abcnovels
Chapter 72 - 72: Return to the South China Sea 1
Chapter 72 - 72: Return to the South China Sea 1
Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Return to the South China Sea 1
Translator: 549690339
The “Four Nine City” is now generally referred to as the urban area of
Jingcheng. However, at this moment, everyone knew that the Four Nine City
Nie Zhenbang referred to was the circumference around the wall of the
Forbidden City. Nevertheless, even so, the distance was enough for Nie Zhenbang to bear. Then, Zhou Chen finalized the decision: “Fine, I’ll take the bet. But, let’s get things straight first. You can only secure these weapons yourself. Don’t pull any strings. If you do, it would be a mess. I too will sell it for you.”
Nie Zhenbang was taken aback, then agreed, “Okay, let’s do it your way.”
After having dinner with Yang Anbang and others, Nie Zhenbang returned to the red-walled compound. At this moment, there weren’t many people at home. Nie Guodong and his wife and Nie Jiamin had gone to the Northwest. His father and stepmother were in the South China Sea.
Nie Zhenbang greeted the old lady, who was very warm. The youngest son and eldest grandson were the apple of the elderly lady’s eyes. In the past, the old lady was somewhat hesitant out of concern for her husband’s feelings. But in this lifetime, the old lady has thoroughly expressed her love for her eldest grandson.
After chatting with the old lady for a while, noticing she was getting tired, Nie Zhenbang stood up. In his previous life, as family changes took place, the old lady had pent up sadness and died this year. Afterwards, his grandfather was incredibly grief-stricken, resigning from all his positions. From then on, the Nie family’s fortunes plummeted, sinking into the second-tier families of Jingcheng following the defeat of the conservative faction a year later.
At this moment, seeing that the old lady was still alive, although her health wasn’t great, her mood was good. There was always a health care doctor accompanying her, so living for another two years didn’t seem to be an issue. Nie Zhenbang also sighed incessantly. Then, he said to the old lady,
“Grandmother, you should rest. I’ll be heading to the South China Sea soon.”
The so-called blood bond is a kind of familial love. However, there are not only this kind in the world. In his previous life, Nie Zhenbang had a tragic personal experience. Coupled with the decline of the Nie family, his relatives were all in low spirits. His uncle had prejudiced views towards him but confined it to sarcastic remarks and did not go too far. As for Nie Guowei and Ye Shuxian, they fulfilled their responsibilities towards him until their deaths. They may not have been very passionate, but they provided him with food and clothing security. Being so generous to a drunkard who was dead to the world was already considerable.
Therefore, this time, with a fresh start, Nie Zhenbang realized that he didn’t harbor much hatred against the Nie family, which is why he accepted the Nie family so quickly.
The other kind of familial love he spoke of was based on time; like an orphan who was abandoned as a child but was raised by foster parents. Regardless of what happens, even if the orphan’s biological parents come forward, the foster parents are still his parents. This is what feelings are about. A person without feelings cannot be considered a human, but rather a beast.
Siblings are only close if they keep in touch. Without any interaction, even biological parents may not be more familiar.
This was why Nie Zhenbang planned to go to the South China Sea. Two hours later, the plane slowly landed at Baiyun Airport in Yuezhou.
Just as he walked out of the airport exit, a young man aged around twenty-five was holding up a sign at the door. It was written with the five characters “Nie Zhenbang from Jingcheng”.
Nie Zhenbang had already informed his father before coming, as soon as he saw the sign, he knew, this person must have been sent by his father.
Nie Zhenbang then called out to Dalong who was carrying the luggage, “Dalong, let’s go, over here. The person picking us up is there.”
As they approached, the young man greeted him with a smile, “You are Zhenbang, right? Nice to meet you. My name is Li Wang, I am Secretary Nie’s assistant.”
At this moment, Nie Zhenbang also extended a friendly hand and said, “Secretary Li, nice to meet you. Thank you for the trouble. Is my father busy with work? I feel bad that he sent you to pick us up.”
Li Wang was not very tall, about one meter sixty-eight. His hair was very short, making him appear energetic. He had thick lips and a relatively large mouth. With a pair of big eyes, he gave off an impression of sincerity and honesty when he smiled.
Li Wang didn’t have the usual ingratiating demeanor common to secretaries, leading Nie Zhenbang to have a favorable impression of him.
As the Deputy Secretary of the Nanhai Municipal Committee, Nie Guowei also had access to a dedicated vehicle. It was a brand-new Santana. This car, produced by the Volkswagen factory in Hucheng City, was considered the most luxurious sedan in Huaxia Nation.
Seeing this car, Nie Zhenbang thought of Audi. Ever since FAW had cut them out, negotiations between Audi and FAW had quickly come to a conclusion. Since inspecting FAW’s production base, Dr. Hahn, the president of Audi’s side, had personally visited FAW and signed a cooperation agreement to produce the high-end Audi 100 model.
He suspected that within half a year or a year, all official cars throughout Huaxia would be replaced with Audis. He needed to hasten his own pace. Since he had bested them once, he was determined to prevent Audi from gaining a win this time.
From Yuezhou to Nanhai, following National Highway 39. All the way south, at this time, the National Highway 39 was certainly the busiest highway in the entire Huaxia. Traffic was so congested that cars couldn’t speed up. The relatively short distance actually took over two hours to reach the residential district of the Nanhai Municipal Committee.
Nie Guowei’s house was in the Bureau Level Building of the Nanhai Municipal Committee residential district. The so-called Bureau Level Building referred to a similar concept as the General Building in some military district compounds in Jingcheng. Those who were eligible to live here were all bureau-level cadres. As the second-highest-ranking Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee, second only to the Deputy Secretary and the Mayor, Nie Guowei’s residence was a two-story villa with the number three.
Nie Zhenbang couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the number as he stepped out of the car. By this time, Nie Guowei had already returned home.
With the arrival of Nie Zhenbang’s car, Nie Guowei, Ye Shuxian, and Nie Ziyu were all standing at the door. As soon as she saw Nie Zhenbang, Nie Ziyu threw herself at him, excitedly hugging his neck and whining, “Brother, you’re so heartless. How could you bear not to visit me for so long? Bro, I heard that you went abroad. Did you bring me any gifts? I want Barbie dolls. I want chocolates. ”
“Ziyu!” Upon hearing Nie Ziyu’s words, Ye Shuxian scolded her with a stern face.
Nie Zhenbang watched Ye Shuxian and couldn’t help but laugh. He understood Ye Shuxian’s concern. After all, he was not her biological brother. That’s why she feared that he might dislike her. However, Ye Shuxian wouldn’t understand Nie Zhenbang’s way of thinking. During their later life, Nie Ziyu was extremely kind-hearted to him. Although her tone was harsh, it was only out of disappointment. In reality, once Nie Guowei and Ye Shuxian passed away, the responsibility of looking after Nie Zhenbang fell onto Nie Ziyu. Had Nie Ziyu not taken care of him, Nie Zhenbang might have died long ago without any chance of committing suicide.
“Mom, it’s okay. I’m actually very happy that Ziyu is so attached to me. She’s the precious gem of our family.” He then took out a set of Russian nesting dolls from the suitcase Long gave him, and shook them in front of Nie Ziyu and said, “Ziyu, this is a set of Russian dolls from the Soviet Union. Isn’t it better than a Barbie doll?”
However, Nie Ziyu was pouting. She took the Russian dolls and mumbled, “But I prefer Barbie dolls.”
The reunion of the family felt much more harmonious this time around. This was largely due to Ye Shuxian’s deliberate efforts and Nie Zhenbang’s open -minded acceptance.
Upon entering the living room, Long proactively offered to help Li Wang in the kitchen. Nie Guowei then sat down on the sofa and patted the seat next to him, saying, “Sit down. I heard from Grandfather about your trip to the Soviet Union. As long as you returned safely, it’s all good.”
Nie Zhenbang smiled and agreed: “It’s fine, Grandfather introduced me to General Aselev over there. I even visited General Aselev’s house. Peter mentioned you.”
Just as they were about to have dinner, the phone on the table rang. Li Wang quickly picked up the phone, spoke a few words, then covered the mouthpiece and turned to Nie Guowei, saying, “Secretary, Secretary Li called. He asked you to please arrive at the Municipal Committee’s small conference room within the next half an hour, to discuss the issue of the Nanhai Airport construction..”