Reborn as a Noble’s Son
Chapter 1105 - Chapter 1105 Chapter 1061 Sudden Spending

Chapter 1105: Chapter 1061: Sudden Spending Chapter 1105: Chapter 1061: Sudden Spending In Hongjiang Province’s Agricultural Department, a Santana car from Wenchun City was slowly entering the department’s gate.

The car was inconspicuous. After it pulled into the parking lot of the Agricultural Department and stopped, the car door opened, and Li Youquan, the Secretary of the Wenchun City Municipal Committee, got out. Beside Li Youquan, a man with a briefcase stepped out. He seemed to be Li Youquan’s secretary.

However, Li Youquan spoke in a low voice, “Secretary Nie…”

Nie Zhenbang waved his hand with a slight smile on his face. Incognito visits sounded somewhat frivolous but, indeed, that was the case.

Nie Zhenbang had designated Li Youquan for today. After disguising himself, Nie Zhenbang followed Li Youquan. He had stuck on a mustache and put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses. In short, he had covered up all his superficial features.

As a result, his entire image had changed.

Seeing Li Youquan’s wry expression, Nie Zhenbang waved his hand and said in a soft voice, “Comrade Youquan, rest assured, this will not cause you any trouble.”

Li Youquan did not speak further. Looking at Nie Zhenbang with a helpless face, if Secretary Nie spoke up, did he even have a choice? To disagree was to agree. But, if turmoil arose in Hongjiang Province again, he wouldn’t be able to face anyone there afterward.

Shaking his head with a sigh, Li Youquan said helplessly, “Secretary Nie, shall we go up?”

This manner of seeking confirmation displeased Nie Zhenbang. Li Youquan was so polite and respectful even towards a secretary–wasn’t this asking to be exposed?

Immediately afterward, Nie Zhenbang said softly, “Secretary Youquan, right now, you are the leader.”

The two of them walked straight into the Agricultural Department’s office building. In the lobby, a mobile announcement board was already posted with a red paper and an arrow indicating, “Please proceed to the tenth floor for the Spring Festival group visit event.”

Taking the elevator directly to the tenth floor, the director of the Agricultural Department’s office had already come to greet them and said with a smile, “Secretary Li, this way please.”

As he spoke, he turned to Nie Zhenbang and said, “This comrade must be Secretary Li’s secretary, right? Please rest over here.”

The New Year’s meeting was a tradition, and Nie Zhenbang was well aware of it as a convention. Just like now, the Agricultural Department would hold such a meeting at the end of the year to show appreciation for the support and help from various other departments, commissions, and cities towards the work of the Agricultural Department. The usual practice involved drinking tea, sharing a meal, and fostering good relations.

The main reason Nie Zhenbang had impulsively decided to come and see was due to the issue of year-end spending sprees.

Previously, many domestic media outlets had exposed this issue. According to the annual fiscal budget, most units, with strict controls on official expenditures, usually had some budget surplus by the end of the year–some even had substantial surplus. Consequently, a phenomenon occurred where many units would engage in last-minute spending to try to use up their budgets completely.

This situation was very common. The fundamental problem lay in the fiscal budgeting system, which was generally based on the previous year’s financial expenditures of each unit and department. It also considered factors such as inflation and major projects. If there were any surplus, it could certainly influence the following year’s fiscal budget. This was the root of the end-of-year spending spree.

With Li Youquan’s departure, Nie Zhenbang was taken to a rest room where several secretaries or drivers were already seated.

When Nie Zhenbang entered, many looked over. As the saying goes, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and circles form among them. As a leader’s secretary, people present were more or less of similar rank and status. Whether they were principal or deputy leaders, they were here to attend the meeting. Many were very familiar with each other. Seeing a new face like Nie Zhenbang’s, many eyes were filled with curiosity.

Nie Zhenbang glanced around, casually found a spot in the corner of the room, and sat down.

Beside him, a man in his thirties approached, smiling, “This brother seems quite unfamiliar.”

All being in the secretary profession, communication skills were not to be underestimated, and such a setting was naturally relaxed.

Nie Zhenbang said with a smile, “I came with Secretary Li from Wenchun City.”

His words were ambiguous. He neither said he was Li Youquan’s secretary nor that he wasn’t. But to others, it made him out to be Li Youquan’s secretary.

Upon hearing this, the man’s face showed a look of envy as he smiled and said, “Nice to meet you, I’m Jiang Kai, the secretary to the Director of the Forestry Department. I hope you’ll look after me in the future, big brother. Secretary Li is a favorite of Secretary Nie. After this, your ship will rise with the tide.”

As soon as he finished speaking, another man about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old also said, “Brother Jiang, what do you think, how much will the Agriculture Department arrange this time?”

Hearing that, Nie Zhenbang’s mind stirred, yet he responded, “Secretary Jiang, it’s my first time taking up secretarial work, and I’m not very familiar with it. About things like the group gatherings…?”

Jiang Kai was obviously very familiar with such occasions. After surveying his surroundings, he spoke in a low voice, “Big brother, it’s not easy for someone of your age to still hold a secretarial position. But from now on, following Secretary Li, you’ve struck it rich. Your promotion speed will definitely surpass ours. This time, with so many positions opening up in the province, it’s entirely possible for Secretary Li to climb another step. When that happens, it’d be great if you could look after us a bit.”

Hearing these words, Nie Zhenbang let out a dry laugh. There really was all sorts of rumors, he thought. Even he didn’t know about the personnel changes in the province, yet here it was being spread so convincingly, almost as if it were true.

Nie Zhenbang replied vaguely, “Of course, Secretary Jiang. Actually, I’m quite interested in these group gatherings. Is there some kind of trick to it?”

At this point, some disdain showed on Jiang Kai’s face. He looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, whispered, “Big brother, it’s really quite simple when you talk about it. There are basically two aspects. On one hand, there’s the surge in spending. Most departments’ budgets aren’t fully used up by the end of the year, so they use them up during the group gatherings. On the other hand, it’s about giving leaders a bit of extra benefit.”

Benefits? Nie Zhenbang was finally hearing a topic of interest and immediately nodded, “Benefits? What do you mean by that?”

At this time, there was no need for Jiang Kai to respond. The younger man next to him said with a laugh, “Big brother, don’t you understand this? Think about it. Right now, the central government is strongly advocating against corruption and maintaining strict supervision over the integrity of party and government leaders. Think about it, who would dare to accept bribes at our bosses’ level now? But there still has to be a way to arrange for some benefits, right?”

The man’s words were very blunt, causing Jiang Kai to frown repeatedly on the side, but he couldn’t say much. After all, they all had similar identities as leaders’ secretaries. Jiang Kai couldn’t really scold him for his words.

The young man became more interested and said mysteriously, “Big brother, just think about it. With so many departments, commissions, and cities in the province, let’s say conservatively there are forty units, right? Attend one group gathering, just like now with the Agriculture Department, give each attending leader a memento, shopping cards, or something like it. Not to mention much, just maybe three or four thousand yuan each. That’s quite normal, isn’t it?”

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang nodded but was incredibly shocked within. By now, Nie Zhenbang had mostly understood. These practices could be seen as a form of legal corruption, arranging for gifts and benefits in the name of inter-departmental exchange that could be openly recorded in the expenses.

Not to mention three to five thousand; even several thousands to tens of thousands could be justified. Taking the Agriculture Department as an example, there were about forty to fifty secretaries present, which meant the Agriculture Department would have to come up with several hundred thousands. This was public money that could be recorded on public accounts.

But it was a two-way street. If you invited me, you couldn’t possibly not reciprocate, could you? After going through such a round of gatherings, one could easily participate in numerous events and casually rake in hundreds of thousands–and all above board, at that.

Thinking this, Nie Zhenbang’s mood became heavier. As he became silent, the others naturally did too. They were all secretaries, and none of the others would be eager to cozy up if you were not responsive.

After sitting for about half an hour, the staff from the Agriculture Department came in with a large bag, and each secretary received a red envelope.

This was obligatory. What secretary wasn’t a leader’s confidant? At times like these, they were naturally not meant to leave empty-handed. Nie Zhenbang received a shopping card as well, not much, just five hundred yuan. But if one attended enough such events, the amount would add up to no small sum.

After the gifts were distributed, the meeting on the other side also ended. Many secretaries started to leave, and Nie Zhenbang, following the crowd, exited the Agriculture Department. At that point, however, Nie Zhenbang didn’t wait for Li Youquan. He walked straight out of the Agriculture Department’s gate. He took out his phone and called Xu Hongzhuan, “Secretary-General, right now, please call Governor Fang, Deputy Secretary Qin, and Secretary Gong to come to my office.”

As he reached the roadside, Nie Zhenbang hailed a taxi. Getting in, the car took off, and Nie Zhenbang promptly pulled off his fake beard and removed his glasses, an action that piqued the cab driver’s curiosity. Was this a scene from a TV drama?

Walking into the provincial party building, he went straight to the elevator and upstairs to the top floor. Pushing the door to his office, he heard the voices of Fang Yuanshan and Qin Guanghan chatting inside. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)