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

The next day at work, Chen Shi called Huang Ming into his office.

"Director Huang, I thought about it all night. We can't wait for the money to come in before we start. We can work on it while raising the money. The moon will eventually shine again. There will be a solution."

Huang Ming thought to himself, "That's what they say, but the shortfall is too big. It's not one or two hundred million, it's seventeen billion. Is it going to fall from the sky?"

When the top leader gives the order, the deputy can only strictly follow it.

"Director Chen, please tell me what to do, and I will carry it out strictly."

"As soon as possible, turn the plan into a report document. In addition to sending it to the County Party Committee Office and the County Government Office, send a separate copy to Deputy County Head Gao Rong. After all, he is in charge of the Education Bureau, so we can't ignore him."

Huang Ming reminded him, "Director Chen, Deputy County Head Gao Rong is in charge of the Education Bureau. We are carrying out reforms, so you should find some time to report to him."

Although the education reform is primarily overseen by Secretary Liu, if we bypass Deputy County Head Gao Rong and report directly to Secretary Liu, Deputy County Head Gao Rong will start to have reservations about us over time.

Chen Shi understood Huang Ming's meaning. Liu Youguang was the county party secretary, and he might be transferred after a few years. It wasn't worth offending Deputy County Head Gao Rong over the matter he was reporting.

Within the system, try to offend as few people as possible. You never know who might suddenly become your boss one day, and you'll be in for a rough time.

"It was my carelessness. I was busy and didn't remember to report the plan to Deputy County Head Gao Rong."

I'll call his liaison officer right now, schedule a time, and go over to report."

After Huang Ming left, Chen Shi called Gao Rong's liaison officer, Zhang Song.

"Secretary Zhang, hello, I am Chen Shi, Director of the Education Bureau. Is County Magistrate Gao free this morning? I'd like to come and report to him on my work."

"Director Chen, please wait a moment while I report."

Two minutes later, Zhang Song called back and asked Chen Shi to come over.

Chen Shi arrived at the government office, the office of Deputy County Head Gao Rong. Gao Rong stood up to greet him with a big smile and shook Chen Shi's hand tightly.

"Director Chen, what a rare guest! Please have a seat."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "County Chief Gao is criticizing me for not being proactive enough in reporting my work. From now on, I will come to report my work every few days."

Gao Rong smiled broadly: "No need. Just give us a call if you need anything. You don't need to come all the way here. We don't do formalities."

The two sat down, Zhang Song poured Chen Shi a cup of tea, left the office, and closed the door behind him.

Chen Shi presented the plan to abolish the township high schools to Gao Rong: "County Chief Gao, let me report to you that during my time in the education department, I conducted a comprehensive investigation, convened a Party Committee meeting and a Director's Office meeting, and listened to opinions from all sides. Everyone unanimously agreed to abolish the three township high schools, concentrate them in the county seat, and rebuild three key high schools to facilitate management, improve the teaching staff, and change the backward educational situation in Chunyang County."

This is a preliminary plan that Director Huang spent a week working on. Could you please review it?

Gao Rong knew that education was Liu Youguang's main political achievement, and that Chen Shi's willingness to speak to him was a sign of respect.

Chen Shi was Liu Youguang's confidant, and Huang Ming was Liu Youguang's secretary. Their relationship with Liu Youguang was something I could never compare to.

Regarding education reform, I offer nothing but support.

He picked up the plan, looked it over carefully, and was stunned by the budget of 2.7 billion yuan. Chunyang County's finances were barely enough to cover basic expenses. Last year, the crackdown on organized crime had eliminated two major taxpayers, resulting in a serious fiscal deficit. Even if the entire county didn't spend a single penny for a year, it probably couldn't raise 2.7 billion yuan.

He put down the plan and asked, "Director Chen, have you reported this reform plan to Secretary Liu and County Chief Zhang?"

Chen Shi knew that Gao Rong was testing him. Could Liu Youguang really offer such a high budget?

Even if Liu Youguang wanted political achievements and was willing to spend money, where would the money come from? Even if he emptied the treasury of Chunyang County, he still wouldn't be able to come up with the money.

"County Chief, this plan has only been approved internally by the Education Bureau. I came to report to you as soon as it was approved."

You are my direct supervisor, in charge of the Education Bureau. You need to report to Secretary Liu and County Head Zhang; I'm not of a high enough rank.

Gao Rong laughed and said, "Your relationship with Liu Youguang and Zhang Xiangdong is something I can't compare to."

The two of them should have already seen the plan, but they still need to go through the procedures, since they are the supervisors in charge.

"Director Chen, don't be modest. You're a favorite of Secretary Liu and County Chief Zhang. From now on, you don't need to report to me about anything at the Education Bureau. You can report directly to Secretary Liu and County Chief Zhang."

Chen Shi said sincerely, "County Chief Gao, you are my direct superior. The Education Bureau reports to you on everything, big or small. If you think it's a big deal, then you report to Secretary Liu and County Chief Zhang."

Chen Shi at least outwardly respected him, which made Gao Rong feel a little better. He wasn't arrogant; this kid knew how to handle things.

"Director Chen, isn't this budget of 2.7 billion yuan too high? I'm afraid the treasury can't afford to build three key high schools."

Chen Shi nodded: "County Chief Gao, I haven't slept well for days because of this. I've been racking my brains trying to figure it out. Running an education program costs money, and given the current financial situation of Chunyang County, we definitely can't come up with 2.7 billion yuan."

"County Chief Gao, you're the leader in charge of the Education Bureau, could you please help us find a solution?"

Gao Rong didn't want to get involved in the Education Bureau's mess, but as the supervisor in charge, he had no choice but to deal with Chen Shi's report. He actually hoped that Chen Shi would ignore him and report directly to Liu Youguang and Zhang Xiangdong, which would save him a lot of trouble.

"Director Chen, the budget is too high. I don't have any good solutions. I'll report to Secretary Liu and County Magistrate Zhang this afternoon and see what their opinions are."

The normal procedure is that the Education Bureau proposes a reform plan, reports it to Gao Rong, the leader in charge, and after Gao Rong approves it, it reports to Zhang Xiangdong, the county head. After Zhang Xiangdong approves it, a meeting of the county government party group is held to discuss it, and then it is reported to Liu Youguang, and a meeting of the Standing Committee is held to vote on it.

However, education reform was a key achievement for Liu Youguang, so he skipped the intermediate steps and put it directly to the Standing Committee for a vote.

Chen Shi and Huang Ming were Liu Youguang's confidants, but their leadership positions were negligible.

Chen Shi was just there to go through the motions and show his respect for Gao Rong; he hadn't expected Gao Rong to offer any good solutions.

After leaving Gao Rong's office, Chen Shi returned to the Education Bureau. Yang Xiaobo ran up to Chen Shi's office and said, "Director Chen, there are two people looking for you. They say they are your sister and brother-in-law."

Chen Shi asked, "Where are they?"

"Please wait in the lounge."

"Bring them to the office."

Chen Ai and Zhang Gao arrived at the office, and Chen Shi stood up to greet them: "Sister, brother-in-law, why didn't you call ahead?"

Chen Ai said, "Your brother-in-law wouldn't let us call, afraid it would affect your work. We came upstairs to take care of some business and just wanted to check on you."

Yang Xiaobo poured tea for the two of them and then left the office.

Chen Shi guessed that his sister and brother-in-law must have encountered some difficulties and had come to him for help, so he asked, "Have the coal mine permits been issued yet?"

Zhang Gao said, "We came up here for this matter. Shuncai Coal Mine has been bought, and all our savings over the years have been spent. We don't have a single penny left."

Director Zhao of the Coal Bureau told us to go to Section Chief Fang of the Planning and Development Section to get the permits. Section Chief Fang knew we were his family and was very enthusiastic. It would cost six or seven hundred thousand yuan to get the permits, and we would also need to bribe some people. The documents were all complete, so we submitted them and waited to pay the money. Once the money was paid, the permits would be issued.

We tried to get a loan from the credit union, but since we didn't have a guarantor, it wasn't approved.

Chen Shi frowned slightly. "They've come to ask me to guarantee a loan."