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

Chen Shi and Jiang Yiqiu had been up all night and didn't get up until after 11 o'clock. Chen Shi stretched and Jiang Yiqiu got dressed, washed up, and sat on the bed to put on makeup.

Jiang Yiqiu said, "Get up quickly, you're hungry, let's go out and get something to eat."

Chen Shi said with a mischievous grin, "You weren't full last night."

Jiang Yiqiu slapped Chen Shi: "You bad guy, you're going to drive people crazy."

Chen Shi got up, washed up, and the two checked out and left.

After having dinner outside, Chen Shi escorted Jiang Yiqiu back to the No. 1 Middle School teachers' apartment.

At the door, I encountered Shen Xiaorong coming out.

Jiang Yiqiu called out, "Shen Xiaorong, you didn't go home for the holiday."

Shen Xiaorong smiled and said, "I am a child without a home, and now No. 1 High School is my home."

"Brother, have you eaten?"

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I just ate. Haven't you eaten yet?"

"I'm going to eat."

"Are you feeling better from your cold?"

"I'm much better these past two days. I have an appetite and I'm making up for the food I missed in the previous few days."

I'm going to eat.

Chen Shi hummed in agreement and watched Shen Xiaorong leave.

Jiang Yiqiu said, "Shen Xiaorong scored 920 out of 1050 in the monthly exam. She did well in both arts and sciences. Next semester, when we choose our majors, I hope she will study science and achieve even better results, thus raising the reputation of No. 1 Middle School."

Chen Shi nodded: "Academic geniuses like Shen Xiaorong can only showcase their talents by studying science."

Jiang Yiqiu looked at Chen Shi: "I'm not going anywhere today. I want you to stay with me all day."

Chen Shi's phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was his eldest sister, Chen Ai, calling.

"sister"

"Xiao Shi, do you get a holiday for New Year's Day?"

Leave it for three days.

"Your brother-in-law and I are in the county town. Are you home? We'd like to come over and have a chat with you."

"I'm outside, I'm going back now, you guys come here."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi looked at Jiang Yiqiu and said, "My sister and brother-in-law are coming to my place, so I'll go back first."

Jiang Yiqiu hummed in agreement: "I'll be coming over tonight."

"Okay," Chen Shi said, and left in his car.

Chen Ai and Zhang Gao set off from Laoyan Town early in the morning to run errands in the county town. Chen Shi had helped them a lot in buying Shuncai Coal Mine. This year, they made a net profit of more than five million yuan. After paying off the bank loan, they still had more than two million yuan left. They bought an Audi worth more than 800,000 yuan to drive out and talk business, so they could save face.

Chen Ai hung up the phone and said to Zhang Gao, "Go to Xiao Shi's place, he's going back now."

The two got into the car, and Chen Ai said, "What I mean is, giving Xiao Shi a thank-you fee of 100,000 yuan will be enough. Building a new house for my parents will cost at least 300,000 yuan."

Zhang Gao said, "Xiao is now a leader. If you give him 100,000, the nature of the matter changes. We are bribing him. If his political enemies find out, it will ruin him."

Building a new house for parents is different; it's perfectly normal for a daughter and son-in-law to build a new house for their parents.

Look at Qinghe Village now, every household is building a small villa. Xiao Shi is a leader, but his parents are still living in the old house. Their old house is almost a dilapidated building. If it is not rebuilt, what will people say about Xiao Shi?

Xiao Shi definitely wants to build it too. If he builds it himself, people will investigate where his money came from, and they will spread rumors that he embezzled, which will affect his reputation.

Building it arbitrarily doesn't suit his status, leaving him in a dilemma.

We'll help him resolve this. Xiao Shi will remember it. He's only 28 years old and he's already the head of the Education Bureau. He'll definitely be able to get a full-fledged department-level position in the future.

It's very difficult to do business without government connections.

"If it weren't for Xiaoshi's help this time, we wouldn't have been able to get the necessary permits for our coal mine, and that wouldn't have been something that could be resolved with just a few hundred thousand yuan."

Chen Ai thought about it and realized that Zhang Gao made sense. Helping her parents build a house would also make her look good, killing two birds with one stone.

Zhang Gao drove to the Education Bureau's staff quarters and saw Chen Shi's car: "Xiao Shi should be back by now."

The two got out of the car, carrying four boxes of valuable gifts, and arrived at the door of Chen Shi's house. Chen Ai gently knocked on the door.

Chen Shigang had just returned home when he came up to open the door and said, "Sister, brother-in-law, come in and sit down."

The two went inside and placed the gifts in the living room.

Chen Shi said, "When you come to my place, don't bring any gifts, just come and sit down."

Chen Ai said, "You've helped us so much, how could you come empty-handed?"

Chen Shi made tea for the two of them and asked, "Sister, have you eaten?"

"Not yet, I'll come over and sit here after I finish my business."

"Let's go eat first."

Zhang Gao said, "Xiao Shi, no rush. We just had rice noodles in town, so we're not hungry yet."

Chen Shi poured tea for the two of them. Chen Ai said, "Xiao Shi, we've paid off all the bank loans. The coal mine's sales are good this year, so your brother-in-law bought an Audi. It'll make him look good when he goes to do business."

Chen Shi said with a delighted expression, "The coal business has been doing very well these past few years. Your purchase of this coal mine is perfectly timed."

Zhang Gao chimed in, "Coal prices started to fall at the end of the year, and I expect they will continue to fall next year. However, we've already made back our investment, so the risk is relatively low."

Chen Ai looked at Chen Shi: "Xiao Shi, let me discuss this with your brother-in-law. The old house where Mom and Dad live is very old and is about to become a dangerous building. After the New Year, we will build a small villa for them."

Chen Shi quickly said, "I will arrange for the house in our hometown to be built; you don't need to worry about it."

Zhang Gao chimed in, "Xiao Shi, we've made some money this year and want to support our parents. You have to give us that opportunity."

It seems that my sister and brother-in-law have earned a lot of money this year. They've used the money to build a house for our parents, showing they have filial piety.

Chen Shi had considered building a house in his hometown. Qinghe Village was his root, and if he built the house, his roots would remain.

The house is too old; the rooms have no windows, like black holes. It's a house from the last century, and it's time to rebuild it.

With the new house built, my parents are now living comfortably.

"I also want to rebuild my parents' house. Brother-in-law, I'll pay for it. I don't have time to deal with these things. Can you do some work and help me build the house?"

Zhang Gao smiled and said, "Xiao Shi, we have money now, so you don't need to contribute. I'll design and build the house for Mom and Dad."

Chen Ai said, "Leave the house construction to your brother-in-law; you don't need to worry about it."

Chen Shi didn't have much money on him. Building a house would cost at least two or three hundred thousand yuan, which he really couldn't afford.

In a family, if one member is in politics, another must be in business. The one in politics has power, and the one in business has money. When money is needed, they can take it out.

Chen Shi looked at Zhang Gao: "Brother-in-law, I'm leaving this matter to you."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely get it done."

Chen Shi glanced at the time; it was past one o'clock. "Let's go eat first."

The three of them went downstairs. Zhang Gao's Audi was very eye-catching. Chen Ai said, "Xiao Shi, what do you think of this car?"

"Very good, in Chunyang, it's definitely a luxury car."

Chen Ai smiled and said, "This car cost close to one million yuan after it was put on the market."

Chen Shi was happy for his sister; they were now wealthy.

Zhang Gao opened the car door: "Xiao Shi, let's drive to eat."

"There's a Sichuan restaurant near the entrance. It always looks really popular, so it must be good. We'll walk there; parking is difficult there."