Reborn as a Noble's Son

However, this approach is understandable to some degree. After all, Li Jupeng might not be aware of his own character – whether he tends to be conservative, aggressive, or prone to futuristic thinking. None of these are clear. In such a scenario, this type of article is the most appropriate.

Yet, the most perplexing thing is that there is absolutely no necessity to report on Li Jupeng’s personnel relationship background since he is not a direct relative. This alone reveals that it is a deliberate ploy.

Next, having looked at a second personnel file, I find this man very young. His file doesn’t reveal anything peculiar. It seems he comes from a good background, has a clean slate, and adequate abilities. Yet, the more it is so, the less interested Nie Zhenbang becomes. The reason: he is too perfect, too suitable. Anything extreme is suspicious. Nie Zhenbang knows that things that deviate from the norm are bewitching: his secretary is his eyes and ears; a good source aids his work; a bad one ruins it.

Just at this moment, An Guoyu, carrying a thick stack of documents, walked in. Perhaps, he has brought with him all the government work reports from the past decade.

It is commendable that a high-ranking office such as a Municipal Government Secretary General would carry out this task personally, regardless of whether An Guoyu is doing this to show off or not.

“Secretary General Guoyu, you have been working hard. There’s so many files that you could have asked someone from the records room to help you carry them. Yet here you are, doing it yourself,” Nie Zhenbang cordially acknowledged, shifting his form of address from Secretary General An to Secretary General Guoyu.

This subtle change pleased An Guoyu a bit. Setting down the documents, he laughed and responded, “These local government reports were all compiled and archived by me. The staff in the records room don’t know the details. If Mayor Nie needs these resources, I can process them faster.”

Nie Zhenbang, at this moment, picked up Li Jupeng’s file, and smiling, asked, “Secretary General Guoyu, what do you think of this Li Jupeng?”

Upon hearing Nie Zhenbang’s words, An Guoyu froze slightly, a hint of surprise and regret flitting across his face; a change not missed by Nie Zhenbang. It was just as he thought. There was indeed an issue with the second secretary candidate.

If it wasn’t for his keen observation, surpassing that of an average person, he wouldn’t have noticed the slight emotional shift in An Guoyu.

“Mayor, regarding this Li Jupeng, there is indeed something to mention,” An Guoyu quickly adjusted his mood and replied with a smile.

Seeing that Nie Zhenbang had no intention to interrupt, An Guoyu continued, “Mayor Nie, Li Jupeng is the nephew of Qi Siyuan, the Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee. The original plan of Secretary Qi was to place Li Jupeng in the Disciplinary Committee department. However, this young man, being naturally at odds with Secretary Qi’s approach, stubbornly insisted on joining the municipal government’s secretary department.”

Ruminating for a moment, An Guoyu suggestively said, “Mayor Nie, as you may know, Secretary Qi is a heavyweight. Consequently, this made Li Jupeng’s work within the secretary department somewhat awkward. Despite a work tenure of four years, during which he performed well in all aspects.”

These comments from An Guoyu were very measured, typical of the old fox that he was. His demeanor would never appear overly unusual in any given situation. He already had a good grasp of Nie Zhenbang’s mindset, realizing that his preferred candidate didn’t hold much chance at this point. Instead of forcing his hand, he decided it was best to curry favor with the Mayor without offending Qi Siyuan, thus securing a good rapport with Nie Zhenbang.

Hearing An Guoyu’s words, Nie Zhenbang also fell into contemplation. The implications in An Guoyu’s statement were clear: Li Jupeng’s identity as the nephew of the Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee. Any leader would have hesitations and considerations. At least on certain key issues, Li Jupeng would lean more towards Qi Siyuan. This was also the direct reason he had never followed any leader. His identity had somewhat hindered him.

However, this did not bother Nie Zhenbang. From his memory, Qi Siyuan was not involved in the Eastern Sea Group case, indicating he was an upright cadre. This alone was grounds for potential cooperation.

Personally, Nie Zhenbang always acted openly and honestly, doing nothing he wouldn’t dare to share with others. Even if Li Jupeng was Qi Siyuan’s direct relative, so what? What Nie Zhenbang needed was a secretary who was familiar with WangHai and capable, not a lackey who merely obeyed orders. In this aspect, he was more assured of Li Jupeng than others. Additionally, appointing Li Jupeng as secretary could also subtly improve relations with Qi Siyuan, an action well worth the effort.

Thinking about this, Nie Zhenbang also said solemnly, “Secretary-General Guoyu, I think we should let Comrade Li Jupeng work with me for a while before making a decision.”

This sentence confirmed Li Jupeng’s position as Secretary. However, he still needed some time to adapt. Whether or not Li Jupeng could satisfy Nie Zhenbang would depend on Li Jupeng’s abilities.

The news of Mayor Nie choosing his secretary, appointing Li Jupeng, the nephew of Qi Siyuan from the Commission for Discipline Inspection, spread around Wanghai City when Li Jupeng got up to report to Nie Zhenbang’s office.

At this moment, Li Jupeng was still absorbed in a state of excitement. He was very agitated. After waiting for four years, he finally had his opportunity. As a disciplinary officer, Li Jupeng found the job beneath him. Due to his youthful rebellious spirit, Li Jupeng chose to abandon his uncle’s support, desperately wanting to forge his own path to prove his abilities.

However, the harsh realities of life made Li Jupeng regret his decision. A small number of humiliating experiences still haunted him. Unexpectedly, just when he was about to lose hope, he found a turning point. He had actually received provisional approval from the newly arrived Deputy Mayor, Nie Zhenbang.

Upon arriving at Mayor Nie’s office, as soon as Li Jupeng entered, he adjusted his state of mind and suppressed his excitement. He said softly, “Mayor!”.

Nie Zhenbang looked at Li Jupeng and found him to be a very capable person. Then he nodded, took out a mobile phone, a black contact book, and a notebook from his drawer. He said, “Qi, these are for you. Also, the notebook has my schedule. For the next two days, I’ll focus on reviewing some documents and won’t make any other arrangements. You and Secretary-General An can discuss the arrangements for the days after. From now on, I’ll follow your schedules.”

The last sentence, said in a jovial tone, lightened the atmosphere in the office considerably. Li Jupeng released a sigh of relief, and felt a hint of awe towards Mayor Nie’s imposing demeanor. It seemed that Mayor Nie was only a few years older than him, but in his presence, he felt even more nervous than when he was with Secretary Shi. In fact, Li Jupeng didn’t know that this was merely a natural reflection of his mental state. The main reason for his nervousness was that he was now Nie Zhenbang’s secretary.

At the time when Li Jupeng started getting acclimated to the role of secretary, many city leaders were also paying attention to Nie Zhenbang’s selection of secretary.

In the municipal party committee, Shi Yiwu was sitting quietly at his desk, his expression serious, not uttering a word. In the office, Liu Sicun, the secretary of the municipal party committee, took a look at Shi Yiwu and said softly, “Secretary, there is probably more to Nie Zhenbang’s actions than meets the eye. Qi, as we know, has always been at odds with us. Nie Zhenbang’s selection of Qi’s nephew as secretary indicates that there is likely some ulterior motive. Moreover, there’s something I’m not sure whether I should say or not.”

Hearing this, Shi Yiwu’s brow furrowed, and he said discontentedly, “Comrade Sicun, you were always very level-headed. Why are you being so hesitant now? A Communist’s mindset should always be open and above board. If there’s anything you want to say, just spit it out. Don’t be coy.”

Liu Sicun was reprimanded by Shi Yiwu, which made him feel somewhat embarrassed, but he responded with a smile, “Yes, yes, you’re right, Secretary, I’ve picked up some bad habits from being in this position for so long. I must make efforts to learn more.”

Then Liu Sicun continued, “Secretary, I heard that Nie Zhenbang was specifically requested by Vice Secretary Qiao from Jiangbei Province. To do this, Vice Secretary Qiao had to get central leaders involved. This matter seems complex; I think it is probably targeting WangHai.”

Hearing this, Shi Yiwu waved his hand and said solemnly, “Comrade Sicun, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. No matter what Nie Zhenbang’s intentions are for coming here, as long as I am here in Wanghai City, he will not be able to turn things upside down. The achievements of WangHai have been recognized by the central government. They are not that easily negated by anyone. Don’t bring this matter up again. But I must admit that I underestimated Nie Zhenbang, he has quite the initiative just from this alone.”

On the ninth floor of the municipal party committee office building, which belonged to the city disciplinary committee’s office floor, at the secretary’s office of the city disciplinary committee.

Qi Siyuan listened to his secretary Song Chunwang’s report with a calm demeanor. Mayor Nie had actually chosen Li Jupeng to be his secretary? All the leaders of WangHai knew that Li Jupeng was his nephew. Despite being new to the area, Nie Zhenbang also had to know this. After all, there would surely be others who would tell him. Nevertheless, Nie Zhenbang still chose Li Jupeng to be his secretary – does this mean he considered Li Jupeng’s abilities more or does he have other intentions? Mayor Nie is not simple.

Thinking this, Qi Siyuan nodded and said gravely, “ChunWang, let’s stop discussing this matter now.”

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