Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 269: Chapter 268: Return to Jingcheng_1

Translator: 549690339

Secretary Nie hit someone? This was a rare occurrence, everyone present was taken aback, representatives of the delegation from the brother cities and counties all stared in shock.

The conflicts between city party secretary and mayor led to open confrontations, with the city party secretary slapping the mayor in public. These events sounded like a tall tale. Beside them, Xiong Jianming and others all wore faces of delight. This was indeed a great opportunity. If Mayor Zhou plays his cards right and seizes onto Secretary Nie Zhenbang’s tails, Secretary Nie Zhenbang’s position might not be so stable anymore.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was completely confident. If Brother Three did not show his might, was he simply seen as a sick cat? Having hit him, what can you, Zhou Chen, possibly do to me? Nie Zhenbang was indeed confident in himself.

Immediately after, Nie Zhenbang spoke in a righteous manner, “Mayor? Power?”

Repeating these two words, Nie Zhenbang sneered and continued, “Zhou Chen, you have ignored the rules and regulations issued by the city party committee and government, and blatantly wasted public funds. What does that make you? What kind of mayor are you? Now, you are the deputy party secretary of Xinli City and the acting mayor of Xinli City People’s Government. Your power? What power do you have? You are a public servant for the people. Don’t forget that you were elected by the people. The power you hold has been granted to you by the people of Xinli City. It was their hope that you could lead all the people of Xinli City towards a better and richer life, not for you to waste public money on eating and drinking. I hit you for your own good, I want you to sober up and understand yourself.”

“Hmph! Reflect on yourself and think hard. This stack of bills, this time, will be paid by the city party committee and government for you. However, I hope that there will not be a next time. If there really is, then you will pay for it yourself.” Nie Zhenbang snorted coldly and walked away.

At this moment, the members of the delegation left one after another. Earlier, Nie Zhenbang’s remarks had been very sincere. So far, the delegation members seemed to have detected something. To genuinely learn something, they still had to find Secretary Nie.

As soon as the delegates left, the rest of the middle-ranking cadres also left one after another. Under the current circumstances, it was best to leave first. Otherwise, if the mayor were to lose his temper and vent his anger at them, wouldn’t that bring about undeserved punishment?

Thus, only Zhou Chen, Zhou Wang, Xiong Jianming, Gao Yuanshan and Huang Wenbiao were left in the room. These people had followed Zhou Chen since he was the deputy mayor of Bazhou City, and had pledged their allegiance to Zhou Chen along with Bayaer and Zhao Kunlun. After the incident with Bayaer, Nie Zhenbang had spared these men due to their lack of malicious intent. This time, when Zhou Chen was unexpectedly appointed Deputy Party Secretary and Mayor of Xinli City, these people were all excited as they now had a strong backing in Xinli City.

Next, Huang Wenbiao said in a low voice, “Mayor, with Nie Zhenbang’s arrogance, this cannot be tolerated. He publicly attacked someone. Based on this alone, the city party committee can reprimand him. This way, he will lose his image as city party secretary. Perhaps if manipulated properly, he may even lose the position of city party secretary.”

Hearing Xiong Jianming’s remarks, Zhou Chen rejected them without a second thought, and his expression darkened. He warned, “Enough, I will handle this matter myself.”

With that, Zhou Chen warned once again, “Let this matter rest here. If I hear any rumors or hearsay, you better not blame me for not being polite.”

Zhou Chen was very clear about this. Since Nie Zhenbang dared to hit him, there must be implied meaning behind it. They were all members of Jingcheng’s noble families, and Zhou Chen was very clear about the rules of the game in these circles. Could he use this opportunity to bring disgrace to Nie Zhenbang’s position? Obviously, this was simply impossible. In the end, he would be the one to suffer. It was not necessary at all.

To regain his dignity right after this slap was likely impossible. After watching everyone else leave, Zhou Chen sat down with a gloomy face. Five reddening fingerprints on his cheek, going outside would be a real embarrassment now. Nie Zhenbang’s words earlier reminded Zhou Chen that he was only an acting mayor at the moment, his position had not been confirmed yet, so he couldn’t afford to be too ostentatious.

Beside him, Zhou Wang suggested softly, “Mayor, perhaps I could book a room for you close by. You should rest there for today. There’s something I’m unsure if I should say.”

Zhou Chen was quite satisfied with his secretary Zhou Wang. He nodded and said, “Speak your mind, whatever it is, just say it.”

Zhou Wang immediately said, “Mayor, I think the current gap between us and Secretary Nie lies in the respect commanded by Nie Zhenbang. If we could also bring in a few large projects, wouldn’t the officials and the people of Xinli City look at us differently? Our own reputation would improve at that point. Would Nie Zhenbang still dare to be so arrogant then?”

Listening to Zhou Wang’s words, Zhou Chen also fell into deep thought. However, Zhou Chen did not express his stance at the moment and soon stood up, “Xiao Zhou, go book a hotel room for me. Today has really been a bad day.”

As for Nie Zhenbang, upon returning to his own office, he immediately began preparations. The materials related to the autonomous region were ready. So, the next is all up to Nie Zhenbang. Therefore, Nie Zhenbang started packing up, preparing to head to Jingcheng.

This is what’s known as “running to the ministry for funds”. In this era and possibly even in the future, making a trip to the ministry for support is something a local government must do. All high-level officials in the ministries often perceive themselves as superior. Regardless of whether you are a smaller, local official, or even a typical deputy ministerial official, without any background or connections in the central government, you may frequently be despised in Jingcheng.

In later years, there’s an abundance of “Beijing offices” established just because of the need for this “running”. Once a local government needs to appeal to a ministry, these offices serve as bridges. Because not all local officials possess the same capabilities as Nie Zhenbang has, the ability to enter a ministry as if it’s his own home.

Nie Zhenbang was packing up his things in his office and put all the materials about the Kuli Airport in his briefcase. Meanwhile, outside, Lin Weimin, who was the deputy mayor of Xinli City and concurrently the director of the Finance Bureau, walked in. Seeing Nie Zhenbang getting ready, Lin Weimin smiled and said, “Secretary, you called for me.”

Upon seeing Lin Weimin, Nie Zhenbang nodded, and then sat down, “Old Forest, sit down for the moment, wait for me to finish sorting out.”

After putting several documents in the packet, Nie Zhenbang then said, “Old Forest, this time I asked you here mainly for two issues. One, currently, you’re the Deputy Mayor while also holding the role of the Director of the Finance Bureau. This going on too long might attract criticism. It might not look good for you either. I think it’s time you find a suitable candidate for the position of the Director of the Finance Bureau.”

Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Lin Weimin was somewhat moved. It’s so comfortable to work with Nie Zhenbang. Among those who work with Nie Zhenbang in Xinli City, let’s not mention Yan Fengjiao. Her promotion was like a rocket, she was already at the level of a member of the Municipal Party Committee and Director of Propaganda. Chen Le was now a member of the Municipal Party Committee, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, and also the Director of the Public Security Bureau. While Wei Chenglin and Fan Zhenming’s positions hadn’t changed, their prospects were definitely promising. Leng Guohua was now the director of the management committee. He himself was promoted to Deputy Mayor. These were all benefits of following Nie Zhenbang. What’s more commendable was that Nie Zhenbang even delegated some positions to people like him. This allowed them to gather their own trusted subordinates, which showed Nie Zhenbang’s magnanimous style.

Then, Lin Weimin nodded and respectfully said, “Secretary, speaking of this, I was just about to recommend to you that the current Deputy Director of the Finance Bureau, Tai Jiantao, is not bad.”

Just as he was about to introduce Tai Jiantao, Nie Zhenbang waved his hand and said, “Hmm, you don’t need to report the specifics. I trust you to handle this. Just arrange it. There is another issue. This time, for the matters concerning the Kuli Airport, I will be returning to Jingcheng for a while. During this period, you must strictly manage the city’s financial expenditures. Zhou Chen has already caused such a big issue just within a few days of my trip to Urumqi. You should have stepped up from day one when such a situation was discovered. If you can’t uphold justice and common principles, then what’s the point of being an official. This time, I don’t have a fixed schedule for my visit, so when it comes to the finances, you must stabilize it. If any issues arise, I’ll hold you accountable.”

Nie Zhenbang had been frightened by Zhou Chen’s actions this time. Just a three-day trip to Urumqi had already cost Xinli City’s finances tens of thousands. This time, he was going to Jingcheng, which could last for a week, maybe even half a month. Wouldn’t Zhou Chen turn the world upside down? Therefore, Nie Zhenbang specially called Lin Weimin over to give him a stern admonishment.

In the end, Nie Zhenbang instructed, “Old Forest, don’t worry. If you really can’t handle it, feel free to call me anytime. I will rush back as soon as possible. On ordinary days, if there’s any issue, you can consult with Secretary Xie, Minister Yan, or Comrade Chen Le. I’ve already mentioned this to them. As long as you work together, I believe there won’t be any issue in Xinli.”

Lin Weimin also nodded, “Secretary, don’t worry. I will ensure the city’s finances are well managed and no similar situations will happen again. If any problem arises, you can take me down immediately.”

After spending a night in Xinli City, Nie Zhenbang decided to have Yi Jun and Xiao Wang send him to Urumqi the next morning. The plane took off from Urumqi Airport at half-past four in the afternoon, flying straight to Jingcheng.

As the plane was circling above Jingcheng, communicating with Jingcheng City Airport Control Tower for landing restrictions, he looked down from the plane’s window. Jingcheng’s night view was bright, and the city was ablaze with lights. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang had a sudden feeling of homesickness.

The plane landed smoothly, and finally docked at the set connection port. Through this port, Nie Zhenbang directly stepped out of the airport. Outside, the beautiful figure of Li Lixue appeared in front of Nie Zhenbang at the first glance.