One day… five days… ten days… Half a month later.
Tomorrow is the Investment and Culture Festival.
Early the next morning, just when the sky was still dim, Dong Xuebing hurried over from his home to the festival's main venue.
This is the largest park in the county, and it was completed just last year. It features a small mountain, a lake, pavilions, and green trees. There’s also an amusement park on the outer side, located in a relatively central area of the county. Since its completion, it has been widely welcomed by many locals. On holidays, parents often bring their children to the amusement park to play, and many elderly people come to the park to exercise in the mornings or evenings. Jiaoling County’s central park is comparable to South Corner Park in Baohong City and Zheng Guang Lu Park in the province.
As for why a county would build such a high-standard park…
It might have been the ambition of the previous or the one before that leadership team.
When Dong Xuebing arrived, he realized that Jiaoling County lagged behind other similarly sized city-level cities in terms of economy and cultural heritage. However, its hardware facilities always aim to meet a city-level standard. For example, the new county government complex that had been torn down was grand beyond words, and this central park’s environment and area were even better than some of the top parks in district-level cities. It seemed that many years ago, the leadership team of Jiaoling County had already been vying for city-level status for the county. Dong Xuebing had heard about this ambition from his family before taking office. So, in this ambition, many of Jiaoling County’s infrastructure standards were very high. However, after many attempts, the proposal to elevate the county’s status was repeatedly rejected from above. This rejection wasn’t merely about a setback—one failure wasn’t an automatic green light for another attempt. That rejection was a death sentence for the county’s city-level aspirations, extinguishing any chance to try again.
This was also why Dong Xuebing’s family strongly opposed his decision to come to Jiaoling County. With no hope of elevation, they thought he was wasting his time. It would take a long time to earn his credentials to move up to vice-ministerial rank, far longer than if he stayed with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Because besides him, no one else could have predicted the changes that would happen in Jiaoling County.
Of course, if he wanted to catch the wind a few months from now, this Investment and Culture Festival had to be beautifully managed. This was a political mission. Dong Xuebing initially set the specifications for this to the county. He wanted everyone to take it seriously. No mistakes could be made.
The park had already stopped selling tickets in the past few days and was closed to the public. A large banner announcing the Investment and Culture Festival's date was hung at the entrance. By Dong Xuebing's arrival, many county staff members were already there—people from the Investment Bureau and the county government office. Tomorrow was the day to test their results. No one dared be careless at this time; the busier it got, the more work there was. Watching everyone hustle, moving equipment and tools into the park, Dong Xuebing nodded slightly, getting out of the car and walking into the park.
“Hey, County Mayor Dong, up early!”
“I just got here too.”
“Isn’t most of the investors coming today?”
“Most are coming by plane or train, arriving after morning. No rush. I’m just coming here to check things out for now. I’ll head to the provincial capital to pick people up in a bit. The buses are already arranged and are at the airport and train station. Once they arrive, they’ll gradually be brought to our county’s hotels.”
“Alright, you’re going to have a busy day today.”
In front of the twenty empty food stalls already rented out, Dong Xuebing and Zhang Dongfang ran into each other, talking as they walked toward the main venue.
From a distance, it was all already set up.
Then, a middle-aged man’s figure caught Dong Xuebing and Zhang Dongfang’s attention. They heard him yelling loudly at the staff: “Not here, move it over there! Why are you positioning the lights ? Didn’t I tell you guys before? And those one hundred chairs in front of the stage aren’t enough. Add more, and make it a thousand! I know the front isn’t enough, but how about putting chairs on the sides? There’s no partition at the stage. Are you guys brain-dead or something?”
This was the director called in by his aunt.
“Director Sun.” Dong Xuebing walked over and greeted him.
Seeing Dong Xuebing, Director Sun looked frustrated. “Xuebing, I can’t deal with this anymore. These staff members are just too inflexible.”
Dong Xuebing smiled. “You should be more understanding of everyone. Most of them aren’t professionals, and half are from our offices. To save money, we even borrowed the equipment ourselves. It’s everyone’s first time doing this, so there are bound to be a lot of issues. That’s why we invited you, Director Sun. You’ve got to help us improve.” Dong Xuebing spoke courteously to him because others didn’t know who Director Sun was, but he was well aware. Director Sun specialized in directing stages and events. Many large-scale events in the country were under his direction, though he wasn’t as well-known because he wasn’t involved in dramas or films. However, in the industry, he was a person of considerable influence.
Director Sun was full of complaints. “It’s not about understanding. I owe something to Sister Ci’s favor. But this is my first time directing such a difficult event, Xuebing. Did Sister Ci tell you what my main job was? Look at me now! What do I have of a director’s job? I have to handle lighting, sound, stage effects, and even how the chairs are arranged. Where’s the directing in this?” It wasn’t surprising for Director Sun to feel this way; he had a prominent presence in the industry, but now he regretted coming. If he had known, he shouldn’t have come. However, thinking about it, it was impossible not to come. Big Sister Ci had helped him out too much in the past, helping him through his most difficult times. Now, one word from her, he had to do it, just venting a bit.
Dong Xuebing handed him a cigarette and said, “Director Sun, we’re just a small place here. Of course, we can’t compare to the big events you’ve directed before. We don’t have that kind of team for this.”
Director Sun sighed. “No team is one thing, but where’s the program list? Where are the performers? I don’t see any of them, and there hasn’t even been a rehearsal! You guys aren’t seriously considering starting the event tomorrow afternoon, are you?”
Hearing this, Zhang Dongfang also looked over in concern.
At this moment, Deputy Party Secretary Wei Zhi-Xuan, Meng Han-Mei, and Chang Lin, along with others, began arriving one by one. It seemed they had all come together to the scene. Upon hearing Director Sun’s words, everyone shared the same concerns. Yes, it was true. Dong Xuebing had mentioned half a month ago that he would take care of all the arrangements for these performers. Yet, over a half-month had passed, and the cultural festival’s evening show was tomorrow. But there wasn’t a single performer to be seen—not even any celebrity or art troupe. Everyone’s hearts were on edge, feeling uneasy. Invitations had already been sent out, and a significant contingent of investors were soon to arrive from across the country. At this point, even if something went wrong, canceling the cultural evening would be too late. Once words were spoken, they couldn’t be taken back. How would they wrap up the event if they didn’t bring in any stars? Many people had already lost hope. They weren’t even expecting celebrities anymore; they just hoped Dong Xuebing could find some performers for free, casually put together a show, and cover the scene.
But Dong Xuebing didn’t seem to be concerned at all.
Dong Xuebing politely lit Director Sun’s cigarette and chuckled, “People will come, just not here yet. They should arrive this afternoon at the latest and be here before the evening show.”
Director Sun was irritated. “How are they going to perform without rehearsals?”
Dong Xuebing said, “No need for rehearsals. Once many of them arrive, we’ll just let everyone get familiar with the venue. As for the performances, let everyone freestyle.”
“Xuebing, that’s a novice mindset,” Director Sun criticized. “Sister Ci sent me to help you, so I must be responsible for your evening show. I’m the director. Since you’ve invited me, you must listen to what I say. My main job is to look at the programs—how they flow, their effect, which ones are suitable, how to transition between them and announce them. That’s my specialty. But right now, I don’t even see a single performer! How am I supposed to direct?”
Dong Xuebing chuckled awkwardly. “Director Sun, people will be here soon, very soon.”
It wasn’t that Dong Xuebing was hiding something. It was just that he didn’t know who would be coming—what celebrities might show up. This wasn’t something Dong Xuebing decided; he was merely arranging things through intermediaries. Whether it would work out wasn’t guaranteed until the last moment. What if a celebrity couldn’t make it, had another engagement, or changed plans at the last minute? It wouldn’t be good. As the head, Dong Xuebing couldn’t afford to make empty promises. He had to ensure he could deliver on what he said. As for why rehearsals weren’t needed, it was simply because Dong Xuebing had no other choice. Oh, he wasn’t paying a single penny and yet was asking people to help, arrive early, and obey all instructions. Even if Dong Xuebing had thick skin, he couldn’t bring himself to ask for such demands. It just wouldn’t be decent.
So, they waited. The answers would come soon.