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

Chen Shi's meaning was very clear: if you have the ability, go find Zhao Ji. You two have a good relationship. As long as he allocates funds in advance, it won't delay your year-end bonus.

Wan Xirong laughed and said, "Director Chen, I trust your character. You are honest and trustworthy. I'll try to find a way to get a loan from the bank to pay the year-end bonuses to the employees. No matter how tough things are, we can't let our employees suffer. The group has 40,000 to 50,000 employees, and each of them has a family behind them. We have to make sure they have a good year."

Chen Shi thought to himself that Wan Xirong was trying to make him owe him another favor: "Thank you for your trust, Chairman Wan. Once the Education Department's funding comes through, the final payment for the project will be settled."

After chatting for a while, Chen Shi asked, "Chairman Wan, do you know Zhao Dezhu, the chairman of Yizhou Chengxin Group?"

Wan Xirong knew that Yizhou Chengxin Group had tried to snatch the projects of three key high schools in Chunyang, but was rejected by Chen Shi, thus offending Yi Feng, the general manager of Yizhou Chengxin Group.

"Yizhou Chengxin Group is a strong competitor of our Donghai Chengxin Group. They have ruined several of our projects. In particular, General Manager Yi Feng is unscrupulous in achieving his goals. Be careful when you encounter this person; he is full of conspiracies and tricks."

Chen Shi asked, "Has Chairman Wan suffered losses at his hands?"

"It's not about losing out, it's just that I don't want to compete with this kind of person, it's pointless."

You can't sleep in the same bed with two kinds of people. Zhao Dezhu and Yi Feng are birds of a feather, and his son Zhao Shouxin is no better.

"Chairman Wan, your group is developing a new area. Do you have any plots of land you're interested in?"

Wan Xirong looked at Chen Shi: "Director Chen is interested in real estate."

"No interest. I'm not a businessman."

Wan Xirong said, "We have land plots we like, and we will be bidding for them in November. We are under a lot of financial pressure."

"The night before last, I was drinking with some friends at Xinfulou Restaurant when I saw Zhao Shouxin, the son of Zhao Dezhu of Yizhou Chengxin Group, in a private room. He was treating Vice Mayor Bai Dajiang to drinks, and the two seemed to have a good relationship."

Wan Xirong sensed the crisis. If he invited General Bai for drinks at this time, what else could it be for if not for the land?

Chen Shi then asked, "Can Zhao Shouxin, with his position at Yizhou Chengxin Group, really compete with Yi Feng?"

"Zhao Shouxin studied abroad for many years and has only been working at the group for less than two years. He is now the deputy general manager of the group and is not at the same level as Yi Feng. Yi Feng owns 5% of the shares of Yizhou Chengxin Group, while Zhao Dezhu, the founder, only owns 7%. This shows that Yi Feng's position in Yizhou Chengxin Group is second only to Zhao Dezhu."

For some reason, Chen Shi was filled with hostility towards Zhao Shouxin.

After dinner, Wan Xirong arranged for Chen Shi to go to a sauna, where young and beautiful girls gave him massages.

The girl's massage technique was good, and Chen Shi felt very comfortable. The girl used her breasts to massage Chen Shi's body, but Chen Shi did not react at all.

Xie Wei told her that if she served Chen Shi well tonight, she would be rewarded with 50,000 yuan.

Even if she works a full month, she can only earn a little over 10,000 yuan, which is equivalent to three or four months' salary.

The girl said sweetly, "Sir, tonight I'm yours, you can do whatever you want with me."

Chen Shi asked, "Is this a legitimate massage?"

The girl giggled twice: "Whether it's proper or not is up to you, sir."

Chen Shi said with a serious expression, "I'm doing legitimate massages, don't try anything funny with me."

The girl looked pitiful and said, "Sir, don't be so serious, I'm scared."

Chen Shi sneered inwardly. What are you afraid of? If I sleep with you, I'll be on Wan Xirong's pirate ship, and I'll be at his mercy from now on.

After carefully observing the girl, he realized she was around twenty years old, youthful and energetic, 1.7 meters tall, with long legs. Her looks were above Jiang Yiqiu's but below Huang Xin's. He had just slept with Huang Xin last night and wasn't interested in the girl.

It's not that I'm not interested in these kinds of beauties, but I can't just sleep with girls of dubious origin. If I can't control my lower body, I'll be easily taken advantage of by others in the future.

Chen Shi sat up: "That's enough, you can leave now."

The girl was a little disappointed. Was this man impotent? No man could withstand her teasing without any physical reaction.

Chen Shi said again, "Get out."

Seeing Chen Shi's serious expression, the girl left dejectedly.

Chen Shi put on his clothes and called Wan Xirong.

Director Chen

"Chairman Wan, I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

"Play for a while before you leave."

"I have some things to take care of, but I'll come again next time."

After hanging up the phone, Xie Wei went into the private room, where two girls gave Wan Xirong a massage.

Xie Wei said, "Director Chen is gone."

"I just called, did he do anything?"

Xie Wei said, "He's not interested in women and hasn't done anything with them."

"Young man, you have great stamina and can control your desires. You are destined for great things."

Xie Wei chimed in, "Chairman Wan, the technician said he might be impotent in some way."

Wan Xirong laughed heartily.

Chen Shi returned to Chunyang County on October 11 and went to work on October 12.

The phone rang, and when I picked it up, I saw it was Dong Xuexi calling.

Principal Dong

"Director Chen, are you at the bureau? I was thinking of coming to the county this afternoon to report to you on the progress of the basic education pilot program."

"I'm at the station. Come to the station this afternoon."

Dong Xuexi repeatedly agreed and hung up the phone.

It takes more than two hours to get from Laoyan Town to the county seat. Dong Xuexi prepared two gifts, one for Yang Xiaobo and the other for Xu Mengmeng, the director of the Party and Government Office.

Huang Feng'e saw two gifts at home and asked, "Are you going to the county town again?"

"I need to go to the bureau to report to Director Chen."

"I have to report on my work frequently; there's so much work to report."

Dong Xuexi looked at Huang Feng'e and said, "I used to think the same way. Leaders need subordinates who can do things. If you don't report to your leader often, how will your leader know that you are doing things?"

If you frequently appear near your superiors, they'll remember you.

Huang Feng'e asked, "Take these two gifts and give them to Director Chen."

"Director Chen doesn't lack these two boxes of gifts; he needs subordinates who can get things done."

"So, who are you giving these two gift boxes to?"

"One box is for Yang Xiaobo, and the other box is for Xu Mengmeng, the director of the Party and Government Office."

Huang Feng'e was puzzled: "Yang Xiaobo is now the deputy director, so it's necessary to give him a gift. Xu Mengmeng is the same as you, both are section-level cadres, so why should we give her a gift? Why don't we see her giving you gifts?"

"Xu Mengmeng is someone close to the leader. You have to maintain a good relationship with people close to the leader, or at least not offend them."

Huang Feng'e said, "She's just a director of the Party and government office, what help can she possibly give you?"

"Giving gifts isn't about getting someone to do you a favor; it's about ensuring that she's not around the boss at crucial moments and doesn't speak ill of you."

I used to think that people who can become leaders are not ordinary people, so how could they be misled by a few bad words from others? But after I became a leader, I realized that if people you trust all speak ill of someone, a leader doesn't have time to verify it. Invisibly, the leader will label that person, which is basically a death sentence for that person.

Once you've already made up your mind, you'll find yourself finding fault with everyone you meet. No one is perfect; everyone has flaws. If others are constantly badmouthing you to your boss, all they'll see are your shortcomings.

Huang Feng'e looked at Dong Xuexi with admiration: "You've really changed. You see things much more comprehensively now."

"If things don't change, there's no hope for me in this life."