Recaps

At Pu An’s family wedding, Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaomei openly aligned themselves with Jiang Fangfang’s camp, while Pu An’s warm toast to Jiang Fangfang suggested that he was also moving closer to the Jiang Faction. The chapter left Zhenshui County’s political balance poised to shift against Meng Rui’s faction.

• Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaomei entered the wedding with Dong Xuebin, signaling their departure from Meng Rui’s faction and their support for Jiang Fangfang.
• Jiang Fangfang welcomed Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaomei at her table, confirming that she accepted their allegiance.
• Pu Tao and her husband toasted their parents, Jiang Fangfang, and Dong Xuebin during the wedding banquet.
• Pu An personally poured Jiang Fangfang a full glass and drank his own, prompting guests to suspect that he was joining the Jiang Faction.
• Jian Xiangrong noticed Pu An’s gesture but stayed silent as Dong Xuebin realized the wedding had strengthened Jiang Fangfang’s position.

After the wedding banquet, Dong Xuebin gave Pu Tao a wedding gift and let her keep his car, then rode back with Jiang Fangfang. In private, they revealed that they had each deliberately helped bring about the clash between Pu An and Zhang Wanshui, and they ended the conversation laughing together.

• Dong Xuebin gave Pu Tao a thousand-yuan wedding gift and let her use his car overnight.
• Jiang Fangfang waited for Dong Xuebin and drove him back to the Family Compound with Li Xiaona.
• Jiang Fangfang warned Dong Xuebin that the Land Rover crash might be reported, and he explained that his wealth came from lottery winnings and had been disclosed during earlier investigations.
• Jiang Fangfang asked whether the Finance Bureau officials were reliable, and Dong Xuebin confirmed their support and credited the wedding-day dispute with helping win Pu An over.
• Jiang Fangfang revealed that she had instructed her contact at Zhenshui Hotel to schedule Pu Tao's and Zhang Wanshui's family weddings on the same day.
• Dong Xuebin admitted that he had deliberately crashed into Zhang Wanshui's family's wedding car, and Jiang Fangfang laughed with him.

After lending his Land Rover to Secretary Pu’s family, Dong Xuebin realized he had left his keys and belongings in it and spent the afternoon waiting for the car to return. When it still had not arrived by night, Jiang Fangfang invited him into her place to wait.

• Jiang Fangfang drove Dong Xuebin home, then left for her parents’ house, and Dong Xuebin discovered he had no keys because they were in the Land Rover.
• Dong Xuebin learned that retrieving a spare key required procedures he could not complete until the next morning, so he decided not to bother Secretary Pu’s family.
• Li Xiaona offered to drive the Land Rover back after dinner at Secretary Pu’s Daughter’s home, and Dong Xuebin spent several hours resting at a teahouse.
• Dong Xuebin returned to the Family Compound at night but found the Land Rover had not arrived, leaving him locked out with his luggage and work documents inside.
• Jiang Fangfang found Dong Xuebin waiting outside, then invited him into her place until the car returned.

Dong Xuebin visited Jiang Fangfang’s home while waiting for his car keys to be returned, and she cooked dinner for him. When the car could not be brought back that night, Jiang Fangfang offered him the spare room, and he agreed to stay over.

• Dong Xuebin followed Jiang Fangfang into her home and waited while she prepared dinner.
• Jiang Fangfang asked about Dong Xuebin’s trip to the Capital City, and he told her the Ministry of Finance had agreed to provide fifty million in funding.
• Dong Xuebin helped clear the table and then watched television with Jiang Fangfang while waiting for his car keys.
• Jiang Fangfang learned that Xiao Na had stayed at a Guest House after drinking and that the car would not return that night.
• Jiang Fangfang offered Dong Xuebin the spare room, and he accepted her offer to stay overnight.

Dong Xuebin stayed overnight at Jiang Fangfang’s home and discovered that she suffered from severe insomnia after her husband’s death. He offered to read to her, and the economics book quickly put her to sleep.

• Jiang Fangfang told Dong Xuebin that she had relied on sleeping pills for years because she could not sleep after her husband died.
• Jiang Fangfang explained that her husband used to read to her at bedtime, and Dong Xuebin offered to try reading to her himself.
• Dong Xuebin brought an economics book into Jiang Fangfang’s bedroom and noticed that her wedding photo had been taken down.
• Dong Xuebin read aloud, and Jiang Fangfang fell asleep within minutes, so he tucked her in and turned off the light.

Dong Xuebin stayed at Jiang Fangfang’s home and made breakfast before she showered. When Jiang Fangfang slipped in the bathroom and injured herself, he carried her to bed and brought her medicine, leaving her to treat the wound.

• Dong Xuebin made breakfast while Jiang Fangfang got ready, and they discussed her reliance on sleeping pills.
• Jiang Fangfang told Dong Xuebin she was going to shower while he waited for work to begin.
• Dong Xuebin heard Jiang Fangfang fall in the bathroom and broke open the locked door when she could not stand.
• Dong Xuebin found Jiang Fangfang bleeding from a scrape and carried her to the bedroom.
• Jiang Fangfang asked for Yunnan Baiyao, and Dong Xuebin brought her the medicine and gauze before stepping out.

After Jiang Fangfang injured herself in the bath, Dong Xuebin helped bandage the wound on her buttocks. She was able to walk afterward but insisted on going to work despite still limping.

• Dong Xuebin waited while Jiang Fangfang tried to apply medicine, then went into her bedroom when she called him.
• Jiang Fangfang said she could not reach the wound on her back and asked Dong Xuebin to help bandage it.
• Dong Xuebin lifted her bathrobe, applied Yunnan Baiyao to the bleeding wound on her buttocks, and secured gauze over it.
• Jiang Fangfang got out of bed with Dong Xuebin's help and said she could walk and still had to go to work.
• Dong Xuebin supported Jiang Fangfang as they walked slowly, holding her hand and keeping his other hand near her waist.

Dong Xuebin helped Jiang Fangfang recover after her fall, then hid in her bathroom when Li Xiaona arrived with his car keys. Jiang Fangfang kept Li Xiaona from discovering him, and Dong Xuebin left with the keys as she reminded him to prepare for the Standing Committee meeting.

• Dong Xuebin supported Jiang Fangfang as she walked around the room, then cleaned the bathroom while she changed.
• Dong Xuebin put Jiang Fangfang's bra and underwear into the washing machine when the doorbell rang.
• Li Xiaona arrived to return Dong Xuebin's car keys, and Jiang Fangfang told him to hide in the bathroom.
• When Li Xiaona asked to use the bathroom, Jiang Fangfang went inside and stalled until Li Xiaona left.
• Jiang Fangfang handed Dong Xuebin the keys and told him to prepare for the Standing Committee meeting.

At the County Party Committee Standing Committee meeting, Meng Rui and his allies criticized Dong Xuebin over the county’s worsening finances, while Pu An and Jian Xiangrong defended him. Dong Xuebin announced that the Ministry of Finance had approved 50 million in funding, ending the attacks and leaving him with greater standing in the county leadership.

• Dong Xuebin arrived at the County Party Committee compound in his Land Rover as officials discussed his confrontation with Zhang Wanshui and Secretary Meng’s faction.
• Meng Rui criticized Dong Xuebin for failing to secure funding, and Liao Haiwei, Cheng Fuguang, Ci Boyang, and Zhang Wanshui pressed him about delayed wages and the county’s financial crisis.
• Pu An and Jian Xiangrong defended Dong Xuebin, while Pu An challenged Zhang Wanshui over his own failed attempts to obtain central funding.
• Dong Xuebin received a call during the meeting informing him that the Ministry of Finance had approved 50 million for Zhenshui County.
• Meng Rui praised Dong Xuebin for securing the funding, and Secretary Meng’s allies stopped criticizing him for the remainder of the meeting.

Dong Xuebin learned that the fifty million yuan he secured for Zhenshui County had been reduced to five million after passing through the City Finance Bureau. He confirmed that the city had withheld forty-five million and prepared to investigate and recover the funds.

• Officials in Zhenshui County welcomed Dong Xuebin and sought his favor after hearing he had secured fifty million yuan in funding.
• Dong Xuebin asked Yao Cui to check whether the funds had arrived, but the Finance Bureau initially had no news.
• Yan Yizhi told Dong Xuebin that only five million yuan had reached the county, leaving forty-five million missing.
• Dong Xuebin called Xie Guoliang, who said the funds had likely been intercepted between the city and the county and advised him to investigate quickly.
• Chen Xiaomei confirmed that the province had transferred fifty million yuan, but the City Finance Bureau had sent only five million to Zhenshui County.

Dong Xuebin confronted Meihe City over its withholding of Zhenshui County’s central government allocation, while Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang agreed to seek back at least half. Dong volunteered to go to the city, but he privately resolved to recover every cent.

• Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang told Dong Xuebin that Meihe City had transferred only five million of the county’s fifty-million allocation and that city officials were evading their questions.
• Dong called City Finance Bureau Director Wei Lin, demanded an explanation, and warned that the county’s unpaid workers and teachers were growing increasingly agitated.
• A city leader told Meng Rui that the remaining funds would be held temporarily and paid in installments, prompting Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang to set twenty-five million as their minimum goal.
• Dong volunteered to go to the city to demand the money, and Meng Rui agreed to send him the next day with several county officials.
• After hearing county employees discuss the withheld funds, Dong resolved to make the city return the full fifty million, without missing a cent.

Dong Xuebin confronted Deputy Mayor Zhao Xu over the city withholding Zhenshui County’s central funding. Zhao Xu refused to release the money for now, leaving the dispute unresolved and relations between them hostile.

• Dong Xuebin arrived in Meihe City with Yan Yizhi, Chen Xiaomei, and Yao Cui and went to see the deputy mayor in charge of finance.
• After waiting outside Zhao Xu’s office, Dong Xuebin confronted him about the city withholding nearly all of Zhenshui County’s funding.
• Zhao Xu said the city was managing the money and told the county to submit another funding application if it needed more.
• Dong Xuebin argued that the funding belonged to Zhenshui County and challenged the city’s claim that its decision served the bigger picture.
• Zhao Xu ordered Dong Xuebin to leave and decided not to release any more money until the county returned with a more deferential attitude.

Dong Xuebin confronted Meihe City over the forty-five million yuan still withheld from Zhenshui County and suspected the city might use the funds to build a new leaders’ compound. Though Meng Rui urged him to recover at least six million quickly, Dong Xuebin remained determined to get every cent back and headed for Finance Bureau Director Wei Lin’s office.

• Zhao Xu told Wei Lin to handle Zhenshui County’s funding request as he saw fit and criticized Dong Xuebin’s political awareness.
• Dong Xuebin rejected Yan Yizhi’s suggestion to accept a few million and took the county delegation to the City Finance Bureau.
• Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang warned that the city might be delaying the funds and discussed reports of plans for a new Municipal Party Committee Family Compound.
• Meng Rui instructed Dong Xuebin to recover as much as possible, setting six million as the minimum and ten million as the preferred amount.
• Dong Xuebin resolved to reclaim all the remaining money and went upstairs after learning Wei Lin was away at a meeting.

Dong Xuebin and Zhenshui County officials went to the City Finance Bureau to reclaim the remaining forty-five million yuan of central funding, but Wei Lin refused and claimed the city would decide how to use it. The chapter left Dong Xuebin furious at the city’s open attempt to keep the county’s money.

• Dong Xuebin led Yan Yizhi, Chen Xiaomei, and Yao Cui past a staff member who tried to keep them from visiting Wei Lin.
• Dong Xuebin confronted Wei Lin in his office and applied for the forty-five million yuan still owed to Zhenshui County.
• Wei Lin said the city’s finances were difficult and warned that the application would not be approved soon.
• Dong Xuebin challenged Wei Lin over the central funding, but Wei Lin insisted the city would manage and distribute it as it saw fit.
• Dong Xuebin and the Zhenshui County officials grew furious as Wei Lin dismissed their claim to the money.

Dong Xuebin confronted Wei Lin over the city’s refusal to return Zhenshui County’s forty-five million in funds, then used Wei Lin’s light shove to crash through a third-floor window. The chapter ended with Dong Xuebin falling from the building.

• Wei Lin refused to return the forty-five million to Zhenshui County and told Dong Xuebin to submit an application instead.
• Yan Yizhi called security after Wei Lin dismissed their objections, and guards and clerks surrounded Dong Xuebin and the county officials.
• Dong Xuebin slipped past the guards and followed Wei Lin into the hallway, where he blocked Wei Lin and again asked about the funds.
• When Wei Lin tried to squeeze past and lightly shoved him, Dong Xuebin cried out, crashed through a glass window, and fell from the third floor.

Dong Xuebin fell through a third-floor window after Wei Lin shoved him, and the witnesses believed he had been killed. The chapter left Dong Xuebin motionless and bleeding in the Finance Bureau courtyard as people gathered and an ambulance was called.

• Wei Lin bumped Dong Xuebin, who fell through the window and crashed onto the concrete below.
• Chen Xiaomei shouted that Wei Lin had killed Dong Xuebin, while Wei Lin denied pushing him and the witnesses refused to support his account.
• Yao Cui saw blood below and nearly collapsed, and Chen Xiaomei and Yan Yizhi blamed Wei Lin for Dong Xuebin's fall.
• Finance Bureau staff called for emergency services and rushed downstairs to check on Dong Xuebin.
• People in the courtyard saw Dong Xuebin lying motionless and bleeding as the crowd grew.

After Dong Xuebin fell from the third floor of the City Finance Bureau, officials rushed him to the hospital while Zhenshui County leaders mobilized and reported the incident to the police. The city leadership called an emergency Standing Committee meeting, and Director Wei Lin realized he faced a major crisis as Dong’s condition remained uncertain.

• Yan Yizhi, Chen Xiaomei, and Yao Cui found Dong Xuebin unconscious, and Wei Lin confirmed that he still had a pulse.
• The doctor treated Dong Xuebin and took him to the hospital with Chen Xiaomei and Yao Cui accompanying him.
• Yan Yizhi told Jiang Fangfang that Wei Lin had pushed Dong Xuebin from the third floor, and Jiang ordered him to call the police.
• Jiang Fangfang informed Meng Rui, and they both canceled their schedules and set off for the city.
• Wei Lin decided not to coordinate witnesses’ accounts and headed to the hospital as police cars arrived at the Finance Bureau.
• Deputy Mayor Zhao Xu berated Wei Lin and warned him that the city Party secretary and mayor had called an emergency Standing Committee meeting.

Dong Xuebin was rushed to Third People's Hospital after his fall, where doctors operated and warned that his condition was critical. He survived and woke soon after surgery, while privately enjoying the belief that his staged fall had made Wei Lin look responsible.

• Hospital staff at Third People's Hospital rushed Dong Xuebin into emergency treatment and issued a critical condition notice, prompting Yao Cui and Chen Xiaomei to worry over him.
• Wei Lin, Yan Yizhi, and Deputy Mayor Zhao Xu arrived and waited as doctors operated on Dong Xuebin.
• A doctor said Dong Xuebin's life had been saved but that he remained in danger, before the vice dean confirmed he was no longer in life-threatening condition.
• Dong Xuebin woke during surgery and was wheeled out, where Yao Cui, Chen Xiaomei, Yan Yizhi, Zhao Xu, and Wei Lin saw him.
• Dong Xuebin ignored Zhao Xu and Wei Lin and privately laughed that his staged fall had made them believe Wei Lin had pushed him.

After Dong Xuebin was rescued from his fall, Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang rushed toward the hospital while Zhang Feng contacted his family. His mother and wife refused to come, leaving the county officials stunned by their indifference.

• Yan Yizhi told Meng Rui that Dong Xuebin was awake and temporarily stable, though he had multiple fractures and faced a long recovery.
• Meng Rui told Zhang Feng to contact Dong Xuebin's family and ask them to come to the hospital.
• Dong Xuebin's mother questioned Zhang Feng about the fall but ended the call without agreeing to come.
• Dong Xuebin's wife said she would visit only if he died and refused to come while he was still alive.
• Zhang Feng relayed their responses, shocking Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang as Lao Wang nearly crashed the car.

Dong Xuebin woke after surgery and received visits from Zhenshui County’s leaders, who promised to handle the dispute with the city while he recovered. He learned that his wife and mother had been notified, and worried about them coming to the hospital.

• Dong Xuebin woke in the hospital, learned it was evening, and heard doctors say his condition was stable and improving.
• Meng Rui, Jiang Fangfang, Yan Yizhi, Chen Xiaomei, and Yao Cui visited Dong Xuebin, and Meng Rui promised to secure an explanation from the city.
• Dong Xuebin recognized that his injury had shifted public pressure onto the city and strengthened Zhenshui County’s position over its funding dispute.
• Jiang Fangfang and Meng Rui prepared to leave, while Dong Xuebin urged Yao Cui, Chen Xiaomei, and Yan Yizhi to rest instead of staying with him.
• Dong Xuebin learned his wife and mother had been notified, then asked the nurse to make sure the visitors had left so he could rest.

After leaving the hospital, Meng Rui and Jiang Fangfang learned that Dong Xuebin’s family would not visit, while Dong called his wife, Xie Huilan, from his hospital room. Xie and his mother had recognized that Dong’s apparent grave injuries were likely another scheme, and he ended the call before she could keep scolding him.

• Jiang Fangfang sent Yan Yizhi and the others to a hotel, while Yao Cui offered to stay with Dong Xuebin at the hospital.
• Zhang Feng told Yao Cui and Chen Xiaomei that Dong’s mother was not coming and his wife had said to contact her when he died.
• Dong asked the nurse to retrieve his phone and call Xie Huilan.
• Xie Huilan mocked Dong for pretending that an unarmed Finance Bureau director had pushed him down the stairs, and Dong asked her to explain things to his mother.
• Dong ended the call, while the nurse angrily criticized his wife and Dong privately reasoned that Xie and his mother knew he was far too tough to be seriously harmed by a fall from the third floor.

After learning that Xinhua News Agency had asked about his fall, Dong Xuebin faced Deputy Mayor Zhao Xu and Wei Lin as Meihe City sought to settle the matter. The city offered to cover his medical bills and pay compensation, but Dong Xuebin rejected the apology’s value by offering Wei Lin two million yuan so he could shove him in return.

• Dong Xuebin called Xie Jing, who said Hui Lan had already asked her to contact friends at the Provincial Xinhua News Agency Branch and put pressure on Meihe City's leaders.
• Zhao Xu learned that Xinhua News Agency was investigating reports that Meihe City withheld county funds and Wei Lin pushed Dong Xuebin from a building, so the mayor told him to settle the matter with Zhenshui County.
• Meng Rui, Jiang Fangfang, Yan Yizhi, and others visited Dong Xuebin at the hospital before Zhao Xu arrived with Wei Lin and several cadres.
• Zhao Xu said Wei Lin would be suspended pending investigation and offered to cover Dong Xuebin's medical expenses and provide two hundred thousand yuan in compensation.
• Dong Xuebin told Yao Cui to transfer two million yuan to Wei Lin, saying he would pay for the right to shove Wei Lin in return.

In the hospital, Dong Xuebin pressed city officials to return Zhenshui County’s withheld central funds and demanded an extra million in compensation. The mayor ordered the city to transfer the full 46 million soon, and Dong Xuebin remained in the hospital as the dispute was settled.

• Zhao Xu offered compensation, but Dong Xuebin said he wanted the central government funds returned to Zhenshui County instead.
• Jiang Fangfang explained the county’s financial needs, and Dong Xuebin claimed its shortfall was 46 million, a million more than the city owed.
• Zhao Xu offered another 30 million, but Dong Xuebin threatened to transfer hospitals and pursue the matter elsewhere.
• After Zhao Xu reported the dispute to the mayor, the mayor ordered him to give Zhenshui County the money.
• Zhao Xu told his officials to inform the county that the 46 million would be transferred soon.

Dong Xuebin recovered enough to leave the hospital in Meihe City and return to the county, while city officials eagerly saw him off after he helped recover 46 million yuan. The chapter ended with the officials relieved that Dong Xuebin was finally leaving their city.

• Dong Xuebin took a wheelchair ride around the hospital garden with his nurse and learned that his injuries had stabilized but his fractures would need months to heal.
• Yan Yizhi and Chen Xiaomei arrived and told Dong Xuebin that 46 million yuan had been recovered; he ordered them to prepare for the trip back to the county.
• Dong Xuebin refused an ambulance, and the hospital examined him before clearing him to travel in his Land Rover.
• Zhang Feng and a group of city officials arrived to accompany Dong Xuebin out of the hospital and bid him farewell.
• City officials saw Dong Xuebin off, privately relieved that the troublesome county chief was leaving Meihe City.

Dong Xuebin traveled back to Zhenshui County with his fractures still untreated, while Jiang Fangfang warned him that Wei Lin might retaliate. Left suspended and blamed for the lost city funds, Wei Lin learned Dong Xuebin had left the city without senior leaders accompanying him and called an old friend for help.

• Zhang Feng stopped the convoy after Jiang Fangfang called to say she was arriving, and she joined Dong Xuebin in the Land Rover.
• Jiang Fangfang apologized for sending Dong Xuebin to recover the money and warned him that Wei Lin might hold a grudge against him.
• Dong Xuebin began coughing from the pain, so Jiang Fangfang had Chen Xiaomei drive carefully to the county hospital.
• Wei Lin heard that Deputy Mayor Zhao Xu had avoided visiting Dong Xuebin and that Dong had already left the city with only a few subordinates.
• Wei Lin learned that Jiang Fangfang was not with Dong Xuebin and called an old friend he had helped before.