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

Dong Xuexi sat in his study, deep in thought, wondering whether he should invite Lei Liangping over. Last time, Lei Liangping had invited him over for drinks and he had met Wang Zhikai online.

After much deliberation, he decided to invite Lei Liangping. Lei Liangping was Wang Zhikai's confidant, and there were many things that Wang Zhikai couldn't say, so Lei Liangping would speak for him.

I don't know if Lei Liangping is in the county town. Today is the weekend, and Lei Liangping's wife and children are in the county town, so he should be there on the weekend.

Dong Xuexi took out his phone and called Lei Liangping.

The call was answered quickly: "Old Dong."

Dong Xuexi asked with a broad smile, "Old Lei, are you in the county town?"

"I'm usually in the county town on weekends, is there something you need?"

"I called Director Wang earlier to thank him for helping my wife transfer to the county town. I'll treat him to a couple of drinks at Xiaoyuan Renjia tonight."

"Hey Lao Lei, are you free tonight? Let's go to Xiaoyuan Renjia for a couple of drinks."

"Since you're treating, I'll cancel any major business. I have to have a couple of drinks."

"See you at the courtyard house at 7 PM."

Lei Liangping hung up the phone and called Wang Zhikai.

The phone rang for about ten seconds before Wang Zhikai's voice came through: "Old Lei."

Lei Liangping said with a big smile, "Director Wang, Dong Xuexi called me earlier and invited you to have a couple of drinks at Xiaoyuan Renjia. He asked me to come along too."

"Did you agree?"

"I agreed."

"I've thought about it, and I think I should limit my contact with Dong Xuexi recently. I won't go tonight. You go have drinks with Dong Xuexi. We'll have a democratic life meeting on Monday afternoon at 3 pm. Let him confront Chen Shi at the meeting."

"Okay, Director Wang."

At 6:30, Dong Xuexi arrived at Xiaoyuan Renjia and waited. At 6:50, Lei Liangping's car drove into Xiaoyuan Renjia. Dong Xuexi remembered Lei Liangping's license plate number and quickly went over.

Lei Liangping got out of the car with a big smile: "Old Dong."

"Old Lei, Director Wang hasn't arrived yet, let's wait a bit."

Lei Liangping smiled and said, "Director Wang suddenly had something to do tonight. He was going to call you to tell you, but when I went to his place, I told him I also wanted to come to Xiaoyuan Renjia and have a drink with you. He asked me to explain to you that he'll treat you to a couple of drinks next time he has time."

Dong Xuexi felt very uncomfortable. He had promised to come, but he didn't even call. Did he have a bad impression of him?

With a smile still on his face, he said, "Since Director Wang isn't coming, the two of us will have a good drink tonight. I'll treat Director Wang when he has time."

Dong Xuexi had already arranged a private room and ordered the food in advance. He thought to himself, "If I had known Wang Zhi wouldn't be coming, I would have ordered less. The food here is damn expensive. One meal here can cost me half a month's salary."

The two entered a private room, and Dong Xuexi asked the waiter to serve the dishes.

Dong Xuexi brought two bottles of good wine from outside, opened the bottles, and poured wine for Lei Liangping.

The food was served quickly, and Dong Xuexi raised his glass: "Old Lei, let's have a drink."

The two clinked their glasses, drank it all in one gulp, and then turned their glasses upside down without spilling a drop.

As the two ate and chatted, Lei Liangping noticed that Dong Xuexi was slightly drunk. He put down his chopsticks and said in a serious tone, "Old Dong, you can't just sit idly by and do nothing about what Chen Shi has done at the Education Bureau."

Dong Xuexi put down his chopsticks, not understanding what Lei Liangping meant, and asked, "Old Lei, just say what you want to say."

Lei Liangping lowered his voice and said, "Old Dong, don't pretend you don't know. I know your character; you're a man of integrity, that's right."

Lei Liangping gave a thumbs up and continued, "You wouldn't know that Chen Shi spent over 500,000 yuan to renovate a KTV room for himself at the Education Bureau? He also instructed Yang Xiaobo, Yang Bin, and others to reimburse over 300,000 yuan, treating the Education Bureau's public funds as his personal treasury and squandering them recklessly."

The teacher's bonus has been delayed for two months, with the excuse of no money. How can he afford to indulge in personal luxuries?

Dong Xuexi fell into deep thought. "Asking me to report Chen Shi is like throwing an egg against a rock."

Seeing that Dong Xuexi remained silent, Lei Liangping said in a heavy tone, "Old Dong, shouldn't you step forward and do something at this time?"

Dong Xuexi looked puzzled: "What can I do?"

Lei Liangping sneered inwardly, "Keep pretending. You think transferring your wife to the county town comes without a price?"

"Are you going to hold a democratic life meeting on Monday?"

"Yes, it's open every week."

"When we have the democratic life meeting on Monday, everyone can speak. You should stand up and tell us what Chen Shi did."

Dong Xuexi was drenched in sweat. He had offended Chen Shi to the point of no return. Once the matter was out in the open, there would be no turning back. As long as Chen Shi was in the Education Bureau, Dong Xuexi would never have a good day.

With his wife transferred to the county seat, Chen Shi could easily transfer her to an even more remote rural primary school with just a word.

Even he himself was to be transferred to a remote town.

"Old Lei, everyone in the bureau knows about this."

"The people in the bureau know, but nobody says anything. You have to break the ice and bring it to the forefront."

Chen Shi always emphasizes democracy, doesn't he? Anyone can speak. You're just telling the truth; you haven't fabricated anything or slandered the leader. These facts are right in front of everyone; everyone has seen them, yet everyone pretends not to. Old Dong, you can't turn a blind eye; you must stand up and speak the truth.

Dong Xuexi pondered, realizing that Wang Zhikai wanted him to do something, but he didn't expect it to be this. In the bureau, offending the top leader was definitely not a wise move.

"Old Lei, is this Director Wang's intention?"

Lei Liangping said coldly, "Old Dong, don't hesitate when you do things. Do you know why no leader has appreciated or promoted you all these years?"

Are you stupid? Not smart enough? Incompetent? None of the above. It's that you want to be a pushover, afraid to offend anyone. If you were the leader, would you appreciate and promote someone like that?

If you're in the system, don't be afraid of offending people. Follow the leader and stick to that path to the end. That's how the leader will treat you as a confidant. If there's a suitable position, who else will they promote if not you?

If you're afraid of this and that when doing things, then don't think about anything, just stay put, coast along, and wait for retirement.

Lei Liangping stood up: "Old Dong, think about it yourself. This is your chance. If you miss it, your political life will be over."

Think about your relationship with Yang Xiaobo. Yang Xiaobo has gained Chen Shi's trust. Would he speak well of you in front of Chen Shi?

As long as Chen Shi is in the Education Bureau, you'll never get ahead.

He glanced at Dong Xuexi and said, "I have something to do, so I'll leave first. You can figure it out yourself."

Dong Xuexi sat motionless, watching Lei Liangping's dejected departure, lost in thought.

Lei Liangping is right. The reason he hasn't been appreciated or promoted by his superiors over the years is because he doesn't want to offend anyone.

Within the system, you can't become a leader without offending people. With Yang Xiaobo around, Chen Shi wouldn't promote or give him an important position. Why not take a gamble? What if he wins?

If you lose the bet, you don't have much to lose. At worst, you can go back to square one, be transferred to a remote town, drift through life, and wait for retirement.

Right now, am I just drifting through life, waiting to retire?