Reborn as a Noble's Son

At Li Guohua’s words, Nie Zhenbang’s brow furrowed. Was Li Guohua so altruistic, cooperating with him wholeheartedly and even deliberately flattering him in front of the junior officials?

Nie Zhenbang knew Li Guohua’s character well. He was not the type to willingly accept defeat. If he backed down at this moment, it would indicate surrender, which was obviously impossible.

This could only mean one thing – Li was exaggerating his determination to crack down on illegal buildings, even suggesting the demolition of buildings that have already been completed under the pretext of cracking down on illegal construction.

The situation could escalate, causing conflicts that might even alert the provincial committee and government. If it turned sour, he, Nie Zhenbang, would be the unlucky one. What a cunning scheme.

He glanced at Li Guohua, whose eyes dodged away from his penetrating gaze. Nie Zhenbang then continued, “I would like to add a few points on illegal construction. In accordance with the No. 3 Red Head Document of the City Government, for any new construction within the demolition boundary, if it is being built or planned to be built without any legal contract, it must be strictly controlled. But, like I said before, buildings that were constructed more than six months ago, even without proper legal procedures, should be protected. New buildings established after the groundbreaking ceremony of the old city renovation project should be put on hold, with no further decoration or alteration.”

Scanning the room, Nie Zhenbang’s tone became severe again, “In other words, you must follow the rules and laws in your work, managing and punishing illegal construction while also taking appropriate measures in your work. Do not act arbitrarily or take advantage of the situation for personal vendetta. If the violation is found, the person involved will be immediately dismissed, the related leaders will be disciplined, and a record will be kept in the personnel file.”

Nie Zhenbang was not afraid of these people ignoring his words which were closely related to their livelihood. The leaders would also be careful, as having a record in the personnel file was much harsher than being scolded or writing a self-criticism and could become an obstacle in their promotion. They had to take it seriously.

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on the faces of the leaders below, Nie Zhenbang was no longer worried about them overreacting. Changing his tone, he looked around and said, “Having talked about the illegal buildings, now let’s move on to the developers.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen, who was listening in from the side, seemed stunned; it seemed Nie Zhenbang was going to lay down the law hard.

“During the old town renovation project, we discovered some citizens hoping to benefit from the cheap costs, but the developers also have their own problems. Quite a few companies, including Wanhe Real Estate, Zhou Clan Group, Zhangjiang Real Estate, Hesheng Real Estate, and others, have been found to have numerous irregularities during the demolition process. As I said this, all the government officials in the room lowered their heads, remaining silent.”

Seeing this, Nie Zhenbang let out a cold laugh in his heart. He suspected that some of these officials had had shady dealings with the developers. Not necessarily taking huge bribes, it could be a meal, a few cigarettes, or spending time at some entertainment venues.

Such small favors were commonly used by developers to establish good relations with everyone, from leaders to regular staffers. It’s a common saying that a small demon is harder to deal with than the king of hell. Since these officials had benefitted from the developers, they often turned a blind eye to the developers deceiving the public with those “red head” files. Now that Nie Zhenbang had openly mentioned it, the room was silent. No one dared to speak up. They were not fools. Coming forward now would only serve to make themselves a negative example for Mayor Nie to use.

Nie Zhenbang had a clear understanding of these people’s attitudes and didn’t want to dig too deeply into it. It’s a world where nothing is absolutely white or black. Huaxia is a nation that values etiquette, and its people prioritize reciprocity in communication. If he were to scrutinize every matter, he would become a loner and may even end up being betrayed and knocked down by others. As long as it’s not serious disciplinary issues like corruption or bribery, Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t interfere.

After a moment of contemplation, he extended three fingers, “From what I know, the developers’ violations are mainly focused on demolition compensation. To summarize, there are three methods—the first is to exploit documents about illegal constructions. They reject compensation for illegal constructions made by the people who were relocated. The second, they take advantage of measurement errors and deduct the estimated area to lessen the compensation. The third method, they replace concepts and give cash compensation to avoid house-for-house compensation.”

Upon hearing Nie Zhenbang’s summary, Zhou Chen and the other developers kept their mouths shut. These three tactics were the most commonly used tricks for construction developers, and they could cut costs by more than half with these methods.

After Nie Zhenbang finished speaking, he observed Zhou Chen and the others. Seeing their reactions, he knew he was mostly correct. Then he said gravely, “What you do not wish on yourself, you shall not do to others. If you despise the people for their illegal constructions, has it occurred to you that your actions might also be despised by the public? You’ve even exploited the name of the government, indirectly ruining its image in the eyes of the public. This has seriously damaged the public’s trust in the government and its shining image of fairness. This can have an extremely negative impact. In light of this, my suggestion is to punish these violating corporations.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the developers began making a fuss. Zhou Chen was the first to jump out, protesting loudly, “I object! Mayor Nie, Liangxi City is chopping us down after climbing up. And though you are the mayor, you don’t represent the city government in making decisions. We will apply to the provincial party committee and the provincial government. Your actions are seriously harming investors.”

Sure enough, Zhou Chen made a move. Li Guohua had made a smart move by having Nie to take the blame, and later, with some manipulation by Li, the media and newspapers would be full of reports praising Vice Mayor Li Guohua’s efforts in urban renewal. Of course, anyone would want such a favorable situation.

Nie Zhenbang’s face fell, and he said in a deep voice, “Zhou Clan Group has adopted the aforementioned three ways in the demolition and relocation of the tenth project, significantly reducing the compensation, which accumulates to an amount exceeding ten million yuan. The city government’s decision is to cancel all previous demolitions, recalculate and compensate for the demolition. At the same time, Zhou Clan Group will be fined twenty million yuan and all preferential policies will be revoked.”

Even Li Guohua didn’t expect that Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t care about Zhou Chen’s protest and went straight to the punishment. Then, Nie Zhenbang continued, “Wanhe Real Estate, in the process of demolition, exploited loopholes in the red-head document to deceive the public. The company is fined five million yuan and ordered to rectify immediately.”

Following this, Nie Zhenbang casually handed out fines ranging from one million to five million yuan to several other violating businesses.

After the announcement of the punishment decision, Nie Zhenbang said in a heavy voice, “Chairman Zhou, you should know that I am the Mayor of Liangxi Municipal People’s Government, elected by six million Liangxi residents. I am the legal representative of the Liangxi City Government. If I don’t represent the government, who does? Your violations have justification. If you are not satisfied with the punishment, you can appeal to the provincial party committee and provincial government, or you can withdraw your investment. This is the stance of the Liangxi City Government. We protect businesses that abide by the law and operate legally, but for those that break the rules and operate illegally, we are strict. We will deal with violations as we discover them, no leniency, no compromise.”

At this time, people like Li Guohua couldn’t say anything, the concept of hierarchical levels was strong within the system. In a public arena, members of the city committee had to uphold the image and authority of the Secretary. The same applied to the city government. If at this juncture he, Li Guohua, raised any objections, it would be deemed as disregarding higher-ups and a lack of organizational discipline. This could invite ridicule; Nie Zhenbang might be mocked temporarily, but everything would proceed as usual afterward. Moreover, even if this decision were to be brought to the city government office meeting for discussion, it would get approved. For himself, Li Guohua, it would be a total loss. It wasn’t worth risking his political future over this.

So, after Nie Zhenbang finished speaking, Li Guohua voiced his position, “I support Mayor Nie’s decision. Legal honesty should not only be a principle of government behavior but also a principle for companies and individuals. If you feel aggrieved because of the people’s illegal constructions and increased costs, would your illegal demolition compensations also aggrieve the public? Mayor Nie, I propose that a demolition inspection and settlement team be set up immediately, led by the city government, to investigate households that have already been demolished or who have signed demolition agreements, to minimize damages.”

With the top two figures of the city government having voiced their positions, the developers in the room were no fools. Representatives from several developers like Wanhe Real Estate, after a moment of contemplation, very readily accepted the penalties. Several hundred thousand yuan was not a big deal for the developers. The costs of recalculating the losses of those relocated would be much higher. If they could accept that, would they worry about a few hundred thousand yuan in fines? Immediately, they all nodded their heads, signaling their agreement to accept the penalties.

Zhou Chen at this moment looked quite embarrassed. He originally intended to use the threat of withdrawal to pressure Nie Zhenbang, but it seemed Nie Zhenbang was not affected at all.

At this point, Zhou Chen seemed to have forgotten about the enormous assets that Nie Zhenbang secretly controlled. Upon hearing Li Guohua’s endorsement, Zhou Chen got the hint. Almost immediately, he lowered his stance and voice, “Mayor Nie, you are correct in your criticism. We will fully cooperate with the government to recalculate and rectify our mistakes. On behalf of the developers here, I deeply apologize to the city government. Please rest assured, Mr. Mayor Nie, we will ensure high-quality and efficient progress in the urban renewal project.” (