Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin assigned his Investment Bureau staff tasks to prepare for the City Investment Conference and meet Zhenshui County’s fifty-million investment target. The bureau began work with no investors yet confirmed to attend.

• At lunch, Dong Xuebin toasted Chang Juan as the others worried about the investment target and their upcoming workload.
• Dong Xuebin warned the staff that they might need to work overtime before and after Saturday’s City Investment Conference.
• Dong Xuebin tasked Chen Yunsong and Xiao Hong with contacting investors and getting as many as possible to attend.
• Dong Xuebin assigned Cheng Yujie and Gong Na to compile an appealing investment-project list, manage office logistics, and help with investor outreach.
• Zheng Dayou offered to personally contact promising investors whom Chen Yunsong could not persuade.
• Dong Xuebin told everyone to exceed, and never fall short of, the fifty-million investment target.

Dong Xuebin faced the Investment Bureau’s doubts about the county’s fifty-million investment target and tried to recruit investors through his contacts. By the end of the day, everyone he called had refused, leaving him without a single visitor or investor.

• Zheng Dayou told Dong Xuebin that Zhenshui County’s poor conditions made the fifty-million target seem impossible, and Dong promised to take responsibility if they failed.
• Investment Bureau staff worried that the target could cost them their jobs, while Zheng Dayou returned to persuading investors by phone.
• Dong Xuebin decided to call his old contacts and invite major investors to Zhenshui County’s upcoming Investment Conference.
• Mu Zhengzhong declined because of cash-flow problems after earthquake losses in Yantai County, but agreed to ask his contacts.
• Park Yong-hee also declined and said his friends were unlikely to invest in a remote western county.
• Dong Xuebin made more than ten calls, but none of his contacts agreed to visit or invest.

Dong Xuebin failed to recruit investors through his personal contacts and found the Investment Bureau working frantically but without clear progress. He caught Chang Juan playing games at work, reprimanded her, and secured her promise to behave more responsibly.

• Dong Xuebin called General Manager Liang, who said none of his business contacts could visit the remote county as investors.
• Dong Xuebin arrived late at the Investment Bureau and saw employees working under pressure to attract investors.
• Dong Xuebin discovered Chang Juan playing Fight the Landlord and chatting online instead of working.
• Dong Xuebin privately explained that her conduct could damage her reputation and his judgment, and Chang Juan apologized and promised to stop playing at work.

Dong Xuebin struggled to secure investors for Zhenshui County’s conference and its fifty-million investment target. With ordinary contacts failing, he called Zhang Longjuan, who agreed to come and invest, leaving him with a final chance to deliver results.

• Chang Juan stopped playing games and returned to work after Dong Xuebin called her out.
• Cheng Yujie and Gong Na showed Dong Xuebin and Zheng Dayou the completed project materials and sample flyers.
• Chen Yunsong reported that he had found no investors willing to attend, while Dong Xuebin admitted his own calls had also failed.
• Dong Xuebin reassured Secretary Meng that the investment effort was proceeding according to plan, then worried that conventional methods could not meet the fifty-million target.
• Dong Xuebin called Zhang Longjuan overseas and asked her to attend the conference and provide fifty million in investment.
• Zhang Longjuan agreed to come, saying she could invest the money even if it brought no return.

Dong Xuebin took the Zhenshui County team to Meihe City's Investment Conference and assigned staff to handle the county's preparations. He found their booth relegated to a distant, shabby spot, apparently by order of Deputy Mayor Hua Li, and left furious.

• Dong Xuebin called Zhang Longjuan to confirm her plans to attend the Investment Conference, and she promised to come after arranging her schedule.
• Dong Xuebin assigned Cheng Yujie and Xiao Hong to handle investors and inspections in Zhenshui County while the rest of the team went to Central Park.
• Dong Xuebin's team arrived at the park and began setting up their booth as he went out to buy breakfast.
• Dong Xuebin found Zheng Dayou and the others arguing with a staff member over Zhenshui County's booth location.
• Dong Xuebin saw that Zhenshui County had been given a distant, poorly equipped booth and suspected Deputy Mayor Hua Li had arranged it.

Dong Xuebin and the Zhenshui County Investment Bureau prepared for the City Investment Conference despite being assigned a remote, poorly equipped booth. After a large crowd of investors arrived and the conference opened, the competition to attract investment began.

• Dong Xuebin calmed the angry Zhenshui County staff and told them to set up their booth before addressing its poor location.
• Deputy Mayor Hua Li and Director Lu Weiguo arrived to inspect the conference grounds, but Dong Xuebin stayed quiet and waited at the booth.
• Investors arrived in large numbers, and the delayed conference began with speeches from Hua Li and Lu Weiguo.
• Women performed onstage, officially opening the City Investment Conference and starting the competition among Investment Bureaus.

Dong Xuebin and the Zhenshui County team struggled to attract investors at the conference, finally securing two for an inspection before Lu Weiguo diverted them to Meiyang District. Gong Na returned to report that the investors had abandoned their visit to Zhenshui County, leaving the team furious at Lu’s interference.

• Dong Xuebin sent Chen Yunsong, Gong Na, and the others to distribute Zhenshui County’s brochures and seek investors throughout the conference grounds.
• After working through lunch, Chen Yunsong persuaded two investors to schedule an afternoon inspection of Zhenshui County.
• Lu Weiguo invited the investors to lunch in the city, and Zheng Dayou sent Gong Na with them to keep the inspection plans on track.
• Gong Na reported that the investors had changed their minds after lunch and gone to Meiyang District instead, allegedly on Lu Weiguo’s recommendation.
• Chang Juan and the Zhenshui County staff condemned Lu Weiguo for undermining their effort to bring the investors to the county.

Dong Xuebin and Zhenshui County’s investment team struggled through the conference after Lu Weiguo’s interference, while rival districts and counties announced new investment deals. The first day ended with Zhenshui County the only delegation without a single investor or letter of intent.

• Dong Xuebin added Lu Weiguo to his Blacklist and told the team to continue soliciting investors despite their anger.
• Chen Mingming and Ma Yanfen taunted Zheng Dayou about Zhenshui County’s poor results and compared them with their own districts’ investment figures.
• The first day of the Investment Conference ended, and Lu Weiguo announced that Meiyang District had signed an eight-million investment letter of intent.
• Lu Weiguo announced additional investment intentions from several counties and districts, including Yangli County and Chenggang County.
• The crowd noticed that Zhenshui County had secured nothing, and Zheng Dayou and his team felt humiliated while blaming the unfair treatment they had faced.

Dong Xuebin confronted Lu Weiguo over Zhenshui County’s inferior hotel rooms and booth placement at the Investment Conference. As officials blamed the county’s lack of results, Chang Juan challenged their standards and defended Zhenshui County.

• The Zhenshui County delegation discovered that its leaders had to share rooms while officials from other counties and districts had single rooms.
• Lu Weiguo gathered the Investment Bureau leaders for a meeting, and the officials recognized Dong Xuebin as the county chief.
• Dong Xuebin confronted Lu Weiguo about Zhenshui County’s room assignments and booth location, but Lu defended the arrangements as necessary sacrifices.
• A Municipal Investment Bureau official blamed Zhenshui County’s poor conference results, prompting Dong Xuebin’s delegation to object that the bureau had interfered with their investors.
• Chang Juan argued that the county’s past results and the advance arrangements should count, leaving the junior official unable to respond.

Dong Xuebin refused to accept Zhenshui County’s unfair room assignment and decided to book the hotel’s vacant Presidential Suites instead. He left Lu Weiguo and the others stunned by ordering one suite for every member of his group.

• Lu Weiguo insisted that Zhenshui County would receive no additional rooms, while Dong Xuebin and Chang Juan challenged the city’s treatment of the county.
• Dong Xuebin led his group downstairs to the hotel front desk, despite Zheng Dayou’s worry that leaving would cost them access to investors.
• Dong Xuebin learned that the hotel had six vacant Presidential Suites costing 8,888 yuan per day each.
• Dong Xuebin booked all six suites for ten days and told his group to bring their IDs so each person could have a suite.

Dong Xuebin responded to the Municipal Investment Bureau’s unfair room assignments by paying for six Presidential Suites in Zhenshui County’s delegation’s own names. He left the other officials stunned and Lu Weiguo furious, then gave up the city-booked rooms and headed upstairs with his delegation.

• Dong Xuebin booked six Presidential Suites for Zhenshui County’s delegation, including driver Lao Wei, and paid more than 500,000 yuan himself without requesting a receipt or invoice.
• Zheng Dayou, Chang Juan, Chen Yunsong, Gong Na, and Lao Wei registered for the suites as the hotel lobby watched in disbelief.
• After others saw Dong Xuebin’s Land Rover key, they realized he could afford the expense and that the payment would not come from county funds.
• Dong Xuebin returned three of the city-booked room cards to the Municipal Investment Bureau official, saying Zhenshui County would give up those rooms for others.
• Lu Weiguo angrily left for the meeting and meal, while the other district and county officials resented Zhenshui County’s sudden move to the hotel’s top floor.

Dong Xuebin settled Zhenshui County’s delegation into the hotel’s expensive Presidential Suites and waited for Old Zheng to return so they could discuss the next day’s work. Chang Juan visited his suite and cooked him dinner, leaving Dong Xuebin admiring her beauty more than her cooking.

• Dong Xuebin told the delegation to rest in their Presidential Suites and said they would meet after Old Zheng returned to discuss tomorrow’s arrangements.
• Dong Xuebin persuaded Lao Wei to stay at the hotel rather than drive back to Zhenshui County overnight.
• Hungry, Dong Xuebin opened the refrigerator but decided against cooking for himself.
• Chang Juan arrived dressed up, and Dong Xuebin complimented her before she offered to cook him a meal.
• Chang Juan cooked in Dong Xuebin’s suite while he watched, distracted by her appearance and unconcerned about whether the food tasted good.

Dong Xuebin ate dinner with Chang Juan in the hotel suite, then let her massage his shoulders and head. The massage grew intimate, and he remained nestled against her chest as she spoke with her husband and son by phone.

• Chang Juan served Dong Xuebin a home-cooked dinner, and they ate together on the sofa.
• After dinner, Chang Juan massaged Dong Xuebin's shoulders and scalp while he relaxed.
• Dong Xuebin realized his head was resting against Chang Juan's chest, but he stayed as she continued massaging him.
• Chang Juan answered a call from her husband and spoke with him and their son while Dong Xuebin remained pressed against her chest.
• Chang Juan told Dong Xuebin to look after his health and offered to massage him whenever he needed it.

Dong Xuebin thanked Chang Juan for caring for him by giving her perfume, a lighter, and a belt. After Chang Juan tried on the belt, she left Dong Xuebin flustered by exposing her waist and stockings.

• Dong Xuebin ended Chang Juan's massage and thanked her for helping him feel more relaxed.
• Dong Xuebin brought Chang Juan a bottle of Dior perfume from his suitcase, and she happily accepted it.
• Dong Xuebin also gave Chang Juan a Dupont lighter and a purple luxury belt.
• Chang Juan lifted her shirt to try the belt around her waist, leaving Dong Xuebin staring at her exposed belly and stockings.

Dong Xuebin spent the evening with Chang Juan, helping her adjust a belt and later resting while she massaged him. The chapter left them alone in his room, with Dong Xuebin lying on Chang Juan’s lap as she continued the massage.

• Chang Juan tried different ways to wear her new belt while Dong Xuebin praised her appearance.
• Dong Xuebin cut the belt shorter while it was still around Chang Juan’s waist, then fastened its buckle again.
• Chang Juan took the gift items back to her room when Dong Xuebin received a call from Zheng Dayou, who reported that the Municipal Investment Bureau had criticized Zhenshui County.
• Dong Xuebin asked Chang Juan to tell the others that Zheng Dayou would return late, then showered and fell asleep on the sofa.
• Chang Juan returned with a blanket, found Dong Xuebin asleep, and offered to massage his head.
• Dong Xuebin lay with his head on Chang Juan’s lap as she massaged him.

Dong Xuebin rested while Chang Juan massaged him, then prepared to meet with his returning colleagues. When Meng Rui challenged the Investment Conference’s poor results and questioned his hotel bookings, Dong Xuebin defended his actions by describing how Municipal Investment had treated Zhenshui County unfairly.

• Dong Xuebin relaxed on Chang Juan’s lap as she massaged him, then answered Old Zheng’s call and arranged a meeting.
• Dong Xuebin got up, washed his face, removed Chang Juan’s hair from his clothes, and waited for his colleagues.
• Meng Rui called Dong Xuebin to question the Investment Conference results and his decision to book every Presidential Suite.
• Dong Xuebin explained that Zhenshui County had been given a poor booth location, had two investors taken by Lu Weiguo, and had been denied separate rooms.
• Dong Xuebin told Meng Rui he had booked the suites in response to Municipal Investment’s treatment of Zhenshui County.

Dong Xuebin discussed the city’s obstruction with Meng Rui, then rallied the Investment Bureau team to keep pursuing investors and rearranged their hotel rooms. The chapter ended with Dong Xuebin unable to reach Zhang Longjuan and wondering whether her promised surprise meant she had come to help.

• Dong Xuebin told Meng Rui that the city and other counties were obstructing Zhenshui County’s investment work, and Meng Rui urged him to stay calm and focus on attracting investors.
• Dong Xuebin told Zheng Dayou, Chang Juan, Chen Yunsong, Gong Na, and the others to press on and seek a belated opening success the next day.
• Dong Xuebin reassigned the Presidential Suites so the team could share two suites, leaving the extra rooms available for visiting investors.
• Chang Juan and Gong Na took rooms in Dong Xuebin’s suite, while Zheng Dayou, Chen Yunsong, and Lao Wei stayed next door.
• Dong Xuebin called Zhang Longjuan, found her phone switched off, and wondered whether she had arrived to deliver her promised surprise or had been delayed.

On the second morning of the Investment Conference, Dong Xuebin enjoyed breakfast with Chang Juan and Gong Na before Zheng Dayou reported that a major foreign investment delegation was heading to Meihe City. Dong Xuebin remained unconcerned and told his team to prepare for the conference.

• Dong Xuebin woke early and found Chang Juan and Gong Na exercising on the balcony.
• Dong Xuebin ordered breakfast, and he, Chang Juan, and Gong Na ate together in the presidential suite.
• Zheng Dayou and Chen Yunsong visited Dong Xuebin and reported that more than a dozen wealthy foreign investment groups were expected to arrive in Meihe City.
• Dong Xuebin said the delegation probably had nothing to do with Zhenshui County and told the team to get ready for the venue.

Dong Xuebin led Zhenshui County’s delegation into the investment conference, where other officials resented their expensive hotel rooms and isolated them. When a powerful foreign investment delegation was announced, Dong stayed calm and told his team to focus on domestic investors, leaving Zhenshui County unhurried while the other districts scrambled to prepare.

• Dong Xuebin led Zhenshui County into the venue as other delegates criticized their Presidential Suites and treated them coldly.
• Dong Xuebin cheerfully greeted Hua Li and Lu Weiguo despite their frosty response, then returned with his team to their booth.
• Hua Li relayed the Municipal Party Secretary’s instructions that the city should try to secure investment from an arriving delegation of more than a dozen major foreign and Chinese companies.
• The county and district investment directors rushed to prepare for the delegation, while Zheng Dayou asked Dong Xuebin how Zhenshui County should respond.
• Dong Xuebin told his team to stick to their existing plans and focus on domestic investors, reasoning that they had a better chance of winning those deals while others chased the foreign delegation.

Zhenshui County’s staff faced threats from city officials despite having finished their preparations, and Dong Xuebin and Chang Juan pushed back against the accusations. The chapter ended when Zhang Longjuan told Dong Xuebin she had arrived in the city to surprise him.

• While other counties rushed to prepare, Zhenshui County’s staff relaxed after completing their preparations.
• Hua Li and Lu Weiguo discussed canceling Zhenshui County’s booth, and a Municipal Investment cadre threatened the county with revocation.
• Zheng Dayou and Chang Juan challenged the cadre’s accusations, and Dong Xuebin demanded that any booth cancellation be formally approved.
• Dong Xuebin received Zhang Longjuan’s call and learned that she had arrived in the city.