Reborn as a Noble's Son

A path suddenly opened within the crowd. At that moment, Mayor Ma, leaning on his cane, made his way in with the support of his grandson, Ma Guozhu.

Ever since that incident, Ma Guozhu was particularly recruited by Lixian into Muli Township. Currently, he works at the township’s water resource management, and although he holds no official title, he is a genuine cadre and is considered the government’s consolation and compensation for Mayor Ma, an old party member.

“Director Nie, I think Guozhu should quit his job. He was meant to be a farmer. That he did not excel in school was his own fate. We have land back home, and he’s got strength. That’s all we need, we won’t starve.” Mayor Ma, who had been so fiery just now, surprisingly proposed resigning his grandson’s job.

Nie Zhenbang was moved, thinking, ‘This is a real party member, a real cadre. The world needs more such officers who value the people’s interest and disregard personal gains and losses.’ He then said with a smile, “Mayor Ma, you’re mistaken. Guozhu’s job was arranged by Muli Township, and he has been performing well at the water resource management. This indicates that Guozhu is qualified for the job. You’re asking me to dismiss a competent cadre, which is akin to avoiding treatment due to fear of a doctor’s diagnosis. Merit should be rewarded regardless of one’s relationship; you can’t forbid your descendants from becoming cadres because you once were one.”

With Nie Zhenbang’s words, Mayor Ma found no reason to persist. In his heart, he accepted Director Nie’s kindness. For someone like Mayor Ma, who was innately proud, he would never exploit government resources for his own grandchildren. He would return favours, inviting or not, but now that Director Nie has voiced his words, things were different. Although he knew it was still favoritism, there was no reason to refuse now. If he were to continue refusing, then Mayor Ma would also be unsociable.

Then, Mayor Ma’s gaze shifted toward the toilet. He was a little disappointed and said, “Nie, I’ve wanted to talk to you for a while, but you’ve been missing for a month, and Lixian is again in a mess. All sorts of monsters are emerging from the shadows.”

While speaking, Mayor Ma picked up his crutches, pointed towards the toilet on the side, and said without courtesy, “Director Nie, please look. What the hell is this? Isn’t this merely a place for people to piss and shit? A few bricks and asbestos tiles are enough. As long as it doesn’t collapse when people use it, isn’t it enough? A project that could be done well within a thousand bucks is getting tens of thousands spent on it. My donations are basically wasted. These are all textbooks, desks and chairs, they represent the sweat and blood of the people. And the donations from those big bosses, they weren’t meant to be spent like this.”

Mayor Ma’s words were very direct. He did not give any dignity to Bayaer or Huang Pingan. Given Mayor Ma’s reputation in Muli Township, the crowd began cheering and joining in.

Voices of ridicule could be heard within the crowd, “Mayor Ma, you’re right. We dare not use this toilet. We have no idea how to use this thing when we go inside.”

Hearing such rumors, Bayaer’s expression turned cold. Looking at the mayor standing next to him, he said in a low voice, “Mayor Ma, please be mindful of your standing. This is all a comprehensive consideration and judgement of the county committee and government. It represents Lixian’s image and face.”

“Bullshit!”

It seemed as though Mayor Ma’s mantra was this very sentence. At this moment, the twinkle of anger appeared on Mayor Ma’s face. His eyes widened as he stared at Bayaer, yelling, “Bullshit, Bayaer! When I was a cadre, you were most likely still wearing open-crotch trousers. Don’t pull that one with me. Is this the intention of the county committee and government? Don’t pull rank with me. Wearing a hat, I believe the county committee and the county government would not make such outrageous decisions. A toilet has just been built, and that represented Lixian’s image? That added reputation to Lixian? You should rather spend effort on education quality and poor students. It seems like you’re not concerned about money.”

He paused for a bit, becoming slightly agitated, mainly because he was old and his strength not what it used to be.

After calming down, Mayor Ma exploded again, “Bayaer, Huang Pingan, you guys are misusing your powers and public funding. This is a violation of discipline, a severe violation. I will certainly report this to higher authorities. As an old party member and municipal representative, I condemn the actions you have taken. You guys are not fit to be cadres.”

Bayaer’s face sank. Talking to this old man was incredibly cumbersome. He glanced at Nie Zhenbang next to him. Bayaer decided to go all out. He sternly said, “Comrade Ma, please be aware of your position. I’m still the deputy head of Lixian, overseeing the education and health department. The work of Lixian’s government is not subject to your directions. Moreover, for all the new toilet constructions in Lixian’s schools, we had informed and gotten approval from Deputy Mayor Zhou. This is a key issue that the city is focusing on. You, a retired comrade, what do you know? Words and actions bear responsibilities.”

Hearing this, Mayor Ma was so angry that his whiskers trembled. After a long silence, Mayor Ma pointed at Bayaer and said, “Alright, today, I will stake my old life on standing up to you.”

Having said that, Mayor Ma lifted his cane and headed straight for Bayaer. His sturdy wooden cane, with a dragon’s head carved on top, was extremely solid. It was no child’s play if that cane struck someone.

Moreover, Mayor Ma did not hold back at all, several blows, and Bayaer’s head was soundly smashed, blood flowing freely.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang also stepped forward, violence should only go so far. With Mayor Ma’s identity, a few hits were not a problem, but if he hit too much, it would be trouble, after all, the party committee and government still needed to maintain a certain authority and image.

Even if Bayaer was to be dealt with, it would have to be done through the government. If they beat him like this and cause a big fuss, Nie Zhenbang and Zhang Chubin would also be implicated.

Nie Zhenbang, with his nimbleness, grabbed Mayor Ma’s walking stick and gently put it down. Nie Zhenbang said with a smile: “Mayor Ma, that’s enough, that’s enough. I assure you, this time the toilet incident, our County Party Committee and County Government will definitely deal with it seriously. The completed ones, we won’t bother about. We won’t tear them down and rebuild them, the ones under construction will all halt for rectification. The ones that have not started, they will all be cancelled. Also, regarding the issues of Comrade Bayaer and Comrade Huang Pingan, the County Party Committee and County Government will definitely give you, and all the citizens of the county, a satisfactory answer. What do you think?”

Here, when Bayaer saw Nei Zhenbang stepping in, he immediately stood up, his face gloomy, roaring: “Call the police, call the police, Director Huang, call the police immediately. This is lawlessness, they are now openly assaulting state officials.”

This time, Bayaer was completely plunged into a state of frenzy. At this moment, he had forgotten the prestige of Mayor Ma in Muli Township.

As this sentence ended, the words had just fallen, and the onlookers around immediately turned their heads to look at Bayaer, in the middle, there were even people shouting loudly: “Call the police, I want to see which police officer dare to arrest Mayor Ma. In my opinion, this waste, deserves to be killed. How come Mayor Ma doesn’t hit Director Nie, but hits you specifically.”

Nie Zhenbang’s expression became serious: “Bayaer, enough is enough, look at yourself, do you still look like an official? Wasteful extravagance, a toilet, so grandly built, your issue will definitely be discussed by the county standing committee. And you, Comrade Huang Pingan, as the director of the Committee on Education. Is this how you care about the education work of the entire county? The literacy project, the hope project for rescuing out-of-school children, all these are big money spenders, you guys are great, squandering two million, two million. From now on, you stop being the head of the Committee on Education. I will personally report to Secretary Zhang. For your issue, after investigation, the County Party Committee and County Government will give you a clear and fair answer.”

He paused for a moment, but Nie Zhenbang looked at Bayaer on the side with a gloomy expression: “I will personally report Vice Mayor Zhou’s issue to Secretary Liu and Mayor Ding at the City Committee. I want to see if the City Party Committee and Municipal Government’s approval for Lixian to build so many toilets will really bring Lixian much honor and face.”

Nie Zhenbang was really angry at this moment. Zhou Chen, coming to Bazhou was a smart move by your Zhou family. Knowing that Lixian’s big development will inevitably drive the development of Bazhou City, in this way, no matter what, the team of Bazhou City Party Committee and Municipal Government will have merits. After all, no matter what he is in charge of, if a place gets rich and develops, they can all achieve some results. In this way, Zhou Chen had capital for promotion. But now that Zhou Chen is restless and waiting to take credit for himself, he should not be polite either.

Lixian, to put it bluntly, is Nie Zhenbang’s starting place, here, is Nie Zhenbang’s forbidden area. If anyone wanted to interfere or destroy this development of Lixian, they must be prepared to face off with Nie Zhenbang.

At this moment, Bayaer did not care much about Nie Zhenbang. Now, he too has someone to lean on. Did Nie Zhenbang, a county head, really think he could overthrow a deputy city mayor? Bayaer would never believe it. You, Nie Zhenbang, have a background, Vice Mayor Zhou also has one, it is still yet to be seen who will win. With this kind of backing, Bayaer became much bolder. He snorted coldly and said, “Director Huang, let’s go. There is no reason in Lixian. Let’s go somewhere where reason can be found.”

Seeing Bayaer leave, Nie Zhenbang did not stop him. Right now, Nie Zhenbang wished that Bayaer could invite Zhou Chen over. In this way, he could tidy them up all at once. Now, he was occupying a justified position, no matter where the lawsuit was filed, Zhou Chen would lose.

Here, Nie Zhenbang comforted Mayor Ma a few words, then, upon returning to the county, Zhang Chubin’s call came directly to Nie Zhenbang’s phone.

As soon as he answered, Zhang Chubin’s voice came over: “Zhenbang, you’re back. I heard that Bayaer just got beaten up by Mayor Ma. What on earth happened?”

Upon hearing Zhang Chubin’s words, Nie Zhenbang was stunned, the news spread really fast, how long has it been, probably the whole Lixian knows about it now. After pondering for a while, Nie Zhenbang also said slowly: “Secretary Zhang, things are a bit complicated, I think, I should go to the county committee, there are some things I need to discuss with you.”

PS: Thanks for the monthly tickets and recommendation tickets.