Reborn as a Noble's Son

A Secretary’s office meeting? Nie Zhenbang nodded, then also chuckled, “Director Qu, you see, a phone call to inform would have sufficed. Making you come in person, I really feel apologetic.”

Qu Feng is actually quite a good man. He had been the Deputy Director of the County Committee Office during Mo Zhihai’s era. After Mo Zhihai’s fall from power, through a fortunate turn of events, Qu had incidentally advanced one step. It’s not like he is truly Zhang Chubin’s confidant though.

Qu Feng also laughed at this moment, “Director Nie, saying it this way feels like you’re distancing yourself. As the Director of the County Committee, serving all the leaders is part of my duties. You carry on, I should get going, I have some matters to attend. Please do not forget, tomorrow morning at nine, in the small meeting room of the county committee.”

At this moment, Yi Jun had already taken out his notebook. He picked up his pen and swiftly wrote a line, tomorrow morning at nine, small meeting room of the county committee, convene the Secretary’s office meeting. There is a saying, the palest ink is better than the best memory. As a secretary, it is essential to remember everything. Leaders have their own matters. It’s not possible for them to worry about these things. Otherwise, there would be no use for a secretary.

Right now, after Qu Feng left, Nie Zhenbang fell into deep thought. It seems, the Secretary’s office meeting is the precursor to the Standing Committee meeting. This time, the Secretary’s office meeting is the precursor to the County Committee leadership’s unified mindset. Such a significant matter as the Development Zone must first be discussed in the Secretary’s office meeting before it can be presented to the Standing Committee meeting for discussion. This is a routine procedural requirement.

Otherwise, if the Development Zone matter fails to pass in the Standing Committee meeting, it would be a loss of face for both Zhang Chubin and Nie Zhenbang.

The next morning as soon as work started, Yi Jun brought a cup of tea into the office. He first placed the cup on the desk, then reminded Nie, “Director, today at nine, in the small meeting room of the county committee, we are convening the Secretary’s office meeting, what do you think?”

Nie Zhenbang also nodded at this moment. Immediately, he stood up and said, “Oh, I totally forgot. Last night, I adjusted and improved the plan for the Development Zone once again. It’s almost done now, let’s head over.”

Nie Zhenbang walked into the small meeting room with his cup of tea. At this moment, full-time deputy secretary of the county committee, Xie Yi, Discipline Committee Secretary Sun Kewen, and Political and Legal Committee Secretary Zhao Kunlun were all already seated. They were softly discussing something. Seeing Nie Zhenbang coming over, both Xie Yi and Sun Kewen had already stood up. Xie Yi was nodding and smiling, “Director Nie has arrived. Please, go ahead and sit.”

At this moment, Zhao Kunlun’s complexion changed, his originally smiling face, immediately turned expressionless, he snorted coldly and turned away.

Seeing Zhao Kunlun’s current state, Nie Zhenbang started laughing. The behavior displayed by Zhao was really quite embarrassing. A high-ranking Political and Legal Committee Secretary behaving like a disgruntled child, such immature behavior. It looks like, he had overestimated him.

Then, Nie Zhenbang chuckled, “Secretary Zhao, who has upset you? You seem to be in low spirits.”

Zhao Kunlun’s expression was quite awkward. He twitched a little, then also sneered, “What does Director Nie mean by this? I’m not upset. Nowadays, the public security environment in Li County is excellent, and the various tasks of the Political and Legal committee are doing exceptionally well. As the Political and Legal Committee Secretary, I’m quite satisfied. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

At that moment, Zhang Chubin walked in with a smile on his face. In his hand, he was carrying a bunch of documents. The succession of good news recently made Zhang Chubin quite happy. The Development Zone plan has been put on the agenda, where Nie Zhenbang’s tremendous energy managed to secure a huge amount of funding from the upper levels. Now, many of his old friends were continuously giving him calls, these people, all seasoned veterans of the officialdom. At this moment, they all saw the potential for development in Li County. Having such achievements in hand, stepping from a regular title to a deputy division is no longer an issue for Zhang Chubin.

After Zhang Chubin sat down, he looked at his watch, then chuckled, “Everyone’s here, so let’s not worry about formalities, we don’t have to wait until nine. Let’s start now. The main topic for this Secretary’s office meeting, there’s only one, that is to discuss the establishment of the Li County Economic and Technological Development Zone.”

Having said this, Zhang Chubin immediately distributed the already printed documents to everyone, “Colleagues, have a look. These are the application documents and initial planning I’ve compiled for the establishment of the Li County Economic and Technological Development Zone. Please share any opinions or ideas you may have. Prioritizing democracy is after all the tradition of our party.”

Zhang Chubin appeared relaxed, his face carrying a kind of gentle and elegant smile. However, deep down, Zhang Chubin was a bit uneasy. The development zone’s plan to say is something that Nie Zhenbang took very seriously. The original plan and planning proposal were also put forward by Nie Zhenbang. Now, he has completely overturned it, which can be regarded as Zhang Chubin’s form of testing.

Since Xue Daming mentioned it to me, the idea in Zhang Chubin’s heart had been unstoppable. In his communication with Liu Wenqing, Secretary Liu did not show a hard stance. Therefore, Zhang Chubin wanted to take this opportunity to test Nie Zhenbang’s attitude. If there is great opposition, Zhang Chubin naturally has to find a way out.

Looking at the plan on the table, Nie Zhenbang’s eyebrows had already been wrinkled. It seemed that Zhang Chubin’s mentality had also changed.

In truth, Nie Zhenbang really hadn’t thought about these power struggles and profit-seeking games. From Nie Zhenbang’s perspective, there isn’t much room to compete at the county level. Nie Zhenbang’s idea was simple. Just do the job well, let the common people in Li County benefit, and that’s enough. As for the political achievements, maybe Zhang Chubin and others need it, Xie Yi, and others need it, but do I need it? Certainly not. For Nie Zhenbang, there were higher-level people watching him from above, like Elder Yang, and the old man. Whether he did well or not, the old man knew. That’s enough. This is the basis for Nie Zhenbang’s promotion.

However, at this moment, Zhang Chubin’s approach left Nie Zhenbang somewhat dissatisfied. If you want it, you can tell me frankly, but why are you playing this shady game? Isn’t this openly taking advantage of me?

Immediately, he opened the file. From the first sentence, Nie Zhenbang’s eyebrows were furrowed. It seemed like an unplanned person wouldn’t know how expensive firewood and rice are. Li County’s land is not Hucheng City’s, it’s not worth a pound of gold. When did we start running out of land and scoop out a large piece? Now, with the shortage of funds, and the work of attracting investment has not been laid out, can you be so ambitious about this?

Looking further down, Zhang Chubin even listed a string of detailed data, and even shamelessly vowed to introduce no less than twenty high-tech enterprises within two years. This sentence left Nie Zhenbang utterly speechless. Continuing to read, the entire text was basically some vague and empty data, almost all inferred. The only valuable part was the policy on attracting investment in the development zone, three exemptions and two halves, which was completely copied from his own thoughts. Nie Zhenbang really didn’t know how to comment.

At that moment, Zhang Chubin was also observing Nie Zhenbang’s expression. Seeing that Nie Zhenbang didn’t change much and his face was very calm, Zhang Chubin also gave a slight smile. At that moment, Zhang Chubin was very satisfied with Nie Zhenbang’s performance, realizing advance and retreat is good, isn’t it?

Immediately, Zhang Chubin also laughed and said, “Comrades, any comments? This plan of the development zone, I have also specifically requested and reported to Secretary Liu of the Municipal Party Committee. Now, in the county’s finance, we have also received the support of the province, I see. We can set a tone in advance at our Secretary’s office meeting, and first unite the thoughts of our Li County team.”

As soon as his voice fell, Zhao Kunlun said, “Secretary Zhang, this plan is very good. This time, although I didn’t go to Yangwu County, I have heard about what you guys have investigated. Since others are so enthusiastic about it, I don’t think it’s impossible for us here. I have no objection, I completely agree. Here, I also speak on behalf of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the entire county’s public security political and legal front-line will definitely fully support Li County’s economic construction and development.”

Zhao Kunlun is now determined. Since he and Nie Zhenbang are now on opposing sides, then Zhao Kunlun must keep up with Zhang Chubin, otherwise, his own position might be in jeopardy.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang picked up his teacup. After taking a sip, Nie Zhenbang deliberately said, “Secretary Zhang, I happen to have a differing opinion.”

Nie Zhenbang’s words made Zhang Chubin startled. However, Nie Zhenbang did not care about these, he solemnly said, “Secretary Zhang, a few questions. One, is the area of the development zone too large? With just six square kilometers, the cost of dismantling and relocating and constructing basic facilities, I initially estimated, would cost at least several billions. In terms of phased investment, it would take at least a few years to complete initially. Can our economy sustain such a large area? Second, in terms of attracting investment, I feel that the concept of sustainable development must be seen. The environment of Xibei is already harsh, now introducing high-polluting enterprises is irresponsible to future generations. Third, in terms of enterprise choice, high-tech enterprises do not have an advantage in Xibei. I feel that this is worth considering. Only by relying on the resource advantages of Li County itself can the introduction proceed smoothly. I have a different opinion on this proposal. Comrades, I also have a proposal here. Mayor Aiguo from the city and Secretary Jiang from the district party committee have also taken a look, they feel it’s quite good. Please take a look.”

Nie Zhenbang then brought out his own development zone proposal and distributed it to Xie Yi and others, then he sat back down again.

At this time, Zhang Chubin’s face also became a bit ugly. Nie Zhenbang this time, was just too overbearing, not giving him any face at all.

PS: Getting up at half past eight, washing up, immediately opening the computer to write. First, post most of what was written yesterday. Today, get back to writing with full effort. Asking my brothers and sisters for a monthly pass to support.