The cultural gala began promptly.
The lights flashed, and several cameras focused on the stage.
Though the stage equipment was somewhat rudimentary, it produced a fairly good effect under Director Sun's arrangement. This also highlighted Director Sun’s professional skills.
A smiling female host invited by the county TV station stepped up to the podium. Accompanying her was a well-spoken male official from the county’s Cultural Bureau, who was today’s male host. "Ladies and gentlemen, viewers at home, good evening. Today is special as we celebrate the first large-scale cultural gala of Jiaolin County’s investment festival." After a brief introduction, the male host finally said, "Now, let’s welcome Jiaolin County Mayor Zhang Dongfang to deliver his speech."
Why is Mayor Zhang the first to go up?
Many officials and guests in the audience were puzzled, pausing momentarily.
A plump Zhang Dongfang stepped up, having been backstage waiting. He took the microphone and stood there.
Applause rang out, though not particularly enthusiastic—it was moderate. The common folk weren’t clapping because they were waiting to see the stars, not caring about a big guy on stage. But there were still many Jiaolin County staff clapping, as they were bound to show support for their leaders.
"Hello, everyone." Zhang Dongfang appeared a bit nervous, sweating quite a bit. It was a live broadcast, and he might think people from all over the country could be watching. His expression was not entirely natural. After pulling out his speech notes, Zhang Dongfang almost mechanically read through it before hurriedly stepping down. Zhang Dongfang had appeared confident just moments ago when speaking with Dong Xuebing. But as soon as he got on stage, he made a mess of his speech. The few paragraphs of his speech were clumsy, and he stumbled over the words.
"Next, let’s invite Jiaolin County Secretary Dong Xuebing to give his speech. Let’s all welcome him." The host stepped aside and started clapping herself.
This was where the difference was evident.
Amidst applause, Dong Xuebing walked up confidently, without a hint of hesitation. He didn’t even have a speech prepared, always performing off-the-cuff. Standing there, he held the microphone and began speaking, "We have many leaders, guests, investors, and friends from here today. On behalf of the County Committee, I welcome everyone. It is our honor to have you join our first cultural gala of the investment festival."
Seeing the leaders about to speak at length again, many of the several thousand citizens in the audience started to mutter under their breath.
But Dong Xuebing remained calm and smiled at everyone. "I can already hear the audience’s groans; are they telling me to hurry up and get off the stage?"
Someone couldn't help but laugh out loud below.
The common people didn’t expect the county secretary to say such a thing, especially during a live broadcast. What was originally complaints turned into laughter.
The people of Jiaolin County were wiping their sweat profusely.
Dong Xuebing remained calm, "Hehe, well, I’ll respond to the people's call and wrap up my speech as soon as possible. Hmm, the speech is quite long. Let’s omit the next 200,000 words." After saying that, he looked at the host, "All right, host, my speech is done. Let’s quickly move on to the performance segment, or the audience might start throwing things."
None of this was pre-arranged.
The male host was a bureaucrat, quite formal, and not accustomed to such a big stage. He was grabbed at the last minute, so he was caught off guard by Dong Xuebing's response. He was following the script provided by Director Sun. Now, he was completely at a loss.
Director Sun was sweating nervously below.
But the female host was very flexible—she was a seasoned veteran who often hosted live shows and was highly adaptable. Smiling, she said, "I feel like we’re already in the performance segment now. I heard that Director Dong also has a program today."
Dong Xuebing was taken aback, "I have a program?"
This time, even Meng Hanmei and Chang Lin couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha," the common people also laughed good-naturedly.
"Who told me this?" Dong Xuebing feigned annoyance, holding the microphone. "Was it you, host?"
The female host bitterly smiled and lifted the program sheet, "Who would dare to tell you? This is what’s written on the program sheet I received. Let me check again to ensure I didn’t get it wrong." She looked down, "Yep, it’s right here. It says your program—ah, it’s a magic show."
Dong Xuebing wiped his sweat, "Then what do we do now?"
The female host chuckled, "I don’t know either. How about we skip to the next program?"
"Yeah, pretend I never came up." Dong Xuebing said, "Just cut that part, don’t air it."
"Hahaha," everyone burst into laughter again.
The female host laughed, "This is a live broadcast, Director Dong. You can’t cut it out."
Dong Xuebing slapped his forehead, "Darn it, I’ve embarrassed myself so much today, and my image is ruined." He said, "I need to find a crack in the ground to hide in."
The female host feigned surprise, "What will you do?"
"I’m going to hide under the table first. You guys continue hosting." Dong Xuebing said as he lifted the podium tablecloth and bent down into it. The tablecloth was long and large, covering Dong Xuebing’s body so no one could see the county secretary’s figure anymore.
The male host was dumbfounded.
The guests and audience below were also dumbfounded.
But just as everyone was still trying to figure out what was happening, a voice suddenly sounded behind everyone the next second, "Who is everyone looking for?"
Everyone turned in shock.
The camera instantly followed.
At that moment, he was standing on the last fake hill, holding a wireless microphone and smiling at everyone from several hundred meters away from the podium.
No one expected Dong Xuebing to perform such a stunning magic show in this manner.