Reborn as a Noble's Son

Often at the grassroots level, Zhao Xintian himself climbed up step by step from the grassroots, needless to say, he was well aware of the workings at this level. The area under West Village’s jurisdiction may appear to be a single village on the surface, but in reality, its power, population control, and capital were stronger than some remote impoverished counties, equating to the status of a township in Liangxi City.

West Village, likely the only administrative village in Liangxi and even across the country where village officials hold administrative ranks. The internal structure of West Village included a village party branch and a village committee. In addition to these two village teams, there was also the corporate structure of the West Village Group, with the Party branch secretary also serving as the Chairman of the West Village Group.

All this demonstrated how West Village differed from other administrative villages. As for the grassroots party members and officials, they might not have much idea about the leaders at the provincial department level. Contradicting the higher-ups, that was impossible. It’s like Yanbei’s Qiu Village back in the day, where a village party secretary didn’t even take the provincial party leaders seriously.

However, these grassroots officials were completely obedient to their immediate superiors. Therefore, Zhao Xintian was questioning Wu Kaichu at that moment. In Zhao Xintian’s view, such open defiance of Mayor Nie could only be due to Wu Kaichu’s negligence.

Before Wu Kaichu could respond, Nie Zhenbang pulled Zhao Xintian aside, stopping him with a look, then stood up and said, “Since everyone has spoken, I would like to say a few words.”

Nie Zhenbang looked around at everyone, including the two party and government leaders of Yanling City, pondering that perhaps this was orchestrated by Wu Kaichu and Wu Guoqiu. The development of West Village and Yanling City had made these people very arrogant, but of course, achieving such outstanding results justified a bit of pride.

However, now he needed to shatter this arrogance, to make these people recognize their shortcomings, and to make use of them.

So, Nie Zhenbang’s words at this moment were quite blunt. He scanned the crowd and spoke in a deep voice, “Firstly, let’s not talk about praises or compliments. We have enough about the glory of West Village. I don’t think adding or subtracting my words will make any difference. Now, bringing up these points seems a bit boastful. Today, we are here to discuss West Village’s shortcomings.”

Everyone’s ears perked up at these words, Wu Kaichu was no exception. As the former secretary of West Village, Wu Kaichu held West Village in high regard. Otherwise, he would not have incorporated the surrounding administrative villages into West Village even after he became the secretary of the Yanling Municipal Party Committee.

“However, this is not enough. Limiting itself to a single village, West Village’s development will fall into a stalemate. I presume West Village’s development has already been somewhat delayed. Yet, Yanling City is just so big, the area of Liangxi City is not large either. So, does every development have to be accomplished through village-town mergers? In fact, in economics, there’s a term for this kind of development. We call it a blank effect.”

After these words, even Wu Kaichu fell deep into thought. His initial disdain was replaced by a serious expression. Indeed, as Nie Zhenbang stated, the development of West Village had always followed this pattern. Whenever West Village hit a development bottleneck, it would merge with surrounding administrative villages, bringing in population, land, other professional skills, and characteristic industries. This would usher in a golden period for West Village’s development. After assimilating and transforming all of these, despite all its changes, West Village remained powerful and effective. However, this required merging with more administrative villages to promote development.

Wu Kaichu had been contemplating this issue, but without much effect. This was normal, given that Wu Kaichu’s level of education was only primary school. Although he had learned a lot over the years, his achievements were limited. He could not solve this problem.

“Mayor Nie, how do you think West Village can break free from this development cycle?” Wu Kaichu suddenly asked.

Hearing Wu Kaichu’s words, a smile spread across Nie Zhenbang’s face. Wu Kaichu’s mindset was changing. This was a good sign, a good omen. What they feared most was indifference from these people. Now that Wu Kaichu was contemplating this issue, it showed he had recognized the value of his own words.

“Comrade Kaichu, that’s the issue I’m about to address,” said Nie Zhenbang, a calm smile on his face, giving off an aura of profound wisdom.

He then cut straight to the chase, “For West Village to develop, the best approach is to go beyond its borders.”

“Expanding outwards?”

For a moment, discussions broke out again in the venue. However, Nie Zhenbang continued, “Indeed, to expand outwards. To take West Village’s management model and advanced experiences out, to take West Village’s production and management philosophies out, and to take West Village’s capital out. That is what I mean by expanding outwards.”

“In terms of capital, the West Village Group can consider becoming a standardized company and get listed on the Hucheng Stock Exchange. We can integrate social capital to enhance the overall economic strength of West Village. In terms of actual industry, don’t limit yourselves to just one location. Yanling City may not have much space left for West Village to grow, but the rest of the country offers vast opportunities. For instance, the mechanized agriculture project in West Village was born out of the necessity to liberate the village’s labor force. Here in West Village, its only purpose is to free up the labor force. But change your frame of thinking! What if we take on large-scale land contracts for mechanized agricultural operations in the Northeast or Southern regions under the name of the West Village Group? That way, it broadens the Group’s operational scope. Plus, it generates economic and social benefits for the local region, thereby spurring their development. Agriculture is not the only industry we can expand in. We can do the same with West Village’s industries. Don’t worry about hiring local workers and perceive it as a loss for West Village. Remember when we merged administrative villages? Wasn’t it more or less the same hiring process? Moreover, if we merge, the shares of all of you present today would dilute, and that’s simply not beneficial.”

Nie Zhenbang’s last statement made the villagers of West Village laugh. Their welfare treatment, along with the various privileges they enjoyed as villagers, were indeed superior. When the administrative villages were being merged in the past, some villagers opposed it. But thanks to Wu Kaichu’s influential reputation, the process went smoothly. Now, pointed out by Mayor Nie, everyone felt a little embarrassed.

Having said all these, Nie Zhenbang sat down leisurely. In his past life’s memories, these strategies and plans were West Village’s development models. Nie had no doubt that these plans would stir the hearts of the villagers of West Village.

At that moment, Wu Kaichu was taken aback. He frowned upon intellectuals in the past. His life experience led him to think that intellectuals only knew theories and didn’t know how to put them into practice. But now, after listening to Nie Zhenbang’s speech, Wu realized for the first time that he was wrong, and he was utterly mistaken. This kind of development model is equivalent to unlimited extension of West Village nationwide. As long as the West Village Group takes action, there will be numerous “West Villages” all over the country. Although these places won’t truly be West Village, the greatest beneficiary would be the West Village Group. The present West Village would become the core West Village.

Upon realization, Wu Kaichu stood up and took the lead in applauding. Given his behavior, the officials from Yanling City along with the village officials and villagers of West Village gave the most enthusiastic round of applause.

Wu Kaichu left his seat and walked behind Nie Zhenbang. He looked at him sincerely and said earnestly, “Mayor Nie, I sincerely apologize for my earlier negligence. Please forgive me.”

A man in his fifties apologizing to a young man was a testament to Wu Kaichu’s frank personality. Nie, understanding Wu’s worries, smiled and said, “Secretary Kaichu, you’re being too hard on yourself. I understand your caution. West Village had many missteps in the past due to misguided direction from certain leaders. To be wary now is only normal. What I proposed is just a theoretical plan. The actual effectiveness would depend on West Village’s own exploration. Harmonizing relations with local governments, managing relations with the local populace – these are not easy tasks. For the West Village Group to expand, there is a long road ahead.”

Nie’s words further stunned Wu. Nie’s pragmatic attitude completely won him over. He nodded, saying, “Mayor, you don’t need to say that. We, West Village, have always been crossing the river by feeling the stones. We take the path step by step. The thing we fear the least is a challenge. Rest assured, Mr. Mayor. West Village will show that we can deliver.”

Then, Wu continued, “Mr. Mayor, after your speech, I feel enlightened. It’s more educational than ten years of reading. I have an idea now.”

Pausing with a sigh, he said, “I used to think intellectuals were incompetent. But now, I realize that I was mistaken. It’s the lack of knowledge that’s the problem. I’m considering setting up a scholarship fund in West Village, to encourage the younger generation to read more, read better books. At that time, I would like to invite Mr. Mayor to our scholarship inauguration.”

The change in Wu Kaichu’s address from Mayor Nie to Mr. Mayor signified his change of heart. From the initial superficial politeness and respect to sincere attitude, this change delighted Nie.

In the system, there are several types of subordinates. The first kind is loyal, who no matter the situation, will always follow the lead. The second kind is ordinary, who have their own opinions and resolve. As the saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together”; these subordinates completely support their leader in the pursuit of the same goals. The third kind is the loyal follower of a political rival.

Clearly, it is impossible for somebody like Wu to be molded into the first type. Not only does he lack the age advantage, but his experience also makes him hard to conquer. However, Nie could see right now that Wu belonged to the second type.

Holding multiple esteemed titles, these were Wu’s amulet; unless there were severe issues, even Fan Changsheng would have to give him due respect. If Nie could obtain Wu’s support on some issues, it would significantly benefit his economic layout in Liangxi City.

With this thought, Nie responded cheerfully, “That’s great! Education is the foundation to a hundred-year plan. Mr. Kaichu, it’s wonderful that you thought of this. This is the kind of thing I’m most interested in, and I will definitely attend.”