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

The four arrived at the farmhouse and asked for a private room. Li Hong then asked the waiter to bring four bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

Of the four, Wang Zhikai had the lowest rank; the other three were all at the level of section chief, while he was the only one at the level of deputy section chief.

He stood up, took the decanter, and poured wine for the three of them.

Li Hong smiled and said, "Director Chen, tonight we'll each have a bottle of baijiu, let's drink to our hearts' content."

Chen Shi picked up his wine glass: "Come on, let's have a drink first, to rinse our mouths."

The four of them lightly clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

The dishes were served quickly, and Chen Shi started chatting with Li Hong and Wang Jianming. Wang Zhikai felt out of place and couldn't join in the conversation at all.

Inside the private room, toasts were exchanged, and after a hearty meal, all four men were flushed with drink. Li Hong asked, "Director Chen, are you enjoying yourselves? If not, please have the waiter bring four more bottles of baijiu so we can continue drinking."

Chen Shi felt that was enough: "We've had our fun. That's all for tonight. Thank you for your hospitality, Secretary Li and Director Wang."

Li Hong smiled broadly: "Director Chen, you're being too polite. We're all family here. Just let me know if you need anything."

Chen Shi shook hands with Li Hong and Wang Jianming, then got into his car and left.

Wang Zhikai and Chen Shi sat in the back row. Chen Shi said to Yang Bin, "Let's take Director Wang back first."

Wang Zhikai said, "Director Chen, I need to go back to the Education Bureau to take care of some things. I'll go back to the Education Bureau with you."

Wang Zhikai does not live in the Education Bureau's residence. He has a house outside the Education Bureau, which he only uses for lunch breaks.

Seeing that Chen Shi was silent, he wanted to find a topic to talk to Chen Shi, but he felt it was unnecessary. The two of them couldn't see eye to eye, and even if he humbled himself and relied on Chen Shi, Chen Shi would not accept him sincerely.

Wang Zhikai closed his eyes to rest, remaining silent, and the atmosphere quieted down.

They soon arrived at the Education Bureau's staff quarters. Yang Bin stopped the car, got out quickly, and opened the car door for Chen Shi.

"Director Chen, we've arrived."

Chen Shi felt very sleepy, dozed off for a while, and then got out of the car.

Just as Yang Bin was about to open the car door for Wang Zhi, Wang Zhi opened the door and got out: "Director Chen, I have some things to do in my office, I'll be leaving now."

Chen Shi nodded and walked towards his home.

Yang Bin jogged up and said, "Director Chen, I'll take you back."

Chen Shi looked at Yang Bin and said, "I'm not drunk tonight, so you don't need to take me home. Go back and spend time with your wife and kids."

Seeing that Chen Shi was indeed not drunk, Yang Bin watched him return home from a distance before going back himself.

Chen Shi returned home, collapsed onto the bed, and fell fast asleep. When he woke up, it was already eight o'clock in the morning. He was full of energy and ready for another energetic day.

Being young is great; no matter how tired you were yesterday, a good night's sleep will make you feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

Upon arriving at his office, Chen Shi finished reading the Mingzhou Daily and the Donghai Provincial Party Newspaper, stood up, and stretched. Li Zhe stood at the door and gently knocked.

Chen Shi looked at Li Zhe: "Director Li, please come in."

The two sat down in the living room, and Chen Shi poured Li Zhe a glass of warm water.

Li Zhe handed the documents in his hands to Chen Shi: "Director Chen, this is the list of invitees for the groundbreaking ceremony that I have compiled. Please take a look and see if there is anything you need to add."

Chen Shi took the documents and glanced at the list. It was very detailed and consistent with what he had said yesterday; not a single person was missing.

"Send out invitation letters according to this list. You need to personally invite the county leaders."

Li Zhe nodded: "Yes, send invitations to the relevant school leaders of the three high schools in the township, and I will personally deliver them to the county leaders."

After chatting for a few minutes, Li Zhe got up and left.

When the appointment notice for Xiao Guang to take over as deputy director of the Party and Government Office was issued, the office was in an uproar. Three young people congratulated Xiao Guang, and two older employees also gathered around with big smiles: "Director Xiao, congratulations! Please take good care of us old comrades in the future."

Xiao Guang beamed with joy: "Our Party and Government Office always takes special care of our veteran comrades."

Everyone else wore smiles, but of the seven people in the Party and Government Office, only Dong Xuexi seemed out of place, sitting alone to the side in a daze. Xiao Guang, that sycophant, had been promoted and become a leader; where could he go to seek justice?

The phone suddenly rang. Xiao Guang and the others looked over. Dong Xuexi took out his phone and saw that it was his wife, Huang Feng'e, calling.

Dong Xuexi walked out of his office and answered the phone. Huang Feng'e's urgent voice came through: "Dong Xuexi, hurry up and go to the People's Hospital. My dad fell and is unconscious. Call an ambulance to take him to the People's Hospital. I'm chartering a car now and I'm coming from Huangchang Town. It will take at least one or two hours."

Dong Xuexi was very annoyed. The old man had just been discharged from the hospital a few days ago and sent back home. How could he have fallen again? He wanted to scold him, but he swallowed the words back.

Forget it, there's no point in saying anything now.

"I understand, I'll go now."

He originally wanted to go and tell Yang Xiaobo that Xiao Guang had just become the deputy director, and that Xiao Guang would feel proud to do so.

As he entered the office, several people were still flattering Xiao Guang. Dong Xuexi walked over, forcing a smile, and said, "Director Xiao, my father-in-law fell and was taken to the People's Hospital by ambulance. I'm going to go and see him."

Xiao Guang was indeed very happy. He was worried that Dong Xuexi would be dissatisfied, since his qualifications were not as deep as Dong Xuexi's.

Unexpectedly, Dong Xuexi took the initiative to ask for leave, which showed his respect for the newly appointed leader.

Xiao Guang asked, "Is it serious? Go and check on them quickly. If they need any help, just let us know."

"I don't know the situation yet, thank you for your concern, Director Xiao." Dong Xuexi walked out of the office, quickly hailed a taxi, and rushed to the People's Hospital.

After having lunch, Chen Shi went to Mingzhou to invite the leaders to attend the groundbreaking ceremony.

Upon arriving in Minnesota, I first called Ye Li, the director of the Party and Government Office of the Municipal Education Bureau.

"Director Ye, hello, I am Chen Shi."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Director Chen."

"Director Ye, I'm currently in Mingzhou and would like to report to Director Zhou. I wonder if Director Zhou is available?"

"Director Zhou is holding a democratic meeting. Director Chen, please come back in half an hour."

Chen Shi readily agreed and hung up the phone.

I called Zhang Kai again, and it took more than ten seconds for the call to be answered.

Director Chen

Chen Shi smiled broadly and said, "Director Zhang, I'm in Mingzhou right now. Are you free tonight? Let's grab a couple of drinks."

"I accompanied Mayor Wang to a meeting in the provincial capital, but unfortunately, we ended up drinking together again next time."

"Director Zhang, when is my uncle returning to Mingzhou? I'd like to report to him about my work."

The Education Bureau's project was won by Donghai Zhencheng Group, and the groundbreaking ceremony will be held on May 1st. They would like to invite him to attend.

Wang Mingzhang was not on the invitation list, so Chen Shi decided on the spot that if he could invite Wang Mingzhang, it would be the icing on the cake.

Zhang Kai thought to himself, "You're so clueless. What rank do you have? You have to report to the mayor. Even if he's your uncle, it's not allowed. You can't break the rules."

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony was out of the question. Mayor Wang had asked him to secretly help Chen Shi, and it was inconvenient for him to show up. Didn't Chen Shi know this?

Within the system, the most important thing is to avoid suspicion; some people will use this as an excuse to attack Mayor Wang.

"Director Chen, Mayor Wang was unaware of your Education Bureau's project from beginning to end. Your relationship should be kept separate from any appearance of impropriety."

Once Chen Shi came to his senses, he quickly said, "Director Zhang, I didn't think about it that way. I just wanted to make the groundbreaking ceremony as grand as possible."

"Your idea is good, but you still need to be mindful of the impact. I have something to do, so I'll hang up now."

Chen Shi hung up the phone, feeling overwhelmed by his victory, and lost points with Wang Mingzhang.