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

Chen Shi would go to Mingzhou almost every month to visit the municipal party committee compound and his uncle's house.

As for gifts, he didn't have any money and couldn't afford anything expensive. Every time he went, he would bring some local produce.

Often, before they could finish the mountain produce of the month, Chen Shi would send over new mountain produce. Seeing that they couldn't finish it all, Li Nan would send it to her elderly father, who was used to eating delicacies from the mountains and seas and preferred to eat these wild game.

Wang Mingzhang hadn't seen him many times; he was rarely home, either at a dinner party or a meeting.

He almost completely ignored his cheap nephew.

Chen Shi understood clearly that his poor relative, his nephew and uncle, were only related as siblings and had never had any contact with each other. They didn't even acknowledge his own mother, so how could they possibly treat his nephew well?

The main issue is the unequal status. If he were the county party secretary, Wang Mingzhang would look at him with more respect and would definitely acknowledge him.

But I'm just a low-level police officer, nothing special. Why would anyone acknowledge me? They can't get anything from me. They only need my help; they don't need me at all.

Every time Chen Shi visited, Li Nan was very hospitable, and when he left, she would give him bags and packages to take home for his mother.

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Shi rang the doorbell.

The nanny, Xiao Chen, came to open the door.

Chen Shi, carrying mountain goods, greeted her with a smile: "Sister Chen."

Xiao Chen greeted them with a smile: "You're here! Please come in. Didn't I tell you last time that you didn't need to bring any mountain produce? We can't finish it all; there's still plenty left."

"These are fresh. We threw away the old ones. Fresh ones taste great. My aunt said last time that my grandfather likes to eat these kinds of wild game, so I brought some extra to take to him."

Xiao Chen accepted the mountain goods. She was just a nanny, and the mistress of the house had spoken; how could she refuse them?

In addition, Chen Shi was good at speaking and respected me, calling me "Sister Chen" this and "Sister Chen" that, and didn't treat me like a maid.

She had a very good impression of Chen Shi.

Chen Shi knew very well that not all nannies were the same. If you were a nanny in an ordinary family, you would be serving others. But if you were a nanny in the home of the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, it would be different. You would be equivalent to a deputy section-level cadre.

Even a lowly official is important when standing before the prime minister; the platform is crucial.

Chen Shi walked into the villa with a smile and saw two people sitting in the living room. One was his aunt Li Nan, and the other was someone he didn't recognize but looked very familiar.

Chen Shi quickly recalled that the person was Liu Youguang, the county magistrate of Chunyang County, whom he had seen in the leadership section of the Chunyang County government website.

When Li Nan saw Chen Shi enter, he stood up and called out, "Chen Shi, you're here! Come and sit down. Let me introduce you. This is County Magistrate Liu from Chunyang County."

When Liu Youguang saw Li Nan stand up, he quickly stood up as well.

Chen Shi walked over quickly and shook hands with Liu Youguang warmly.

"Hello, County Chief Liu, I am Chen Shi, and I am currently a police officer at the Fushan Town Police Station."

Li Nan chimed in, "County Chief Liu, this is my nephew. He works under you, so you'll have to take care of him."

Liu Youguang smiled and said, "Young and promising, he graduated from police academy."

Donghai Public Security University

Liu Youguang nodded, which was a sign of his approval of Chen Shi. Donghai Police University was the best police academy in Donghai.

The deputy secretary of the municipal party committee said to take care of her, so naturally I should take care of her too. I am Wang Mingzhang's person, so Li Nan's words are Wang Mingzhang's words.

He wasn't quite sure whether Chen Shi was Wang Mingzhang's nephew or cousin.

However, judging from Li Nan's enthusiasm and the fact that he even stood up to greet her, they must be relatives.

How could the nephew of the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee possibly be a police officer at the grassroots level? At the very least, he should be in the county public security bureau.

Li Nan smiled and said, "My nephew is really capable. He passed the provincial public security bureau exam on his own merits, but unfortunately he was unlucky and offended some big shot, so he was transferred back to his hometown to work as a policeman."

Liu Youguang's doubts were resolved; it turned out that this was the case.

The Public Security Bureau has no jurisdiction over him. Even if he offends the director of the Public Security Bureau, they can't control him, the head of a county.

The county magistrate is not in charge of the local authorities; he only recognizes the leaders of the municipal party committee and the members of the provincial party committee standing committee. As for others, he doesn't care who they are and doesn't take them seriously.

Li Nan called out, "Sit down quickly, don't stand."

The three sat down, and Li Nan asked, "How is my sister's health?"

"Aunt, my mother is in good health. She often asks about you. Every time she comes, she goes up the mountain to get some local products for me to bring back."

Li Nan laughed and said, "Next time you come, don't let your sister prepare it. It's the dead of winter, freezing cold. I haven't even finished the food you brought the last few times."

"Fresh mountain produce tastes good. If we can't finish it, we throw it away. That's how we live in the mountains. We rely on the mountains for our livelihood. There are many kinds of mountain produce."

Chen Shi always brought different kinds of mountain products, which pleased Li Nan.

Every time you come, you bring something with you, and each time it's a different thing. You say you don't need to take anything, but you're actually quite happy inside.

If you come empty-handed every time, with a big smug face, everyone will hate you after a while.

Moreover, although he is called a nephew, the relationship is actually quite delicate.

Chen Shi brewed tea and poured it for Liu Youguang. He could tell that Liu Youguang was absent-minded and preoccupied.

This person came to report to Wang Mingzhang, but instead of going to the municipal party committee, they came directly to his home without bringing anyone with them. It is very likely that they came to deliver a gift.

A black leather bag was placed next to Liu Guan.

Chen Shi's mind raced. Chunyang County was a major coal-producing county. Two months ago, a gas explosion occurred in a large coal mine in Huangchang Town, killing more than 20 people and injuring more than 30.

The deputy secretary of the provincial party committee personally came to the large coal mine in Huangchang Town to oversee the rescue work, and several key leaders of the municipal party committee also came.

Liu Youguang came to see Wang Mingzhang, most likely because of this matter. As the head of the county government, he would be the primary person responsible if something went wrong, and he might even be removed from his post as county head.

The three chatted for over an hour before Wang Mingzhang returned.

When Liu Youguang saw Wang Mingzhang return, he quickly stood up and went forward to greet him.

"Secretary Wang, excuse me, I have important work to report to you."

Chen Shi also stood up. It was important work, and he had come all the way home. His briefcase was bulging, so it seemed he had quite a lot of things.

Li Nan sat down and looked at Chen Shi: "Sit down, ignore them, let's talk about work."

Chen Shi hummed in agreement and sat down.

Wang Mingzhang didn't even glance at Chen Shi, his voice low and deep: "Let's talk in my study."

The two went upstairs to the study.

Chen Shi felt that an opportunity had come. The Huangchang Town coal mine incident had caused a great stir and was even featured on the provincial television news. Wang Mingzhang ignored him, but he frequently visited the municipal party committee compound and his home. He could use this as leverage to build a connection with Liu Youguang.

Liu Youguang was afraid of losing his official position, so he made every effort to help him out. If Liu Youguang didn't fall from grace, his career would be secure; if Liu Youguang did fall, he would simply return to square one without any loss.

Li Nan, his aunt-in-law, does like him, but as the principal of Mingzhou No. 1 High School, she has limited power and can't help him.

Wang Mingzhang, who held power, was his own uncle, but he didn't acknowledge him at all. He had to rely on Wang Mingzhang's connections to find a powerful backer.

Wang Mingzhang and Liu Youguang talked in the study for more than half an hour, but it is unclear what they talked about.

Liu Youguang did not send his gift, but he still carried out his bulging briefcase with a heavy expression.

With a forced smile, he said, "Secretary Wang, I'll head back now."

Wang Mingzhang waved his hand, signaling him to leave quickly.