Reborn as a Noble’s Son - Chapter 176

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Stability of the Team is Important (Third update, seeking monthly ticket support)_1

Translator: 549690339

This is too presumptuous, too arrogant. It is downright lawless. His audacity is too much. These are all the descriptors that Zhang Chubin could think of at the moment. The county government’s finance funds were frozen by Nie Zhenbang. Of course, this was only a privately acknowledged statement. Zhang Chubin believed that Nie Zhenbang would not be so stupid as to do such a thing. The freezing was likely metaphorical – Nie Zhenbang undoubtedly had various measures to prevaricate and avoid responsibility. Even if there was a written instruction from Nie Zhenbang himself, if Nie Zhenbang did not wish to pay, the finance department would understand at a glance. There were too many plausible reasons to avoid responsibility.

Zhang Chubin was well aware of these possibilities. In fact, Zhang Chubin himself had done such a thing before. Causing a fuss on the matter would not only turn out to be meaningless, but also serve to damage his own authority. Zhang Chubin did not even consider discussing the issue with Nie Zhenbang and could now only directly go to the city and apply pressure on Nie Zhenbang through the city administration. This would force the establishment of special accounts for the development zone, allowing Zhang Chubin to have control over the funds. If successful, Zhang Chubin would then have control over the appointment of the secretary of the development zone’s working committee.

Currently, the entire Li County was similar to a large construction project. Upon stepping outside the Li County urban area, the road leading to Bazhou city area, was undergoing expansions and improvements on one side. This area was meant to be the site of the new development zone in Li County. At the same time, all the government departments such as the Li County Party Committee would be choosing locations in the development area in order to stimulate the development of the new district.

It was around 3 PM when Zhang Chubin’s car finally arrived at the Bazhou Municipal Committee. At this point, Zhang Chubin’s mood had considerably stabilized after the bumpy journey. Formulaically complaining to Liu Wenqing that Nie Zhenbang had frozen the funding would not bode well. Regardless of whether Nie Zhenbang was being overbearing or not, at the very least, it would put Zhang Chubin in a weak position against Liu Wenqing.

A dignified county party secretary unable to resolve issues in his jurisdiction and choosing to complain to superiors? What kind of precedent would that set? If the leader was expected to resolve all issues, then the leader might as well take the position of the county party secretary himself, rendering the secretary redundancy.

Mulling over the issue, Zhang Chubin then turned to his secretary, and said: “Secretary Liu, we need to head back to Li County tonight. You and Horse take care of refueling the car and check it.”

Zhang Chubin was rather discontent with the vehicles from the Li County Party Committee. Now, Li County did indeed have money. However, the funds were in the hands of Nie Zhenbang, which left Zhang Chubin feeling quite uncomfortable.

Upon reaching the office of Liu Wenqing, Zhang Chubin knocked on the door and entered directly. As a close subordinate of Liu Wenqing, he had this privilege. Upon hearing the knocking sound, Liu Wenqing’s secretary, Feng Dayong, immediately stood up and upon recognizing Zhang Chubin, greeted him, “Secretary Zhang is here.”

Zhang Chubin also responded with a pleasant smile, “Secretary Feng, are you busy? Is the leader available at the moment?”

Upon hearing this, Feng Dayong broke into a smile. The two had a longstanding relationship and there was no need for formalities. Feng Dayong then peeked through the slightly opened door and said: “Secretary Zhang, please go in. The leader is in a good mood today, whatever it is will almost certainly be granted.”

This was the advantage of maintaining a good relationship with the secretary – always being aware of the leader’s mood swings. Whenever there is an issue, find the leader when he is in a good mood. When there is good news, it is even more vital to find them at the same time. In any case, avoiding the times when the leader’s mood was soured. This made work much easier.

Hearing Feng Dayong’s words, Zhang Chubin let out a laugh and entered Liu Wenqing’s office with a smile, “Secretary Liu, I see you are busy.”

At this moment, Liu Wenqing also glanced up and seeing Zhang Chubin, a smile appeared on his face, confirming Feng Dayong’s words of his good mood. Liu Wenqing then, put down his work, settled back in his chair and said, “Chubin is here. Take a seat. This time, you’re not here to ask the Municipal Committee for money, are you? Right now, your Li County is even richer than the Municipal Committee. If it weren’t for the instructions for earmarked funds, I would want to divert some of it. Currently, the city finances are quite tight and the new Municipal Committee Government Building is still in the planning and preparation stages. I’ll tell you now, Li County should not expect any more financial aid from the city.”

After hearing Liu Wenqing’s words, Zhang Chubin recognized an opportunity and responded with a smile: “Supporting the Municipal Committee and the returning the favor to the Committee is exactly what we lower-level officials ought to do. Discussing Li County’s finances, it wouldn’t be a stretch to support the Municipal Committee with ten million yuan. However, Secretary Liu, the county’s financial decisions are no longer up to me. Over a hundred million yuan, all in the hands of Director Nie. This has caused the demolition and requisition work in our development zone to come to a halt. Many comrades have complained to me saying that Director Nie is too domineering. He has severely imposed funding restrictions and our County Committee’s development plan for the development zone has been rendered moot.”

Upon hearing Zhang Chubin speak in this manner, Liu Wenqing now understood, fearing that there was a conflict over the issue of developing the economic zone between Zhang Chubin and Nie Zhenbang. The document on his table was given by Ding Aiguo. It was penned by Nie Zhenbang, and was also about the economic development zone of Lixian. However, it gave Liu Wenqing a starkly different feeling compared to Zhang Chubin’s plan. In contrast to Zhang Chubin’s material, which was ostentatious and loaded with vanity, Nie Zhenbang’s plan was much more practical, and feasibly much higher. Furthermore, Nie Zhenbang’s plan can be summed up in a few words, which are pragmatic, starting small and growing big, prioritising the environment, and sustaining development. Liu Wenqing was wondering if Zhang Chubin had copied from Nie Zhenbang’s ‘three exemptions and two halvings’ plan.

Such a plan is very suitable for Lixian, as it fully considers Lixian’s economic carrying capacity. Taking steps firmly on the ground. Developing one step at a time. This is the true attitude towards work.

“Comrade Chubin, what is your current attitude?” Liu Wenqing pondered and decided to listen to the opinions of his trusted subordinate.

Nie Zhenbang’s actions epitomize his ability. However, from another perspective, this is also a manifestation of Nie Zhenbang’s domineering behavior and disregard for team unity. If there’s a problem with Nie Zhenbang, Liu Wenqing would surely step in.

At this moment, Zhang Chubin was overjoyed. Liu Wenqing’s attitude was very amiable, making Zhang Chubin excited. As long as Liu Wenqing agreed, would Nie Zhenbang dare to keep holding on? Unless Nie Zhenbang wanted to give up. Then, Zhang Chubin also laughed and said, “Secretary Liu, what I mean is, the entire development zone, with a total area of 20 square kilometers, including land acquisition, housing demolition, and compensation would be completed in one go. Based on the current situation, this will require approximately 80 million. In this way, we won’t have to worry about anything and can focus on development, and also minimize conflicts with local residents.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenqing was a little amused. Zhang Chubin’s plan was really unique; others tended to develop and requisition a little at a time. But his idea was to requisition everything at once. Such a thing, not only Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t agree to this, but even himself had never heard of anyone doing so as well. In Liu Wenqing’s view, this development zone is like doing business.

The storefront equates to the development zone, and the companies are the buyers. Once the storefront’s been set up well and the pricing figured out, then you’re ready to do business. If there’s interest here, and the deposit has been paid, we can customise it for you. With this, you’ve solved your financial problems. As for future cost increases, there’s no need to worry about this at all; the natural increase in costs will be borne by later enterprises. There really is nothing to worry about.

If that’s the case, then Nie Zhenbang hasn’t done anything wrong at this moment. Upon thinking about this, Liu Wenqing also started reflecting. He is aware that the funding doesn’t come from the district it was initially planned for, he had early received news of what happened in Urumqi, and Nie Zhenbang’s actions in the district weren’t secretive, and of course, someone had passed this information to Liu Wenqing.

1.2 billion funding, all designated for Lixian’s sole use by the Ministry, the meaning behind this is plentiful. Firstly, Nie Zhenbang’s background is huge, at least up to the Ministry level. In addition, Nie Zhenbang’s elder seems to be taking care of Nie Zhenbang, otherwise, he would not have made such a decision which pleased Jiang Zhenquan.

Moreover, Liu Wenqing also heard some news: the standing deputy chairman of the autonomous region who clashed with Nie Zhenbang, Cao Yangming, may be transferred to the position of vice-chairman of the autonomous region’s party committee after the two provincial meetings this time. Whether this is true or not, it shows how powerful Nie Zhenbang’s background is. If it’s true, his background is frightening. Despite being at his peak, Cao Yangming is considered young among those in the provincial department and should not retire so easily. Besides, this isn’t baseless rumors, there must be some foundation for the news he heard. It seems that Nie Zhenbang’s background might be unimaginably powerful.

Upon thinking about this, Liu Wenqing made a decision in his heart and looked at Zhang Chubin, his face growing serious: “Comrade Zhang Chubin.”

Upon hearing this title, Zhang Chubin was taken aback. What exactly did Secretary Liu mean by this, was he unhappy with him? After all, titles carry significant weight in officialdom. Familiar titles would be ‘Comrade Chubin’ or ‘Secretary Chubin’. But now, he had used his full name.

Before Zhang Chubin could say anything, Liu Wenqing continued, “The unity and stability of the team in Lixian is vitally important. As the county party secretary, you should set an example for the entire county. You should do well in team building.”

PS. The third update is up, requesting support in the form of monthly votes. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote on qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation.)