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

After get off work, Chen Shi took Chen Ai and Zhang Gao to the courtyard to wait for Zhao Qinglin.

At 6:50, Zhao Qinglin's car drove into the courtyard. The driver stopped the car and quickly got out to open the door.

As Zhao Qinglin got out of the car, Chen Shi quickly stepped forward and shook Zhao Qinglin's hand: "Director Zhao, please come in."

"Director Chen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Director Zhao, we just arrived too. Let me introduce you." Chen Shi looked at Chen Ai and Zhang Gao: "These two are my sister and brother-in-law. They have been in the coal business for many years."

Chen Ai and Zhang Gao quickly greeted, "Hello, Director Zhao."

Zhao Qinglin nodded as a greeting.

Zhang Gao took two bottles of good wine from the trunk and followed behind Chen Shi and Zhao Qinglin.

Upon arriving at the private room, Chen Shi found the dishes had already been ordered and asked the waiter to serve them.

Chen Shi asked Zhao Qinglin to sit in the main seat, while he sat on his left, Zhang Gao on his right, and Chen Ai next to Zhang Gao.

After taking their seats, Zhang Gao quickly stood up and poured tea for Zhao Qinglin and Chen Shi.

Open the bottle, take the decanter, pour the wine for the two people, and place it beside them.

The food was served quickly, and Chen Shi and Zhao Qinglin started chatting about official matters, leaving Zhang Gao unable to get a word in edgewise.

After the two stopped talking, Zhang raised his glass and said, "Director Zhao, my name is Zhang Gao, I'm from Fushan Town. It's an honor to meet you today. I'd like to toast you."

Zhao Qinglin picked up his glass: "I can't hold my liquor, I'll only have a sip, you can drink as you please."

Zhang Gao drank a glass in one gulp, while Zhao Qinglin took a sip and put down his glass.

"Director Chen, there aren't many coal mines in Fushan Town, but there are plenty of lead-zinc mines. Why don't you mine lead-zinc? Lead-zinc mining is much more profitable than coal mining."

Chen Shi quickly said, "Director Zhao, please don't make me make a mistake. Leading cadres are not allowed to engage in business. My sister and brother-in-law started doing coal business when I was in high school. They know a lot about the coal market. When doing business, you should stick to what you know. They didn't get involved in lead-zinc mining."

When Zhang Gaojian mentioned coal, he chimed in, "Director Zhao, let me report to you that we used to be distributors, buying coal from coal mines and selling it to users. We were middlemen."

There is a coal base in Laoyan Town. Laoyan Town is full of coal mines, including many private ones. A friend who used to work with me had an accident at his coal mine, which resulted in one death. The mine was shut down and he was fined more than two million yuan. He is now heavily in debt and has creditors everywhere. He is preparing to sell the coal mine.

A friend is in trouble, and I want to help him by buying the coal mine. I'm having trouble getting the necessary permits, and I'd like to ask Director Zhao for help.

Zhao Qinglin thought to himself, "It's just getting a certificate. I should do Chen Shi this favor and take the opportunity to get to know him. He's a favorite of Liu Youguang, and I heard that the mayor of Mingzhou is his uncle."

"Boss Zhang, what's the name of the coal mine you want to buy?"

"Shuncai Coal Mine is a small, privately owned coal mine. It didn't have a license before and operated it secretly at night."

Zhao Qinglin had never even heard of Shuncai Coal Mine. It was a small mine, not a large one, which made things easier. He'd assumed Chen Shi's involvement meant it was a large mine.

Large coal mines involve many aspects, and you can easily offend people if you're not careful.

"Mr. Zhang, getting the permit isn't difficult. Just prepare the paperwork and submit it. Just a reminder, you absolutely cannot operate without a permit. They're cracking down hard now; if you get caught, you'll go to jail."

Zhang Gao quickly said, "Director Zhao, thank you for reminding us. We wouldn't dare do anything illegal. Please leave me your phone number so I can report to you promptly if anything comes up."

Zhao Qinglin looked at Chen Shi: "Director Chen has my phone number. If there's anything, just give me a call."

Zhang Gao understood that he wasn't good enough, and people didn't want to bother with him.

Chen Shi raised his glass: "Director Zhao, let me toast you."

Zhao Qinglin raised his glass: "Director Chen, you should all toast each other too, not just me."

"After we finish this drink, the three of us shouldn't keep toasting each other. Let's drink together; that'll create a better atmosphere."

"That's a great suggestion!" Zhao Qinglin laughed heartily.

The two clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

Chen Shi put down his wine glass: "Director Zhao, don't trouble yourself with such a small matter. Please see if you can arrange for my brother-in-law to contact someone to handle this."

Zhao Qinglin nodded: "Director Chen is absolutely right. I have a lot of things to do. The city has issued a rectification notice that all coal mines in the city without a mining license must be shut down."

After the Lantern Festival, a vigorous campaign must be launched to rectify illegal coal mines.

As he spoke, he took out his phone and made a call in front of Chen Shi.

"Section Chief Fang, I have a task for you. Director Chen's brother-in-law from the Public Security Bureau wants to open a coal mine. You need to cooperate with him and get the necessary permits."

After giving the instructions, he hung up the phone and said to Zhang Gao, "Boss Zhang, write down this phone number. This is the head of the Local History Section of the Planning and Development Department. Go down and find him directly, and he will arrange it for you."

Zhang Gao quickly took out his phone, wrote down the phone number, and saved it.

Chen Shi knew very well that Zhao Qinglin was giving him face by helping his brother-in-law get things done, and wanted him to remember this favor.

Within the system, everyone owes each other favors; if you owe too many, you're all in the same boat.

With the arrangements made, they could drink heartily, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. After finishing two bottles of wine, Chen Shi was three-tenths drunk. It was about time to call it a night.

He gave Chen Ai a look, and Chen Ai stood up to pay the bill. Chen Shi accompanied Zhao Qinglin out of the private room, with Zhang Gao following behind.

In the lobby, I ran into an acquaintance, He Xiaopeng, the director of the Water Resources Bureau.

He Xiaopeng smiled broadly: "Director Chen, Director Zhao, judging from your expressions, you didn't have a good time drinking tonight. Come on, let's go inside and drink some more."

Zhao Qinglin smiled and said, "Director He, how many sessions have you attended? Judging from your complexion, you've had quite a bit to drink earlier."

He Xiaopeng chuckled: "The colleagues from the Water Resources Bureau had a dinner party, and I had a drink with each of them. I was a little tipsy."

Not having had enough drinking, Mayor Qin of Heyuan Town called me and invited me over for drinks. I readily agreed and rushed over to have a good drink with Mayor Qin.

Chen Shi replied, "Director He, you and Qin Zhen can continue your drink. We'll be leaving now."

Zhao Qinglin and Chen Shi were not familiar with Mayor Qin of Heyuan Town, so they declined He Xiaopeng's invitation and left the hall.

Zhang Gao jogged forward and, ahead of the driver, opened the car door for Zhao Qinglin.

Chen Shi watched Zhao Qinglin leave before the three of them got into the car.

Chen Shi and Zhang Gao had both been drinking. Chen Ai drove, and the car stopped at the police station's residential building.

Zhang Gao took two bags out of the trunk. Chen Ai said, "These are some pickled vegetables I made. You loved them when we were little, so I brought some for you."

Chen Shi recalled that his family was poor when he was a child and there was not much good food. After graduating from elementary school, Chen Ai did not continue his studies and stayed at home to help his parents with chores, mainly cooking.

She made better pickled vegetables than her mother. In junior high school, she would bring a jar to school every week to eat, mainly because she didn't have money for other dishes. Often, she would spend two cents to get a spoonful of white rice and eat it with the pickled vegetables, which she enjoyed immensely.

Thinking back to my childhood, it was really tough. Chen Ai was a good student, but her father called her back to work. She felt that she owed her older sister a lot.

As long as it doesn't violate principles, we should help them as much as possible.