Reborn as a Noble's Son

The formal establishment of the development zone is a significant event for the entirety of Li County. For the Li County Committee and County Government, a new deputy director-level unit has been added to their jurisdiction. Even though the positions eligible for deputy director-level status, such as the committee secretary and the director of the management committee, have already been filled. But it’s clear to anyone with eyes that the dual roles of Nie Zhenbang and Yan Fengjiao are temporary. Under current circumstances, the development zone is a new concept, and its high importance to the County Committee, County Government, and even the City Party Committee and City Government means that it’s inevitable for county leadership to temporarily helm the development zone. Once it stabilizes, these positions will open up.

At this moment, forward-thinking officials in Li County are planning their next moves.

Nie Zhenbang sits in his office, going over documents related to the development zone, which can be said to be in its early stages. The framework has been established, but many departments still need to be set up. It would be easy to arrange for public security, industry, and commerce, tax, as Li County doesn’t realistically have enough clout to establish separate bureaus for these departments just yet; a simple division will suffice for now.

However, assigning roles within the Investment Promotion Bureau of the development zone is proving to be Nie Zhenbang’s biggest headache. Nothing has been set in stone yet, but leaders from the city are already expressing interest. At this point, every leader across the city has noticed the development momentum in Li County. Given that, anyone who can secure a position in the Investment Promotion Bureau is guaranteed a bright future.

Just then, a voice from outside calls out, “Director Yi, hello. Does Director Nie have a moment?”

Upon hearing this voice, Nie Zhenbang freezes. The voice is clear, graceful, and fresh. The speaker has a pure accent, devoid of any Xibei dialect, making it quite distinctive in Xibei. Tone gentle, it carries a soft charm commonly found in Wu dialects. This is the voice of Yan Fengjiao, the newly appointed deputy director who also serves as the director of the management committee.

Yan Fengjiao herself is a phenomenon in Bazhou City. After graduating from university, she was assigned to Bazhou, and her rate of promotion had been extraordinarily rapid. At 32, she was already a deputy director, making her a household name in Bazhou. Yan Fengjiao stands roughly 1.65 meters tall with a slender and alluring physique. Combined with her delicate facial features, she’s undoubtedly a beauty. Though she’s now 36, she hasn’t lost her youthful look, appearing more like a 27-or-28-year-old woman. Many rumors surround such a woman. Some say Yan Fengjiao has close ties with certain provincial party leaders; others claim she was involved romantically with certain leaders of the city party committee. The most widespread rumor is that Yan Fengjiao is Liu Wenqing’s mistress.

Whether these allegations are true or not isn’t something Nie Zhenbang knows or is even interested in finding out. Nie only cares whether Yan Fengjiao will pull her weight in her job at the development zone. That alone is enough of a desired outcome for Nie Zhenbang at present.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang stands up, just as the office door swings open and Yan Fengjiao enters with a beaming smile. She looks at Nie Zhenbang and courteously says, “Director Nie, I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

This moment marks the first time Nie Zhenbang has really taken the time to observe Yan Fengjiao. Wearing a dark blue women’s business suit and black high heels, her hair up in a neat bun exploding elegance, and boasting fair skin, expressive eyes that point slightly upward, she can charm anyone with just a smile. Her curvy figures accentuated her thin waist, her physique meshes perfectly with her graceful manner.

Nie Zhenbang can’t stop but silently admire what seems like an exceptionally rare beauty. With Yan Fengjiao’s unprecedented presence in Xibei, her looks qualify her as a stunning beauty. He’s already entangled with assertive women like Dong Wan and Li Lixue, otherwise, he might have been momentarily stunned by her.

Despite staring directly at Yan Fengjiao, Nie Zhenbang remains collected and replies with a smile, “County Mayor Yan, please take a seat. You are well-known to be highly capable by the City Party Committee and an outstanding individual of the City Economic Commission. Your assignment to our Li County leadership team and your appointment as the director of our Committee feels like a privilege and demonstrates the City Party Committee’s care and high expectations for us. I am a workaholic who takes my job very seriously. If I upset you in the future, I hope you can forgive me.”

Upon hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Yan Fengjiao freezes for a moment, looking somewhat astounded. Nie Zhenbang truly lives up to his reputation. Her initial surprise stems from his deftness during conversations. He understands how things work in official circles. By saying these things upfront, he’s made his stance clear: he is focused on his job, not on the people. Despite his direct gaze, his eyes are clear. Unlike others who gaze at her, Nie doesn’t have that hint of lust in his eyes. Yan Fengjiao finds this surprising. As for her appearance, she isn’t lacking in confidence. Even in her thirties, the mature allure she emits cannot be compared with the shy allure of a young woman. Nie Zhenbang’s lack of response causes her to feel slightly disappointed. Has her charm started to fade already?

Yan Fengjiao rapidly adjusted her mindset, walked into Nie Zhenbang’s office, surveyed her surroundings, and then said with a smile, “Director Nie, who would have thought, as the planner of Lixian’s economy and the head of the government, your office decor would be so simplistic. This pragmatic style of yours is worth studying.”

“Hehe, County Mayor Yan, you flatter me. I’m just an ordinary part of the worldly society. Nothing more, nothing less. I, too, experience joy and anger, sorrow and happiness. However, I’ve always been one to distinguish between personal and official matters. The government’s money is the peoples’ money. Whether the decor is extravagant or simple, it’s all for the purpose of working. County Mayor Yan, what brings you here?” Nie Zhenbang said, pouring a cup of Longjing tea for Yan Fengjiao, then promptly sat back down.

At this moment, Yan Fengjiao looked at Nie Zhenbang and said with a smile, “Director Nie, I don’t really have any pressing matters. To be honest, taking up the role as director of the management committee is a completely new challenge and job for me. I’ve never had any experience in this domain. Now that the development zone has been listed, I thought I’d discuss future work in the development zone and personnel issues in the Bureau of Commerce and Investment with you.”

Impressive. No one with a great reputation is subpar. Judging from the looks of it, Yan Fengjiao’s abilities seemed to have been the primary factor. As for those sensational news, Nie Zhenbang never took them too seriously. If she were just a figurehead, Liu Wenqing wouldn’t dare to place Yan Fengjiao in the Lixian Development Zone. He wouldn’t even know how bandly things might go wrong.

The stance Yan Fengjiao took at this moment was extremely low-profile. However, there was a certain demeanor in her speech and manner. She claimed that she had no experience, yet she immediately started discussing personnel issues in the development zone. She was definitely well-prepared.

Nie Zhenbang then laughed and said, “The Bureau’s staff is indeed a bit of a thorny issue. I don’t really have a detailed plan or idea for that. Does County Mayor Yan have any candidates in mind?”

After hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Yan Fengjiao nodded and replied, “Director, in theory, since I’m new here and still not very familiar with the staff of Lixian, I shouldn’t be commenting. However, a leader from the city recommended someone to me yesterday. Currently, Comrade Xie Tao holds the position of Deputy Director of the Office of the Youth League Committee of Bazhou City. Comrade Xie Tao, a graduate from Yuzhou University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics, has achieved quite good results in his work for the Youth League. Well, Xie Tao’s father is Deputy Mayor Xie.”

After a pause, Yan Fengjiao threw in with some embarrassment, “Director Nie, you know, when a leader gives a recommendation, I have no choice. In terms of how to proceed, you’ll have to make the decision. I am steadfastly following the County Mayor’s lead.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Fengjiao froze. Her face turned slightly red, as if her remark was a bit too suggestive. Following the County Mayor’s lead. A male leader, a female subordinate, and furthermore, a charming female subordinate. Such a statement inevitably led to some speculation.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was also deep in thought. Deputy Mayor Xie, who Nie Zhenbang knew well, was not a standing committee member of the municipal party committee and was in charge of industrial affairs. Even though in Bazhou City, which has a weak industrial base, Deputy Mayor Xie was one of the lower-ranked deputy mayors. However, he was very important for the Lixian Development Zone, given that factories and enterprises would be introduced in the future, which could be considered part of light industry. Nie Zhenbang glanced at Yan Fengjiao thoughtfully. This woman was not simple. She had such a good relationship with Deputy Mayor Xie and was incredibly smart. Without any hesitation, she directly told him that this person was the son of Deputy Mayor Xie. As a result, the responsibility was shifted onto Nie Zhenbang. If Xie Tao were promoted, Yan Fengjiao would be credited for the recommendation. Deputy Mayor Xie would not owe Nie Zhenbang any favor. On the other hand, if Nie Zhenbang didn’t agree, it would be his fault. Yan Fengjiao clearly stated this. If Nie Zhenbang didn’t agree, it meant he didn’t give face to Deputy Mayor Xie. This had little to do with her, Yan Fengjiao.

Nie Zhenbang was also getting a headache at this point. As for the Bureau of Commerce and Investment, he had just talked to Liu Wenqing and Ding Aiguo about it yesterday, and by this morning, someone had already had their eye on the position.

The addition of the Bureau meant that at least one primary and two auxiliary positions, or even three auxiliary positions, would be available. These were official positions, both primary and auxiliary. Naturally, many people would be interested. Besides Deputy Mayor Xie recommended by Yan Fengjiao, Bai, the deputy director of the Municipal People’s Congress, also personally recommended a candidate to Nie Zhenbang. In addition, several other leaders in the city had also given Nie Zhenbang a heads-up. Now, everyone had their eyes on the cake that was the Lixian Development Zone. Seeing that Nie Zhenbang was bound to have a bright future, they all wanted to follow Director Nie down the path of glory.

After a moment of contemplation, Nie Zhenbang came up with an idea and said to Yan Fengjiao, “County Mayor Yan, I do have a new idea about the personnel issue in the Bureau of Commerce and Investment.”