Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin secured Han Jing’s promise that a new achievement could help him transfer back, then learned that Zhong Lizhen had recommended Zhenshui County for a Chinese Academy of Sciences Experimental Base. He prepared to host the researchers’ inspection and decided to take control of Science and Technology Affairs so he could secure the project as an achievement.

• Dong Xuebin spoke with Han Jing and received her promise that he could transfer back if he produced another respectable achievement.
• Dong Xuebin arranged to meet Jiang Fangfang on Sunday night, then received a call from Zhong Lizhen asking him to pick up two Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers.
• Zhong Lizhen told Dong Xuebin that she had recommended Zhenshui County for the Experimental Base and that the researchers would inspect it the next morning.
• Dong Xuebin called Chen Xuekai, who said Zhenshui County had a strong chance if it met the site requirements and offered to support the recommendation if needed.
• Dong Xuebin decided to quietly guide the researchers’ inspection and try to take Science and Technology Affairs from Ci Boyang so he could secure the project.

Dong Xuebin organized an afternoon tour of Zhenshui County’s investment projects and spent the evening handling investors’ needs and negotiations. After an exhausting night of emergencies and calls, he was woken at 5:10 a.m. and rushed out again.

• Dong Xuebin finalized the itinerary and coordinated with Secretary Li and Zhang Longjuan before directing county staff to prepare for the investors’ visit.
• Dong Xuebin and the Investment Bureau staff escorted investors by Tour Bus to project sites, then hosted them for dinner and answered their questions about investing in Zhenshui County.
• After going home at 9:15 p.m., Dong Xuebin returned to help a foreign investor suffering from diarrhea, carried him into an ambulance, and stayed until the investor recovered.
• At midnight, Dong Xuebin coordinated a replacement plan after learning the next day’s inspection site had a problem, then finally went to sleep at 1:00 a.m.
• Dong Xuebin was woken by a phone call at 5:10 a.m. and drove out without even washing his face.

Dong Xuebin was surprised when Zhang Longjuan arrived at the investment conference with a large delegation of foreign investors, giving Zhenshui County an unexpected advantage. He refused Hua Li and Lu Weiguo’s request to have city officials accompany the investors on their inspection.

• Zhang Longjuan greeted Dong Xuebin with a familiar hug and introduced him to the investors she had brought.
• The other conference attendees realized the investors had come for Zhenshui County, though many doubted the county could hold on to them.
• Hua Li and Lu Weiguo softened their attitude toward Dong Xuebin and praised his invitation after seeing Zhang Longjuan’s group.
• Lu Weiguo asked Dong Xuebin to persuade the investors to let Municipal Investment officials accompany their inspection.
• Dong Xuebin said he would not press Zhang Longjuan and insisted the city should respect the investors’ wishes.

Dong Xuebin secured a Chinese Academy of Sciences Experimental Base for Zhenshui County and discussed the achievement with Jiang Fangfang, who praised his results. He assigned the project work to his allies and asked Han Jing to help settle his full division-level rank.

• After the Standing Committee meeting, Ci Boyang realized Dong Xuebin had used the Development and Reform Bureau as a smokescreen to take over Science and Technology Affairs, leaving Ci without credit for the Experimental Base.
• Jiang Fangfang asked Dong Xuebin how he had arranged the project, and he explained how he had contacted the Chinese Academy of Sciences and secured the site in Clear Water Township.
• Jiang Fangfang thanked Dong Xuebin for bringing the project to Zhenshui County, and he credited the county leadership while accepting responsibility for the work ahead.
• Dong Xuebin told Yao Cui that the Chinese Academy of Sciences team would arrive that afternoon and put her in charge of Clear Water Township's project work.
• While eating lunch, Dong Xuebin called Han Jing to claim credit for the Experimental Base and remind her of her promise to help settle his full division-level rank; Han Jing agreed to ask around.

Dong Xuebin and the Meihe City officials welcomed a foreign investment delegation, but struggled to communicate with its members while waiting for their leader. When the delegation leader arrived, Dong Xuebin recognized her and froze.

• Dong Xuebin reassured Zhenshui County's staff that their booth would not be canceled as the foreign investors arrived.
• Hua Li and Lu Weiguo welcomed the delegation, and the provincial female leader introduced several investors and their companies.
• An overseas Chinese investor said the delegation's leader would introduce the remaining members, while local officials struggled to communicate with the visitors in English.
• The provincial female leader announced that the delegation leader had arrived, and Dong Xuebin froze when he saw the mature woman step out of the car.

Dong Xuebin returned to Zhenshui County after securing fifty million in funding and winning the support of Finance Bureau Director Yan Yizhi and Deputy Director Chen Xiaomei. He learned that Deputy Secretary Zhang Wanshui and Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Pu An were holding separate weddings at the same hotel that day, leaving him to decide which celebration to attend.

• Dong Xuebin called Yan Yizhi, who said the county finances were tight and confirmed he had kept the expected central funding secret from Secretary Meng and County Chief Jiang.
• Dong Xuebin arrived at the airport and learned from Ma Bin that no county government car was available to pick him up.
• Ma Bin explained that Zhang Wanshui and Pu An were holding their children's weddings at the same hotel on the same day, creating a politically sensitive choice for county officials.
• Dong Xuebin asked his secretary Yao Cui to arrange a County Party Committee car and she offered to pick him up herself.
• On the plane, Dong Xuebin weighed attending Zhang Wanshui's son's wedding against attending Pu An's daughter's wedding, considering the county's factional balance.

Dong Xuebin proposed holding a variety show as part of Jiaolin County’s Investment Promotion Culture Festival to attract attention and investors. The Standing Committee approved preparations for a two-day festival at the start of next month, while Dong Xuebin took responsibility for recruiting performers without paying appearance fees.

• Dong Xuebin proposed inviting celebrities and art troupes to perform at the Investment Promotion Culture Festival and argued the show could boost investment promotion.
• Wei Zhixuan and Xu Zhuang questioned the plan because the county’s two-million-yuan budget could not cover well-known performers.
• Dong Xuebin scheduled the festival for the start of next month, assigned Zhang Dongfang and the county government to contact investors, and said he would handle the performers.
• Dong Xuebin told the committee that the performers would require only food and lodging, then directed everyone to prioritize festival preparations.
• After the meeting, Dong Xuebin reflected that his connections and family’s support gave him a strong chance of recruiting performers, and decided to ask for help.

Dong Xuebin amazed the Jiaolin County audience with a magic act, appearing behind a table and then atop an artificial rockery. After he seemed to fall into a lake, he reappeared from beneath the stage table, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Dong Xuebin appeared behind the table after seeming to enter it, winning thunderous applause from the audience.
• Backstage celebrities and Jiaolin County officials praised Dong Xuebin’s performance, while Zhang Dongfang felt embarrassed by his own nervous speech.
• Dong Xuebin continued joking with the audience from atop the artificial rockery and suggested he had discovered a space-time tunnel.
• Dong Xuebin stumbled from the rockery into the lake, alarming the audience and prompting people to rush to save him.
• Dong Xuebin emerged smiling from beneath the table onstage, stunning the crowd again.

Dong Xuebin secured county support for his Investment Promotion Work after pledging to bring in fifty million in investment and staking his position on success. He also advanced plans to staff his bureau and arrange Chang Juan’s promotion, while the risk and political consequences of his pledge remained unresolved.

• After the Standing Committee meeting, Pu An warned Dong Xuebin that his fifty-million investment pledge and offer to resign had put him under pressure, but Dong Xuebin insisted he could deliver.
• Dong Xuebin told Jiang Fangfang he had made the pledge during the meeting, and she confirmed the county would fully support his work while promising to share responsibility if he failed.
• Dong Xuebin asked Yao Cui to find a reliable clerk who could begin work the next day.
• Secretary Shen told Dong Xuebin that Chang Juan’s suspension had been revoked and would not be entered into her file, so Dong Xuebin contacted her workplace and spoke with Liao Haiwei about her assessment and transfer.
• Dong Xuebin’s pledge had helped consolidate the Investment Bureau and secure personnel changes, but failure could cost him his position, while success would also benefit Secretary Meng’s faction.

Dong Xuebin discussed Zhenshui County’s projects and finances with Jiang Fangfang while cautiously touching her in bed. Jiang Fangfang stayed focused on work and asked him to prepare an Investment Promotion plan, leaving Dong Xuebin unsure what her lack of reaction meant.

• Dong Xuebin reported that the dormitory project was underway and described his decisions on the Education Funds and teaching staff.
• Jiang Fangfang said Secretary Meng had made no moves and suggested her father’s death might explain his restraint.
• Dong Xuebin told Jiang Fangfang that about eight million remained in the treasury, with only four million available, and promised to find funding for road construction.
• Jiang Fangfang agreed that Investment Promotion was important and asked Dong Xuebin to draft a plan as soon as possible.
• Dong Xuebin continued touching Jiang Fangfang while she discussed county business without reacting, leaving him uncertain about her intentions.

Dong Xuebin took Yu Qianqian and her roommates to Wangfu Restaurant after helping her settle a school dispute. He encouraged Yu Meixia to buy a home in the Capital City and gave her a bank card, while his status impressed the girls once again at the restaurant.

• Dong Xuebin gave Yu Qianqian Xie Hao's number and asked Vice Principal Zhang to look after her at school.
• Yu Qianqian's roommates joined Dong Xuebin, Yu Meixia, and Qianqian for a meal at Wangfu Restaurant.
• Dong Xuebin learned Yu Meixia had quit her job in Beihe Province and would start work at a service center of the Electric Power Company.
• Dong Xuebin gave Yu Meixia a bank card and told her to buy a two-bedroom apartment in the Capital City.
• Wangfu Restaurant's lobby manager recognized Dong Xuebin as Secretary Dong and arranged a private room, astonishing Qianqian's roommates.

Yanbei County and Jiaolin County fought over an ancient tomb, prompting provincial officials and Baohong City Secretary Qian Litao to intervene. After both counties presented maps and officials checked the site, the tomb appeared to lie directly on their shared boundary, leaving its ownership unresolved.

• Yanbei County officials treated injured police officers after the clash, while Xiao Dongnan met Teachers Chu, Mu Zhengzhong, and Meng and confirmed that the tomb was almost certainly part of the Imperial Tomb Complex.
• Qian Litao heard that Yanbei County and Jiaolin County had fought over the tomb and hurried to Qingluan Mountain.
• Yang Gang sent Yanbei County staff into the excavation area, where Zhang Dongfang argued that they were interfering with the provincial department’s work.
• Qian Litao arrived, heard both sides’ accounts, and recognized that Yanbei County’s officers had escalated the clash by smashing equipment, failing to show identification, and threatening people with guns.
• Yang Gang and Dong Xuebin each used a map to claim the tomb for their county, but verification by Qian Litao and Xiao Dongnan placed it directly on the boundary line.

Dong Xuebin left the reception after canceling the hotel arrangements, while Deputy Director Niu and the England exchange delegation arrived late to find most of Jiaolin County’s investors and officials gone. Deputy Director Niu berated the remaining county officials, but Zhang Dongfang and Meng Hanmei pushed back, leaving the conflict over the delegation’s treatment unresolved.

• Dong Xuebin returned to the Family Compound, where he drank tea on the terrace to calm his anger.
• Meng Hanmei refused a staffer’s suggestion to enlarge the reception lineup, saying Dong Xuebin’s anger had already made his position clear.
• Deputy Director Niu’s convoy arrived nearly half an hour late, after Zhang Dongfang and the Jiaolin County officials had waited in the cold.
• Deputy Director Niu criticized the small reception team and demanded to know why Dong Xuebin was absent.
• When the interpreter asked for the investors, Deputy Director Niu learned they had left, and Meng Hanmei reproached him for making them wait for hours without notice.

After Dong Xuebin confided in Xu Yan about his troubles at home, she invited him to stay the night and agreed to let him treat her again. He prepared to use REVERSE to make her younger, hoping to restore her to her thirties.

• Dong Xuebin finished telling Xu Yan about his troubles, and she offered to listen whenever he needed her.
• Xu Yan insisted that Dong Xuebin stay at her apartment rather than go out alone in the rain.
• Dong Xuebin offered Xu Yan another treatment, and she asked whether he could make her younger again.
• Dong Xuebin said he could likely restore Xu Yan to her thirties but hid the limits of his remaining REVERSE time.
• Xu Yan agreed to the treatment and went to shower and remove her makeup as Dong Xuebin prepared.

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.

Dong Xuebin and Jiang Fangfang pretended to reconcile and act like a loving couple to reassure Mother Jiang, whose suspicions about their marriage kept growing. When she caught them without proof of marriage, Jiang Fangfang kissed Dong Xuebin to convince her, and he turned the staged gesture into a passionate kiss.

• At breakfast, Mother Jiang urged Jiang Fangfang and Dong Xuebin to sit together, and she insisted Dong Xuebin stay until after dinner.
• While washing dishes, Jiang Fangfang told Dong Xuebin to act more intimate with her so Mother Jiang would not suspect their arrangement.
• Jiang Fangfang and Dong Xuebin held hands in front of Mother Jiang and said they had made up, but she remained doubtful and demanded to see their marriage certificate.
• After Mother Jiang added sugar to her medicine, Jiang Fangfang suggested they act even more intimate when they realized they had no marriage certificate to show.
• Jiang Fangfang kissed Dong Xuebin in front of Mother Jiang, and Dong Xuebin kissed her back until she began returning the kiss.

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 spending the morning with Xu Yan, Dong Xuebin learned that Xu Yan’s son Chao Chao and his classmates had beaten Liu Haibin, the military commander’s son, after a near-accident at the foot of a mountain. Soldiers pursued and seized the students despite Xu Yan’s intervention, leaving Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin furious and the students’ fate uncertain.

• Dong Xuebin bought Xu Yan replacement clothes, and the two washed up at the hotel before preparing to leave.
• Xu Yan received a frantic call from Chao Chao, who said he and his classmates had beaten a careless driver and fled when soldiers arrived and chased them.
• Xu Yan called Political Commissar Liu, who learned that the injured driver was Commander Liu Guowei’s son, Liu Haibin, and promised to investigate.
• Soldiers caught Chao Chao and his classmates while Xu Yan was on the phone, and the call ended as they shouted for help.
• Xu Yan and Dong Xuebin grew angry over the soldiers’ actions and suspected Liu Haibin’s influence was behind the pursuit.

Dong Xuebin reviewed the dormitory renovation plans and agreed to represent the County Government on a politically important visit to injured and resettled families. He then saw that a delegation from Fenzhou City was coming to inspect Meihe City's schools and wondered whether Xie Huilan would be with it.

• Yao Cui brought Dong Xuebin lunch, and he asked her to have the dormitory renovation proposal revised with a lower budget and a better construction order.
• Jiang Fangfang told Dong Xuebin to settle on a general renovation plan himself and asked him to attend the afternoon visit to injured and resettled families on behalf of the County Government.
• Dong Xuebin agreed to attend the visit after Zhang Feng called with the same request.
• Dong Xuebin read a news report that Fenzhou City was sending an educational inspection delegation to Meihe City and suspected that Xie Huilan might be leading it.

Qu Yunxuan’s condition stabilized, and Luan Xiaoping stayed behind to care for her while Dong Xuebin took her parents to the station with baby Xiao Qianqian. Meanwhile, officials in Fenzhou City investigated Dong Xuebin’s past and began calling him the Plague God.

• A doctor confirmed that Qu Yunxuan was stable and could be transferred to another hospital the next day.
• Luan Xiaoping offered to stay and look after Qu Yunxuan, while Dong Xuebin agreed to take Father Qu and Mother Qu to the station and care for Xiao Qianqian.
• Dong Xuebin drove Qu Yunxuan’s parents to the station after leaving the hospital.
• Fenzhou City officials investigated Dong Xuebin’s history after the Wan Sichao incident and learned of the misfortunes that had befallen people who clashed with him.
• The officials heard Dong Xuebin’s old nickname, the Plague God, and decided it suited him.