Reborn as a Noble's Son

Seeing Nie Zhenbang and the others leave, Yao Yuhong, the director of the second spinning factory, changed his expression. After stepping out of the meeting room, he whispered a few words to the accompanying staff waiting outside the door and then set off in the direction of the workshop.

The workshop of the first factory was quite decent. Even though they were old buildings from the sixties and seventies, their old exterior concealed well-maintained interiors. The freshly painted walls were white and bright, the glass windows of the workshop were impeccably clean. New lines of textile machinery in the spacious workshop took Nie Zhenbang by surprise.

Had this been prepared in advance? It should have been impossible. After all, the factory executives would never arrange for a workshop inspection. Moreover, the workshop was selected randomly. All workshops look pretty much the same from the outside. If the leaders of the first spinning factory could anticipate his actions, the factory wouldn’t have collapsed in the first place.

Delegations from both the city government and the Guicheng Committee and District Government stood in the workshop. On Director Wu’s arrangement, workers brought stools from outside the workshop for everyone to sit. They then waited for about an hour.

It was then when muffled sounds filtered in from outside. At this moment, the workshop door was wide open. They looked to find that a middle-aged man was leading the way with a man, who seemed to be in his fifties, right next to him. This man had dark skin and a modest stature. He radiated a sense of honesty and sincerity. Four more figures accompanied them, two of whom were women.

This show of leadership intimidated the six individuals who were afraid to speak. Before this, hundreds of employees had gathered together for their survival and livelihood, brave enough to challenge the powers that be. Chinese people always had a certain innate respect for officials and leaders.

A common saying among the people illustrates this mentality well: the poor do not fight with the rich, and ordinary people do not quarrel with officials.

Seeing that the six workers seemed hesitant to speak, Nie Zhenbang could guess their concerns. He consequently displayed a warm smile on his face and began in a gentle tone, “Do not be afraid. I am here to resolve matters regarding Qingfang City. Please speak freely. If you have any dissatisfactions with our plan, let us know. Today, let us discuss the future of Qingfang City with an open mind. On behalf of the City Committee and City Government, I promise that as long as the issues are not principle-related, we will offer our full support.”

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang nodded at Yi Jun who was standing beside him. Yi Jun understood and passed over a notebook and a pen from his hand to Nie Zhenbang’s. This act startled the six workers. Regardless of whether Nie Zhenbang was putting on a show or if it was his true intention, his actions clearly demonstrated the government’s standpoint which reassured these ordinary citizens.

Beside them, the look on Li Guohua’s face changed, he was somewhat disdainful. He thought Nie Zhenbang was acting all high-and-mighty just to attract attention, just to show off his populism. However, Guohua did not consider who the mayor was performing for, given there were no press officers present.

The officials on the side looked on in surprise. The rumors of Mayor Zhenbang were indeed not unfounded. Some officials who truly wanted to accomplish something also started to feel inspired.

‘

The six representatives exchanged glances, ultimately Huang Jiangsheng stepped forward. He looked at Nie Zhenbang before organizing his thoughts and words slowly. “After carefully reading the two plans you’ve proposed, we discussed them with representatives from all three factories. We six are representatives elected by our fellow workers. We unanimously believe that the second plan suits us best.”

Upon hearing these words, Li Guohua’s face fell. He thought to himself, ‘What would these laborers know about what’s good or bad? It seemed that agreeing to Nie Zhenbang’s decision to let the workers choose the plan themselves was a mistake. But now it was too late.’.

Nie Zhenbang’s face revealed a faint smile. The result was just as he had expected. Although Li Guohua’s plan had merits, it was aesthetically pleasing yet lacking in substance. It could succeed eventually, but the workers would benefit the least from it. In contrast, his plan was steadfast and pragmatic, aiming to do the best with the least cost. In Nie Zhenbang’s plan, the city only played a guiding and assisting role, with the workers being the main beneficiaries.

The masses are always clear-sighted. These people might not be highly educated, or articulate, or competent beyond their current jobs. But they can discern who is sincere and who is not.

Nie Zhenbang then asked, “Ah, as I recall, older brother here is named Huang Jiangsheng, isn’t it? Brother Huang, could you share your perspective? Why did you choose the second plan?”

After saying this, Nie Zhenbang glanced at Li Guohua beside him. His intent was clear: to let Li Guohua admit defeat wholeheartedly.

Huang Jiangsheng was caught off guard. He then responded, “Mr. Mayor, I’m not very well-educated. The first plan is also good, but it’s too fantastical for us, talking about capital operations and technology introduction, we don’t understand. The second plan, establishing a Textile Group and initiating a shareholding reform, allows all employees to invest in shares. Additionally, we can develop real estate and make high-demand textiles with our current machines. We felt this was more suitable. Some of our factories have housing issues for many employees. These properties can be absorbed internally without external sales. Additionally, we will all become shareholders of our factories, giving us a sense of purpose. All our machines are new. Even if we change the machines and can’t sell them, wouldn’t it be the same? Therefore, we chose the second plan.”

Nie Zhenbang nodded. He understood well the mindset of Huang Jiangsheng and the others. The most emotionally attached to the state-owned enterprises during the shareholding reform are the workers. Even they might struggle with their daily lives, when faced with such circumstances, many workers would still raise funds regardless of their resources. That was where Nie Zhenbang’s confidence came from.

Nie Zhenbang then stood up and said with a smile, “Older Brother Huang and fellow worker representatives, since you all agree with the second plan, let me clarify beforehand. In terms of employing workers, all will be based on job capability assessments. We can’t assume that simply because one has invested, they are qualified to stay. On this aspect, I hope you all understand.”

As Nie Zhenbang’s words fell, Huang Jiangsheng nodded, “Rest assured, Mr. Mayor, we’ll do our job. If one could retain a job just by investing, it would be like buying a position with funds. We don’t want to do so either. I firmly believe that everyone would agree with and understand that all matters should be based on the ability to work, fair and impartial to everyone.”

…

After returning to the city, Nie Zhenbang immediately convened an emergency meeting of the municipal government. In addition to the leadership of the municipal government, the heads of the Taxation Bureau, Bureau of Industry and Commerce, Bureau of Construction, Planning Bureau, Light Industry Bureau, Investment Bureau, and Finance Bureau were all present at the meeting.

Nie Zhenbang entered the meeting room on time. As soon as he sat down in the center, he said, “Comrades, the matter of Qingfang City has entered a critical stage. The mood of the workers is now settled. However, the reformation of Qingfang City cannot be delayed. If it’s delayed, it will dampen the enthusiasm of the workers and generate larger issues once they lose patience. So, we can’t delay. We must promptly establish a working group to first liquidate the assets of the three factories at Qingfang City. We have to ensure that the minimum living security for the workers during this period is properly provided to ensure their normal living conditions.”

Nie Zhenbang already had a firm grip on the local government, except for Liu Weijun and Li Guohua and a few bureau chiefs. The other deputy mayors were astute and certainly would not oppose Nie Zhenbang as he was thriving and winning them substantial benefits.

The next day, a working group composed of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, Taxation Bureau, Finance Bureau, and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission entered Qingfang City early to start the restructuring and merger of Qingfang City operations.

After reviewing a few documents in his office, Nie Zhenbang glanced at the watch on his wrist. It was already 10 am. The matters related to the Spinning Collective formed by the three factories of Qingfang City, as well as the investigation of the former leadership team of Qingfang City, needed to be discussed with Fan Changsheng. Therefore, Nie Zhenbang decided to talk to Fan Changsheng today.

Nie Zhenbang then stood up, walked out of his office, and said to Yi Jun, who was working at the office desk outside, “Xiaoyi, don’t get up. I’m going to the Municipal Party Committee Office building. You continue with your work. If someone comes over, entertain them first and ask them to come back in the afternoon.” (