Chapter 392: Chapter 379 Governor presides _2
These words were official terms, cliches. Despite the verbosity and the appeals to the higher Party Central Committee and the State Council, Ning Shouchang harboured only one aim. To inform everyone that Nie Zhenbang must be elected. Otherwise, it would be defying the will of the state and disregarding the command of the Party.

Pausing for a moment, Ning Shouchang again said: “Comrade Nie Zhenbang, who has successively served as the deputy mayor, mayor, and municipal party secretary of Northwest Xinli City, has achieved remarkable results in economic construction and development. Xinli City is now a star city in the country. Its total industrial output value last year almost caught up with our Liangxi City. This shows Mayor Nie’s capabilities. This time, the central government has arranged for Comrade Nie Zhenbang to come to our Liangxi City. This fully demonstrates the upper-level’s emphasis on our Jiangbei Province, and on Liangxi City. I believe that all of you are cadres who consider the overall situation and are politically minded. How to vote, all of you should have a clear idea. We must follow the opinions of the higher organization. We need to satisfactorily and smoothly complete the election work in Liangxi City.”

This was quite blunt. Amidst a sea of pointless official jargon, only the last sentence was key – Nie Zhenbang was a mayoral candidate, and if he was not elected, the meeting would be considered as a failure.

After speaking, Ning Shouchang’s gaze fell on Fan Changsheng. At this moment, Fan Changsheng also felt the pressure from Ning Shouchang. Fan Changsheng understood that at this point in time, as the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, he was expected to state his position.

However, Fan Changsheng didn’t have much thought on the matter of Nie Zhenbang being elected. He and Shen Yanshuo had discussed the matter explicitly. This time, Nie Zhenbang’s election was not merely the will of a certain faction but the intention of Secretary General Yuan, Premier Yun, and the Central Committee. If they rejected it, it would be a direct defiance of the Central Committee, something Shen Yanshuo would certainly not attempt.

Therefore, at this moment, Fan Changsheng calmly responded, “Please rest assured, Provincial Committee and Governor Ning. Representatives from the whole city of Liangxi, are capable of considering the bigger picture. We will definitely respect the people’s opinions, follow the guidance of the higher-level, and choose an excellent leader for Liangxi City.”

After Fan Changsheng finished speaking, the others started to express their opinions, insisting that they firmly supported the views of the higher-level leadership. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang appeared very calm as there was no suspense over his election.

However, at this time, Nie Zhenbang noticed that Li Guohua looked very upset. The fleeting harshness in his eyes made Nie Zhenbang wonder – had Li Guohua been scheming behind his back?

Upon this thought, Nie Zhenbang was not worried. On the contrary, he had an attitude of watching a good show. If Li Guohua was really causing trouble this time, not only would Fan Changsheng be placed in a passive position, even Shen Yanshuo would be implicated – this was tantamount to self-destruction. Afterwards, there would definitely be a rift between Fan Changsheng and Li Guohua. If Li Guohua was really doing such things, he would be shooting himself in the foot.

Seeing this, Ning Shouchang nodded in satisfaction and said, “Comrade Changsheng’s statement is very good. It fully demonstrates the unity of the municipal party committee team of Liangxi City. As the team leader, you deserve this credit. Speaking of which, I’m feeling quite hungry. Let’s all go eat together. I’m afraid it will be at your expense this time.”

When Ning Shouchang spoke, the others naturally echoed him. Up front was Ning Shouchang, followed by Jin Guoyong, the Secretary-General of the Provincial Government. After that were the members of the Liangxi Municipal Party Committee. Everyone took their positions spontaneously. Within the system, these things weren’t deliberately arranged. Everyone knew their place and where they should be. No one would go wrong.

The group proceeded to the Liangxi City Grand Hotel. The Liangxi Grand Hotel, like the Municipal Committee’s small reception, was part of the property portfolio of the Municipal Committee Reception Office under the Municipal Committee Office. The Liangxi Grand Hotel was previously known as the Liangxi Hotel.

After the economic reform and opening up, with the economic development of Liangxi City, to adapt to the new era, more than 300 million was invested to build this 26-story building based on the Liangxi Hotel, making it the Liangxi Grand Hotel. Although it is a four-star hotel, the small reception of the Municipal Committee was retained.

This time, the Liangxi Grand Hotel was also the designated reception unit. Inside the Chinese-style room on the fourth floor of the Liangxi Grand Hotel. The huge round table can accommodate up to twenty people.

Ning Shouchang sat in the main seat, Jin Guoyong, the Secretary-General of the Provincial Government who accompanied him, was to his left. Fan Changsheng, the Secretary of the Liangxi Municipal Party Committee, was to his right, and Nie Zhenbang was sitting next to Jin Guoyong. The other leaders of the Municipal Party Committee took their seats according to their respective positions.

Today, Ning Shouchang was in a good mood, always smiling. Various dishes were successively brought to the table. The main course still held the local cuisine of Jiangbei at its heart, paired with some seafood products. Freshness and variety were well balanced. There were also Cantonese dishes and some spicy Sichuan and Hunan cuisines. Although it was a mix of everything, it was very characteristic and carefully crafted.

As everyone entered, eight waiters who had been stationed there to serve promptly began serving the dishes. Within two minutes, all the dishes were served, and the servers brought up glasses of white wine.

The wine was Maotai, the national liquor and a regular at such events. The drinking vessel was a small one-ounce cup. Given the drinking capacities of those present, a cup of wine was practically the same as not drinking at all.

At this moment, Ning Shouchang raised his glass, scanned the room, and said with a slight smile, “We have important work this afternoon, let’s just have a token amount of alcohol. Let’s all drink a glass together. After the election ends successfully in the evening, we can drink more. At noon, we’ll just have this one glass.”

With Ning Shouchang’s words, the others naturally wouldn’t refute anything. They all stood up and raised their glasses. Ning Shouchang, who was originally sitting down, also stood up, put a mild pressure on his hand and said, “Sit down, sit down and drink. I’m someone who doesn’t like these formalities. If everyone is so polite, I’ll feel uneasy.”

His words made everyone laugh. The reputation of Governor Ning being approachable was indeed well-founded. After a glass of wine, everyone started eating. Because there was no drinking, the meal was finished quickly. After less than half an hour of rest at the Municipal Party Committee’s hall, it was already two o’clock. The afternoon meeting was about to begin. (To be continued. If you like this work, I invite you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote, give monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)