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

During the afternoon training, Xu Ping'an walked into the training room and looked at Chen Shi sitting in the first row. "You're good at judging the situation and quickly shed your college arrogance."

These are two different worlds. In college, being handsome and talented is attractive not only to girls but also to boys.

Once you enter the real world, this complex and competitive environment becomes much more demanding. First, you need talent, and second, you need connections.

Many people think that as long as you have connections, it doesn't matter whether you're talented or not, but that's not the case.

There are many talented people, but they lack an opportunity. Once they seize the opportunity, they can establish themselves and rise quickly to the top.

Having connections but lacking talent means you might have many opportunities, but you might not be able to seize them.

If you're appointed as the head of a department, and one person under you disagrees with you, that's their problem. But if everyone disagrees with you, that's your problem, and the higher-ups will quickly replace you.

At noon, Chen Shi gave Xu Pingan a very pleasant experience. The two of them didn't have any major conflicts, it was just that Xu Pingan didn't like Chen Shi.

Chen Shi was so sensible and humbled himself, which pleased Xu Ping'an. In return, he wanted to give Chen Shi a little something in return.

He called out, "Chen Shi!"

Chen Shi quickly stood up, and Xu Ping'an continued, "Let me introduce you all. This is my college classmate, who has been assigned to the Fushan Town Police Station as a grassroots police officer."

All eyes were on Chen Shi. This had a different meaning; it was as if they were telling everyone, "Chen Shi is my man, and you all have to give him face."

Xu Pingan gestured for Chen Shi to sit down and continued the lecture.

Chen Shi has made connections with Xu Ping'an. He doesn't dare to hope for much more, but with some maneuvering, it's still possible for him to be transferred to the county public security bureau.

After the training, Chen Shi saw Xu Ping'an off to his car. Xu Ping'an had to accompany his superiors that night and wouldn't have time to have dinner with Chen Shi alone. Xu Ping'an agreed that they would have a couple of drinks together after the training ended at noon the next day.

After seeing Xu Ping'an off, several police officers approached. The fat man in the lead smiled and said, "Officer Chen, I am Wang Tao from the Public Security Bureau's Security Management Brigade."

A burly policeman standing nearby smiled and said, "I'm Liu Feng from the Public Security Management Brigade too."

The other two also introduced themselves.

"I am Wang Haiyang from the Criminal Investigation Division."

"I am Li Li from the traffic police brigade."

Chen Shi nodded and greeted them, shaking hands with each of them.

Wang Tao smiled and said, "Officer Chen, do you have any dinner plans tonight? There are four of us, and we'd like to invite you for a couple of drinks."

Chen Shi knew perfectly well: Was this an invitation to him? They couldn't invite Xu Ping'an, so they had to settle for him instead.

Chen Shi would never refuse a dinner invitation. Anyone who could get into the county public security bureau had some connections, which was better than him, who had no background at all.

"not yet"

Liu Feng smiled and said, "Let's go, let's make the most of our hospitality and have a couple of drinks."

Chen Shi was surrounded by them as he walked out of the county public security bureau. Wang Tao and Liu Feng had driven there; it was clear that both families were well-off. With their meager salaries, they couldn't possibly afford a car.

Liu Feng pulled Chen Shi into his car, while Wang Haiyang and Li Li rode in Wang Tao's car.

Liu Feng and Chen Shi chatted casually; being young people, they quickly became acquainted.

Liu Feng is from the county town. His parents work at the tobacco bureau. He grew up with Wang Tao, whose parents also work at the tobacco bureau.

Working for the tobacco bureau means high salary and high benefits; in short, it means being rich.

Upon arriving at Qingcheng Hotel, Liu Feng parked the car, and Wang Tao and the other two also arrived.

The Qingcheng Hotel was luxuriously decorated. The five people entered the private room, and Wang Tao asked Chen Shi to sit in the main seat. Chen Shi could tell that this fat man was the core of the four-person team.

Chen Shi declined to sit, and instead asked Wang Tao to sit in the main seat, while he sat next to him.

After the food and drinks were served, everyone exchanged compliments. Once they were full, Wang Tao finally revealed the purpose of his invitation to Chen Shi for dinner.

"Officer Chen, you and Section Chief Xu were college classmates. We admire Section Chief Xu a lot. Could you do us a small favor and invite him out for a couple of drinks?"

Liu Feng, Wang Haiyang, and Li Li echoed this sentiment.

Xu Ping'an has such great influence that the line of people inviting him to dinner could stretch into next year; it's no exaggeration.

After all, his uncle is the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the deputy head of the Political Work Section, a candidate for future deputy director. In another year or two, he'll be transferred to the position of head of the Political Work Section, and before he turns thirty, he'll be promoted to deputy section chief without any problem.

No wonder so many people are trying to curry favor with him; it's paving the way for their own advancement. Once he's promoted to deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, it will be even harder to curry favor with him then.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "We're all colleagues, so don't call me Officer Chen anymore, just call me Xiao Chen."

Wang Tao laughed and said, "In that case, we'll all call each other by our names. Don't call us Officer Wang or Officer Liu; it sounds too formal."

Chen Shi found these four men to be quite good. Within the system, who wouldn't want to advance? They weren't inherently bad, and they were worth associating with.

"Section Chief Xu has so many dinner invitations that even I, his old classmate, can't invite him for a couple of drinks alone."

Let's exchange contact information. I'll invite Section Chief Xu when he's available, and I'll let you know then.

Wang Tao quickly replied, "Okay, Chen Shi, please keep a close eye on things."

Chen Shi left the four people's phone numbers and left the restaurant. Liu Feng insisted on seeing Chen Shi off, and unable to refuse, Chen Shi got into Liu Feng's car.

"Liu Feng, thank you so much. Could you please take me back to my hotel?"

"Chen Shi, you're too kind. We're all brothers. Next time you come to the county town, give me a call, and we'll have a couple of drinks together."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Come up, I'll definitely give you a call."

Upon arriving at the hotel, Chen Shi got out of the car, and Liu Feng called out, "If you need any help, just say so."

Chen Shi nodded and watched Liu Feng drive away.

This training was very fruitful. By getting in touch with Xu Ping'an and using his connections, I made friends with a small group of four: Wang Tao, Liu Feng, Wang Haiyang, and Li Li.

Chen Shi pondered how to use Wang Mingzhang's connections to pave the way for his own career.

The training lasted half a day on Sunday, and then the entire training was over.

After the training, Chen Shi followed Xu Ping'an into his police car. The other officers who had participated in the training were filled with envy and jealousy. This Chen Shi was no ordinary person; he had gained the favor of Section Chief Xu, and his career would be very smooth.

The two arrived at a farmhouse and entered a private room. Chen Shi quickly stepped forward, pulled out a chair, and invited Xu Ping'an to sit in the main seat.

Xu Pingan sat down as a matter of course, and Chen Shi sat down next to him.

Xu Ping'an is a leader, after all; he won't come to dinner just because someone invites him.

Chen Shi wasn't familiar with Xu Ping'an's tastes, so he handed him the menu: "Section Chief Xu, please take a look at the menu."

Xu Pingan took the menu and ordered four dishes, all of which were spicy. Chen Shi looked at the dishes and knew Xu Pingan's taste: he couldn't stand anything but spicy food.

He ordered two items and asked the waiter to bring him a bottle of Moutai.

Xu Pingan's face darkened when he saw the Moutai: "Chen Shi, I'm not trying to be mean, but how much do you earn a month? You drink Moutai. I can't even afford that."

"We're old classmates, just catching up. Why are you doing this?"

Chen Shi hadn't expected Xu Ping'an to react so strongly, so he quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Section Chief Xu, ordering other drinks wouldn't show my respect for you."

Xu Pingan smiled and said, "Don't use such formal language in front of me. Treat me as a classmate. Don't call me Section Chief Xu, just call me Pingan."

If you take his words seriously, you're a complete fool.

Chen Shi, being a shrewd man, smiled and said, "A leader is a leader. You treat me like an old classmate, but I can't. No matter where we are, you are my leader."

Chen Shi opened the Moutai and poured it for Xu Ping'an.

This bottle of Moutai cost him half a month's salary; it hurts.

You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub; you'll only be able to eat steamed buns when you get back.