Reborn as a Noble’s Son

Chapter 397: Chapter 383 Big Scene_1
Hearing this, Mu Jianhua experienced a mixture of pain and joy. Historically, when a state-owned enterprise tried to raise funds, many factory directors and secretaries offered their grievances, begging and forcing workers to contribute capital. Some even took primitive approaches such as tying capital input to work attendance – no contribution meant no job, no contribution also meant the cancellation of benefits and replacements. Amongst others, these were the spiteful strategies at play.

At that time, to hold onto their livelihoods, workers often had to compromise. However, what Mu Jianhua was seeing now was something he had never witnessed before. Was he going mad, or had the employees of the Spinning Group lost their minds? Neither was true; the formation of the Spinning Group was an event that had deeply resonated with the people. Their employees were no fools, rather, they were filled with confidence.

Mu Jianhua was somewhat puzzled; such decision making wasn’t something he dared to take on alone. He turned his expression over to Nie Zhenbang, sitting next to him. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang glanced at the crowd behind him. During the fundraising, there were more than 300 seats arranged. Roughly over twenty thousand workers subscribed to the shares. Now, fewer than 10,000 people remained. Since this was the case, they might as well let these people subscribe. Participation by everyone would increase enthusiasm. In addition, this experiment could also become a national model for the reform of state-owned enterprises, if handled well.

Instantly, Nie Zhenbang too nodded in agreement, “Director Mu, let’s do it this way, open registrations. All employees who wish to subscribe can participate in it. The surplus of shares will be diluted from the stake of the state-owned assets supervision and administration commission.”

No one ate lunch that day. By one o’clock in the afternoon, all Spinning Group employees had finished subscribing. After an urgent count, the total amount of shares bought reached a staggering 136 million RMB.

This exceeded the initial estimate by over 30 million RMB, a testament to the enthusiasm of the Spinning Group’s employees.

This capital would all belong to the Spinning Group’s financial account. Some of it would be used as a fund for employees to buy out their years of service, another portion would be used to repay a portion of its loans, and the remaining funds would act as operational capital.

The following day, under Nie Zhenbang’s personal care, the SASAC (State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission) acted swiftly to establish a preparatory meeting for the Spinning Group’s general shareholder’s meeting.

The SASAC, representing the Liangxi Textile Group’s major shareholder, attended the shareholders’ meeting in the large auditorium of the Municipal Party Committee. The shareholders from the Liangxi Textile Group, who were in effect just employees, participated in the meeting. At the meeting, after nominating the candidates for the Group’s management level through consultations among all the shareholders, a vote was held. Huang Jiang arose impressively from the crowd to become the General Manager of the Liangxi Textile Group. The Vice Chairman of the SASAC, Leng Chaohua, was nominated and chosen to be the Chairman of the Liangxi Textile Group.

The other middle management positions, such as finance, logistics and supply, human resources, protection, sales, and technical posts within the Liangxi Textile Group were filled through public voting by all shareholders. Within three days, continuous public competitive recruitment meetings were held to select middle-level leaders.

As the reorganization of the Liangxi Textile Group approached its conclusion, Nie Zhenbang began to relax. As soon as the framework of the Textile Group was completed, the Textile Group could officially be listed. The old city reconstruction project in Guicheng District could also get back on track immediately.

“Secretary Yi, is Mayor Nie there?”

Suddenly, a voice came from outside. Upon hearing it, Nie Zhenbang immediately stood up; it was Fan Changsheng’s voice.

Locally, Nie Zhenbang had always adhered to the teachings of the old man. He was humble and cautious, neither arrogant nor impatient, conducting himself as an ordinary person. Things that could be done by himself were handled by himself. Of course, Nie Zhenbang’s identity and background could also provide a considerable boost. But not using such a background would be foolish.

However, from beginning to end, Nie Zhenbang adhered to this belief. He held himself upright at all times. Even if he had an influential background, he didn’t hang a badge on his head every day relying on his ancestral fortune. That wasn’t something a mature person would do. Moreover, locally, if one provoked the opponents, the people could be led with brute force. Sacrifices could always be made for the greater good.

Therefore, Nie Zhenbang took Fan Changsheng’s arrival very seriously. He immediately opened the door and greeted him, “Secretary Fan, what an unexpected visit, please come in!”

Nie Zhenbang’s casual words blushed Fan Changsheng’s faces, and he awkwardly said: “This is indeed my first visit to Mayor Nie’s office. In the future, we have to communicate more and build mutual trust in our work.”

After ushering Fan Changsheng into the inner office, Nie Zhenbang made some premium Dahongpao tea, he’d received from Elder Yang. After handing a cup to Fan Changsheng, he finally sat down next to him and asked smilingly, “Secretary Fan, you’re always about work, so what brings you here this time?”

Fan Changsheng, a man of taste, recognized the high-quality Dahongpao tea immediately. Realizing that Nie Zhenbang had been able to obtain such rare tea, made it clear that his background was not so simple.

Promptly, Fan Changsheng replied with a smile, “Indeed, I do have a matter to discuss. Just now, I received a call from the Provincial Party Committee Office. Secretary Yanshuo asked me to tell you that he will participate in the unveiling of the Liangxi Textile Group. Therefore, I came here especially to discuss with you the timetable and the security and reception issues after Secretary Yanshuo’s arrival in Liangxi.”

Listening to Fan Changsheng’s words, Nie Zhenbang felt relieved. “So that’s what is going on.” He then showed an excited smile on his face and said, “Secretary Shen is personally attending the opening ceremony. This is a great thing that we couldn’t ask for, Secretary Fan. Regarding the reception, Deputy Governor Tian and Governor Ning have both visited recently, so I don’t think there is anything special we need to pay attention to. Is there anything else you’d like to add, Secretary Fan?”

At this moment, Fan Changsheng also laughed and said, “It seems that we both had the same idea. Leaders from the provincial party committee have been visiting frequently this month. The city had been preparing for this in every way. I think we can arrange it the way it is.”

Then, Fan Changsheng stood up, smiled, and said, “Mayor Nie, please take the trouble to arrange the time for the unveiling of Textile Group. Once the schedule is set, please let me know two days in advance, so I can report to the superiors.”

After Fan Changsheng had left, Nie Zhenbang began to think deeply. At this time, Yi Jun came in from outside, picked up the teacup on the table, poured it out, washed it, and laughed. He said, “Mr. Mayor, Fan Changsheng really seems like a changed man during this period.”

Nie Zhenbang glanced at Yi Jun and laughed, “Fan Changsheng was set up by Li Guohua and was almost held responsible for leadership. He is back to normal now. But we can’t let our guard down either. These two men belong to the same faction. Although they are at odds with each other for now, we can’t guess when they might reconcile. We must not let our guard down.”

After saying these words, a thought occurred to Nie Zhenbang. Shen Yanshuo was going to attend the opening ceremony of a state-owned enterprise. Well, it would be more plausible if it were a large central enterprise. For the Textile Group, which is just a municipally managed enterprise, Shen Yanshuo’s move seemed a bit over the top.

It appeared that Shen Yanshuo’s main purpose was not to unveil, but to boost his own morale and, at the same time, it was a statement from him to the higher-ups.

The election in Liangxi City, although the final result was that Nie Zhenbang was elected smoothly, the process was nerve-racking. In other words, if it were not for the cautiousness of Ning Shouchang and the strong determination of Yu Shengdong, Nie Zhenbang might really have failed.

Now, Shen Yanshuo’s move seems to be focused on Liangxi City’s enterprise reform. In fact, he is making up for the previous incident and is expressing his attitude towards Yu Shengdong and the central government. The backslide was the personal behavior of some people, not Shen Yanshuo’s intention.

Even Shen Yanshuo personally came here. Fan Changsheng’s gesture of lowering his posture became reasonable and normal.

Thinking of this, Nie Zhenbang immediately called Mu Jianhua and said, “Director Mu? The work of the Textile Group needs to be stepped up. I just received the news that Secretary Shen Yanshuo from the provincial committee will personally attend the unveiling ceremony.”

There was no need to hide such information, and if announced it would make everyone in the Textile Group pay more attention and work hard. It was a win-win situation and Nie Zhenbang naturally controlled it with ease.

Three days later, after a rigorous inspection by the Textile Group, the results of the competition for various intermediate positions were also released. The official unveiling ceremony will be held at 10:08 tomorrow morning.

Just before eight o’clock the next morning, Nie Zhenbang, Fan Changsheng, and other city leaders, along with the team leaders of the People’s Congress, CPPCC and military district, all gathered and waited at the entrance of the highway.

Considering Shen Yanshuo’s character and habits, Shen Yanshuo did not like ostentatious welcoming ways. Therefore, Fan Changsheng arranged to meet him at the exit of the highway. Around 9.55, a Toyota Prado came to the exit of the highway, followed by several Audi cars.

The Prado had a very eye-catching number one plate for the armed police in Jiangbei. When the car slowly stopped and the door opened, Shen Yanshuo appeared in front of everyone.

At this moment, Fan Changsheng and Nie Zhenbang had already walked up to him with smiles. Seeing Nie Zhenbang, Shen Yanshuo walked over without waiting for Nie Zhenbang to speak. He patted Nie Zhenbang’s shoulder affectionately and said with a friendly smile, “Mayor Nie, the restructuring of the Textile Group received high praise from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The director of the Commission highly praised you, saying that you have found a new path for the reform of state-owned enterprises across the country. The younger generation is indeed remarkable.”

Shen Yanshuo used someone else’s words to make such a compliment. Even Fan Changsheng showed a hint of envy at this moment. Shen Yanshuo was a scholar-official type. It was rare to get a praise from Secretary Shen.

After a pause, Shen Yanshuo swept his gaze over everyone present, then stopped on Li Guohua’s face. He then said, “I heard Governor Shou Chang report about the People’s Congress of Liangxi City. Overall, it was good. However, there are some comrades who still need to calm down and stop playing tricks. Promoting team unity is important.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Guohua’s face changed. He never expected that Shen Yanshuo would criticize him in public like this.(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation).