“Evening.”
In the city.
The news of many celebrities gathering in Jiaolin County stirred up discussions and calls across the city, and the city leaders and their families were no different.
“Dad, Dad!” A boy in his teens excitedly called out.
Director Zhang Dongxing of the Bao Hong City Investnt Bureau was still sitting on the sofa watching the news just broadcast, frowning, lost in thought. After his son called his na several tis, Zhang Dongxing finally ca to his senses and looked towards his son, smiling warmly: “What is it? Why are you calling ?” Zhang Dongxing, though not old, was already over forty, having had his child late in life, so he was particularly fond of his son. He never raised his voice at his son; each ti, he spoke kindly.
The boy pointed at the television excitedly: “I want to watch Amy! I like Amy the most! All the kids in my class like her! Can you take tomorrow?”
Zhang Dongxing hesitated: “Go where?”
“To Jiaolin County! I want to watch their show!” The boy was already excited, clenching his fists and jumping and shouting loudly.
Zhang Dongxing pondered montarily, “There’s nothing much to see there, though.”
“No way! Amy sings so beautifully, and so does Allen!” The boy insisted.
Zhang Dongxing said, “We can watch from ho too; they’ll have a live broadcast in their county.”
The boy pouted: “Dad, I have to go! I have to go! This is a rare opportunity; I’ll never get another chance if I miss it now. You’re the city’s Investnt Bureau Director; they’re also holding a business eting in Jiaolin County. It’s your area of responsibility. Getting a few tickets shouldn’t be that hard, right? You, Mom, , and a few more tickets for my friends. They’ll be ecstatic; everyone at school loves them, especially Amy and Allen. You don’t know how popular they are at our school.”
Zhang Dongxing hesitated for a long ti and still didn’t agree.
His wife ca out of the kitchen with so cut fruit, frowning at the sound. She was a mother who was extrely fond of her son, too. “Old Zhang, if your son wants to go, just take him. You’re off tomorrow anyway, and they’re holding a business eting; they must have invited you, too. Getting a few tickets should be easy.”
Zhang Dongxing sighed, “You don’t understand. They did invite , but I disagreed. I said I had things to do tomorrow and couldn’t go; I only called this afternoon. Dong Xuebing from Jiaolin County has a complex relationship with the city; many city leaders are unhappy with him, so I didn’t give them this face. If I bring up going now, wouldn’t I just be putting my face out there? What do you know?”
The boy kept shaking his father’s hand, “Dad, Dad, Dad…”
The boy’s mother looked at them, feeling soft-hearted. “The business eting is under your city’s Investnt Bureau’s guidance. What’s wrong with taking a few tickets?”
Zhang Dongxing helplessly said, “That Dong Xuebing; you just don’t know. He’s a real jerk. Even when a rescue team from the city went to help, Dong Xuebing scolded them back. His temper… I won’t even talk about it.”
The son kept pleading, determined to go.
Finally, Zhang Dongxing had no choice but to try calling the Jiaolin County Investnt Bureau.
“Hello, Director Sun, it’s , Zhang Dongxing. Could you get a few tickets for the art show tomorrow? My son wants to go.” Zhang Dongxing tried to sound casual, “Why does the county party secretary need to give the green light for these tickets? Aren’t there any reserved spots?” “Okay, I get it,” he said, hanging up the phone. Zhang Dongxing wasn’t too pleased. He initially thought he could use his position as the city’s Investnt Bureau Director to get a few tickets from the local investnt departnt. But it turned out that there were no tickets available at all, and they said they had to get Dong Xuebing’s approval first; the tickets were with the county party secretary.
This is ridiculous. Zhang Dongxing thought, feeling irritated.
“Dad, what happened?” His son looked at him with hopeful eyes.
Seeing his son’s disappointed expression, Zhang Dongxing swallowed his words. He didn’t want to tell his son he couldn’t go, especially not in front of him.
In Jiaolin County…
The county party secretary’s ho.
Dong Xuebing was lying on his bed, smoking a cigarette, when his phone rang. He recognized the caller ID as Zhang Dongxing’s previous number.
“Hello, who is this?” Dong Xuebing answered disinterestedly.
“This is Zhang Dongxing,” Zhang Dongxing replied.
“Oh, Director Zhang. Is there sothing you need?” Dong Xuebing said.
Zhang Dongxing hesitated before finally speaking up. “The tickets for the show tomorrow, the Investnt Bureau says you need to give the green light for them… I checked; the lineup is quite impressive.”
But Dong Xuebing didn’t even bring it up. “Yes, everyone ca to support us out of goodwill.”
Seeing he didn’t bring it up, Zhang Dongxing continued, “My son likes Amy. Could you maybe set aside a few tickets for us?” Zhang Dongxing knew asking for tickets at this point was a bit tacky, so he tried to smooth it over.
Seeing it was Zhang Dongxing’s call, Dong Xuebing knew what he wanted. He sneered, thinking, “Why did you wait until now to show up? Blabbering at this afternoon and now, only after seeing so many celebrities, do you want to co.”
“Director Zhang…” Dong Xuebing casually called out.
“We don’t have too many tickets here either. One ticket is fine, but more than that would be difficult.”
Zhang Dongxing felt even more frustrated. “Seats can’t be that tight, right?”
“You don’t know, Old Zhang,” Dong Xuebing said casually.
Zhang Dongxing almost sputtered blood. “Are we that close?”
Dong Xuebing continued chattering for five or six minutes, saying they hadn’t expected so many celebrities at the cultural festival, that tickets were already gone, and so on.
Zhang Dongxing said nothing.
“Okay, okay,” Dong Xuebing finally relented, “Since it’s your face, Director Zhang, I’ll give the green light. Let check and see if I can squeeze out two tickets. But anything more than that would be tough. It’s because it’s you, Director Zhang. If it were soone else, I wouldn’t even bother.” His reluctant tone and painful expression made it sound like he was doing Zhang Dongxing a considerable favor.
Zhang Dongxing felt utterly speechless after the call, but he had no choice; he had already told them he had other commitnts. He could only reluctantly thank Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing felt very satisfied after teasing him for a while.
Next, Dong Xuebing’s phone didn’t stop ringing.
Ring, ring.
Ring, ring.
“Hello, is this Director Dong from Jiaolin County? I’m Old Sun from the provincial governnt office. Can you save a few tickets for ?”
“Is this Dong Xuebing, the county party secretary? I’m the county mayor of Zhanghuai County. I heard you’re having a show?”
“Hello, Secretary Dong. Do you still have tickets for the show? My wife insists on seeing Zhou Xuguo perform. Haha, could you set aside two for us? Thanks a lot.”
Finally, even leaders from neighboring counties and cities called Dong Xuebing’s phone for tickets.
For everyone else, Dong Xuebing didn’t hesitate. He gave out tickets to whoever asked; they were all friends. Even for leaders from neighboring counties and cities, Dong Xuebing didn’t mind giving them a small favor. However, for certain officials from Bao Hong City who had been invited but either rejected or didn’t respond to Jiaolin County’s invitation, Dong Xuebing didn’t pick up their calls or delayed answering. He avoided bringing up the ticket issue until they repeatedly ntioned it. Only then would Dong Xuebing respond, begrudgingly giving them a couple of tickets. He made it seem difficult and reluctant, like it was a big favor, leaving those leaders extrely angry. They cursed Dong Xuebing’s ancestors, knowing that a few tickets weren’t a problem for Jiaolin County. They could have just added a few more chairs if needed. But Dong Xuebing dragged his feet, citing many reasons and excuses, making them hate him even more. They thought Dong Xuebing held a grudge and did this out of spite.
If this were another county, with another county party secretary in charge, those city officials wouldn’t have bothered calling. Refusing the invitation was no big deal; they could attend the event tomorrow. They were city officials and had the right to change their minds. They didn’t believe the other side would dare to kick them out without a ticket. But now, the other side was Dong Xuebing—a notorious troublemaker throughout the city, known for insulting even foreign guests and city officials. He really would do it. Everyone knew it. Though they weren’t scared of Dong Xuebing, with all eyes on them, they would lose face if Dong Xuebing kicked them out for not having tickets.
Getting tickets through other channels wasn’t impossible. They had enough influence to manage it. But they had already rejected Jiaolin County’s invitation. Getting tickets now would make it look a bit sneaky, especially since they had to wait, ticketless, with a few city officials in a lineup to be let in. That in itself was a loss of face. The people from Jiaolin County would indeed look at them askance. So everyone was stuck calling Dong Xuebing, reluctantly accepting it.
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