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

Zhang Xiangdong asked Xu Mo to call Hu Yang, Zhang Kaizhi's secretary, and ask Zhang Kaizhi to come to his office at the county committee.

Upon receiving the call, Hu Yang rushed to Zhang Kaizhi's office: "County Chief Zhang, Xu Mo, the secretary of County Party Secretary Zhang, called and asked you to come to County Party Secretary Zhang's office."

Zhang Kaizhi thought for a moment and then stood up to see what Zhang Xiangdong wanted to talk to him about.

Zhang Kaizhi arrived at the office of Zhang Xiangdong, the county party secretary. Zhang Xiangdong stood up to greet him: "County Chief Kaizhi, please have a seat."

The two sat down in the reception room, Xu Mo poured tea for Zhang Kaizhi, and then left the office.

Zhang Xiangdong said, "County Chief Kaizhi, I looked at the document you sent to the County Party Committee regarding the division of responsibilities among the deputy county chiefs. Chen Shi is the executive deputy county chief, but why doesn't he have a specific division of responsibilities?"

Zhang Kaizhi looked at Zhang Xiangdong: "Secretary Zhang, Chen Shi is the executive deputy county head. He assists me in coordinating and managing the daily work of the county government. He has overall management and can be involved in the work of the four deputy county heads."

With full management, it's as if no one listens to Chen Shi. Zhang Kaizhi wants to sideline Chen Shi. The importance of a deputy lies in the work they are in charge of.

Zhang Xiangdong slowly said, "The executive deputy county head has specific responsibilities. In my opinion, in addition to assisting you in managing the county government, Chen Shi should also fulfill his duties as executive deputy county head. The development and reform system, people's livelihood and social security, natural resources and urban construction, and economic supervision are all responsibilities that he should be responsible for."

Zhang Kaizhi said in a deep voice, "Secretary Zhang, Chen County is in charge of such an important department, and he also has to assist me in managing the daily work of the county government. I'm afraid he'll be too busy. I think that if Chen County were in charge of agriculture, forestry and water conservancy, commerce, culture and tourism, health and preferential treatment, he wouldn't have so many things to do. His most important job is to assist me in managing the daily work of the county government."

Zhang Xiangdong, expressionless and solemn, said, "County Head Kaizhi and Executive Deputy County Head Chen Shi have disagreements regarding their respective areas of responsibility. Tomorrow morning, we will convene a Standing Committee meeting to collectively discuss and decide on the responsibilities of the five deputy county heads."

Zhang Kaizhi's heart skipped a beat. He had no advantage at all in the Standing Committee meeting; they were all Zhang Xiangdong's people, and the division of labor among the five deputy county heads was not up to him.

He assigned Gao Rong to oversee important departments, but once the Standing Committee was established, Gao Rong's assigned responsibilities would be reassigned to less important departments.

Without being on the Standing Committee, Chen Shi's responsibilities were not his sole authority; once on the Standing Committee, the responsibilities of the five deputy county heads were no longer his sole authority.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zhang Kaizhi said in a deep voice, "Secretary Zhang, I've thought about it. Chen Shi is the executive deputy county head. Among the five deputy county heads, he is the youngest. We should give him more responsibilities."

He was put in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission, social security and people's livelihood, natural resources and urban construction, and economic supervision.

Zhang Xiangdong sneered inwardly, "What a shameless bastard."

After exchanging a few words, Zhang Kaizhi left Zhang Xiangdong's office, thinking to himself that Zhang Xiangdong was better than Liu Youguang; at least he didn't run a one-man show and even consulted with him.

If it were Liu Youguang, he would have directly issued the county party committee's document to the county government without consulting me.

In the afternoon, the county government held a meeting of the new leadership team, which was chaired by Zhang Kaizhi. Chen Shi, Gao Rong, Song Yun, Zhao Xuhe, and Li Hong delivered important speeches.

The county television station broadcast the event live.

When Chen Shi started working at the county government, he was unfamiliar with its specific operations. So, whenever he had free time, he would look at documents and materials to understand the county government's daily work arrangements.

Xu Pingan, Zhang Hu, and a few others wanted to invite Chen Shi to dinner to congratulate him on his promotion, but they all declined. He hasn't settled into his position as executive deputy county head yet, so he has to keep a low profile.

The next day at work, Xu Wen brought Yang Bin to Chen Shi's office.

"Chen County, Yang Bin's transfer to the county government is still being processed. I've spoken to the Education Bureau and arranged for him to come over early to be your driver. I've temporarily assigned him to the logistics department of the government office."

Chen Shi put down the documents in his hand: "Thank you, Director Xu."

"Chen County, this is my job. The government office serves the leaders."

The executive deputy county head's car has been parked in the garage. You can take a look when you have time. If you're not satisfied, I'll arrange for a different car.

Chen Shi looked at Yang Bin: "Yang Bin, go and take a look. I'm leaving this to you."

Chen Shi had absolute trust in Yang Bin, and Yang Bin nodded and went with Xu Wen to look at the car.

In the afternoon, Lu Nan, deputy director of the government office, came to Chen Shi's office: "County Chief Chen."

"Director Lu, please have a seat."

Lu Nan sat down: "County Chief Chen, convene a meeting of the county government's Party Group at 10:00 AM tomorrow."

Chen Shi nodded: "Understood."

Lu Nan smiled and asked, "County Chief Chen, your liaison officer hasn't been assigned yet. What are your requirements for the liaison officer?"

Chen Shi then remembered that he could now have a secretary, and the secretary was very important, so he had to examine her carefully.

"Director Lu, the liaison officer matter isn't urgent; we can discuss it later."

"Alright, Magistrate Chen, please feel free to give any requests you may have." Lu Nan stood up and left.

Lu Nan had worked in the government office for many years. When Liu Youguang was the county head, he was the deputy director. When Zhang Xiangdong was the county head, he was still the deputy director. When Zhang Kaizhi became the county head, he could have dropped the title of deputy director. No one in the government office had more seniority than him.

Unexpectedly, Xu Wen snatched the job away from him. It wasn't that Xu Wen was more capable at work, but rather that Xu Wen knew how to fawn over Zhang Kaizhi.

He used to think that with his own abilities, some leader would appreciate him. But he never expected that he would still be a deputy director even though he was over forty. The prospect of becoming a section chief seemed like a distant dream.

Chen Shi is so young, yet he's already the executive deputy county head. He has a powerful background. Only by getting close to Chen Shi can one hope to be promoted to the level of section chief.

He knew that those who followed Chen Shi were all promoted and given important positions.

Lu Nan was the government's chief writer; he was responsible for writing all the important documents.

It's not difficult to write reports; the real challenge is to make your superiors aware of your writing skills and recognize that they can't do without you.

After getting off work, Yang Bin waited in his car at the entrance. When he saw Chen Shi come downstairs, he quickly opened the car door.

Chen Shi got in, and Yang Bin said, "County Chief Chen, Director Xu and I went to see the car of the former Executive Deputy County Chief. It looked very nice on the outside, but the engine and transmission were not good. I chose this car. It doesn't look very nice on the outside, but the engine and transmission don't have much wear and tear."

I'll get the paint repainted tomorrow, is that alright? If not, we'll get another car.

"The most important thing about a car is that it's in good condition and safety comes first. A beautiful appearance is not very useful."

If the previous executive deputy county head's car was in good condition, it wouldn't have remained parked in the garage without being chosen by any leader.

Yang Bin then understood why Chen Shi had asked him to choose a car.

When Chen Shi returned home, Jiang Yiqiu had gone to Yizhou for training, and figuring out what to do for dinner became a problem.

After thinking about it, I decided to cook myself a bowl of noodles.

It's not a good thing that both husband and wife are leaders; they're busy with their own things, and coming home is cold and quiet. It's time to consider hiring a nanny.