Reborn as a Noble's Son

“County Mayor, it’s exactly as Director Wang said. We’ve searched all around the trade fair pavilion. In the words of the people from Yuedong, all the stalls had been rented out a month or even several months ahead of time, even those tin houses behind the pavilion. Now, there aren’t any stalls available.” Fan Zhenming, drenched in sweat from exhaustion, walked in from outside.

In Yuedong, October is still rather hot, especially around noon. Observing Fan Zhenming’s condition, Nie Zhenbang chuckled and rose to serve him a cup of cold tea, comforting him, “Old Fan, it’s anticipated. I’ve seen it, don’t bother searching any more, it’s futile.”

In the last couple of days, the officials from Li County practically roamed all around the pavilion. But the stall spots outside were either all taken or exorbitantly priced. They occasionally found a vacant spot, but the rent was sky-high. Tens of thousands for one month scared off our Li County officials. Li County’s finance was indeed in good shape, but the money was earmarked for county development, every cent was precious. Naturally, Nie Zhenbang was unwilling to part with so much money.

On October 15, the trade fair officially commenced. Manufacturers and businessmen from across the country gathered here.

The vast square in front of the pavilion was packed with visitors. Nie Zhenbang’s entourage, bearing sacks and packages with plenty of items, also arrived at the square.

Looking at the crowd, Nie Zhenbang promptly set down the things they carried and announced, “Let’s make do here. This is the primary entrance of the exhibition, where human traffic is dense, and the effect is good.”

They unfolded several tables. Below the tables, a banner was hung bearing a large caption, ‘Northwest Ba State Li County People’s Government Welcomes You’. Another banner below read, ‘Li County Economic and Technological Development Zone Welcomes Investors’.

At the same time, the employees of the Investment Bureau began setting up the exquisite brochures and specialty products they brought along. As soon as these materials were laid out, they immediately drew several businessmen to stop and gaze.

It had to be admitted that the development of Li County indeed held enormous advantages. As soon as the mammoth picture of the pasture was set up, someone inquired, “Li County has such good pastures? Are there many people breeding dairy cows there?”

County Mayor Yan Fengjiao, Yi Jun, and even Nie Zhenbang himself, were all at the frontline, assuming the role of guides. Nie Zhenbang jovially mentioned, “Currently, we have roughly 17 million acres of pastureland in Li County, of which about 10 million acres are put to use. The Northwest Water Resources Department has tentatively planned to construct a large reservoir in our county. Backed by abundant water resources, the pastureland area can be further expanded, and dairy farming, which is part of our plan. If you are interested, you can take one of the brochures.”

Listening to Nie Zhenbang’s words, the man laughed and approvingly nodded, “You’re doing a commendable job. Unlike some other places, where they get haughty. You’re so diligent and dedicated, your leadership should promote you.”

Upon hearing the man’s comment, Yi Jun also laughed and replied, “Comrade, you’ve made a mistake. This is our County Mayor. If he’s promoted further, he’ll have to move to the city.”

Yi Jun’s words surprised many of the previously quiet bystanders. A young County Mayor was a first-time sight for them, though no one was overly shocked. After all, it was not uncommon for officials to get promoted quickly in poverty-stricken regions like Xibei. But their outlook on Li County underwent a paradigm shift. With such a dedicated leader, investing in Li County appeared promising.

“This Li County, they seem alright. The County Mayor even came out personally. They value investors so highly. There are also three million acres of wild licorice resources, it would be worth it to set up a branch factory there.” This comment came from the owner of a medicinal herb manufacturing business who was attending the exhibition.

Another businessman at the side agreed with a nod, “Hmm, I see it similarly. In these current times, we investors are pestered by many for bribes and kickbacks. This place has implemented a three-free two-halves policy, this means they can reduce our tax pressures significantly. There won’t be any harm in checking it out.”

At this point, Lin from the Pavilion’s office brought along four or five security guards and started marching straight towards them. Ever since Nie Zhenbang voiced his firm declaration in the office last time, Director Wang passed the message down and Lin took charge. As the pavilion opened in the morning, Lin led the team in making a full round of the pavilion. Observing nothing unusual, they assumed that these people would not arrive. They did not anticipate that when they returned, they found a swarm of people gathered on the plaza.

As he approached, the banner of Li County came into Lin’s sight. Suddenly, Lin’s face darkened. He walked up and said loudly, “What’s going on? What are you doing? Why did you set up here in the square? People are coming and going, it’s already quite crowded. If everyone does what you did, wouldn’t it be chaotic?”

Upon seeing Lin, Yan Fengjiao immediately went to greet him. This was not the time to exercise governmental restraint. Although he was a government official, he was from Xibei, not Yuedong. Even if he were from Yuedong Province, would others disregard their obligations towards him?

Under such circumstances, it was better for Yan Fengjiao defend her actions. Stepping up to Lin, she laughed and said, “Comrade Lin, please be more understanding. We traveled a long way from Xibei and it hasn’t been easy. Let us stay here for two hours, just two hours, then we will leave. We will leave before the lunchtime rush to avoid causing any trouble.”

This was just Yan Fengjiao’s attempt to buy more time. Staying for two hours was better than leaving immediately.

Yet, Lin’s facial expression changed at this. Director Wang had specifically ordered that these people had to leave. Although Yan Fengjiao’s story was pitiful and Lin himself didn’t think it was a big deal, an order is an order. He frowned and said, “Who’s your comrade? What’s going on? Can we really bargain about this? This isn’t a vegetable market. Hurry up and leave. You’re disrupting traffic.”

Just as he finished speaking, Yan Fengjiao’s secretary, Huyan Apo, stepped forward. The double surname Huyan was unusual, but there were many famous people in history with it. Huyan Apo was about the same age as Yi Jun. He was assigned to the secretary’s office of Li County Government, and now he had become Yan Fengjiao’s secretary, a great leap forward for his career.

“Director Lin, please look at the matter from our point of view as well. County Mayor Yan had good intentions. We came from a poor area in Xibei, it’s not easy for us. Please be more understanding. Director Lin, let me invite you to a simple dinner tonight?” Huyan Apo was quite tactful, when sweet words didn’t work, he immediately tried temptation.

Upon hearing this, Lin started to hesitate. Technically, they all belonged to the same system, even though they were from different places. Seeing each other should be like seeing friends. There were indeed quite a few people setting up stalls outside, but it was Director Wang’s specific instructions this time.

Just as he was about to agree, a different voice came from behind, “Lin, what the heck is going on? Quite a few merchants have reported to me about this already. What were you doing? Can’t you even handle a small matter like this? Rules are rules, are we just abandoning them now?”

Looking back, Director Wang was walking over with a gloomy face. Seeing Nie Zhenbang and others’ stalls, he placed his hands behind his back, looking somewhat like a leader. He glared at Nie Zhenbang and said in a deep voice, “What you guys are doing? Are officials from Xibei now excused from following rules? You’re undermining our work. Leave, leave now. It’ll be embarrassing for everyone if we have our people clear this place.”

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang felt really helpless. Director Wang had the upper hand in terms of principle. According to the rules of the fair, setting up a stall here was not allowed. If they allowed this, others would follow suit, causing chaos. Although Nie Zhenbang knew that Director Wang was partly settling personal scores, he had no recourse and could only swallow the bitter pill. Resorting to using connections now would make Nie Zhenbang seem petty. Moreover, if he called in favors every time a problem arose, wouldn’t it make him seem incompetent?

After a moment of contemplation, Nie Zhenbang turned to Yan Fengjiao and others and said, “County Mayor Yan, Old Fan, inform the others to pack up. We’re leaving. We shouldn’t make it difficult for our comrades in Bazhou City.”

Just at that moment, on the edge of the square, a convoy slowly pulled up. Behind the police car, a group of official-looking people got out of a Toyota Coaster business vehicle.

Upon seeing this, Director Wang froze. He said to Nie Zhenbang and others, “Hold on. Don’t dismantle your stalls yet. Let’s wait until after the inspection. Help me out here, and you can stay for a day tomorrow.”

At this moment, when Nie Zhenbang saw the leading official, he just laughed. Looking at Director Wang, he said, “Director Wang, I’m truly sorry, but I can’t agree to that. We plan to go back tomorrow. Let’s just clear out our stall. However, if you can find us a space inside the exhibition hall, I can cooperate with you a bit.”

Nie Zhenbang wasn’t afraid of any future retaliation from Director Wang. Setting up outside definitely wasn’t a big deal. If it really were dismantled, it would only attract attention, leaving Director Wang unable to evade responsibility. This was an excellent opportunity to ask for more in return, and Nie Zhenbang wasn’t going to let it slip by. (To be continued. If you like this novel, I welcome you to to vote and recommend it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)