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

After arranging the work at the Education Bureau, Chen Shi went to the Municipal Education Bureau to report to the relevant leaders.

Chunyang County is more than 90 kilometers away from Mingzhou City, which can be reached in an hour by car under normal circumstances.

At 10:30 a.m., Chen Shi arrived at the Municipal Education Bureau and called Ye Li, the director of the Party and Government Office.

"Hello Director Ye, I am Chen Shi, Director of the Education Bureau of Chunyang County."

"Director Chen, hello."

Chen Shi said with a smile, "Director Ye, is Director Zhou free this morning? I'm at the Education Bureau now and would like to report to Director Zhou on my work."

Ye Li had investigated Chen Shi's background and knew he was Wang Mingzhang's nephew. He smiled and said, "Director Chen, please wait in my office for a moment. I'll go report to Director Zhou and see if I have time this morning."

"Thank you, Director Ye."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi went to Ye Li's office in the Party and Government Office.

Ye Li stood up to greet him: "Director Chen, please have a seat."

Chen Shi sat down, and Ye Li poured him a cup of tea: "Please wait a moment, I'll go report to Director Zhou."

Chen Shi smiled broadly: "Thank you, Director Ye."

Watching Ye Li leave the office, Chen Shi had a good impression of Ye Li. This was their second meeting. The first time was when they came up for a meeting in the conference room, where Chen Shi remembered Ye Li's appearance.

Ye Li was at the same rank as himself, both at the level of section chief, and he always greeted everyone with a smile and was very polite.

Ye Li is the chief steward of Zhou Quanfu, the director of the Education Bureau. His position is quite important. People would rather offend the deputy director than offend Ye Li.

Ye Li arrived at the director's office, where Zhou Quanfu was approving education funding.

Ye Li said with a smile, "Director Zhou, Chen Shi, the director of the Chunyang County Education Bureau, is here to report to you. He's in my office. Could you spare some time this morning to approach him?"

Zhou Quanfu had no impression of Chen Shi; this was Chen Shi's first time reporting to him. Zhou Quanfu was very dissatisfied that Chen Shi, after being in office for so long, was only now coming to report to him alone.

"He's busy this morning, tell him to go home."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Director Zhou, Chen Shi is Mayor Wang's nephew."

Zhou Quanfu put down his pen, looked up at Ye Li, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Isn't Mayor Wang's nephew still in high school?"

Ye Li explained, "Mayor Wang has a half-sister who has always lived in the countryside. Chen Shi is this half-sister's son. I heard that Mayor Wang values ​​him highly and often invites him to his home for meals."

Ye Li was deeply trusted by Zhou Quanfu. He would think of things that the leader thought of in advance and help the leader implement them. He would also think of things that the leader had not thought of and help the leader make arrangements.

He thoroughly investigated which relatives the relevant leaders in the city, and even the top leaders in the province, to avoid offending their relatives without the leaders' notice.

Zhou Quanfu nodded. No wonder Chen Shi became the director of the Education Bureau at such a young age. He slowly said, "Call him to my office."

Ye Li returned to his office, and Chen Shi stood up: "Director Ye, is Director Zhou available?"

"Director Zhou is very busy. When he heard that you had arrived, he put down his work and asked you to come to his office."

Chen Shi repeatedly thanked Ye Li, took his briefcase, and followed Ye Li to Zhou Quanfu's office.

Zhou Quanfu, beaming, stood up to greet him: "Director Chen, please have a seat."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Director Zhou..."

The two sat down in the reception room, and a staff member from the Party and Government Office poured them a cup of tea before leaving the office.

Ye Li also left, leaving only Chen Shi and Zhou Quanfu in the reception room.

Chen Shi said with a big smile, "Director Zhou, I need to apologize to you. I've been in office for almost two months, and it's only now that I'm reporting to you alone."

Previously, I worked in the public security system and knew nothing about the work of the education bureau. For the past two months, I've been intensively studying education. There's so much to learn, but I've basically grasped it now, and I'll continue learning in the future.

Zhou Quanfu glanced at Chen Shi; the young man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looked very fortunate.

He said in a kind tone, "Director Chen, you are so young to be the head of the Education Bureau. The responsibility is great. Work experience is accumulated. I didn't work in education before. I've been in the education system for seven or eight years, and now I can be considered a semi-expert in education."

Chen Shi quickly replied, "I will learn more from Director Zhou in the future."

After taking a sip of tea and exchanging pleasantries, Chen Shi got down to business. He took out a document on education reform from his briefcase and handed it to Zhou Quanfu with both hands.

"Director Zhou, these are some adjustments I made to address the backward education situation in Chunyang County after I took office as the Education Bureau."

This adjustment plan was submitted to the county party committee and the county government, and received approval from Secretary Liu and County Magistrate Zhang.

Chunyang County is one of the counties in Mingzhou with underdeveloped education and low teaching quality. After conducting a thorough investigation in various townships, I came to the conclusion that education in Chunyang County is relatively scattered.

Of the four high schools, only one is located in the county seat; the other three are in rural towns.

The quality of teachers varies greatly, and the undergraduate enrollment rate is as low as 20% per year. Out of 100 students, less than 20 go on to university.

For over a decade, not a single student had been admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University. I held a symposium to gather opinions from all sides, and everyone unanimously agreed to close the three township high schools and rebuild three key high schools in the county seat, centralizing education, recruiting highly qualified teachers, and eliminating those who were incompetent and just going through the motions.

Zhou Quanfu took the documents handed to him by Chen Shi, glanced at them, and had already heard that Chen Shi, the newly appointed director of the Education Bureau of Chunyang County, was carrying out education reforms in Chunyang County.

He was dissatisfied with Chen Shi, who hadn't reported such an important matter to him immediately.

Ye Li told him that education reform was actually one of the achievements of Liu Youguang, the newly appointed secretary of the Chunyang County Party Committee, and Chen Shi was just an implementer.

He was still dissatisfied with Chen Shi. Even if it was a political achievement that the county party secretary was in charge of, as his subordinate, Chen Shi should report to him immediately.

Having learned that Chen Shi had come to report on his work, he told him to go back immediately, and not to expect to see him again without making three or four trips.

Unexpectedly, Chen Shi was Wang Mingzhang's nephew. No wonder he was so fearless. Young people don't think things through. As a mature politician, how could I make trouble for a young man?

Zhou Quanfu put down the documents and asked, "The attitude of the local county party committee and county government is very important in deciding to abolish three high schools in townships and rebuild three key high schools in the county seat."

The Education Bureau is a poor department and can't afford to support such a large project.

Chen Shi thought to himself, "You old man, you haven't even asked for money yet, and you're already crying poor with a smile on your face."

"Director Zhou, this plan has been submitted to the county party committee and county government. Secretary Liu and County Magistrate Zhang spoke with me separately and expressed their support."

The county's finances are barely enough to cover basic expenses; they can't afford to rebuild three key high schools.

The significant adjustments to education in Chunyang County are inseparable from the support of the municipal education bureau. I believe that concentrating schools in the county seat will change the backward state of education in Chunyang County.

Zhou Quanfu lit a cigarette. "Why didn't you think of the Municipal Bureau earlier? You only think of the Municipal Bureau now. You want money right away? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Even if you're Wang Mingzhang's nephew, it's not allowed."

I thought Liu Youguang, who was in charge of education reform, would provide funds to support education. But it turns out he's a miser who only wants political achievements and has no intention of spending money.