Chapter 1 Grand Ceremony Sentiment
As she walked out of Secretary Qiao Junling's office in Gaizhou County, her discontent poured out with every step of her golden monkey boots on the granite floor. She didn't have the mood to wait for the elevator and took the stairs instead, stomping out a rhythm like a tango dance, and stormed out of the city committee office building.
She thought that with her and Old Man Qiao's thirty-year-old relationship, asking him to attend the completion ceremony of Dongfang Group's 120 million yuan super five-star standard "Dongfang Night City" would at least give some face. But unexpectedly, Secretary Qiao bluntly refused without hesitation. How disappointing! Not only was it disappointing, but Gai felt that this was a great humiliation and shame. He couldn't help but think: What medicine did this old thing take today? Their decades-long friendship had never sought any financial benefits. Asking him to host a celebration ceremony and show some face was not even worth his effort, what's the point of being friends with an official? Such a big event, and there wasn't even any room for negotiation. Could it be that he has another "golden bird"? The female reporters and program hosts from the newspaper and TV station are always giving Secretary Qiao flirtatious eyes every day. Those foxy ladies have plenty of time and excuses to get close to Secretary Qiao. They have the convenience of work and can easily keep Secretary Qiao occupied for half a day with just one topic.
Because he was an old acquaintance, in private, the county governor Qiao Junling was called Old Qiao, but in public, he still had to be referred to as Secretary Qiao. One cannot neglect official duties for personal reasons, but it's possible to use official business for personal gain! Besides, calling him Old Qiao wasn't just because he sat in the secretary's official position either.
A beautiful woman is a perpetual walking advertisement. The hem of her skirt fluttered out of the city committee office building, leaving two young security guards staring at her back for a long time. She was the kind of woman who could easily inspire fantasies in men at first sight. Not only were her facial features naturally beautiful, but she also had a tall and slender figure with well-proportioned measurements. Her extremely charming body shape exuded a smooth and elegant beauty. Although no longer young, she still maintained a graceful and elegant demeanor, moving with the wind, every gesture captivating the attention of men, a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of charm.
Actually, the name on Gai San County's household registration book is Gai Hongmei, and her milk name is Hong Guduo. When signing up for primary school first grade, the teacher looked at her bright teeth and red cherry-like lips, and no matter how she wrote or read it, she felt that Hong Guduo was not a smooth name, so she randomly dropped the last two characters and added one more character, officially naming her Gai Hongmei. Every day, the old shepherd Gai Sihai would take his hundreds of black and white mountain goats and sheep for a walk around the mountain, and he had nicknames for all of them that he could shout out at will, such as Xiao Ba, Black Head, Half Angle, White Skin Face, Stick Little Buddy, etc., etc. However, he never bothered to think of an elegant name for his youngest daughter Hong Guduo.
The old man was not only superstitious but also very stubborn. He had been married to his wife, who had fled to the mountains with him after the Henan flood, for many years, but he was a bit angry with her because she had given birth to six daughters and no sons. His dream of having a son to carry on the family line had not come true until he was 45 years old. Although he had given up hope of having a son, he took great care of his more than 100 strong white female sheep, and every time a male lamb was born, he would give it a strong and masculine name, like an emperor rewarding his ministers. He firmly believed that if the girls in his family were not formally named, they would not get lost, but if the lambs were not named, they would be hard to find.
Due to the large number of sisters at home and the difficulty of making a living, after graduating from Luocun Middle School at the age of 16, Gai Hongmei ran out of the deep mountains of Taihang alone to make her way in the world. She worked as an apprentice in a hair salon and a small restaurant, and later rented a storefront to open a hotel. The hotel started from a roadside store and rose to two, three, and four-star levels, operating in the catering industry for nearly thirty years. People in Xihe City almost all know that there is a female boss named Gai Sanxian who is very capable, not only making money and having a wealth of millions, but also serving as a representative of the Municipal People's Congress for three terms, and in recent years, she has been selected into the Standing Committee of the Municipal Political Consultative Conference. Although she is not a civil servant who eats imperial rice, her activity energy is more than that of the vice chairmen who hold real jobs. Even the offices of the municipal party secretary and mayor do not need to make an appointment, and she can enter by pushing the door. As for who Gai Hongmei is, most people do not know much about it.
People fear fame, pigs fear strength. Gai Sansheng has also formed a strong cohesion due to its reputation, influence and affinity, and its catering business has been booming. Since last year, it is unknown who pointed out the high-end and what kind of business truth was obtained, and jointly invested with Hong Kong businessmen, investing nearly 100 million yuan to dismantle the original Dongfang Hotel and build a new one. A large-scale catering and bathing city that can be called first-class in northern China has been built. It is named "Dongfang Night City" and has started trial operation. In order to officially open before the "Double Festival", it is preparing for the grand opening ceremony on September 28. The launch of this new project will enable Gai Hongmei, chairman of Xiahe City Dongfang Group, to upgrade its business scale and momentum.
The chairman of the board, though a woman, has no feminine views on business and investment. She knows the weaknesses of those with money and power in times of peace and prosperity. Every day, apart from attending some necessary meetings, she spends her time socializing. And some meetings are just larger-scale and wider-range socializing events.
But let's be honest, what's the big deal about this social gathering? It's just eating and drinking, shouting and turning around, punching and rubbing... To put it elegantly, it's just a bunch of handsome guys and beautiful girls trying to release their excess energy and calories. For people who have no worries about food and clothing, their hobbies are mostly just that. Survival of the fittest, development through needs, catering to one's interests is the best way to make money. Moreover, the old boss's treasure chest is overflowing with silver and gold, eager to be spent! If you want to do it, you have to put on a big show, set up a big stage, in order to have even more satisfaction and profit. Exceeding expectations, satisfying people's desires, high-energy stimulation, and stimulating people's consumer desire, the money will flow into the investors' pockets with a loud noise. This is probably the original intention of Gai Sansheng investing heavily in building a food and beverage city.
Just as she sat in her passionate blue BMW, dazed for a moment, wondering what to do next, the music at her waist rang out: "Dear, you fly slowly, fly ahead and see the small stream..."
The phone rang! Gai Sansheng woke up from his daze and quickly took out the phone from his bag to answer it.
"Mei Mei!" As soon as he heard it, he knew it was Qiao Junling's extremely magnetic male voice, "Where are you?"
"Where can I go?" Gai Sanxian was furious, "You don't give me any face, I'll have to buy three sheets of hemp paper to paste on a donkey's face and formally open this scene!"
"Hey, you're already in your several tens and still can't change that hot pepper temper of yours. The woodpecker will die in the tree hole, and sooner or later it'll suffer from its own mouth. Secretary Qiao scolded Gai Sanxian a few sentences before saying, "Alright, I'm not necessarily unable to attend and host this grand opening ceremony. From the perspective of investment scale, economic benefits, and architectural style, it's one of our city's key projects and economic highlights this year, and it's a scenic project that showcases the city's appearance and the municipal government's achievements. As for our relationship as fellow villagers, I'm delighted to see your younger sister's business thriving! With me, the municipal party secretary, making an appearance, several teams from the city will have to move, and once the media like radio, TV, and newspapers report on it, tens of millions of people in the city and surrounding areas will be watching. Don't call it 'Oriental Nightless City' anymore, okay? The municipal leadership can't all make a big fuss just for an entertainment venue's opening ceremony! We need to talk about economic benefits, but also political image and social benefits. For you entrepreneurs, there's also the issue of your business image in the eyes of the public. Since the investment is so large, the consumption level is so high, and it's a comprehensive business structure that includes catering, accommodation, bathing, entertainment, and fitness services, why not change the name to 'Oriental Holiday Hotel'? If the name isn't right, then the words won't be right, and if the words aren't right, then things won't go smoothly!"
"My goodness, you're really making things difficult for me. It's not easy to find a good name for this project. I had it taken from Wang Shenxian, an expert in Feng Shui and Qimen Dunjia from the Provincial City last year before the construction started. And we've already spent a lot of money on it. The auspicious day for the celebration was also chosen early. The company's promotional materials have been printed at the printing factory. There are less than two weeks left until September 28th, who knows if it's still possible to change the name on the neon sign?"
"No matter what, no matter how, you must change it." Secretary Qiao was adamant, his tone brooking no dissent. "Mei Mei, listen to me and you won't go wrong. I'm not some kind of immortal or semi-immortal asking for naming rights or compensation fees from you. We need to consider all aspects, one smooth step will lead to a hundred smooth ones. If you can change it, give me an answer right away. Not only do I have to host the opening ceremony, but at least one to three provincial committee members and vice governors above will attend in the provincial capital. This political lineup and brotherly face-saving is big enough, isn't it? Moreover, we absolutely cannot sacrifice the fundamental for the trivial, in the publicity of the opening ceremony, we must highlight the city's strong promotion of outward-oriented economic operations after joining the WTO, and the image of Guangxia Summer River taking a big step towards reform and opening up to the world."
"This is more like it!" Gai Sancun exclaimed, "This is what our Secretary does and how he treats people, this is the kind of relationship we have with the folks from Sancun Village. I'll go to the provincial city right away to discuss the name change with Wang Shenxian, and then rush to the printing factory to revise the edition, and to the neon lamp factory to change the characters, or else the 100,000 copies of promotional materials will all be wasted once they're printed. Alright, my Secretary, little sister will thank you over the phone for now, and after this busy period is over, I'll thank you sincerely, definitely treating you to a donkey ride with bean-filled buns - a joyful occasion!"
The Wang Xiansheng of the Zhouyi Academy lives in Binhu District, Provincial City. The large balcony of his living room faces the arched back of the Double Dragon River. To occupy this dragon's spine, Wang Xiansheng spent a lot of effort selecting a house. This provincial city is a typical water-scarce metropolis in northern China. In recent years, urban construction has emphasized environmental protection and ecological harmony, focusing on the happiness index of livability and scenery. After repeated discussions and revisions by domestic and international experts, a new planning scheme was finally adopted. Since the implementation of this new plan, the city's rivers, plains, mountains, and scattered scenic spots have been reasonably and fully utilized. Two artificial canals were built to divert water from the Summer River stored in the Xiadong Reservoir into the provincial capital, creating a majestic landscape with two dragons dancing in harmony. This has brought infinite vitality to this northern city, which was once dry and smoky. Especially since the opening of the Third Ring Road, the surrounding development pattern has been connected to the city center through convenient and unobstructed channels. The intertwined double dragons and the embracing third ring have formed a new urban layout for a modern metropolis in northern China.
Out of courtesy to Wang Shengxian, Ge Sanxian called Wang Shengxian's phone while driving his blue BMW down the West Third Ring Road interchange.
"Hello Teacher Wang? Long time no see."
"Who are you? Oh, Xiahe's boss Gai, hello! Hello!" Wang Shenxian was indeed extraordinary, and in an instant, he had distinguished Gai Sancun's voice.
"It's almost noon, I'd like to invite you and your wife out for a casual lunch, we can chat while eating and talk about family matters."
"Anything wrong?"
"There's nothing important, mainly just wanted to see Shifu and you."
"Then come home! My wife has already wrapped up the dumplings. Let's have a cup of clear tea and two bowls of vegetarian dumplings, eating while chatting."
"Sorry! Thanks for Mr. Wang's kindness. I'll be there in a moment." At the same time as he hung up the phone, Gai Sancun stepped on the accelerator and the blue BMW shot through the Century Avenue of the provincial city like an arrow.
Gai San County carried two boxes of exquisitely packaged Baishan walnut into the No. 1 unit of Building 8, Binhu District, Room 101. She knew that Wang Shengxian was very good at health preservation and especially liked the new autumn walnuts from Baishan Mountain, a specialty of this mountainous region.
"Boss Gai is really being a bit too polite. Although my humble abode is usually closed nine out of ten times, for you, I'll always be happy to oblige, no need to bring gifts." Wang Shenxian took the walnuts from Gai Sanchuan, called his wife to brew tea, and happily invited him to sit down.
No matter how difficult or easy things are, even gods will smile when they see a beautiful woman. Whether it's the joy of love or the joy of sex, this kind of thing between heaven and earth seems to be something that even gods can't fully explain.
Gai Sanxian was about to sit down when a pair of beautiful eyes scanned the room and suddenly became excited: "Wow, it's been several months since I came here, and our Master's immortal cave is newly decorated!"
"Please, boss, take a look." Wang Shenxian was apparently very pleased with the decoration of his home and lightly stroked his silver beard as he accompanied Gai to tour the three counties.
The Wang Xian's cave mansion is a three-room, two-hall residence of over 160 square meters. The lighting fixtures and decorations in the large living room are extremely exquisite. On the wall, there is a row of eight touch switches. Wang Xian pressed them one by one, and suddenly appeared: morning glory, evening clouds, sunny sky, blue sky and white clouds, Chang'e running to the moon, Eight Immortals crossing the sea, Heavenly Palace grand gathering, precious tower spirit light, emerald water reflection... It made Gai Sancun look at it with admiration, exclaiming "wonderful".
The small living room is where Wang Shenxian worships and burns incense. A row of twenty-four ancient-style flower vases and ceramic jars are arranged, symbolizing four bottles (peace) and eight jars (stability). In front of the Buddhist altar made of red wood, from Zhao Gong Yuanshuai to Guan Gong, Jade Emperor, Buddha, Bodhisattva... all sorts of deities gather. In this new century, in this era of reform and opening up, even the deity offering table has been electrified. Two electric candles are flashing bright red light incessantly.
There are many immortals, each with a different appearance and demeanor. Even the ordinary people of the three counties were dazzled by the sight. Someone asked: "Master, since all these immortals live in the same room, is there an order or priority to the incense offerings?"
"Amitabha Buddha. Sincerity moves the divine, no need to be meticulous, if you have a request, just burn incense wholeheartedly, it's all in there. Well said."
Incense sticks from three counties are lit, releasing a full fragrance. A deep bow is made, with murmurs of reverence in the mouth. The flames blaze high and straight, smoke swirling around the incense table several times before rising to heaven with the turning of the fan.
The immortal king carefully observed the incense, pinched his fingers and calculated silently for a moment, then said: "The host is auspicious, the incense is prosperous, turning stones into gold, flowing water into silver, wealth is abundant. Everything goes smoothly, but beware of petty people."
After finishing the incense and worship, he sat down again. Gai Sansheng then spoke clearly: "This is not difficult at all!" He immediately found a notebook with a gold-lettered cover and quickly found the notes from the last time he came to select the "Oriental Nightless City". The eight characters of Gai Hongmei's birthday were already recorded. Wang Shenxian took out his divination tools, re-drew the divination chart, and scribbled on a blank page in the notebook for a while. Wang Shenxian stroked his eyebrows thoughtfully and said: "Last time it was taken as 'Oriental Bath City', which emphasized the prosperity of the food and beverage industry, the dragon's prosperity, and the king's energy. It's not impossible, or maybe there's another way to look at it."
Gai Sanxian said cautiously: "Master, what about changing it to 'Dongfang Holiday Hotel', is that auspicious too?"
The king of the gods, Wang, furrowed his brow and thought deeply, speaking candidly: "Ah! Whether true or false, white jade is used for the hall and gold for the horse, the sun is the master of the universe, wine is a thing that brings prosperity and good fortune, and the shop occupies a broad and advantageous position. Extremely auspicious and joyful. Covering the old board, I reckon you must have had noble assistance, guidance from a superior person, to come up with this wonderful strategy. Congratulations are in order, wishing you wealth and prosperity, gold and silver entering your door."
He covered the three counties naturally, but he couldn't tell Wang Shenshen that this was Secretary Qiao Junling's idea. He took out a red paper gift bag containing 5,000 yuan in cash from his handbag and placed it on the tea table, saying: "Master, I borrowed your wise eyes and auspicious words. A small gift, just to express my gratitude. I rely on business to make a living, everything is for good luck and smoothness. Since you are sure that 'Dongfang Holiday Hotel' is better, the auspicious day and time will be September 28th at 9:58 am, do you think it's okay?"
The King of the Immortals snapped his fingers and calculated again, muttering to himself, then suddenly slapped the table and said: "With heaven's timing, earth's advantage, and human harmony all in place, great things can be accomplished. With proper management, we'll make a fortune overnight. The boss will soon surpass Xiahe in wealth."
Gai Sancun followed Wang Shenxian into the study. On the desk was a sheet of Xuan paper. Wang Shenxian said, "I see that you are sincere and generous. I will give you a calligraphy as a gift. Follow your heart and climb high." As he spoke, he picked up a big brush and wrote four large cursive characters: "Harmony and Wisdom". Then he switched to a small brush and wrote two lines of small script: "Heaven's timing and geography are the best creation of heaven, only human harmony can achieve wisdom" and added it at the bottom. Gai Sancun was overjoyed and thanked him again and again.
"Master, you often do good deeds and have countless merits. You will surely live to be a hundred years old." Gai Sanxian had come to ask for the immortal's help with something and now that it was all settled, just before leaving, he wanted to flatter Wang Xiansheng again, "I heard that a few years ago, the provincial capital diverted water from Xiashan Bay Reservoir into the city. Wasn't that originally your suggestion?"
The smile on Wang's face rippled with waves, and he proudly acknowledged: "The auspicious dragon enters the market, nourishing all living things. The dragon flies and the phoenix dances, spreading gold and embroidery, this is the magnificent achievement of my sixty years in the great undertaking of Feng Shui! Only a pity that it is not perfect..."
Gai San County did not understand his meaning and asked: "May I ask, Master, what else is lacking in beauty?"
"At first, I designed the creative scheme of Double Dragon Dance, Dragon Vein Converging with Earth, and Danfeng Chao Yang's dragon and phoenix dancing together. However, the provincial TV station built a large transmission tower without adopting my Danfeng Feitian creation, instead building a high-altitude revolving restaurant which is not doing well financially, losing tens of millions of yuan every year."
Gai Sanxian only then realized that even gods cannot have everything go as they wish. Saying "What a pity for the master's meticulous creation", he bid farewell and left.
Gai Sansheng was a highly efficient and strong-willed woman. After leaving Binhe Community, she rushed to the Beifang Color Printing Factory and changed all 100,000 copies of the original promotional materials for "Dongfang Nightless City" to "Dongfang Holiday Hotel". She then called the Neon Light Factory and had them do the same. Having completed these two urgent tasks, she immediately called Secretary Qiao back. Secretary Qiao was extremely pleased and praised her saying: "Great job, Mei Mei! You're even faster than Dongfang Shengluo Wang Junxia when it comes to getting things done as a boss. This is now officially settled. I'll make some individual calls to the provincial leaders, and have the municipal party committee office arrange other matters. Hurry back and personally report to Mayor Ru of the government, the vice mayor in charge, and the director of the relevant bureau. Come up with a formal agenda for the celebration and a list of leaders and specially invited guests at all levels. The government office will know how to handle it according to normal procedures. Whether or not to put it on the agenda of the standing committee meeting, let the government office decide."
"Oh my god, six fingers are itching to draw so many strokes!" Gai Sanxian originally thought that since the secretary agreed, everything would be fine. But who knew that this bowing and kowtowing business was still ahead. So he asked back: "Doesn't your word as secretary count? Do I still have to go door-to-door to pay respects to all the gods? Didn't we often say at meetings that we need to build a service-oriented government, with the main business handled by the operating department and external affairs handled by the party committee and government?"
"It's not wrong to say that, but things in the official circle are very subtle." Secretary Qiao had no choice but to hold back his temper and explain to her, "Mei Mei, for this opening ceremony, we need to invite several provincial leaders to attend. From a common sense perspective, this is beyond the usual standard. Of course, from the perspective of the development history of Xiahe City's catering service and entertainment industry, the investment scale of this project is also an unprecedented breakthrough. Another special aspect is that it is the first joint venture in the city with a total investment of over 100 million yuan, so the scale of the celebration can be slightly larger and everyone can understand. It can play a positive role in driving the development of outward-oriented economy and promoting the progress of building a moderately prosperous society in old areas. Because provincial and municipal leaders will attend, this is a political showcase for business operations. The provincial leaders who are scheduled to attend include Provincial Party Committee member and Provincial Government Vice Governor Luo Daguan, Deputy Director of the Provincial People's Congress Du, and Vice Chairman of the Provincial Political Consultative Conference Wang. If there are no special circumstances, the Provincial Politics and Law Committee and the Provincial Public Security Department will also try to invite their leaders to attend the ceremony. As for the municipal government, except for the four main leaders, other deputy leaders and heads of various departments and bureaus can only stand in the front row at the celebration site and listen. Isn't it worth making such a big fuss and spending so much money just to create a business atmosphere and environment, and to pave the way for you to operate smoothly?"
"Who says it's not? Otherwise, I'll ask for your instructions three or five times, Secretary!" Gai Sansheng was overjoyed and made a loud smacking sound with his tongue on the phone, trembling with excitement, "Leader, please give us orders, whatever you say, we'll do."
"That's right." Secretary Qiao was not finished, and more specific arrangements were yet to come. "Because this celebration is grand in scale and high in standard, it must have a strict program and be carefully organized. From the perspective of functions, business operations are not government actions. According to common sense, if you push things too far, even to the level of the municipal party secretary, people will feel that something is not normal. I've repeated this to you many times: when names are correct, words follow naturally. The key is to avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary side effects. This doesn't mean I'm shirking my responsibilities; I'll do what's necessary. Things in the public eye must be handled properly. You know that since the new government took office last year, Mayor Lu is full of energy and will not tolerate anything outside his authority. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished, and no great achievements can be made. So, from the Trade Bureau to the Deputy Mayor and Mayor, when making phone calls or reporting in person, you must have a proper attitude. You must go to Mayor Lu in person and speak clearly. Make him feel that everything is operating normally. The government office will issue an agenda, which the mayor will take to the Standing Committee for discussion. This grand celebration will then proceed smoothly. Meimei, I'm now at an age where I can 'run with the wind.' Youth is capital in official circles. Mayor Lu is a decade or so younger than me. If you and he have a good relationship, it will be beneficial for long-term development. Do intelligent people need me to explain further?"
"I'll do my best to handle it as you said." Gai Sansheng furrowed his brow, thinking about how to approach the deputy mayor and mayor. He didn't want the new government leaders to know about his relationship with the municipal party secretary either. But rumors are like red ants and butterflies that can seep into every nook and cranny, leaving no trace. The unwritten rules of officialdom are so subtle yet effective. It's not easy for business owners to make a fortune, working from dawn till dusk, but being an official is also exhausting, with big and small matters requiring careful consideration.
