Reborn as a Noble's Son

School reform across the entire county?

Zhang Chubin was stunned. The other standing committee members were also stunned. They all found Nie Zhenbang’s proposal rather surprising.

In the party and political system, education as a cause is often overlooked unless the region is particularly wealthy, and has seen a high degree of economic development. Only then, when the financial situation is robust and the government has an abundance of resources, would a significant amount be allocated to education investment.

Yet, for places like the Northwest Region and Lixian, the government lives on a tight budget. Where would they find the energy to oversee such matters?

Basically, besides a few schools in the county town that receive a certain amount of funding, the primary and middle schools in various townships and villages are struggling. The director of the county’s education committee is even intimidated by the principals of township schools. Nothing good ever comes when he meets them; they ask for either salaries or funds. In summary, it all comes back to money.

Seeing everyone’s surprised expressions, Nie Zhenbang chuckled and said, “Comrades, after the collapse of Gemu Township Elementary School, an entrepreneurial local from Gemu made a deep impression on me. This Boss Zhu from Gemu was willing to donate one million on the spot for school construction. That’s the reason why I’m making this proposal. As society develops, knowledge-based society will pay more and more attention to culture and education. The time has come for us to shift our focus to education. A person with only an elementary school education level is willing to spend one million to support the construction of educational facilities. I suggest we seize this opportunity to launch a county-wide campaign and call on everyone to contribute to the construction of these facilities.”

About Zhu Lufeng’s donation, aside from Nie Zhenbang, almost no one in the county party committee knew about it. One million, spread across just eight townships in Lixian, including Chengguan Town and Gemu Township. While Gemu Township is scheduled for dissolution, the elementary school in Chengguan Town is in the county town—it’s less than three years old. According to the estimation of one hundred thousand per elementary school, up to ten schools could be built. Distributed among six townships, six elementary schools could be constructed, and the remaining funds could be used for county-wide school maintenance. As it stands, if all enterprises in Lixian are mobilized to donate, just think of the improvements to education in Lixian County, not to mention, this would be a major gain in public opinion.

Anyone would be willing to accomplish something that doesn’t require much effort, yet reaps high praise. No one would oppose it. The proceedings of the Standing Committee are not confidential, and in less than half a day, the entire county cadre would probably know all about it. Any reports that a certain leader opposed improving construction of educational infrastructure would be a major blow to that leader’s reputation.

Zhang Chubin finally spoke up: “Director Nie’s proposal is excellent. I think we can utilize Boss Zhu’s donation as an opportunity to host a county-wide education fundraising event, perhaps even a gala. Minister Xue, you’re in charge of the propaganda department. The gala preparations will be handed over to you.”

Honestly, aside from Xue Daming’s private interests and propensity to be a bit too clever, he is quite capable when it comes to work issues.

As a long-time comrade in the propaganda department, he is well-versed in propaganda work. Soon enough, under the operation of Xue Daming, the whole of Lixian began to mobilize. On the main street, many red banners appeared at various intersections.

Banners reading messages such as “Education is the cornerstone for a century”, “Improve county educational conditions, provide space for children’s growth”, “Establish an educational philosophy, improve rural schooling environment”, could be seen everywhere. Along with this, a propaganda exhibition organized by the Propaganda Department of the County Party Committee and co-organized by the County Education Committee and the County Youth League Committee had also begun on both sides of the street. Numerous letters along with countless true pictures from rural low-rise brick-and-mortar schools showed dark classrooms and the bewildered eyes of students, immediately causing a sensation in the county.

At the same time, under the coordination of Xue Daming, a large-scale aid-student and teaching charity concert would officially start at the Lixian Theater fifteen days later.

In Zhang Chubin’s office at the county committee compound, Nie Zhenbang was sitting on the sofa. Xue Daming, a member of the County Standing Committee and Minister of Propaganda was present too. The relationship between Secretary Zhang and Director Nie seemed different now. See Nie Zhenbang here, Xue Daming began to ponder. Such nuances were things Xue Daming paid attention to. They allowed him to see various situations and analyze problems from the fine details, enabling him to adjust his strategies at any time.

“Secretary Zhang, Director Nie, this is the schedule for the charity concert. According to the preliminary plan from our planning group, the concert will be simple and unsophisticated and last for two hours. Besides inviting a few renowned performers from the city’s drama and dance troupe, the rest of the performances will all be from our county’s dance troupe and students of all grades from schools across the county. The main event of the concert is the donation ceremony in the latter half… That’s roughly the idea. Secretary Zhang, Director Nie, I would appreciate both of your inputs.” Xue Daming said respectfully.

Seeing Xue Daming sitting with a half-butt on the sofa, Nie Zhenbang found it a bit amusing. It’s impossible to trace when this habit started, but it seemed to become a common attitude among lower-level officials when meeting their superiors on the official circuit. It appears that only in this manner can subordinates demonstrate their respect for their superiors.

To be honest, Nie Zhenbang didn’t care much about such trivial matters. In his view, respect comes from the heart, not from superficial gestures.

At this moment, Zhang Chubin seemed to be paying close attention. After reviewing the program list, he looked at Nie Zhenbang and asked, “Director Nie, do you have any suggestions?”

Referring to Nie Zhenbang was a matter that not only bothered Zhang Chubin but also all the cadres in the county. If one’s rank was indeed higher, like Liu Wenqing and other municipal party leaders, it was acceptable to affectionately refer him as “Nie.” However, being of equal rank, calling him “Nie” could give the impression of being frivolous and not taking them seriously. Calling him “Old Nie” was also inappropriate. Therefore, in Li County, Nie Zhenbang was typically referred to by his position, either County Director or Director Nie.

Nie Zhenbang pondered for a moment, then replied, “The general arrangement of the program planned by Minister Xue is excellent. Our focus is on aiding students. Inviting celebrities would not only cost a lot of money but would also deviate from the purpose of the evening party. So, using the city and county’s dance troupe as the main performance and schools across the county as support is a good idea. I have no objections. However, during the donation ceremony, I personally think that we might consider arranging the donation segments in between various programs. For instance, separating donations from county party and government organs, county-level organs, various institutional systems, and finally donations from various companies and individuals in the county. By not consolidating everything together, we can showcase the theme of the evening without appearing mercenary.”

Zhang Chubin nodded and said, “Hmm, that’s a good point. Besides, I think the event should not be held in a theatre but in Li County Stadium, in an open-air format. The nature of the event is public welfare. We might consider setting up several donation boxes at the venue to facilitate on-site donations. This is a good deed that benefits the country and the people and it’s a matter that involves national participation.”

Nie Zhenbang had learned such a mode from the donation parties he remembered from his previous life. At this time, when he proposed it, it seemed quite novel. Xue Daming thought for a while and immediately realized the benefits of such an arrangement. These segments interspersed among the programs could push the enthusiasm of the evening party to a climax, and also prevent boredom during the final procedures.

Xue Daming then nodded and said, “Director Nie, listening to your words is better than studying for ten years. I will immediately arrange according to your suggestion.”

July 30th, 8 p.m.

By now, Li County Stadium was already packed with a sea of people. Not only was the stadium filled with spectators, but the walls outside the stadium and the tops of trees were also packed with ordinary people rushing from all over the county.

The party kicked off with a grand chorus of “Singing for the Motherland,” performed by the choral group of retired cadres from Li County. At this moment, the old cadres were filled with passion.

The new team of Li County Party Committee satisfied these old cadres. They had all worked in Li County for a lifetime. They hadn’t brought about the county’s development and construction, but their hearts were in it. Now that Li County’s development was changing with each passing day, the cadre team was naturally approved by the old cadres.

After the opening chorus, the host stepped onto the stage and said passionately, “The earthquake in Li County and the collapse of Gemu Township Elementary School served as a wake-up call for the entirety of Li County. The county party committee and government leaders pay high attention to this. Children shouldn’t suffer hardships no matter how poor and no matter how tough the conditions, education cannot be impoverished. Led by Zhang and Director Nie, the cadres of the county party and government agencies have donated a total of 56,700 yuan this time. This donation will be used entirely for the repair and reconstruction of primary and secondary schools across the county, as well as to aid poverty-stricken school dropouts.”

The party continued until the midpoint. After a high school student from Li County First Middle School performed a folk dance titled “The Turning Serf Sings,” the host took the stage again, overflowing with excitement, and said, “This donation has attracted a great deal of attention from people of all walks of life. Renowned entrepreneur who comes from our county, Mr. Zhu Lufeng, chairman of Nanhai City Zhu Clan Engineering Company in Yuedong Province, and general manager of Millionaire Hotel in Bazhou City, specially rushed back from Bazhou to Li County upon hearing the news. Now, please welcome Mr. Zhu Lufeng to the stage.”