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

As the two men clinked glasses, Yang Xiaobo's cousin, Feng Yuan, pushed open the door and entered, carrying a plate of fried bees. He placed the plate in front of Yang Xiaobo, the bees fried to a golden brown. With a smile, he said, "Brother, these bees are wild. Yesterday, when I went home, I took a small gas canister and went deep into the mountains to collect them. I accidentally got stung by a wasp, and half of my face swelled up like a pig's head. The swelling has only gone down a little now."

Yang Xiaobo looked at Feng Yuan, whose face was still swollen on one side: "A wasp sting is no joke. Go to the hospital tomorrow. Wasp venom is very strong. A swarm of wasps can even kill an elephant."

"It's alright, I'll wipe it with saline solution to reduce the swelling, it'll be fine in a day or two."

Xiao Guang said, "Wasp larvae are high in protein and taste very good, but there is a high risk involved in harvesting them."

Feng Yuan was familiar with Xiao Guang. When Xiao Guang invited people to dinner, he would always come to the Hejia Courtyard to support Feng Yuan's business.

Feng Yuan joked, "You're lucky. If my brother hadn't come, you wouldn't have had this chance. I risked my life to pick them."

Xiao Guang said with a big smile, "If I work with Director Yang from now on, I'll be able to eat things I can't usually get."

His words were profound, and Yang Xiaobo understood them instantly.

Feng Yuan poured himself a glass of wine and raised it, saying, "Brother, let me toast you."

Yang Xiaobo picked up his wine glass, clinked it with Feng Yuan's, and the two drank it down in one gulp.

Feng Yuan filled Yang Xiaobo's glass with wine, then poured one for himself and picked it up.

"Brother Guang, let me toast you."

Xiao Guang picked up his wine glass, the two clinked glasses, finished their drinks, and then turned their glasses upside down to show each other.

Feng Yuan said, "Brother, Brother Guang, please enjoy your drinks. I'm going to get back to work."

Yang Xiaobo nodded, and Feng Yuan left.

Xiao Guang took a few bites of the bee: "Director Yang, this bee tastes very good, it's a great dish to have with drinks."

Yang Xiaobo said, "It's okay to eat this occasionally, but eating too much is bad for your health."

Xiao Guang repeatedly agreed.

Xiao Guang, his face flushed from drinking, stood up and said, "Director Yang, I need to use the restroom."

Xiao Guang left the private room and called his wife.

"Have you arrived yet?"

His wife complained, "I've been waiting for over half an hour."

"Bring your things up to the second floor, I'll wait for you here."

A short while later, Xiao Guang's wife arrived on the second floor carrying four bottles of fine wine. Xiao Guang stood in a blind spot of the surveillance camera and waved to his wife.

His wife walked over, looking at him with a complaining expression, and said, "Wouldn't it be better to just send it to his house? Why make things so complicated?"

Xiao Guang glanced at his wife: "What do you know? Don't talk nonsense when you go out. Watch your mouth."

"I know, I can't be bothered to talk about your business. I hope this time it works out and it's not another case of throwing good money after bad."

"Enough with the nonsense, go back now."

His wife left in a huff.

Xiao Guang, carrying four bottles of wine, approached Feng Yuan: "Boss Feng, give me two minutes to sit in your office."

Feng Yuan smiled and said, "I don't have an office, just a tea room. Come on, let's sit down."

The two arrived at the tea room, where Feng Yuan brewed tea for Xiao Guang.

Xiao Guang placed the two bottles of wine next to Feng Yuan: "Boss Feng, these two bottles are a gift for you. Please help me out, brother."

Feng Yuan glanced at the two bottles of fine wine: "We're brothers, just tell me what you need, don't be shy."

Four bottles of wine, divided into two gift boxes. Each gift box contains two bottles of fine wine, all of which are the same, only the packaging is different.

Xiao Guang said, "Boss Feng, could you please deliver these two bottles of wine to Director Yang for me? Thank you."

Feng Yuan smiled and readily agreed, "Okay."

This wasn't the first time he'd delivered a gift on behalf of someone else, and he secretly thought that besides the wine, there must be something else inside.

Having power is great; people will give you anything they want, and even beg you to accept it.

Thanks to his cousin's power, the family's courtyard business was always booming, and he could occasionally get some benefits by receiving good wine and cigarettes.

Xiao Guang returned to the private room with a big smile and said, "Director Yang, I'm sorry, I ran into Boss Feng outside and we chatted for a bit."

Yang Xiaobo stood up: "That's enough for tonight. It's getting late. Go back and rest. Even though Director Chen isn't here, we can't slack off."

Xiao Guang repeatedly agreed.

The two walked out of the private room and came down to the first floor. Feng Yuan quickly came down: "Brother, wait a moment."

Yang Xiaobo stopped, and Xiao Guang said, "Director Yang, I'll be going now."

Xiao Guang knew that Feng Yuan had stopped Yang Xiaobo to give him a gift. He walked out of the He family courtyard and hailed a taxi to go back.

Meanwhile, at Dong Xuexi's home, his wife Huang Feng'e returned from the hospital. Seeing Dong Xuexi reading a book, she said with a mocking look, "At your age, all you know is reading. The things in books are dead, but people are alive."

No matter how knowledgeable you are, if the leaders don't see it, you're nothing. The Party and Government Office isn't short of a deputy director. Look at Xiao Guang, he's always making connections. I passed by Hejia Courtyard earlier, and Xiao Guang came out from inside. I stood at the door and secretly peeked inside. Yang Xiaobo was also inside.

You think you're still a student, that all you need to do is study, and that everyone will fawn over you.

There's a saying within the system: those who are good at doing things are not as good as those who are good at talking, and those who are good at talking are not as good as those close to the leader.

If you're close to your boss, you'll have a chance to get promoted. What boss wouldn't promote someone close to them?

You, on the other hand, avoid the boss whenever you see him. After get off work, you don't even try to build a relationship with him. All you do is read books. What good is that?

You, a graduate from a prestigious university, still have to make a living under someone who only has a vocational school diploma.

Dong Xuexi angrily threw the book aside, crossed his arms, and thought he should also put aside his dignity and pride to curry favor with his superior.

But when it comes to taking actual action, I just can't do it myself.

Huang Feng'e added, "I think this deputy director is almost certainly Xiao Guang's. You won't get any of the good things, but you'll always be involved in the bad things."

She glanced at Dong Xuexi: "I have to go back to Huangchang Town tomorrow morning. The principal won't let me take leave. If I don't go back, he'll dock my pay."

I asked the doctor, and he said he can be discharged in two more days. You can take him home.

Take care of him these next couple of days. Don't eat out; cook for him yourself when you get home from get off work, as he has a sensitive stomach.

Dong Xuexi was very annoyed: "Why don't your brother and sister come to take care of them? Every time they're hospitalized, we're the ones who take care of them. The elderly aren't just our family."

Huang Feng'e raised her voice and said, "My brother and sister work on the coast. If we ask them to come back, how much will the travel expenses cost? It's not like they didn't pay for it."

It's not your fault. If you were like Yang Xiaobo, they wouldn't have had to leave their hometowns to work on the coast. They could have jobs in the county town. Who wouldn't want to stay in their hometown?

Dong Xuexi was speechless; he could only blame himself.

Huang Feng'e complained, "This is my fate. I married someone like you, thinking you were a promising prospect, but I ended up with nothing. I can't get a job in the county. If I could teach in the county, then you would have to take care of my father."

Dong Xuexi wanted to get angry, but he controlled himself. Everyone was only looking at the result, not the process.

This absolutely has to change. If you can't hold your head up in public, you can't hold your head up at home either. Your status in the family depends on your status outside.