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

In Chen Shi's office, six people were sitting. On the left were Chen Shi, Chen Jianhua, and Chen Jianyong, and on the right were Li Mengjiang, Xu Erdan, and Xu Ruqing.

Chen Shi held a transfer agreement in his hand, and Chen Jianhua also held a copy.

Li Mengjiang also had a copy, and Xu Ruqing also had a copy.

Four land transfer agreements, witnessed by Chen Shi and Li Mengjiang.

Chen Shi said in a serious tone, "I've read the agreement, there are no problems, both parties have signed it."

Chen Jianhua replied, "No problem."

Xu Erdan and Xu Ruqing reluctantly replied, "No problem."

Chen Shi stood up, picked up two pens from his desk, and handed one to Li Mengjiang.

Li Mengjiang handed the pen to Xu Ruqing, indicating that he should sign it first.

Xu Ruqing reluctantly signed the agreement. She had suffered a huge loss this time. If she had known, she would have given Chen Jianhua 10,000 yuan from the beginning. This would have saved her from making a fuss for so long and cost her an extra 40,000 yuan. She would also have to be detained for 15 days.

After signing my name, I handed it, along with the pen, to Li Mengjiang.

Li Mengjiang took the pen and the agreement and signed it.

Chen Shi and Chen Jianhua also signed the agreement, and the two sides exchanged the agreement, signing and pressing their fingerprints on it respectively.

Four copies of the agreement were kept by the two notaries, and by Chen Jianhua and Xu Ruqing respectively.

Xu Erdan opened the black leather bag, took out 50,000 yuan, and handed it to Chen Jianhua.

"Count the money in front of me, or I won't honor it later."

Chen Shi borrowed a money counting machine for him from the post office, fearing that Xu Erdan might tamper with the money.

Chen Jianhua took the money and counted it in front of him. It was 50,000 yuan, not a penny less, and there was no counterfeit money.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "We're all from the same village, so we're even now. Let's shake hands and make peace."

Li Mengjiang chimed in, "It's such a small matter, why make such a fuss for so long? It's completely unnecessary."

Xu Erdan coughed lightly and said, "Our two families are related. Jianhua's maternal grandmother is my aunt."

Chen Shi thought to himself, "They're relatives, why are they making such a fuss? Why didn't they discuss and resolve this sooner?"

If I hadn't become the deputy director, you probably would have taken advantage of Chen Jianhua by relying on Li Mengjiang.

Once the matter was settled, Xu Erdan was released and returned home, while Xu Ruqing was sent to the detention center.

Chen Jianhua gave Chen Jianyong three thousand yuan. This time, Chen Jianyong not only regained his face but also made a fortune. He was very grateful to Chen Jianyong.

After seeing off the Chen brothers, Chen Shi experienced the intimidation that comes with power.

Friday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Chen Shi hadn't visited his aunt Li Nan at the municipal party committee compound in a long time.

I promised Li Nan before the New Year that I would bring my mother, Wang Guihua, to visit her.

Chen Shi called Chen Yanshi and asked him to prepare some dried goods so that he could take his mother to Mingzhou on Saturday to visit his aunt.

Early Saturday morning, Chen Shi drove his police car back to pick up his mother.

Chen Yanshi prepared mountain produce and also asked him to bring a free-range chicken.

Chen Shi drove his mother to Fushan Town. He didn't drive the police car to Mingzhou. Driving a police car there would be too conspicuous. It was better to be cautious. If someone with ulterior motives took a picture and posted it online, he might be dismissed from his hard-earned position as deputy director.

Carrying large bags and small packages, and even a live chicken, they took a bus to Minnesota.

We arrived in Minnesota around 3 p.m.

Chen Shi called Li Nan in advance. They arrived at the municipal party committee compound at home on the weekend. The security guards recognized Chen Shi and opened the gate for them to enter.

Upon arriving at the door, I rang the doorbell. The nanny, Xiao Chen, opened the door and greeted me warmly when she saw that it was Chen Shi.

Wang Guihua had visited once before, and Xiao Chen recognized her immediately, greeting her quickly, "Big sister's here."

Wang Guihua wasn't used to it yet, and said only two words: "Hello."

When Xiao Chen saw Chen Shi bring over a live chicken, he asked, "I don't know how to kill a chicken. Do you?"

Chen Shi laughed and said, "I know how to kill. I'll do it later."

The items were handed to Xiao Chen to take to the kitchen, while Chen Shi led his mother to the living room.

Besides Li Nan, there was another girl in the living room who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. She resembled Li Nan in appearance and should be his cousin, Wang Lingze.

Li Nan stood up to greet her: "Big sister is here, please have a seat."

Chen Shi greeted her with a smile: "Auntie"

Li Nan looked at Wang Lingze: "Lingze, why don't you greet your aunt? This is your own aunt, your father's older sister."

Chen Shi took the initiative to introduce himself: "Lingze, I am your cousin Chen Shi."

Seeing that Chen Shi was quite handsome, Wang Lingze asked, "How come I've never heard my father mention that he has an older sister? I only know that I have a younger aunt."

Li Nan explained, "It's a long story. I'll tell you when I have time. We didn't know each other before, but we do now."

Wang Lingze called out, "Auntie."

Wang Guihua smiled broadly and said, "My dear niece, you're so beautiful, just like your mother."

Chen Shi didn't expect his mother to praise people; he just wanted to give her a thumbs up and say, "Well done!"

Wang Lingze said with a grin, "This cousin is quite handsome, much more handsome than the boys in our class."

Chen Shi flashed a bright white smile: "Thank you for the compliment, cousin. I've been here several times, but I haven't seen you before."

"I usually live at my maternal grandmother's house and rarely come back."

Wang Lingze whispered to Chen Shi, "What's your QQ number? I'll add you."

He's so handsome, he's popular wherever he goes.

Chen Shi added Wang Lingze on QQ and they exchanged contact information.

Chen Shi was secretly delighted. This time, their relationship had taken another step closer, and it was clear that Wang Lingze had a good impression of him.

The nanny, Xiao Chen, came into the living room: "Chen Shi, come and kill the chicken. I'm afraid to kill a chicken."

Chen Shi said to Li Nan, "Aunt, we brought a free-range chicken. It's still alive, we haven't killed it yet. I'll go kill it and get the chicken out."

"Why do you always bring things every time you come? I've told you so many times, it's so far away, and you don't have a car, it's inconvenient."

Wang Guihua chimed in, "Nannan, these are all raised by us in the countryside. They've never been fed commercial feed, so they taste great."

"We mountain folk don't have much to offer, so we could only bring these things. We've always been thinking of you all. If we didn't bring anything, it would feel empty, like something's missing."

Chen Shi knew he inherited his mother's love from someone else; if she had only completed junior high school, she could at least be a teacher now.

The genes from the father's side are all arrogant, with ambitions higher than the sky but lives as fragile as paper. They are also concerned with saving face, but are utterly useless.

Chen Jianhua is a typical example; he's foolish and doesn't even realize it.

Chen Shi went to kill the chicken and finished preparing it in about ten minutes.

I've killed chickens quite a few times at home, so I'm very skilled at it.

This time, Wang Guihua was much more relaxed and less reserved than before, and she got along very well with Li Nan.

Who would have thought that a high school principal from Minnesota could have such a great conversation with an illiterate rural woman?

On a whim, Wang Lingze went to watch Chen Shi kill a chicken.

It was mainly because Chen Shi was so handsome that he deeply attracted her.

Chen Shi helped the nanny, Xiao Chen, prepare meals. He rarely cooked and usually assisted others at home.

Chen Shi asked Wang Lingze, "My uncle isn't home."

"Your uncle is so busy. You never see him. He's either in meetings or having dinner parties. He doesn't eat at home for 360 out of 365 days a year."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Being a leader is busy. There are four or five million people in Mingzhou, and my uncle has to take care of them all."

"What's the point of worrying? He's still a leader, and wherever he goes, people fawn over him. But when he comes home, nobody fawns over him."

Chen Shi smiled without saying a word, as if he was right. When he came home, he was just a husband and father, but no one treated him as a leader.

He has a wife and a daughter, both of whom he needs to please.