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

Chen Shi went to work at the county government early in the morning. Lu Nan insisted on cleaning Chen Shi's office every day. After observing Lu Nan for a period of time, Chen Shi determined that he was not one of Zhang Kaizhi and Gao Rong's people.

Chen Shi sat down, and Lu Nan placed the thermos within easy reach of Chen Shi.

Chen Shi picked up the thermos and took a sip.

"Director Lu, I've been working at the county government for a while now. Could you recommend a liaison officer for me?"

Lu Nan was overjoyed. He knew he had gained Chen Shi's trust and that Chen Shi was about to start working.

"In Chen County, there's a staff member in the General Affairs Section of the Government Office named Xie Shanquan. He joined the Government Office in 11. He graduated from Tsinghua or Peking University with a major in Chinese Language and Literature. He has excellent writing skills. I'd like to invite him here for an interview."

"For a liaison officer, strong writing skills are fundamental, but the key is to be quick-witted."

Lu Nan readily agreed.

Chen Shi thought for a moment and said, "Director Lu, please bring him here. I want to meet him."

Choosing a secretary is like going on a blind date; first impressions are very important. If you don't like someone at first sight, it's hard to like them later.

Lu Nan arrived at the General Affairs Section and called out from the doorway, "Xiao Xie, come to my office."

Xie Shanquan considered himself a great talent and believed that among the newcomers in the government office, no one had better writing skills than him, so he was sure to stand out and gain the appreciation of the leaders.

After working in the government office for two or three years and experiencing the harsh realities of society, I lost the arrogance I had when I first arrived.

Zhao Gang, who entered the university in the same year as him, was assigned to the General Affairs Section of the Government Office.

Zhao Gang graduated from the Vietnamese language major at Mingzhou Teachers College. Anyone who has taken the college entrance examination knows that this major is just barely enough to get into a bachelor's degree program.

They are worlds apart from him, a talented student from Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

To his surprise, when Zhao Gang reported to the government office, Xu Wen, who was then the deputy director of the government office, personally picked him up and took him to the government office.

The head and deputy head of the General Affairs Section warmly arranged a seat for Zhao Gang and assigned him simple tasks that were easy to produce results in.

Xie Shanquan, this great talent, was ignored by everyone. The work assigned to him was always the hardest and most tiring. If he did it well, it was his duty; if he did it poorly, he would have to take responsibility.

What angered him most was that when he was writing a speech for his superior, he would study the superior's speech and spend two or three days writing the speech. The section chief would take it up, make slight changes, and turn it into the section chief's own writing, which would then receive praise from the superior.

He accepted it the first time, but it happened several times afterward. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he went to argue with the section chief and was criticized for being immature.

He had a fight with the section chief and wanted to report the situation to the leader, but then he thought, would the leader believe what he said? Even if they did, they wouldn't promote him. No leader likes a subordinate to steal the leader's credit.

It's just writing a draft; it's not a big achievement, and it's nothing to the leaders.

Xie Shanquan offended the head of the General Affairs Section and was temporarily transferred to Laoyan Town. In Laoyan Town, he was in an awkward position; he didn't belong there, and no matter how well he did his job, it had nothing to do with him.

The government's general affairs department simply forgot about him, replaced him with a replacement, and didn't proactively transfer him back.

Xie Shanquan's father was a teacher at Shangying Town Middle School. He was proud and never asked for favors.

Seeing that Xie Shanquan had been temporarily transferred to Laoyan Town for a year, and that his return to the government office was a long way off, he was marginalized at such a young age. The more glorious Xie Shanquan was when he was admitted to Tsinghua and Peking Universities, the more miserable he was now.

Xie Shanquan's father thought it over and considered all the people he could contact. After much deliberation, he finally thought of Lu Nan.

Lu Nan is Xie Shanquan's father's classmate and the deputy director of the government office. As long as he is willing to help Xie Shanquan, there will be no problem getting him transferred back to the government office.

For his son's sake, Xie Shanquan's father took Xie Shanquan, bought gifts, and went to ask Lu Nan for help.

Lu Nan saw that Xie Shanquan was a graduate of Tsinghua and Peking Universities and was a talented person. He had offended the head of the Comprehensive Section and was transferred to Heyuan Town as the deputy mayor, no longer working in the government office.

Lu Nan transferred him back without offending anyone; he did Xie Shanquan a favor by transferring him back to the General Affairs Section of the Government Office.

Xie Shanquan's father was very grateful to Lu Nan and would always take Xie Shanquan and bring gifts to Lu Nan's house during festivals.

When Xie Shanquan returned to the General Affairs Section, Zhao Gang had already become the deputy section chief. In just two or three years, Xie Shanquan was still a staff member, while Zhao Gang was already the section chief. All the materials were written by Xie Shanquan, and Zhao Gang would take them up, too lazy to make any changes, just change the name to his own and give them directly to the leader.

The county government leaders thought Zhao Gang was a talented person and wanted to cultivate him. In a year at most, he would be promoted to deputy section chief and sent to take up a post outside the county.

After being brutally beaten in Laoyan Town, Xie Shanquan buried himself in his work. At least he was useful to Zhao Gang, and perhaps he could become a deputy section chief when Zhao Gang was transferred.

If he offends Zhao Gang and gets seconded to Laoyan Town again, Lu Nan won't risk offending Zhao Gang for his own sake.

Zhao Gang's father, Zhao Yongde, is the director of the Transportation Bureau and is now the director of the Zhongshan Subdistrict Office. He has a very good relationship with Xu Wen, the director of the Government Office. The two families are relatives, so it would be too easy for him to deal with Xie Shanquan, who has no background.

When Xie Shanquan saw Lu Nan calling him, he knew that Lu Nan was his only support. No matter what Lu Nan asked him to do, he had to do it; he had no other choice.

He quickly stood up and went to Lu Nan's office.

Lu Nan smiled and said, "Don't stand, sit down."

Xie Shanquan said, "Director Lu, I'll stay standing."

Lu Nan said, "Xiao Xie, your chance has come. Whether you can seize it or not depends on yourself."

I have a very good relationship with your dad. When I was in school, my family was poor and I often went hungry. It was your dad who brought me food and shared it with me, which allowed me to graduate from junior high school smoothly.

I am a grateful person, and I will try my best to help you whenever I have the chance.

Xie Shanquan understood what Lu Nan meant; this was a reminder that if he did well in the future, he should know how to be grateful.

"Director Lu, I won't say thank you. Without you, I would still be living in the dust in Laoyan Town. I can never repay your kindness in this lifetime."

Lu Nan was very satisfied with Xie Shanquan's performance and said in a deep voice, "The county government has changed its leadership. This is your opportunity, and it's also my opportunity. I and County Chief Chen recommend you to be his liaison officer. This is a chance to get close to the leader. County Chief Chen wants to see you, so make the most of this opportunity."

Xie Shanquan clenched his fists. He had finally gotten this opportunity, and he wanted to make a good impression on Chen County.

Lu Nan led Xie Shanquan to Chen Shi's office and gently knocked on the door.

Chen Shi called out, "Come in."

Lu Nan led Xie Shanquan into the office, and Lu Nan smiled and said, "County Chief Chen, this is Xie Shanquan."

Xie Shanquan quickly replied, "Hello, County Chief Chen."

Chen Shi nodded to Xie Shanquan. The young man was refined and polite, wearing glasses. He had a good impression of him.

"Xie Shanquan, have you ever written a report for your superiors?"

Xie Shanquan was about to say that he had written a lot when Lu Nan stopped him with a look. He was just a nobody and couldn't afford to offend anyone.

You said you wrote a lot, and Chen Shi asked you to show it to him. You said that Zhao Gang impersonated you. From the leader's perspective, you are just ignorant.

Chen Shi won't investigate this matter thoroughly for your sake. Investigating it wouldn't do him any good, but it would offend several people.

Xu Wen, director of the county government office, and Zhao Yongde, director of the Zhongshan Subdistrict Office, also reflected the county government's chaotic management and offended the previous county government leaders.

No leader would do something so stupid; anyone who could do something so stupid wouldn't be fit to be a leader.