Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 492: 452: The Unexpected Visitor_1

Chapter 492: Chapter 452: The Unexpected Visitor_1
 

Upon hearing Shao Daheng’s words, Nie Zhenbang also revealed a smile, turning his gaze to the nearby Li Chao, deserving to be Donggang’s richest man whose actions were extraordinary, at this moment, unilaterally making decisions for Tenglong by investing twenty-five billion. Such magnanimity was truly extraordinary. However, Nie Zhenbang didn’t care, being part of the Cinema City project was rather appealing to him.

With this verbal agreement settled, both the Liangxi City Government and the staff brought by Li Chao, King of Chartering, and Shao Daheng got busy. They had to find a site for the project, sign the specific agreement, wait for representative from the mysterious Tenglong Group to arrive, and so on. These trivial matters all needed to be handled.

That afternoon, inside the signing hall of the Liangxi International Convention and Exhibition Center, over a hundred media outlets gathered. Nie Zhenbang and Shao Daheng, representing the investors and the government, signed a memorandum for the project, signifying that both parties had reached a preliminary agreement.

A ten billion investment was not the largest sum at the Eastern Development Forum. For instance, the investment agreement signed between Huaxia Petrochemical and the Ludong Provincial Government exceeded this sum, similarly, Li Estate’s investment in the Lu-Hu Expressway was far beyond this figure.

However, those investments were either scattered across the whole of Ludong Province, or they were for infrastructure construction that involved three provinces and cities. Compared to Liangxi City’s ten billion investment, which was all concentrated here, nothing was as startling as this cooperation in Liangxi City.

The next day, at the Eastern Development Forum, officials from the five eastern provinces and the Donggang Special Administrative Government convened a seminar in the multifunctional conference hall on the second floor of the Convention Center with the theme “Development•Opportunity•Strategy•Win-Win”. After exchanging views on some of the obstacles faced during the process of reform and economic development, and issues encountered in the reform of state-owned enterprises, the second Eastern Development Forum was officially scheduled to take place this time next year in Hucheng City.

On the third day, with the five-day exhibition already at its halfway point, many enterprises and various local governments had also deepened their understanding and communication. This day marked the outbreak of contract signing. The signing hall on the first floor was almost filled with signing activities. By the end of the day, the Forum had reached a peak in the amount of signed contracts, with a total of 125 projects successfully signed. These projects involved industries such as chemical engineering, construction, metallurgy, biopharmaceuticals, tourism, urban infrastructure construction, and real estate. They were spread across the five eastern provinces and the Donggang Special Administrative Region. The total amount of signed contracts reached 1.3 trillion, averaging ten billion per project.

On the fourth day, even though the signing fever had subsided, nearly eighty projects were signed with a total amount of four hundred billion.

By this stage, it was safe to say that the leaders of various local governments who participated in the exhibition were all beaming with joy. They had never expected such huge rewards. The funds brought home equated to enormous political achievements.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang was also busy in his office. There was only one day left. In the evening, the closing ceremony of the Eastern Development Forum would be held. As the host, although supervised by the Provincial Committee, many tasks and details still had to be handled by Liangxi City, as the Provincial Committee and the Provincial Government were in charge of the big picture.

At this point, Huang Xuyang suddenly walked in from outside. Without lifting his head, Nie Zhenbang said, “Xuyang, didn’t I tell you? Don’t bother me unless it’s something urgent.”

However, Huang Xuyang quietly said, “Mayor, Director Su is here.”

These words made Nie Zhenbang look up; within his circle, Su was only used to refer to one person, Ning Shouchang’s secretary, Su Jinguo.

Following this, Nie Zhenbang also put down his work at hand and stood up. Although Su Jinguo’s position wasn’t high-ranking, Su Jinguo was the governor’s right-hand man and, according to an age-old convention, he couldn’t be dismissed lightly.

At this moment, Su Jinguo walked in from outside the door, looked at Nie Zhenbang and smiled, saying, “Mayor Nie, it’s important to balance work with rest. Proper rest is necessary, don’t think you can handle it because you are young. When you get old, health problems could pop up.”

Nie Zhenbang also laughed, “Su, stop pulling my leg, it’s just this time. The Eastern Development Forum held in Liangxi City is both a blessing and a curse for me. Once this period is over, everything will be easier. Su, have you come specifically for something important this time?”

When it came down to business, Su Jinguo’s expression turned serious and he said softly, “Zhenbang, you’ve got yourself into trouble this time. Secretary Shen’s move was aboveboard. It’s a trap that you have to jump into even if you know it’s there. Now, put down the work in your hand first, the governor wants to see you.”

After Vice Chairman Shen and others left, Governor Shou Chang moved into the number one courtyard of the small embassy. Following Vice Chairman Shen’s departure, Shen Yanshuo also returned to Jiangzhou and would only come back for the closing ceremony tomorrow.

However, after following Su Jinguo out the door and getting in the car, Nie Zhenbang realized something was amiss. The route to the City Committee guest house should have taken them straight past the front of the City Committee and City Government Office building, and it was less than three hundred meters up the street. But the car made a right turn and started moving straight ahead.

“Brother Su, where are we going? Isn’t the governor at the City Committee guest house?” Nie Zhenbang asked with confusion.

At the moment, Su Jinguo had an amused smile on his face. He responded: “Zhenbang, it’s best not to concern yourself with too many things, just come with me.”

In the back of Liangjiang Pedestrian Street, they stopped in front of a teahouse styled in traditional Chinese decor. The teahouse was located in a quiet area, with few people lingering around. Led by Su Jinguo, Nie Zhenbang went straight up to a private room on the second floor.

Upon entering, Nie Zhenbang was stunned. Besides Governor Shou Chang, Qiao Yiren, the deputy secretary of the Minan Province Committee who was leading the delegation this time, was seated across from him. The two were occasionally exchanging whispers.

Nie Zhenbang was familiar with Qiao Yiren. The image of Qiao Yiren’s background came to mind. The Qiao family was a significant political clan in Jingcheng. While it was better not to mention old Mr. Qiao, Qiao Yiren himself held great significance as he was a potential future leader.

Indeed, Qiao Yiren’s experiences were worthy of his learning. Qiao Yiren had come up diligently from the ground level, from being a county head. What made him even more exceptional was he remained humble and nondescript, even up to now. His dealings were incredibly unassuming. This was something he needed to learn from.

He still lacked some finesse and flexibility in his work. In handling some matters, his tactics had been too naive.

Adjusting his initial shock, Nie Zhenbang immediately said: “Governor. Uncle Qiao.”

His statement left Governor Shou Chang stunned. Did Qiao Yiren also have connections with Nie Zhenbang? No wonder even someone of Shou Chang’s status did not know this. Qiao Yiren kept a low profile and never said much about his family background. Over the years, along with the Qiao family purposefully keeping a low profile, very few truly knew about Qiao Yiren’s identity. This was kept mostly within certain families in Jingcheng. As Governor Shou Chang had originally been a commoner and only recently aligned with the Nie family, it was understandable he didn’t know.

Seeing Shou Chang’s astonished look, Qiao Yiren smiled and explained: “Governor Shou Chang, Zhenbang’s father and I were classmates. Hence, Zhenbang calls me uncle.”

Shou Chang didn’t quite believe this claim, but being clever, he wasn’t going to get hung up on this issue. He turned to Nie Zhenbang and said with a smile, “Zhenbang, this time, it’s essentially Vice Secretary Qiao who’s looking for you. I’m merely acting as an intermediary. I have some things to attend to on my side. Since you two already know each other, you can continue chatting. I’ll take my leave first.”

Shou Chang’s response made Nie Zhenbang think. It seemed the main person seeking him out this time was Qiao Yiren. But, the Qiao and Nie families had been neither close nor distant in the past. What did Qiao Yiren want from him? Was it about the WangHai matter?

While deep in thought, Qiao Yiren said with a smile, “Zhenbang, your actions against the Li family this time were rather impulsive and reckless. And now, you’ve gotten yourself caught up in it.”

Upon hearing this, Nie Zhenbang furrowed his brows, replying in a deep voice, “Uncle Qiao, in life, there are some things one should do and some things one should avoid doing. We can’t just consider our own interests and prospects. People like Li Guohua are only more dangerous the more power they have. I’m not being self-righteous. If given another chance to make this decision, I think I would still choose to do it.”

These words made Qiao Yiren feel rather satisfied. When he came here, Qiao Yiren had his own considerations. He had once served as the deputy mayor of WangHai and knew the situation there clearly. It was a far-reaching setup with a vast network of relationships involved. Even some leaders from the Minnan Provincial Committee Standing Committee were implicated. This was why Qiao Yiren had been considering it.

Conveniently, Nie Zhenbang was now in his sights. After researching and investigating his previous experiences, Qiao Yiren found Nie Zhenbang to be principled. Most importantly, Zhenbang handled matters with great experience. Generally, he either didn’t take action or when he did, it will be an ironclad case. Plus, his two-year stint in the discipline inspection commission made Qiao Yiren very satisfied.

Looking at Nie Zhenbang, Qiao Yiren calmly asked, “Zhenbang, if you were to take up a position in WangHai, what would be your thoughts?”