Chapter 344: Chapter 335 Low-key Action_1
“Mayor, this is your office. Please have a look and see if there is anything that needs to be adjusted. If you dislike this decoration style, I can arrange to have it replaced immediately, even work overtime, it will be done in two days.” In the mayor’s office, a man of about 42 or 43 years old was smiling at Nie Zhenbang.
The man was about 1.75 meters tall, slightly plump, and always seemed to be smiling. This man was Liu Weijun, the Secretary General of the Liangxi City Government.
On the day of the welcome dinner, Secretary General Hu Youquan of the City Party Committee was publicly criticized by the new acting mayor. Nie Zhenbang publicly disregarded the dignity of all city leaders and left. Although there was no public uproar, everyone was discussing Nie Zhenbang privately.
The new mayor is audacious. All the leaders of the city Party Committee, along with all the leaders of Liangxi City, were sidelined by the new mayor, even before he was formally elected. Apart from other factors, everyone had to give thumbs up for his courage, praising Mayor Nie as extraordinary.
Moreover, Nie Zhenbang caught hold of the moral high ground. Over-reception is not uncommon in various places, and is generally not discussed. But Nie Zhenbang seized on this issue and even someone like Fan Changsheng had to keep silent. Anyone sticking their neck out on this issue would be foolish.
Beside Liu Weijun, Nie Zhenbang was expressionless at this moment, with his hands clasped behind his back. Next to him was Yi Jun, his secretary and the Deputy Secretary General of the City Government.
Taking a look at the office, Liangxi City was indeed a bustling city, with Yanling City, under its jurisdiction, being the top county-level city in the country’s economic rankings. Wealthy, economically developed. This is the first impression that Liangxi gives to outsiders.
At this moment, seeing this office confirmed this view. It was worthy of being a commercially developed area. The grandeur of this office alone was incomparable to that of New Li City.
The entire office was about 300 square meters. Outside was a small office cum reception room of about 60 square meters. In the most interior part was Yi Jun’s desk, and in the spacious area outside were Italian leather sofas with black material. It was low-key yet grand.
Near the secretary’s desk, there was a door leading to the Mayor’s Office. Upon entering, there was an office of about 150 square meters. In the super-wide area of 15 meters by 10 meters, several supporting pillars were ingeniously designed and integrated with the entire decor. A portion was partitioned to form a small reception room. The grand desk was black with several telephones on it. A bright red party flag and national flag were also present on the desk, complementing each other.
Behind the desk was a two-meter-high row of bookshelves, containing various books such as ‘Outline of Administrative Science’, ‘Development of Economics’, ‘History of the Huaxia Party’, and other major works of reference neatly arranged. It was customary, regardless of whether or not leaders read the books, whether they had them was a symbol and fundamental indicator of their studiousness.
Behind the office, in a corner, there was a side door leading to a 60 square meter bedroom with a neat double bed. The sheets and quilt were obviously new. There was also a 15 square meter kitchen and a 15 square meter bathroom. In other words, if Nie Zhenbang wished, he could live and eat here without any problems.
Looking at the room, Nie Zhenbang then said in a deep voice, “There’s no need to change anything. Looking at this decor, I guess it’s less than a year old. Although Liangxi City is wealthy, we can’t waste like this. Compared to my previous office conditions in New Li City, this is already heaven and earth apart. Director Liu, let’s keep this decoration. Just make a few minor modifications, like removing the Eight Horses Picture and the traditional Chinese painting of a vast bird spreading its wings from the wall. We should keep our feet on the ground and focus on practical work.”
Nie Zhenbang’s words were rather frank. As soon as he opened his mouth, he bluntly accused Liu Weijun of extravagance. Moreover, he didn’t address Liu Weijun as Secretary General Liu, but called him Director Liu. Generally, the Secretary General of the City Government also serves as the Director of the Office, but usually, people address him as Secretary General. Nie Zhenbang’s way of addressing was somewhat disrespectful to Liu Weijun, which made Liu Weijun’s face slightly unpleasant.
However, Nie Zhenbang was still the head of the government, and as Secretary General of the city government, Liu Weijun’s role was to serve the mayor. Therefore, Liu Weijun could only endure it. He nodded and said, “Okay, I will follow your instructions immediately. We will work overnight tonight and it will be done soon. Please rest assured, Mayor, this will not delay your work.”
After a pause, Liu Weijun continued, “By the way, Mayor, about your accommodation…?”
Before he could finish speaking, Nie Zhenbang raised his hand and said, “Director Liu, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Don’t arrange accommodation for me. Before I took office, my wife had already arrived in Liangxi City, and I bought a house in Liangxi City myself, so it’s not necessary to bother.”
Seeing that Nie Zhenbang seemed to have nothing more to say, Liu Weijun, who was also quite adept at reading people, took his leave.
After Liu Weijun had left, Yi Jun came over and said with a smile, “Mayor, I have already chosen your driver for you. Yang Qingshan, a driver from the city government’s car team. He was a reemployed scout soldier. I’ve heard that he was originally supposed to join the public security bureau, but somehow he was squeezed out and ended up being a driver in the car team. He is not older than twenty-five or twenty-six, but he is quite capable. My suggestion is to try him out first. If he meets all the requirements, we can finalize him.”
Nie Zhenbang had absolute confidence in Yi Jun’s work. Otherwise, he would not have specifically summoned Yi Jun to join him in Liangxi. And if it wasn’t for Yi Jun’s sake, Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t have been as blunt as he was just now. To state such things to Liu Weijun in front of his face was Nie Zhenbang’s simple way of telling him that the position of the city government’s secretary-general was not for him. If Liu Weijun was wise, he would find connections to transfer away. However, if he were ignorant, Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t mind helping him out.
At this point, only Nie Zhenbang and Yi Jun were left in the room. Nie Zhenbang then sat down in the chair behind his desk, looking at Yi Jun and asked, “Xiaoyi, have your family and Chen Le’s settled in nicely after moving here? How is the work going?”
Speaking of this, Yi Jun smiled and said, “Everything is arranged. My wife has transferred to the city’s cultural bureau to work, and Elder Chen’s wife works at the city’s political consultative conference. They have brought their children with them. On my side, my child is only a year old and is staying with my mother in our hometown for now. When he is a little older, I plan to bring him over.”
After all these years, Nie Zhenbang’s leadership skills have matured. These seemingly mundane conversations demonstrated his care and affection for his subordinates, enough to encourage devotion and effort.
When it came to work, Yi Jun’s expression became somewhat awkward. However, he understood Nie Zhenbang’s character and still honestly replied, “Mayor, my side is a bit better, as it’s part of the government. It’s not like Elder Chen’s side. Aside from selecting a driver, I have been observing several potential candidates for the secretariat. But Elder Chen’s situation is more difficult. In Liangxi City’s Public Security Bureau, Elder Chen is a commander without troops. The leading cadres from the public security sub-bureaus in five districts and two cities, plus several deputy leaders in the city bureau, are mostly local cadres, deeply rooted here. Therefore, Elder Chen is having a hard time.”
Hearing Yi Jun’s words, Nie Zhenbang nodded. This was the reality. If Yi Jun claimed that everything was going smoothly, that would be abnormal.
Then, Nie Zhenbang also nodded and said, “Indeed, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You guys have only been here for a few days. It’ll take some time to familiarize yourselves with the situation. At some point, invite Chen Le to join us for a meal. I have faith in Chen Le’s ability to work, otherwise, I would not have transferred him here.”
After a pause, Nie Zhenbang instructed, “Alright, now that we’re here in Liangxi City, let’s not worry about other things. Focusing on our own work is the priority. Xiaoyi, go to the archive room and get me the economic reports and government work reports of Liangxi City from the past two years. In these next few days, we will not go anywhere and focus on reading these materials in the office.”
Just when the officials of Liangxi City thought that Mayor Nie was going to make a grand move, his actions greatly exceeded everyone’s expectations.
In the past few days, Nie Zhenbang didn’t go out much. He stayed mostly in his office. At this time, Yi Jun perfectly displayed the role of a secretary, which was to publicize and gather information for the leader.
Not to mention all the cadres in the city, at least more than half of the city’s officials knew that Mayor Nie had been reviewing the government work reports and economic data of Liangxi City over the past few years. This confused the officials who were expecting the Mayor to make some big moves upon assuming office. Now, they were all unsure of what Mayor Nie’s true intentions were.
Although Li Guohua and Fan Changsheng were the main characters in Liangxi City, holding the reins of the city’s work, it didn’t mean that Liangxi City was completely under their control. At this moment, some officials couldn’t bear it any longer.
On the fourth day of Nie Zhenbang’s official appointment, early in the morning just as he was starting work, he had not been in his office for half an hour before Yi Jun came in and whispered, “Mayor, Deputy Director Liu from the Finance Bureau is here.”
PS: The update time for this month is set for 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily. If there are extra updates, they will be completed at 9 p.m. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to novelhall to give recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)