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

Chen Shi returned to the hotel, slept soundly, and didn't wake up until after nine in the morning.

After 10:30, I called Ding Yi.

"Hello, Section Chief Ding, I am Chen Shi."

"Director Chen, you're still in Yizhou."

"I went back for a visit. I just got here yesterday. Thank you so much for your help. I met with Director Zhao last night and we made an appointment to meet at the Education Department at 3 p.m. to report to him."

"Director Chen, you made an appointment to come at 3 PM sharp."

After hanging up the phone, I learned that Ding Yi had recommended Wan Xirong for this matter, which was very important. Finding the right person at the right time is more important than anything else.

As long as the education department's special education funding project is secured, the funding for building the school will be basically resolved. This is a major concern for Chen Shi.

At 2:30 p.m., Chen Shi arrived at the Education Department and first called Ding Yi. Ding Yi then took Chen Shi to his office to wait.

At 2:50, Ding Yi went to Zhao Ji's office to report.

"Director Zhao, Chen Shi, the director of the Chunyang County Education Bureau, says he has come to report to you."

Zhao Ji glanced at his watch: "Bring him to my office."

Chen Shi followed Ding Yi to Zhao Ji's office.

Zhao Ji glanced at Chen Shi: "Director Chen is here, please have a seat."

Chen Shi smiled and greeted Zhao Ji, then sat down in the reception room. Ding Yi poured Chen Shi a cup of tea and left the office.

Chen Shi waited for more than ten minutes before Zhao Ji put down the documents in his hand, came over, and sat down opposite Chen Shi.

"Director Chen, the education in Chunyang County is at the bottom in the entire Donghai Province, with a college entrance rate of less than 20%. Do you have any good ideas to solve this problem?"

Chen Shi took out the education adjustment plan from his briefcase, stood up, and handed it to Zhao Ji with both hands.

"Director Zhao, our county party secretary attaches great importance to education. As soon as I took office, he talked to me and told me to pay more attention to education in Chunyang County."

I went deep into the grassroots, held countless symposiums, and produced this plan for educational adjustments.

Chunyang County has four high schools, but only the No. 1 High School is located in the county seat. The other three are located in townships, which makes it difficult for the Education Bureau to manage them.

I reported to the Municipal Education Bureau that the three high schools in the townships should be closed down and three key high schools should be rebuilt in the county seat, so that the schools can be concentrated in the county seat for the convenience of the Education Bureau's management.

High school teachers will be assessed, and those who fail will be reassigned to junior high and primary schools to improve the teaching quality of the teaching staff.

This adjustment plan was submitted to the county party committee and county government and received the support of Secretary Liu and County Head Zhang.

Chunyang County is an impoverished county with a severe fiscal deficit. After discussing it, Secretary Liu and County Head Zhang decided to squeeze out one billion yuan from their meager savings to support education reform and rebuild three key high schools in the county seat.

Zhao Ji took the documents handed to him by Chen Shi, listened carefully to Chen Shi's report, and nodded in approval.

"Director Chen, could you elaborate on the current status of the reconstruction of the three high schools?"

"Director Zhao, so far, the reconstruction of three key high schools has been approved in the county and is a key project supported by the whole county."

The land acquisition for the three key high schools, covering 870 acres, has been completed, and the project bidding process is underway. According to the plan, the bidding process will be completed in April, and formal construction will begin in May.

Chen Shi stood and reported, but Zhao Ji waved his hand and said, "Don't stand, sit down and talk."

Chen Shi sat down and took a sip of water.

Zhao Ji glanced through the education adjustment plan, skimmed it over, and then placed it on the table.

"The Department of Education has allocated 1 billion yuan as support funds for impoverished counties and areas with underdeveloped education to support education in these counties."

This matter has been decided within the department, but it has not yet been announced to the public.

The relevant leaders in the department have not yet reached a consensus on the beneficiaries of the support. Should they concentrate 1 billion yuan in one impoverished county with poor education, or divide it into ten portions of 100 million yuan each to support ten impoverished counties in developing education?

This is why the department has been slow to make a public announcement; the opinions of the relevant leaders in the department must be unified before it can be made public.

What are Director Chen's thoughts on this matter?

After a moment's thought, Chen Shi said, "Director Zhao, I think that focusing our efforts on education in a poor county will yield unexpected results. Only by concentrating our resources can we accomplish great things."

If it were divided into ten parts, each part would be one hundred million. I come from the grassroots level and understand the current situation there.

Especially in impoverished counties, the current situation of teachers' salaries being in arrears is common. If an impoverished county receives 100 million yuan in support funds, it won't make much of a splash. Paying teachers' salaries and replacing outdated teaching equipment, 100 million yuan may not even be enough. The things that can be done are limited and cannot fundamentally change the status quo, let alone provide any substantial help to education.

Chunyang County is an impoverished county with a backward education system. The county party committee and government attach great importance to this, especially Secretary Liu, who, as the top leader, takes charge of addressing the backward state of education, a quality not found in other impoverished counties.

To run an educational institution, you first need the support of leaders. If leaders don't support you, the investment may be diverted to other places by the local government.

I hope the relevant leaders of the Education Department will seriously consider this: Chunyang County needs this 1 billion yuan in funding more than any other impoverished county. We're not just talking about it; we've already started taking action.

Zhao Ji had considered this matter before. His opinion was the same as Chen Shi's: he hoped that the funds would be concentrated in one place to completely change the education situation in a county. Dispersing the funds would be a waste of effort and meaningless.

Chunyang County meets his requirements. First, the county's main leaders must focus their attention on education, and the invested funds must not be diverted to other places.

Secondly, it's not enough to just talk about it; you have to take concrete actions. Chunyang County meets both of these requirements.

Wan Xirong talked to Zhao Ji about this matter, saying that he didn't want to tamper with the money and that it had to be spent on education in a truly practical way.

Next, Zhao Ji investigated the current situation in Chunyang County and decided to meet Chen Shi. He was somewhat surprised that Chen Shi was so young. He appreciated Chen Shi's efforts in raising funds.

"I am in charge of this matter, and I also need to consult with relevant leaders. My personal idea is to concentrate this money in one county to completely change the current state of education in that county. This is what the province is talking about when it promotes the idea of ​​concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks."

The relevant leaders in Chunyang County attach great importance to education, which is a good thing. I will raise the current situation in Chunyang County at the meeting and see what the relevant leaders in the department think.

Chen Shi quickly said, "Thank you for your support, Director Zhao."

Zhao Ji then said, "Director Chen, go down and tell us how to adjust the education system in Chunyang County, or whether to continue as before. This support fund won't be allocated until March next year."

"The public announcement will have to wait until the relevant leaders in the department reach a consensus. Go back and prepare a detailed explanation of the current state of education in Chunyang County, and submit it along with the proposed adjustments to Chunyang County's education system."

Chen Shi took out his notebook from his briefcase and wrote down Zhao Ji's instructions.

Zhao Ji glanced at his watch: "I have a meeting later. You go back first and submit the documents."

Chen Shi thanked him repeatedly and left the office.

Zhao Ji watched Chen Shi's departing figure. He had a good eye for people; Chen Shi was a man of action.

He likes people who get things done, and dislikes subordinates who only know how to flatter.