Power and Wealth C.1550: Apologize

Morning.

Inside the classroom.

After the conversation, Dong Quan slinked out of the room while Dong Xuebing stayed behind. He lit a cigarette and took a few puffs, then took out his phone, crossed his legs, and scrolled to the number of Yin Chengan, the director of their Second Department. He dialed the number, intending to give him a heads-up.

Ring ring.

The call went through.

"Hello, Director Dong."

"Director Yin, are you busy?"

"Hehe, just finished a meeting. What's up?"

"Well, I have something to report. I took leave today and encountered Dong Quan, the Deputy Mayor of Wuyang City in Jiangdong Province, where the office and petition office approved the vanity project for us. There were also some other matters, so I took the opportunity to talk with him and gave them a push. I asked them to submit a report by the end of the week. I planned to inform you and seek your approval, but things got complicated here, so I didn't have the chance."

"Hehe, no problem. It's good that you found them. I assigned tasks to everyone during the meeting just now, but I assigned you to another city in Jiangdong Province suspected of having a Vanity project. Since you've talked to Wuyang City, let's do this: I'll talk to He Zhou later and have him contact that city to free up the task I assigned. You'll be in charge of Wuyang City. Once they submit the report, you can follow up on the supervision. Lastly, give me your final opinion on how to deal with their city."

"Okay."

"But it's best to focus on giving them a push. Of course, if their attitude is unclear, don't hesitate to take disciplinary action."

"I understand, Director Yin."

"Hehe, good. Get busy now."

"Got it. I'll report back if there's any news."

"No need. Handle it yourself. Just let me know the outcome."

Yin Chengan was still as easygoing as ever. He is reasonable, flexible in his work, and not as rigid as typical disciplinary officials. After this call, Dong Xuebing's impression of him improved. After working for so many years, it was the first time he had encountered such an amiable leader. Of course, their relationship might also be influenced by their ranks. Although Dong Xuebing's work and office were under the Eighth Office's Second Department, he was still a supervisory officer at the Division Chief level. His relationship was still within the Eighth Office. If the Eighth Office had any key tasks or meetings, Dong Xuebing could participate and give his opinions. Yin Chengan was also a supervisory officer at the departmental level in the Eighth Office. From this perspective, they were at the same level, except Dong Xuebing didn't hold a specific leadership position.

With the directive in hand, Dong Xuebing could now act freely. It depended on whether Dong Quan would cooperate or not. If he persisted in his ways, Dong Xuebing wouldn't hesitate to take action. However, he believed Dong Quan was an intelligent person. To reach the position of Deputy Mayor, he must know how to weigh the pros and cons.

Outside the classroom.

The conversation didn't last long. Only a few minutes had passed, and the students and teachers were still waiting outside to see the outcome.

Vice Principal Wang was starting to feel anxious. It was almost ten o'clock, and the leaders and participants of the school celebration should have arrived by now. However, the scene was still chaotic. What would they do when they arrived? And there was Jiang Min's student, the leader from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, who was surprisingly young. When did they produce such a figure among the graduates of their university? None of them had heard of him before. If they had known, Dong Xuebing would have been on the list of invited leaders. Things wouldn't have escalated to this point. Knowing he was a leader from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, who would dare to provoke him? Then he remembered how he had been giving orders to him in the auditorium. Vice Principal Wang's face turned red and then pale, feeling quite nervous.

Looking at Jiang Min beside him, Vice Principal Wang hurriedly said to the security guards, "Quick, go to the medical room, call the school doctor over, and quickly check Jiang Teacher's foot."

The security guard immediately responded, "Okay."

Vice Principal Wang wanted to make amends. Not knowing Dong Xuebing's identity earlier had led to quite a few misunderstandings, and he hoped to rectify the situation.

But before the security guard could leave, someone from the medical room arrived; obviously, someone had already made the call.

A doctor from the medical room came over and squatted in front of Jiang Min, examining her foot. "It's okay. It should just be a sprain. But I still recommend going to the hospital for an X-ray. Our school doesn't have the equipment, and the medication is not fully stocked."

Vice Principal Wang said, "Yes, yes, let's go to the hospital."

Seeing the Vice Principal's attitude take a big turn, many students rolled their eyes.

Jiang Min waved her hand, "No need, Vice Principal Wang. My foot is fine now." After resting for a while, she could already stand up and walk, feeling much better.

Vice Principal Wang expressed his concern, "But we should still have it checked."

"Don't bother, it's fine," Jiang Teacher said. "Vice Principal Wang, let the students disperse, the guests will be arriving soon."

Vice Principal Wang naturally wanted everyone to leave, but the students clearly showed no intention of budging, so he had no choice. "There are stone benches over there. Let the students help you over to sit down first."

"Yes, you should sit for a while first," Sun Ruhua and Zhao Meng immediately accompanied Jiang Min.

Seeing that only a few remained around, Yue Haidong hurriedly said, "Teacher Jiang, Dong Xuebing, he…"

Sun Ruhua was also curious, "How did he become a Division Chief leader?"

Jiang Min shook her head helplessly and glanced toward the teachers' area. "I am also unclear. I only knew that this kid went into the system after graduation, became a civil servant, and served in a poor county in the West. He only returned and entered the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection last month, but the teacher doesn't know his rank. I didn't expect that he was already at the Division Chief level. This kid is hiding it deep."

Yue Haidong also took a deep breath.

Several of Dong Xuebing's old classmates felt a bit at a loss. Seeing Dong Xuebing driving an old Xia Li initially made them look down on him, so they didn't pay much attention to him. When moving things, they even pushed everything onto him. But who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the inconspicuous guy in the class had become a leader at the Division Chief level? This made it difficult for them to accept, and they were pretty intimidated by his rank. Yue Haidong, especially, felt like his face was burning. He used to think highly of himself and even showed a superior attitude in front of Dong Xuebing. But now, Yue Haidong felt a bit embarrassed. It turned out that Dong Xuebing was the most successful among their class graduates. However, he remained low-key and never showed off. Instead, Yue Haidong and Sun Ruhua constantly boasted, which now seemed a bit tacky.

Suddenly, the noise grew louder.

"They're here."

"Here they come."

"What happened in the end?"

"I don't know. Let's see."

All eyes shifted to Dong Quan as he left the classroom.

Feeling the gaze of so many people, Dong Quan's lips twitched subconsciously. However, as an official of his rank, he had cultivated some composure. His expression changed from indifference to a somewhat apologetic look. Seeing Jiang Min sitting on the stone bench behind the crowd, he quickly approached her. "Teacher Jiang, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Jiang Min tried to stand up.

But Dong Quan stepped forward and gently pressed her back down. "Your foot is injured. Don't stand up. Please sit." Then, Dong Quan sighed and continued, "It's my fault. I didn't know what was happening when I entered the school gate. Everyone was crowding around, and I accidentally bumped into you. Just now, Director Dong talked to me, and I realized that everyone was here to welcome me. I would have apologized when I exited the car if I had known. I bumped into someone. It's all my fault."

Trying to save face for himself, Dong Quan added a self-criticism.

But Jiang Min didn't want to make things difficult. "It's nothing, just a minor sprain."

"Oh, the medical expenses," Dong Quan immediately reached for his wallet.

Jiang Min pushed his hand away. "It's okay."

After some back and forth, Jiang Min refused to take the money, so Dong Quan gave up. "Then, let me apologize to you once again. I'm sorry."

Dong Quan apologized several times, showing a very humble attitude.

Jiang Min and the hundreds of students and teachers around felt relieved. After all, it was just a matter of saving face and reasoning. Now that Dong Quan has apologized, the matter is resolved.

Dong Quan looked back and saw that Dong Xuebing had not come out yet. He walked a few steps forward and whispered to Jiang Min with a bitter smile, "Teacher Jiang, if your foot is okay, I'd like to invite you to dinner tonight to express my apologies. There may have been a misunderstanding between Director Dong and me. I also want to invite Division Chief Dong to explain. But if I invite him, Division Chief Dong might…"

Jiang Min thought about it and said, "Never mind about me. It’s not a serious matter. But I will help you ask Xuebing.”

"Thank you very much," Dong Quan breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the best solution Dong Quan could think of. The situation forced him to compromise. Otherwise, he wouldn't stand a chance if he were to confront Dong Xuebing. Dong Xuebing's position had inherent advantages. So, after thinking for a long time, Dong Quan decided to apologize. A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him. After all, he had foolishly walked into trouble. However, he feared Dong Xuebing wouldn't let it go. So, this time, his apology was very humble. He also wanted to invite Dong Xuebing to dinner. Whether Dong Xuebing came or not didn't matter much to him. Dong Quan mainly intended to convey his message to Jiang Min, hoping she could put in a good word for him in front of Dong Xuebing. From Dong Xuebing's attitude towards Jiang Min, he could tell that he valued his mentor a lot. If Jiang Min could intercede for him, it would be more effective than a hundred explanations from Dong Quan. Dong Quan also didn't want Dong Xuebing to come after him.