeared, her life was turned upside down. Her husband was taken away from her,her family was taken away from her. Now, her son will be taken away from her.She got nothing left! All she had left was anger!

Before this match, Chief Xu wanted to win badly. But now...she could not even fulfill such a small wish!

This incident had wasted some time, and there was only lessthan 1 minute on the clock. No players on the pitch could score a goal, andthere were no players to substitute. Is there anything worse than this?

Xu Yan felt needleswere poking her heart when she saw the gloating Deputy Political Commissar Xusmiling at her.

Defeat!

She was defeated by Deputy Political Commissar Xu again!

Xu Yan laughed at herself and lean back on her chair.

Dong Xuebing could feel Xu Yan's helplessness feelings. Hecould not stand there and do nothing. He clenched his fist and said: "Chief Xu!Let me play!"

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Power and WealthChapter 59 – A Miraculous goal!

Xu Yan was very calm. She turned and looked Dong Xuebingslowly. "You play?"

Dong Xuebing nodded. "Yes."

"You are good at goalkeeping." Li Qing frowned. "Strikersand goalkeepers are very different positions!"

Xu Yan had already given up on winning this match. She wavedher hand. "Forget it. There is only 1 minute on the clock. No matter how weplay, we will not win. You have just been discharged from the hospital. Didn'tthe doctors tell you not to do strenuous sports? The Eastern District playersare too rough. What if you get injured again? There is no need for you to takethe risk." Xu Yan sighed. "Director Li, tell the referee that we will notchange players. We will carry on with 10 men."

Dong Xuebing stubbornly insist: "Chief Xu! Please let meplay!"

Li Qing scolded. "Xiao Dong! We are doing this for your owngood!"

Xu Yan looked at Dong Xuebing's determined look. Shehesitated and said: "Just be careful."

"Yes!" Dong Xuebing turned and ran onto the pitch.

The referee announced there was one minute of injury timeand blew the whistle. The Western District players saw Dong Xuebing, who hadjust been discharged from the hospital and was the reserve goalkeeper replacingtheir injured striker, they lost confidence. Tan Limei, Changjuan, and the restof the supporters stop their cheering. They watched the match silently. Theyhad lost hopes for winning. Their district will be known as the district withzero wins from 8 games.

59 seconds remaining...

55 seconds remaining...

The player taking the freekick was big sized. He ran up tothe ball and aimed straight at the goal.

But it was too far, and the player was not skillful enough.The ball hit Guo Shunjie's chest which was beside the wall and rolled to thefeet of the opposing team player!

Political Commissar Xu shouts: "Attack! This is the finalchance!"

49 Seconds remaining...

The best defense was to attack. The Eastern District playersdid not hide in their own half. All of them rushed forward. With a series ofshort passes, they moved towards the Western District penalty box.

28 Seconds remaining...

The Western District players were running back to defend atfull speed.

Dong Xuebing did not join the rest to defend. As thestriker, he can only wait at the center of the field waiting for his teammatesto pass him the ball. Come on! Get the ball back!

The Eastern District player who had injured Zhuang Zhisuddenly shot at the goal!

Bang! The ball hit one of the defenders and deflected tofeet of the Western District player from Commission for Discipline Inspection!

15 seconds remaining...

Political Commissar Xu screams at her players. "There is nomore time! Stop him from passing!"

Two nearby Eastern District players immediately charged athim and one of them, a midfielder, managed to steal the ball away from him!

There were only 11 seconds left!

That's it! It's the end of the match!

The Eastern District players stop attacking, and the WesternDistrict players also gave up hope of winning.

10 seconds remaining...

9 seconds remaining...

The Eastern District midfielder managed to dodge Guo Panweiand another player's tackle and kicked the ball back to his own half. But heused slightly more strength, and the ball flew over the last two defenders and landedoutside the penalty box.

That was not important as there was no more time.

5 seconds remaining...

4 seconds...

The ball bounced twice and went out of play.

The referee looked at his watch and did not award the throwin. He blew the full-time whistle!

That's it. No wins in 8 matches!

Xu Yan laughed at herself and walk off with her bag. TheWestern District players were walking off the pitch, disappointed. The playersdid not even shake the other team players' hands as they walk away.

The only person that was behaving differently was DongXuebing. He was deep in thoughts as he stared at the other team's penalty box.

After a while, Dong Xuebing's eyes brighten up!

BACK!!!

...

There were shouts and sounds coming from everywhere!

The next moment, Dong Xuebing saw the Eastern Districtmidfielder stole the ball!

There were only 10 seconds left!

The opposing team players were smiling, and after dodgingGuo Panwei and another player's attempt to get the ball back, the EasternDistrict midfielder laughed and kicked the ball back to his half. He wanted towaste the remaining few seconds. The moment he kicked the ball, the playersfrom both teams knew that was the end of the match. No one wanted to run afterthe ball and were standing there waiting for the referee to blow the whistle!

But something unexpected happened!

"Ah! Look!"

"Damn! Who is that?"

Everyone realized that a few seconds before the ball waskicked, a player from the Western District started running!

It was Dong Xuebing!

The moment that midfielder kicked the ball, Dong Xuebing ranpast the last two defenders! To everyone's surprise, the outstanding goalkeeperfrom yesterday's match seems to know where the ball was heading and where itwill land! Dong Xuebing did not even look at the ball and continued runningtowards the area two meters outside of the penalty box. 1 meter! 2 meters! 3meters!

There were 6 seconds left!

Everyone was staring in shock. The ball amazingly landed atthat spot!

The ball accurately landed at Dong Xuebing's feet, and hestopped it.

Xu Yan jumped up from her seat!

One on one with the goalkeeper!

There were no defenders in front of Dong Xuebing! It wasonly the goalkeeper in front of him!

Dong Xuebing could hear the footsteps of the defendersapproaching from behind. He kept his cool and continue his run forward with theball!

There were only 3 seconds left!

The goalkeeper ran forward to stop Dong Xuebing!

Dong Xuebing tapped the ball lightly with his feet andchanged his direction!

1 second left!

Bang!

Dong Xuebing used all his strength to kick the ball with hisright foot!

The football brushed against the goalkeeper's left boots andcontinued flying towards the goal!

Dong Xuebing and all the rest of Western District playerscould feel their hearts skipped a beat. They stared at the ball nervously asthe ball flew towards the open goal. It was only 0.5 seconds, but it feels likean eternity.5 meters, 4 meters, 3meters, 2 meters. 1 meter! Swished! The ball entered the goal in the top rightcorner!

Goal!!!!!

A miraculous goal!!!!

The whole stadium was dead quiet. There was no cheers orshouts. It was eerily quiet!

1-second pass...

2 seconds pass...

3 seconds pass...

Xu Yan was the first to react. She dropped her bag on thefloor and shouted with all her might: "Goal!!!!!!!"

Dong Xuebing dropped on the ground, raised his arms, andshouted.

"We won?" The Western District players could not believetheir eyes!

"We won! We won the match!!!"

Then... the whole stadium cheered!

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Power and WealthChapter 60 – Save the day again!

This miraculous goal took only 10 seconds.

Many of the Eastern District players were still basking inglory for completing Political Commissar Xu's orders when the goal was scored!

Fast! The goal was too fast for any of them to react!

The referee was the only person on the pitch who saw thewhole process.

Dong Xuebing had left a deep impression with the refereefrom yesterday's match. When Dong Xuebing came onto the pitch in this match,the referee was still laughing in his heart. A goalkeeper playing as a striker?What nonsense is this? But the referee knew that the Western District had nomore reserves and he couldn't care less. The match was about to end too. He hadalready placed the whistle in his mouth and prepared to end the game. But whenhe was about to blow the whistle, he saw Dong Xuebing started to run towardsthe penalty box on the other end of the field. The referee was curious aboutwhat was he doing.

The next moment, an unexplained situation happened.

The Eastern District midfielder kicked the ball back to hishalf without even looking back!

This was more than a stroke of luck. The referee evensuspects that midfielder was in cahoots with Dong Xuebing. The referee sworethat the midfielder's long pass back was after Dong Xuebing started running.There were no indications that he will pass the ball back. He just turnedaround suddenly and kicked the ball back towards Dong Xuebing's direction. Theball landed perfectly at Dong Xuebing's feet. What a coincidence! He could notunderstand how Dong Xuebing did it. It seems impossible!

After the goal was scored, the referee was stunned. He stoodthere for almost 5 seconds, before blowing the full-time whistle!

The referee wondered who this person was. It was toounbelievable!

1:0. Western District Branch Bureau won the game!

At the stands, Tan Limei grabbed Zhuang Zhi and Changjuan'shands. "Damn! Am I dreaming? We won? We really won this match!?"

Old Yan, who does not like football, was also excited. "OurXiao Dong is excellent!"

Cheers! Screams! Shouts!

The stadium was in an uproar!

Xu Yan, Li Qing and the rest of Western District supportersran onto the pitch!

All the Western District players had already surrounded DongXuebing. "Xiao Dong! You are terrific!"

The player from the bureau's Commission for DisciplineInspection: "I swear that goal was the most beautiful goal I saw in my life!"

A tall player from the Political Section asked: "When didyou run over there? It's too fast! The goal was scored before I can evenreact!"

"It's only a coincidence." Dong Xuebing smiled and stood up.

"Brothers!" A defender from Public Security Sixth Bureauclapped his hands. "Let's have a celebration!"

"Hahaha! Sure!"

"That's what I am thinking too!"

All the players turned and looked at Dong Xuebing. BeforeDong Xuebing realized what was happening, 7 to 8 players grabbed him and threwhim up in the air. "Yeah!" The players caught him as he lands and then threw himup in the air again. "Yeah!" this continued for 5 to 6 times. Before DongXuebing got back on his feet, he noticed his boots were lost!

Dong Xuebing was overjoyed when he saw his teammates sohappy. He finally got the revenge for Deputy Branch Bureau Chief Xu and ZhuangZhi!

"Let him down!" XuYan walked quickly towards them. "Xiao Dong has just been discharged from thehospital and is not fully recovered!"

The players remembered this and quickly put down DongXuebing. They were even more impressed with Dong Xuebing. That's right. XiaoDong got injured when he ran into the burning office to retrieve documents. Butbefore he recovered from his injuries, he managed to save a penalty kick andscored the winning goal in the last few seconds of today's match.

No wonder his nickname was "firefighter!"

He really deserves this nickname! Whenever there aredifficulties, he will be there to save the day!

Dong Xuebing stood at attention in front of the twoapproaching leaders. "Chief Xu, Director Li!"

Li Qing had a wide grin on his face: "You did not disappointeveryone of us! Good! Good!"

Xu Yan did not say anything, but from her eyes, everyonecould tell that she was overjoyed.

The other side of the field, the Eastern District playerswere looking down in despair. Deputy District Political Commissar Xu faced wasred with anger. She pointed to the midfielder who gave away that goal andscolded. "What the hell are you doing? There are only seconds away from the endof the match, and you make this stupid mistake? What did I say before thematch? Ah? Are eyes behind your head? No? Then why did you kick the ball back?Why didn't you check if the coast is clear before you pass the ball? You all!What are the rest of you doing? Don't you understand what is one on onemarking? Did you all mark him?"

The midfielder and the rest of the players bowed their head.There was no way to retort. They were also frustrated by the score. It wasalmost the end of the match, and a reserve goalkeeper scored the winning goal?This sounded like a joke. But this was the truth, and it was still a beautifulgoal!

Political Commissar Xu was still not satisfied. Shecontinued scolding her players.

Xu Yan looked over at the other team. She felt relieved. Shehad finally vented the frustrations she kept in her heart for years.

"All of you have done well. Go back and have a good rest.Work is as usual tomorrow!" Xu Yan said. As she turned and walked past DongXuebing, she said softly: "Thank you..."

But Xu Yan was too soft, and Dong Xuebing did not hear it."Ah? What did you say?"

Xu Yan's expression returned to her usual no-nonsense,serious expression. She patted Dong Xuebing's shoulders and walked out of thestadium with Li Qing. Behind them, the players and supporters crowded aroundDong Xuebing.

Only Guo Shunjie stood away from Dong Xuebing. He waslooking terrible. He also wishes for his team to win, but he did not want DongXuebing to score the goal. If it was like this, he rather lost the match.Seeing Dong Xuebing was the center of attraction, he was pissed! Why was thisguy so lucky? This happens every time. When will his good luck end?

After today, Dong Xuebing's nickname "Firefighter" spread toevery office in the Western District Branch Bureau!

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Power and WealthChapter 61 – Xu Yan Strategy, Success!

The next day.

"Xuebing, you are here?"

"Xiao Dong, you did well yesterday."

"Oh, it's the firefighter. Hahaha."

Dong Xuebing arrived at his workplace as usual. But todaywas different. The biggest difference was many colleagues from otherdepartments went up to him to greet him. Some of them were his teammates whohad played in the last two matches, and some were strangers. Everyone smiledand greeted him.

Dong Xuebing replied them politely. He felt he hadsuccessfully integrated with everyone in the bureau.

Dong Xuebing arrived at the General Affairs Office. "Goodmorning, everyone. Zhuang Zhi, how's your leg?"

Zhuang Zhi nodded. "I feel better this morning."

"His body is so big. How can his injury be serious?" TanLimei laughed and looked at Dong Xuebing. "Bing Zhi, I told my mother how youscored the goal in the last few seconds of the match. Guess what. My mum does notbelieve me. She insists I am telling lies. She even said that if you are sogood at football, why are you still a civil servant? You would be aprofessional player!"

Dong Xuebing laughed. His goal was to be a top official. Afootball player is nothing compared to a senior government official.

The other side of the office, Changjuan with her signatureseductive smile, showed a crayon painting to Dong Xuebing. It was a picture ofa man and a football. "My son drew this. He said he wanted to be a footballerwhen he grows up. Hehe... Xiao Dong, when my son is older, you must teach himhow to play football."

Dong Xuebing replied: "Sister Chang, I am an average playermyself. If you don't mind me teaching, I'm fine with it."

Changjuan laughed: "Look, he is modest."

The office door opened. Guo Shunjie entered the office andsaw Dong Xuebing and the rest chatting. He frowned and asked: "Where is GuoPanwei? Why is he not in the office?"

Dong Xuebing cursed in his heart. You are not our leader,and what has it got to do with you when one of us is late?

Changjuan looked at her watch. "I don't know. Maybe he iscaught in a jam."

"He should leave for work earlier to avoid the traffic! Itis working hours now!"

When Guo Shunjie finished, there were footsteps outside, andGuo Panwei arrived at work. He glanced at Guo Shunjie and sneered. "Even if Iam late, you are in no position to reprimand me. Furthermore, you also justarrived yourself."

Guo Shunjie ignored his remarks. He thought to himself. Ishall see if you can continue to be so arrogant after next week's BranchBureau's Party Committee meeting! Fight with me for the position of DeputyChief? You are only overestimating yourself!

The remaining time in the office, both of them tried tooutdo each other!

It seems like no one knows that Dong Xuebing was nominatedfor the position of Deputy Chief yet.

Dong Xuebing thought to himself if Bureau Chief Yan hadforgotten about him. But after thinking for a while, he concluded. It should bethe higher-ups that knew about his nomination, and they should feel that it wasimpossible for a newcomer to be promoted. The nomination was only to make upthe numbers. That's why District Political Commissar Zhou and Director Pang didnot tell Guo Shunjie and Guo Panwei about his nomination. He was someone whocannot even qualify as their rivals.

Dong Xuebing was feeling frustrated. The meeting was nextweek, and he cannot wait any longer. If not, Guo Shunjie will be promoted, andhe will be taking revenge on him! What should he do? Ask Xu Yan for help? Whatif Xu Yan refuses to help him? He also cannot tell Xu Yan what he wantsdirectly. Furthermore, he had just gotten closer to Xu Yan, and the next day,he goes and asks her for favors? What will she think? But if he did not ask forXu Yan for help, how would she know that he wants to be the Deputy Chief?

Dilemma. This was a dilemma!

Dong Xuebing was just a newbie civil servant, and all thesewere new to him. He still does not have the experience and doesn't know what todo. He wanted to ask someone for advice. But he cannot ask Tan Limei. She istoo junior. Changjuan and Old Yan were experienced, but they were not close. Hecan't ask them.

Dong Xuebing ponder at his desk for over an hour. He couldnot think of a solution.

Ring, ring, ring. The General Affairs Office phone rang.

Tan Limei answered the phone politely and hang up after awhile. She turned to Dong Xuebing: "Bing Zhi, Chief Xu wants to bring the keysfor Political Section Old Shen's room to her."

Dong Xuebing's heart skipped a beat: "Where are the keys?"

"Wait a minute. I will look for it." Tan Limei took her keysand opened a cabinet by the wall. She looked into the second drawer and tookout a brown envelope. She passed the envelope to Dong Xuebing. There were atleast two to three brunches of keys in it.

On the way upstairs, Dong Xuebing tried to organize hiswords. He wanted to make himself sounds better.

Knock, knock. Dong Xuebing knocked on Deputy Bureau ChiefXu's office.

"Enter!" Dong Xuebing entered the office and saw Xu Yan in ablack suit sipping on a cup of tea. She was sitting in front of her monitor,looking at some reports.

Dong Xuebing handed over the envelope with both hands."Chief Xu, this are the keys you wanted."

Xu Yan nodded and pointed to her desk, signaling to DongXuebing to leave the envelope there. "You had run a lot yesterday. How are yourinjuries?"

Dong Xuebing replied. "Thank you for asking. I am fine."Should I ask her? Tomorrow is Saturday. If I don't ask now, I will not have thechance to ask again. "... Chief Xu, I..." Dong Xuebing saw Xu Yan looked at himand he immediately change his words. "Errr... Chief Liu from the FinanceDepartment is still on leave. The gifts given out for the National Day holidaysare still in our office. Should we bring it over to the Finance Departmentfirst?"

Damn! What was I saying? Stupid!

"No need. Just leave it in your office first."

"Yes." Dong Xuebing sighed in his heart. "I will leave now."

"Ok." Xu Yan suddenly remembered something as Dong Xuebingwas about to leave. "Oh, I heard from your Director Li Qing that other than GuoShunjie and Guo Panwei, you are also one of the nominees for the position ofDeputy Chief?"

Dong Xuebing was surprised.

But before he could answer, Xu Yan waved him off. "Go backto work. I will try to help you. But no promises."

Ah?

Dong Xuebing had been waiting for Xu Yan to say this!

He immediately thanked her!

Hahaha!

Dong Xuebing had gotten Xu Yan's crucial vote!

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Power and WealthChapter 62 – Deputy Branch Bureau Chiefs!

Noon.

Branch Bureau's cafeteria.

The lunch in the cafeteria was stir fry garlic pork and Scrambledeggs with chives. The air was filled with the cooking smell and was slightlychoking. After getting a bowl of rice, Dong Xuebing sat down with Tan Limei andZhuang Zhi at a table near to the window. The most crucial Xu Yan's vote wassettled. But it was too early to be happy. If no one else other than DeputyChief Xu helps him, he will also not be able to compete with Guo Shunjie andGuo Panwei.

The first step was a success. Who should I target next?

There were 4 more days to the meeting. Dong Xuebing mustmake full use of the remaining time to gather enough votes.

After lunch, they got back to the office. Dong Xuebing analyzethe situation. He has two targets in mind. One of them was lowly educatedDeputy Bureau Chief Zhong. He was also one of the party committee members andwas newly transferred to this branch. It seems that he still has not joined anyfactions in the bureau and was considered a "neutral" person. Dong Xuebing hadheard Chief Yang Yizhong had been objective and never take sides during thepast committee meetings. The other was Deputy Bureau, Chief Liu Hua. Hisconnection was with the Ministry of State Security. He was only transferred tothis branch temporarily. There were rumors that he will be transferred back ina few months. He is slightly younger and low profile. He had also not raisedany objections to any decisions during the committee meetings. He was almostinvisible during the meetings.

Yes. It's the both of them!

Dong Xuebing acted immediately. He pulled out his keyboardand start typing. He was writing the speech for Deputy Chief Yang for his nextmeeting. 3.05 pm. A simple and straight forward draft was completed. DongXuebing checked if there were any difficult characters in the draft beforeprinting. He took the printout and went upstairs.

"Didn't I ask Xiao Wang to go? Why are you going to?"

"Chief Yang, I..."

"Get Xiao Wang here immediately! What the hell are you alldoing?"

Deputy Branch Bureau Chief Yang's scolding could be heardalong the corridor. Dong Xuebing was not surprised and waited from a distance.He waited until a sullen staff member leaves the office. Dong Xuebingstraightened his collar and knocked on the door. "Chief Yang, the draft foryour speech is ready."

"Oh, it's Xiao Dong." Yang Yizhong attitude towards DongXuebing was much better. "I need the script for my speech next month. There isno hurry."

Dong Xuebing pushed the draft forward lightly. "Errr... I amafraid that the draft is not good enough and wanted to let you vet through itfirst. If you spot any mistakes, I will be able to amend it."

"The previous speech you wrote was perfect. Fine. Let metake a look." Yang Yizhong took out the few copies of A4 paper and scannedthrough it. "Hmmm... hmmm... Not bad." After a while, he nodded and kept thedraft in his drawer. "This is good enough. There is no need to amend anything.I will use this as my speech."

Dong Xuebing immediately said: "Then is there any otherdocuments or information you need?"

Yang Yizhong thought for a while. "Organise and bring me themeeting minute for the no. 3 meeting room. I need all the minutes from thesecond half of the year."

"Yes, sir. I will bring it to you before the end of theday."

Yang Yizhong laughed. "There is no hurry. Take your time.Oh, your General Affairs Office has two guys with the surname Guo... I can'tremember their names."

Dong Xuebing replied: "Are you referring to Guo Panwei andGuo Shunjie?"

"That's right. Those two guys." Yang Yizhong frowned. "Thismorning, I called your General Affairs Office to ask for some health promotiondata. One person is enough to send this data to me. But why after the firstperson left, another person delivered the same documents to me again? Both ofthem still tried to hang around in my office. What kind of efficiency is this?They are just wasting my time! You go back and tell them not to come over to myoffice again. You will be the one who will deliver documents or anything tome!"

Hahahaha! Serve them, right! Dong Xuebing almost burst outlaughing. "Yes, Sir."

Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie should not have told each otherthat they will bring the documents to Yang Yizhong. Both of them were eager toshow their faces to the leaders and caused this misunderstanding. There wereonly 3 candidates for the position of Deputy Chief. If Yang Yizhong was unhappywith the both of them, then he will surely support Dong Xuebing! After all,Yang Yizhong was pleased with his work performance after he accidentally foundout Yang Yizhong had low education levels. Dong Xuebing had used back that time,and Yang Yizhong did not even know Dong Xuebing knew his secret.

There should be no problem with Yang Yizhong's vote.

2 votes in hand!

The day ended.

Dong Xuebing packed up his things and prepared to go home.From his office window, he saw Deputy Chief Liu Hua. He was about 35 or 36years old and had a crewcut. He held his briefcase and walked slowly. He wasthe first person to finish work.

"Chief Liu, are you going back?" Yang Yizhong shouted. "Wantto have dinner together?"

Liu Hua turned and saw Yang Yizhong walking out of the greybuilding. He smiled: "Some other time. I have plans tonight."

Yang Yizhong was not surprised. They exchanged a few wordsand walked out of the compound.

In the office, after most people had left, Tan Limei laughedand said: "Chief Liu is still so low profile."

Zhuang Zhi asked: "How is he low profile?"

The two Guos had left, and Tan Limei spoke without hesitation."Are you stupid? Since the day Chief Liu was transferred to the branch 1 yearago, have you ever seen him having a meal with anyone? Have you seen Chief Liuhaving personal conversations with any other leaders? Every morning, afterChief Liu arrives at work, he will remain inside his office until it was timeto go home. He seldom leaves his office. He doesn't even take his lunch in thecafeteria."

Dong Xuebing was listening by the side.

"Also, Chief Liu had never said anything during the Branch BureauChiefs and Party Committee meetings. Whenever there was a redeployment ofmanpower and the Deputies needed to vote and express their views, he will justgive an abstention vote. Even when he was pointed out by Chief Yan, he wouldjust give some excuses. He was just here to pass his time and did not want toget involved in anything else." Tan Limei thought for a while and said: "He isalso not approachable like our Bureau Chief Yan. During festivals, he will notaccept any gifts. Not even a pen or a book."

Dong Xuebing was surprised. "Really?"

It was normal in government agencies for cigarettes andliquor to be given as gifts during festivals, and it was weird to see anyonerejecting gifts.

Tan Limei turned to Dong Xuebing angrily. "Yes! When I wasnew here, I brought a carton of cigarettes to Chief Liu's house as gifts duringChinese New Year. But Chief Liu doesn't even open his door for me to enter. Hejust told me to leave with my gifts and shut his door. I was so embarrassedthen. Sigh... Let's not talk about that."

Dong Xuebing nodded and pestered Tan Limei to tell him ChiefLiu's address. After he got the address, he returned home.

Dong Xuebing knew that Liu Hua was unapproachable, but hecannot afford to miss this opportunity.

No matter what, Dong Xuebing must pay a visit to Liu Huathis evening.

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Power and WealthChapter 63 – The thing Liu Hua wants badly!

Evening.

Dong Xuebing carried a big bag of cosmetics out of GrandPacific Mall and took a bus to a housing estate in the Western District. DongXuebing knew that if he were to show up unexpectedly empty-handed, it would notlook nice on him. This was why he needs to get some gifts along the way. SinceLiu Hua does not accept cigarettes and alcohol, then he can only give Liu Hua'swife some cosmetics. He hopes he will not be rejected.

The housing estate was not big and have approximately 7 to 8buildings.

This was not the housing assigned to the families of theState Security agency, and there was no need to register before entering theestate. There was only a security guard standing outside, collecting parkingfees.

Dong Xuebing used his hand to tidy his hair and was about toenter the estate. But as he was about to enter, he saw a familiar figure fromthe corner of his eyes. It was Guo Shunjie. He was walking out of the housingestate carrying a bag of apples, and he looks gloomy. Dong Xuebing knew that heshould be here to visit Liu Hua.

Dong Xuebing quickly steps away from the entrance and hidebehind a tree.

Guo Shunjie was in a bad mood. As an old-timer in theGeneral Affairs Office, he knew that Liu Hua does not accept gifts. Liu Hua didnot even take his apples and asked him to leave. Huh? Could it be that Liu Huasaw the envelope with 10,000 RMB under the apples?

Guo Shunjie was pissed, but he got over it after a while. IfLiu Hua did not entertain him, then Liu Hua will also not side with Guo Panwei.This will do it. As long as Liu Hua continues to be the 'abstention vote' ofthe committee meetings, then Guo Panwei will not be able to win him. He will bethe next Deputy Chief of the General Affairs Office!

Dong Xuebing walked out from behind the tree as Guo Shunjiedisappeared from a distance. He hesitated for a moment, but still walk into theestate.

Unit 1, level 5.

Dong Xuebing took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell ofunit 501.

Ding Dong, Ding Dong. The door opened, and Liu Hua asked:"Who are you looking for?"

Dong Xuebing was nervous and immediately say: "Chief Liu,you might not know who I am I am Dong Xuebing from the General AffairsDepartment. I had wanted to pay you a visit during the October holidays, butDirector Li's office caught fire and I was injured and hospitalized." DongXuebing mentioned his credit for saving the precious documents from Li Qing'soffice. He wanted to see if Liu Hua knows about him.

Liu Hua looked at Dong Xuebing blankly and nodded.

Seeing Liu Hua not saying a word, Dong Xuebing smiledembarrassedly and lifted the shopping bag he was carrying. "This is for aunty.It is not anything costly. Please accept it." Dong Xuebing opened the shoppingbag to show him. Although from Liu Hua's age, his wife should be at least 10years older than Dong Xuebing. But Liu Hua was a leader, and it was not wrongto address his wife as aunty.

Liu Hua frowned and replied. "Thanks for the gift, butplease take it back."

Dong Xuebing was not giving up so easily. "Chief Liu, I..."

"Take it away." Liu Hua pushed Dong Xuebing's hands awayimpatiently.

Dong Xuebing sighed in his heart. Seem like it will not bean easy task to pull Liu Hua over to his side. Sighed... I am too naïve to thinkthat giving some gifts to Liu Hua's wife will let me get closer to him. It wasnot so simple to get his favors. He did not even let me into his house.

Sighed... What should I do now?

Dong Xuebing knew that it was impossible for Liu Hua to nothave any desires. Everyone will wish to have something they wanted. If only heknew what Liu Hua wants...

For example, Yang Yizhong wanted status and does not wantothers to know that he did not know a lot of Chinese characters. This was whyDong Xuebing was able to write his speech and let Yang Yizhong have a favorableimpression of him.

For example, Zhou Changchun. He likes to play shares andwants to be respected. When Dong Xuebing helped him to play stocks and gave himrespect after he retires, Dong Xuebing was nominated by him to take over hisposition. Li Qing needs to escape the responsibility of his office fireincident. This was why he had a favorable impression of Dong Xuebing when DongXuebing helped him to retrieve the important documents from the fire. Xu Yanwants to win over her rival. So, when Dong Xuebing helped her win the soccermatch, she trusted him.

But... What does Liu Hua want?

What should I do to know what he wants badly?

Ring, ring, ring. Liu Hua's phone, in his pocket, rang.

Liu Hua looked at the caller display and answered: "Hello?Brother-in-law? Oh... I am at home... Really? Is dad the one who says this or isit mom? Ok... Which day? Fine... Ok... Yes..." He held his phone with one hand andtook out a small notebook with the other from his pocket. He wrote something inhis notebook and said: "Ok. I have jolted it down. I still have something to donow. Bye."

Dong Xuebing stared at the notebook in a daze.

People will forget things when they were busy. Many leadershave the habit of taking notes to prevent forgetting their task. Thesenotebooks were essential to them. It was like their personal diary and will typicallynot let others see its contents.

Will Liu Hua records what he really wanted in that notebook?

Possible! If Liu Hua likes to play shares, then he willdefinitely record the share prices and codes in that notebook. If Liu Hua hassomething that is troubling him, it might not be recorded in the notebook. Butfrom the tone and things he recorded, one should be able to guess it. If DongXuebing was able to know what Liu Hua needed, then he will know what to do.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Hua looked at Dong Xuebing."Is there anything else?"

It was almost impossible for others to look into theirleaders' privacy.

But for Dong Xuebing, this was not a problem.

Dong Xuebing immediately snatched the notebook from LiuHua's hand!

Liu Hua was shocked and shouted: "What are you doing?!"

Dong Xuebing ignored him and start to flip that notebook.

"How come the General Affairs Office have such people? Fine!I will remember you!" Liu Hua did not try to take back his notebook and startto make a phone call. "Hello, is this Chief Xu? Is there someone by the name ofDong Xuebing in your department? You should see what he is doing now! Hesnatched my notebook without my permission..."

Dong Xuebing closed the notebook and shouted: "BACK!"

...

The scenes changed!

"Ok. I have jolted it down. I still have something to donow. Bye."

Liu Hua kept his phone and asked: "Is there anything else?"

Dong Xuebing replied politely: "Sorry to disturb you today."

After leaving the estate, Dong Xuebing recalled what waswritten in the notebook.

There was nothing important written on the last page. LiuHua only wrote dinner on the 15th at Wangfu Restaurant, needs to buybeansprout and spinach after work. Meeting at 2 pm, etc. Dong Xuebingremembered a critical word on the second last page of the notebook. Lion Head!

15 pages from the last page: These few years I had let TianTian suffered. I must treat her better in the future.

10 pages from the last page: Tian Tian had searched all overBeijing, and no one was willing to sell. She really wanted the Lion Head. 4sixes Lion Head.

8 pages from the last page: Buy Lion Head for Tian Tian.

7 pages from the last page: Buy a Lion Head for next month'swedding anniversary. 46.

5 pages from the last page: There are only 10 days left.Must get a 46 Lion Head!

The second line of the page, 3 pages from the last page:Today I must go there again! I don't believe that I cannot find it!

The first line of the page, 2 pages from the last: There isno more time. First thing after work. Lion Head!

Tian Tian should be Liu Hua's wife, and Liu Hua should besearching for a wedding anniversary gift for his wife. But Dong Xuebing wasconfused. Lion Head? What the hell was that? Wasn't Lion Head a dish's name? AuntXuan had just cooked this dish a few days ago. It was just minced meat madeinto a meatball and cooked with cabbage. What's so difficult about making thisLion Head? Dong Xuebing also know how to cook this dish. What's 46? 4 sixes?Damn! There was no way for a table full of people to finish 46 Lion Head. Also,who will give their partners food on their wedding anniversary?

It should not be that Lion Head dish!

Dong Xuebing was deep in thoughts, thinking what this LionHead means.

Suddenly, Dong Xuebing stopped in the middle of the pavementand slapped his forehead!

Dong Xuebing ah, Dong Xuebing... you had worked part-time atthe antique market for so many years! Are you dumb? You don't even know what aLion Head is?

Dong Xuebing finally figure out what Liu Hua wanted!

Beijing people like to collect walnuts, and Lion Head wasthe most expensive category of walnut. The 4 sixes written in the notebook didnot mean forty-six or 6666. It was a jargon in the walnut collectors'community. It stands for 4.6 cm in length.

This means that Liu Hua wanted to find a pair of 4.6 cm LionHead walnuts as a gift to his wife on his wedding anniversary!

Dong Xuebing should be happy to figure this out. But he wasfrowning and troubled.

Lion Head was the top tier collector's item in the Walnutcollection. It was in the same category as the Tiger Head and Scholar Hat, butit was more valuable. A pair of 40mm Lion Head was already scarce. 44mm and45mm Lion Head were even harder to find, and it cost more than 10,000 RMB for apair!

Liu Hua wanted 46mm Lion Head?!

46 and 45 were entirely different. You might not even findone 46 mm walnut in two walnut trees, let alone a pair. It was too difficult!

Even if someone owns a pair of this 46 Lion Head, they willalso not sell it!

Damn! Where can I find a pair of 46mm Lion Head?

Translator'snotes: Didn't know that walnuts can fetch such high prices in China.

Tips ongift-giving in China.

Tripadvisorreview on Beijing's Grand Pacific Mall

Lion Head(Food)

https/en./wiki/Lion%27s_Head_(food)

Somearticles on Walnut collecting

BeijingAntique Market

https/en./wiki/Beijing_Antique_Market

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Power and WealthChapter 64 – Walnut gambling!

The next day.

Morning.

Dong Xuebing was still dreaming. In his dreams, he was inthe middle of a field, and he could smell the scent of flowers. But suddenly,there was a storm and the whole world was flooded and he was drowning in flood.He could not breathe and was struggling to swim... Then, he woke up and saw QuYunxuan's face in front of him. She was pinching Dong Xuebing's nose andsmiling. "What did you dream? Why are you grinning like a fool?" Both of themgrew closer over the past few weeks and had exchanged keys to their home. Thiswas why Dong Xuebing was not surprised to see Qu Yunxuan in his room.

Dong Xuebing rubbed his nose. "I thought I had drowned whenI couldn't breathe."

Qu Yunxuan laughed and knocked his head. "Breakfast isready."

After she left, Dong Xuebing got dressed and saw thatshopping bag of cosmetics. He remembered that the gifts he prepared for LiuHua's wife were still with him. He rubbed his nose and thought for a while,before bringing the bag out to the living room. He looked at Qu Yunxuan, whowas bent over wiping the windowsills: "Eh, you don't need to do this. I will wipeit later. Aunt Xuan, can you come over for a minute? Do you need thesecosmetics?"

Qu Yunxuan was surprised. "Why are you buying things for meagain?"

Dong Xuebing did not lie: "Actually, I had bought these formy leader's wife. But he did not accept my gifts."

Qu Yunxuan looked at him, "Really?"

"I don't dare to lie to you. It's the truth." Dong Xuebingpassed the bag over.

Qu Yunxuan stared at him and look into the shopping bag."L'Oreal? Elizabeth Arden? These are expensive stuff." Qu Yunxuan laughed. "Youreally know about cosmetics. All these are the stuff I can use. I was stillthinking of buying cosmetics next week. Fine. I will accept these."

"Ok. Let's have breakfast."

"I have just eaten, and I need to go to the New agency. Yougo ahead."

"Today is Saturday. Are you working overtime again?"

"Yes. If I can clinch these 2 deals today, I will be able toget high commission. I will buy some nice clothing for you if I get it." QuYunxuan finished up cleaning the windows and grab her handbag from the sofa."Ok, I am off to work. I might be having dinner with my clients this eveningand will be late."

Dong Xuebing knew that Qu Yunxuan was working hard to saveup enough to set up her own business. But it was not easy to save 1 millionRMB. Dong Xuebing was worried that she would tire herself out before she reachesher goal. He decided to think of ways to earn some money after this DeputyChief selection was over.

9 am. Dong Xuebing went to the bank to withdraw 20,000 RMBand took a bus to Panjiayuan.

Although he was not confident of finding the 46 mm LionHead, he still wanted to try.

Panjiayuan, Beijing Antique Market.

This market was located at the southeast of Beijing's 3rdRing Road. It was China's biggest antique market, and all sorts of antiquescould be found there. There were more than 3,000 stalls there and were set upby people from all the various provinces in China. Other than the foodproducts, there were all sorts of goods. It was like a museum and had attractedtourists from all over the world. It was the playground for antique collectors.

The morning was the busiest time for this antique market.Today was a Saturday, and the crowd was more significant than other days.

Dong Xuebing looked around the market and head towards thewest. He entered a shop specializing in selling collectible Walnuts and walnutscraving. He had worked in a porcelain shop nearby and knew where the walnutsshops were located. "Boss, do you have Lion Heads?"

The man in the shop replied. "Yes, what type do you want?"

"46."

"Huh?" The shop owner shook his head. "I do not have those."

"I don't mind about the colors or have slight defects, aslong as it is 46."

The shop owner shook his head. "46 is too rare. It is toodifficult to find a single piece, let alone a pair. If I have a pair of 46, Iwill also not sell it. I will keep it for my own collection."

Dong Xuebing sighed and left the shop for the next shop.

"Boss, do you have 46 Lion Head?"

"Oh, the biggest pair I have here is 44 Tiger. Do you wantto see it?"

"Nevermind. Thanks."

Dong Xuebing went to 4 shops and could not even find asingle 46 Lion Head!

Dong Xuebing sighed and said to himself. "I knew it. If it canbe found so easily, Liu Hua would have bought it a long time ago."

When Dong Xuebing was about to return home, he heard someoneshouting.

"Come and see. Chicken Heart, 200 RMB a pair. Lion Head fromPanshan, 400 RMB for a pair."

There was a big crowd around a walnut stall not far away.

Dong Xuebing squeezed his way through the crowd to thefront. This stall was not selling the finished walnut products. It was sellingthe green walnut fruits. There were a few baskets of walnut fruits on the floor,and 5 to 6 hands were choosing the fruits. The business was bustling. Thesecretion from the walnut fruit will turn black after it was exposed to air.The stall owner's hands were like coal miners. He used a small knife to cut theskin of the walnut fruit and shouts to attract customers.

Dong Xuebing was familiar with this.

This was walnut gambling.

These walnut fruits were plucked from the trees before theywere ripe. The species of walnut from this region, Shilihe, were mainly ScholarHats, Chicken Hearts, Tiger Head, and the top-grade Lion Head. There was no wayto tell how the seeds look like from the exterior of the walnut fruit. This waswhy it was called Walnut gambling. It was all based on luck. This type ofgambling started a few years ago, and it was very popular in Beijing.

Tiger Head walnut season started earlier, and the fruitswill not be available by the end of the month. The walnut fruits now weremainly Lion Head.

Walnut gambling?!

Dong Xuebing was deep in thoughts. Although these fruitssold by this seller were not high-grade fruits, there should be exceptional.While working part-time in the past, he had seen an old man opened up twowalnut fruits, and it formed a pair of 44mm Tiger Head. Since 46mm Lion Headcould not be found in any of the shops here, should I try my luck in Walnutgambling? What if 46mm Lion Head could really be found in this basket offruits?

No. This should not be luck. There were so many walnutfruits in Panjiayuan, and there should be at least a pair of 46mm Lion Head.

But how should I get it?

From the exterior of the fruits, there was no way to see thesize of the seed inside...

Translator'snotes: Walnut gambling is very interesting. I watched a Youtube video aboutthis walnut gambling and collecting before. It's a Chinese program, and itexplains how it worked. Sorry, I can't find the link to the video, but I willtry my best to explain this form of gambling.

There weretwo types of walnut gambling.

First, it isthe same as what was stated in this chapter. People will buy the fruits from aroadside peddler, and the peddler will cut the fruit for their customers. Thefruits were sold in pairs. Customers get to choose the fruits themselves from apile of fruits. Once the fruits were cut open, they will look at the seeds. Ifthe seeds from both fruits were big, similar in size and color, it would wortha lot. The seeds were all measured in mm. The prices of the fruits are a fewhundred RMB a pair.

The nexttype of gambling is to buy the whole tree. The buyers will travel to the walnutplantations in the countryside and buy all the fruits on a single tree. It costa lot more than the previous type of gambling. But the chances of getting bigwalnut seeds were higher. One tree will produce 400 and more fruits. It mightcost up to a few hundred thousand RMB per tree.

L'Oreal

https/en./wiki/L%27Or%C3%A9al

ElizabethArden

https/en./wiki/Elizabeth_Arden_Inc.

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