Simple but meaningful

For civil servants, this Spring Festival has been different because neither did they get extra pay nor were they showered with gifts from lower-level departments or officials. And luxurious restaurants and clubs did less business than before because austerity measures kept civil servants away from them.

Strange? But this is what the festival should be like for civil servants.

Indeed, some complaints were heard from civil servants, who had become used to getting extra pay or receiving gifts from lower-level departments and/or enterprises that needed their help to get things done in a more "convenient" way. Some officials have complained that they had to dig into their pockets to pay for the gifts they bought or fund their travel expenses, which used to be reimbursed in one way or another from public funds.