Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 677: Chapter 633: The Stain of the High-tech Zone_1

“Mayor, here is your schedule for today. Please take a look.” In Wanghai City, in Mayor Nie’s office. Li Jupeng placed a document on the table and reported quietly.

Since returning from America, a new wave of investment frenzy has swept through Wanghai City. This time, the American Government did not dilly-dally and showed the efficiency that foreigners are known for.

No wonder, with the pressure from the Rockefeller and Morgan families from above, slowness was not an option. Here, these two families were awaiting the final handover tasks with Tenglong.

Thus, the establishment of the root server had sped up rapidly. After returning to Wanghai City, the Wanghai City Municipal Party Committee and City Government attached great importance to it and specifically allocated ten acres of land in the High-tech Zone. Now, the main construction project has started.

Meanwhile, numerous domestic Internet companies have set their sights on Wanghai, and some have already begun planning their relocation to Wanghai. Internationally, some well-known computer and Internet companies have also set their sights on Wanghai City. Now, Wanghai has become the top choice for establishing the headquarter in the Asia Pacific region.

“Mayor, at nine o’clock this morning, attend the signing ceremony for Dell Group’s establishment in Wanghai City Hotel. At half past ten, meet with the administrative director of Google and his team at the same location. At noon, host a banquet for representatives of domestic Internet companies. In the afternoon, inspect the High-tech Zone. In the evening, host the leaders of the National Electronic Information Industry Department.” Li Jupeng reported in detail.

With that schedule, almost all of Nie Zhenbang’s time for that day was booked up.

With a slight frown, on the table was a letter. Nie Zhenbang pondered, “Notify Deputy Mayor Wang about the signing with the Dell Group, he can go in my place. The administrative director of Google and his team, I think Deputy Wang can join that meeting. As for the noon banquet, invite Comrade Gao Hua to go. The arrangements for tonight, we’ll see. If necessary, I’ll call Secretary Tian and he can go in my place. Right now, let’s go to the High-tech Zone. We’ll take a simple car.”

A black Peugeot, with a simple civilian license plate. No entourage, this was what they truly meant by a quick and simple trip. Regarding the High-tech Zone, Nie Zhenbang didn’t inform Zhao Fei, the secretary of the High-tech Zone Work Committee, somewhat disguising it as a surprise inspection.

Guo Sanbao, who was at the front, turned his head and asked, “Mayor, are we going to the High-tech Zone Management Committee?”

“We won’t go there first, let’s first go see the Red Star Chemical Factory in the High-tech Zone.” Nie Zhenbang immediately instructed.

The car quickly started. An Guoyu also chuckled, “Mayor, Red Star Chemical Factory, I know something about it. It is said that it is run by one of Zhao Fei’s relatives….”

An Guoyu was a smart man. After hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, he intuitively identified the irregularities in the matter.

Nie Zhenbang frowned at this point. Nepotism? It seemed that the matters mentioned in the letter were likely to be true.

The distance from the Municipal Party Committee and City Government to the Wanghai City High-tech Zone was not very far, roughly 20 kilometers.

Upon entering the High-tech Zone, the car headed towards the outskirts of the Zone. This was a newly developed section – a juxtaposition of city and countryside. Red Star Chemical Factory was situated at the city-rural fringe of the High-tech Zone, on the edge, occupying approximately five to six acres of land by the Dachang River. Tall walls surrounded it. At the main entrance stood a traditional and simplistic factory door. The factory’s name, Red Star Chemical Factory, was a little weathered. The red paint had fallen off in many places.

At this moment, the car stopped by the side of the Red Star Chemical Factory near the surrounding wall.

Upon getting out of the car, Nie Zhenbang’s party could immediately smell a faintly irritating odor in the air. Just from the smell, it was already so pungent. Would the river be as the letter described?

“Let’s go take a look at the river.” Nie Zhenbang commanded with a grave voice. @@novelbin@@

Following a small path along the factory wall, Nie Zhenbang took the lead, with An Guoyu, Li Jupeng, and the driver Guo Sanbao following closely behind.

From the factory to the river was only two or three hundred meters. Soon, they were standing by the river. The entire river had turned black. This river was not flowing water in actuality; it was a 30-kilometer canal. However, the citizens of Wanghai commonly referred to it as the Dachang River.

At this moment, many dead fish with their white bellies exposed can be seen on the nearly ten-meter-wide river surface. The dead fish, floating on the water, release waves of a rotten smell as the breeze comes. From the back of the factory, two drainage channels about a meter wide lead directly into the Dachang River. A sharp yellow liquid is occasionally directly discharged into the Dachang River from the drainage ditches.

Upon seeing this, Nie Zhenbang’s face darkened. He said angrily: “This is lawless, absolutely lawless. I didn’t expect that in Wanghai, which has been a clean and civilized city for years, is a green garden city for many years, such a factory still exists in our city. Without any pollution control measures, industrial sewage and waste are directly discharged without any treatment. They are trampling on human lives. This completely disregards the environmental protection regulations jointly promulgated by the Environmental Protection Bureau and the State Council.”

At this moment, An Guoyu also came forward and said in a low voice, “Calm down, Mayor. This matter should not be blown out of proportion for now. Look, many villagers over there are watching us.”

Following the direction of An Guoyu’s gaze, several young men in the vegetable field on the riverbank about a hundred meters away from the factory were looking over here from time to time.

Nie Zhenbang had calmed down somewhat at this point but was still somewhat angry. He said to Li Jupeng next to him: “Jupeng, take pictures of all these scenes for me right now. Old An, you call Zhao Fei right away. I want to ask him how he is acting as the secretary of the working committee.”

“This kind of factory is neither a high-tech enterprise nor an environmental protection enterprise. On the contrary, it is a low-value enterprise with high energy consumption and high pollution. I wonder why such a company was included in the High-tech Zone and why it can enjoy the preferential policies of three exemptions and two halves. And why can it enjoy the green channel set up by the government for it. I need to question him about these.”

As they had just walked up from the river bank, suddenly, dozens of people in the village approached from the road in front of the village.

At the forefront was a man in his forties. As soon as they saw Nie Zhenbang, these people became excited. The man even turned his head and shouted to the people, “Fellow villagers, we are saved, we are saved. Our letter to the mayor has had an effect. Mayor Nie is here.”

During this period, Nie Zhenbang often appeared in the news reports of the Sea-view City TV station, so it was not surprising that someone recognized him at this moment.

Taking one step forward, he approached the villagers. Beside him, An Guoyu and Li Jupeng also followed suit. However, at this moment, the villagers all suddenly knelt down.

The man in the lead said, “Mayor Nie, I am the village director of Zhangshugang Village. The letter that was written to you was penned by me. We have been looking forward to your arrival, Mayor Nie. Please stand up for us. If the Red Star Chemical Factory is not shut down, the people in the surrounding ten villages will have no way to survive.”

The entire scene was incredibly shocking. Tens of villagers, old and young, men and women, knelt in front of Nie Zhenbang and the others. This was a heavy responsibility; a silent protest.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang did something surprising. Suddenly, he also knelt down and said solemnly, “Fellow villagers, please get up. I, Nie Zhenbang, am too ashamed to accept this.”

If there had been reporters following Nie Zhenbang’s trip, one might have said that his act of kneeling had an element of showmanship to it. However, at present, his actions were completely sincere.

At this moment, An Guoyu had also called Zhao Fei, the Standing Committee member of the Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the High-tech Zone Work Committee, on the phone. As soon as the call was connected, Zhao Fei’s laughter came from the phone, “Hehe, Secretary-general, it’s rare to get a call from you. Does the mayor have any instructions?”

As a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, Zhao Fei’s position level is slightly higher than An Guoyu’s internal party position. At this moment, his words were a substantial show of respect towards An Guoyu.

Normally, they would exchange pleasantries, but at this moment, Mayor Nie was watching intently. Having followed Mayor Nie for so long, An Guoyu had never seen Mayor Nie’s face look this terrifying. His face darkened, and he lowered his voice: “Secretary Zhao, the mayor is now at the Red Star Chemical Factory, you should come over immediately. The mayor is not in a good mood.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Fei’s face darkened. As soon as he heard the words “Red Star Chemical Factory,” he knew what was going on.

At this time, Zhao Fei did not rush over. If he went now, he wouldn’t have any room for manoeuvre. It would be best to let the people from the Red Star Chemical Factory handle the matter first. With this thought in mind, Zhao Fei picked up the phone and called Zhao Li, the boss of the Red Star Chemical Factory.

As soon as the call connected, a voice came from the other end of the phone: “Brother Fei, why would you call me directly?”

Zhao Li, the boss of Red Star Chemical Factory, and Zhao Fei came from the same village. In fact, the two were somewhat related. At this moment, Zhao Fei said in a low voice, “I called because something has happened at your chemical factory. The villagers of Zhangshugang have taken the matter to the mayor. Right now, Mayor Nie is outside your factory. You go there right away. Agree to whatever they ask.”

(