Reborn as a Noble's Son

Electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemical engineering, petroleum, plastics, real estate, hotels, and even taxi services, half of all taxis in Wanghai City were now under the control of the Eastern Sea Group.

It could be said that the whole development of Wanghai City was severely distorted and imbalanced. Its prosperity, built entirely on the success of one business consortium, was a mockery of the government, explaining why so many officials had fallen after the outbreak of the Eastern Sea Group case.

It had become a habit of Nie Zhenbang to review documents and familiarize himself with the local situation each time he took up a new post.

This was Nie Zhenbang’s nature. He never engaged in battles he was not certain of winning – a habit he had always adhered to. During these two days of perusing documents, Nie Zhenbang had also been observing Li Jupeng.

They say youth is impetuous, and Li Jupeng’s swift rise to becoming a secretary for the leadership could have inflated his ego. But Nie Zhenbang was somewhat pleased to observe that Li Jupeng was quite composed. Each day for the past two days, he had arrived at the office around seven-thirty, cleaned up, prepared a hot cup of tea, and then sat at his own desk for the remainder of the day.

Nie Zhenbang had a basic understanding of what Li Jupeng was studying. It was not a pretense – he did not merely arrange some study materials on his desk and then while away the hours twiddling his thumbs. He was genuinely studying, a behavior that raised Nie Zhenbang’s regard for him even more.

From outside, the sound of a knock on the door was followed by the lurch of the door being pushed open. Li Jupeng entered and stood by, his voice just loud enough to be clearly heard, yet not so loud as to be harsh. “Mayor Nie, the Eastern Sea Group is holding a cocktail party at the Sea View Grand Theater tomorrow morning to celebrate their tenth anniversary. Invitations have been sent to the city’s leaders. What are your thoughts?”

Nie Zhenbang was quite satisfied with Li Jupeng’s performance as a secretary, believing that he had mastered the essence of the role.

Seeing Nie Zhenbang in deep thought, Li Jupeng added, “Confirmed attendees from the city include Secretary Shi, Mayor Wang, Deputy Secretary Zhang, Secretary General Liu, and other standing committee leaders. Leadership from several districts will also participate. In addition, it’s said that Vice Chairman Yan of the Central Government plans to attend the ceremony in a private capacity.”

It sounded hard to believe that in Jingcheng, one of the five separate provincial-level cities directly under the Central Government, everyone from the municipality’s party secretary to ordinary officials would be clamoring to curry favor with a conglomerate. Yet that’s precisely what was happening.

But in reality, it wasn’t strange at all. In his past life, Nie Zhenbang had heard about the infamous smuggling case involving the Eastern Sea Group, which was then considered the country’s first case following its formation. Rumor had it that several high-ranking Central Government officials were implicated in the Eastern Sea Group case. And although these were merely rumors, Nie Zhenbang knew there was no smoke without fire. Why else would Vice Chairman Yan decide to attend in person?

However, the scenario differed slightly from his memory, suggesting that some changes might have occurred from the moment the Nie family weathered the storm unscathed.

In his previous life, his father-in-law Yang Shengli had not been made secretary of Jingcheng’s party committee, a position that ended up going to a loyal follower of Secretary General Yuan. This led to considerable ire from Gu Qingshan, the Chair of the People’s Congress, who had always coveted that position.

Later, Secretary General Yuan successfully placed his own candidate in the role of Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, causing dissatisfaction from Prime Minister Yun. Yun therefore decided to dig up the Eastern Sea Group case. While this happened, Gu Qingshan simply stood by and watched. The intertwining struggles between these three political heavyweights were complex. Overall, it seemed unlikely that the Eastern Sea Group could survive such a storm unscathed.

However, the circumstances were different in this life. Previously, Secretary General Yuan had insisted on closing the investigation for fear of its broad implications. But now, he was actively investigating the case.

The post of Jingcheng’s Party Secretary had been secured by the Yang family. The relationship between Prime Minister Yun and Secretary General Yuan also seemed to be well-maintained.

This was confusing to Nie Zhenbang. The appointments of Gao Wei and the Deputy to WangHai, coupled with the reserved attitudes of various families in Jingcheng, seemed inappropriate.

Thinking this through, Nie Zhenbang decided to decline the invitation. At this time, he needed to demonstrate his independent and unorthodox style. The more he defied norms, the more reassured Lin Zhengxing and Shi Yiwu would be. None of them would ever expect him to act so brazenly.

One might argue that dogs that bark don’t bite. But if he could effectively bring down the Eastern Sea Group, what was wrong in being a dog that can both bark and bite?

“Well, we won’t go. Arrange a field study at the Public Security Bureau instead tomorrow morning. Public security work has always been key to maintaining social stability and ensuring safety. Economic development cannot proceed without public security. Inform Secretary An and let him make the arrangements. We’ll head to the Municipal Public Bureau for the field study at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.” Nie Zhenbang issued the instructions with a serious tone.

Hearing this, a hint of surprise appeared on Li Jupeng’s face, but he said nothing and then nodded, “Yes, Mayor.”

Watching Li Jupeng turn around and leave, a trace of a smile also appeared on Nie Zhenbang’s face. He was very pleased with Li Jupeng’s performance in recent days. If Li Jupeng had just voiced any objection to his declining to attend the reception hosted by the Eastern Sea Group, his tenure as secretary would probably have come to an end.

“Secretary-General, the mayor asked to visit and inspect the city’s public security bureau tomorrow. I ask for your assistance in arranging the schedule.” Li Jupeng started speaking in An Guoyu’s office, which left An Guoyu stunned.

Tomorrow is the day of the Eastern Sea Group’s tenth anniversary celebration. This significant event will not only be attended by key leaders of the municipal party committee, but even several leaders from the province will take part. The purposeful timing of Nie Zhenbang’s inspection tour was a clear attempt to throw his weight around.

After hesitating for a moment, An Guoyu decided not to say anything. Li Jupeng is just a secretary, one who had just assumed the position and certainly could not influence Nie Zhenbang’s decision.

…

Early the next morning, Nie Zhenbang was already waiting downstairs, his official car, a black Audi A6, was parked downstairs. The driver was a young man around twenty-two years old who had just returned from the Army. It was not yet determined how suitable he was. Whether he could become the dedicated driver would depend on the young man’s performance.

An Guoyu also stayed by his side. Technically, according to the rules, An Guoyu didn’t have to be here. He could have arranged for one of the deputy secretaries from the municipal government office to accompany him on the inspection.

However, after much deliberation, An Guoyu decided to accompany Mayor Nie. Around 8:10, the car slowly entered the compound of the Public Security Bureau.

The Wanghai City Public Security Bureau office building was a square-shaped structure. A ten-story building, the top floor housed the 110 Command Center of the Wanghai City Public Security Bureau.

At this moment, below the building, two lines of policemen in uniform were already standing. As soon as they got out of the car, a man about forty years old came over to greet them.

Seeing this scene, An Guoyu frowned. The Wanghai City Public Security Bureau’s party group consisted of nine members, the bureau chief and political comissar constituted the first and second leaders, plus the head of the disciplinary inspection team, five deputy directors, and the director of the office. At present, only one bureau leader, Xiao Shanming, who was in charge of public security indoctrination and police training and held the lowest rank, was present. Wasn’t this a plain show of disrespect to Mayor Nie?

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang’s face also darkened. In such a scene, he was clear about who was the leader and who was not.

“Mayor Nie, welcome. I am Xiao Shanming, deputy director of the Public Security Bureau. Thank you for inspecting our bureau.” Xiao Shanming greeted him with a bitter smile.

This was indeed a tough situation for Xiao Shanming. But as the lowest-ranking deputy director, he knew Mayor Nie would be furious with this situation. Still, Xiao Shanming had to face it squarely.

No doubt, this must be a test prepared for him by Lin Zhengxing, Shi Yiwu, and others. They must know about his scheduled visit to the Public Security Bureau, and their behavior was designed to leave him in an awkward position. At this point, many distinguished guests were visiting the Eastern Sea Group, including the vice chairman of the National People’s Congress from Minan region who had already visited Wanghai City, as well as several provincial leaders who were present too. Along with the main leaders of the Wanghaishi Municipal Party Committee, these people were confident that he would not dare to flare up.

Thinking of this, Nie Zhenbang sneered inwardly. On the surface, he remained unruffled and smilingly said, “Deputy Director Xiao, the Wanghai City Public Security Bureau is one of my most important functional departments. It is a law enforcement agency related to the lives and property of Wanghai’s six million people. The work of the Wanghai City Public Security Bureau directly affects the economic situation and development of Wanghai. I have no choice but to take it seriously. Deputy Director Xiao, let’s go to the meeting room. Today I am here just to listen. The main characters are still you.”

As he finished speaking, Xiao Shanming’s face turned somewhat troubled. Having inadequate knowledge about the operations of the Public Security Bureau–the number of cases solved, the number of arrests made, household registration work, community work, cadre education system work, and so forth–made giving a report a muddle and seemed to be utter nonsense.

Immediately, Xiao Shanming approached him and whispered, “Mayor, as you see, Bureau Chief Zhou and the others are maintaining order at the Eastern Sea Group’s tenth-anniversary celebration… Perhaps after they finish…”

Before he could finish, Mayor Nie’s voice rose as he said sternly. “What’s going on? Deputy Director Xiao, call Zhou Qingguo immediately and tell him that I want him to come back right now. It’s significant that many leaders are present at the Eastern Sea Group’s celebration. However, not all the leaders of the Public Security Bureau should be there. Are you telling me that without Zhou Qingguo, the city’s police officers are incapable of performing their duties? That’s absurd! If that’s the case, then he, Zhou Qingguo, has failed as a leader!”

At this moment, An Guoyu was shocked to hear Mayor Nie’s words. It was a clear sign that he was not respecting Fei Xing’s, and the city and provincial leaders’ authority. (