Chapter 810: Chapter 766 Scandal
At around half past seven, Li Jupeng arrived very punctually at the gate of Nie Zhenbang’s yard and entered. Nie Zhenbang had also finished packing his things by then.
As soon as he stepped out the door, Nie Zhenbang noticed the expression on Li Jupeng’s face, which was sowhat awkward and solemn. This was characteristic of Li Jupeng among people he was familiar with. Li Jupeng wasn’t very good at concealing his feelings.
Seeing Li Jupeng looking this way, Nie Zhenbang, for once, teased him, “Ju Peng, why such a face? Could it be that yesterday’s date wasn’t successful?”
This was part of Nie Zhenbang’s charismatic appeal. Compared to other officials at the provincial and ministerial level, Nie Zhenbang was quite young. Other officials, whether at work or in their personal lives, naturally displayed an air of authority that ca with age and years of experience. It was not sothing deliberate.
However, Nie Zhenbang was very approachable around his own people. In terms of age, among his subordinates at a similar level, there were none younger than him. Faced with a group of subordinates older than himself, so by quite a bit, it was understandable to maintain a dignified presence at work. But if one were to do the sa in private life, it might seem a bit contrived.
Therefore, Nie Zhenbang was always very approachable at gatherings within his circle.
Li Jupeng let out a laugh, but then his expression turned serious again, and he spoke in a low voice, “Governor, there’s so bad news. Today, several mainstream TV and newspaper dia outlets reported a story about excessive pricing at tourist attractions in Bashu Province.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Nie Zhenbang’s face imdiately darkened. The tourism industry was one he planned to develop vigorously. At such a sensitive ti, the occurrence of such a scandal was a heavy blow to the tourism industry in Bashu Province and might even affect his next step in the planning process.
“What is going on with the Propaganda Departnt? How could they be completely unaware of such a major issue? With all the funding they receive every year, what are they doing? How could they let such news appear in the dia? Don’t they understand that this is a serious setback for our province’s tourism industry?” Nie Zhenbang was sowhat irritated.
He had only learned of the news from Li Jupeng today, which ant that the Provincial Committee Propaganda Departnt had received no information the night before. If they had known in advance, they would have definitely called an ergency eting last night to discuss counterasures. The Propaganda Departnt, in charge of the entire province’s propaganda work, not only had a grip on the provincial dia but also had connections with most of the mainstream dia in the country. They would have been inford about any negative news beforehand to prepare for it in Bashu Province. Clearly, this ti they had encountered a tough nut to crack.
Who could it be? That an incident of overpricing could make it to the mainstream dia at the national level? As these thoughts crossed his mind, Nie Zhenbang stepped out of the courtyard and picked up the phone to dial Zhao Xinglong’s number.
As soon as the call connected, a groggy voice ca from the other end, “Who’s this? In the early morning, can’t you let people live? I only got to sleep at four this morning. Whatever it is, let’s talk after I wake up in the afternoon.”
Through the receiver, one could faintly hear the seductive moaning nearby. At this mont, Nie Zhenbang was in no mood for chitchat. With such a significant issue having occurred, soone with considerable influence was involved. The situation was full of strangeness, with not even a hint of it being leaked beforehand. This was not normal.
Then, he said with a stern voice, “Xing Long, it’s . Get off the woman’s belly. You, young man, will sooner or later perish under the peony flower.”
As soon as Zhao Xinglong heard Nie Zhenbang’s voice, he sobered up a bit, and although his voice was still sowhat lazy, it was much clearer, “Big Brother, dying under a peony flower, one would be a happy ghost. Li Bai said it well, ‘To enjoy life to the fullest, one must drink heartily with the moonlit cup.’ Life is but a fleeting mont, like grass and trees in autumn. If a man does not embrace youth with vigor, it is a life wasted. I’m still in my pri and if I don’t enjoy myself now, in ten years, I will no longer be able to.”
All of his sworn brothers ca from prominent families, but they shared one thing in common: they were flirtatious but not lecherous. In matters of won, they never resorted to coercion. As for leading a sowhat dissolute life, Nie Zhenbang knew that this was quite normal for people not involved in the system. Even a good man like Yang Anbang had his affairs. This wasn’t surprising.
Imdiately afterward, Nie Zhenbang spoke earnestly, “Xing Long, there’s sothing I need you to investigate for . Check who from Jingcheng has co to visit Bashu lately. Let know as soon as you find sothing out. This ti, soone has played a trick on .”
After hanging up the phone, Nie Zhenbang entered the provincial committee and governnt office building. Waiting for him in the lobby was the Provincial Committee Secretary-General, Lu Qingyu. As soon as Lu saw Nie Zhenbang co in, he promptly approached, “Governor Nie, you’ve heard about today’s incident, haven’t you?”
Nie Zhenbang nodded and said in a deep voice, “Secretary-General, are you waiting for for a eting?”
Lu Qingyu also nodded at this mont and said, “Just now, when Secretary Zeng saw the report, he imdiately flew into a rage. He notified the standing committee mbers who were at ho to rush to the eting room for a eting. I figured that Governor Nie would probably be coming over soon, so I simply waited for you here.”
In front of Nie Zhenbang, Lu Qingyu was very careful, grasping thoroughly the tone, attitude, and thod of speaking, not coming across as arrogant just because he was Zeng Taiping’s chief steward.
Lu Qingyu’s attitude was indeed comndable. The role of the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee was not an easy one. Serving both above and below, although it was the position of the provincial party committee’s chief steward, it was not easy to maintain. He had to serve the leaders well in their work, gain the trust of the secretary, and also do a good job in providing services in life. The slightest carelessness could lead to getting burnt on the inside while remaining uncooked on the outside.
Upon entering the small eting room of the provincial party committee, Zeng Taiping was already sitting in the main seat. Next to him, Sun Jialuo, Ning Bojun, Lu Yong, and others had already arrived. Several docunts were placed in front of Zeng Taiping’s desk.
Subsequently, one by one, Long Genghua and Hou Wenkui walked in from outside, and finally, Tang Bingquan, who worked at the Tianfu City Municipal Committee, also hurried over, completing the attendance.
As soon as the eting room door closed, Zeng Taiping began, “Comrades, everyone, please take a look at these materials. These are the news reports by mainstream newspapers and dia in the country today. These were forwarded to by leaders from other brother provinces and cities. Everyone, please have a look.”
Nie Zhenbang also took the photocopied materials. Due to being faxed, the pages were not particularly clear, black and white in color. However, the newspaper masthead was very clear. “Hucheng Business News” and “Nanhai City News,” although both are local newspapers, one is from Hucheng City and the other from Nanhai City. These two cities are among the most economically developed regions in the country, and their influence is significant nationally. They could no longer be rely described as local dia.
On their front-page headlines it read, “Eighty yuan for a bowl of rice noodles? Five hundred yuan for a fast-food al?” Behind that, there was a subtitle: Murder or robbery? Thoughts on overcharging at a tourist attraction in Bashu Province.
The two articles were very similar but having this kind of news on the front page was itself abnormal. After pondering for a mont, Nie Zhenbang also said, “Secretary Zeng, soone is deliberately targeting us.”
As soon as these words were uttered, the eting room fell silent. Nie Zhenbang’s words were too bold, too direct. It was sothing everyone knew, but very few could articulate it as directly as Nie Zhenbang.
Zeng Taiping nodded, agreeing profoundly, “It’s inevitable, such trivial matters being placed on the front page headline. I don’t believe that the publicity departnts of Hucheng City’s and Nanhai City’s municipal committees have no brains. However, in this matter, others have reason and evidence. Although it’s a bit extre, we don’t have much we can do. Now, what we should discuss is the issue of how to make ands.”
As the words fell, to the side, Ning Bojun raised his hand and said, “Secretary Zeng, such behavior, I think, indeed has the suspicion of being excessive, but the other party also has grounds. I think, now, we need to swiftly co up with a plan to eliminate the impact. I suggest that the responsible comrades of the Provincial Tourism Bureau be imdiately suspended. Additionally, the responsible comrades from the tourism bureaus of the involved locations be dismissed from their positions. The responsible persons involved and the respective leaders of the tourist attractions be fired from public office. And also impose corresponding fines on the involved attractions. Starting from today, carry out a self-examination initiative among the province’s well-known scenic spots, to rectify the order of the tourism market and salvage our image. And to provide a certain amount of cash compensation to the parties involved.”
Ning Bojun’s suggestions were reasonable, basically, these were the most common thods used by local governnts after incidents had occurred.
At this mont, Nie Zhenbang’s phone began to vibrate. The incoming call display showed Zhao Xinglong’s number. Nie Zhenbang imdiately pressed the button to send an automatic reply ssage, “In a eting!”
A mont later, a ssage ca through, “Checked it out, a few young ladies from the Huang family, the Chen family, and the Xu family, with nothing better to do, went to Bashu for tourism and got fleeced like pigs. They’re not happy about it.”
Upon reading this ssage, Nie Zhenbang smiled wryly. It was really a misfortune that they didn’t bring on themselves, making it seem like he was jumping at shadows.
However, this incident also reminded Nie Zhenbang that the developnt of the tourism industry wasn’t just about expanding fa or improving the hardware facilities of tourist areas; it was even more crucial to focus on the software aspects.
With that in mind, Nie Zhenbang said in a grave voice, “Secretary Zeng, since this has happened, we should face it head-on. Here’s what I think, let’s hold our fire for now. I will personally lead a team to conduct a covert investigation on several of the province’s famous scenic spots. After that, depending on the findings from the investigation, we’ll decide on the severity of the punishnts. This way, we can provide an explanation to the outside world and prove the sincerity of Bashu Province.”
Source: Webnovel, updated on N𝘰vgo.co
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