Next day.
Monday morning.
Dong Xuebing woke up, and his phone rang immediately. It was his former classmate, Pang Shuo. They exchanged numbers yesterday.
“Hello, Xuebing? Are you awake?”
“Yes. Thanks for helping me with the hotel.”
“Don’t mention it. How long are you going to stay in Ma Yang County?”
“I am not sure. But I should be here for at least three days.”
“Great. After meeting you yesterday, I remembered we had not held a class gathering for over a year. I called the rest of our classmates, most of whom were free. We might gather at least a dozen of them here, and I can bring you around Ma Yang County. This place is not far from Beijing, and they can come over easily. I will arrange their accommodation if they want to stay overnight here, and send them back the next day. We will meet them at Ma Yang Restaurant this evening at 8 pm. The name might sound awful, but it is the best restaurant in the County.”
“8 pm? Why are we meeting so late?”
“Dujuan and I might be late because of the Discipline Inspection leader visit.”
“Alright. I am fine with your arrangements.”
“Ok. Let’s meet later. Do you need me to pick you up?”
“No need. I will make my way there.”
“Alright. See you.”
Dong Xuebing washed up after hanging up and drove around Ma Yang County. He saw all the County Government staff cleaning up the streets. Many of the entertainment spots were closed for business. He shook his head and felt this was formalism. He remembered he was the same when he was a staff member. He would clean up his workplace if a leader is visiting and has no right to say them. This is something unavoidable in the government sector.
Morning, 11 am.
Dong Xuebing drove to the meeting spot and got out to smoke.
A while later, two City Commission for Discipline Inspection cars arrived. They stopped, and everyone got out.
“Director Dong.”
“Director.”
Dong Xuebing saw City Inspection Second Office Director Liao Huaxiong first. Old Liao held the same rank as Dong Xuebing and was an experienced Discipline Inspection leader. The higher-ups had appointed Dong Xuebing as the team leader, and his deputy should not be someone higher ranked than him. The deputy must also be experienced, and Liao Huaxiong is the best candidate. Luo Haiting, Zhuzhu, Fei Fan, and two other Inspection Second Office staff followed behind.
The team consists of seven members.
Dong Xuebing walked over to greet them. “Where should we go first, Director Liao?”
Liao Huaxiong laughed. “You are the team leader. We will follow your instructions.”
Dong Xuebing thought for a few seconds. “How about we drive around Ma Yang County and look around for any issues? We can visit the departments with issues tomorrow.”
Liao Huaxiong replied. “Ok.”
“Alright. Let’s get into the car.” Dong Xuebing said.
The team members drove towards Ma Yang County City in three cars.
Dong Xuebing was familiar with the roads when he arrived yesterday. Liao Huaxiong sat in the first car, and he directed the driver to drive toward the west. That was the only good road into Ma Yang County.
Around 15 minutes later.
When Dong Xuebing and his team entered the County City, many people and cars with banners stopped by the roadside to welcome them. A middle-aged man walked over to them.
The driver slowed down, and the cars behind them also slowed down.
Dong Xuebing frowned. “Did we inform them before we came?”
Liao Huaxiong shook his head. “No.”
“How do they know which road we are traveling and when we arrive?”
Liao Huaxiong smiled. “This is the power of a grassroots leader. This should be the only road leading to the County City, and they must have found out what time we are arriving.”
Dong Xuebing was slightly unhappy as he pointed in front. “What is this? Are we here for an inspection or a holiday? How would the civilians think of us? They might think we are here for a holiday under the pretense of coming here for an inspection. Don’t they know the Central Government is clamping down on formalism?”
Liao Huaxiong nodded in agreement. “They had gone overboard. What should we do?”
Ma Yang County’s Party Secretary had walked over. He is a middle-aged man with a mustache, and a group of leaders follows behind. Dong Xuebing saw his former classmate, Dujuan, among the group. However, she could not see him because of the tinted windows.
Dong Xuebing waved his hand. “Drive past them.”
Liao Huaxiong was surprised. “This is their gesture of goodwill. Will it be too much if we ignore them?”
“It’s fine. Just go.” Dong Xuebing said.
Liao Huaxiong was speechless. Director Dong handles things differently from others and finally sees them with his own eyes.
Dong Xuebing does not mind formalism, but their cars cannot stop there. Many civilians were watching them, and he could not let them get the wrong impression. They were here for an inspection and could not do their work if they got close to the local authorities.
Dong Xuebing understood the Discipline Inspection job after so long and is becoming more like a leader.
Dong Xuebing and Liao Huaxiong had different views, but the driver knew who the team leader was. He stepped on the accelerator and sped past the shocked County Party Secretary. The two Discipline Commission cars behind were shocked for a second and quickly followed.
The Discipline Inspection left, leaving a cloud of dust.
County Party Secretary Sun Yitao was shocked. Dujuan and the other leaders were worried. None of them expected the Discipline Inspection to leave like this.
A leader took a deep breath and asked. “Secretary…. We….”
Sun Yitao looked terrible. “Keep all the banners and dismiss!”
The leader asked cautiously. “What about the Discipline Inspection leaders?”
Sun Yitao was unsure about the Discipline Inspection leaders’ attitude. “Just dismiss everyone first.”
