Chapter 2011
One day passed.
Then two.
Then three.
More than half a month later—
Early in the morning, Dong Xuebing was sitting in his office, eating buns and soy milk that Secretary Su had bought for him, when two unexpected phone calls ca in.
The first was from his wife, Xie Huilan.
“Hey, what are you doing?” ca Huilan’s cheerful voice over the phone.
Dong Xuebing swallowed the food in his mouth. Having breakfast. Have you eaten yet?”
Xie Huilan chuckled. “Just finished. Let’s talk business—has the county-to-city status upgrade been finalized?”
Dong Xuebing laughed. “I’m not even anxious yet, why are you? I think it’s still early—probably another month or two at the earliest. It’s not a small matter; the higher-ups need to approve it, and a lot of coordination is required. Hmm? Why do you ask? Sothing up?”
Xie Huilan replied, “Yes, I heard you’ve already started transferring people over.”
Dong Xuebing said, “Mhm. So of my old subordinates aren’t high enough in rank. Once the county becos a city, they won’t be eligible to transfer in. So I’ve brought them over early. Once everything’s in place, we’ll promote them together. It’ll save them three to five years of experience-building.”
Then he suddenly realized, “Wait, what do you an? You want to place people, too? However, let say this first—the city is already making an exception by letting transfer people early, and there aren’t many slots available. I’ve used them all up. If we start stuffing people in too aggressively, it’ll raise eyebrows.”
Xie Huilan said, “I know. I’m not asking you to transfer anyone at this ti. Once the county becos a city, there’ll be a lot of vacancies and new departnts established. There’ll be a huge demand for staff. I don’t need much—reserve two division-level positions for . I owe two favors, and I need to repay them. You decide the specific roles—they don’t need to be high, but they can’t be too low either. Just sothing reasonable, haha.”
“No problem once the upgrades go through,” Dong Xuebing readily agreed. “Alright, I got it. When the ti cos, send their info—I’ll arrange it on this end.”
Just as he hung up, another call ca in.
This ti it was Huilan’s second aunt, Ci Lifen.
“Hello, Auntie,” Dong Xuebing greeted warmly.
Ci Lifen chatted casually for a bit, even ntioning Fang Shuiling and Xie Ran’s engagent party in ten days. Then she shifted the topic: “Xiaobing, your county’s governnt restructuring is almost here, right? There should be quite a few positions opening up.”
Dong Xuebing blinked. “Yes. If you have instructions, say the word.”
Ci Lifen said, “I have an old classmate whose son has been stuck at the division chief level for years. He doesn’t have strong connections and can’t move up where he is. Can you save a deputy departnt-level spot for him? I’ll handle the transfer from this side—you need to receive him.”
Dong Xuebing didn’t hesitate. “No problem.”
“Great, then I won’t thank you too much, haha,” Ci Lifen said.
“Co on, it’s a small thing,” Dong Xuebing said.
In the past, it was always Dong Xuebing who asked the family for favors, such as pulling strings for a transfer or getting a ssage passed when sothing couldn’t be done. After all, anyone from the Xie family held considerable power. But now, Dong Xuebing was gradually becoming part of the upper echelons himself. He was soon to be appointed as the City Party Secretary. As his position and power grew, mbers of the Xie family also began to rely on him for work-related matters.
Knock knock.
Soone knocked at the door.
“Co in,” said Dong Xuebing.
It was Su Yan, his secretary. “Secretary Dong, the two new deputy directors of the County Party Office are here to report in. I ran into them just now at the Organization Departnt.”
Dong Xuebing smiled. “Great, have them co straight here.”
Technically, at this level of appointnt, Dong Xuebing didn’t need to handle it personally. They would usually report to the Organization Departnt and then check in with ng Hani, the head of the Party Office. But Dong Xuebing purposely intercepted them, sending a clear ssage: these two are his people. It was also his way of paving the road a little for Guo Panwei and Chang Juan.
Before long, Han Wu, head of the County Organization Departnt, arrived with the two of them.
As soon as they walked in, Dong Xuebing looked up and smiled.
Guo Panwei was still as dark-skinned as ever, and even thinner than before. Chang Juan, anwhile, was still full of charm, dressed in flashy clothes with heavy makeup.
Han Wu introduced them. “Secretary Dong, I’ve brought them. This is Comrade Guo Panwei, and this is Comrade Chang Juan.”
“Hello, Secretary Dong.” With others present, Guo Panwei and Chang Juan maintained a formal and respectful deanor.
Dong Xuebing returned the greeting with a smile and then picked up the phone. “Hey, Old ng? Please co to my office for a mont. Yes.”
A minute later, ng Hani entered and glanced at the two unfamiliar faces.
Dong Xuebing said, “This is Director ng Hani, your supervisor. Old ng, I’m handing them over to you. Assign their duties as you see fit.”
ng Hani nodded, “Yes, Secretary. I’ll take them to see the office.”
As soon as they stepped out, Guo Panwei quickly said, “Director ng, hello.”
Chang Juan also greeted her. “We look forward to your guidance.”
ng Hani responded kindly, “We’re all on the sa team now—no need to be so formal. I’ll take you to your offices first, then introduce you to the rest of the staff. After that, we’ll talk about assigning roles. No rush though. Any assignnts now will probably need to be adjusted in a month or two.”
Chang Juan was surprised. “Why?”
“One or two months from now?” Guo Panwei also looked confused.
ng Hani paused. “Wait, you two don’t know? I thought Secretary Dong had told you. Guess not.”
Chang Juan asked, puzzled, “Director ng, what’s going on?”
ng Hani replied, “Jiaolin County is about to be upgraded to a county-level city. Once that happens, most leadership positions will be bumped up by one level.”
“What?!”
“County-to-city upgrade?”
Chang Juan and Guo Panwei were stunned.
They genuinely hadn’t heard a word about this before.
The two of them had known each other for a long ti—they worked in the sa departnt for years, and even knew each other before they t Dong Xuebing. They had chatted before the transfer and never imagined the situation would be like this. They had just been promoted to full division-level recently. And now, if what ng Hani said was true, in just a month or two, they would both be deputy departnt-level cadres.
Guo Panwei was overjoyed. He knew Secretary Dong wouldn’t forget him.
Chang Juan nearly burst into laughter. This was like a pie falling from the sky—an unbelievable stroke of fortune.
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