The streets and neighborhoods were peaceful, with some people at home putting their children to bed, others working overtime at the office, and couples strolling and shopping, creating a harmonious atmosphere. However, behind the scenes, where ordinary people couldn't see, the entire Jiaolinjian County was filled with a tense atmosphere.
Su Yan was visiting hotels one by one.
Deputy Director Niu and the foreign guests were also visiting hotels one after another.
But after all, this was Jiaolinjian County, and this was Dong Xuebing's and his team's territory. Even though Deputy Director Niu and his colleagues were city officials, they couldn’t compare to the local officials' connections and efficiency. So even though Su Yan started a little later than Deputy Director Niu, he made a few calls, and everything was sorted out quickly. All he had to do was go to each hotel with the bank card Dong Xuebing had given him and settle the bills. It didn’t matter if he paid tomorrow or the day after—the County Party Secretary’s word was a guarantee, and no hotel would worry about not being paid. They were more than happy to have Dong Xuebing’s backing. Everything would be fine if Su Yan conveyed Dong Xuebing’s message. There would be no issues with the county’s dealings.
But there were still some minor issues.
Dong Xuebing was still enjoying the moon at home when Su Yan’s call came in. As soon as he answered, Su Yan said, "Secretary Dong, everything’s booked, and I’ve already had people give the hotels a heads-up, but the last hotel I visited refused to let me pay by card. I don’t know why."
Dong Xuebing frowned and asked, "Was there no room left?"
Dong Xuebing relaxed slightly and then said, "It’s okay. I understand. You’ve worked hard today, Su Yan. You can rest after you finish your task."
Su Yan immediately replied, "It’s fine, Secretary. I’m not tired. I’ll go check on the foreign guests’ situation again."
Dong Xuebing nodded, indicating that his secretary understood him perfectly. "Alright, keep me updated."
Soon after, another call came in.
Dong Xuebing looked at the number—it was unfamiliar. "Hello?"
A woman’s voice on the other end said, "Secretary Dong, I’m Sun. You might not remember me, but we met earlier at the dinner."
Dong Xuebing didn’t remember, but he couldn’t say that. "Oh, I know, Ms. Sun, right?"
Since she was calling him directly and referring to their dinner earlier, she must have been one of the local businesspeople from the banquet. If it had been a government official, the tone would have been different, and Dong Xuebing could easily tell. So, he quickly made the assumption.
The woman laughed and said, "I’m honored you remember me, Secretary Dong. I’ve just heard that the county has booked all the remaining rooms at several good hotels. I think I know why. Coincidentally, I own one of the hotels, so I heard about this and decided not to charge anyone."
Dong Xuebing replied, "Ms. Sun, this time, I’m personally paying, and I don’t want to cause any trouble for you all."
The woman said, "Don’t say that. The county’s matters are our matters. I’ve always believed that a business shouldn’t just aim to make money but also have a sense of social responsibility. You know what I mean. This sense of social responsibility is ultimately tied to our country’s responsibility, not some other place. So, since you didn’t ask anyone to settle the bill, I won’t charge you. There will be some loss, but it’s just for one or two days. We can afford it."
Dong Xuebing felt touched after hearing this. "Then thank you, Ms. Sun."
The woman said, "You don’t need to thank me. It’s something I wanted to do. These foreigners need to be taught a lesson. They come here expecting us to take care of everything, and then they act all high and mighty. How can we let them get away with that? They’re practically mocking us!"
After hanging up, Dong Xuebing nodded slightly. Despite the intense internal conflicts, everyone stood united when it came to facing external challenges.
The foreign guests had started to make a fuss.
A barrage of English complaints came at them, and even though Deputy Director Niu and the city government staff couldn’t understand, they were obviously being criticized. They had no choice but to endure it and continue trying to arrange hotel accommodations. However, in the end, despite all the calls made, the message was the same: no rooms were available. Not a single room. By now, even Deputy Director Niu and his team could see what was happening. There had to be someone in Jiaolinjian County deliberately obstructing their efforts. After all, how could a place like Jiaolinjian, which wasn’t a tourist destination, have no rooms available at several high-end hotels?
It had to be Dong Xuebing’s doing.
There was no need to ask—only a county party secretary with a rogue attitude like Dong Xuebing would pull off something . Even someone as bold as Zhang Dongfang wouldn’t have the guts to challenge foreign guests .
How did they end up dealing with this jerk?
This was an outright challenge to the city.
But now, it was pointless to talk about it. Deputy Director Niu and his team's first priority was to settle the foreign guests. That was the most important task at hand.
The translator conveyed the message from the foreign delegation: "How is it that there’s not a single hotel available? We’ve been standing outside for almost an hour now. We’re all tired and need to rest. If you continue this attitude, we might report this situation to the provincial authorities."
The group of foreign guests were all in a bad mood.
The translator they brought with them was just as arrogant.
Deputy Director Niu was at a loss. Suddenly, he noticed a small hotel across the street and pointed at it. "How about we try there?"
The translator widened their eyes, "Stay there?"
Deputy Director Niu said, "It’s just for now. It’s too late to go back or head to another county. It’ll only delay things further. Let’s settle everyone in first, and then I’ll arrange something else. We admit that we haven’t done a good job with the arrangements, and we hope you can understand. I’ll make sure to give you an explanation later."
The translator calmed down and relayed the message to the foreign guests.
The foreign guests’ expressions made it clear that they weren’t pleased.
A short while later, the translator returned and told Deputy Director Niu, "They said they can’t stay at that place. You need to find another hotel. If you can’t find a decent one, they’ll go back. They’ve made it clear—they’re very unhappy with this exchange and will report this to the higher-ups when they return."
Deputy Director Niu quickly said, "The local county didn’t do their job properly, we..."
"Talking about that is pointless," the translator said, cutting him off. Then he walked away. After speaking with the foreign guests, they all got into the car, their faces dark with displeasure.
"Director Niu," one of his subordinates said, "What do we do now?"
Deputy Director Niu clenched his fists. "What else is there to say? Let’s go back to the city and contact the city hotels."
"But it’ll take more than an hour to get back," the subordinate pointed out.
Deputy Director Niu vented his frustration on his subordinate. "So what if it takes more than an hour? Even if it takes three hours, we’re going back. Are you suggesting we sleep on the street tonight?"
"Uh, fine, I'll handle it." The subordinate was a bit uncomfortable with Deputy Director Niu's attitude. Why are you yelling at me? Isn’t this a case of bullying your people? You’re all stern with us but act submissive in front of the foreigners. It’s uncomfortable to watch.
With resentment, the subordinate looked at Jiaolinjian County’s streets. Deputy Director Niu yanked open the car door and slammed it shut with a loud bang. "Drive back to the city!" Today, he had completely lost face. His authority and reputation had been shattered by Jiaolinjian County, primarily by Dong Xuebing. Deputy Director Niu was so furious that he even considered hitting someone.
That Dong... just wait.
Deputy Director Niu was already planning how to report to the city about Dong Xuebing. He couldn’t let this slip.
The cars sped out of the county, and the foreign guests and city officials left, forced out by Dong Xuebing.
At the residential compound.
After a brief stop at their offices, the remaining county leaders returned home, all living in the same compound.
However, as their cars stopped downstairs, Zhang Dongfang’s phone rang. Soon after, calls came in for Meng Hanmei and Deputy Secretary Wei Zhixuan.
"County Mayor Zhang."
"The foreign guests are gone, and the city officials have left."
"Mm, what happened? Why did they suddenly leave?"
"I heard that all the good hotels in Jiaolinjian County were fully booked. No rooms were available. The foreign guests refused to stay in the smaller inns, and the city officials didn’t take the initiative to contact us for help with the guesthouse arrangements, so they all returned to the city."
"How could the hotels be full?" Zhang Dongfang asked.
"It’s true, I just asked. Several of the bigger hotels are fully booked. Even the basement rooms with no windows were taken."
The other two also hung up their phones.
The three of them exchanged glances. Zhang Dongfang said, "The foreign guests have left."
"I heard," said Wei Zhixuan.
Meng Hanmei blinked and sighed with a bitter smile, "I know a bit more. Secretary Dong apparently paid for it personally and booked all the remaining rooms in our county’s big hotels."
Wei Zhixuan exclaimed, "What?"
Zhang Dongfang staggered a bit, almost losing his balance. "Secretary Dong booked them?"
How much money did that cost?
That was the first thought that crossed their minds.
Even though there might not have been many remaining rooms, they couldn’t have been too few either. There were surely some expensive suites or similar rooms involved. He must have spent at least several hundred thousand.