Reborn as a Noble's Son

Zhou Chen is actually in Bazhou now. What does the Zhou family intend to do? Nie Zhenbang also starts to ponder. A deputy mayor who is not even a standing member of the municipal party committee, his specific role cannot be determined. If he’s responsible for work relating to education, culture, healthcare, religion or ethnicity, that would make him a low-ranking deputy mayor. Could he influence me, the county party secretary?

Nie Zhenbang is also somewhat puzzled. As he ended his call and lapsed into thought, Ding Aiguo who was beside him chuckled, “Zhenbang, what happened?”

Asked by Ding Aiguo, Nie Zhenbang sank back into thought. This incident, do Ding Aiguo and the others know about it? However, Nie Zhenbang replied with a laugh, “Mayor, a friend called me. We have a new cadre coming to Bazhou.”

At this moment, Ding Aiguo froze. The new cadre was assigned over and chose to be based in Bazhou City. He hadn’t received any news. It seemed that the newcomer likely had a background similar to Nie Zhenbang. Yet, from Nie Zhenbang’s tone, it appeared that there might be some friction between them. This put Ding Aiguo in a tough situation. The current state of affairs in Bazhou was becoming increasingly challenging to control. The city’s party secretary and mayor fearing their subordinates was somewhat absurd.

However, Ding Aiguo didn’t worry too much. There were plenty of people with backgrounds. Some had a Xibei background, others had the background of being leaders in Dizhou City. It was just that now, these people’s backgrounds appeared somewhat overpowering.

If they were to become irritated, Ding Aiguo wouldn’t be afraid. Things should be handled reasonably. No matter how strong one’s background, without a good relationship with local leaders, they could still be suppressed. Those who always flaunt their backgrounds are simply that way.

Police cars from Urumqi opened the way, escorting them to the border between Urumqi and Bazhou. From there, the police cars from Bazhou City took over. The cars only arrived at Bazhou Hotel at five in the afternoon.

Since the development of Lixian, the economy of Bazhou has also accelerated. The influx of people increased, making the economy of Bazhou much more vibrant. Streets were renovated, and many road surfaces were transformed from asphalt to concrete. Many roadside lights were also replaced with new models. Meanwhile, Bazhou City put more effort into greening. Now, the whole city looked quite different from the desolation of Xibei.

This stark contrast immediately created a profound impression on the businessmen in the cars. Xibei is synonymous with desert, Gobi, and desolation, but it seemed now that this wasn’t entirely accurate.

The convoy slowly entered the Bazhou Hotel, and at this moment, the city party secretary of Bazhou City Committee stood at the entrance of the hotel. Beside him were the deputy party secretary of the city committee, Cheng Xinhua, and the party secretary of Lixian County Committee, Zhang Chubin, and the deputy party secretary Xie Yi.

This scene naturally caught the attention of the officials from Li County. The fact that the City Party Secretary personally greeted them and the leadership of the Li county committee attended in full made it a spectacle that called for good publicity. The local government leaders’ attention to the matter could also enhance the confidence of these investors.

At this time, Fan Zhenming smiled and introduced to the bosses on the bus, “Ladies and gentlemen, our Secretary of Bazhou City Committee Liu and our Lixian County Committee Secretary Comrade Zhang Chubin and Deputy Secretary Comrade Xie Yi are waiting for us. It looks like the City Committee is going to host us in Bazhou today. It seems we won’t be able to go to Lixian today.”

Fan Zhenming’s humorous words elicited laughter from the bosses in the car. Mr. Wang even loudly said, “Director Fan, it seems I made the right choice coming to invest in Lixian. Although the investment hasn’t started yet, seeing the enthusiasm of the leaders in your Bazhou City and Lixian County, I am full of confidence. With such attentive leadership, it’s only possible for our business to keep growing.”

Mr. Wang’s words resonated with many of the bosses. They are not afraid of a lack of favorable policies or support, but rather of government inspections today, fines tomorrow, and the depletion of energy by dealing with and maintaining relationships. Where would they find the leisure and time to run their businesses? Hence, when they saw how much the leadership at both the city and county levels valued this matter, all the bosses were filled with confidence.

The banquet hall of the Bazhou Hotel was filled with over twenty banquet tables. In terms of hospitality, Liu Wenqing arranged the reception according to high standards. Every table had a roasted whole lamb, weighing around forty pounds. This was a special feature of Xibei, and a must-have in Bazhou City. In addition, considering that these bosses come from different regions, various local recipes were also prepared – some numbing, some spicy, some sweet, some greasy.

During the banquet, Liu Wenqing stood up personally and proposed a toast as a gesture of welcome. This much regard was already very high, since there were too many bosses and it was impossible for a city’s party secretary to toast each table. With this gesture, it was already considered grand and courteous.

After the feast, a discussion meeting was held in the large conference room of the hotel, where Liu Wenqing personally introduced the situation of Bazhou City. Afterward, the guests were arranged to rest in the hotel.

The next morning, when the convoy set off again and entered the newly built Li City Avenue in Lixian, the spectacular construction scene of Lixian Development Zone immediately caught the eye of many businessmen.

After returning to Li County, Nie Zhenbang naturally relaxed as the specific work was naturally being handled by the development zone team. All the people had been brought back, and they were potential investors. If Nie Zhenbang had to personally handle everything, entertaining more than a hundred merchants would be overwhelming enough. Other tasks could be given no further thought.

Nie Zhenbang was currently sitting in his office, looking at the information submitted by the Investment Promotion Bureau. Over the past few days, many potential investors had conducted on-the-ground explorations of Li County’s development zone, gained a detailed understanding of the county’s policies, and visited the Farmer Welfare Company’s farms. After looking at the growing conditions of wild licorice and other various hardware facilities, many more started signing investment agreements with Li County.

Now, Nie Zhenbang was reviewing these investing corporations’ data. Suddenly, as he looked at the document in front of him, his brows furrowed. To invest in Li County, passing the county’s Environmental Protection Department’s environmental impact assessment is a must. First of all, even before you start, a detailed environmental report is needed that describes the estimated environmental impact after the company’s completion and production. The degree of pollution, the presence of adequate preventive measures, how to reduce pollution, etc. were part of Nie Zhenbang’s strict policy. It was something he insisted on.

Having seen numerous examples of serious pollution in the future and the efforts to rectify it, Nie Zhenbang had resolved that, this time, not allowing any high-polluting companies within his jurisdiction is non-negotiable, whether it seems idealistic or not.

However, this particular company did not have an environmental report and, moreover, it was a notorious high-polluting paper mill. In the whole project planning report, all the descriptions and texts were about how to develop the enterprise, how much economic growth it could bring to Li County, and the number of jobs it would generate. Regarding the factory’s emission treatment, the only mention was — ‘The factory’s discharge outlet is tentatively designed to be close to Muli River. After being washed by the current, it is estimated that there will not be a significant impact on Li County’s environment.’

Upon reading this, Nie Zhenbang became furiously angry. ‘Not much impact,’ indeed. They think they’re slimming a three-year-old. If this argument was valid, he feared that within five years, Li County’s river would have dried up, and the clear water today would turn into a foul, stagnant puddle.

At this thought, Nie Zhenbang called out, “Xiaoyi, come in. Get Zhang Zhenming from the Investment Promotion Bureau over here. What is he doing letting such companies enter our Li County?”

This was the first time Yi Jun had seen Nie Zhenbang so angry. In the past, Director Nie always seemed affable. He did not expect Nie Zhenbang to get so worked up when angry, which, at this moment, made Yi Jun feel fearful. Immediately following, he went out and dialed Fan Zhenming’s number.

At the moment, Fan Zhenming was in his office, discussing detailed investment matters with the boss of Luyang Dafapaper Industry when the phone on the desk rang. As soon as Fan Zhenming picked the phone up, Yi Jun’s voice came through, “Director Fan, where are you right now? Please come to the county government immediately. The county head is furious.”

Upon hearing this, Fan Zhenming was taken aback and immediately stood up, “Mr. Xiong, I apologize, but I have to attend to something at the county government.”

Xiong Dafa, the boss of Dafapaper, who was bold and one of the earliest individuals who had become wealthy, immediately replied with a smile, “Director Fan, if the county leader wants to see you, that must be good news! It looks like you’re about to get a promotion.”

When Fan Zhenming arrived at the county government, Yi Jun immediately stood up and quietly said, “Director Fan, I won’t beat about the bush. The county leader is currently in a very bad mood. I think you should be careful. It should be about the emission issue.”

At that moment, in Zhang Chubin’s office, while Nie Zhenbang was berating Fan Zhenming, Zhang’s office received a call from the city government’s office. The city’s new deputy mayor, Zhou Chen, is planning to conduct a survey and inspection of Li County tomorrow. He requested the relevant leaders from Li County Party Committee and County Government to receive him.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Chubin did not dare to neglect his duties. Zhou Chen was currently the most discussed topic throughout Bazhou City, apart from the investment promotions in Li County. An assistant deputy mayor dropped from the central government, who brought along thirty million funds on arrival, had already made a name throughout Bazhou. Unexpectedly, Zhou Chen chose Li County as his first stop. Immediately, Zhang Chubin dialed Nie Zhenbang’s number, “Director Nie, just got the news, Deputy Mayor Zhou from the city will come to inspect our Li County tomorrow. How about we receive him together.”

Nie Zhenbang was taken aback. What was Zhou Xiaoshe trying to do? Was he coming here to show off his power?

PS: I apologize to everyone. I haven’t fully recovered my energy yet, so there will only be three more updates today. There are only two more hours left. Brothers and sisters, try to withstand the pressure. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote and donate at . Your support is my greatest motivation.)