Chapter 444: 418 Criticized_2

At this moment, Ning Shouchang was not home. Seeing Nie Zhenbang’s arrival, his wife greeted him with enthusiasm: “Zhenbang is here. Please, take a seat. Old Ning should be back shortly.”

As senior members of the provincial committee, they were welcome to constantly attend banquets if they wished. However, Ning Shouchang seldom dined out unless it was for large receptions, from which he could not easily extract himself. Other than these, he chose to eat at home diligently.

After roughly ten minutes of idle sitting, the sound of an opening door echoed from outside. Ning Shouchang walked in, barely surprised by Nie Zhenbang’s presence, and greeted him casually, “Zhenbang is here.”

Taking a briefcase from Ning Shouchang’s hand and placing it next to him, Nie Zhenbang appeared very comfortable and easygoing, just like he was with his old acquaintances and former leaders.

“I received a call from Secretary Shen this morning, asking me to come over. I haven’t had lunch yet, so I thought I’d come here to steal a meal,” Nie Zhenbang remarked jokingly.

Ning Shouchang laughed heartily, replying: “You, others might not know who you truly are, but do you think I don’t? The industries you have quietly taken over are enough to rival the wealth of a country. Are you really short of food?”

Smiling and scolding, Ning Shouchang exclaimed, “Sit down, you’re already here, it’s not like I can just usher you out now.”

The Governor’s family dinner was very simple and plain, with two dishes each of meat and vegetables, accompanied by a bone kelp soup. That was their lunch for the day.

Since they did not drink any alcohol, the meal was quickly consumed. After the meal, Ning Shouchang took a seat on the couch. From a cigarette tube on the coffee table, he took out a cigarette and offered one to Nie Zhenbang: “Have one.”

Nie Zhenbang was very skilled, taking the cigarette and quickly lighting one for Ning Shouchang as well. Ning Shouchang was not much of a smoker and adhered to a strict limit of no more than five cigarettes per day. He would have one after each meal and potentially two later in the evening while he was working.

Taking a deep inhale and blowing out a cloud of smoke, Ning Shouchang slowly voiced, “You’ve been ensnared by Secretary Shen this time, haven’t you?”

Ning Shouchang’s direct statement made Nie Zhenbang feel a bit unseemly, but he nonetheless nodded in agreement, “Yes, when I came to Jingcheng, I stopped by the provincial committee. Li Hao said that Secretary Shen was engaged in talks with Liu Jiawei, and asked me to come by in the afternoon.”

The so-called ‘talks’ were merely an excuse. Liu Jiawei had actually gone to Jingcheng to participate in a meeting held by the Ministry of Public Security. Regardless, on the bureaucratic scene, such pretexts were usually found to justify actions. As a subordinate, it is not appropriate to barge in to verify whether the leader is actually taking a report or not.

“Zhenbang, this time the official reception regulations that your Liangxi city put in place were a little too hasty. Although you managed to pass through the Standing Committee’s discussions, you’ve left the province somewhat ambushed. This disruptive local regulation should have been indicated to the province in advance. It is perfectly normal for Shen Yanshuo to exert control over you,” Ning Shouchang analyzed.

The primary issue was the initial establishment of the regulation, which left mid-to-high level officials in Jiangbei Province feeling somewhat uneasy. Additionally, there were quite a few seasoned bureaucrats in Liangxi who had strong reservations, which added to the frustration of Shen Yanshuo, a person who immensely values stability. He saw Nie Zhenbang’s move as playing with fire and believed that the list of oversights could have potential implications on the stability of Liangxi City.

Furthermore, if there is one breach of conduct now, there are likely to be more in the future. There will always be possibilities of establishing such rules. If there is no reprimanding, it simply won’t work.

Nie Zhenbang paid a visit to Ning Shouchang’s residence and spent time until around one-forty, when he eventually excused himself. He leisurely strolled over from the provincial government housing to the provincial committee housing area and made it to the provincial committee office building by one fifty-five.

At this moment, the door to the office of the Provincial Committee Secretary was firmly shut. After roughly two minutes of waiting, Shen Yanshuo passed by, trailed by Li Hao.

Upon seeing Shen Yanshuo, Nie Zhenbang immediately approached him and greeted, “Secretary Shen.”

Shen Yanshuo blandly nodded in response: “Mayor Nie is here. Please, come in.”

Nie Zhenbang entered Shen Yanshuo’s office, and soon after Li Hao also entered, pouring a cup of green tea for Nie Zhenbang and filling up Shen Yanshuo’s cup with more hot water, then making his leave.

However, Shen Yanshuo processed the documents on his desk and told Nie Zhenbang, “Mayor Nie, please wait a moment, until I finish reading this document.” After speaking, he turned his attention back to his work and started reading.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang felt somewhat awkward. Standing in the office, he felt at odds, neither sitting nor standing, facing an awkward predicament.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Shen Yanshuo finally looked up again and gestured towards the couch, saying nonchalantly, “Please, have a seat.”

Following his words, he lowered his head to get back to reading. This period of waiting lasted a further half hour. Despite his dissatisfaction, Nie Zhenbang didn’t have any other options. The signals coming from Shen Yanshuo now were quite apparent: He intended to rebuke him. To approach the situation with soothing words or softly spoken suggestions would not have been a true reprimand.

Observing Nie Zhenbang, who showed no signs of perturbation and maintained a serene facade even after waiting for nearly fifty minutes, Shen Yanshuo felt admiration. He put his documents aside, removed his glasses, and looked up at Nie Zhenbang, stating seriously, “Mayor Nie, I’ve heard that you’ve recently implemented an official reception regulation in Liangxi City. The public’s reaction has been quite strong. Many representatives from the Municipal People’s Congress, many officials, and veteran cadres have already reported the circumstances to me. What are you trying to do by bypassing the necessary provincial committee communication for such a major event? Do you disregard your organization and the chain of command?”

Shen Yanshuo’s scathing words weighed heavily. A person of lesser grit might have been cowed, but Nie Zhenbang, well-accustomed to confrontations, bore the critique.

After composing himself, Nie Zhenbang lowered his stance and agreed, “The Secretary’s criticism is valid. We, the Liangxi City Committee, indeed acted too hastily on this matter. We overlooked the superiors’ feelings, and we will certainly rectify this. Please rebuke me, Secretary.”

Hearing this, Shen Yanshuo raised an eyebrow. This little one had become increasingly shrewd, attributing collective responsibility to the city committee. It was, after all, an affirmed decision of the Liangxi Municipal Committee Standing Committee. For a while, Shen Yanshuo was at a loss for words. (