Reborn as a Noble's Son

Here, the situation in Minan Province is slightly different from other provinces due to the existence of a vice-province-level city, WangHai. Hence, generally, the United Front Work Department Director also doubles as a standing committee member, which is omitted in Minan.

What amused Nie Zhenbang was that the Secretary of WangHai City also held the title of Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. Although the title of deputy secretary was not particularly valuable during this period, it indirectly demonstrated the importance that Minan Province placed on the WangHai Special Economic Zone.

Nie Zhenbang couldn’t possibly visit all these standing committee members. As he was still familiarizing himself with the situation in Minan Province, others wouldn’t say much even if some formalities were not perfectly observed. However, if he were to visit each one individually, it might leave a bad impression on some leaders, making him seem too slick.

So, Nie Zhenbang didn’t plan on going to Chen Renqing but had to visit Governor Jia Minfu.

On one hand, he was the Executive Deputy Mayor of WangHai, part of the government system, and the governor was his immediate superior. The government work was also under the governor’s supervision. Hence, it was necessary to visit him. Moreover, he would also need to visit the Organization Department and Qiao Yiren. One was responsible for organizational matters, and the other was the key figure in his transfer to WangHai. In fact, speaking frankly, he would need to rely more on Secretary Qiao in the future.

After exiting the Provincial Party Committee building, he crossed the large assembly hall of the Provincial Party Committee and arrived at the Provincial Government Office Building. After checking the floor guide in the lobby on the first floor, Nie Zhenbang took the elevator directly to the fifteenth floor.

The Provincial Government Office Building, the fifteenth floor, is the office area for related provincial government leaders. The offices of the governor, the Executive Deputy Governor, and several other deputy leaders are all here.

The Minan Provincial Government has one head and six deputy leaders who share these twenty rooms. Each leader’s office is relatively spacious.

On both sides of the elevator, to the left is a small meeting room transformed from an office. It’s usually where the governor holds meetings. To the right, three connected offices have been converted into a large meeting room, presumably the main conference room of the Provincial Government Office Building.

Further in, along the central corridor, are the offices of the various deputy governors. Governor Jia Minfu’s office is directly opposite to the office of Executive Deputy Governor Zhao Qiming. The layout of the offices is identical, each one being a large office expanded from three different rooms.

Standing under the governor’s office sign, Nie Zhenbang took a deep breath. Although he had met many provincial and ministerial leaders, such as two of his family members and his father-in-law, he could easily find four or five among his relatives and friends. However, at this moment, looking at the sign with gold background and black writing that read “Governor’s Office”, the five bold characters felt very serious, and Nie Zhenbang seemed a bit nervous. After all, this was his first meeting with Jia Minfu, and it was uncertain what attitude the governor might have.

After hesitating for a moment, Nie Zhenbang stepped forward and knocked on the door, one long and two short knocks. A very standard way of knocking.

At this moment, a voice came from the office: “Come in!”

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang twisted the doorknob. Generally, in government offices, unless it’s off-work hours, the door will not be locked during working hours unless there are special circumstances. Every leader has his considerations. If the door is locked, it would seem too secretive and inevitably cause suspicion. Every leader is very mindful about such details.

As he entered, he found himself in a small office measuring about ten square meters. A desk, against the wall at the back, had a steel-framed sofa and a tempered glass coffee table near the wall on the right. A potted green plant was in a corner. The coffee table had two ashtrays on it. The decor was of a typical minimalist style, with beige floor tiles, white walls, and no other embellishments.

At this moment, a man in his mid-thirties rose from behind the desk. The man was not very tall, around 1.7 meters, with a well-proportioned figure. Wearing glasses, he appeared refined. Looking at Nie Zhenbang, he first furrowed his brows in confusion before warmly saying, “Oh, you must be Mayor Nie. The governor has mentioned you to me twice. Please, have a seat.”

With that, the man walked over, made a cup of hot tea for Nie Zhenbang and placed it on the coffee table. “Mayor Nie, try this. It’s our Minan speciality, Iron Goddess Tea. See what you think. Let me introduce myself. I am the governor’s secretary, Xia Jian. ‘Jian’ is the ‘Jian’ in ‘rain’, not the ‘Jian’ in ‘universe’. If there’s anything you need in the future, please feel free to reach out to me.”

Xia Jian’s fervor even caught Nie Zhenbang by surprise. Though Xia Jian now only had the status of a secretary, he was the secretary to the governor. By convention, this role was usually reserved for officials of a high level. Besides, his prestige in the public sphere meant that even heads at the department level would treat him courteously, respectfully addressing him as brother.

Although he wondered why Xia Jian was behaving so warmly, Nie Zhenbang didn’t let it show on his face and responded with a smile, “Director Xia, you’re too kind. In the future, I’m certain that I’ll need your help often. Are you free this evening? How about we grab a casual dinner together?”

Xia Jian seemed very keen at the moment and replied with a smile, “Mayor Nie, you’re too kind.”

With that, Xia Jian handed Nie Zhenbang his business card, and said, “Mayor Nie, why don’t we touch base after work?”

At the same time, his expression turned serious. “Mayor Nie, please wait a moment. The governor is currently meeting with Director Liu of the Public Security Bureau. Let me see if I can assist you in getting an audience.”

Xia Jian quickly came out, smiled, and said, “Mayor Nie, it’s going to be about twenty more minutes before the governor will be free.”

The twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye. As a secretary, Xia Jian had a precise sense of timing. Once the sound of a door closing resonated from Jia Minfu’s office, Xia Jian stood up and entered the inner office. Half a minute later, he came back out and nodded at Nie Zhenbang. “Mayor Nie, the governor is expecting you now.”

As he stepped into Jia Minfu’s office and saw the not-so-tall governor, his silver-rimmed glasses gave him a stern look. Jia Minfu was a man of few words, with a solemn demeanor. He was around 56 or 57 years old, still at the peak of his career compared to other officials at the provincial and ministerial levels.

The office was sparsely decorated. Occupying about 60 square meters, the space was dominated by a large bookshelf covering the wall behind the desk. It was filled with various bulky tomes, all spick-and-span. You could even see bookmarks sticking out of many books – a sign that Governor Jia wasn’t just displaying these books, he was actually studying them.

“Nice to meet you, Governor Jia!” This was Nie Zhenbang’s first meeting with Jia Minfu.

Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Jia Minfu revealed a slight smile and waved his hand, “Comrade Zhenbang, I am well aware of who you are. A renowned young economist. Indeed, a promising young man. During a meeting at the central level, I was discussing you with your father. I never expected that you would suddenly come to Minan.”

Jia Minfu’s words made Nie Zhenbang sigh in relief. At least, it seemed that Jia Minfu’s impression of him wasn’t unfavorable. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so kindly or mentioned his father.

After a moment of reflection and organizing his thoughts, Nie Zhenbang tamed his demeanor and said, “Governor, you’re too humble. There’s much I need to learn. I still have a long way to go in applying the theories I’ve learned to practice. I’ll depend on your criticism and guidance in my future work and life.”

This was an expected response from Nie Zhenbang, now that Jia Minfu had indicated he had a good relationship with his father. They shouldn’t just have a good relationship; Jia Minfu shouldn’t discuss his son if they only had an ordinary relationship. So besides the title of his superior, Jia Minfu also carried the relationship of an elder. So, it’s only natural for an elder to guide the younger generation.

This was merely a courteous remark, meant to foster a closer relationship, but what Nie Zhenbang hadn’t expected was for Jia Minfu to suddenly become serious and say, “Zhenbang, after you begin your work in WangHai City, work diligently. WangHai City is a sub-provincial city, and Comrade Shi Yiwu is a Standing Committee member of the provincial party committee. You need to think things through and be cautious in your actions. Consistency and unity within the team are very important.”

Upon hearing this, Nie Zhenbang grew contemplative. Normally, if Jia Minfu got along well with his father, Nie Guowei, he would certainly know about it. Since his father hadn’t mentioned it, it was likely that their relationship was simply cordial and they held no deep ties. However, from the depth of Jia Minfu’s remarks, it was clear that he intended to indicate something. There was more to his words than met the eye.

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