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

The county government starts work at nine o'clock, but Xie Shanquan arrived at the government office at eight o'clock. He was so excited last night that he couldn't sleep and had many wild thoughts. He finally fell asleep just before dawn and had a dream in which he became the mayor.

I was half asleep when my phone alarm woke me up.

He got up, stood in front of the mirror, and told himself not to be impatient. Days go by one by one, and one's career should also be taken one step at a time. He couldn't be hasty.

Upon arriving at the government office, the first thing to do is to clean Lu Nan's office, tidy it up, and then fill a thermos with water for Lu Nan. The water should be boiled and then poured into the thermos when it reaches 50 degrees Celsius.

The thermos is placed in a spot where Lu Nan usually can easily reach it.

Xie Shanquan checked the time; it was only 8:20. He rushed to Chen Shi's office and meticulously cleaned it, wiping the floor with a towel, leaving no corner untouched. The office floor gleamed.

At 8:40, Lu Nan came to clean Chen Shi's office as usual and saw Xie Shanquan cleaning inside.

Xie Shanquan put down the towel in his hand: "Good morning, Director Lu."

Lu Nan smiled and said, "Cleaning the leader's office is your duty as secretary. I was afraid you'd forgotten, so I came to check on you."

"Director Lu, I've cleaned your office before I came over."

Lu Nan left satisfied. "You're a sensible kid. No leader dislikes a sensible subordinate."

At 8:55, Chen Shi arrived at the office. Xie Shanquan was organizing documents. Upon seeing Chen Shi, he quickly greeted him, "County Magistrate Chen."

Chen Shi felt that the office was different today; the floor was reflective. He nodded to Xie Shanquan.

Chen Shi sat down, reached for his thermos, took a sip, and found it to be just the right temperature – neither too hot nor too cold.

"Xiao Xie"

Xie Shanquan quickly took out his notebook and waited for his supervisor to assign him work.

Chen Shi looked at Xie Shanquan: "Later, please notify the director of the Transportation Bureau to come to my office. All those who come to report on their work will be scheduled for the morning. In the afternoon, go to the Chengnan Subdistrict Office to inspect the renovation of dilapidated houses."

More than fifty tobacco-growing households in Fushan Town suffered severe damage from hail. The civil affairs department provided subsidies to each household based on their specific circumstances. I have already signed off on the subsidy payments; you need to follow up and supervise to ensure that the subsidies reach every household.

Xie Shanquan quickly jotted down what he needed to do immediately: notify the director of the Transportation Bureau to come to his office.

Xie Shanquan was going to inspect the dilapidated building renovation project in Chengnan Subdistrict Office this afternoon, and he was unsure whether he should notify the relevant leaders of Chengnan Subdistrict Office.

"Chen County official, we're going to inspect the dilapidated housing renovation project at Chengnan Subdistrict Office this afternoon. Should we notify the relevant leaders at Chengnan Subdistrict Office in advance?"

"Don't notify us, just go this afternoon."

Xie Shanquan then asked, "County Chief Chen, what time is the inspection scheduled for this afternoon?"

"You arrange the time; don't ask me."

Xie Shanquan scheduled it for 3:30. It's too hot between 2 and 4 o'clock, and it's too late.

He noted in his notebook that the subsidy standards for disaster-stricken farmers in Fushan Town would be temporarily suspended.

Xie Shanquan left the office and immediately called Liu Feng, asking him to come to the office.

Upon receiving the call, Liu Feng rushed to the government office.

Xie Shanquan investigated Chen Shi's confidants, and Liu Feng was one of them. When Liu Feng went to the government office, Xie Shanquan immediately arranged for him to go to Chen Shi's office. The others who were reporting on their work were all waiting in line outside.

Xie Shanquan poured Liu Feng a cup of tea, left the office, and closed the door behind him.

Chen Shi looked at Liu Feng: "You've been at the Transportation Bureau for a while now. How much do you know about its work?"

"I'm familiar with the main tasks of the Transportation Bureau in Chen County, but there are some minor details that I need to familiarize myself with for a while longer."

"No rush, you'll get more familiar with the job as you go, take your time." Chen Shi took a sip of tea. "Liu Feng, do you know why I sent you to the Transportation Bureau?"

Liu Feng guessed it was for road construction, but he didn't know what kind of road it was.

"Chen County, please enlighten us."

"Chunyang County is divided into the lower half and the upper half. The lower half is too far from the county seat, especially Laoyan Town. From Laoyan Town to the county seat, you can go directly to Yizhou."

I want to build a highway connecting Heyuan Town, Shangying Town, Fushan Town, Huangchang Town, and Laoyan Town, and then connecting to Yixing County in Southwest Province.

It makes it easier for people from the lower part of the county to go to the county seat for schooling and medical care, and more importantly, it develops the economy of the lower part of the county.

Liu Feng took out his notebook and wrote down Chen Shi's speech.

Chen Shi asked, "Does the Transportation Bureau still have road construction quotas for this year?"

"County Chief Chen, I was just about to report this to you. The previous Director Zhao Yongde used up all the road construction quotas of the Transportation Bureau, even the quotas for 2015 and 2016 were approved."

Chen Shi said coldly, "Reject all the road construction quotas approved by Zhao Yongde, re-examine them, build the necessary ones, but don't build any of the vanity projects. We must concentrate our efforts on building the expressway that runs through Yixing County."

The lower half of the county has a population of over 300,000, but there isn't a single highway. How can it develop its economy?

Liu Feng said, "Chen County, I will arrange for the project to be approved and do the preliminary work."

"Your future work will focus on this highway."

Liu Feng opened his notebook: "County Chief Chen, the main road in front of the county government building was approved in June with a budget of 4.5 million yuan. Construction is scheduled to begin this month, and the county government has already approved it. Should we proceed with the repairs?"

"The main road in front of the county government building is in good condition, so why is it being repaired?"

"This main road was only built in 09. It's been five years now, and the main problem is that the green belt design is poor. It needs to be redesigned, which affects the overall aesthetics of the county town."

Chen Shi lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said, "I think the green belt is fine and doesn't need to be redesigned. This project is scrapped. Chunyang County is a poor county, and the money should be used where it is needed."

There's something fishy about this project. Liu Feng had just taken office at the Transportation Bureau when Zhao Yongde invited him to dinner with Hu Liang, the boss of Chunyang County Shuncheng Development Co., Ltd.

Hu Liang is Gao Rong's cousin, and he implied that he wanted to do this project. Liu Feng was unaware of the situation, so he neither refused nor agreed.

The next day, Hu Liang came to the Transportation Bureau to find Liu Feng and made it clear that he wanted to do this project. Liu Feng knew that this was a project that Zhao Yongde had done for Hu Liang. Zhao Yongde had not yet made arrangements for it before he was transferred.

Liu Feng knew he wasn't one of them, so he decisively refused.

After Hu Liang left, Liu Feng found a bag on the sofa containing 100,000 yuan.

In the afternoon, Liu Feng delivered the bag directly to Zhao Yongde, saying that Hu Liang had forgotten it in his office, and that if it happened again, he would deliver it directly to the Discipline Inspection Commission.

Even if he were to do this project, he wouldn't give it to Hu Liang. If the project funds were used for bribery, shoddy workmanship would be inevitable.

Liu Feng also felt there was no need to build this road. With Chen Shi's support, he could go all out to do it.

After Liu Feng left the office, Xie Shanquan arranged the leaders who were to report on their work according to their rank: the top leader was given priority, the deputy was next, those who had a good relationship with Chen Shi were at the front, and those who were not familiar with Chen Shi were at the back, in a businesslike manner.