Morning.
On some road of unknown origin.
After walking a full two kilometers, Dong Xuebin finally found a spot with reception at the entrance to a village. He immediately called for repairs, then called District Governor Yuehua's secretary, Secretary Ma. Naturally, he couldn't tell her the truth. After relaying Geng Yuehua's instructions, he made the excuse that District Governor Geng still had some unfinished business near Dafeng County and had no phone signal, so she probably wouldn't be back until sometime that afternoon.
It was ten o'clock.
Dong Xuebin sat by the roadside beneath the sun for a while. His clothes were more or less dry, but he wasn't in any hurry to head back. He lit a cigarette and took a couple of drags, and District Governor Yuehua's image surfaced in his mind again.
What exactly was going on in there?
If I don't get to the bottom of it, it's going to eat at me!
Suddenly, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and saw that it was Zhou Yanru from the office.
Dong Xuebin answered. "Hello, Director Zhou."
Zhou Yanru let out a cry of relief. "Director, we finally found you! We called you all night yesterday, but you were out of the service area, and it was the same this morning. You scared me to death. It rained so hard last night—I thought something might have happened to you. Pah, listen to me. What could possibly happen to you?"
Dong Xuebin chuckled. "Thanks for worrying about me. Everything all right at the office?"
"Didn't that group of Japanese investors arrive? They're supposed to come over for an inspection this afternoon, and you...?"
"I'm handling something with District Governor Yuehua. I can't get back for now. It's fine—if I don't make it back, you go down