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

Upon arriving in Yizhou, Chen Shi stayed at the same five-star hotel as before, resting in bed while waiting for Hong Xiaojia's call.

Chen Shi fell asleep without realizing it. In his drowsy state, he was woken up by his phone ringing. He picked it up and saw that it was Hong Xiaojia calling.

Chen Shi quickly sat up and answered the phone.

"Director Hong"

"Director Chen, have you arrived in Yizhou yet?"

"I just arrived in Yizhou. Director Hong, have you finished your meeting?"

"I just finished a meeting and I'll call you as soon as I get off. I'll send you the address later, just come over."

"Okay," Chen Shi said, hanging up the phone. He got up, fixed his hair, washed his face, and headed to where Hong Xiaojia had her hair done.

Arriving at a high-end restaurant, Chen Shi got out of the car and saw Hong Xiaojia's private car.

There was only Hong Xiaojia's driver in the car. When he saw Chen Shi arrive, he quickly got out of the car and walked up to Chen Shi: "Director Chen, Director Hong is in the private room. I'll take you in."

Chen Shi followed the driver into the private room, where Wan Xirong and Hong Xiaojia were chatting animatedly. When they saw Chen Shi arrive, they both stood up.

The friend Hong Xiaojia mentioned was indeed Wan Xirong. Chen Shi feigned surprise: "Director Hong, is the friend you're introducing me to Chairman Wan?"

Hong Xiaojia feigned surprise: "Director Chen knows Chairman Wan?"

Chen Shi thought to himself, "Stop pretending. Donghai Zhencheng Group won a project worth more than 2 billion yuan from the Education Bureau. Do you think they don't know their chairman?"

Within the system, a cadre who cannot act is not a qualified cadre, and Chen Shi is now a qualified cadre.

Wan Xirong took two steps forward, extended his hand, and smiled broadly: "Director Hong said he wanted to introduce me to a friend, but I didn't expect it to be Director Chen."

Chen Shi reached out and grasped Wan Xirong's hand: "I never expected that the friend that Director Hong introduced me to would be Chairman Wan."

Wan Xirong looked at Hong Xiaojia: "Director Hong, Donghai Zhencheng Group won three bids for the reconstruction of three key high schools in Chunyang County. I led a team to inspect the site, and Director Chen personally received us. He's an old friend of mine."

Hong Xiaojia said "Oh," with a look of sudden realization, and called out, "Don't stand, sit down."

The three sat down, and the waiter brought two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor), filled their glasses with a decanter, and stood by to serve them.

Hong Xiaojia glanced at the waiter: "Go wait outside. We'll call you if you need service."

The waitress was a pretty young woman with a good figure. She said softly, "Gentlemen, please enjoy your meal. If you need any service, please feel free to call me. I'll be standing at the door of the private room."

The waiter left.

Wan Xirong's driver, along with Hong Xiaojia's driver and Yang Bin, booked a table outside. Except for not drinking alcohol, the food was no different from what they had in the private room.

Wan Xirong's driver said, "The three big shots are having dinner inside. They won't be leaving anytime soon. After they finish eating, they'll definitely have something to do. Let's not just wait around like idiots. After dinner, let's go to a sauna to kill some time."

Hong Xiaojia's driver said, "I'm not familiar with Yizhou, so I'll leave everything to you."

Yang Bin thought for a moment and realized that even the leaders' drivers have their own circles. They need to fit in. If others suggest going out to have fun and you don't go, you'll be seen as an oddball.

"Okay, let's go to the sauna then."

Seeing that the two agreed, Wan Xirong, the driver, grinned wickedly and said, "The masseuses at the bathhouse are all incredibly beautiful. I'll pick two for you later. They offer excellent service, and you can do whatever you want with them."

The three men exchanged a glance. They were all men, you know what I mean. Hong Xiaojia's driver and Wan Xirong's driver burst into laughter.

Yang Bin felt the atmosphere was right, and he couldn't help but laugh, so he joined in.

In the private room, Chen Shi and his two companions finished two bottles of wine and chatted happily. Chen Shi's phone rang, and when he took it out, he saw that it was Gu Jia calling, so he hung up immediately.

Hong Xiaojia lit a cigarette and took a drag: "Director Chen, is your girlfriend checking up on you?"

Chen Shi smiled and said, "No, it was a call from a friend."

Wan Xirong chimed in, "Are you in Yizhou? Call them over to play together. We're playing mahjong later, we're one short."

Just as Chen Shi was about to say that he wasn't there, his phone rang again. He picked it up and saw that it was Gu Jia calling again.

Since Wan Xirong had spoken, it was a good opportunity to do him a favor without owing him one.

I promised Gu Jia I would introduce Wan Xirong to her, and now the timing is perfect.

Chen Shi stood up, walked out of the private room, found a quiet place, and answered the phone.

"Gu Jia, where are you?"

"I'm in Yizhou. Where are you? I'm coming to find you."

"What do you want from me?"

"Director Chen, what do you think a woman can do with a man?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'm hanging up."

"You're such a clueless straight man, you have no sense of romance at all. I followed you all the way to Yizhou, so as a friend, you can at least treat me to a meal, right?"

Chen Shi paused for three seconds, then slowly said, "You can come over. Wan Xirong, Hong Xiaojia (the director of the Mingzhou Municipal Finance Bureau), and I might play mahjong later. We're one short..."

Before Chen Shi could finish speaking, Gu Jia quickly said, "Director Chen, I understand. Please send me the address, and I'll come right away."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi sent Gu Jia the address and private room number.

Chen Shi returned to the private room with a smile and said, "A friend of mine happens to be in Yizhou. I heard from Chairman Wan that we were short one player for mahjong, so I called her over."

Wan Xirong chimed in, "Director Chen, your friend has come at just the right time. After dinner, let's go play mahjong."

Hong Xiaojia asked, "Is Director Chen's friend male or female?"

"A woman," Chen Shi said with a smile.

Hong Xiaojia laughed and said, "A woman is good. Four grown men playing mahjong is no fun. With a woman, it's just right."

Gu Jia arrived at the private room in about ten minutes. She gently pushed open the door and walked in.

Chen Shi stood up: "Gu Jia, come here quickly, let me introduce you to two friends."

Gu Jia smiled broadly: "Director Chen, I'm sorry to have disturbed your drinking pleasure."

Chen Shi looked at Hong Xiaojia: "Gu Jia, this is Director Hong of the Mingzhou Municipal Finance Bureau."

Gu Jia quickly stepped forward and grasped Hong Xiaojia's hand: "Director Hong, hello, my name is Gu Jia."

Hong Xiaojia glanced at Gu Jia; she had a good figure and was a beauty.

"Hello, Ms. Gu."

Chen Shi looked at Wan Xirong: "Gu Jia, this is Chairman Wan of Donghai Zhencheng Group."

Gu Jia quickly stepped forward and grasped Wan Xirong's hand: "Chairman Wan, hello, I am Gu Jia."

Wan Xirong smiled and said, "Ms. Gu, please have a seat. You are Director Chen's friend, and also our friend. Let's have a couple of drinks together."

Wan Xirong called the waiter in: "Ms. Gu, please order whatever you would like to eat."

Gu Jia smiled and said, "Thank you, Chairman Wan. There's plenty of food, no need to order."

Hong Xiaojia chimed in, "These are all things we've already eaten. How can we let such a beautiful lady eat our leftovers? If you're too shy to order, I'll order for you."

Hong Xiaojia ordered several dishes and asked the waiter to bring two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

They drank for almost another hour. Gu Jia was very good at pleasing her superiors, which made Wan Xirong and Hong Xiaojia very happy.