Reborn as a Noble's Son

In the county party committee assembly hall, at another meeting of all the county’s leadership cadres, after Fang Gushan announced Xie Yi’s appointment, Xie Yi officially became a member of the Li County Party Committee, standing committee member, and deputy secretary.

At this time, there was no regulation for appointing leading cadres, and it was entirely possible for one to be promoted several times or even more in a single year. Xie Yi had been promoted from the city’s youth league committee to Ta County only half a year ago. Now, he was promoted again to serve as a full-time deputy secretary for Li County Party Committee, as there wasn’t any clear age or tenure limit for promoting cadres.

This regulation would not be officially implemented until two years later. Nie Zhenbang could be said to have benefited from the situation, only being able to achieve the leap from deputy to full-time official in just three short months.

Afterwards, under the enthusiastic persuasion of Zhang Chubin and Nie Zhenbang, this time, Fang Gushan did not hurry back to Bazhou City in the middle of the night, but stayed instead. On one hand, he was very pleased with the attitude and enthusiasm displayed by Zhang Chubin and Nie Zhenbang. On the other hand, Zhang Chubin and Nie Zhenbang were not outsiders, and it would seem inappropriate if he were to leave so abruptly.

That night, a grand welcome banquet was held at the Li County Hotel. This time, Nie Zhenbang’s alcohol tolerance shocked everyone, consuming three bottles of white wine with only a slight hint of drunkenness. Director Nie’s reputation as a heavy drinker was enhanced.

Xie Yi, a man in his forties, is considered young among the current county and department level cadres. He served as section chief of the city’s youth league committee for many years, and followed Cheng Xinhua’s path to truly enter the Cheng clique. Just before his tenure at the youth league committee was about to reach its limit, he was transferred to serve as the vice county head and standing committee member of Ta County. However, he has only been in this position for less than half a year when he was once again moved to serve as the third-ranking full-time deputy secretary of the Li County Party Committee. This has somewhat of a feeling of an overnight success.

But, Xie Yi did not display any arrogance or recklessness. On the contrary, whether it was eating, drinking, or conversing, he always embodied a sense of modesty. He can be said to have completely inherited Cheng Xinhua’s low-key style.

The banquet lasted until around ten o’clock in the evening. At this point, Fang Gushan also laughs and says, “Let’s call it a night, we’ve had enough. I am grateful for the warm hospitality of Li County’s comrades.”

At this time, Zhang Chubin naturally escorted Fang Gushan personally to rest in the hotel guest room. Xie Yi took a step faster, caught up with Nie Zhenbang, and whispered by his side, “Director Nie, I’ve heard so much about you. I’ll need a lot of support and help from Director Nie in my future work.”

Nie Zhenbang also smiled at this moment. Xie Yi was Cheng Xinhua’s man, which was different in nature from Zhang Chubin. The reason for Liu Wenqing’s treatment of himself was still attributed to his superiors. In fact, what Liu Wenqing was concerned about was Jiang Zhenquan’s attitude. But Cheng Xinhua was different. After all, Cheng Xinhua’s backing is Li Yifeng. Having been greeted by Li Yifeng, Cheng Xinhua must take care of Nie Zhenbang. At this moment, when Cheng Xinhua’s own confidant and direct subordinates came to Li County for appointments, Cheng Xinhua must have mentioned his relationship with him. If not, there would be a risk of hurting the ties within the Cheng clique.

“Ha ha, Secretary Xie is too polite. You are my senior and have more experience in local affairs. In the future, I should be getting more support from Secretary Xie. We are all on the same side and will have plenty of opportunities. Please go ahead, Secretary Xie,” Nie Zhenbang also said with a laugh.

The next day at work, Nie Zhenbang was already energized. For Nie Zhenbang, his tolerance for three kilos of white liquor was just right.

A cup of Longjing tea was already brewed on the table. Compared to the tea brick favored by people in Xibei, Nie Zhenbang preferred the delicate fragrant of Longjing tea. Several documents were carefully sorted, lining up according to the urgency and importance of the matters. The most urgent and important issues were laid on the top, followed by urgent but less important matters, and the not so urgent but crucial documents were at the bottom. Next to the documents, Huaxia daily was on top, followed by Xibei daily and Bazhou daily. For government officials, especially cadres like Nie Zhenbang who were transferred to grassroots local areas, newspapers, especially party newspapers, were the most important channels to understand changes in the political situation, especially being far away from Jingcheng.

Nie Zhenbang was very pleased with this. Yi Jun, the secretary, was becoming more and more adept, gradually shedding his initial shyness and naivety.

Just after he sat down, Yi Jun walked in from outside. Looking at Nie Zhenbang, Yi Jun also laughed, “Director, Secretary Xie Yi of the County Party Committee is here, what do you think…?”

Upon hearing that Xie Yi was visiting, Nie Zhenbang immediately stood up. He was not overly surprised about Xie Yi’s arrival. As members of the Cheng clique, Xie Yi’s visit was only a matter of time. However, Nie Zhenbang did not expect Xie Yi to come so soon. Even though he had only assumed his job the day before, he had probably just examined his office today, and came here without doing anything else. Just this attitude alone was enough for Nie Zhenbang to show high regard for Xie Yi.

“Secretary Xie has arrived, come in, Xiaoyi, from now on, when Secretary Xie comes, there’s no need to announce, he should directly come in.” Nie Zhenbang immediately said as he opened the door and stepped out to greet him.

This was a form of respect. If Nie Zhenbang had stayed seated in a high and mighty manner, as if receiving a subordinate, even though they were from the same faction, Xie Yi might have had second thoughts.

Seeing Nie Zhenbang come out, and hearing his earlier words, Xie Yi was very satisfied. Nie Zhenbang, despite his youth, was very well-rounded when it came to dealing with others. Such a person, at such a young age, becoming the county head was no accident.

“Director Nie, your office layout is impressive. It’s calm and dignified, just like you. You’ve designed it at such a professional level,” Xie Yi praised with a smile as he entered Nie Zhenbang’s office.

Nie Zhenbang’s office was simply decorated, with pure white walls, and without excessive decorations or perplexing paintings or other art pieces. In Nie Zhenbang’s view, as an official, it was necessary to have a clear mind. What was the point of creating confusion?

“You are too kind, Secretary Xie. Earlier, Secretary Cheng spoke highly of you as well. I’ve been wanting to meet you but hadn’t had the chance. Now that you have been transferred to Li County, I look forward to learning from you,” Nie Zhenbang humbly said.

Xie Yi nodded in acknowledgement. Since they belong to the same faction, they naturally needed to identify a common interest. Having a shared interest can ensure that the cooperation lasts. After a moment of contemplation, Xie Yi said, “Director Nie, you should carry on with your work. I’ve got to get back to mine. I’ve just taken the position and I am yet to find my accommodation here. The main goal of today’s visit was to connect with you. Since that has been achieved, I will take my leave.”

Xie Yi’s purpose was clear. He was merely making his stance known, declaring their factional status to facilitate future collaborations at work. As Xie Yi had recently taken up his role, there naturally wouldn’t be any pressing matters.

After seeing off Xie Yi, as soon as Nie Zhenbang sat down, his phone rang. Only a few officials in the county and people like Liu Kun knew this number. Nie Zhenbang picked up the phone and was stunned to see it was Li Hua calling.

As soon as the call was connected, before Nie Zhenbang could speak, Li Hua laughed and said, “Haha, Nie, congratulations! We’ve just arrived in Li County and heard your good news. You’ve got to treat us to a meal tonight, regardless. We won’t be going to Bazhou City. You’ve just taken office and must be busy, so we’re fine with having it at the best hotel in Li County.”

From the tone of Li Hua, it seemed that he had arrived at Lixian. If he was here, then surely Wen Ge and others must’ve arrived too, and together with Liu Kun and Qian Jin, Nie Zhenbang began to feel a headache. Liu Kun was fine, but Wen Ge and Li Hua, who came from a military background, are crazy drinkers. It seemed like Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t be able to escape tonight’s gathering.

Nevertheless, Nie Zhenbang was also delighted. It’s been nearly two months since the New Year, and it seemed that all the necessary procedures had been processed for Li Hua and the others’ visit. The leech stone mining project seemed to be starting soon.

Apart from the need for a lot of manpower for mining the leech stone, Li Hua and others also needed to build a factory here in Li County for further processing of the leech stone and to employ workers. This would be another project adding to people’s income in Li County, which was what Nie Zhenbang valued most. Once these two projects were completed, they could at least double the fiscal revenue of Li County.

In the morning, Nie Zhenbang paid another visit to the construction site of Farmer Welfare Company. Today, after two months of construction with the financial support from Liu Kun, the main construction was almost complete. High-quality grass seeds had also been air shipped and were waiting for the appropriate weather for planting.

In the afternoon, Nie Zhenbang received Deputy County Director Bekri in his office. With the recent adjustments, the position of the Executive Deputy Director in Li County had been left vacant. This was Liu Wenqing’s smart move. To ascend to this position, the deputy directors would need to foster a strong relationship with Nie Zhenbang, indirectly assisting him in gaining control over the county government.

When it was time to get off work, Nie Zhenbang stood up and said to Yi Jun outside, “Junzi, there’s nothing else for today. After work, you can go and attend to your own affairs.”

At the moment, Nie Zhenbang had already booked a private room in Li County Hotel. As Nie Zhenbang entered the restaurant, he was surprised to see Zhao Xinglong had also come. It seemed not only the leech stone project was about to start, but they have also likely secured the oil exploration certificate in advance (To be continued. If you like this novel, please come to to vote and recommend us. Your support is our greatest motivation).