That day.
At two in the afternoon.
Inside the temporary County Party Committee Compound, in the County Party Secretary's office.
It was already warm in May. Dong Xuebin had long since taken off his coat and changed into lighter clothes. Dressed in slacks and a shirt, he sat behind his desk reading the statistical report sent over by the county Investment Bureau. The total amount of investment attracted, each individual project, how much of the initial payment had arrived—every record was written out in meticulous detail, clear at a glance, enough to make one's blood boil.
One billion!
Beautifully done!
Dong Xuebin felt completely reassured, and his mood was excellent. The matter had been handled, and they had even exceeded their target—far beyond what he had expected. Of course, that was the outcome he most wanted to see. Ever since entering the system, his personality had changed. It was another transformation forged through the struggles of a fresh college graduate making his way through society and the bureaucracy. From then on, Dong Xuebin had always been fiercely competitive. He liked to fight hard and prove himself, and he never accepted defeat. He felt there was a saying that suited him perfectly: even if one day he lost everything and had to sell steamed buns from a roadside stall, he would still sell better and sell more than anyone else!
It was a kind of stubbornness.
A kind of attitude toward life.
And perhaps a kind of pride rooted deep in his bones.
Just as he was enjoying himself, his phone rang.
Dong Xuebin looked at it and saw that it was his wife Xie Huilan's number. Smiling, he answered it. "Oh, Hui Lan. It's rare for you to call me first."
"Hehe." Xie Huilan's laughter was as usual, neither too