Reborn as a Noble's Son-Chapter 865 - 821 The Spring of Agriculture

Chapter 865: Chapter 821: The Spring of Agriculture

Chapter 865 -821: The Spring of Agriculture

On the highway, a business van was speeding along, alone, without any vehicles following behind. It appeared exceptionally low-key.

This was on the high-speed road to Guonan City. Inside the van were members of the joint inspection team’s agricultural group, including elite representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration of Grain, the Rural Affairs Office of the State Council, and several other related functional departments.

The team leader of this group was Deputy Minister Qin from the Ministry of Agriculture, who had been promoted by former Deputy Minister Zhou. In that sense, he could be considered a staunch confidant and close subordinate of Deputy Minister Zhou.

Ahead, the business van approached the ramp, and a short distance ahead was the tollgate exit for Guonan City. Deputy Minister Qin’s expression immediately darkened upon seeing that there wasn’t a soul waiting ahead.

Next to him, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture also frowned and spoke out, “Minister, this Guonan City, these leaders from Bashu Province, are really too outrageous. Don’t they know that the inspection team is coming today? There isn’t even a guide car or reception personnel dispatched. It’s too disrespectful.”

As the words fell, a leader from the State Administration of Grain, who was also the deputy group leader for this part of the inspection, glanced at this person indifferently. He didn’t speak, but he couldn’t help sneering internally. Right upon the inspection team’s arrival in Bashu Province, Deputy Premier Yin had already given the bigshots in Bashu Province a show of strength without any courtesy. Now, it would be surprising if anyone paid attention to them.

Moreover, even though they were aware Bashu Province was playing games, this was an issue about which they couldn’t complain, with bitterness they couldn’t express. What was being done was completely reasonable.

According to the public reception regulations previously issued by the central government, this approach was considered official business, beyond reproach.

As expected of a provincial-ministerial level leader, Deputy Minister Qin had a deeper understanding and naturally exhibited greater poise and temperament. He paused for a moment and then waved his hands, saying, “Not having a reception ceremony is good. This fully demonstrates the effectiveness with which Director Shen’s ‘Three Public’ regulations are being implemented at the grassroots level. It also shows that the Guonan City side is confident enough to welcome the inspection team. Let’s not grumble any more. Before coming here, the senior officials had already instructed us to maintain fairness in our investigation and to strictly prohibit any acts of favoritism or fraud. This is better.”

He paused again, looked around at his colleagues, and continued, “As the saying goes, ‘One is short-mouthed when eating from others, weak-handed when taking from others.’ Now that we are neither short-mouthed nor weak-handed, isn’t that much better? Everyone, let’s perk up. It’s time to get to work.”

…

Over at the city committee courtyard of Guonan City, Secretary Wang Guofa and Mayor Jiang Jingu were already standing at the entrance, flanked by other leaders of the city committee. Everyone was in suits and leather shoes, with an air of courteous composure.

Wang Guofa’s expression seemed somewhat unnatural, filled with worry as he said, “Comrade Jiang Jingu, aren’t we going a bit too far with this?”

Jiang Jingu obviously understood what Wang Guofa was worried about. Normally, when higher-level leaders carried out inspections, governments at all levels would be fully prepared, treating the event as if going into battle.

However, now, this time, the concept had been overturned completely. There were no welcoming motorcades, no police cars clearing the way. Although there had been a big city cleanup, there were no other changes.

After a pause, Jiang Jingu smiled and said, “Secretary Wang, you’re overthinking it. This is what Secretary Su from the Provincial Committee and Governor Nie want. Don’t you understand? Governor Nie said that we should welcome the inspection under the most realistic conditions.”

Jiang Jingu spoke calmly, “Secretary Wang, you know the situation in Guonan City this past year. Agriculture has reached a harvest unlike any before, and in the city, several large grain producers, as well as the booming agro-product processing industry, have highlighted our decision-making in the industrialization and leadership of the agricultural sector. With all this, what else are you worried about?”

Their conversation eased Wang Guofa’s worries considerably. Gritting his teeth, Wang Guofa now resigned himself to it. No matter how formidable the inspection team from Jingcheng might be, what did it have to do with him? Guonan City was still under the leadership of Bashu Province, and he was an official under the leadership of Secretary Su and Governor Nie. Offending the inspection team wasn’t important—if he offended those two, his days in Bashu would be over.

After less than five minutes of waiting, a golden business van pulled in. The car stopped in front of everyone, and the doors opened. Deputy Minister Qin stepped out first.

At this moment, Wang Guofa and Jiang Jingu approached to greet them. Wang Guofa smiled and said, “Deputy Minister Qin, all leaders, welcome to Guonan City for the inspection and guidance of our work.”

As he finished speaking, Deputy Minister Qin’s expression remained serious as he spoke in a stern voice, “Guidance is an overstatement. You must be Comrade Wang Guofa and Comrade Jiang Jingu from Guonan City. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Qin Tieniu from the Ministry of Agriculture. Comrade Wang Guofa, I think we should get down to business. We have already gained a detailed understanding of Guonan City’s economic data beforehand. This time, we would like you to take us for a field visit to see your Booming Harvest Rice Company Limited.”

This is what it means to handle public affairs impartially. In the past, Wang Guofa had encountered numerous investigation teams, but those were mostly just going through the motions. Generally speaking, when a higher-level investigation team came to visit, the local government would provide a warm reception with fine food and drink, which typically meant that there wouldn’t be any substantial work on the first day.

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Now, however, the difference between this investigation team and those of the past was evident, and Wang Guofa had anticipated this.

Looking at Deputy Minister Qin, although he was a deputy ministerial-level official, Wang Guofa felt no fear or discomfort at the moment, and said with a smile, “Of course, Minister Qin, let me introduce you. Comrade Jiang Jingu is the mayor, and he is responsible for the economic construction and development of the city. The investigation team’s entire investigation and inspection will be fully managed by Comrade Jiang Jingu on behalf of the Guonan City Party Committee and City Government. I won’t get too involved.”

Wang Guofa’s words were very risky and bold. A department-level official was disinclined to communicate with a deputy minister-level official, which seemed somewhat disrespectful no matter how one looked at it.

However, Wang Guofa felt the risk was worth taking. If handled well, this would certainly leave an impression in the hearts of Secretary Su and Governor Nie.

Jiang Jingu understood Wang Guofa’s intentions and chuckled inwardly. Wang Guofa was indeed adept at finding opportunities to demonstrate his loyalty.

After a pause, Jiang Jingu said with a smile, “Minister Qin, let’s go to the farmland.”

“At the beginning of the year, Guonan City was the first in the province to initiate a pilot project for the centralized transfer of rural land. After a quarter’s implementation, it has yielded very fruitful results. In the second half of the year, more than sixty percent of the cultivated land in the city underwent centralized rural land transfer.”

Along the way, Jiang Jingu introduced the basic situation of Guonan City to the investigation team.

As the words fell, Deputy Minister Qin frowned and said, “Land transfer, isn’t that akin to buying and selling? Is it within the rules?”

In this, Deputy Minister Qin had laid a moderate trap for Jiang Jingu. But Jiang Jingu was not concerned and, with a slight smile, he evaded the issue of buying and selling and continued, “Minister Qin may not be aware. Guonan City, and even Bashu Province, have always had the most migrant workers. The majority of those who go out to work are the young or middle-aged labor force from rural areas. Like other provinces with a high number of migrant workers, Guonan City used to have fallow land. Nobody cultivated the fields, and agricultural production declined year after year.”

“The Provincial Party Committee and Government, with their foresight and a grasp of the current situation, adopted the land transfer system. They concentrated a large amount of land in the hands of skilled farmers and major grain growers. As a result, the amount of uncultivated land decreased, and the skilled farmers gained more land for productive activities. This quarter’s autumn grain planting area and grain production volume reached new highs.”

During the land transfer process, the nature of the land did not change; the original contractors not only received agricultural subsidies but also gained certain economic benefits from the land transfer. It’s a win-win situation.

As he spoke, the car stopped at the roadside. Ahead, a vast expanse of farmland stretched out, tens of thousands of acres, giving off an endless vibe. However, the large tracts of land weren’t split into small plots. Most of them encompassed more than ten acres, sometimes even dozens of acres, with concrete constructed channels between the strips of land, clearly displaying the scale of large-scale agriculture.

Seeing this, Deputy Minister Qin and his group made detailed inquiries with some local people and the current contractors.

Next, the investigation team conducted field inspections of the local grain processing plant and various agricultural product processing enterprises, and immediately checked some of the businesses’ financial statements and data.

The more he saw, the more Deputy Minister Qin was filled with amazement. Nie Zhenbang was truly impressive. The persistent rural issues that had troubled the central government for many years seemed to have been effortlessly resolved by him. This person, was far from simple.

As he was reflecting, some staff members had already approached, whispering to Deputy Minister Qin, “Minister Qin, we’ve verified that Guonan City has reached an approximate forty-three percent increase in GDP from the agricultural sector this year.”

Hearing this, Deputy Minister Qin was taken aback, his face darkened, and he said gravely, “What’s going on? The economic growth reported by Bashu Province wasn’t this much. How did you calculate this? Could there be a mistake?”

At the end of his words, the staff members gave a bitter smile. One of them replied, “Minister, that’s why we didn’t believe it at first. But after calculating it four times, we got the same result. It seems that Bashu Province intentionally obscured part of the economic growth rate.” (