Reborn as a Noble’s Son
Chapter 1016 - Chapter 1016 Chapter 972 The Current Situation in the Old

Chapter 1016: Chapter 972 The Current Situation in the Old District Chapter 1016: Chapter 972 The Current Situation in the Old District Hearing Nie Zhenbang’s sigh, Peng Shifan was moved and came up from the side, his demeanor extremely respectful and sincere. Pointing down the mountain, he introduced, “Secretary Nie, below is Dafeng Village. It’s the poorest village in Hongdu, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with inconvenient transportation. The per capita arable land is minimal. According to statistics from the city’s poverty relief office, this area, including Dafeng Village of Yingqiao Town, involves a total of four townships and ten administrative villages in Hongdu, distributed in this region of Hongshan. Currently, the biggest difficulties are transportation and cultural knowledge.”

At this point, Peng Shifan showed a guilty look and respectfully said, “Secretary Nie, to speak frankly, it is because our work has not been meticulous and adequate, failing to cover all aspects. This is a dereliction of duty by the Songzhou Municipal Party Committee team. Please criticize us, Secretary Nie.”

Nie Zhenbang glanced at Peng Shifan indifferently. Peng Shifan was indeed adept in every aspect. This much could be discerned from his speech.

It seemed like self-criticism, but between the lines, he was making excuses for himself. Songzhou is so large that, as the secretary of the Songzhou Municipal Party Committee, it was naturally impossible for Peng Shifan to attend to everything comprehensively. That was one aspect. Furthermore, Peng Shifan didn’t speak of his own dereliction of duty but instead involved the whole Songzhou Municipal Party Committee team, suggesting the idea that when everyone is responsible, no one is to blame. In addition, secretaries manage personnel and mayors manage affairs. By saying this, Peng Shifan was subtly expressing that Ouyang Liming wasn’t doing his job well.

Waving his hand, Nie Zhenbang smiled and said, “Comrade Shifan, the development of each area is uneven, due to various factors. Perhaps there are reasons such as the humanities environment, transportation constraints, or natural resources limitations. Elder Nan once said we should allow a portion of the people, a portion of places to get rich first. The wealth of the initially prosperous should lead and boost the later ones until common prosperity is achieved. The development of Songzhou City in recent years has been very good, and this shows that the Songzhou Municipal Party Committee team is still very capable. There’s no need for such self-deprecating words. I still have faith in our comrades.”

Having said this, Nie Zhenbang pointed down the mountain, the tenor of his words shifting, “Today, I’m here for two reasons. On the one hand, with the festival approaching, I come to offer consolation to the people of the revolutionary old areas. During the revolutionary era, the people of the old areas, for our country, for our Party, contributed selflessly, even sacrificing their precious lives. Now as society develops and the economy flourishes, we cannot forget those from the old areas who shed their blood for the development of our Party. On the other hand, it is to empathize and truly understand the living standards of the people in the old areas by experiencing it firsthand, so as to comprehensively grasp the life conditions of the people and consider the development strategies for the old areas tailored to local conditions.”

After speaking, Nie Zhenbang turned his head and said, “Traveling a hundred miles means ninety is but half done. As the saying goes, it’s easy to go up the mountain but hard to come down. The path ahead may be downhill, but it is difficult to walk; everyone should support each other. It’s getting late, and we’ve rested enough. Let’s set out.”

With that, Nie Zhenbang took the lead, heading down the mountain. Nie Zhenbang’s pace was steady and brisk. This was the result of long-term exercise. As a well-trained person, despite his age gradually increasing, Nie Zhenbang had maintained his exercise routine over the years. His physical condition was very good, showing no difference at all.

It took nearly an hour and a half for the group to reach the foot of the mountain. Ahead, shrouded in thin fog, lay a village amid the surrounding mountains, faintly discernible.

From time to time, the barks of dogs and crowing of chickens echoed, highlighting the tranquility of the mountain village. The arrival of the group stirred up the calm atmosphere of the tranquil village.

At the entrance of the village, almost the entire village, young and old, men and women, had turned out. Dafeng Village, though nestled deep in the mountains, was undeniably a large village. Dafeng was the name of the administrative village; in fact, it was subdivided into five natural villages including Liao Jiawan, Niwan, Yang Clan Village, Wu Home, and Tianxing Bridge, with a total population of nearly eight thousand people.

This was also why Yingqiao Town and even Hongdu City had no solution for the poverty of Dafeng. Such a village could not be moved; connecting it with a road would incur enormous costs, beyond what a county-level city could afford.

At the village entrance, guided by the elders and village committee cadres, they beat gongs and drums to welcome Nie Zhenbang and his party.

At Nie Zhenbang’s side were Peng Shifan and Ouyang Liming from Songzhou City on his left, and Lin Aman, the Secretary of the Hongdu City Committee, on his right.

With a smile, Lin Aman introduced Nie Zhenbang to the village Party branch secretary Yang Xihua and the village head Liao Qiusheng, “Secretary Nie, this is Comrade Yang Xihua, the Party branch secretary of Dafeng Village, and Comrade Liao Qiusheng, the village head.”

The Party branch secretary of Dafeng Village, around fifty years old, had a simple face and dark skin. His hands bore thick calluses, the hallmark of an honest rural man. Liao Qiusheng was about the same age as Yang Xihua.

Nie Zhenbang smiled as he walked up, not only shaking hands with the village cadres of Dafeng Village but also greeting and shaking hands with many of the villagers along the way.

At Nie Zhenbang’s suggestion, the group headed for the Dafeng Village Committee.

The Dafeng Village Committee was housed in an old building from the ’50s and ’60s, with blue bricks and black tiles–a very impressive house at that time. After the country’s founding and the land reform, the house, which was the confiscated property of a landlord, was transformed into the village committee office.

At both ends of the house, on the walls, at the very center, were cement-constructed pentagrams, their red paint peeling and mottled. One could imagine the grandeur of the past. Along the walls were slogans from the sixties and seventies. Although many of them were faded and illegible, the meaning could still be deciphered from the remaining top and bottom halves of the characters.

A few wooden chairs, and an old desk, constituted the meeting room of the Dafeng Village Committee. Nie Zhenbang and his team didn’t take formal seats. Instead, they moved the stools aside to form a circle around a charcoal fire in the middle. Provincial and city leaders sat accompanying them. Next to Nie Zhenbang were Dafeng’s Party Secretary and Village Head.

In front of everyone, several square stools were laid out with fruit trays on them, containing sunflower seeds, peanuts, candies, and tangerines.

Nie Zhenbang turned his head towards Dafeng’s Village Head, Liao Qiusheng, and smiled, “Old Liao, how’s the harvest in Dafeng this year? How’s the standard of living for the common folk?”

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang’s expression was amiable, giving off an approachable aura. Those present didn’t take him lightly because of his age; in Hongjiang Province, it was well known that Nie Shiji’s authority was absolute.

The seemingly casual inquiry from Secretary Nie made the leaders from Hongdu City and Yingqiao Town tense, fearing that Liao Qiusheng might carelessly speak out of turn.

Yet, in Nie Zhenbang’s presence, no one dared to say much. They could only use their eyes to remind Liao Qiusheng.

A hint of restraint appeared on Liao Qiusheng’s face. Although he was over fifty, sitting in front of someone more than a decade his junior made Liao Qiusheng somewhat nervous.

Luckily for Liao Qiusheng, his dark skin concealed any change in his complexion. After a pause, he said, “The harvest is not bad. It’s just that the roads are bad, making it too difficult to come and go. Children in the mountains can still manage elementary school, but for middle school, they have to stay at Yingqiao. Local mountain produce can’t get out, and things from outside can’t get in. We manage to get by, but there isn’t much money.”

Liao Qiusheng’s words made the faces of the leaders from Yingqiao Town darken; Old Liao was being too direct. How could he speak like this in front of Secretary Nie?

However, to their surprise, Nie Zhenbang showed no anger or change in emotion, but with considerable interest, he continued, “Old Liao, what’s the per capita income like?”

When it came to per capita income, not only the leaders from Yingqiao Town but also those from Hongdu City grew anxious.

At this point, Old Liao seemed a bit embarrassed and said, “Per capita, it’s probably around four hundred or so.”

Hearing this figure, Nie Zhenbang was somewhat shocked. Although he had some anticipation of Dafeng’s situation, he hadn’t expected it to be like this.

Per capita income of just over four hundred, what did that mean? It meant that a family of five could earn about two thousand yuan a year, and naturally, that referred to net income after all expenses. But what could such a small amount of money do? Nie Zhenbang couldn’t imagine.

After a pause, Nie Zhenbang looked around at the other officials and slowly said, “The conditions of the old areas have been quite shocking to me. Here, I want to thank the comrades from the Songzhou Municipal Party Committee and Hongdu Municipal Party Committee. This has allowed me to see the true conditions of the old district of Hongjiang River. It will provide important references for the next steps in Hongjiang Province’s work.”

As he spoke, Nie Zhenbang looked at the leaders from Yingqiao Town, “Regarding Dafeng’s transportation issues, the province will have a comprehensive and overall plan and deployment in due time. Considering Dafeng’s difficult mountain roads, the planning and selection of routes must take into account not only Dafeng’s situation but also the situations of other impoverished areas before we can truly start construction. On the matter of working outside, Yingqiao Town and Hongdu City also need to give it serious thought and careful consideration. Given Dafeng’s large population, taking local circumstances into account, related departments can certainly set up vocational training classes here. This would enable the local residents to learn a trade and, through labor export, allow the village’s young people to venture out and see the broader world, gain some exposure. This would also indirectly promote Dafeng’s development.”

Nie Zhenbang’s words made the Party Secretary of Dafeng Village, Yang Xihua, visibly happy, and he eagerly said, “That’s wonderful, truly wonderful. Secretary Nie, the young people in Dafeng lack skills; after going out, they can only do hard labor. Be housemaids. Work on construction sites. While the work is tough, the wages aren’t high. If they could learn a trade, that would be fantastic.”

Following Yang Xihua’s remarks, Nie Zhenbang stood up and said, “Old Yang, let’s take a walk in the village together.” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please welcome your support by voting for it at NovelFire.net. Your support is my greatest motivation.)