Reborn as a Noble's Son

Nie Zhenbang paid little heed to Ma Yunfang’s resentment. In local regions, to flex one’s muscles naturally incurs the displeasure of some. It was impossible to ascend smoothly while remaining friendly with everyone.

In Jingcheng, the reason many offspring of distinguished families were reluctant to take lower positions had to do with these local struggles. Because once they took the plunge, they would not voluntarily label themselves as the son or grandson of so and so.

If they did, the national prestige would crumble. A family-run state would be considered intolerable under any circumstances. In fact, there were notable figures from Jingcheng who did not perform well when sent to local areas.

There were countless examples of humiliated individuals returning in disgrace. Such failures impacted their once promising future, dimming its prospects.

Of course, the official who returned them back would also be doomed. But barefooted ones are not afraid of those wearing shoes. Who would care about this? By the time it became known, the damage had already been done.

Nie Zhenbang, after several years of probationary political career, now had his own insights. From the day he took office, Nie Zhenbang had never considered himself a ‘good guy’. Those who needed to be offended would still be offended. There was no such thing as a win-win situation in this world.

Now, Nie Zhenbang clearly saw the situation in Lixian. Obviously, County Party Secretary MO Zhihai was not very fond of him. Therefore, all he could do was to follow closely in Wu Zhixiong’s footsteps. As for what Ma Yunfang thought, Nie Zhenbang didn’t care at all. Right now, what he was considering was how to improve Lixian’s economy. With Cheng Xinhua’s support from above, he didn’t care at all about others like MO Zhihai and Ma Yunfang.

“Oh, Director Nie, I need your help. There’s too much economic data.” As Nie Zhenbang was deep in thought, Li Lin walked into the room holding a thick stack of papers.

Nie Zhenbang stood up, took the documents from Li Lin, and laughed: “Li, you’ve really taken a lot of trouble. It’s rare for a leader like me to ask for economic data from past years. Judging by the amount of dust, it seems it’s been dug out from the archives.”

Now that she and Nie Zhenbang were familiar with each other, Li Lin was no longer as restrained as she used to be, and squarely said to Nie Zhenbang: “Since you realize it, that’s good. I nearly choked on the dust while finding these materials. Zhenbang, you should consider hiring a secretary. Once you have a secretary, I won’t have to do all this hard work.”

Li Lin was a woman who knew how to take advantage of her femininity. However, she was outstanding in her work. It was not by luck that she managed to secure her current position.

As he listened to Li Lin, Nie Zhenbang realized she was probably trying to arrange for someone of her choosing to be his secretary. However, this was not to imply this person would solely be loyal to Li Lin. That would mean no secrets could be kept safe.

The meaning here was that the person recommended by Li Lin had some connection with her. Generally speaking, becoming a secretary to a leader was a shortcut in one’s political career, and those with recommendation qualifications were office directors. It was permissible to recommend friends, relatives, or people with indirect connections. Whether these individuals could earn the leader’s trust and approval, and stay with them for a long time, would depend on their personal abilities.

For such a trivial matter, Nie Zhenbang naturally wouldn’t embarrass Li Lin. He said with a smile, “Li, you’re right, I did forget about it. These days, I’ve been so busy with this economic data. If you have any candidate in mind, I’d appreciate if you could recommend someone.”

“I knew you must’ve forgotten. You wouldn’t need a secretary these days when you’re engrossed in the data. Since Director Nie mentioned it, I’ve actually shortlisted two candidates for you,” said Li Lin, straightforwardly.

Seeing that Nie Zhenbang had no change in expression, Li Lin took out two profiles and handed them over immediately. “Director Nie, here are two of the more notable individuals in the Secretary section of the government.”

Once this was said, there was no need for any direct conversation. Based on their conversation, Nie Zhenbang was certain that Li Lin must’ve arranged everything beforehand. The two profiles would naturally have some differences, at least, the one Li Lin deliberately placed in front had its own significant advantage.

The first candidate was rather interesting, a 24-year-old graduate from the Northwest Autonomous Region Teacher’s University, and already a member of the party for four years. He had been working for a year. Under normal circumstances, a candidate like this should have been arranged by Li Lin long ago. Individuals graduating from the Literature Department of the University always proved to be good writers. Any leader should be satisfied to take them as their secretary. Why hadn’t Li Lin recommended him before? Could she predict he would be coming?

As for the second candidate, Nie Zhenbang only glanced briefly. Compared to the first one, the second was not as remarkable. He looked up at Li Lin and chuckled, saying, “Director Li, Yi Jun seems to be a good choice. Please ask him to meet me tomorrow morning. Let’s have him work with me for a while.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Lin noticeably sighed with relief. At this, Nie Zhenbang revealed a small but confident smile.

On the other hand, Li Lin responded with a laugh, “Alright, Director Nie. I’ll have Yi Jun visit you tomorrow. I’ll let you get back to your work. If you need anything, just call me.”

Early the next day

Nie Zhenbang had just entered his office and opened the curtains, about to take the kettle outside to heat water, when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in!”

As soon as Nie Zhenbang’s voice fell, Yi Jun came in from outside. He was about 1.8 meters tall, a little thin, wearing glasses, and looked rather scholarly. Upon seeing Nie Zhenbang, Yi Jun seemed noticeably restrained, shyly saying,

“Director Nie, hello. I’m Yi Jun!”

Seeing Yi Jun like this, Nie Zhenbang seemed to have gained some understanding. It seemed that Yi Jun had read many books, which made him a bit introverted. This sort of character naturally leads to a mediocre first impression. However, being a secretary often depends on the first impression, which might explain why Yi Jun remained an ordinary staff.

However, Nie Zhenbang didn’t care about these things. Confidence could be altered; the important thing was the person’s nature. Yi Jun’s attitude towards him was good, and he had arrived early for work, even if Yi Jun had arrived earlier. At this moment, Yi Jun appeared slightly embarrassed for being late.

Subsequently, Nie Zhenbang said with a smile, “So you’re Yi Jun. Director Li should have spoken to you yesterday. There are no special precautions in being my secretary. Just do your job well. For the next few days, you can follow along and see how it goes.”

As a leader, some necessary authority is needed. However, since he had promised Li Lin, he should at least try this out, considering whether Yi Jun was suitable.

At this moment, it seemed Yi Jun had also understood something. He stepped forward to take Nie Zhenbang’s kettle, saying, “Director Nie, I’ll handle these things. ”

After a few days, Nie Zhenbang had gone through Lixian’s economic data from the past ten years. Almost the entire output of Lixian was concentrated in the primary sector. The industry was virtually non-existent, and commerce was pitifully low. In such places, the only way to develop the economy seemed to depend on agriculture, animal husbandry, and forestry.

It seemed like the time to get moving. While pondering, Yi Jun knocked on the door and came in. After closing the door, he said, “Director, outside, Deputy Director Lin Weimin from the County Agriculture Bureau has arrived. What do you think?”

In these days, Yi Jun’s work as a secretary became more mature. For Yi Jun, being promoted to the new deputy county head’s secretary was like a big leap. Over the past few days, Yi Jun had clearly sensed the change in people’s attitude towards him, which boosted his confidence.

“Deputy Director Lin?” Hearing Yi Jun’s words, Nie Zhenbang paused. After taking office in Lixian, he had studied the local cadres.

Nie Zhenbang had some impression of this Deputy Director Lin of the Agricultural Bureau. The reason was that Lin was also a graduate of Jingcheng University. As alumni, Lin made a deep impression on Nie Zhenbang. His duty was to oversee the economy—while not directly related to the Agricultural Bureau, he was curious about why Deputy Director Lin sought him.

After thinking for a while, Nie Zhenbang decided to meet Deputy Director Lin. He then said to Yi Jun, “Hmm, let him in.”

Soon Lin Weimin came in. Lin Weimin was around thirty years old. In this era, becoming a deputy director at this age was impressive.

As soon as he entered, Lin Weimin greeted with a smile, “Director Nie, sorry for the intrusion.”

Nie Zhenbang smiled and gestured towards the sofa, “Hello, Director Lin, sit down. Is there anything I can help with?”

Seeing Lin Weimin sitting with only half of his butt on the sofa, Nie Zhenbang nodded with satisfaction. It wasn’t because Nie Zhenbang liked it when lower-ranking officials were cautious. It was their first meeting, and if Lin Weimin had comfortably sat down, it showed his arrogance. This current attitude was well-balanced.

Looking at Nie Zhenbang, Lin Weimin placed his notebook on the table and then said, “Director Nie, this time I’m here mainly to report on the agriculture work.”

Hearing Lin Weimin’s words, Nie Zhenbang laughed and said, “Director Lin, I’m not in charge of agriculture; reporting agricultural work to me seems awkward.”

Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, Lin Weimin was taken aback. In general, even if Director Nie was not in charge of agriculture, hearing the report was acceptable. However, he had never been directly refused like this, creating a moment of awkward silence.

PS: Roar, my potential erupted today, and I am in great condition. Here is another chapter, thanks to Ye Bo Changan’s generous donation of 10,000 starting coins. Brothers and sisters, keep boosting your monthly tickets. The promise remains no change, 18,000 word updates. I’m writing it continuously! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to recommend votes and monthly tickets at .Your support is my greatest motivation..)