Chapter 166: Chapter 166 City Trip_1

Translator: 549690339

Nie Zhenbang’s pragmatic attitude greatly pleased Ding Aiguo. Whether it’s the Farmer Welfare Company or Longhua Mining, Aiguo appreciated Zhenbang’s approach of waiting for steady conditions before taking action. He was not like the typical cadres who ran off at the mouth, but once they needed to take action, they were completely clueless.

But Nie Zhenbang was different. He had strong planning and organization skills for whatever he had to do at any given time. For instance, the planning of the development zone was still under evaluation. Even the city hadn’t unified its opinion yet, but Zhenbang was already thinking about how to raise funds. To Ding Aiguo, this was the true attitude of getting things done. It was the basic quality a party member should possess.

Straight away, Ding Aiguo paused for thought, then nodded, “It would be good to try. I believe including Secretary Liu, there’s support for the economic development of Lixian. Furthermore, your plan to extend the future Bazhou City development area to Lixian is excellent. Gradually narrowing the distance between the two places could form a city group. That’s a good strategy to enhance Bazhou’s competitiveness.”

After leaving Ding Aiguo, Nie Zhenbang immediately dialed Liu Kun’s number. Just after the call connected, he heard a yawn from the other end. It was late and Liu Kun was still loafing around. He probably hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet.

A moment later, Liu Kun’s voice came over, “Haha, brother, you’re up early. Any instructions?”

“Kun, what the hell are you doing? Is it that early? Where are you causing trouble? Keep your phone a bit further away; I can’t stand that voice, it gives me the creeps,” Nie Zhenbang said, laughing.

Liu Kun was good at everything but a bit loose with his lifestyle. It might be a bit of a stretch to describe Liu Kun as a partying all-nighter, but it was entirely accurate to call him a playboy. Now when the formal entertainment industry was booming, he frequented and mingled with many celebrities.

Shortly afterward, Liu Kun’s voice came over again, “Brother, I’m in Jingcheng, do you have any issues over there? Did something happen to the Farmer Welfare Company?”

Liu Kun had already hired professionals to manage the Farmer Welfare Company while he himself, sick and tired of the hardship, had returned to Jingcheng. At this moment, when Nie Zhenbang called him, Liu Kun thought something had gone wrong with the Farmer Welfare Company.

Nie Zhenbang began to laugh, “What could possibly go wrong with the Farmer Welfare Company? Do you think your general manager who earns 200,000 a year is just sitting around eating? Is Cash-obsessed in Jingcheng or Xibei? I have something to discuss with him.”

Nie Zhenbang was not one of those old fossils. This time he was going to the provincial capital to raise funds. As a county official, even keeping an appointment with those top brass in the provincial city was uncertain, let alone asking for money. He believed in leveraging his strengths, a principle he had always followed. Rather than aimlessly scrambling around like a headless fly, he would rather contact a familiar person directly. Along with Qian Jin and Li Yunfan, he was confident about his trip to the provincial city.

Liu Kun was stunned for a moment, then said, “Cash-obsessed happens to be in Urumqi. I’ll tell him to call you.”

Nie Zhenbang’s car had just entered Urumqi when he received another call from Qian Jin. As soon as he answered, Qian Jin said, “Brother, have you arrived? I have already prepared the banquet for you. I will also introduce you to some friends. Brother, I hope you don’t mind, these guys will be truly indispensable for this task.”

Qian Jin was aware of Nie Zhenbang’s background. He said this because he was worried that Nie Zhenbang might object. At this point, Nie Zhenbang also chuckled, “Cash-obsessed, just arrange everything as you see fit. As for my identity, just pretend you don’t know anything about it—just say I’m a friend you know from Lixian.”

The Golden Sand Hotel in Urumqi was a newly opened establishment and the first starred hotel in the city’s history.

At the 8th Private Room of the hotel, a couple of young men looked irritated while staring at Qian Jin. One of them said somewhat indignantly, “I say, Cash-obsessed, what exactly are you up to today? You called us all together so early just to wait for a county official. Isn’t that an insult?”

The young man’s words made Qian Jin’s face flush. That man was Cao Zhuangzhi, the son of Cao Yangming, the standing vice-chairman of the autonomous region. Although Cao Yangming would never get promoted to regional chairman in his lifetime—he was a Han Chinese who, due to the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law, either has to switch to the party committee or get transferred to another province—he could never hold the core position within the Xibei Autonomous Region. Nevertheless, his name carried a certain weight in Xibei province.

Even though it was clear that Qian Jin’s father was vying for Jiang Zhenquan’s position. However, it was far from a done deal and Cao Zhuangzhi didn’t particularly respect Qian Jin.

Just as Qian Jin was about to lose his temper, the door to the private room was pushed open. Nie Zhenbang strolled in, brightly smiling, “I’m sorry for keeping you all waiting. I was delayed on the way.”

At this moment, Cao Zhuangzhi, who had been on the verge of exploding, hesitated and held himself back; after all, Qian Jin was a prominent figure within Xibei’s bureaucratic circle. More importantly, Qian Jin’s reputation in Jingcheng vastly outstripped everyone present, and this was what they were really uneasy about.

Qian Jin also broke out in laughter at this point, and stood up to say, “My elder brother is here. Let me introduce you to him. This is Cao Zhuangzhi, the son of Cao Yangming, the Executive Deputy Chairman of the Autonomous Region. The scholarly-looking young guy next to him, wearing glasses, is the son of Luo Yimin, the Director of the Department of Transport, Luo Hao. This one is Guo Chang, the son of Guo Chunhai, the Executive Deputy Director of the Financial Department.”

After introducing these people, Qian Jin became very solemn and formal and then introduced: “Let me formally introduce you, this is Nie Zhenbang, the Director of Lixian, Bazhou City, and my sworn brother. He is the third child in his family, so I call him ‘Third Brother.’ He’s come to the provincial capital to fundraise for our rural areas. You guys always keep your word, so please give as much assistance as you can.”

Qian Jin’s words were very tactful. He explained their relationship, yet withheld too much information about Nie Zhenbang. Although everyone was questioning why Qian Jin would humble himself to befriend a common county level official like Nie Zhenbang.

Firstly, Guo Chang stood up, as his name implied. Guo Chang who seemed to be in his twenties, but had an elegant demeanor, extended his hand, “Third Brother, since you are Jin’s elder brother, you are my elder brother too. Please sit and feel free to tell us what’s the matter. If there’s anything we can do to help, we will not hesitate.”

Guo Chang was indeed a people person, but Nie Zhenbang’s manner and aura were clearly not possessed by the average county-level cadre. Seeing all these people and maintaining his cool, he was surely not a typical county-level cadre, who would usually be eager to come and ingratiate themselves.

Nie Zhenbang also said with a smile, “Brothers, thank you. I certainly need your help this time. I’m really here to fundraise for our Lixian. We are not well off in our small place, we have no rice to cook.”

Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Cao Zhuangzhi sneered, “So it’s none other than the famous Director Nie. Isn’t Lixian flourishing now? Isn’t it a model county in our Xibei Autonomous Region? How come, Director Nie is also coming to the provincial capital to seek assistance?”

Cao Zhuangzhi was familiar with Nie Zhenbang’s reputation. His father disapproved of Nie Zhenbang, seeing him as someone who merely existed because of connections. Furthermore, on the matter of reform and opening up, Cao Yangming’s attitude has always been conservative.

Consequently, Cao Zhuangzhi’s attitude towards Nie Zhenbang was far from positive. At the sound of Cao Zhuangzhi’s words, Qian Jin’s face changed, and he rose to his feet. To insult Nie Zhenbang in his face was a blatant disregard for his standing. Knowing Nie Zhenbang’s background and status, Qian Jin would have been displeased even had it been an ordinary person, let alone Nie Zhenbang.

“Cao Zhuangzhi, what the fuck are you implying? If you have any issues, voice it out directly. Don’t beat around the bush. If you have a problem with me, then say it.” With Liu Kun’s background and compared to Nie Zhenbang, Cao Zhuangzhi was nothing. Of course, Qian Jin knew whom to prioritize. If Nie Zhenbang was insulted, he would lose face too.

Having heard Qian Jin’s words, Cao Zhuangzhi’s face immediately darkened, he promptly stood up and said, “Qian Jin, you got balls. Well, I don’t want to stick around anymore. I want to see what you’ll do to me.”

Speaking, Cao Zhuangzhi snorted coldly and said to Nie Zhenbang, “Director Nie, you’re quite good. Now I know who you are. You’ve come to the provincial capital for sponsorship, right? I’m curious to see how much sponsorship you, Nie Zhenbang, can get. Remember my words, if you can take even a penny of capital from the provincial capital, then it means that I, Cao Zhuangzhi, am worthless. Let’s see what happens in the end.”

Nie Zhenbang was also furious at this moment. Looking at Cao Zhuangzhi, Nie Zhenbang sneered, “So you’re Cao Zhuangzhi. I’m surprised, you’re neither a party-government official, nor the secretary of the regional party committee. What do you count for? Whether I succeed in securing funding or not is my business. You’re welcome to try and stop me. I don’t believe for a second that Xibei is your personal fiefdom.”

PS: The third update is late. I’m not feeling well, it’s hard to write. Please vote, I need the encouragement (to be continued). If you like this work, please cast your recommendation vote or monthly ticket on Qidian.com. Your support is the best encouragement for me.