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

Chen Shi drank alcohol, and Jiang Yiqiu drove them back to Qinghe Village.

Now that the road is repaired, cars can drive right to our doorstep.

As soon as the car stopped, Chen Shi got out, and Wang Guihua came out with Xiaomi Le and Xiao Huihui.

Wang Guihua smiled broadly: "My youngest son is back!"

"Mom!" Chen Shi called out.

Xiaomi ran towards Chen Shi and called out in a childish voice, "Uncle."

Xiaomi Le is over five years old and very cute. Chen Shi picked Xiaomi Le up in his arms. Xiaomi Le's face shape doesn't look like Wang Xiufen's, but like Wang Guihua's.

"Xiaole, you're going to school now."

"I'm going to kindergarten, I'm in the middle class now, Uncle, I can write my own name."

"Write it down for your uncle to see."

Chen Shi put down Xiaomi Le, who then ran home to get paper and a pen.

Xiao Huihui was shy around strangers. He looked at Chen Shi but didn't dare to approach. Wang Guihua called out, "Xiao Huihui, this is your uncle. Go over and greet him."

Chen Shi walked over and picked up Xiao Huihui, saying, "Uncle, look at Xiao Huihui, he's grown up."

Little Huihui was so scared that he cried loudly. He looked just like Chen Xing. Chen Shi quickly put Little Huihui down, and Little Huihui ran behind his grandmother to hide.

Jiang Yiqiu took several boxes of gifts out of the trunk: "Auntie, these are supplements I bought for you."

Wang Guihua smiled broadly: "Come on over, why buy any supplements? Xiao Shi had a carload of things delivered, the house is almost overflowing."

Xiao Qiu, come in and sit down.

Jiang Yiqiu said, "My parents brought half a sheep for you. It's cooked and you can eat it directly."

Wang Guihua quickly said, "Please thank your parents for me."

Chen Shi took half a sheep out of the trunk and went into the house with Jiang Yiqiu.

Chen Shi put down half a sheep: "Mom, we're having hot pot tonight, no need to cook. Where's Dad?"

"Your dad doesn't know you're coming back; he's gone to the fields."

Xiaomi Le found paper and pen and exclaimed, "Uncle, I'll write this down for you."

Chen Shi walked over, and Xiaomi Le wrote her name stroke by stroke. The three characters "Chen Mi Le" were written in a flamboyant style, and neither of them paid any attention to the other.

Xiaomi asked, "Uncle, did I write well?"

"Xiaomi Le is great, she can write her name now."

"If I write well, how will you reward me?"

Chen Shi forgot to bring gifts for Xiaomi Le and Xiao Huihui. Jiang Yiqiu came over, took Xiaomi Le's hand, and said, "Come on, let's get them from the car. Auntie has prepared gifts for you."

Chen Shi looked at Jiang Yiqiu with gratitude, saying, "You're so thoughtful."

When Chen Yanshi returned from the fields, he was carrying a sickle. Chen Shi called out, "Dad!"

Chen Yanshi said with a joyful expression, "Xiao Shi, you're back! Why didn't you call ahead? I thought you were too busy with work to come for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Chen Shi forgot to call. Next time he comes back, he'll call in advance so his parents can be happy a few days ahead.

Anticipation is wonderful, which is why Fridays are often more anticipated than Sundays.

For office workers, Fridays are a pleasant day, because, you know, the next two days are a holiday.

Chen Shi took out a cigarette and handed it to Chen Yanshi. Chen Yanshi took it and Chen Shi took out a lighter and lit it.

Chen Yanshi took a drag of his cigarette: "The gifts you sent back were too many. We can't possibly eat them all. Your sister-in-law came over and took more than half of them, saying she was going to give them to her relatives. I asked her to tell you, but did she?"

Chen Shi didn't take the small gift to heart.

"Dad, my sister-in-law wants some, let her take some. There's too much, you can't finish it all, take it to give to relatives."

"No matter how many gifts there are, these are things you brought back. Now that we've separated, I should at least let you know when I come to collect them."

Chen Yanshi gets angry whenever Wang Xiufen is mentioned. She always likes to take advantage of others. She often leaves her two children at home for Wang Guihua to look after without giving her a penny. If she wants something, she just comes and takes it without asking any questions.

When Chen Jianyong and Chen Jianhua learned that Chen Shi had returned, they rushed to his house. From afar, Chen Jianyong called out, "Little Shi is back!"

Chen Shi took out cigarettes and handed them out: "Just got home."

Chen Jianyong and Chen Jianhua accepted the cigarettes. Chen Jianhua glanced at the car parked at the door and said, "Xiao Shi, your car hasn't come back."

"I gave the driver a day off. Yiqiu has a car, so it's more convenient for her to drive back."

Chen Jianhua glanced at Chen Jianyong, then looked at Chen Shi: "Xiao Shi, Jianyong is a very good driver. I don't trust an outsider to drive for you. Transfer Jianyong to the Education Bureau to drive for you. It's more reassuring to have family driving."

Chen Shi looked at Chen Jianyong and asked, "Do you have the same idea?" Chen Jianyong quickly replied, "There are requirements for drivers for leaders. I don't have the required education."

Chen Jianhua smiled and said, "Xiao Shi is now the director of the Education Bureau, the top official. He has the final say in the Education Bureau. It's just a matter of a word from him."

Chen Yanshi chimed in, "Xiao Shi, do you think we could transfer Jianyong to be your driver? He's family, so I'd feel more at ease with him."

Chen Shi looked at Chen Jianyong: "Second Brother, do you really want to drive for me?"

Chen Jianyong quickly replied, "I've had my driver's license for almost ten years, and my driving skills are fine. It's just that I don't feel comfortable letting someone else drive for me."

Chen Shi took out a cigarette and lit it: "You've already become a permanent employee at the Tobacco Bureau, with good salary and benefits. But at the Education Bureau, your qualifications aren't high enough, so you can only be a temporary worker, earning less than half the salary at the Tobacco Bureau. You'll be on call 24/7, which is very hard work. You need to think it through."

They only saw the glamour of driving for leaders, but not their hard work. Chen Jianyong thought about it and realized that he had previously wanted to join the Education Bureau, become a cadre, and get a minor official position.

Judging from Chen Shi's tone, he didn't have enough academic qualifications to become a cadre.

Chen Jianhua said, "Xiao Shi, Jian Yong can be transferred to cadre status. In two years, we'll arrange a leadership position for him, and then he can be transferred back to Fushan Town Central School as principal. What do you think of this?"

Chen Shi glanced at Chen Jianhua. His concern for others driving was a pretense; his real intention was to get a cadre status in the Education Bureau and be promoted to a leadership position.

"Now the status of cadres is strictly controlled. If the Education Bureau wants to recruit civil servants, it has to report to the Personnel Bureau, which then reports to the province, and the province conducts a unified recruitment examination."

Unlike before, now every position requires an exam, and there are no quotas for contract workers to be converted to cadre status.

Chen Jianhua and Chen Jianyong exchanged a glance. Their plan had failed, and it seemed they had no chance of becoming leaders.

Chen Shi said in a deep voice, "Focus on your work at the Tobacco Bureau. The benefits there are good. Don't think about anything else."

Chen Jianyong repeatedly said yes.

Chen Shi went inside, took out two packs of good cigarettes, and tossed them to Chen Jianyong and Chen Jianhua: "Stay for dinner tonight. I brought back half a sheep from Yi Qiu's house."

Chen Jianyong repeatedly agreed.

Chen Jianhua said, "Xiao Shi, your nephew will be taking the high school entrance exam next year. Can you find a way to get him into Mingzhou No. 1 High School?"

Chen Shi looked at Chen Jianhua: "What score did you get on the second year's final exam?"

"More than four hundred"

With this score, he wouldn't even dare to dream of getting into Mingzhou No. 1 High School. Chen Shi said in a deep voice, "Mingzhou No. 1 High School is directly under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Education Bureau. With this score, he can't get into Mingzhou No. 1 High School. He'll have to work really hard even if he gets into Chunyang No. 1 High School."

Chen Jianhua quickly said, "With this score, he could be in the top ten in his class."

"Is their class an honors class or a regular class?"

"Regular Class"

"Being in the top ten of a regular class is meaningless. Let him work hard. He still has a year. If he can score over 500 points, he will have a chance to get into Chunyang No.1 Middle School."