Reborn as a Noble's Son

“Secretary Nie, hello and welcome to Yun County…Oh, no, to Yunshan Town for inspection and guidance. I am Tang Fangming, the former deputy mayor of the People’s Government of Yun County. This person here is the standby officer, the former deputy director of the county government office, Comrade Mi Fugui.” Tang Fangming has already come forward to greet him at this moment, looking very excited and happy. He stretched out both hands, brimming with anticipation.

No wonder. Seeing the situation in Li County City, Nie Zhenbang understood the worries of these standby officers. Even though it has been merged into New Li City, all the cadres of Yun County, at this moment, are full of anxiety. The top leaders of the Yun County party and government have naturally been transferred away through connections. The remaining cadres, still in Yun County, began to worry.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang’s expression is not very pleasant. After all, the situation in Yunshan Town is laid bare. The entire city area is in a state of total chaos.

This chaos is not anarchical chaos. It is a reflection of a state of mind. The remaining cadres in the entire Yun County no longer have the mood to go to work. At this time, if it wasn’t for Nie Zhenbang’s visit, they would probably have already gone home to rest. Anyone with the slightest connection is thinking of transferring away. In the eyes of the Yun County cadres, Yun County has been merged into Lixian County to form New Li City. From now on, the cadres of New Li City will definitely be primarily from Lixian County. With this scenario, many Yun County cadres are at a loss. They were leaders, why should they be demoted? Moreover, used to being leaders, many are not accustomed to listening to others. This is how they lost their unity.

This situation will take some time to rectify. It can only be returned to normal order after the new year, when all the teams in the new city of Li are formed and the cadres here in Yun County have moved to the new city, completely handing this place over to the management of Yunshan Town.

Subsequently, Nie Zhenbang also nodded slightly: “Deputy Mayor Tang, Director Mi, you are doing a great job. As standby officers, being able to persist in your jobs at this time is commendable. Does the Public Security Bureau have any arrangements? The establishment of New Li City is sudden and there is insufficient time. Negligence in various areas of work is inevitable. However, the public security department must stick to their posts to ensure that the public can have a stable and peaceful Spring Festival.”

Other government departments can take breaks, but public security and firefighting are key departments and they absolutely cannot rest.

At this moment, Tang Fangming also nods: “Secretary Nie, Chief Chen had specifically made a trip here before and arranged for the Spring Festival duty shifts in various townships and the police work in the county town. Please rest assured, Secretary. We are confident that we can ensure that all the people of Yun County can have a stable and peaceful Spring Festival.”

Hearing that Chen Le had taken the initiative to arrange the public security bureau’s affairs, Nie Zhenbang was somewhat pleased. Chen Le is someone he can rely on in terms of work capabilities. Soon, Nie Zhenbang also said with a smile, “Since Chief Chen has been here, I won’t ask any more questions. I think we should stick to the original plan and go visit the most needy citizens.”

As Nie Zhenbang’s words fell, everyone returned to their cars, and the convoy departed in single-file. At this time, the streets of Li County City were already sparse with people.

Suddenly, a figure ahead caught Nie Zhenbang’s attention. On a street, a thin figure, at this moment, clad in a thick cotton coat and a cotton hat, was holding a shovel in his hand, and was clearing the accumulated snow on the road, revealing the cement surface.

Looking into the distance, a path about two to three meters wide has been cleared along this street and extended forward.

Because it was a cloudy, snowy day, the whole sky looked gloomy, and the vision was somewhat blurry. Amid the haziness, this short figure seemed tremendously tall.

When all the city officials, ordinary workers, and even the ordinary people were at home roasting around the fire and enjoying the warmth, on the street, there was still such a sanitation worker cleaning the street. Against this stark contrast, Nie Zhenbang felt his eyes dampen.

Immediately, Nie Zhenbang said in a deep voice, “Xiao Wang, pull the car over.”

Nie Zhenbang’s car stopped, and the convoy naturally stopped as well. At this moment, seeing the convoy stop next to him, the sanitation worker also stopped his work.

Right now, Nie Zhenbang can clearly see the worker’s face. He’s about 1.7 meters tall, not very tall. His skin is dark and the clothes are somewhat old, but they look tidy. The man is about forty years old. When he looked at Nie Zhenbang and his entourage, his face seemed a little flustered and fearful.

Looking at this, Nie Zhenbang feels touched. This is not a pretense for his own benefit. The snow on this road is not a small project. More than that, the man’s slightly fearful expression further moved Nie Zhenbang. This is an ordinary sanitation worker who hasn’t experienced much. Facing so many leaders, he is undoubtedly somewhat fearful and scared.

“I… I’ll finish this spot and leave immediately, immediately. No one notified me to move out of the way today. So, I just kept on sweeping till I got here.” As soon as the man spoke, his stuttering words made Nie Zhenbang feel an aching sensation in his heart.

Such straightforward words, such a simple man. While focusing on his standard duties, the first thing he considered was whether he had made a mistake. Such a person was indeed deserving of Nie Zhenbang’s respect. Promptly, Nie Zhenbang tried to convey with a gentle voice, “Comrade, don’t misunderstand. You haven’t done anything wrong. Don’t be afraid.”

Beside them, Mi Fugui walked up, a serious expression on his face. “You must be a sanitation worker. This here is Nie, the Secretary of Xinli City. He’s asking you questions. Please respond earnestly.”

The words from Mi Fugui caused Nie Zhenbang to furrow his brows, people like Fugui are way too common in various government systems.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang turned towards the sanitation worker, saying, “Big Brother, don’t be afraid, let’s just have an ordinary chat. There’s no mention of ‘Secretary’ here. I noticed that everyone else in the county has gone back to rest, so why are you still outside?”

His words made the middle-aged man feel a bit embarrassed. Then, he awkwardly scratched his head, explaining, “This area is indeed my responsibility. I saw the thick snow and how inconvenient it was for people to get around. So, I thought about clearing a path, making it easier for everyone to get out.”

His words were simple without any ornamental language, just a straightforward idea and nothing grandiose. However, Nie Zhenbang felt warm and touched when hearing it. Such an ordinary person, yet the brilliance of humanity was perfectly embodied at this moment.

After a quick search, Nie Zhenbang took out five hundred yuan; normally, Nie Zhenbang didn’t carry cash, but this time he had prepared some to console the frontline workers and the needy.

He handed the money to the middle-aged man, saying, “Big brother, take this money as a small token of my appreciation. Seeing your difficult situation, I hope you won’t refuse. Spend the money and celebrate the New Year.”

As the middle-aged man watched Zhenbang’s departing figure, he murmured, “Good person, Secretary Nie is a good person. Now, we will also have good days in Yun County.”

Next, Nie Zhenbang’s group headed for the Yun County Heating Company to visit the workers who were still on the frontlines of heating services. These key departments, dealing with people’s livelihoods, were operating as normal, which was satisfactory to Nie Zhenbang.

After encouraging and praising the staff’s dedication, Nie Zhenbang moved on to visit several households in Yun County’s urban area, including old, widowed, orphan, sick, and disabled individuals, to send rice, oil and cash for comfort.

At the home of Wu Sanniu, a destitute resident from Tiaoma Town, Tuan Mountain Village in Yun County, Nie Zhenbang was taken aback. Seeing the five or six family members squeezing on one bed, wearing thin summer clothes and shivering from the cold, Nie Zhenbang was deeply moved.

Watching Wu Sanniu’s shy demeanor as he accepted the comfort money with his calloused hands, and recalling his words: “Secretary Nie, we cannot accept this money. The rice and oil are enough. I heard that it’s easy to find work in Xinli City. After the New Year, I’ll go there. We are able-bodied. We can manage.”

While experiencing the sincerity of these simple rural folks, despite their poverty, they hadn’t lost hope in a better life. Seeing this, Nie Zhenbang felt uplifted. His work remained challenging.

Upon returning to Downtown Xinli City, which was originally Lixian County City, Nie Zhenbang walked into his office. As secretary Nie insisted on working, Yi Jun had not gone home yet.

Nie had just taken off his coat when he instructed Yi Jun, “Xiaoyi, bring me the economic data from Yun County this year. After that, you can go. It’s the New Year after all. Go spend some time with your parents. I’ll manage here.”

Nie Zhenbang hadn’t planned on going home for the New Year, particularly after his visit to Yun County; he couldn’t afford to lose a minute’s preparation time. He planned to review all the data about Yun County first, then consider further developmental plans.

Yi Jun looked somewhat uncomfortable; if the secretary was working overtime, how could he go home? Was this still fulfilling his secretarial duties? Just as he was about to respond, the phone on Nie Zhenbang’s desk rang.

As soon as Nie Zhenbang answered, his elder brother Nie Jialei’s voice came through, with a very serious tone, “Zhenbang, Grandfather ordered you to come back tomorrow. This is an order!”