Reborn as a Noble's Son

“Zhenbang, this time you are going to the Southwest to supervise the selection of the Youth Civilization Award for the Southwest Three Provinces. This is a major responsibility,” Wei Bin said solemnly in his office.

No wonder Wei Bin looked so serious. As the director of the Youth Civilization Award Office, the success of the project was crucial to his career progression. While the project was nominally led by Secretary Mu, the office was the one truly responsible. If they did well, it would greatly enhance Wei Bin’s career prospects. If they failed, his future would be bleak.

Nie Zhenbang understood this well and subsequently stated seriously, “Director Wei, rest assured. I will strictly follow Secretary Mu’s instructions and yours, and will complete the task successfully.”

Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Wei Bin broke into a smile and promptly replied, “Zhenbang, don’t be so formal. Just call me Brother Wei. Feel free to take on your work with confidence. I’ve got your back.”

Wei Bin was just returning the favor as Nie Zhenbang’s promising future was well-known within the central committee. From the moment the Youth Civilization Award was officially launched and the group-in-chief asked unprecedented questions, it shook the whole committee.

As soon as the first leader spoke, the rest of the central committee staff turned green with envy.

The top leaders in the central committee, like Secretary Song and Secretary Mu, were clearly aware of Nie Zhenbang’s family background and status. Given the prestige of the Nie family, the top leader’s inquiry was not surprising and showed his respect for the Nie family.

However, most people were unaware of this and assumed that Nie Zhenbang was recommended by Mu Dingjian. This demonstrated the prudence of the top leader, conveying his intention without appearing too assertive.

The leader even had a friendly chat with Nie Zhenbang at the scene. After happily writing a dedication for the Youth Civilization Award, the project was officially launched.

At the same time, the newly established Youth Civilization Award Office began to take action. Its six departments were divided into six working groups, covering Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, North China, Central China, South China, and East China. Wei Bin was in charge of North China, and each of the other departments was assigned a different region for the inaugural national

Youth Civilization Award selection. Nie Zhenbang was assigned to oversee the Southwest Three Provinces.

In fact, this couldn’t be helped. Nie Zhenbang was quite junior in relation to the other department chiefs. Although Nie Zhenbang’s appointment to oversee the Southwest Three Provinces was a result of praise from the first leader, it did lead to Wei Bin entrusting him with more duties.

Nie Zhenbang’s department was the sixth office of the Youth Civilization Award Office with the fewest staff members. Apart from Nie Zhenbang, the deputy section Chief was Zheng Gensheng, along with two college students, Yu Shengli and Zhang Min, who were transferred from the central committee. Zhang Min, a vocational school graduate in her early twenties, was a hearty and carefree girl, who seemed to come from a well-off background.

“Chief, is this considered a business trip?” joked Zhang Min in Jingcheng City

Airport Terminal. All four of them, Nie Zhenbang, Zheng Gensheng, Yu Shengli, and Zhang Min arrived, each with a suitcase. Zhang Min wore a youthful blue denim outfit and a ponytail.

Upon hearing her words, Zheng Gensheng’s face turned stern as he retorted,

“Zhang, what are you talking about? This is a trip funded by the Chief.”

Yu Shengli chimed in, “Zhang Min, you probably don’t know about this. I’ve heard from Xiao Zhou from department five and Xiao Wang from department three that they all had to take the train to South China and Northwest. Our entire funding comes from the central committee, but it’s not a lot. I heard that only the department leaders are eligible to travel by sleeper train. The rest of us would have had to travel in hard seats if it weren’t for our generous Chief who took us by plane.”

Zhang Min stuck out her tongue playfully. She wasn’t particularly fearful of

Chief Nie Zhenbang, but she was quite apprehensive about Zheng Gensheng.

Nie Zhenbang also laughed. He understood what Zheng Gensheng was doing, which was to establish his prestige and authority. However, Nie Zhenbang didn’t care much about it. He believed that respect should stem from the heart, not from forced authority.

Instantly, Nie Zhenbang waved his hand and said, “Alright, alright, stop quarreling now, Xiao Yu and Xiao Zhang. Be careful, or Deputy Chief Zheng might give you a hard time. It’s getting late; let’s board the plane. Once we reach our destination, we’ll all be pretty busy.”

Watching Nie Zhenbang walk towards the boarding gate, Zheng Gensheng also followed him, whispering, “Zhenbang…”

Nie Zhenbang, however, laughed and interrupted him, saying, “Brother Zheng, I know what you mean. After all, we’re all young. It’s normal to be breezy and relaxed. We’re both not old, so let’s not be so serious. Let’s work together and focus on doing our job well first.”

The plane soared into the skies and when it landed again, they had arrived at Tianfu Province’s Shuangxi International Airport.

At this moment, at the domestic flight arrival exit of Shuangxi Airport, the leaders of Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee and the staff of Tianfu Provincial Youth Civilization Office were already waiting at the entrance.

Seeing Nie Zhenbang and his party emerge, and the welcoming party holding up banners, Yu Shengli intelligently didn’t need reminders from Nie Zhenbang or Zheng Gensheng and took the initiative to approach them. Soon after, the delegation from Tianfu Province came forward to welcome them. Leading the group, a middle-aged man in his forties approached Nie Zhenbang with a

smile, extending his hand and saying, “Chief Nie, welcome. On behalf of the Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee and our Secretary Guo, I welcome the arrival of our senior leaders to guide our work in our province.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Shengli introduced them, saying, “Chief Nie, this is Deputy Secretary Zeng Dingyuan from the Tianfu Provincial Youth

League Committee, and this one is Director Cao Guangchun of the Tianfu

Provincial Youth Civilization Office.’

Hearing Yu Shengli say this, Nie Zhenbang also got serious. The level of reception by Tianfu Province was indeed very high. A vice-ministerial official has come to meet a departmental official, and the difference in rank between them is worlds apart. However, it’s also understandable, after all, Nie Zhenbang was sent from the Central Youth League Committee. Regardless of his rank, he represents the Central Youth League and he was coming for the National Youth Civilization Award selection. It’s still undecided which of the three southwestern provinces will have how many places. The first batch of National Youth Civilization Awards was set at a total of one hundred, averaging about three per province or city nationwide. However, there was no consensus on how many each province would have, it could be four for Tianfu Province and two for Caiyun Province, or Tianfu Province might not have any.

Everything depended on the attitude of Nie Zhenbang’s review committee.

“Secretary Zeng, hello, thank you for taking care of us from the Tianfu

Provincial Youth League Committee, and thank you for the attention that Secretary Guo and Secretary Zeng have paid to us. Zhenbang is humble and unworthy, I’m sorry for troubling Secretary Zeng,” Nie Zhenbang also displayed a touched expression.

Zeng Dingyuan also laughed at this moment. He was pleased with Nie Zhenbang’s attitude. Nie Zhenbang’s Department of Youth League Affairs was the Central Youth League’s problem. But if Nie Zhenbang were to put on airs, Zeng Dingyuan, despite not reacting on the spot, would certainly be critical in his mind. After all, for a vice-ministerial level official to come and meet a departmental level official, he had already given face, and if Nie Zhenbang were to be any more arrogant, that would be looking down on people.

“Chief Nie, young and capable – it’s rather embarrassing for us local officials.

But you are a leader from the Central Government and an expert in the field of Youth Civilization. We have only just come into contact with some of the spirit of the Youth Civilization Award, and there may be some areas we don’t fully comprehend or appreciate. We look forward to Chief Nie’s guidance and support,” Zeng Dingyuan also assumed a humble attitude. That is how it is in bureaucracy, barring any enmity, usually, if you show me respect, I’ll return it tenfold.

At the side, Cao Guangchun also laughed and said, “Secretary Zeng, Chief Nie, the car has arrived. Let’s go to the hotel to rest first. As for work matters, let’s discuss them in detail tomorrow. How does that sound to the two leaders?”

Seeing Zeng Dingyuan looking at him, Nie Zhenbang also laughed and said, “Haha, Director Cao, both you and Secretary Zeng are the hosts. As a guest, I will follow the hosts’ decision. Everything will be arranged according to the two leaders’ plans.”

At the side, Zhang Min whispered to Yu Shengli, “Little Yu, see it? Our leader does have prestige, even the Deputy Secretary of the Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee personally came to greet us. I told you, this trip of ours, it’s almost like a paid vacation.”

Tianfu Province’s capital is Rongcheng, and the Rongcheng Hotel is one of the best hotels in Tianfu Province. The Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee didn’t arrange for Nie Zhenbang and his party to stay at the committee’s guest house, but at this hotel instead. This alone indicated the importance the Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee placed on Nie Zhenbang and his crew.

The banquet was held at the Rongcheng Hotel’s VIP building, and Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee Secretary Guo Zhen personally hosted Nie Zhenbang and his party. At the dinner table, Nie Zhenbang’s alcohol tolerance amazed everyone.

The banquet ended with the guest and host enjoying themselves – Tianfu

Provincial Youth League Committee being courteous and respectful, and Nie Zhenbang assuming a humble attitude.

After director Cao Guangchun sent Nie Zhenbang and others to their rooms on behalf of Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee, he laughed and said, “Chief Nie, this is the schedule for tomorrow. For the National Youth Civilization Award selection, our Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee has prepared several candidate units. Please take a look and see if there are any suggestions, and we can adjust it at any time.”

Nie Zhenbang scanned the schedule and saw ten units listed – three in Rongcheng and seven in other cities. He laughed to himself, seeing that the Tianfu Provincial Youth League Committee’s ambitions were not small this time. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to recommend and vote on .Your support is my greatest motivation..)