Reborn as a Noble's Son

On the other end of the phone, the man listened carefully to Zhou Chen explaining the situation in its entirety. After a pause, the man spoke in a calm voice: “Chen, no offense, but if this is your way of doing things, stick to your own field of science, education, culture, and health. Nie Zhenbang is not someone you can mess with.”

This comment made Zhou Chen somewhat embarrassed, but he didn’t dare to refute due to the man’s identity. He responded with an awkward smile: “Hu, you know well, Nie and I are simply not on the same page. Coming to Bazhou, if I bent my head down, it would hurt my pride. So, I planned to give him a bit of trouble, you know?”

In front of this man, Zhou Chen was unusually humble, just like he was in front of his master. It showed that this man was not an ordinary person in terms of his background and abilities.

On the other side, the voice became gradually more stern: “Chen, I won’t mince words. Gauge your own weight in all this. Nie Zhenbang’s strategy and abilities, even I have to be cautious of. To him, you’re just a dish on the table, something he can eat as and when he likes. If you were honest, Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t harm you, but if you play these types of tricks, then you’re digging your own grave. I don’t know what kind of plan you’re hatching. Do you think this is how you stir up trouble? Remember, revenge is a dish best served cold. Find the right opportunity when you are in the right, that’s how you land a fatal blow. The way you’re going, it’s as if you’re asking for death.”

After a pause, the man on the other end of the phone spoke again: “What ridiculous idea is this? Building such luxurious toilets, if it was up to me, I’d want to smack you. You better watch your own back. Don’t look for petty revenge. Just stop dreaming about it.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Chen became thoughtful. The man’s words greatly stirred him, and indeed, he had to admit, he was nowhere near Nie Zhenbang’s level. To Zhou Chen, Nie Zhenbang wasn’t just a man. He was a saint.

Then, Zhou Chen got up, walked out of his office, and told his secretary: “Xiao Zhou, I’m stepping out for a bit. If anyone comes looking for me, please ask them to wait.”

Inside the office of Ali, the Deputy Mayor of Bazhou City, who is a Uighur and his full name is Ali Ehmet. Normally, in informal settings, he is simply referred to as Deputy Mayor Ali, or his Han name.

“Mayor Ali, currently, the citywide education work is flourishing. This year, the city’s Department of Education has set a goal for literacy work. It’s expected that by this time next year, the city’s illiteracy rate will drop by more than ten percentage points. And by the year after, we forecast an illiteracy rate of 87%. The illiteracy rate for young and middle-aged adults in the city will be above 97.6%,” Zhou Chen said humbly.

After a pause, Zhou Chen continued: “Mayor, what I mean is, I want to move comrade Bayaer, the acting Deputy Mayor of Lixian, to serve as Deputy Director of the Education Department, to boost its efficiency. Moreover, I think comrade Lu Haibo, the Director of Ku City Government’s Office, is quite capable. He could take up the role of Deputy Mayor of Lixian.”

Hearing Zhou Chen’s words, Ali was taken into deep thoughts. News spread fast in the city government. Nie Zhenbang’s sudden return followed by his rage, publicly reprimanding Bayaer and the Director of the Education Department, even Mayor Ma from Muli Township was beaten. The news had already reached the city.

Right now, Zhou Chen was undoubtedly trying to protect Bayaer. Being moved to the Deputy Director of the Education Department was already a good deal. Zhou Chen didn’t have much foundation in Bazhou. The City Party Secretary and the Mayor paid little heed to him. Now, Zhou Chen was getting close to Zhao Weihong. In this context, given Zhao Weihong’s influence in the standing committee, being moved aside in this way was pretty good. As for the Director of the Education Department, Zhou Chen probably already had to forfeit that. After all, Nie Zhenbang was outraged, someone had to be sacrificed.

At this moment, Zhou Chen talking about this matter with him showed that he had come prepared. Lu Haibo was his wife’s nephew. Not many people in Bazhou knew this affair. For Zhou Chen to know about it, it was clear that he had done his homework.

By moving Bayaer, letting someone go for Nie Zhenbang’s outrage, he would be giving himself some benefits. He played these three moves well, balancing all sides and saving face for himself. On his side, he also got substantial benefits. The position of Deputy Mayor of Lixian was even more desirable than a bureau-level position. There was no way Ali could refuse at the moment.

After pondering for a moment, Ali nodded and said: “Mmm, it would be suitable for comrade Bayaer to serve as the Deputy Director of the Education Department. This comrade, he’s been working on the front lines of science, education, culture, and health for a long time. This time, being able to work in the Education Department is only natural, and it would enhance the Department’s working capacity. I think it’s very good.”

With this response, Zhou Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Ali’s words confirmed he agreed to his proposal. Generally, in the world of politics, one’s credit still mattered. One wouldn’t be straightforward in their words. But generally, they would act according to private agreements. If anyone goes back on their promises, then their future cooperations with others would become difficult. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was also taking action swiftly. Under the proposal of Zhang Chubin, an urgent office meeting of the Lixian County Party Secretary was convened.

During the meeting, after Nie Zhenbang finished recounting the whole matter with a stern countenance and strict tone, he summarized, “Leaders, comrades, I believe that the actions of Bayaer and Huang Pingan are a serious violation of discipline. Comrade Huang Pingan, as the head of the Education Committee of Li County, should be held primarily responsible. I suggest that the County Party Committee issue an official document suspending all duties of Comrade Huang Pingan, and recommend that the county’s Discipline Inspection Commission dispatch an investigation team, working with the finance and audit departments, to review the special education funds. They should also enlist experts to audit all the contractors that handle the school-specific fund. Based on the results, we can then decide on the punishment for Comrade Huang Pingan’s abuse of power.”

After a pause, Nie Zhenbang continued, “Furthermore, Comrade Bayaer, the deputy county head in charge of science, education, culture, and health, should also take responsibility for this grave lapse in all schools in Li County. As the deputy head in charge, Comrade Bayaer is also at fault for weak supervision and indifference. Here, I also recommend that the County Party Committee investigate Comrade Bayaer.”

As Nie Zhenbang’s words fell, everyone present was stunned. Zhao Kunlun looked at Nie Zhenbang with shock. Clearly, when Nie Zhenbang made a move, he was truly extraordinary. Having been absent for a month, his first action upon his return was a hard-hitting strike.

If Zhao Kunlun didn’t know that Nie Zhenbang had been studying at the Party School, he would have thought that Nie Zhenbang had deliberately stayed away for a while to lure out those restless people.

Looking around at the people present, Zhang Chubin and Xie Yi were clearly Nie Zhenbang’s close allies. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they were breathing through the same nostril. Another one, Sun Kewen, was also no saint. In this situation, even though Zhao Kunlun knew his words carried little weight, he felt that he had to express his stance.

Immediately, Zhao Kunlun said in a deep voice, “I have a different perspective on Director Nie’s proposal regarding Comrade Huang Pingan. I am reluctant to comment. However, isn’t it harsh to treat Deputy County Head Bayaer like this? This is not ancient times when people were condemned by association. If we follow this line of argument, shouldn’t you, Director Nie, as the head of the county government, also take responsibility?”

Zhao Kunlun was using a common method to shift gaze and concept. He was taking other people’s feelings into account. Otherwise, he could have pushed the blame to Zhang Chubin, Ding Aiguo, or Liu Wenqing. His aim seemed obvious: sacrifice pawns to save the general.

As soon as the echo of his voice faded, Nie Zhenbang’s brow furrowed as he said in a deep voice, “Secretary Zhao makes a good point. As the county head, I should indeed take responsibility. Please rest assured, Secretary Zhao. I will present myself and make a self-examination to the organization and the leaders of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government.”

Nie Zhenbang’s words left Zhang Chubin shocked. It seemed that Nie Zhenbang was determined to remove Bayaer and Huang Pingan from their positions. He had even suggested self-punishment. There was no turning back now.

Then, Zhang Chubin said slowly, “Secretary Zhao, we can’t simply disregard Director Nie’s absence from Li County because of his training at the Party School in the Autonomous Region. On the issue of Bayaer and Huang Pingan, I think we should investigate. I’ve also visited the luxury toilets, and it was quite shocking. Now, these toilets have probably become a symbol of Li County. I agree with Director Nie’s view. This matter must be handled seriously.”

At this moment, Xie Yi also spoke, “I agree with Secretary Zhang. Li County’s development is just starting. It’s not appropriate to have such decadent lifestyles when the local economy has just started to improve. We need to put an end to this.”

The following voting resulted as expected. Of five people, four were in favor and one opposed the office of Li County’s Secretary passing the resolutions concerning Bayaer and Huang Pingan.

The next day, while the Secretary of County Discipline Inspection Commission, Sun Kewen, was still organizing members for an investigation team, a document from the Municipal Party Committee’s Organization Department was directly issued to Li County.

The document requested the current vice chief of Li County, Bayaer, to be transferred to serve as the deputy director of the Bazhou City Education Committee. Lu Haibo, city government office chief of Ku City, was asked to take a position at the Li County Party Committee and serve as the deputy head of the People’s Government of Li County, thereby replacing Bayaer’s duties.

This move left Nie Zhenbang feeling taken by surprise. He was not exactly sure what took place at the city level. However, since the appointment came from the Municipal Party’s Organization Department, it was clear that it had the approval of individuals like Liu Wenqing.

In light of these events, Nie Zhenbang was pondering. This time, Zhou Chen’s response was quite good. Nie was initially trying to suppress Bayaer and remove Huang Pingan, thereby making Zhou Chen lose face in Bazhou City. Then, all the officials in Bazhou City would see that a deputy mayor couldn’t even protect his subordinates. After that, who would dare to join him? Obviously, no one would even think about it. In such case, Zhou Chen would be left isolated in Bazhou, unable to create any major upheaval.

However, Zhou Chen’s tactics surprised Nie Zhenbang. Giving up the position of deputy county head in exchange for support from the city’s leaders and forcing a compromise from the Municipal Party Secretary, Liu Wenqing, and Mayor Ding Aiguo worked. A lateral transfer removed Bayaer without a promotion, but it gave others the impression that following Deputy Mayor Zhou was viable. If they made a mistake, Deputy Mayor Zhou wouldn’t hesitate to protect them. Lastly, he left Huang Pingan, the director of the Education Committee, to face Nie Zhenbang’s fury. This move left Nie Zhenbang certain that it wasn’t something a brain like Zhou Chen’s could have come up with. It seemed that Zhou Chen had wise counsel behind him.

PS: As the title suggests, a wise advisor has joined the scheme. I hope to receive some extra monthly and recommendation tickets. Brothers and sisters, we haven’t even reached the top ten in the urban category or the top forty in the overall list this March. I feel quite embarrassed by these figures. Please, continue supporting Old Cai. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, I welcome you to visit and vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)