Chapter 387: Chapter 375 Vice Governor Tian Doesn’t Give Face_2
Fan Changsheng’s words were blunt, but they were also very pertinent. These considerations were essential within the system. Though some of these aspects may not have been necessary, they were still required in practice, and it was related to certain tacit rules. Without such measures, leaders would inevitably feel slighted, and even the slightest hitch could put Liangxi City Committee on the defensive.

At this point, Fan Changsheng held up a third finger. Everyone could tell that Fan was about to deliver a third supplementary opinion.

Sure enough, after a brief pause, Fan Changsheng continued: “The last addition is regarding the welcoming and propaganda for Deputy Governor Tian.”

Seeing that others were surprised, Fan Changsheng sneered inwardly. Presently, he was likely the only one in the Liangxi City Committee’s standing committee to know the real reason for Tian Xujian’s visit. Hence, Fan Changsheng thought to take this opportunity to suppress Nie Zhenbang, and magnify the impact of Tian Xujian’s visit.

After a pause, Fan Changsheng explained: “Regarding the welcome, I suggest that Mayor Nie and I personally welcome him, and the entire city committee should be present at the boundary of Liangxi City for the reception. The city’s traffic police and public security officers all need to be present from the Hujiang Expressway exit to the city committee. The total distance is ten kilometers, averaging forty police officers per kilometer with a total of four hundred officers. In addition, temporary traffic controls need to be implemented at all intersections. It’s necessary to ensure smooth transport for the Deputy Governor’s convoy.”

This proposal seemed a bit overdone to Nie Zhenbang. He fundamentally disapproved of such pompous arrangements. If it was a visit from national leaders, he would’ve been fine with it. But this was just a deputy governor. Wasn’t this squandering resources? Glancing at the other standing committee members, including cadre members like Zhao Xintian, Nie Zhenbang was discouraged to find their indifference. Changing such a mindset wasn’t going to happen overnight. For now, refraining from responding seemed to be the most astute option.

This plan immediately received approbation from the other standing committee members, ensuring adequate face-saving for the Deputy Governor. One could hope that this would deter him from throwing any tantrums over trivial issues.

Lastly, for the matter of propaganda, Fan Changsheng’s gaze fell on Li Xiaoqin, the minister of the City Committee Propaganda Department. As the only female standing committee member, Li Xiaoqin was highly capable, having earned her stripes as an ‘Iron Lady’ during her tenure at small city-county levels.

Then, Fan Changsheng addressed her directly: “On the media front, the City Broadcasting and Television Bureau, the Liangxi Daily News Agency, and other media entities need to be mobilized. They should provide full coverage and timely reports. They can coordinate with the Jiangbei Provincial Television Station and other top-level media to provide in-depth coverage of the Deputy Governor’s itinerary. Minister Li, regarding the Propaganda Department, I have only one request: The Deputy Governor’s inspection needs to be brought to the attention of the city and even the entire province as soon as possible.”

As soon as he finished, Li Xiaoqin stood up and confidently declared: “Please rest assured, Secretary Fan and the City Committee. The Propaganda Department will make every effort to ensure adequate coverage. I will personally lead the way and guarantee a satisfactory completion of our task.”

Witnessing Li Xiaoqin’s assertiveness, Nie Zhenbang was somewhat amused. This woman had indeed earned her place among the top brass. Her flair for sycophancy and work style forced even her male colleagues to admire her.

After the standing committee meeting in the afternoon, the city committee and government issued a directive to the whole city. All high schools, colleges, and universities, as well as elementary and middle schools suspended classes temporarily. All local municipal offices and neighborhood committees went into action. City sanitation vehicles were in constant operation as major cleaning efforts began citywide. The city sanitation workers were assigned specific areas and roadways for cleaning.

Meanwhile, the Public Security Bureau, led by Chen Le, also sprang into action. All police stations across the city were bustling in the afternoon, sending notices to shady figures within their respective jurisdiction to remain on their best behavior during the following days. Otherwise, if anything transpired, they would be on their own.

At the same time, the Liangxi City Public Security Bureau’s Special Police Branch, which was established at the end of the previous year, was assigned its first task after three months of training.

…

Time passed quickly, and a whole night went by. The next morning, before seven, Nie Zhenbang arrived at the city committee and government office.

Today’s weather was fairly good. March usually brought a season of continuous spring rain, but today was a rare sunny day.

At seven-thirty, the fleet of vehicles from the Liangxi City Municipal Party Committee and Government, under the guidance of the traffic police from the City Public Security Bureau, departed from Liangxi City in a grand downtrend.

At eight-thirty in the morning, on the edge of Liangxi’s city boundary, the vehicle fleet of the Liangxi City Committee’s standing committee, arranged in a row of over a dozen black Audis, parked on the emergency lane of the Hujiang Expressway. Each end of the fleet was marked by stationed police cars, their strobe lights flickering with warning yellow lights that brightened and dimmed intermittently. Further behind the fleet, at a distance of a hundred meters, triangular warning signs were intentionally set up.

Around eight fifty, leading members of the City Committee like Fan Changsheng and Nie Zhenbang had all gathered at the side of the road. Fan Changsheng checked his watch and then said, “The Provincial Governor, Tian Xujian, set off after seven – he should have been here by now, but there’s no sign of him yet.”

Just as he finished speaking, Hu Youquan, the City Committee’s secretary-general pointed towards the distance and gleefully announced, “Secretary Fan, here they come.”

Looking where he pointed, about a mile away from their location, a police car was leading the way in front, with a black Audi A6 trailing just behind it and advancing in their direction.

At this moment, in the car bearing the military police license plate of the Jiangbei Province Security Zone, a man in his thirties seated in the front passenger seat turned his body and said to an older man in his early fifties seated in the back, “Governor, the boundary of Liangxi City is just up ahead, the people from Liangxi City are already waiting by the side.”

Upon hearing Secretary Cao Yiqing’s words, Tian Xujian, who had previously shut his eyes, opened them and looked ahead and then said, “Yiqing, let Secretary Shi know to stop the car.”

A mile’s distance, even when driving at a slower speed, didn’t take more than two minutes to cover. Upon entering the boundary of Liangxi City, the patrol car from Jiangzhou City handed over the escort duties to their counterparts from Liangxi and then turned around at the next exit to return to Jiangzhou City.

At this moment, Tian Xujian’s exclusive vehicle also slowly parked at the roadside. As the car door opened, Secretary Cao Yiqing got off first to help Tian Xujian open his door. As Tian Xujian exited, Fan Changsheng and Nie Zhenbang came forward, while the standing committee of the Liangxi City Committee also stepped foward to welcome him.

Secretary Fan Changsheng smiled and said, “Governor Tian, welcome!”

Hearing Fan Changsheng’s words, Tian Xujian also showed a smile on his face and warmly shook hands, “Secretary Fan, you are being too polite. This is such a grand reception, it leaves me feeling undeserving.”

Next to them, Nie Zhenbang, having his first encounter with Tian Xujian, was behaving with appropriate etiquette. He extended his hand, smiled, and said, “We welcome Governor Tian’s inspection and guidance of our city.”

However, what Nie Zhenbang did not anticipate was that at this moment, Tian Xujian would overtly dismiss the gesture. With a detached nod but no handshake, Tian Xujian moved his hands behind himself and said slowly, “Secretary Fan, it’s not good that we are occupying an entire lane. Besides it’s dangerous. Let’s head to the City Committee Office. Secretary Fan, join me in my car.”

Having said this, Tian Xujian warmly seated Fan Changsheng in the car. As it slowly began to move, no one dared to contend for Tian Xujian’s seat.

Nie Zhenbang was left standing dumbstruck. Tian Xujian’s outright dismissiveness was completely unexpected. Among the standing members present, the expressions varied. Li Guohua, Hu Youquan, Huang Junshan and others bore expressions of glee at Nie Zhenbang’s unfortunate event while Zhao Xintian and Lei Dingguo seemed wrapped up in their thoughts. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com to vote for recommendations and tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)