Power and Wealth
Chapter 1965

Chapter 1965

Midday.

County Party Secretary's temporary office.

Dong Xuebing put down the newspaper and started to pace back and forth in the room, hands behind his back, walking in circles—one, two, three. Finally, he picked up the phone on the desk.

“Hello, Xiao Su.”

“Secretary Dong.”

“Come to me right away.”

“Uh, okay, I’ll be there in a moment.”

After hanging up the phone, Dong Xuebing took a deep breath and sat heavily in his chair, rubbing his temples. His mind raced, trying to process the unexpected discovery of the ancient artifact. He hadn’t anticipated it and had no plans or preparations for this short-term event. It took him by surprise, but none mattered because Dong Xuebing had had a clear vision for the county’s development for months. Even if he wasn’t prepared now, it wasn’t too late. The early discovery of the ancient tomb was a good thing—now, Dong Xuebing’s position was secure, and the conditions in Jiaoling County were ready. They just needed the final push—the sooner, the better.

The door opened.

Hearing Secretary Dong’s voice on the phone, Xiao Su knew something big had happened, so he hurried over.

Dong Xuebing pushed the newspaper toward him. “Did you hear about the villagers finding the ancient artifact in Qingluan Mountain?”

Xiao Su hesitated, walking up to check the newspaper on the third page. “Oh, yes, I heard about it yesterday. Some people were talking about it below.”

Dong Xuebing tapped the desk. “It happened yesterday, yet you didn’t report it to me.”

Huh?

Report?

Was this something to report?

Xiao Su quickly said, “I thought it wasn’t a big deal. You went to Beijing to handle urgent matters, so I didn’t want to bother you. I’m sorry, Secretary, it was my oversight.”

Xiao Su didn’t understand why Secretary Dong suddenly brought up this news. Whether the ancient artifact was authentic or not hadn’t been confirmed yet. Even if it was confirmed later, such discoveries were not unusual—ancient artifacts were often accidentally unearthed nationwide. What was so significant about this? Xiao Su didn’t understand why Dong Xuebing was so concerned. But despite his thoughts, Xiao Su didn’t argue. It was pointless to argue with the boss. If the leader reprimanded you, there was always a reason—even if there wasn’t, you still had to listen.

Dong Xuebing wasn’t angry; he just mentioned a few things. He knew this wasn’t Xiao Su’s fault; Xiao Su couldn’t have known how significant the discovery of the ancient artifact would be for Jiaoling County in the future. “It’s not a big deal. It’s not your fault. I want to tell you that, whenever you hear about information like this, report it to me immediately—don’t waste a second.”

Xiao Su nodded solemnly. “I understand, Secretary.”

Dong Xuebing checked the time. “It’s lunchtime. Eat first. Then, you can inform everyone to have a county committee meeting at one o’clock this afternoon. Also…” Dong Xuebing paused. “Call the head of the county cultural bureau and the village chief at the foot of Qingluan Mountain to attend the meeting. I want a detailed report on this matter. Arrange it with them in advance.”

Xiao Su was a bit taken aback. “Okay, I’ll make the arrangements.”

Dong Xuebing nodded. “Alright, that’s it.”

Xiao Su nodded. “Then, I’ll go notify them.”

Xiao Su turned and respectfully closed the door for Secretary Dong before leaving.

Su Yan was puzzled, his mind filled with suspicion. Why did he have to have the head of the cultural bureau attend the meeting? Was this really that important? At first, Su Yan thought his political intuition might not be sharp enough. After all, Secretary Dong had proven his abilities repeatedly through actual actions, and everyone knew he was a very “mysterious” leader. Every decision he made was correct, like when the new county committee building was torn down before any policies were released, before the discipline inspection department even arrived. There was no warning, but Secretary Dong had sensed it first and ordered the demolition immediately, saving Jiaoling County from almost any involvement in that incident. No one doubted or questioned Secretary Dong’s instincts anymore. But after leaving Secretary Dong’s office and thinking about it for a long time, Su Yan still couldn’t figure out what was so special about this matter.

Noon.

Dong Xuebing went out to get a box lunch and then returned to eat. As he ate, he was planning something, clearly not focused on the food. By the time he had finished, Dong Xuebing was absent-mindedly picking food into his mouth with his chopsticks. Noticing the empty lunch box, he chuckled and threw it away.

One o’clock.

The second county committee meeting of the month was about to begin.

Dong Xuebing was the last to enter the meeting room. When he arrived, the room fell silent. Dong Xuebing noticed a few new faces in this temporary meeting room compared to before. One, he recognized as the head of the county cultural bureau, Wu Guoqian. He hadn’t seen the other two before—one was a young man who looked like the village chief from Qingbei Village, and another was a middle-aged man he didn’t recognize.

Su Yan immediately closed the door.

Dong Xuebing then sat at the head of the table, not in a hurry to start the meeting. Instead, he picked up the cup on the table and slowly sipped tea. If this had been during his first few days in office, Dong Xuebing wouldn’t have done this—he would have announced the meeting as soon as he sat down. But after a long period of consolidation and struggle, Dong Xuebing had gained most of the advantages in Jiaoling County and essentially controlled the situation. It didn’t matter when he decided to start the meeting—no one could say anything about it.

This subtle gesture made it clear to Wu Guoqian and the other two new attendees for the first time that Dong Xuebing was in charge of Jiaoling County.

After a moment, Dong Xuebing finally spoke slowly, “Let’s start the meeting.”

A few county committee members then took turns reporting on the county’s work. Today, there wasn’t anything worth voting on or discussing in detail; it was mainly just reports and summaries. The focus was entirely on the achievements of the investment culture festival from last month—an hour went by quickly. After finishing the reports and summaries, everyone fell silent, waiting for Dong Xuebing to speak. After all, there were some unexpected new faces at today’s meeting, and although Dong Xuebing hadn’t informed everyone beforehand, the situation indicated that he had something important to say.

Seeing that everyone had finished, Dong Xuebing raised his head, “I have something to say.”

Everyone’s expressions sharpened, their eyes fixed on Dong Xuebing, waiting for him to speak.

Dong Xuebing waved his hand, and Su Yan took out a dozen newspapers, distributing them to all the county committee members. Then, Dong Xuebing said, “These are today’s morning papers. The incident occurred yesterday. I believe many people have heard about it—the villagers unearthed an ancient artifact on Qingluan Mountain.”

Zhang Dongfang glanced at the newspaper and nodded, “The morning news also reported on it. I’ve seen it.”

Many others had some recollection, but were still puzzled about what Secretary Dong was getting at. So what if an artifact was found?

Dong Xuebing didn’t notice their confusion and turned to County Cultural Bureau Director Wu Guoqian, “Director Wu, please explain the specifics.”

Wu Guoqian quickly straightened up and sat up a little, “Yes, Secretary Dong. We received the ancient artifact last night from Xiaocheng, the village secretary of Qingbei Village.” He glanced at the young man beside him, clearly the student village official from the newspaper report, Xiaocheng. Then he introduced the middle-aged man beside him, “This is Director Liu of the County Cultural Museum. The cultural museum has already taken over the artifact.”

Dong Xuebing asked, “Has the dating been done?”

Director Liu replied, “Because it was so late yesterday, all our staff were off, so the identification work only began this morning. Our staff are working hard to accelerate the process.”

Dong Xuebing furrowed his brow, “So the dating isn’t confirmed yet?”

“Not yet,” Director Liu replied. The authenticity and dating haven’t been determined. Our equipment is limited, and our professional expertise is limited. It will take some time.”

The reason Jiaoling County failed to apply for county-level city status was largely due to its cultural aspects. The county lacked a distinctive cultural heritage, had a poor historical background, and had no notable cultural relics or heritage to showcase. Consequently, the county’s cultural department lacked adequate equipment and specialized personnel. With no demand for such resources, there was no need to procure expensive equipment or bring in talented individuals in the field—such resources would essentially be wasted as ornaments. There was no need for that.

Seeing Secretary Dong’s face not looking good, Director Wu Guoqian quickly added, “Secretary, the authenticity can almost be determined now. With that level of corrosion and being buried in some unknown mountain, there shouldn’t be a possibility of forgery. The copper mirror should be genuine. As for the dating, the cultural museum’s staff initially suspect it’s from the Han Dynasty.”

While wearing glasses and looking like an old scholar, Director Liu spoke carefully, “It hasn’t been confirmed yet. It’s just a suspicion. Further identification work is still being done.”

Zhang Dongfang said, “Han Dynasty, huh.”

Deputy County Mayor Xu Zhuang added, “That’s quite ancient. If it’s confirmed, it could be exhibited at the cultural museum.”

Everyone said that, but no one seemed to take it seriously, not giving it much thought. They still thought Secretary Dong was making a mountain out of a molehill.