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

Chen Shi returned to the hotel to rest and wait for Zhang Kai's call.

Zhang Kai returned to his office and called Wen Xianglin, the director of the Party and Government Office of the Finance Bureau.

"Director Wen, is it a convenient time to talk?"

Wen Xianglin smiled and said, "Director Zhang, that's convenient."

"Is Director Hong free tonight? I'd like to invite him to dinner. It's not me who's paying, it's Chen Shi, the director of the Chunyang County Education Bureau. He's my boss's nephew."

Wen Xianglin, who knew Chen Shi, quickly said, "Director Zhang, please wait a moment, I'll go and talk to Director Hong."

After hanging up the phone, Wen Xianglin went to Hong Xiaojia's office.

"Director Hong, Zhang Kai called earlier and said that Chen Shi, the director of the Education Bureau of Chunyang County, would like to invite you to dinner tonight."

Hong Xiaojia had no recollection of Chen Shi: "Every Tom, Dick, and Harry wanted to invite me to dinner, but I was too busy and had to turn them down."

Wen Xianglin quickly said, "Director Hong, this Chen Shi is Mayor Wang's nephew."

Hong Xiaojia thought for a moment: "Isn't Mayor Wang's nephew still in high school?"

"Mayor Wang has a half-sister. In the countryside, Chen Shi is his half-sister's child."

Hong Xiaojia is a man of Xiao Chong, the municipal party secretary, and Wang Mingzhang is also a man of Xiao Chong. They are in the same camp, so they still have to give him face.

"I'll make time to have dinner with him at 7 p.m.

Wen Xianglin returned to his office and called Zhang Kai back.

Zhang Kai immediately called Chen Shi.

Chen Shi's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Zhang Kai calling. He quickly answered the phone.

Director Zhang

"Director Chen, Director Hong is free tonight. I'll make the arrangements. We'll go to the Water Cube at seven o'clock."

Chen Shi was secretly delighted: "Thank you, Director Zhang."

The Water Cube is the largest entertainment venue in Minnesota, offering a complete experience of eating, drinking, and having fun. The biggest difference is that it has a dedicated VIP area, separate from the general public.

Exclusive VIPs, here you can enjoy royal treatment.

Chen Shi arrived at the Water Cube at 6:30 and waited. When he arrived in Mingzhou, he felt like an ordinary person, nothing special.

At 6:40, Zhang Kai arrived at the Water Cube, and Chen Shi hurriedly went up to greet him.

Zhang Kai got out of the car, smiled, and said, "Director Chen, you're here quite early."

Chen Shi smiled broadly: "I have to come early to wait while I'm having dinner with the two leaders."

Zhang Kai patted Chen Shi on the shoulder: "Director Chen, don't stand on ceremony with me, we're all on the same side."

We'll wait here until Director Hong arrives, then we'll go inside together.

After waiting for ten minutes, Hong Xiaojia's car drove into the Water Cube, and Zhang Kai went to greet it.

"Director Hong, it's been a while."

"Director Zhang, I went to the municipal government twice, but I didn't get to see you."

"Mayor Wang is very busy, so I've been following him around on inspections. Let me introduce you to Chen Shi, the director of the Chunyang County Education Bureau."

Chen Shi quickly stepped forward and shook Hong Xiaojia's hand: "Director Hong, hello, I am Chen Shi."

"Hello, Director Chen"

After exchanging greetings, the three entered the Water Cube through the VIP exclusive passage and arrived at a private room in the VIP exclusive area.

Inside the private room, fine wines and delicacies were laid out. The waiter brought the three of them wine dispensers, filled them with wine, and said softly, "Please enjoy your meal. I'll be waiting at the door. If you need any service, just press the call button and I'll come in right away."

The waiter left the private room and closed the door behind him.

Zhang Kai asked Hong Xiaojia to sit in the main seat, and Chen Shi sat with him on the left and right sides.

The three sat down, and Chen Shi raised his glass: "Director Hong, I'd like to propose a toast to you."

Hong Xiaojia smiled and said, "Director Chen, no rush. Eat some food first. Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach."

Chen Shi smiled obsequiously and said repeatedly, "Yes, those are my lines."

Chen Shi and Hong Xiaojia were meeting for the first time and were not familiar with each other. Zhang Kai wanted to liven up the atmosphere and prevent the conversation from becoming awkward, so he started chatting with the two of them.

After eating for a while, Zhang Kai picked up his wine glass: "Director Hong, Director Chen, let's have a drink to rinse our mouths."

Hong Xiaojia raised her glass, clinked glasses with Zhang Kai and Chen Shi, and the three of them drank it all in one gulp.

Zhang Kai said with a smile, "Director Chen, didn't you ask Director Hong for help? Toast Director Hong with a drink, and get to the point quickly. Director Hong is a real heavy drinker; if you don't speak up now, it'll be too late."

Hong Xiaojia is the God of Wealth in Mingzhou. He is known for being a lightweight drinker. Many people invite him to dinner and ask him to approve some money. Hong Xiaojia pretends to be drunk and drinks three cups, becoming completely unconscious.

Hong Xiaojia smiled and said, "Everyone knows I can't hold my liquor. This is my first time drinking with Director Chen, please forgive me."

Chen Shi raised his glass: "Director Hong, I'd like to toast you."

Hong Xiaojia picked up her wine glass, and the two clinked glasses. Chen Shi drank it all in one gulp, and Hong Xiaojia also drank it in one go.

Chen Shi put down his wine glass: "Director Hong, Chunyang County has three high schools in rural towns, and their teaching quality is the worst in the entire Mingzhou."

The county party committee and county government decided to close three township high schools and rebuild three key high schools in the county seat. The budget is 2.7 billion yuan. Chunyang County is a poor county with limited budget, so it can only allocate 1 billion yuan to the education bureau. We have to find the rest ourselves.

My first thought was, "Director Hong, you are my benefactor! Please save me! Secretary Liu has given a strict order: the reconstruction of three key high schools must be completed on time and in full. If we fail to do so, I, the director of the Education Bureau, will be out of a job."

Hong Xiaojia looked troubled and said, "Director Chen, Mingzhou has a serious fiscal deficit. It's really difficult for me as the director of the Finance Bureau. There are expenses everywhere, and we really can't come up with any money to support your education efforts. Go to the Municipal Education Bureau and ask Lao Zhou for a solution."

He thought to himself, "Are you out of your mind? You just casually ask for 1.7 billion yuan. Without Secretary Xiao's approval, no one could come up with that much money."

A poor county is simultaneously planning to build three key high schools, with a budget of 2.7 billion yuan. I think Liu Youguang is crazy for political achievements.

Hong Xiaojia glanced at Chen Shi. He was still too young, daring to take on any task. This was clearly an impossible mission. Even if Wang Mingzhang himself asked, let alone you, he couldn't possibly come up with 1.7 billion yuan to allocate to education in Chunyang County.

Zhang Kai continued, "Director Hong, Director Chen didn't ask you for 1.7 billion. No matter how tight the Finance Bureau is, they can always squeeze out a little bit."

Zhang Kai's words represented Wang Mingzhang, and his meaning was very clear: they should at least give him some face.

Hong Xiaojia thought for a moment, looked troubled, and sighed, "I'm like a skilled cook without rice; money is needed everywhere, and the Finance Bureau is also stretched thin. So, I'll try to squeeze out 50 million and allocate it to the Chunyang County Education Bureau to support your education efforts."

Chen Shi looked disappointed. Fifty million? His expectation was four or five hundred million. This was only one-tenth of that.

"Director Hong, education concerns every household. Could the Finance Bureau squeeze out another two or three hundred million yuan to support education in Chunyang County?"

Hong Xiaojia shook her head repeatedly: "Director Chen, please don't make things difficult for me. I have to squeeze out fifty million from my own teeth. I can't come up with a single penny more."

Zhang Kai smiled and said, "Director Hong, don't be stingy. Fifty million is a bit too little. No matter how difficult it is, we should still try to squeeze out a hundred million, however we have to. We should do everything we can to support education in Chunyang County. The people of Chunyang County will be very grateful to you, their god of wealth."

Hong Xiaojia waved her hands repeatedly: "Don't flatter me."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Kai said one hundred million. His words represented Wang Mingzhang and were not too excessive, so I still had to give him face.

He sighed, "If Director Zhang has spoken, how dare I disobey? I'll scrape together 100 million yuan from every last penny to support education in Chunyang County."

Seeing that things were going well, Chen Shi quickly raised his glass and said, "Thank you, Director Hong, and Director Zhang, for your support of education in Chunyang County. I'd like to toast you both."

The three clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.