Reborn as a Noble's Son

In the small conference room of the county committee.

On the table, a large planning blueprint was also spread out. At this moment, Zhang Chubin seemed a bit exuberant, pointing to the blueprint, and said to Cheng Xinhua next to him: “Secretary Cheng, look, this is a plan we recently came up with. We initially thought about designating a 20 square kilometer area to the north of Li County City, near Ku City, as the Economic and Technological Development Zone of Li County, the location of our new town in Li County.”

20 square kilometers? Upon hearing Zhang Chubin’s words, Nie Zhenbang’s brows furrowed. It seemed that since the preparation of the development zone project, the difference between the two had gradually increased. 20 square kilometers – this area was larger than the entire Li County City at present. The construction of the infrastructure alone would be a massive burden. To be blunt, this was not something the Lixian Government could afford.

Cheng Xinhua was startled, but he understood Nie Zhenbang’s thoughts quite well. If it was an economic development project proposed by Bazhou City, although a bit large, it would not be unacceptable. After all, leveraging the entire city’s strength and taking the advantage of a prefecture-level city, once started, at least it should be a city-level economic and technological development zone, and becoming a provincial-level is not a problem. Moreover, they have full assurance in terms of funding from all aspects. However, if it’s Li County, it seems a bit overambitious. At this moment, the proposal of Li County seems extravagant like the Great Leap Forward Period.

If no one was present, Cheng Xinhua might have critiqued it outright. However, at this moment, he had to save some face for Zhang Chubin and all the standing committee members of Li County present. Importantly, Cheng Xinhua was considering Liu Wenqing’s feelings since any critique of Zhang Chubin in front of the officials of Li County might upset Secretary Liu if he heard about it. On the other hand, letting Zhang Chubin boast unchecked was tormenting himself. But Cheng Xinhua didn’t have to do this. Hence, Cheng Xinhua smiled and said: “It’s nice that the comrades of Li County have this idea. However, some things need to be researched further, considered more. The idea of the development zone project is good. However, in terms of attracting investors, setting policies, and other supporting measures, we need to strengthen them. We need to ensure that once it is set up, it can attract investments, yield effective benefits, and achieve results. Only then can it be considered a qualified development zone.”

Li County party committee

At this moment, in Zhang Chubin’s office, he was reviewing the development plan report written by Nie Zhenbang.

After reading the entire report, Zhang Chubin’s brows were also furrowed. Compared with Nie Zhenbang’s report, his idea seemed wasteful. Nie Zhenbang adjusted the area to six square kilometers. This area, neither big nor small, was just right considering the current situation of Li County. Also, the points raised by Nie Zhenbang in the report made Zhang Chubin feel refreshed.

Firstly, the environmental protection issue was stressed from the beginning, unlike other development zones that only pursue political achievements. According to Nie Zhenbang’s plan, prospective investors must pass environmental evaluation. If they fail to pass this test by the environmental department, all deals are off.

This made Zhang Chubin frown. It was already a good thing to have investors coming to a place like Li County. With so many barriers, how could they attract investment?

Secondly, Zhang Chubin strongly agreed with Nie Zhenbang’s idea of ‘Three Opens and Two Nos’: open-mindedness of Li County officials, open services, an open environment, no thresholds for investment, and no barriers from departments. This had the same meaning as the ‘green channel’ in Yangwu County.

Thirdly, Nie Zhenbang’s proposal was to capitalize on local resources, focusing on agriculture and livestock farming and vermiculite mining. It proposed to introduce a batch of meat product processing enterprises, woolen mills, and leather manufacturing industries, relying on Li County’s livestock farming resources. By relying on the Farmer Welfare Company, a complete development model could be formed, from livestock farming, to slaughtering, to deep processing of meat products, and processing of subsidiary industries. This model would create scale and effect, aiming to make Li County the fur center and leather base in the Western Region. Based on this, leather products producers can be introduced. This would greatly reduce production costs and minimize the circulation link of goods.

It took Zhang Chubin nearly half an hour to read through the more than ten pages of the development plan. At this moment, putting down the material, Zhang Chubin felt somewhat touched. He said to Xue Daming, the Minister of Propaganda sitting on the sofa: “Old Xue, you should take a look at Nie Zhenbang’s plan. It’s visionary, thoughtful, Nie Zhenbang is really a talent in economics, having studied it at the graduate level.”

Xue Daming took the material but did not read it. From his view, Zhang Chubin’s action seemed a bit too much. As the County Party Secretary, everything was given to the county governor and if this continued, the entire county officials would only know Nie Zhenbang and forget about Secretary Zhang. Moreover, Xue Daming was also considering for himself. Being part of Zhang Chubin’s faction, the stronger Zhang Chubin was, the more secured his position in Li County would be.

Immediately, Xue Daming also laughed and said: “Secretary, there are some things I don’t know whether to say or not.”

As his close confidant, Zhang Chubin naturally trusted Xue Daming. He immediately laughed and said, “Old Xue, I see you’ve become polite around me. Since when did we start considering what should be said and what shouldn’t be among us? Just speak out. We can treat it like an ordinary chit-chat.”

Xue Daming nodded and smiled. He was pleased with Zhang Chubin’s attitude. It showed how highly Zhang Chubin thought of him. After pondering for a moment, Xue Daming began, “Mr. Secretary, this plan is good. But I think it lacks something. The focus is too much on agri-business and the local farming, husbandry and vermiculite mining. Isn’t this different from the original intention of the Development Zone? In my opinion, we should focus on the high and new technology industry and establish high-tech enterprises. That would match the Development Zone’s initial purpose. Plus, Mr. Secretary, you should carefully consider who will be in charge of the Development Zone. I suggest that you should personally assume the position of Secretary of the Working Committee of the Development Zone, similar to how it is in Yangwu County.”

“Oh, I should personally serve as the Secretary of the Working Committee?” Zhang Chubin was taken aback. He hadn’t considered this issue before.

At that moment, Xue Daming nodded and said, “Mr Secretary, think about it. Our Development Zone might be the first one in the Xibei Autonomous Region, except for the Wu City Economic and Technological Development Zone. Once it starts, it will shake up the whole region. It’s going to be a tremendous political achievement. Plus, I hear some murmurs among the officials in Li County. ”

Zhang Chubin understood Xue Daming’s meaning. He knew Xue Daming didn’t have great capabilities. But, his most significant trait was his loyalty, a crucial asset. If the Development Zone were awarded under Nie Zhenbang, Zhang Chubin would indeed get a piece of the figured cake. But, the largest portion would still be beyond his reach.

Zhang Chubin was somewhat moved by this proposal. He soon laughed, “What are you saying, Daming? I find you hesitating today. Why not go ahead and tell me about the rumor? ”

Knowing Zhang Chubin’s mood, Xue Daming nodded, “Mr Secretary, don’t be mad about what I’m going to say. After Director Nie successfully nominated four bureau chiefs, a rumor started spreading in the county that Director Nie’s ideas were more respected and that you were just a figurehead.”

Upon hearing that, Zhang Chubin’s face fell. Waving his hand, he said in a solemn voice, “Comrade Daming, avoid such rumors in the future. Director Nie respects me. Don’t engage in gossip that can destroy the party’s unity.”

Although he said so, Zhang Chubin’s mood was indeed affected. Recently, a stream of people were reporting to Nie Zhenbang, while only a few visited him. It was ruining his peace.

At this moment, Xue Daming stood up. His mission was accomplished. He believed that this conversation would stir Zhang Chubin’s ambition and make the following tasks easier. Then, he left with a smile, “Mr. Secretary, I’ll let you get back to your work. I should get going.”

After Xue Daming left, Zhang Chubin’s face darkened. Xue Daming’s words had indeed shocked him. At first, Zhang Chubin appreciated Nie Zhenbang’s plan, but now, with a changed perspective, he found something unsatisfying about it. Immediately, Zhang Chubin stood up and called out to his assistant, “Liu, prepare for a trip. Notify Horse to arrange the car. We are going to the city.”

The distance from Li County to Bazhou City was nearly fifty kilometres. They finally arrived when it was dark. Looking at the street lamps outside the window, Zhang Chubin ordered, “Horse, go directly to the Municipal Committee’s residential area. You and Liu should go rest at the Bazhou Hotel, pick me up after ten.”

He had already contacted Liu Wenqing. When he walked into the living room, Liu Wenqing asked with a smile, “What brings you here in such a hurry, Xiao Zhang?”

As Zhang Chubin settled on the sofa, he placed the development zone plan he had written on the table and began, “Secretary Liu, sorry to bother you. I came to report Li County’s latest plan.”

PS: Sorry, brothers and sisters. I didn’t intend to ask for leave. The new book ranking is very important for Old Cai. However, I really cannot keep going. Only under this reluctant circumstance did I take a break. I will try to guarantee three updates a day during these days. The missed explosive chapters will catch up. I hope you can understand.