Afternoon.
The flight was bumpy.
Dong Xuebing was not used to flying on a small plane. He was used to first-class or business-class cabins. Although Zhen Shui County is far from Beijing, they can reach it in a few hours by plane. He knew he got to get used to it, as the County was paying for their flight tickets. The planes here do not have first-class cabins either, and he got to adapt.
One hour….
Three hours….
The plane touched down in Beijing.
Dong Xuebing, Yan Yizhi, and Chen Xiaoi entered the airport lobby.
Dong Xuebing left for the toilet when they were at the airport.
Dong Xuebing called Xie Huilan. “Hello, Huilan. It’s .”
“I know it’s you. Don’t tell you have gotten into trouble again. Hahaha….” Xie Huilan laughed.
Dong Xuebing was speechless. “What are you talking about? I am in Beijing now for work. I had touched down and might be staying here for a few days. Are you free to visit ?”
Xie Huilan laughed. “Why can’t you co and visit ?”
“I have no ti. I also don’t have a car, and I had brought so people with .”
“So, you are asking a pregnant woman to travel so far to visit you?!”
“Anyway, I am in Beijing. You can co if you miss . Don’t co if you don’t miss .”
“Huh? You are getting mad at ?! You had just left last week.”
Dong Xuebing was speechless and rembered he had left Beijing not long ago. “Fine. Don’t co and visit . How are you?”
“Good. I went for a body checkup recently, and everything is good.”
“Great. How is mum?”
“Mum is staying with , taking care of and my als. It is making feel bad. Oh, can you tell her not to worry about ? I am fine alone. Don’t let her tire herself out.”
“You are pregnant. Haha…. You are our family’s treasure now.”
“Shut up. I can take care of myself. Rember to speak to Mum. Alright. I got to attend a eting. Bye.”
“Ok. Go and do your work.”
“Co back when you are free.”
“I might not have the ti to do that. Let’s talk about it another ti.”
Dong Xuebing walked out of the toilet after hanging up and brought Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaoi out of the airport.
They waited for a taxi at the taxi stand.
They got into a taxi a while later.
Dong Xuebing looked at them and asked. “It’s almost dinner ti. What do you all want to eat?”
Yan Yizhi replied. “It’s fine. I will listen to you.”
Chen Xiaoi did not dare to have any requests. “I am fine with anything.”
Dong Xuebing replied. “Let’s have dinner first before we look for a hotel. I think the Finance Departnt staff had gone ho. We will go there tomorrow.”
“Let’s eat sothing simple.”
Although both of them did not say anything, they looked listless.
Dong Xuebing knew both of them were unwilling to co.
The leaders had ordered Chen Xiaoi to visit Beijing several tis because of her relative working in the Finance Departnt. Her relative and she were frustrated because her relative is a staff mber. She could not make any decisions, and Chen Xiaoi had to ask her for favors every ti. She knew they would not get any money from the Central Governnt this ti, and they would be wasting their ti. Because of the County’s financial situation, they would stay in the worst hotel and eat at the worst restaurant.
Dong Xuebing shook his head and said to the driver. “Please send us to Wang Fu Restaurant.”
The driver replied. “Sure!”
Chen Xiaoi was shocked. “Wang Fu Restaurant?!”
Yan Yizhi was also surprised. “Mayor Dong…. We…. We are on a budget, and it is difficult to reimburse anything above 500 RMB.”
Dong Xuebing smiled. “It’s fine. I will treat you all.”
Yan Yizhi quickly replied. “How can we let you treat us to dinner?”
Dong Xuebing replied. “I must be a good host when we are in Beijing.”
Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaoi’s salaries were very low compared to Beijing civil servants. The County rarely pay them on ti, and they are not well off. They could not even afford so better restaurants, let alone Wang Fu Restaurant. The cost of living in Beijing is much higher than in Zhen Shui County, and they were shocked with they heard they would be having dinner at Wang Fu Restaurant. A dinner at Wang Fu Restaurant is nothing to Dong Xuebing, and he can afford to dine there every day.
Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaoi do not know about Dong Xuebing’s assets.
Wang Fu Jing.
Wang Fu Restaurant.
Chen Xiaoi said. “Mayor Dong…. Let’s forget it.”
Yan Yizhi does not want Dong Xuebing to spend lavishly. “That restaurant over that is not bad.”
“Alright. Let’s go. I said I will be treating you all to dinner.” Dong Xuebing said and entered the restaurant.
Inside the restaurant.
Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaoi looked around the restaurant curiously.
Dong Xuebing got a private room and took the nu from the waitress. He ordered a few dishes. He had not eaten anything good in Zhen Shui County besides the al Mayor Jiang prepared. He wanted to eat sothing good.
The nu was passed to Yan Yizhi.
Yan YIzhi looked at the nu and was speechless by the prices. The cheapest dish is equivalent to a feast at another restaurant, and one of the dishes Dong Xuebing ordered costs 9,999 RMB. It was several tis his monthly salary, and he did not dare to order any more food. “Mayor Dong…. I think it’s enough.”
Dong Xuebing replied. “The portion here is small and not enough for us. Just order a few more dishes.”
“It’s fine.” Yan Yizhi said.
Dong Xuebing turned to Chen Xiaoi. “Chief Chen, order sothing.”
Yan Yizhi passed the nu to Chen Xiaoi. “Chief Chen.”
Chen Xiaoi’s face changed when she saw the nu. She flipped the pages and dared not order anything. But she saw Dong Xuebing looking at her and ordering a cheaper dish. “Err…. I will order a Sautéed Sweet Corn with Pine Nuts.”
Dong Xuebing asked. “What else?”
Chen Xiaoi quickly replied. “That’s all. This is enough.”
Dong Xuebing turned to the waitress. “Alright. Let’s have these first. We will order if it is not enough.”
The food was served quickly, and they started eating. Dong Xuebing had not eaten anything so delicious for over a week.
Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaoi ate cautiously at first, and they slowly opened up after seeing Dong Xuebing eating heartily.
“Oh, let’s have so drinks.” Dong Xuebing said.
Yan Yizhi replied. “I will listen to you.”
“Alright.” Dong Xuebing called the waitress and ordered a bottle of Maotai.
After dinner.
Dong Xuebing did not bring so much cash and followed the waitress out to pay.
Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaoi knew this al cost tens of thousands of RMB, and they worried that Dong Xuebing could not afford it.
Outside of the private room.
Dong Xuebing asked the waitress. “Don’t you all have POS machines for credit card paynts? Why do I need to pay at the counter?”
Before the waitress could answer, a middle-aged man walked over with a smile. Dong Xuebing had not t him before.
“Mr. Dong.” That man shook Dong Xuebing’s hand. “I am Wang Fu Restaurant’s, Assistant Manager. Our manager is not in Beijing, but he heard your wife is pregnant. He asked to congratulate you, and this al is on him. He had settled the bill.”
Dong Xuebing smiled. “How do you know it’s ?”
That man replied. “Our floor manager recognized you when you entered.”
Dong Xuebing recalled. He did et soone familiar when he entered the restaurant. He had visited Wang Fu restaurant several tis and was not surprised the staff recognized him.
Dong Xuebing thanked the assistant manager. “Thank you for the al. Let your General Manager know that Huilan and I will treat him to dinner again.”
That middle-aged man replied. “Sure. I will let him know.”
Dong Xuebing added. “I will pay for our rooms. Give us three rooms. Hmm…. I will book it for five days and let you know if we need to extend our stay.”
“Sure. Give us a few minutes. I will arrange it now.”
“Ok. Thank you.”
“Don’t ntion it.”
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