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

After leaving the Municipal Finance Bureau, Chen Shi checked his watch; it was a little past five, not quite six. He then asked Yang Bin to drive to the Water Cube to wait for Zhou Quanfu and Huang Ao.

At 6:10, Zhou Quanfu's car drove into the Water Cube. Chen Shi quickly stepped forward, opened the car door, and greeted him with a smile: "Director Zhou."

Zhou Quanfu got out of the car: "Director Chen, you've arrived quite early."

"I don't have much to do this afternoon, so I came here early to wait for the two leaders."

Chen Shi took out a cigarette and handed it to Zhou Quanfu with both hands. Zhou Quanfu took it and put it in his mouth when Chen Shi took out a lighter and lit it.

The two started chatting.

Around 6:30, Huang Ao's car drove into the Water Cube. Zhou Quanfu went up and opened the car door: "Secretary-General Huang."

Huang Ao stepped out of the car with a big smile: "Old Zhou, why aren't you going in? Don't wait for me. Something came up after get off work, so I was a little delayed."

"Secretary-General Huang, we dare not touch our chopsticks without your presence."

Huang Ao smiled broadly and looked at Chen Shi. Chen Shi quickly stepped forward and grasped Huang Ao's outstretched hands.

Secretary-General Huang

The more Huang Ao looked at Chen Shi, the more he liked him; this kid was quite handsome.

"Director Chen, I'll call you Xiao Chen, is that alright?"

Chen Shi quickly replied, "No, my uncle calls me that too, it's very affectionate."

The current political landscape in Mingzhou is harmonious, with everyone following Xiao Chong's lead and acting on his behalf.

The three of them went through the VIP passage to the private room. Chen Shi ordered the dishes in advance and asked the waiter to bring them.

The dishes were served quickly. Chen Shi asked the waiter to bring two bottles of wine and a decanter to pour wine for Huang Ao and Zhou Quanfu.

The three men were enjoying themselves in the private room. After finishing two bottles of wine, Zhou Quanfu asked, "Secretary-General Huang, shall we have two more bottles and continue drinking?"

Huang Ao said, "That's enough. You can't drink too much alcohol. A little can be good for your health, but too much will bring a bunch of diseases."

"Secretary-General Huang is absolutely right, we should drink less alcohol." Zhou Quanfu looked at Huang Ao and said, "Secretary-General Huang, let's go play cards."

Huang Ao lit a cigarette: "No rush, let's take a bath first, then play cards."

Chen Shi asked the waiter to make arrangements, and the three of them called three technicians to go to a private room for a sauna.

They took out the shampoos and played cards in the entertainment room. Just like last time, Chen Shi lost, Zhou Quanfu won some, and Huang Ao won most of the winnings. It was not obvious that Chen Shi was deliberately losing, and Huang Ao won perfectly each time.

Playing cards until 2 a.m., Huang Ao kept yawning: "I'm getting old, I can't stay up all night anymore, I'll stop here tonight and go back to rest."

Huang Ao patted Chen Shi on the shoulder: "Little Chen, your card playing skills are not bad, it's just that you have bad luck."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do, I'm just having bad luck and can't get good cards."

Zhou Quanfu said, "Even with a good hand, we still can't beat Secretary-General Huang. Besides having good luck, Secretary-General Huang's card-playing skills are far beyond our reach. We still have a lot to practice."

The three of them walked out of the Water Cube. First, they saw Huang Ao off to his car, and then Chen Shi saw Zhou Quanfu off. After the two left, Chen Shi got into his car and left.

At ten o'clock the next morning, Chen Shi arrived at Li Nan's office at Mingzhou No. 1 High School.

Aunt

Li Nan was delighted to see Chen Shi, his face beaming with smiles: "Xiao Shi, have a seat."

Chen Shi sat down, and Li Nan asked, "You came to Mingzhou yesterday?"

"It came up yesterday afternoon."

"Since you're in Mingzhou, why don't you stay at my house?"

"I had dinner with some friends last night and we drank until very late. I was worried that going to my aunt's house would disturb her rest."

Li Nan playfully scolded, "We're family, what are you afraid of? Next time you come to Mingzhou, don't stay outside. We have so many rooms at home, there aren't enough for you."

Chen Shi readily agreed. After chatting for a while, Chen Shi said, "Auntie, the bidding for the project to rebuild three key high schools has ended. The winning bidder is Donghai Zhencheng Group, with a total bid amount of 26.46 billion yuan."

The groundbreaking ceremony will be held on May 1st. On behalf of the Chunyang County Education Bureau, I invited my aunt to attend the ceremony.

Li Nan asked, "Did all three high schools have the same winning bidder?"

Chen Shi nodded.

Li Nan looked at Chen Shi with a serious expression: "Xiao Shi, you can't let just one company win the bid for such a big project. Even if there's nothing wrong, people with ulterior motives will say there is something wrong."

Often, things don't stand up to scrutiny. When higher-ups get serious, they'll always find something wrong that will affect your career. Don't easily give your political enemies any ammunition.

Chen Shi truthfully told Li Nan about the relationship between Wan Xirong and Deputy Director Zhao Ji.

Li Nan asked, "Did you receive anything from Wan Xirong?"

Chen Shi shook his head: "No, I have no business dealings with Donghai Zhencheng Group."

"That's good. As long as you haven't accepted any gifts, even if someone reports you, and the higher-ups really want to investigate, you can withstand the investigation."

Li Nan looked at Chen Shi: "You have no choice. Rebuilding three high schools will leave a hole of more than 1 billion yuan. Ordinary people cannot solve this problem."

"If we can secure the 1 billion yuan in special education funds from the Education Department to rebuild the three high schools, that will basically solve the funding problem. Doing this well will be a key achievement for your future promotion."

Chen Shi nodded: "Auntie, you absolutely must come to the groundbreaking ceremony."

"I'll definitely come and support you on the project you're in charge of."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Li Nan looked at Chen Shi: "Don't go back today, come to my house for dinner tonight."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I'm going to Yizhou this afternoon to see Director Zhao and report on the project's progress."

The special education funding support project will also be announced soon, so I need to hurry and get things done.

Li Nan nodded: "If you have important business to attend to, go ahead and do it. I'll ask Xiao Chen to cook, and we'll have lunch at your house."

Chen Shi readily agreed: "Okay."

Li Nan checked the time; it was almost eleven o'clock. She decided to leave work early and take Chen Shi home for dinner.

After having lunch, Chen Shi left the municipal party committee compound and went directly to Yizhou. Hong Xiaojia had introduced him to a friend who knew a leader from the provincial department. Chen Shi wondered to himself, "Could it be Wan Xirong?"

The car sped along the highway, and Yang Bin drove very steadily, allowing Chen Shi to take a nap.

I was half asleep when my phone woke me up. I picked it up and saw that it was Gu Jia calling.

Chen Shi thought for a moment and then answered the call.

"Gu Jia, is something the matter?"

Gu Jia said coquettishly, "Director Chen, can't I call you if there's nothing wrong?"

"Get to the point if you have something to say, otherwise I'm hanging up."

"You're such a clueless straight man, you have no idea how to be gentle with women. You came all the way to Mingzhou, why didn't you come to see me?"

"Who told you I came to Minnesota?"

"Don't worry about how I know. If you don't even have this much ability, how can you be the Mingzhou Regional Director of Jiajia Group?"

Where are you? I'll come find you tonight.

Chen Shi thought to himself, "This woman is really something." He continued, "I'm heading to Yizhou now, almost there."

"I also came to Yizhou, and it just so happened that Wan Xirong was introduced to me."

"Come back tomorrow. I have a dinner appointment with my boss tonight."

"I'm in Yizhou, but I won't bother you. You can call me anytime if you need anything."

Chen Shi was lucky he didn't sleep with Gu Jia; that woman was cunning, and once he slept with her, he couldn't get rid of her.

"I'm not going to talk anymore, I need to take a nap. Wait for my call tomorrow."

Gu Jia smiled and said, "Okay, bye-bye."