Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 806: Chapter 762: Corporate Pilot

Outside the door, there came a knock, and following that, Li Jupeng walked in. Standing by the door, he reported, “Governor, Governor Jianzhang is here.”

Upon hearing Li Jupeng’s words, Nie Zhenbang immediately stood up and ordered, “Jianzhang is here, please invite him in quickly!”

Outside, Pan Jianzhang had just walked in from the outside, and now, in Nie Zhenbang’s presence, Pan Jianzhang seemed to be less restrained. He sat down naturally and said to Nie Zhenbang, “Governor, my main reason for coming this time is the issues with a few liquor factories.”

Pan Jianzhang was the supervising leader. For the aspects of the second industry related to the three-year plan, he had always been the one to implement and operate it.

Upon hearing this, Nie Zhenbang’s brows immediately furrowed. Although he had only interacted with Pan Jianzhang for a few months, he believed he understood Pan Jianzhang’s personality well. If it were merely a problem with liquor factories, Pan Jianzhang would never make a special visit. Whatever was serious enough to bring Pan Jianzhang to his doorstep was definitely no small matter.

After Li Jupeng served Pan Jianzhang some hot tea, Nie Zhenbang also sat down on the sofa. He took a cigarette from the box on the coffee table, lit it, took a puff, and then asked, “Jianzhang, is it an issue with the enterprise pilot projects?”

Pan Jianzhang wasn’t too surprised. He had long witnessed Nie Zhenbang’s wisdom. Bashu Province’s three-year development plan involved agriculture, industry, and tertiary industry. Agriculture had always been carried out near Guonan City. Industry was his responsibility. It was not strange for him to guess that he came for industrial development plans; on the contrary, it would have been odd if Nie Zhenbang had not guessed.

Nodding, Pan Jianzhang spoke frankly, “Governor, the issue lies with the restructuring of enterprises. There aren’t too many problems on the steel industry side. Huazhi Steel Group was originally a mega central enterprise directly under the central government. This time, in consolidating resources, several enterprises within the province have been very cooperative. Huagang has already completed its initial shareholding system transformation. Now, the headache comes from the problems with Wuliang City and Luzhou City.”

At these words, Nie Zhenbang’s eyebrows tightened further. He said in a deep voice, “What about Wuliang City, Comrade Binyi? Hasn’t he done the work for Wuliang Group? What on earth is Liu Binyi up to?”

There was already an underlying dissatisfaction with Liu Binyi in his words. This was Nie Zhenbang’s character: the closer to him, the stricter he expected them to be.

Clearly, the previous conversation had led Nie Zhenbang to some misunderstanding. Pan Jianzhang said with a smile, “Governor, this time, you are misplacing blame on Binyi. On this matter, I visited both Wuliang City and Luzhou City. Comrade Binyi here has already unified opinions and thoughts. The entire committee of Wuliang City, from top to bottom, has no objections to the merger of the enterprises. Now, the ones with objections are Wuliang Group and Lu Wine Group.”

Pausing, Pan Jianzhang analyzed, “You know as well that both Wuliang liquor and Lu liquor are renowned brand liquors within our province. The two cities are adjacent to each other, with similar climatic features and geographical locations, both deep within the Liquor Golden Triangle area. Therefore, now that there’s a plan to expand industry within the province, the merger of several liquor industry groups has encountered significant difficulties.”

Seeing Nie Zhenbang’s serious expression, Pan Jianzhang continued, “Actually, it’s not just these two companies. Jiannan Liquor Industry also has dissenting opinions. Other companies within the province have their different views, too. Moreover, both Wuliang Group and Lu Wine Group have proposed to hold a dominant position in the new company. These two enterprises are both listed companies, and both their performance and total assets are not much different. Although Wuliang Group is slightly better off, it’s not particularly obvious. As a result, things are now at a standstill.”

Understanding the situation, Nie Zhenbang had some clarity. To put it plainly, the domestic liquor industry was extremely hot. Huaxia had always been a country where liquor culture thrived. The provincial liquor enterprises were all well-funded. After the merger, with a parent group in control, nothing would be as comfortable as it is now. Even after a merger, there can only be one head. This was all a struggle over interests.

Just as he was about to speak, at that moment, the red telephone on the desk suddenly rang. Pan Jianzhang stood up and said, “Governor, you should attend to that. I’ll go and work on the CEOs of a few enterprises. I believe there’s still room for easing the situation.”

Nie Zhenbang nodded, said nothing, and walked straight to the office desk. Glancing over, the short code 8001 appeared. That was the internal line number for the provincial party secretary’s office. Was Zeng Taiping looking for him?

Not daring to neglect the call, he picked up the phone and said with a smile, “Secretary Zeng, you were looking for me?”

As soon as the call connected, from the other side, Zeng Taiping’s hearty laughter came through, followed by his voice, “Governor Nie, are you busy right now? There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

At this time, Zeng Taiping’s call was definitely not just a simple check-in. Nie Zhenbang was also pondering Zeng Taiping’s state of mind.

In politics, to put it bluntly, it’s all about guessing each other’s thoughts. The Party Committee leader, Zeng Taiping, is always busy. To say he’s governing every moment of the day might be an exaggeration, but he’s certainly not idle, that’s for sure.

Putting oneself in others’ shoes, sitting in the governor’s seat, either visiting and comforting people here or inspecting work there, or attending various events. Even at the office, there are piled-up documents and various matters requiring funds or policies that need to be signed off on.

Out of nowhere, Zeng Taiping certainly would not make such a call if he was idly panicking, and Nie Zhenbang then responded with a laugh, “If Secretary Zeng has matters to discuss, even if I’m busy, I have to make time. Secretary, please go ahead.”

With these words, Nie Zhenbang somewhat flattered Zeng Taiping. This is different from brown-nosing. Brown-nosing is without principles. You do whatever makes the leader feel comfortable, even if it means calling a deer a horse or distorting right and wrong without scruple.

Flattery, on the other hand, has principles. Under circumstances that are insignificant or irrelevant to the grand scheme of things, saying a few pleasant things to make someone feel comfortable expresses a form of respect. It serves to pull in and ease the relationship between both parties. This is also a kind of officialdom knowledge and strategy.

On the other end of the line, Zeng Taiping was quite satisfied with Nie Zhenbang’s attitude, laughing heartily, “Comrade Zhenbang, I hear that there have been quite a few troubles with the industrial enterprise reforms now.”

Upon hearing Zeng Taiping’s words, Nie Zhenbang’s eyebrows raised instantly. Just as expected. He then said, “Hmm, I just got the news myself. In the process of mergers and restructurings, some companies have some ideas, which is normal. Everyone is looking out for their own patch of land, and having some personal agenda is inevitable. I believe the comrades below still have this awareness.”

Nie Zhenbang’s response was a clever attempt to preemptively block any objections from Zeng Taiping. Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, the atmosphere in the province committee office building darkened instantly.

All this talk about personal agenda and looking out for one’s own patch of land was alluding to one thing: all the executives of these companies didn’t want to give up their interests. In doing so, Nie Zhenbang naturally placed himself in a detached position.

With a darkened expression, Zeng Taiping was straightforward, “Governor Zhenbang, I actually think that the issues with enterprise restructuring are worth careful consideration. Large industries have their benefits, and small groups have their advantages. In the case of a mega-company like Huagang, a merger of the province’s steel industry would help Huagang consolidate resources and form a competitive edge. However, we should be more cautious with the reform of other enterprises.”

“Recently, comrades from below have called me, voicing their grievances, take the liquor industry for example. Wuliang Liquor, Lu Wine, and Jiannan Liquor are all leading companies in our province’s liquor industry, each with no clear upper hand. Nationally, these brands also have a considerable reputation. Both Wuliang Group and Lu Wine Group are listed companies. Forcing a merger, I believe, is improper. Such actions might trigger a chain of unwanted reactions. Worker morale, the direction of enterprise development, debts, and employee issues—all these are matters that we cannot ignore.”

At this point, Zeng Taiping chuckled subtly, yet said indifferently, “Governor Zhenbang, we can’t view issues so one-sidedly. These companies are currently thriving. By doing this, aren’t we just stirring up trouble for no reason? It gives people the impression of making an unnecessary fuss. My opinion is that we should differentiate our approach to these enterprises’ restructuring, rather than following the old ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. This could lead to serious issues.”

Zeng Taiping’s words were direct and his terms sharp. He didn’t leave Nie Zhenbang any wiggle room for retort. Though the tone was calm, the meaning expressed was very clear.

This time, Nie Zhenbang’s planning in the industrial sector contained errors. Not to mention other issues, in the liquor industry, such a blind merger is not the right approach. The underlying message was that the issue of merging industrial enterprises across the province should be approached with caution, and the merger in the liquor industry should be halted immediately.

Zeng Taiping expressed his firm stance rather directly in his words.

To Zeng Taiping’s surprise, at this moment, Nie Zhenbang, after hearing all this, fell silent for a moment before speaking again in a very calm voice, “Secretary Zeng, regarding this matter, I now also feel that I was indeed too hasty in formulating the plan initially. Not to talk of other aspects, the merger in the liquor industry indeed is not a good approach. The current development model is, in fact, the most correct one.”

As he finished speaking, Zeng Taiping was stunned, was this still Nie Zhenbang? (