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

Chen Shi returned to Fushan Town, feeling dejected. Without connections, he found himself in a very difficult situation.

I received a call from Wang Yanhong saying that she had something to do and wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

After hanging up the phone, I returned to my dorm, lay on my bed, stared at the ceiling, feeling lost and uncertain about my future.

Zhang Huxing rushed in, pushing the door open: "Xiao Chen, I have good news for you."

Chen Shi didn't even lift his eyelids. Zhang Hu continued, "I made plans with Xu Mengmeng. She agreed to come out alone with me tonight for dinner. Do you think she's interested in me too? Should I try to win her over tonight?"

Chen Shi sat up. "What are you thinking about? A girl like Xu Mengmeng is not easy to mess with."

"Do you want to marry Xu Mengmeng?"

"Let's try dating and see if it's a good fit."

"Xu Mengmeng is not easy to win over. Be careful. The fact that she is willing to come out means that she likes you. Don't rush it. A wife who comes for free won't make you rich. You need patience to pursue a girl."

Zhang Hu nodded: "I'll remember. If we really succeed, I'll treat you to a big meal."

He turned and walked out of the dormitory to find Tony, his hairstylist, to get a trendy new hairstyle.

Chen Shi walked out of the dormitory, not knowing where to go. In a big city, he could go to the park, but in a small town, there wasn't even a decent park, and he could run into an acquaintance every five steps.

Standing at the entrance of the police station, I hesitated for a moment, then turned around and walked back to my dormitory. I really had nowhere else to go.

We need to find a way to leave this place; rural towns are no place for humans to live.

Chen Shi returned to the dormitory, but Wang Yanhong did not come back. As darkness fell and there was nowhere to go, he went to sleep.

Life at the police station is dull and monotonous; Chen Shi is now on patrol duty alone.

He is experienced and usually only needs two auxiliary police officers when responding to a call. He handles minor matters by smoothing things over, and reports major matters to the county public security bureau, where he will handle them as appropriate.

The main point is to avoid taking responsibility.

With a monthly salary of around three thousand, no one would work themselves to the bone.

It was Chen Shi and Zhang Hu's turn to be on duty on the weekend. The two sat in the break room, staring at each other. Usually, nothing much would happen on the weekend.

Chen Shi looked at Zhang Hu: "You're in love."

Zhang Hu grinned and said, "How did you figure that out?"

"It's written all over your face. You used to have a long face all the time, but now you're like a completely different person, always smiling."

Zhang Hu took out a cigarette and handed one to Chen Shi: "Last night, I confessed my feelings to her. She neither accepted nor rejected me. I kissed her forcefully, but she pushed me away. She wasn't angry; her face turned red, and she ran away."

Chen Shi lit a cigarette: "Ask her out again tonight and see her reaction."

Zhang Hu took a deep drag on his cigarette: "No chance tonight, she went home. We'll continue on Monday."

The operator entered the break room: "Officer Chen, Officer Zhang, there's a dispute in Dongcun. Someone called the police and asked us to come quickly, otherwise someone might get killed."

Upon hearing the word "human life," the two men immediately stood up, threw their cigarettes on the ground, and rushed to the scene.

If someone dies, or if the police are even a minute late in responding, they will be held responsible, and they might even have to take off their uniform.

He led three auxiliary police officers to Dongcun.

Dongcun is 12 kilometers away from Fushan Town. It takes about 20 minutes to get there by mountain road.

Chen Shi and Zhang Hu got out of the police car and saw more than a dozen people, divided into two groups, holding hoes, facing each other, but not yet making a move.

Chen Shi breathed a sigh of relief, rushed over, and shouted, "What are you doing?"

When the police arrived, both groups stopped arguing.

Zhang Hu pointed at the crowd: "Put down your hoes, no fighting allowed. If there's any dispute, sit down and talk it out."

The two groups started talking at once, arguing fiercely, which gave Zhang Hu a headache.

He shouted, "Quiet! Choose a representative from each side to speak, one after the other."

Chen Shi roughly understood that the newly built house next door had taken up a family's land.

The family that had negotiated compensation beforehand failed to reach an agreement, so they proceeded with building the new house.

The family whose land was taken had been working away from home. Now that they've returned, they find their land occupied for building houses and are demanding 10,000 yuan in compensation. The family that occupied the land to build the house is only willing to pay 5,000 yuan, and the two sides haven't reached an agreement.

The family whose land was seized was furious and called their brothers from the clan to demolish their house.

The family building the house also called in their brothers from the clan, and the two sides were on the verge of fighting.

Someone nearby called the police. If a fight breaks out, someone might die.

Representatives were elected from both sides. The family that built the new house insisted that the land belonged to the village, and that the family whose land was occupied had illegally occupied the village's collective land, which was itself illegal, and they would not give any compensation.

The family whose land was seized was furious. They had cultivated the land for over ten years, and now it belonged to the village collective.

Chen Shi called the village chief to inquire. He learned that the land was a small plot of reclaimed land, and in principle, when the land was contracted to individual households, it was not allocated to any specific family.

At the time, it was wasteland. Whoever cleared the land could plant crops, and the village did not investigate.

If we investigate, these small plots of reclaimed land belong to the village.

The family whose land was occupied roared, "This land was cleared by me, so it's mine. If you take my land, you have to compensate me. If you don't compensate me, I'll demolish the house."

The man who built the new house shouted, "This land belongs to the village collective, not you. If you dare to touch the house, I can kill you. You'll die in vain; I'm acting in self-defense."

Chen Shi had seen this kind of thing many times; it often happened in rural areas. You might think that the land you cultivate is yours, but it isn't.

Zhang Hu shouted, "I already know the details of the matter. This is a civil dispute, and you can file a lawsuit in court."

But you can't demolish the house. Demolishing a house is a criminal offense, which falls under the jurisdiction of the police station, and they will take you away.

The family whose land was occupied asked, "If he occupies my land to build a house, it's not illegal, but if I demolish his house, it's illegal?"

Zhang Hu raised his voice and said, "It's illegal for him to occupy your land and build a house, but that's not under our police station's jurisdiction. You can sue him in court. But if you demolish his house, that constitutes damage to private property, which is under our police station's jurisdiction."

This is just muddling through; there's nothing you can do. Even if you go to court, it's impossible to make a judgment. Going to court requires evidence. Just because you planted the land doesn't mean it's yours. You have to provide evidence.

Such small-scale land reclamation is collective land, so even if there is an appeal, it is the village collective that is appealing. If an individual appeals, the plaintiff's case is invalid and the appeal will be dismissed directly.

The village collective tacitly agrees that whoever reclaims the wasteland should cultivate it, and they don't care at all.

Chen Shi recalled his cousin's family, who were in the same situation. They had reclaimed a small plot of land, and the land had been used to build houses. When he tried to ask for more, they simply ignored him.

After the house was built, he and his brother went there and pried off a few bricks. When the police came, they arrested them, detained them for fifteen days, and paid them three thousand in compensation.

My cousin was furious and took the case to court, even spending 20,000 yuan to hire a lawyer, but the case was dismissed immediately, and the plaintiff's case was dismissed.

The best approach to this kind of situation is to prevent construction from taking place during the initial construction phase. If you wait until the house is finished before discussing the matter, you'll be in a more passive position.

If you dare to touch someone's house, you're committing a crime, but they aren't.

After calming both sides down and handing the matter over to the village chief, Zhang Hu and Chen Shi led their team away.

No one can handle this kind of thing well; it all comes down to who has the strongest background.

The most effective solution is to directly sue for illegal construction, which will allow the house to be demolished legitimately.

But without connections, nobody would care about such trivial matters.