Reborn as a Noble's Son

Jingcheng 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The Nie family’s courtyard house, at this time, was bustling with activity despite it not being the New Year or any particular holiday.

Not only were the older generation of the Nie family present, but Nie Zhenbang and his wife, as well as a few others, were also there. The moment Nie Zhenbang walked through the gate, Li Lixue and Dong Wan greeted him, taking the luggage off his hands.

"You’re back, go wash your hands first. We were just waiting for you to have lunch," Dong Wan said with a smile.

There were quite a few people in the courtyard, not only were Nie Yaya and her two siblings there, but An Na’s side and Dong Wan’s side had also brought several nephews and nieces. Yang Anguo’s son, Yang Zhi, Yang Anbang’s son, Yang Xin, as well as Dong Wan’s elder brother Dong Jianlin’s child, Dong Haotian, were all present.

There were several teenagers in the courtyard. Yang Zhi, Yang Xin, and Dong Haotian were all around seventeen or eighteen years old. Observing the trio, Nie Zhenbang’s brow immediately furrowed.

The young, coming from good family backgrounds, naturally want to express their individuality. In this era, it’s not just kids from these types of families, but even children from ordinary folk that dress uniquely—with dyed hair, sporting several earrings, and so on.

But to people like Nie Zhenbang, this was somewhat irritating to the eye. He said sternly, "Yang Zhi, what are you doing with so many holes in your ears? If I see this again tomorrow, I’ll cut them off."

Although these youngsters might not be very afraid of their own fathers, in front of their uncle Nie Zhenbang, they definitely acted like mice that had seen a cat.

Especially Yang Zhi. Upon hearing these words, he instinctively shrank back. From his time spent in Bashu, Yang Zhi knew all too well that his uncle was not joking.

With a forced smile, stepping back, Yang Zhi nodded and bowed, "Uncle, I will definitely correct it, definitely."

Watching Nie Zhenbang’s retreating figure, Yang Xin and Dong Haotian burst into laughter beside him, with Yang Xin sporting a particularly bright smile. His own big brother, usually a notable figure in their circle, had never seemed so scared.

"Haha, big brother, you’re killing me. Just now... the way you were, do you know what you looked like? It was as if Er Gouzi had just come across the Eighth Route Army, the very image of a servile lackey," Yang Xin said, clearly enjoying himself, these occasions being a rare sight.

"Get lost, can a dog bark out ivory? You’re not scared? He’s your uncle and also your mother’s brother. Who would believe you’re not?" Yang Zhi retorted with a deflated mouth, his face full of disdain.

He then turned his gaze to Dong Haotian: "Dong Haotian, don’t gloat over my misfortune. Go on, try to say you’re not afraid."

As these words fell, Nie Wenwen on the side spoke up curiously, "Yang Zhi, is it really that scary? I never found my dad to be frightening at all."

Nie Wenwen, also known as Yaya, was now a sixteen-year-old teenager. She had inherited her parents’ good traits, and with Li Lixue being Russian, she was the typical Eurasian beauty. Standing at 1.73 meters, she was definitely a stunning beauty.

Within their circle, Nie Wenwen wasn’t very well-known, and as for Dong Zhiping and Nie Panpan, they were even less so. After all, they were still just little kids.

The words of Nie Wenwen left the three boys dumbfounded, with Dong Haotian exaggerating, "Yaya, you just don’t understand. The fear your dad inspires, you can’t feel it. But maybe, Dong Zhiping will get that feeling eventually."

Yang Zhi chimed in with a chuckle, "Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. The mere mention of Uncle saps all my energy. How about tonight we all go out and have some fun?"

As they were discussing, An Na came out from the house, "Come on, it’s time to eat."

It could be considered a small family reunion dinner.

After lunch, it was natural for Nie Zhenbang to join his uncle Nie Guodong and his father Nie Guowei in the study, with a pot of tea and a few wisps of smoke.

After pondering for a moment, Nie Guodong nodded slightly and said, "Zhenbang, this time, you’ve been clever. You seized an opportunity to enter the game. With this move, considering your age, you now hold a dominating advantage no matter what."

The news about Nie Zhenbang’s reassignment to Longxi had already spread within Jingcheng’s circles, and his uncle and father, of course, had caught wind of it.

However, the eldest uncle was unaware of the intricate details behind this. On the surface, Nie Zhenbang’s move seemed impeccably right.

Although his transfer to Longxi was a lateral move, he’d received a half-grade promotion in party rank. Being in the game or not was a completely different concept.

Everyone understood how things worked within the system. The fear was not being able to rise in rank but once you were up, unless you made some grave mistake, you were unlikely to be demoted.

Nie Zhenbang was just forty-two years old, with plenty of time ahead of him. Now, by entering the bureau, it meant he was securing a leading position and gaining the upper hand. Even if, after this term, he couldn’t fulfill his desire to enter the core of Jiuding, there’d be chances in the next term. There would be two terms in total. By the time the term after next finished, it would only be twelve years. By then, Nie Zhenbang would be just fifty-four years old and still considered young. That was an advantage.

But at this moment, Nie Zhenbang could only respond with a wry smile, "Eldest uncle, to be honest, this wasn’t really what I wanted myself. I was quite passive in this matter."

Seeing both his eldest uncle and father dumbfounded, Nie Zhenbang explained the previous events with a smile. Finally, he could only say helplessly, "That’s just how it is. Hu Shangzhi strongly recommended me. After the leaders discussed it among themselves, they agreed. That’s why there’s this change."

Upon hearing this, Nie Guowei’s face also darkened as he looked at Nie Zhenbang and his older brother Nie Guodong, slowly saying, "It seems the leaders might have their own considerations."

Nie Guodong nodded, adding, "Perhaps that’s the case. If Zhenbang were to be transferred to a municipality directly under the central government or to a more economically advanced province, the leaders might find it harder to arrange his next move. Now it seems that the leaders are weighing options and considering the future. After all, five years from now, Zhenbang will be forty-seven, which is quite young. Two terms later, he will only be fifty-five years old, indeed a difficult age to arrange for him to take an internal retirement as Guowei did. Probably, the leaders’ concerns lie here as well."

After some more discussion, the two elders started to feel fatigued, and the conversation naturally dispersed.

Back at his own courtyard, upon entering, Nie Zhenbang found An Na and several women cleaning the rooms and tidying up the beds. Seeing this, he paused and asked, "What are you doing? Planning on staying for a long time or what? There’s no need for such a thorough cleaning."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dong Wan stood up straight and said to Nie Zhenbang, "Zhenbang, we’ve discussed it and, taking into consideration the children’s education, we think it would be better to stay in Jingcheng and not accompany you to Longxi."

"Zhenbang, that’s my thought as well," Li Lixue chimed in.

An Na also set down the mop she had been holding and said, "Husband, I’ve thought it over carefully, and I think we should not go. The kids are getting older, and moving around like this definitely affects their growth. Look at them, they’re so big now but haven’t made any close friends."

This statement made Nie Zhenbang pause for a moment. On reflection, what the three said made sense. The key issue was with himself. Over the years, leaving aside the time Li Lixue and Dong Wan spent abroad, in the recent years though they were around, they had moved from Bashu to Ganzhou, then to the Hongjiang River area, and now, Longxi was coming up, showing no trend of settling down in one place for the long term.

This meant not only Nie Zhenbang himself would have to move, but also his whole family. The children would need to change schools; having just gotten used to Bashu dialect, they would now need to adjust to the Hongjiang River dialect. Going to Longxi would indeed be a huge impact on the children’s education.

After pondering for a moment, Nie Zhenbang nodded and said, "When you put it that way, it really is true. I suppose I should blame myself now for being so indifferent to our children’s education."

As soon as he finished speaking, An Na gave Nie Zhenbang a flirtatious look, "You’re just realizing this now. You might be a competent official, but definitely not a qualified father. Fortunately, the children are used to it. You don’t need to worry about this."

Her blunt words made Nie Zhenbang a bit embarrassed, and he chuckled, "An Na is right in her criticism. Have Wenwen and their school arrangements been taken care of?"

"That was sorted out a long time ago. Isn’t that why Snow Sister and Wan Sister came back early? It’s Red Star School, they will be enrolled as transfer students. You can rest assured," An Na replied with a smile.

In Jingcheng, Nie Zhenbang did not linger for too long. Just as An Na had stated, he was extremely competent in his work.

The next day, Nie Zhenbang went to the Central Organization Department. It was a routine procedure for an organizational chat, although everything had already been decided, but the necessary processes still needed to be followed before taking office.

After discussing these matters, Wang Suzhou also stood up, smiling, "Zhenbang, have you really made up your mind?"

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang firmly nodded and replied with a smile, "Minister Suzhou, as they say, ’No investigation, no right to speak.’ So, I still want to go and see for myself."

Wang Suzhou understood that with such a reply, there wasn’t much room for further discussion. He nodded and said, "Well, since you have made your decision, I won’t try to persuade you any longer. But remember the old saying, you have seven days. Today is June 27; seven days from now, on July 4, I will arrive at the Ancient City of Longxi. You, as the main character, must meet with me on time. Moreover, going there alone, you must also look after your safety."

This matter concerned not only Nie Zhenbang but also Wang Suzhou, who would be bearing a certain responsibility. Should any mishap occur, it would be difficult for anyone to clean up the mess. Nie Zhenbang was well aware of this and assured him, "Minister Suzhou, you can be at ease. I won’t put you in a difficult position." (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for us at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)