The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Li Fugui took a sip of tea and handed a cigarette to Chen Shi.

Chen Shi took the cigarette, lit it, took a puff, then took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer and tossed it to Li Fugui.

Here's a pack of cigarettes, take it home and smoke it.

Seeing that it was good cigarettes, Li Fugui quickly said, "I have cigarettes, I don't need yours."

"Take it if it's given to you."

Li Fugui wanted it, but was a little embarrassed, so he put the cigarette on the table.

When Chen Shi saw Li Fugui, he could tell he had something on his mind, but he didn't dare to speak. Chen Shi broke out in a cold sweat.

He smiled and asked, "Fugui, is there something you need from me?"

Li Fugui grinned: "There's something I need to tell you. Your cousin, Chen Jianhua, is always talking about you in the village and bullying the honest people there."

I think this will affect your reputation, and in the long run, it will negatively impact your public image.

Did he bully you?

Li Fugui nodded: "There is an open space in front of my house. It has been used to store firewood and straw since my grandfather's generation, for decades."

The night before last, Chen Jianhua said that the vacant lot belonged to his family and asked my dad to move the firewood away so he could build a toilet.

When I confronted him, he hit me with a wooden stick.

As he spoke, he pulled up his clothes, revealing his back, which was covered in bruises, a shocking sight.

"My back still hurts because he chased me with a wooden stick and beat me. He threw away all the firewood and straw that I had piled up in my house. This morning, he brought bricks to build a toilet, and construction has already started."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi was furious. He never expected that Chen Jianhua was also a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong, and that he would use his power to bully those in the village who were weaker than him.

He picked up his phone and called Chen Jianhua.

When Chen Jianhua saw that it was Chen Shi calling, he quickly answered the phone.

"Xiao Shi, what's wrong?"

"Listen carefully, come to my office first thing tomorrow morning, I have something to tell you."

"Return the land to the wealthy family immediately, and take away the bricks you've been hauling."

"This land is mine. I used to use it to store firewood for his family, and now I want it back."

"Stop talking nonsense. You dare say this land is yours? People's grandfathers used it to store firewood."

If you don't return it, I'll have the police come over right now and arrest you and take you to the police station for detention.

"If I don't see you tomorrow morning, I'll still call the police to come, arrest you, detain you, and pursue your criminal liability."

Chen Jianhua wanted to say something more, but seeing that Chen Shi had died, he became frightened and reluctantly moved the bricks away.

When Li Fugui saw Chen Shi calling Chen Jianhua, he asked, "Chen Shi, will he return the land to me?"

"If he dares not pay, I'll arrest him, take him to the police station, and send him to the detention center."

Chen Shi looked at Li Fugui: "Don't be afraid. If he dares to bully you, call me. He should be detained or imprisoned as appropriate. I will not tolerate it."

"Thank you, Chen Shi," Li Fugui said, tears welling up in his eyes.

Chen Shi asked, "Who else has Chen Jianhua bullied in the village?"

"He doesn't dare to bully others, he just speaks rudely, but they ignore him. He only dares to bully my family."

"Would Xu Erdan and his son Xu Ruqing still bully you?"

"I won't bully them anymore since last time."

Li Fugui glanced at the time; it was getting late. He stood up and said, "Chen Shi, I have to go back now. The cattle and horses at home are still on the mountain."

Seeing that he hadn't taken the cigarettes Chen Shi had given him, Chen Shi called out, "Take the cigarettes."

Li Fugui then sheepishly put the cigarette in his pocket.

After seeing Li Fugui off, Chen Shi sat in his office. It was time to teach Chen Jianhua a lesson, that fool, a lesson. He shouldn't be causing such a stir in the village, ruining the Chen family's reputation.

The next day at work, Chen Jianhua didn't arrive at Chen Shi's office until 10 a.m.

He pushed the door open and came in. Chen Shi's face darkened: "Don't you know how to knock before coming in? Get out, knock before you come in."

Chen Jianhua's smiling face vanished, replaced by a dark expression. He walked to the door and knocked.

Chen Shi slammed the cup he was holding onto the table.

"Come sit down."

Chen Jianhua returned and sat down.

Chen Shi's gaze turned cold: "Close the door. What are you doing leaving it open? It's freezing cold."

Chen Jianhua reluctantly stood up, closed the door, took out a cigarette, and offered it to Chen Shi.

Chen Shi's tone was icy: "You draw it yourself."

Chen Jianhua nervously lit a cigarette and took a puff.

Chen Shi's cold gaze fell on Chen Jianhua, who had a big head and fat ears and looked like an official, but his brain was full of water and had no substance.

"Brother, what's wrong with you? You've even learned to bully others by relying on your power. How do you want to resolve the matter of you hitting Li Fugui? Detention or compensation? The choice is yours."

Chen Jianhua's face darkened: "Is it Li Fugui who came here to complain?"

"Luckily, he came to me instead of calling the police. Do you know what you did? Intentional assault, which is a crime punishable by imprisonment."

"He's been hit by others, but I've never seen him call the police."

"It's their business if others hit him, but it's your business if you hit him."

Chen Jianhua said in a low voice, "Anyone in the village can bully him, so why can't I?"

Chen Shi slammed his hand heavily on the table: "If others eat shit, would you eat it? Do you even have a brain? Haven't I told you before that in the village, you should keep a low profile and not bully others by taking advantage of my power?"

"I'll give you two choices: either compensate Li Fugui 5,000 yuan, or I'll send you to the detention center for six months."

Chen Jianhua got scared: "I hit him a few times, and he wants to pay me five thousand in compensation."

"If we send him for a medical examination, it will cost at least five thousand, if not more."

"Could you give me a little less, just a token?"

"You think this is a vegetable market, haggling over prices? If you don't pay up, we'll send you to jail."

As Chen Shi spoke, he was about to pick up the phone and call Zhang Hu. He was not trying to scare him; to deal with someone like Chen Jianhua, you had to make him feel the pain.

Chen Jianhua's face turned ashen, and he hurriedly said, "I'll pay you back."

He didn't want to go to jail. He felt aggrieved because he had never won a fight. He finally managed to crush Li Fugui and win, but he still had to pay 5,000 yuan in compensation.

"Go back and send the money to Li Fugui's house. Have him write a letter of understanding for you, sign it, and put your fingerprint on it."

"Will he write a letter of understanding?"

"If you can't write it, you write it for him."

"I can't write either."

Chen Shi took a piece of stationery from his desk, quickly wrote a letter of understanding, and tossed it in front of Chen Jianhua.

"Take it and let him copy it."

Chen Jianhua folded the letter and put it in his pocket.

Chen Shi asked, "Has Li Fugui's land been returned to his family?"

"They've returned them; all the bricks have been taken away."

Chen Shi coldly said, "This is the last time. If there is a next time, I will not interfere. Those who should be detained will be detained, and those who should be imprisoned will be imprisoned."

You better remember this: just focus on farming and stop bringing me up all the time. I'm the deputy director, not you.

Don't let the prestige that the Chen family has worked so hard to build up be ruined by you. You must win people over with virtue and treat the villagers with kindness.

Plant more tobacco next year. Jianyong's second brother works at the tobacco bureau; he can help you get a good price. That's the important thing. Don't do things that harm others and don't benefit yourself.

Chen Jianhua was lectured by Chen Shi like a grandson. He left the office feeling extremely frustrated.

Everyone else in the Chen family has a job, but he doesn't. It's one thing if he doesn't, but he can't even show off his power.

From now on, I'll have to keep a low profile. Just look at how Chen Shi looks, ready to devour me. I'm not kidding.