County Party School, main Grand Hall.
Dong Xuebing and Deputy Bureau Chief Qin Yong sat at the middle-back rows.
“Old Qin, what is the Public Security Bureau performing?”
“I think they are doing a Wushu performance. What is your Investment Promotion Agency performing?”
“I was just appointed, and I am not sure. But the Investment Promotion Agency has lesser people than Public Security Bureau. I think it should be one of the staff members singing a song.”
5.20 pm. Most of the government staff had entered the hall.
Suddenly, the hall becomes quiet, and Dong Xuebing turns to the entrance. The top leaders of the County had arrived. Xiang Daofa and Xie Huilan were walking in front. Party Secretary Xiang and Mayor Xie had dressed down today, and the Party Community, Cao Xupeng, Huang Li, Duan Zhengan, etc. were walking in behind them.
Five to six minutes later, all the seats in the hall were taken up. As Dong Xuebing had expected, there were not enough seats for all the people in the hall. Some lower-level staff who had arrived later had to sit on the corridors.
The host, a pretty middle-aged woman, went up the stage and started talking.
Dong Xuebing whispered to Qin Yong. “This lady looks very familiar.”
“She is Su Jia.” Qin Yong introduced. “She is a broadcaster with our County’s TV station.”
“Oh, is this celebration live telecasted in our County?” Dong Xuebing looks at the two cameras beside the stage.
Qin Yong shook his head. “It is recorded, but it will not be broadcasted. This is recorded for our own staff, and the live telecast of the celebration in our County is on the first day of Lunar New Year.”
The hostess, Su Jia, finished her opening lines and passed the mic to Party Secretary Xiang. It’s the usual speech where he praised the staff for their hard work, etc. when he noticed the audience was not very enthusiastic about listening to his boring speech, he ends it. Su Jia thanked Xiang Daofa and invited Mayor Xie to the stage for a speech.
Xie Huilan smiled and waved her hand. “I will not give a speech. Just start the program.”
The crowd cheered. Xie Huilan’s one sentence had louder cheers than Xiang Daofa’s long speech. Xiang Daofa remained expressionless, but he is frowning in his heart.
The music started, and tonight’s program started.
The first program is by the County’s cultural troupe. It is an opening dance that consists of more than a dozen people. The dancers are all young and pretty, and they wore traditional Han dresses. The County’s cultural troupe is a department that specialized in such performance.
When this performance ended, the audience cheered.
Su Jia returned to the stage with a smile. She is holding a few index cards in her hand. “The next program is very interesting. The performers are from our County’s Environmental Protection Department. Liu Qiming and Sun Li!” Su Jia paused for a second and said. “Please enjoy the sketch. .”
Dong Xuebing clapped and asked. “They still have sketch?”
The actors entered the stage with exaggerated makeups and costumes.
This sketch is about an old man walking on a banana skin thrown by a woman on his way to a matchmaking session. In the end, that woman turns out to be his matchmaking partner. The actor and actress are not professional after all and had made some blunders.
Dong Xuebing was surprised to see the government staff putting up these interesting performances. It still has some educational values within it. This sketch is put up by the Environmental Protection Department. It is sending the message of not throwing rubbish everywhere.
In the front row, Xiang Daofa whispered to the leaders beside him and nodded. They seem to be pleased with this performance. As leaders, they are not concerned if the performance is good or not. They are more concerned if the performance had sent out a positive message.
The actor and actress bowed and walked into the backstage.
Su Jia appeared on the stage again and announced the third program.
It is a performance by the Cultural Department by one of the retired Cultural Department staff. Some workers carried a table, paper, brushes, and ink up the stage. That old man did not say anything and started making a painting. The crowd cheered when the painting was completed.
Dong Xuebing also cheered despite not knowing anything about Chinese paintings. “Good painting!”
Qin Yong nodded. “Yes. It’s a good painting.”
After that, both of them exchanged looks and laughed. They could tell both of them knows nothing about painting.
After the old man left the stage, Qin Yong suddenly said. “It should be our Public Security Bureau’s turn. Their performance might not be as good as the performances before them.”
A few Police Officers ran up the stage in their uniforms, performed a set of Wushu moves, and broke some props like wooden boards, tiles, poles, etc. One Officer hit another Officer on his back with a wooden pole. The pole broke, but that Officer is unharmed.
“Good!” Dong Xuebing and Qin Yong cheered loudly.
Another officer, who was trained in Iron-head Kungfu, broke a few bricks with his head.
The bricks broke, and that Officer’s forehead was covered in dust. But his head was fine with no bruises!
Dong Xuebing was impressed with the Officers’ Kungfu. He had watched such performances on TV before, which is the first time he saw such performances in real life. Dong Xuebing laughed and looks at Qin Yong. “Old Qin, I didn’t know that our Public Security Bureau has so many martial arts experts.”
Qin Yong looks at Dong Xuebing. “Who dares to claim to be a Martial Arts expert in front of you?”
Dong Xuebing shook his head. “I cannot do what they did. If those bricks had landed on my head… I would be killed or paralyzed.”
“Alright. Don’t be modest.” Qin Yong laughed. “Everyone in the Bureau… no. Everyone in Yan Tai County knows that you had fought against a Siberian Tiger.” He turns towards the stage. “Their Kungfu might be good, but compared to you, they are far behind. Having martial arts and fighting are different. Those four Officers might not be your match if they fight you together.”
Dong Xuebing laughed. “Brother Qin, don’t think too highly of me. You are stressing me out.”
“Hahaha… I am not the only one who thinks this way. You had challenged dozens of Tae Kwon Do black belts, red belts, blue belts, etc. without getting injured. Who else is as good as you when it comes to fighting? Brother Dong, to be honest, I am most impressed with your fighting skills. Let’s have a friendly sparring session someday.”
As Dong Xuebing and Qin Yong chatted, the Public Security Bureau’s performance ended.
The crowd applause and cheered.
The leaders sitting in front smiled. Xiang Daofa also did not expect the government staff can put up such performances.
The next few performances are singing and dancing.
Dong Xuebing noticed some backstage workers and staff walking out from the backstage. They seem to be looking for someone. Suddenly, Dong Xuebing noticed his phone’s screen lit up. He took out his phone and saw more than a dozen missed calls from two to three numbers.
The grand hall is too noisy, and Dong Xuebing did not notice his phone ringing.
Who is looking for me so urgently?
Dong Xuebing returned the call. “Hello, I’m Dong Xuebing. Who is this?”
“I… celebrations… person in charge…” Someone is singing on the stage, and Dong Xuebing could not hear what the other party said. “Come to the backstage… it’s starting…”
Dong Xuebing asked. “What is starting? Can you speak louder?!”
“Program… your program is starting.”
Dong Xuebing heard this and asked. “Are you the celebration’s staff? Did you make a mistake? What do you mean by my program? When did I register for any performance? Hello? Hello?” The signal is not strong, and the line was cut.
Qin Yong overheard Dong Xuebing. “Did they make a mistake? All the performances are reported by the various departments. There might be a mistake.”
Dong Xuebing frowned. “Even if there is a mistake, my name should not be listed as one of the performers.”
“Just check with them again.”
When Dong Xuebing was about to go to the backstage, the song ended. Su Jia walked up the stage again and said. “The next performance is by the Investment Promotion Agency. The performer is…” Su Jia paused for a second and smiles. “Dong Xuebing, Chief Dong, from the Investment Promotion Agency!”
Dong Xuebing’s face immediately changed when he heard the announcement!
