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

Chen Shi instructed the auxiliary police officer to take Ye Caihan to a nearby room to wait, and then called Niu Youde in.

Niu Youde's rat-like eyes darted around, clearly more shrewd than Ye Caihan's.

Chen Shi looked at him, but dared not meet his gaze and lowered his head.

Chen Shi called out, "Niu Youde, please sit down."

Niu Youde sat down, his head bowed.

Chen Shi raised his voice and said, "Niu Youde, raise your head and look at me."

Niu Youde raised his head and looked at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi stared intently at Niu Youde: "Niu Youde, Ye Caihan has already confessed that you two stole the cattle and horses from Ma Shuang's family together."

Upon hearing this, Niu Youde flew into a rage, suddenly stood up, and struggled as he shouted, "He's talking nonsense! We were together last night, playing cards at Longzhu's house, and didn't go back to sleep until after five o'clock. He's sick and talking nonsense."

Seeing his agitated state, Chen Shi looked at him slowly. Niu Youde sat down and said calmly, "Someone like the two of us might be able to steal small things, but stealing someone's cattle or horses? We wouldn't dare even if we had a hundred lives. If we got caught, we'd be beaten to death."

Chen Shi said with a serious face, "Where were you last night? What was the exact time? Who gave you the testimony? Give me a detailed account."

The time Niu Youde gave was roughly the same as the time Ye Caihan had given him.

Chen Shi glanced at the confession, then took Niu Youde to another side and put him under guard.

Chen Shi called Ma Shuang in. Ma Shuang, beaming with joy, rushed into the room and asked, "Officers, have you gotten any information? Did they steal it?"

Chen Shi asked, "When did you discover that the cattle and horses had been stolen?"

Ma Shuang blurted out, "5:30."

"Have you checked the time?" Zhang Hu asked.

Ma Shuang explained, "I got up and went to the Gushu Coal Mine to carry coal. I checked my watch and it was 5:30. I opened the door to get the horses and found that the cattle and horses had been stolen. I mobilized the neighbors to search for them, and people were sent from all directions to chase after them. We searched all morning, but there was no trace of them."

Chen Shi recalled Niu Youde's words that Ye Caihan was ill and asked, "Is Ye Caihan ill?"

Ma Shuang said, "After he came back from prison, he was mentally unstable. Sometimes he was fine and sometimes he would have a seizure, talking nonsense, like a madman."

Luckily, I didn't take it to the police station, or it would have been troublesome.

"It shouldn't be the two of them. They were playing cards at Longzhu's house last night."

Chen Shi handed the completed list to Ma Shuang.

"Take our men and go find these people to confirm whether Ye Caihan and Niu Youde were with them last night."

Ma Shuang took the list and led two auxiliary police officers to verify the information.

When the auxiliary police officer returned, Ye Caihan and Niu Youde confirmed that they had indeed been playing cards with these people the night before.

Thieves don't necessarily look like thieves. In Longtougou Village, cattle and horses are stolen every month. It's not something that petty thieves like Ye Caihan and Niu Youde could do.

If it were those two, they would have been caught long ago.

This thief was a shrewd man in the village, who knew the situation of every household in the village like the back of his hand. He planned meticulously and never failed.

To catch this thief, we need to secretly investigate the situation in the village, which will take at least half a month.

"I don't have the energy, nor is it necessary," Chen Shi said, looking at the confession. "I can go back and give my statement now."

This thief is a smart man; at least he won't target Ma Shuang's family again.

Ma Shuang retorted, "If it wasn't these two, who else could it be?"

"These two have been cleared of suspicion; they did not have the opportunity to commit the crime last night."

Chen Shi instructed the auxiliary police officer to release the two men.

Zhang Hu asked, "Besides these two, who else do you suspect?"

Ma Shuang thought for a long time. If these two people weren't thieves who stole cattle and horses, then who else could they be from Longtougou Village?

Chen Shi looked at Ma Shuang: "It's getting late, we need to go back and arrange the next steps of the investigation."

Ma Shuang quickly said, "Officers, you've come all this way. Please stay at my house tonight and go back tomorrow morning."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "No need to trouble yourself. We still need to go back and report the case. If you suspect anyone later, you can just tell Officer Ma, and he will investigate."

Ma Shuang escorted the group to the police car.

After a bumpy ride, we arrived back in Fushan Town at 8 p.m., when it was already dark.

After getting out of the car, Zhang Hu called out, "Let's go eat, we're starving!"

Chen Shi grabbed Zhang Hu and said, "Don't rush to eat. Call Ma Guoliang and ask where he is. We'll report to him."

Zhang Hu looked at Chen Shi: "Xiao Chen, is this really necessary?"

"Yes, it's very necessary. When a leader assigns work, whether you do it well or not is another matter; your attitude is very important."

If Ma Guoliang sees that we're returning from Longtougou so late, he should report to him immediately.

At the very least, it will make him feel that we value the work he assigns, which means we value him, and he will naturally treat us as one of our own.

Zhang Hu wasn't stupid; he immediately understood that if he were the leader, he would assign tasks to his subordinates.

The first thing I value is my subordinates' attitude towards the tasks assigned to them.

"Are you going to make the call or should I?"

"Go ahead and hit me," Chen thought to himself. "You asking that question shows you want to impress Ma Guoliang."

Zhang Hu called Ma Guoliang, who was at home, and told them to come over.

After hanging up the phone, Ma Guoliang learned that his appointment would have to wait until after the New Year. He had already felt the authority of his superiors; some were reporting on their work, some were asking for instructions, and most were being invited to dinner.

No wonder everyone within the system wants to advance; the allure of power is too great, it can really be addictive.

Chen Shi and Zhang Hu arrived at Ma Guoliang's house and gently knocked on the door.

Ma Guoliang was home alone; his wife and children had gone to his father-in-law's house. He walked over and opened the door.

He was very satisfied with Chen Shi and Zhang Hu's performance and took the tasks assigned to him seriously.

"Come in quickly, it's so late, the report will be the same tomorrow morning."

Zhang Hu quickly said, "The first thing we thought of when we got back was to report to Brother Ma about our work."

The three of them sat down in the living room. Ma Guoliang made tea and poured a cup for Chen Shi and Zhang Hu respectively.

Chen Shi handed the statement to Ma Guoliang: "Brother Ma, this is the statement we obtained during our investigation. Please take a look."

I think the thief from Longtougou Village is from the village; he's very shrewd. His plans to steal cattle and horses are precise and effective, and he succeeds every time.

Ma Guoliang took the statement, glanced at it, and had no interest in investigating the horse thieves; it would be a thankless task.

This time, he just wanted to show off in front of his relatives and make everyone think that he had great power.

When his cousin Ma Shuang's cattle and horses were stolen, he never even considered finding the thief. He simply sent Chen Shi and Zhang Hu with men to go through the motions.

"Very good. You are very dedicated to your work. When I become the deputy director, I will definitely train you to be key police officers."

Chen Shi thought to himself, "You haven't even become the deputy director yet, how come you're already so arrogant? How come you feel like this deputy director position is rightfully yours, it's already yours?"

Until the appointment document is issued, everything is subject to change. If it's not you by then, how will you handle the situation?

If the appointment document is for Chen Shi, I feel embarrassed for Ma Guoliang.

Despite still spouting flattery, Ma Guoliang felt quite smug.

Zhang Hu and Chen Shi left Ma Guoliang's house. Chen Shi thought to himself that as long as Liu Youguang didn't fall from power, the position of deputy director would most likely be his.

For a county magistrate like him, promoting a section-level cadre was just a matter of a word; no one would dare disrespect him.

Chen Shi's decision not to offend Ma Guoliang was also paving the way for the future. With Liu Youguang's downfall and Ma Guoliang becoming the deputy director, from today onwards, he was Ma Guoliang's man. Once Ma Guoliang retired, he could at least become a deputy director, a section-level cadre, for the rest of his life.

If Liu Youguang hadn't fallen from power, and I were the deputy director, I would also need to win over Ma Guoliang; his seniority speaks for itself, and he shouldn't be underestimated.