Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 803: Chapter 759: Strong Support

The leadership of the four major teams of Guonan City, along with the members of the municipal committee’s team, drove out of the courtyard of the Guonan City Municipal Committee and Government, turned onto the main street. In the front, guiding the way, the Standing Deputy Director of the Guonan City Public Security Bureau personally took charge.

There was no other way; the Bureau Chief also served as a Standing Committee member of the municipal committee and secretary of the political and legal committee. Naturally, such matters fell into the hands of the Standing Deputy Director.

As soon as they left the gate, the Standing Deputy Director personally picked up the car radio and began to shout, “Attention all units. All traffic police squads, take charge of your respective areas; the convoy has departed from the municipal committee. All duty traffic police at various intersections, proceed with temporary traffic control. Clear the lanes…”

From the courtyard of the Guonan City Municipal Committee and Government to the Tianguo Expressway entrance of Guonan City, it was a distance of less than ten kilometers. It took merely five minutes to arrive at the toll station entrance.

The convoy stopped on the left side of the road at the toll station. In this way, the Governor’s convoy could be seen as soon as it exited the toll station.

After waiting for less than twenty minutes, a team consisting of a police car and two Toyota Coaster minibuses rolled down from the expressway inside the toll station.

The convoy, with hazard lights flashing, approached the toll station exit, where the lead police car even turned on its siren and exited through the dedicated military and police channel to the very side.

Watching the impressive array of welcoming officials on the roadside ahead, Li Guangqiang also said with a smile from the first Coaster, “My, Wang Guofa has mobilized everyone. Setting up such a grand formation. More than twenty vehicles, so many people, Governor, it’s really your influence that’s big.”

The Coaster carrying Nie Zhenbang and others had been specially modified. The interior of the vehicle resembled the business class of an airplane, with only nine seats. The car was equipped with closed-circuit television and a car refrigerator.

Nie Zhenbang and Li Guangqiang were seated facing each other, with a long table between them for office work on the road. Their secretaries were seated in the rear of the vehicle, with the Secretary-General Fang Yuan beside the door and the Minister of Agriculture Li also sitting at the back.

Hearing Li Guangqiang’s words, Nie Zhenbang also laughed and said, “Guangqiang, are you making fun of me?”

As he said this, the tone of his voice changed and his eyebrows furrowed, he spoke indifferently, “What is Guonan City up to? Didn’t we order them to travel light and keep everything simple? Such a grand display is cost-inducing and exhausting for the people!”

Nie Zhenbang deliberately made this statement, with the intention of letting both Li Guangqiang and the Minister of Agriculture understand his stance. He did not approve of Wang Guofa’s approach. As an independent political figure, Li Guangqiang had inherent shortcomings in such matters and was bound to cooperate with Nie Zhenbang.

At this moment, the vehicle had already come to a slow stop. Nie Zhenbang straightened his clothes and said to Li Guangqiang, “Governor Guangqiang, let’s go down and greet them together.”

As the car door opened, the reporters and related staffers from the following vehicle also disembarked. From the start of the Governor’s inspection, they had entered into work mode. Although the scene would not be broadcast, protocol must still be observed.

Nie Zhenbang walked at the forefront followed by Li Guangqiang and Fang Yuan, who stepped down one after another.

As Nie Zhenbang got out of the car, Wang Guofa had already come forward to greet him. His face showed excitement and joy, and with an exaggerated, enthusiastic expression, he said, “Governor, welcome, a sincere welcome to the Governor’s inspection and guidance in Guonan City.”

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang appeared quite reserved. His face devoid of a smile, he coolly shook hands briefly as a gesture, then said, “Comrade Wang Guofa, too courteous, too grand. This makes me uncomfortable, it hints at unnecessary extravagance.”

The use of titles within the system is also rule-bound and deliberate. For close subordinates, they are typically addressed directly by name. For example, if a leader was close to Wang Guofa, they would likely call him Secretary Guofa or Comrade Guofa. For those with ordinary relationships, they would usually call him Secretary Wang. Nie Zhenbang’s direct use of “Comrade Wang Guofa” carried an implicit meaning that was quite self-evident.

Furthermore, with Nie Zhenbang jokingly saying such a grand reception was unnecessarily extravagant, the nuance of his words was worth pondering and considering.

Looking rather embarrassed, Wang Guofa replied with a forced smile, “Governor, it’s no trouble. It’s not too grand. This is the wholehearted welcome of the city’s leading cadres and people.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Nie Zhenbang had already shaken hands with the Chairman of the Guonan City Political Consultative Conference. This time, Nie Zhenbang behaved properly, without any major breaches of protocol.

Next up was Jiang Jingu. Nie Zhenbang smiled and said, “Comrade Jingui, I came specially to inspect the land transfer work. In just three months, the land transfer work in Guonan City has achieved such tremendous success. I am very gratified. This time, Governor Guangqiang, Secretary-General Fang Yuan, and Director Li and I are here for an assessment.”

At this point, everyone present basically understood. The governor was bearing ill will. Leaving aside other matters, the stark difference in the governor’s treatment of Wang Guofa and Jiang Jingu was enough to reveal the situation.

In Guonan City, many people began to ponder; between Wang Guofa and Jiang Jingu, it seemed, a choice would have to be made.

After shaking hands with all the standing committee members of the Guonan City Party Committee, Nie Zhenbang turned his head and said, “Let’s all get on the bus. Standing by the roadside is not only obstructing traffic but can also produce a negative influence. Nowadays, the public already has complaints about officials traveling with police escorts and a lot of fanfare. We don’t need to make a big show of it. Let’s head to the City Party Committee first.”

Having said this, Nie Zhenbang turned to Jiang Jingui and said, “Comrade Jingui, come with me. It happens that Governor Guangqiang and Director Li would like to hear about some details of the land transfer implementation process, so let’s take this opportunity. You can tell us about it.”

Watching Nie Zhenbang take Jiang Jingu aboard the Toyota Coaster, Wang Guofa’s expression by the roadside became extremely gloomy. He had also received a call from an old leader regarding matters at the provincial level; Nie Zhenbang was very assertive and did not give face.

At the same time, the old leader had already made it clear to him the current situation within the province. Secretary Zeng and Governor Nie were evenly matched. The others also had their own agendas. At this time, it was not appropriate for the old leader to fall out with Nie Zhenbang.

As expected, he had just talked with the old leader the day before yesterday, and today, Nie Zhenbang had arrived, and upon arrival, directly slapped faces without any hesitation. This aggressive approach was directly aimed at himself, a move that made Wang Guofa feel somewhat unable to withstand. Confronting the governor of a province was not a trivial matter.

Glancing at the standing committee members with various expressions, Wang Guofa snorted and said, “Let’s all get in the cars. Instruct the comrades from the Public Security Bureau not to interfere with regular traffic and to ensure the roads remain clear.”

The entire convoy, impressive and grand, drove straight into the Guonan City Party Committee and City Government Courtyard, stopping in front of the office building.

Upon exiting the cars, the group went straight up to the City Committee’s main conference room. Nie Zhenbang took the seat of honor, flanked by Deputy Governor Li Guangqiang and the government’s Secretary-General Fang Yuan.

After surveying his surroundings, Nie Zhenbang turned a blind eye to Wang Guofa’s stern expression. He was well aware of the situation in Jinjiang County. Several privileged young men, having received early news, wanted to use this opportunity to make a fortune. This displeased Nie Zhenbang immensely.

When it came to the children of cadres going into business, Nie Zhenbang’s attitude had always been one of indifference. After all, Nie Zhenbang had been in business himself, and now his family members were too. Engaging in business was not an issue. Having vision and capability, cadres’ children could also make money. This was only human, as one couldn’t expect them to not make money just because they were children of cadres. There’s no logic in that. As long as it was honest business, it was always better than corruption and bribery.

However, using insider information to make a profit from the government crossed his line. Especially, making a profit from projects that he had initiated was like digging the ground from under his feet, wasn’t it?

But he was well aware and yet had no evidence to point directly at them, thus he couldn’t go after these privileged young men just yet.

“This time, Governor Guangqiang and I have come mainly to inspect the land transfer work. Let Mayor Jingui report on the land transfer work,” Nie Zhenbang said calmly.

Jiang Jingu was excited at this moment. This was his opportunity, a chance to fully win the trust and appreciation of the governor. Now, Jiang Jingu could see clearly and understand the capabilities and assertiveness displayed by Governor Nie, which pleased him greatly. Everyone hoped to follow a strong leader, as it meant much greater opportunities for promotion.

After a pause, Jiang Jingu gathered his thoughts and then said, “Governor, Vice Governor Li, and all leaders, regarding the pilot work on rural land transfer. After receiving the task from the provincial government, the city immediately formed a pilot work leadership group for land transfer consisting of several department leaders in charge and responsible comrades from the agricultural bureau and other relevant departments. After a period of research, we initially selected Renzhang County as the first pilot county. Now, we have signed a contract for the transfer of 50,000 mu of land with Comrade Qiu Weimao from Renzhang County. Contracts have been signed with all rural households involved, on a family-by-family basis, and provisions have been made in the contract to ensure the rights and interests of the farmers… Initially, after careful consideration, we decided to start with only Renzhang County as a pilot. I believe, after one harvest season, the tremendous benefits generated by the land transfer will certainly cause a sensation in society. This in turn, will also set a benchmark and build confidence for the next step in the pilot work.”

As Jiang Jingu finished speaking, Nie Zhenbang smiled and looked at Li Guangqiang, saying, “Governor Guangqiang, do you have any thoughts?” (