Chapter 1281: Chapter 1236: Grand Finale Chapter 1281: Chapter 1236: Grand Finale Jingcheng’s deep winter was cold, with glistening white snow, and the weather forecast showed that the outdoor temperature was minus eight degrees Celsius.

Zong Nanhai
Inside the office of Nie Zhenbang in the Government Affairs Council compound, the heating was on, making the room’s temperature about 22 degrees Celsius, evoking a feeling of spring warmth.

Outside the door, Xia Gang walked in, holding a stack of documents, the day’s newspapers, and some correspondence.

In March, after inspecting Bashu Province and facing its severe pollution emission issues, Nie Zhenbang didn’t show much anger. As a central leader, he couldn’t lose his temper like a local cadre. There was the dignity of local leaders to consider.

He ordered Bashu Provincial Committee Secretary Guo Haoyu and Governor Pan Jianzhang to set up a task force, with Guo Haoyu acting as team leader and Pan Jianzhang as executive deputy team leader. The Vice Governor in charge of environmental protection led the team, which included the provincial Environmental Protection Bureau, the Commerce Department, the Industrial Department, the Public Security Department, and the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee, to conduct a joint investigation, going directly to Daba City.

After ten days of investigation, Daba City’s Party Secretary Xia Mingda and Mayor Wang Yuanchao were dismissed from their positions and removed from their administrative leadership roles.

More than half of the Li Shan County committee was dismissed, and the Li Shan County development zone shut down sixty-seven polluting enterprises in one go. And by “shut down,” it meant a complete halt of operations, not just making improvements. At the same time, the persons responsible for enterprises suspected of illegal pollution were criminally detained and fined accordingly.

Meanwhile, following this, Nie Zhenbang called a national video-teleconference on comprehensive pollution control at the Government Affairs Council. Deputy provincial leaders from across the country responsible for environmental issues and heads of environmental bureaus attended the meeting.

At the meeting, Nie Zhenbang demanded strict inspections of enterprises and industrial units within their jurisdictions. A three-month special rectification campaign was initiated, and a number of environmentally non-compliant businesses had to be rectified. Those that could not be rectified had to be shut down. In this regard, there was no room for personal feelings. At the same time, the Government Affairs Council would form dozens of undercover work groups to conduct covert investigations across the country. Any discovered violations would lead to serious punishment of the local environmental protection departments responsible, with corresponding leadership accountability pursued.

Following this meeting, pollution enterprises all over the country were shut down for a time. This time was different from the past. Some provinces, especially those where Nie Zhenbang had worked, knew his style of doing things; he was a man of his word. Since he had made a decision, it meant things had to be done accordingly; not doing so would mean losing one’s position, and that would be one’s own responsibility.

As a result, the entire country sprang into action. Numerous enterprises, factories, and mines were shut down and reorganized. By September, after half a year of rectification, comprehensive checks on the national environment and air quality showed a noticeable improvement over six months prior.

In October, the Party Congress was held as scheduled. At this meeting, Shen Guoquan and Nie Zhenbang were elected into the core leadership, becoming new permanent members.

Meanwhile, Shen Guoquan also took over as the president of the Party School in November. At this point, there was basically no suspense left. These two were firmly in place.

Nowadays, although Nie Zhenbang’s official residence was moved to Zong Nanhai, he actually spent most of his time still living in the Nie family’s courtyard house.

“Chief, these are today’s newspapers and the documents and letters for your review,” Xia Gang said as he placed the organized materials on the desk.

The work of the Government Affairs Council was similar yet different from local government work. The similarity lay in handling the top leadership role locally, where daily work often involved inspections and attending events. Here, it was more about approving policy documents, holding relevant work meetings, and ensuring all aspects of one’s assigned duties were handled.

To give a simple comparison, take the issue of genetically modified (GM) foods, which had always been managed by the Ministry of Agriculture. As a department under his supervision, Nie Zhenbang became especially cautious. He was well aware of the issues surrounding GM foods, despite continual reassurances from the state and the Ministry of Agriculture about their safety.

Nonetheless, it was undeniable that public trust in GM foods was lacking. On this issue, Nie Zhenbang changed his past approach; instead of compulsorily allocating to schools and enterprises, he mandated clear labeling for products made with GM ingredients in conspicuous places.

Then, he proceeded as usual to introduce them to the market, letting the market decide. Those who cared about diet and were skeptical of GM foods could choose the more expensive organic food or other products. People with economic constraints or no doubts about GM foods could opt for them.

Under this policy, over a year or two, some manufacturers began to feel the market crisis as their products were unsellable. Previously, they could sell to schools, factories, hospitals, and other institutions, but now, it was strictly forbidden to promote them to public canteens.

Why? Because in public canteens, especially in schools, students didn’t have the right to choose, and their parents often ended up with unnecessary misunderstandings and misconceptions.

As a result, these businesses were forced to change. They increased the efforts to educate the public about GM foods, aiming to gain grassroots acceptance and recognition of GM-food products.

The fundamental situation hadn’t changed. However, the approach did, and it made the common people more accepting.

As for genetically modified (GM) food, despite the ongoing opposition of many people, there were no longer the same strong government actions. These were all determined by the market economy. Whether to buy or not, to eat or not, was your own choice. The government didn’t intervene.

Outside the door, a voice came through: “Xiaoxia, are you busy?”

As soon as he heard this voice, Nie Zhenbang also got up–President Mu had arrived.

He opened the door, and as President Mu’s gaze met his, without waiting for President Mu to speak, Nie Zhenbang said with a smile, “President Mu, please come in.”

After sitting down on the office’s sofa, Nie Zhenbang personally poured a cup of hot tea for President Mu and said with a smile, “President Mu, what brings you here today?”

President Mu nodded slightly and said, “Zhenbang, I’ve been watching your work. You’re more capable than I am.”

This statement made Nie Zhenbang somewhat surprised. He couldn’t help but think about why President Mu was saying this now. What was on his mind, what was his purpose–all this needed to be carefully pondered.

At this moment, President Mu chuckled and said, “Zhenbang, stop guessing. There’s no other implication. This praise comes sincerely and from the bottom of my heart. In the two years since you’ve been transferred to the State Council, the sectors under your management have achieved remarkable successes. In terms of environmental protection, the whole nation has been praising the current state of the environment. The spread of the ‘Desert Control No. 5′ project has also seen gratifying results. According to the latest survey, the national forest coverage has increased by ten percentage points compared to two years ago. That’s an impressive achievement. Not to mention the Ministry of Agriculture, the GM project is related to our national agricultural safety. The nation has been promoting it, but the effects haven’t been great and have even met with the grassroots public’s doubt and opposition. Now it seems that your policy was the most appropriate, using a method that is easier for the public to accept. This undoubtedly reflects your superb governance level.”

In terms of industry, let’s not talk about others. The Longxi Automobile City and Stone City projects are what Nie Zhenbang values the most. After the Huaxia Automobile was established and started production, a vast number of patents were absorbed. Through mergers, shareholding, exchange, and other means, they’ve gained a complete grasp of the entire automotive industry chain’s technology. The Huaxia Automobiles that are now produced have become the preferred brand for government official vehicles and have a very good reputation among the general public. The workmanship has swept away the past impression of domestic products’ roughness. It directly raised the manufacturing standards of the domestic automotive industry. In the petroleum aspect, it even formed an international exploration and extraction cycle together with domestic refining. These are all tangible results achieved by Nie Zhenbang.

Having said this, President Mu became somewhat emotional and slowly continued, “Next year will be my last year in office. In this year, I have no disappointments and no regrets. I believe that you can do better than me, even more outstandingly. Huaxia relies on you now.”

…

2016 was a very ordinary year, yet it was also an extraordinary year. In March of this year, Jingcheng hosted the Two Sessions that captivated the world’s attention.

During the half-month conference, Shen Guoquan was officially elected as the head of state. Following that, Shen Guoquan nominated Comrade Nie Zhenbang to serve as the Premier of the State Council.

That year, Nie Zhenbang officially took office.

The day after assuming office, Nie Zhenbang personally visited Shen Guoquan. As leaders at two important levels of a major country, the two talked for over four hours in the study. What exactly was discussed was not recorded by anyone present, so naturally, the contents were unknown.

However, after this, the State Council issued a series of documents concerning the real estate market, for example. In land approval and pricing, a planned economy model would be adopted. Land would no longer be a chip for local governments to rack up GDP. Nationally, all land would be accounted for uniformly by the Ministry of Land and Resources. Regarding real estate development, rigid quotas were also given. There must be a certain proportion of affordable and low-rent housing construction. The greatest extent of assurance was to ensure that people of any income bracket could have housing.

After that, the state introduced a series of policies to improve welfare and measures against corruption and embezzlement. The Discipline Inspection Commission also intensified surveillance of national officials.

For a time, numerous high-ranking officials fell from power due to various issues.

After taking office, Nie Zhenbang, in facing the problems around the world, swept away the previous weakness and showed a tough stance. As a renowned hawk, Nie Zhenbang’s toughness gained the support of the entire nation.

Over eight years, under Nie Zhenbang’s leadership, the Huaxia economy made orderly and steady progress, becoming the world’s largest economy. In it, there was a concrete increase in the real economy and less bubble component. There were substantial improvements in income balance, healthcare, social security, education, and other areas. With the success of desert management, the country also prepared to launch the largest scale migration wave in its history. In the sparsely populated regions of Xibei, at least nearly three hundred million people migrated. The entire nation burst forth with unprecedented vitality.

After eight years, Nie Zhenbang was elected as the head of state in the new round of leadership change.

At the same time, faced with provocations from surrounding island nations and other issues, Nie Zhenbang adopted an unprecedentedly tough stance. Awaiting Nie Zhenbang would be new challenges, a fight to rise Huaxia in the East of the world, standing tall among the nations of the world. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)