Reborn as a Noble's Son

Even though Nie Zhenbang spoke in a joking manner, Nie Jialei understood that his youngest brother was serious. It was not just chit-chat; he indeed harbored such a thought deep down.

After discussing with his brother for a while, Nie Jialei stood up and said with a smile, “Third brother, it’s getting late. You should go back and rest. Tomorrow, Kun will take me to the airport, you don’t need to bother. As for your marriage, you’d better avoid it for the time being. I estimate that once you return to Jingcheng during the Chinese New Year, you’ll undoubtedly be preoccupied again. You’d better prepare in advance.”

The next morning, Nie Zhenbang had already settled into his office. After sorting out some stuff, he got up and left his office. Yi Jun followed behind, carrying Nie Zhenbang’s cup and notebook. This is a secretary’s duty.

At half-past eight in the morning, a meeting was specifically convened in the small conference room of the County Committee after the earthquake. This was also a recurrent standing committee meeting, coincidentally timed together.

The small meeting room of the Li County Party Committee is right next to Zhang Chubin’s office, on the southern side, thus catching the summer breeze.

When Nie Zhenbang arrived at the meeting room, all the deputy members of the County Committee, except Zhang Chubin, had already seated themselves here.

The uniform pale short-sleeved shirts and dark dress pants had become a fashion trend among government officials. This dress code seemed to reflect the calmness and gravity of the officials. Nie Zhenbang, however, wore dark jeans and a Montagu silk T-shirt, a specialty Dong Wan brought from Hong Kong. At this moment, he stood out like a crane among chickens amongst the committee members.

Just as Nie Zhenbang sat down, Zhang Chubin stepped into the meeting room. This was a convention as typically, other standing committee members would arrive first, followed by the full-time deputy secretary and the county chief. The last to enter would undoubtedly be the secretary of the county party committee. If the secretary of the county party committee enters before the county chief, there is no doubt a conflict.

As he walked in, a smile was already on Zhang Chubin’s face, and he nodded to everyone. After seating down, Zhang Chubin began, “Comrades, before we begin the meeting, let’s first discuss the situation of this earthquake in Li County.”

Having said that, Zhang Chubin opened his notebook and continued, “According to the data from the Li County Seismological Bureau, the earthquake occurred near Gemu Township. With a magnitude of 6.3, it was a strong quake. It greatly impacted the county’s normal functioning, causing the collapse of thirty-six houses and one school throughout the county. The quake caused nine fatalities and over two hundred injuries, resulting in around forty-two thousand Yuan in property damage. In general, this earthquake has caused a significant economic loss in Li County. The leaders of the Municipal Committee and the Municipal Government are highly concerned. Secretary Liu of the Municipal Committee personally arrived in Li County to direct the earthquake relief work. Commendably, county officials worked in unity to distribute aid across various townships. Director Nie personally rushed to Gemu Township. This spirit was highly praised by Secretary Liu. Post this earthquake, all county officials need to focus primarily on economic construction and development.”

Zhang Chubin’s summary was crisp, reflecting the pragmatic attitude of the current Li County officials. Many other committee members nodded in agreement. The quick response from the county committee in limiting the quake’s impact to a minimum and restoring normalcy in the county within two hours following the quake was an unprecedented efficiency in Li County’s history.

It was such efficiency that earned the Li County committee unanimous praise from the public. A thousand miles from one’s office, profit was usually the primary pursuit. However, sometimes, it’s not merely about profit. Every official likes a good reputation.

Everyone likes the situation where a good reputation is gained without any conflicts of interest involved.

At this moment, Zhang Chubin again opened his mouth, “Comrades, now that the summary is done, let’s discuss an issue. Following the earthquake, Director Nie proposed a bold suggestion to Secretary Liu of the Municipal Committee. Considering Gemu Township’s situation, Director Nie suggested that Gemu Township should be entirely relocated to Shengli Township in the Development Zone. The party committee team of Gemu Township and its affiliated units should be disbanded and incorporated into other departments of the county. The personnel would be arranged separately. Secretary Liu of the Municipal Committee has initially agreed to this view. Everyone is welcome to express your opinions. If there are any areas that need to be supplemented, please feel free to mention.”

When Zhang Chubin said this, it was a kind of wisdom. The immigration plan required discussion, but Zhang Chubin pointed out the meaning of Secretary Liu of the Municipal Committee. Secretary Liu of the Municipal Committee – who was this person? In Bazhou Municipal Committee, the only Secretary Liu was Liu Wenqing. As the number one person in the municipal committee, he had already agreed. If there were dissenting voices in the Li County Standing Committee, it would not be simply a disagreement with Nie Zhenbang. When Liu Wenqing becomes angry, it’s not a trivial matter.

“Hmm, about the immigration issue, I want to express a few thoughts too.” At this time, Xie Yi also spoke up. This was the first time he actively voiced his opinion as a member of the Standing Committee of the Li County Party Committee and full-time deputy secretary.

If this had been before, Xie Yi would typically excuse himself by saying something like “I just got here, I’m not familiar with the situation in Li County”. This time he actually took the initiative to speak, which caught the attention of the other members of the Standing Committee.

At this moment, Xie Yi appeared unfazed. After arranging his thoughts, he continued: “Previously, our thoughts, especially regarding poor townships like Gemu, focused on how to assist them in getting rich. However, we have overlooked local resources, environment, and characteristics. We have been hasty in pursuing short-term gain. We have taken many detours and wasted resources. As a result, despite the money spent, the locals are still dissatisfied. Now, Director Nie’s suggestion provides a new approach. I have also looked into Gemu. It is 78 kilometers away from the county town with a population of 2,357 spread across 513 households. This includes officially appointed village leaders. From which we have to subtract 46 households. This means we only need to resettle 467 households. At an investment of 20,000 Yuan per household, the total cost would be around 10 million Yuan. But this could significantly increase the population of Li County City and greatly contribute to the future development of the Li County Development Zone. It would help with labor resources as well as stimulating prosperity. With 10 million Yuan, we could finally put this matter to rest. I think it’s worth it. I agree with this plan.”

At this point, it was clear that Secretary Liu of the Municipal Committee had already given his approval. Naturally, no one would dare to oppose it.

After Xie Yi finished speaking, the other standing committee members also expressed their views without exception. Basically, all the voices were in agreement. In the end, the entire plan was passed unanimously. The immigration resettlement project for Gemu Township was officially ready to launch.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang glanced at Zhang Chubin next to him and also began to speak, “The immigration and dissolution of the township is a big project. The resettlement of immigrants is not just a matter of houses and land. Changes in the new environment, mentality issues, problems of living and schooling. These all need to be addressed. Also, skill training is needed to ensure that these people have a skill to rely on. This also requires time. I suggest that the County Party Committee take the lead and form a Steering Group for the Gemu Township Immigration Work. Secretary Zhang should personally act as the leader. Then, we should select elite members from the county party committee to specifically manage this immigration work.”

When Nie Zhenbang finished speaking, Zhang Chubin was stunned. He had never thought that Nie Zhenbang would hand over the immigration work to him voluntarily. It was originally Nie Zhenbang’s proposal; ordinarily, Nie Zhenbang should handle it himself. Zhang Chubin had lost all motivation since the incident with the development zone. Nonetheless, this time brought an unexpected joy.

Without waiting for Zhang Chubin to speak, Xue Daming on the side immediately said, “I also agree with Director Nie’s proposal. I suggest that the organizational Minister Xie can serve as the deputy leader. The staff vacated by the dissolution of Gemu Township needs to be reorganized and assigned. If Minister Xie serves as the deputy leader, he can better coordinate this. He can also do some ideological work for the leaders in Gemu Township.”

Nie Zhenbang had already seen through Xue Daming’s character. Xue Daming had strong opinions about him. Nie Zhenbang guessed that Xue Daming must have instigated Zhang Chubin to take credit last time, which annoyed Nie Zhenbang. However, Xue Daming acted well on the surface. Nie Zhenbang did not care at all about such a clown. Moreover, Nie Zhenbang had originally planned to give the immigration work to Zhang Chubin. Naturally, he had no objections.

Immediately, Nie Zhenbang continued, “Secretary Zhang, fellow comrades, I have a proposal that I would like to discuss.”

Zhang Chubin was startled by this. There was only one issue on the standing committee meeting’s agenda. Whatever Nie Zhenbang wanted to say now had certainly not been run past him first.

Although Zhang Chubin was quite annoyed inside, on the surface he smiled and said, “Director Nie, if you have suggestions, please feel free to speak. Let the other standing committee members learn from it.”

Zhang Chubin’s words were very flexible. It seemed as though he had already been briefed about Nie Zhenbang’s proposal, thereby saving face and not offending Nie Zhenbang. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang seemed to realize that he had indeed forgotten about Zhang Chubin. He had not thought to inform him in advance, which could give Zhang Chubin the impression that he was too domineering. Nie Zhenbang immediately gave Zhang Chubin an apologetic look and said, “Secretary Zhang, comrades, the collapse of Gemu Township Elementary School in this quake has taught me a profound lesson. Chief Nan once proposed putting education at the forefront of a hundred-year grand plan, which is the correct path. There is a saying ‘No matter how poor you are, you can’t deny your child an education; no matter how hard life is, you can’t make it hard for your child.’ Now, the Hope Project has begun domestically. We in Li County should also take action and not wait for others. I think we can use this earthquake as an opportunity to conduct a thorough investigation of the primary and secondary schools in our county, completely eradicate the potential risks associated with dangerous buildings, rebuild those that need to be rebuilt and repair those that require maintenance. We must provide the children with a safe and stable learning environment.”