Reborn as a Noble's Son

Concerning the two factories, Nie Zhenbang’s attitude is very clear and simple. It’s not that Nie Zhenbang discriminates against these enterprises. After all, all kinds of enterprises are necessary in a country. If all local governments across the country share Nie Zhenbang’s mindset, then these factories wouldn’t have any space to survive. Obviously, that is not right. It’s an ostrich’s attitude towards problems. That’s passive. Nie Zhenbang’s requirements are simple: as long as these enterprises can pass the environmental assessment and reach the qualified pollution emission standards, other things are not a problem.

On the side of Xinli City, after the renovations of the elementary and secondary school buildings in Li County have been completed, this year, the focus of Xinli City’s education is mainly on two aspects. One is to repair and renovate the school buildings in the original Yun County and the newly incorporated towns of Dafeng, Red Flag, and Chetai. Any buildings that are deemed hazardous will be demolished and rebuilt. With Xinli City’s current fiscal situation, this investment is not a problem at all. The other key work is to eradicate illiteracy among the city’s young and middle-aged population and to implement nine-year compulsory education.

At the top of the document, Nie Zhenbang endorsed his opinion, “Agree, and please let the relevant leaders of the municipal government review it, and let the municipal education commission spearhead the responsibility. The finance department shall not set up any obstacles or barriers, and must ensure the safety of all primary and secondary school students’ learning environment fully. The final sign off is Nie Zhenbang.”

Having set aside the document with his response, Nie Zhenbang picked up another. Outside, Yi Jun walked in and whispered into Nie Zhenbang’s ear, “Secretary, Mayor Bai is here.”

Bekri?

On hearing Yi Jun’s words, Nie Zhenbang hesitated. Just that morning, Bekri had questioned him about Zhou Chen’s investment attraction issue. It was only half a day, and Bekri had taken the initiative to come over. What did this mean? Nie Zhenbang started pondering.

Could it be that he had come to apologize? Thinking of this, Nie Zhenbang nodded immediately, “Please let Mayor Bai in.”

As he finished speaking, Nie Zhenbang seemed to feel that this was somewhat inappropriate. He stood up personally and said to Yi Jun, “I’ll go myself.”

This is where Nie Zhenbang differs from other scions of Jingcheng. Jingcheng’s scions, in terms of their abilities and backgrounds, those who truly want to enter the system are not stupid. However, these people all have a common problem – they like to show off the air of arrogance and reserve nurtured from growing up in such top-tier families. This is the so-called noble aura.

In Nie Zhenbang’s view, this is pure nonsense, a group of people who don’t understand how to respect talents and learn from others. The biggest difference with Nie Zhenbang is that while having everything that scions can have, he also maintains a public style, which is closely associated with his sixteen years of civilian life.

Nie Zhenbang stopped at the door. Respecting talents and learning from others is good, but one must capture a measure and grasp a sense of distance. Excessive servility will make one seem to lack authority and presence, but if one is too distant, it will make others feel elusive. This measure is hard to grasp. Nie Zhenbang, however, handles it quite well.

Standing by the door, Nie Zhenbang also smiled and said, “Mayor Bai has arrived, please come in quickly. Xiaoyi, in the future, when Mayor Bai comes to my office, you don’t need to report. As long as there are no other people in my office, he can come in directly.”

Bekri was somewhat moved, although he was aware that perhaps this was a gesture made by Nie Zhenbang. However, after all, it showed a certain attitude. Ordinary people might not even make such a gesture. In the bureaucratic world, sometimes, it is exactly such a gesture that is needed.

Upon entering Nie Zhenbang’s office and sitting on the sofa at Nie Zhenbang’s invitation, Bekri, with the green tea handed over by Nie Zhenbang, also said with a smile, “Mr. Secretary, I came here this time to apologize to you and to learn.”

This made Nie Zhenbang somewhat stunned. He knew Bekri might have come because of the matter in the morning, but hearing Bekri utter these words made Nie Zhenbang somewhat surprised. After all, Bekri is also a member of the municipal party committee and the executive deputy mayor. Speaking like this puts him in a subordinate position.

Without waiting for Nie Zhenbang to speak, Bekri, after a brief moment of rumination, continued, “Mr. Mayor, in the development of Xinli City, there are many things that we have failed to comprehend and implement according to your intentions. This time, I have specifically researched the various data and information of Xinli City over the past year. I feel that your direction and thinking for the development have left us far behind. In terms of learning, we have not been able to keep up with you. Please criticize and guide us, Mr. Mayor.”

For the form of address, Bekri skipped using “Secretary” and specifically used “Mayor”. Formerly, Nie Zhenbang was Bekri’s immediate leader when he was the head of Li County Government. This form of address indicated Bekri’s stance – Zhou Chen was not a mayor that Bekri acknowledged.

Nie Zhenbang was also pondering at the moment, the difference in thinking, this wasn’t solely because of the other officials in New Li City. Such a thing, even if it were to occur in developed coastal areas in the east, not everyone could understand and perceive his foresight. This was a limitation in thought, something that could not be changed in a short period. Under the national trend of trading environment for development and resources for growth, the officials of New Li City could manage to act steadily and prudently, which was quite good.

However, after this incident, Nie Zhenbang had firm some ideas in his mind. He looked at Bekri and said, “Old White, the change in the concept of thought is not a simple issue. My path is too advanced. I can understand your ideas. Don’t take it to heart.”

After a pause, Nie Zhenbang looked at Bekri calmly and said, “Old White, the Two Sessions of New Li City will be held soon. Do you have any ideas about the People’s Congress?”

Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Bekri was delighted. Nie Zhenbang’s words were very clear – he was being asked about his thoughts on the People’s Congress. Wasn’t this an indication of Nie Zhenbang’s intent?

However, Bekri was also hesitant. In the system, overthrowing the leading candidate appointed by the leaders at the People’s Congress would certainly mean that the individual would lose face and have to resign. But what about the other officials, especially the elected person? They would surely be pushed into the spotlight. If the leaders’ faces were lost, would there be room for his own promotion in the future?

At this thought, Bekri decided to answer in an ambiguous manner: “Sir, regarding the People’s Congress, I have visited several towns and municipal agencies recently and have fully heard many suggestions and opinions from the People’s Congress representatives. As for this, my meaning is to follow the guidance of the superiors.”

Nie Zhenbang frowned at these words. Bekri was too cautious and slippery in his actions. This statement was essentially a non-answer. However, some information could be gleaned from it – why was he, the executive deputy mayor, going to towns and listening to the suggestions and opinions of the People’s Congress representatives during this critical period of the People’s Congress? Moreover, he agreed to follow the superiors’ guidance but did not say he would strictly obey the organization’s arrangements. This topic was worth exploring further. Who were the “superiors” – Nie himself, or the Bazhou Municipal Committee? It was hard to tell.

After pondering for a moment, Nie Zhenbang decided to press Bekri further and said with a smile, “Old White, it’s good that you have this idea. The leadership of the City Party Committee and the City Government and I all agree with your approach. You should also think about it and be mentally prepared. If you have any ideas, Mayor Bai, you can come to me at any time.”

After coming out from Nie Zhenbang’s office, Bekri was also hesitating. The attraction of the Mayor’s position, the temptation of being at deputy department level, was undoubtedly huge for Bekri.

However, Bekri was not a fledgling youngster. For this election, not to mention that certainly there would be leaders from the city coming down to boost morale, it was also about the prestige of the Bazhou Municipal Committee and the Autonomous Region. If the mayoral candidate recommended by the superior was not elected at the People’s Congress, it would undeniably be a slap in the face to the leaders above. The high-ups would definitely not allow such a thing to happen.

Considering Nie Zhenbang’s relationship and background here, with the support of Mayor Ding of the city and the Party Secretary of the Autonomous Region, and even the Deputy Officer in Jingcheng treating him differently, this attested to Nie Zhenbang’s background. Even Jiang Zhenquan had summoned Nie Zhenbang several times privately, and Vice Premier Tao from the State Council had personally asked to meet him. Bekri regarded all these as Nie Zhenbang’s background.

Hesitating for a moment, Bekri made up his mind. Life offers few chances to take risks. If he did not seize this opportunity, he might not get another one. Zhou Chen wouldn’t remember this favour, and the Municipal Committee wouldn’t think that he had made a contribution. As long as he could follow Nie Zhenbang closely in the future, Bekri was not worried about anything else. If the sky were to fall, Nie Zhenbang would be there to hold it up. As for the matter of the People’s Congress, he could completely play the victim. If Nie Zhenbang fell, he would be willing to retire happily.

With this in mind, Bekri immediately picked up the phone and dialed the office number of Mi Fugui, the secretary-general of the municipal government: “Secretary-General Mi, it’s Bekri. Could you arrange for me to visit the Municipal Bureau of Retired Veteran Cadre tomorrow to show care and comfort to the retired comrades and veteran cadres? As for the matter involving reporters from the city’s TV station and New Li Daily, I will contact Minister Yan myself.”

Though Bekri did not explicitly agree with Nie Zhenbang, he showed through his actual actions that he had accepted his proposal. Under Nie Zhenbang’s guidance in these two days, Yan Fengjiao was doing her best to manage the situation, with major propagandistic organs like New Li Daily and New Li TV Station carrying news everyday about Bekri inspecting various units, visiting various towns, checking on the work at Farmer Welfare Company, or paying respects to the local stationed troops in New Li City. For a while, the officials in New Li City also started to act upon hearing the news. At this critical period when the People’s Congress was being convened, Bekri’s high-profile activities inevitably made anyone with discerning eyes start thinking.

PS: I, Old Cai, do not have a stockpile, so for today, Sunday, I will temporarily hang a marker for a four-chapter explosion. If things go well, a five-chapter soon is also a possibility. With so much love and support from brothers and sisters, I must repay it. In short, I will repay the support of various votes from all the brothers and sisters through explosions. Cast your monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, dear brothers and sisters!