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

Jiang Yiqiu nestled in Chen Shi's arms, looking like a little bird, and whispered, "If you don't come to see me, I will come to see you tomorrow. Today, Principal Yang called me to his office and said that as long as the undergraduate admission rate is higher than last year after the college entrance examination, he will recommend me to the Education Bureau to be the vice principal."

He kept going around in circles, trying to get us to have dinner. I knew what he was really thinking; the main point was to invite you, and I was just doing it incidentally.

"Making me vice principal was just a way of currying favor with you."

Chen Shi asked, "Do you want to be the vice principal?"

Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?

"Of course it's the truth."

"If I said I didn't want to be one, would you think I was being hypocritical?"

"Everyone has different ideas and different ways of living. I know you want to be the vice principal. If you didn't want to be the vice principal, you wouldn't have become the dean of students in the first place. You could have just taught your own classes peacefully."

"Then why are you asking me?"

I want to hear you tell me yourself.

Jiang Yiqiu blinked his big, bright eyes: "I want to be the vice principal. When I was teaching before, I never tasted the power, so I had no feeling for it. Power is like a drug; it can make people feel intoxicated. Once you've tasted power, no one can quit."

Chen Shi disliked scheming women, but he was quite pleased to see Jiang Yiqiu speak frankly. They were all just ordinary people, and no one was more noble than the other.

Within the system, it's like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. It's like a pyramid; the higher you go, the fewer positions there are. If you have the opportunity to advance, that's foolish. Stay away from such people; when trouble comes, you'll easily get dragged down with them.

Tell Yang Xiong that I'm free tomorrow night, and ask him to arrange a place.

Jiang Yiqiu was overjoyed and kissed Chen Shi on the cheek: "I love you to death."

On a whim, Chen Shi started a prelude that lasted for over an hour, draining every cell in his body before finally falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, I woke up full of energy. It's great to be young; no matter how tired you are, a good night's sleep will leave you feeling refreshed.

Back at the Education Bureau, Chen Shi arrived at his office, which was spotless. Yang Xiaobo had brewed tea and was waiting for Chen Shi to assign him tasks.

Chen Shi sat down and turned on his computer: "Old Yang, notify the three deputy directors to come to the small conference room at 10 o'clock for the bureau's party group meeting."

Yang Xiaobo took out his notebook and wrote it down, showing how much he valued every word his leader said.

In private, Chen Shi called Yang Xiaobo "Old Yang," but in formal settings he would call him "Director Yang."

Chen Shi thought of Diao Kuan, and realized that the people around him had to be his own. He asked, "Are there any vacancies for vice principals in the central schools of various townships?"

"Deputy Director Diao Kuan needs to be reassigned."

Yang Xiaobo was secretly delighted. Diao Kuan had been eyeing his position as director, and because he had Wang Zhikai backing him up, he didn't take him seriously at all.

When an opportunity arises, it would be a shame not to seize it.

A lyric popped into my head: "Sending you away, a thousand miles away."

Laoyan Town is the farthest from the county seat and has many coal mines. Yang Xiaobo had been to Laoyan Town once and didn't want to go a second time. The whole town was shrouded in a gray haze, and the air was full of coal dust. After walking outside for an hour, he would be covered in coal dust and would have to change his clothes.

Laoyan Town is the most polluted place in the entire Mingzhou. Local officials racked their brains and tried every means to transfer people away from Laoyan Town.

Yang Xiaobo pretended to think for a moment: "Director Chen, the Laoyan Town Central School is still short of a vice principal."

Without a second thought, Chen Shi said, "Let Diao Kuan go to the Central School of Laoyan Town and serve as its vice principal."

Yang Xiaobo wanted to applaud, but he suppressed his elation and didn't show it.

"Summon Director Huang to my office."

Yang Xiaobo left the office, and only then did a look of ecstatic joy appear on his face.

Huang Ming followed him to Chen Shi's office: "Director Chen, you wanted to see me?"

"Director Huang, we will be holding a Party Committee meeting later to discuss two issues. One is the division of labor for the projects. I will keep track of the direction, and you will be responsible for implementing the specific project details."

My future work will focus more on visiting the municipal and provincial departments to find ways to secure funding for the reconstruction of the three key high schools.

There's also the personnel issue. Diao Kuan is Wang Zhikai's man, so he can't stay in the Party and Government Office. The Laoyan Town Central School is short of a vice principal, so he should fill that position.

Director Huang nodded: "Okay, we will strictly follow Director Chen's arrangements."

"I'd like to entrust you with the task of bidding for the project, supervising the later stages of the project, and ensuring the project schedule is met."

Huang Ming knew that Chen Shi would consult with him before the Party Group meeting, which was a sign of respect.

"Director Chen, what are your instructions regarding the bidding details?"

"I've been thinking about this issue for the past two days. I'm sure you've also received a lot of calls inviting you to dinner. The calls are all about the project, with people wanting a piece of the pie."

Last night, Deputy Secretary Zhang Kaizhi invited me to dinner. He brought Yi Feng, the general manager of Yizhou Chengxin Group, who wanted to undertake the construction of three key high schools, but I refused.

We must know how to make choices and stick to our principles. Many more leaders will try to influence us in the future, and we must refuse them. Secretary Liu trusts us and has entrusted the Education Bureau to us to oversee education reform; we must avoid any problems with projects.

Chen Shi took a sip of tea and continued, "It's difficult to put you in charge of the bidding process. It's easy to offend people. I've come up with a win-win solution: whoever makes the request can submit a bid."

You need to strictly control the company's audit process. Any company with assets of less than 5 billion yuan is not allowed to participate in bidding. This is a hard requirement.

The government can't come up with the money, but they still want to do it, right? They'll advance the full amount, with payments in three installments: 10% in the first installment, 30% in the second, and the remaining 60% in the third installment after the project is completed and passes inspection.

This is a mandatory requirement and must be specified in the tender documents.

Only companies with the strength and capital can undertake this project, eliminating those that want to make a quick buck by subcontracting the work.

Huang Ming took out his notebook and wrote everything down.

Yang Xiaobo walked in: "Director Chen, it's time for the meeting."

Chen Shi stood up: "Let's go, let's go to the meeting."

The three arrived at the conference room. Wang Zhikai and Li Zhe were already there. When Chen Shi came in, the two of them stood up.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Sit."

At the start of the meeting, Chen Shi placed his notebook on the conference table and announced loudly, "Today's Party Group meeting is focused on addressing the issue of separation."

He glanced at the three men and then said, "As the head of the Education Bureau, I don't like to hold onto power and leave you three deputies with nothing to do."

The next task is to advance the project to rebuild three key high schools. The project has been approved by the Standing Committee and has officially begun implementation.

I have assigned the tasks as follows: Director Wang will be responsible for the preliminary work, liaising with the Zhongshan Subdistrict Office to expedite the land acquisition process and ensure it does not hinder subsequent construction.

Wang Zhikai cursed Chen Shi inwardly, thinking that land expropriation was a thankless task with no reward whatsoever, yet he was assigned to do it himself.

They dared not show it on their faces and responded in silence.

Chen Shi continued, "Director Huang is responsible for the project bidding process and the subsequent project supervision."

This is a lucrative position, but it's also easy to offend people. Wang Zhikai and Li Zhe looked at Huang Ming.

Huang Ming said loudly, "I guarantee I will complete the mission."

Chen Shi continued, "The disposal of the old school sites of the three township high schools, which have been closed, is to be handled by Director Li."

My suggestion is to sell it to the local government. The education bureau is severely short of funds, so let's try to get a good price for the old school site.

Li Zhe nodded: "Okay, Director Chen, I'll go and check it out and report back to you promptly."