Chapter 399: Chapter 385: Villagers Blocking the Way_1
“Mayor, the car is ready. On this trip, Secretary General Weijun, Deputy Mayor Zhao, and Deputy Mayor Zhang will accompany you. Additionally, Yanling City has been notified.” In the office, Yi Jun walked in from the next room and began reporting to Nie Zhenbang.

Since the listing of the Textile Group, with Shen Yanshuo’s personal visit and support, the provincial party committee’s endorsement has thoroughly solidified Nie Zhenbang’s standing in Liangxi City. More so, the relationship between him and Fan Changsheng has greatly improved after the People’s Congress. At least in terms of Liangxi City’s economic development, Fan Changsheng would no longer obstruct him. With this reassurance, Nie Zhenbang was content.

To Nie Zhenbang, politics wasn’t just politics. His concept differed from others, such as Li Guohua, where all accomplishments were tied to promotion. In fact, not just Li Guohua, currently in Huaxia Nation, there are countless officials who solely pursue achievements. The memory of the projects causing extreme waste and hardship for the people in his past life probably began to emerge around this period.

However, Nie Zhenbang was different. Although promotion was also something he desired, all of his planning was closely related to local development themes and sustainable development projects. It wasn’t a one-time transaction. Perhaps because of this, explosive growth was displayed in all projects planned and operated by Nie Zhenbang, hence he managed to gain a vast amount of political achievements inadvertently. So Nie Zhenbang became even more resolute in his approach.

This time, the visit to Yanling City was decided a few days ago. After taking office, he had never conducted any inspections or research yet. This time, he chose Yanling City as his first stop due to its special status. In this location, the village economy was highly developed, with numerous villages achieving billions in revenue. It was not uncommon for every village to be wealthy, and every household to be affluent. Because of this, Nie Zhenbang decided to take a look at Yanling City.

“Alright, I’ll be right down.” Nie Zhenbang hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

After neatly arranging some of the economic data regarding Yanling City he had just read, he placed them in the cabinet, exited his office, took the elevator straight down, and walked out. In the lobby, Zhao Xintian, Zhang Keqiang, and Liu Weijun were waiting downstairs, huddled together whispering in conversation.

Upon seeing Nie Zhenbang approaching, Liu Weijun jogged over and reported, “Mayor, the car is ready. The city public security bureau has arranged for a lead vehicle to wait outside. Do you need anything else arranged?”

Nie Zhenbang chuckled coldly. Ever since he was smoothly elected and Shen Yanshuo paid a personal visit to Liangxi City to express his support, the attitudes of the city’s officials had changed. Among them, the biggest change was Liu Weijun.

In the past, although Liu Weijun was somewhat terrified of him and always diligently finished his work, he wasn’t like this. Now, to put it in a derogatory manner, Liu Weijun’s performances are just like that of a servant.

As for Liu Weijun’s transformation, Nie Zhenbang understood it. The Secretary-General of the Municipal Government might seem like an appealing position, being the closest to the mayor. But that’s only the case if they are close to the mayor. Now, as long as Nie Zhenbang was willing, he could find an excuse to assign Liu Weijun to another position at any time. After all, although this position seemed ordinary, it was an extremely critical post. Naturally, Nie Zhenbang wanted to place his most trusted person in it.

“There’s no need for the lead vehicle from the city public security bureau. The journey is not long this time, there’s no need to make it so formal. Plus, the police car leading and causing blockages along the way, I always feel somewhat alienated from the masses. That’s not good. Tell the lead vehicle to go back.” After pondering a while, Nie Zhenbang said indifferently.

These words made Liu Weijun’s face somewhat embarrassed. At that moment, Liu Weijun knew clearly that Nie Zhenbang was reminding him indirectly. As for this, Liu Weijun had seen the light. Compared to Yi Jun, he had no chance at all. Now, Liu Weijun didn’t have any other thoughts. As long as he could please Nie Zhenbang and secure a better position for himself with actual authority, that would be the key point.

Immediately, however, Liu Weijun showed an open-minded accepting expression on the surface, nodding and laughing, “Yes, yes, the mayor is right in criticizing me. Our party has always emphasized the relationship between the party and the masses, the cadre and the masses. We, as party members and cadres, should be close to the masses and not alienate ourselves from them. In the future, I will strengthen my learning.”

Such a reminder, occasionally once, is enough. If it’s constant, it might actually make people think he is petty once it gets out.

Then, Nie Zhenbang wore a smile on his face, patted Liu Weijun’s shoulder and said, “Secretary General Liu, being humble and eager to learn, that’s a good mindset. I believe, no matter which position you are in, you will have good development in the future. It’s getting late. Old Zhao, Old Zhang, let’s get going.”

The group exited the office building of the municipal party committee and the municipal government. At the entrance, each person’s official vehicle and driver were well prepared. Secretaries also have opened the vehicle doors ready, usually, leaders also compete among themselves, at such times, the secretaries also compete, in quick wits and abilities.

However, none of these secretaries were new, all were veterans of many years, their movements were nimble. When they saw Nie Zhenbang and the others coming out, they had already returned to their respective vehicles fully prepared. Although it can’t be said that their movements were uniform but they were, at least, synchronized.

After the leaders got into their vehicles, they quickly jogged around to the passenger side. At this point, the vehicles slowly started and drove out of the municipal party committee and municipal government gate.

At this moment, in a tenth floor office of the city government office building, Li Guohua leaned against the window, his face gloomy as he watched Nie Zhenbang lead his entourage away, and slowly lowered the curtains.

“Mayor, this time Nie Zhenbang is going down. I’m afraid, who knows what kind of grievances the guy from Yanling City will cause?” Beside him, Li Guohua’s secretary, Huang Bao, started speaking with a smile.

Hearing Huang Bao’s words, Li Guohua said solemnly, “Xiaohuang, some things should be said, others should not. Whether he will suffer grievance or not, we don’t need to concern ourselves with it. Focus on doing your own job.”

Listening to Li Guohua’s words, Huang Bao lowered his head and stuck out his tongue in secret. Given his boss’s recent foul mood, it might be smart to steer clear of any provocation.

…

The motorcade slowly left Liangxi City. Yanling City lay fifty-seven kilometers from Liangxi City. Its convenient transportation, developed water transport system, and proximity to Hucheng City, the economic center of Huaxia, marked it as a blessed environment. As a result, Yanling City’s economy prospered, with its village economy becoming famous nationwide. The city was comprised of sixteen towns and villages, many of which were nationally renowned. Yanling City was also the most economically developed among Liangxi City’s county-level cities.

A four-lane expressway connected Yanling City and Liangxi City. The motorcade turned on their double-yellow warning lights and headed east towards Yanling City.

At that moment, Nie Zhenbang’s car led the way. As he looked out at the scenery, he said slowly: “Xiaoyi, you are the Deputy Secretary-General of the Office of the Municipal Government. You should assist more frequently and get to know and examine some of the younger colleagues in the Secretariat. Your role as Deputy Secretary-General isn’t simply an honorary title.”

These words filled Yi Jun with joy. He had a clear understanding of Nie Zhenbang’s character, and the meaning was quite obvious. Perhaps, he was about to transition from the Deputy Secretary-General to the Secretary-General. This may seem like a simple change of a word, but the roles and treatment were worlds apart. Many people had spent their entire lives stuck at the level of division chief or deputy chief of a bureau. Now, at the age of thirty, he had the chance to cross that daunting threshold, which was a great cause for celebration.

Thereupon, Yi Jun nodded gravely and said, “Mr. Mayor, your criticism is apt. In the future, I will spend more time fulfilling my duties in the office of the Municipal Government.”

As his words died down, the vehicle suddenly slowed. The driver, Yang Qingshan, swiveled his head around and said, “Mayor, there’s a roadblock up ahead made from tree branches.”

A roadblock? This caught Nie Zhenbang by surprise, causing him to sit up straight and look out the front windshield. About ten meters in front, a few dead trees completely blocked the two lanes. A few dozen villagers were standing by the side of the road, their eyes fixed on Nie Zhenbang’s side of the road.

This development immediately alerted everyone in the convoy. The first to exit a vehicle was Liu Weijun, the Secretary of the Municipal Government. At this moment, his forehead was damp with sweat; Nie Zhenbang’s first country visit had been met with such an event. He could not even bear to think about what might happen next. Plus, judging from the situation, no other cars were blocked, and their eyes were all on Nie Zhenbang’s side. It was clear that this was targeted at the Mayor.

Liu Weijun had organized Nie Zhenbang’s trip, which meant that even the common people had control over the mayor’s itinerary. Was this not to say that he, as the Secretary of the Municipal Government, was useless?

Approaching Nie Zhenbang’s car, Liu Weijun’s face portrayed slight embarrassment as he said, “Mr. Mayor, please wait here for a moment while I go and assess the situation.”

“No need for that, Old Liu. Seeing their expressions, it’s clear they’re waiting for us. Let’s both go and see what’s happening.” Nie Zhenbang then opened his car door and stepped out.

At this time, Zhao Xintian and Zhang Keqiang also got out of the car. The villagers standing by the road also started to walk towards them. As soon as they saw Nie Zhenbang, the leading man took out a document from his pocket, fell to his knees with a thud, and pleaded loudly, “Mayor Nie, you must be the voice for the thousands of villagers in Gaojia Town.”

Nie Zhenbang was startled by this man’s actions and immediately went over to help him up. His face turned serious. The Liangyan Highway was a particularly busy road. In just a few minutes, quite a few cars had already gathered behind them.

Looking at the expectant crowd nearby, Nie Zhenbang said solemnly, “Villagers, if there’s a problem, we can discuss it clearly. Blocking the road is not the right approach. Hurry up and remove the roadblock to allow the traffic to pass. Two representatives from your group should come and tell us what exactly is the matter? What happened in Gaojia Town?”

From what Nie Zhenbang could recall, Gaojia Town was under the jurisdiction of Xishan District and located adjacent to the Liangxi City High-tech Development Zone. In the city government’s plans, it would become a development zone and hence was a part of the area slated for land acquisition and demolition. The economy of Gaojia Town was thriving because of its proximity to the development zone, so poverty was unlikely.

Nie Zhenbang was puzzled about this matter. Beside him, Zhao Xintian also asked, “Villagers, what exactly is going on? If you don’t tell us, how can the Mayor solve your problem?”

Soon, the villagers consulted with each other, and a middle-aged man who had initially led the charge, along with a man in his fifties, were selected to be the representatives.

The two men stood beside Nie Zhenbang, and the middle-aged man began, “Mr. Mayor, we really have no other choice. In these recent years, the chemical factories and pharmaceutical plants in the development zone have caused immense suffering to the residents around Leangxi River in our Gaojia Town.”

The mention of the factories in the development zone made Nie Zhenbang tense. It seemed that the situation was not as simple as he first thought. (To be continued. If you like this piece, please support us at qidian.com by casting your recommendation votes or monthly tickets. Your support is our greatest motivation.)