LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 635 - 591: Disaster Relief Fund (Seeking Monthly Tickets) _1
Chapter 635: Chapter 591: Disaster Relief Fund (Seeking Monthly Tickets) _1
Nie Zhenbang was no fool. At this point, his words and actions were skillful. He did not directly turn his attack on Yao Yude because that would harden the situation, leaving no room for tactfulness.
Now, targeting Huang Jingwu, the director of the civil affairs department. Yao Yude, surely, would not be a fool either. He could naturally see it and if he was smart, he would seize this opportunity to back down.
On the side, all members of the Standing Committee and the disaster relief work group from the Ministry of Civil Affairs were staring in amazement. The young mayor of Wanghai city had guts indeed.
Huang Jingwu’s face had turned somewhat ashen at that moment. He was clear about the implications of Nie Zhenbang’s words – he was satirizing him for not coming to provide disaster relief, but to freeload instead.
Just as he was about to respond, Yao Yude beat him to it, patting him twice on the shoulder with a smile and said: “The Mayor Nie has made excellent points. In revolutionary work, how could we pick and choose? Nowadays, many officials lack such spirit. I think the food is quite nice, having both fish and meat with plenty of rice. It’s a lot better than red rice and pumpkin soup that the Red Army ate in the Soviet area.”
Meanwhile, Yao Yude had already taken the initiative to sit down. On the surface, he was calm and unperturbed, eating the dishes on the table as if thoroughly enjoying them.
Being a vice-minister-level high official, Yao Yude would certainly have some administrative sophistication, especially in Jingcheng, within the ministries, where mid-level officials are common and higher officials are numerous. If one lacks such sophistication, they would have been tossed aside long ago not knowing how “death” is spelled.
Seeing Yao Yude sitting down, the others also took their seats. Tian Xujian, though, was very calm. The storm seems to have passed, but he knew that it wouldn’t end so simply.
So, Tian Xujian expressed no dissatisfaction, saying with a smile: “Minister Yao, we apologize for our lapses in hospitality. Please do enjoy the wine.”
At this point, Yao Yude, with a smile, waved his hand and said: “Secretary Tian, let’s not drink for now. We can have a good drink privately when there’s a chance. For today, let’s not drink, as there’s quite a bit of work to be done in the afternoon. What does Secretary Tian think?”
Throughout the encounter, Yao Yude did not mention Nie Zhenbang, nor did he even glance in Nie Zhenbang’s direction.
Tian Xujian laughed heartily. The idea of not drinking was impossible. Hadn’t Director Huang just said that he wanted to bring out the Wuliangye liquor? The implications were clear – Yao Yude was expressing his dissatisfaction in a roundabout way, making it clear that the matter wasn’t over. His words also subtly showed goodwill to Tian.
Without alcohol, the banquet lost its official atmosphere. Every one of them was engrossed in eating, showing no other expression whatsoever.
The meal, which took half an hour, concluded hastily. This was unprecedented in welcome banquets.
Immediately after the meal, Yao Yude stood up, saying: “Secretary Tian, Mayor Nie, our Ministry of Civil Affairs team has a heavy load coming to Minan Province. We need to guide the entire province in disaster relief and manage the distribution of funding and materials. We won’t have much time to spend in Wanghai City. Let’s go to the Party Committee’s meeting room, listen to the reports, and carry out field studies.”
These words showed Yao Yude’s attitude of strictly dividing work from personal matters. And it was clearly a result of not receiving thorough hospitality.
Although the whole of Minan province was affected by the disaster, the core affected areas were concentrated in Wanghai City. This was evident since the Ministry of Civil Affairs team came to Wanghai immediately after a brief stay in the provincial Party Committee. There was no need to rush. Yao Yude’s words were clearly expressing his discontent towards Nie Zhenbang.
At this moment, Li Chaoyang was also somewhat dissatisfied. This farce had completely lost his face. Towards Nie Zhenbang, Li Chaoyang also harbored some resentment. While Nie Zhenbang’s actions displayed a steadfast adherence to principles, it also disregarded him.
Regarding Yao Yude’s words, Li Chaoyang would not refute. It was a simple tactic by a ministry’s work group. Any reason could result in a large cut in the funding, leaving you speechless.
If not for Nie Zhenbang’s actions, Li Chaoyang – now an official in Wanghai City – would probably have tried to secure more disaster relief funds for the city. But now? Li Chaoyang had made up his mind to stay on the sidelines and observe the proceedings.
…
The respective rescue work groups from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Standing Committee of the Wanghai Municipal Party Committee were both seated in the city’s main conference hall.
Ahead of their oblong conference table, each individual looked serious. Several officials held notebooks and pens at the ready for note-taking.
As soon as the meeting was seated, Yao Yude broke the ice with a smile. “Wanghai City is the epicenter of the Super Typhoon Pigeon. Could someone please share relevant details about the disaster situation in Wanghai City?”
Upon hearing this, Tian Xujian turned to Nie Zhenbang and lightly suggested, “Mayor Nie, you’ve been running around all morning. Perhaps you could report to Minister Yao about the disaster situation in Wanghai City.”
Nie Zhenbang did not shirk the responsibility and nodded. “After Super Typhoon Pigeon landed yesterday, our city suffered severe economic damage. Based on preliminary calculations, two-thirds of Wanghai City was subjected to around 900mm of rainfall. In many urban areas, flooding reached depths of over 1.5 meters, with the average flood depth clsoer to 80 millimeters.”
Nie Zhenbang’s statement startled everyone present. Wanghai City’s underground drainage system was known for its effectiveness and about the surprising amount of accumulated water. This level of flooding was unimaginable to them.
Nonetheless, Nie Zhenbang continue, “Also, the typhoon damaged at least more than a hundred trees along the roads. Over two million residents were impacted in our city. Six people have gone missing, two people perished in the typhoon. The agricultural disaster area spread over 10,000 hectares. The direct economic damage has been over a hundred million yuan, and indirect losses are, at present, unmeasurable.”
As Nie announced these numbers, his mood clouded. These statistics were all derived from reports from each district within the city. Over two million citizens were impacted, and Wanghai City’s total population is barely over 2.3 million. Elevating this disaster, a substantial number of locals studying, working, or traveling out of province would be displaced. One could say that the entire of Wanghai City was severely affected by this typhoon.
Once Nie had presented his report, Yao Yude spoke again solemnly, “Comrades, the landing of Super Typhoon Pigeon in Wanghai City is an incident that has immediately grabbed the attention of our central party and state department. The head of the central government, General Secretary Shen, and Vice Premier Leng, both have shown great concern over this matter. General Secretary Shen, in particular, initiated a series of key instructions. Wanghai City is one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities and the forefront of our country’s reform and opening-up process. We simply cannot accept failure. That’s why I am now leading the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ disaster relief working group. Our first stop was in Minan and now we’ve come to Wanghai City. This reflects the high degree of attention that the nation is giving to Wanghai.”
Hearing Yao Yude’s words, Nie Zhenbang felt a slight disdain. Yao endeavored to use polished, official terms to avoid discussing substantive matters. It seemed Yao was truly a unique character.
At this point, Yao paused before continuing, “As far as the relief work goes, the entire city must mobilize. Each level of the party government should establish disaster recovery leadership groups. Our priorities include drainage, dyke repair, an immediate inventory check on food and drinking water to ensure daily essential supplies for the public. Furthermore, we must commence planning for the rebuilding of structures destroyed by the typhoon. This time, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has brought disaster relief funds — exactly five million yuan. We will officially hand over this sum to the Wanghai City Municipal Party Committee and City Government.”
With the conclusion of Yao’s remarks, all standing committee members of the Wanghai Municipal Party Committee were shocked. Only 5 million yuan?
Upon hearing these numbers, almost everyone present shared the same sentiment. Was this truly an effort at providing disaster relief? Or merely an attempt to shrug off the responsibility with a paltry sum of money?
Tian Xujian scoffed inwardly, amused by the developments. Mayor Nie had become rather aggressive lately. Now that he’s brushed the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ leader the wrong way and received this meager funding, it’ll be interesting to see how he keeps his head held high amidst the municipality’s increasing pressures.
Li Chaoyang chuckled at Yao Yude’s vengeful tendencies. Using a meager 5 million yuan for disaster relief was hardly conscionable, even if discussing it openly. As the former director of the disaster relief office, Li knew that central government was typically generous when it came to disaster relief and poverty alleviation funds for cities linked directly with the central finance like Wanghai. Speak nothing of surplus, normal sums would range from 20-30 million yuan.
Nie Zhenbang frowned. He was not well-versed with the standards used to allocate and verify disaster relief funds. When he was in Xinli City, an earthquake brought in more than 5 million yuan in relief money. To find that the whole of Wanghai only received a similar amount was clearly not possible. Yao Yude must be deliberately undermining him.
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