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

Wang Mingzhang asked, "Was it Zhang Xiangdong or Zhang Kaizhi who put you in charge of building the highway?"

"It was my initiative to propose building this expressway. Chunyang's geographical location is such that the towns and villages are quite scattered. From the northernmost point to the southernmost point, it is more than 100 kilometers long and takes more than three hours. It only takes more than three hours to get from Chunyang to Yizhou."

Building this highway will bring all the towns and villages together in the county seat, connecting them into a unified force to develop the economy and lift them out of poverty.

Wang Mingzhang said coldly, "Do you understand your position? You are just a deputy county head, not the county party secretary of Chunyang County. Developing the economy is the county party secretary's responsibility. You are just a deputy county head. Above you are the county head and the secretary. Just do what they tell you to do. If there are achievements, they are the credit; if there are problems, they are also the credit."

Now you're taking the blame yourself. The highway is finished, and the economic development is Zhang Xiangdong and Zhang Kaizhi's achievement. What does it have to do with you, a deputy county head? If anything goes wrong, the responsibility will be all yours; you'll become the scapegoat.

You think you're the only one who wanted to build this highway? If it were that easy, it would have been built long ago, instead of waiting for you.

"Chen Shi, if I had known beforehand that you were a political idiot, I would have strongly opposed your nomination as executive deputy county head."

Chen Shi still insisted on his own idea: "Man proposes, God disposes; how can you know the outcome if you don't try?"

He said in a low voice, "Mayor Wang, I just want to do something for the people."

Wang Mingzhang was amused and annoyed. He was still too young; he wouldn't give up until he suffered a setback.

"I'll give you a clear answer: the municipal government will not allocate a single penny for this highway. As for the approval, go find the comrades from the Development and Reform Commission and the Transportation Bureau. As long as they agree, the municipal government will not hold you back and will report it to the provincial government."

Chen Shi thought to himself, "I just wanted to give a brief report on my work, and it's not like I'm asking you how much money you're asking me for."

I never expected you to allocate any funds to me.

Chen Shi left the office, got into his car looking dejected, and smoked a few cigarettes. Yang Bin, seeing that Chen Shi was in a bad mood, didn't dare to speak and sat silently waiting for orders.

Chen Shi checked the time; it was almost 11:30. He took out his phone and called Li Nan.

"Xiao Shi"

"Auntie, are you home?"

"I'm at home, are you in Minnesota?"

"I came up here for a meeting, but I came to see you."

"Come over for dinner."

"Okay," Chen Shi said with a smile, and hung up the phone. "Go to the municipal party committee compound."

Upon arriving at the municipal party committee compound, Yang Bin took out the local specialties that Chen Shi had arranged to prepare from the trunk.

Chen Shi took the phone and said, "Yang Bin, go out to eat. I'll call you in advance if anything comes up."

Yang Bin nodded, drove away, and Chen Shi rang the doorbell.

The nanny, Xiao Chen, opened the door. When she saw Chen Shi, she smiled broadly. "This young man is really amazing. In just a few years, he has become a deputy director-level leader."

He quickly took the local specialties from Chen Shi's hands: "County Magistrate Chen, please come inside."

He called out to Li Nan in the living room, "Sister Nan, County Chen brought some local specialties. We're in for a treat!"

Li Nan stood up to greet her, and Chen Shi quickly called out, "Auntie!"

To Chen Shi's surprise, Wang Lingze was also at home.

Li Nan smiled and said, "Xiao Shi is here. Please have a seat."

Li Nan looked at Wang Lingze sitting to the side: "Your cousin is here, and he didn't even say hello."

Chen Shi asked, "Lingze, when did you get back?"

Wang Lingze looked at Chen Shi: "You've come looking for my dad again. He's not home, and he probably won't be back for dinner tonight. You've come all this way for nothing."

Li Nan chimed in, "Xiao Shi came to see me."

The nanny, Xiao Chen, washed some fruit and brought it over with a smile: "Mr. Chen, have some fruit."

Chen Shi nodded, feeling that Wang Lingze was acting very strangely. Had she been through something traumatic? Had she broken up with Zhu Tong and suffered a heartbreak?

Li Nan said, "Xiao Shi, Ling Ze is in a bad mood. She had a fight with her dad last night. She is a senior in college this year and will graduate next June. Her dad wants her to take the postgraduate entrance exam and continue her studies, but she doesn't want to do postgraduate studies. She wants to find a job in Australia or go back to China to do business."

She didn't want to pursue a master's degree, but her father agreed and wanted her to get a government job. Donghai Province had a talent recruitment policy that would allow her to work for the provincial government, but she absolutely refused.

Wang Lingze said angrily, "You want me to be like him, always smiling at everyone? I can't do that."

There are too many rules and regulations within the system; I prefer freedom and am not leadership material.

Chen Shi was speechless. What's wrong with me? I always have a smile on my face. I can get angry too, but you've never seen me angry.

"How can your father and I feel at ease knowing that you, a young woman, are working in Australia? You think doing business is easy? You still have to drink and entertain clients."

Listen to your dad. Graduate next year and work for the provincial government. The secretary-general of the provincial government is your dad's friend; he'll take care of you. Who would dare to mistreat you?

Wang Lingze said coldly, "I want to do business. My aunt runs a company that provides office supplies to the government, and she makes a lot of money every year."

Besides, how can I do business the same way as others? My dad is the mayor; they have to come to me for cooperation, and even then, it depends on my mood.

"Your father is firmly against you starting a business; he's given up on that idea."

Chen Shi stood by and advised, "Working in the system doesn't have so many rules. It's 9 to 5, and you can leave on time. It's very easy."

Wang Lingze looked at Chen Shi: "You're such an official-obsessed person. You think everyone is like you. I want to do business and do whatever I want without any restrictions. If you don't agree, I'll go to Australia and never come back. I'll work and settle down there."

Li Nan was furious: "Wang Lingze, have I been too kind to you? Don't take your good fortune for granted. The provincial government is a place anyone can just walk into. If you don't follow my orders, I won't give you a single penny. Let's see how you survive in Australia."

"Fine, I won't give it to you. Who are you trying to scare? I have plenty of ways to make money."

"Go and earn one for me, show me."

Seeing that Li Nan and Wang Lingze were about to start arguing, Chen Shi changed the subject: "Lingze, what kind of business do you want to do?"

Without a second thought, Wang Lingze said, "I'll do any business that can make money."

There are so many profitable businesses, you need to have a goal.

Wang Lingze hadn't thought about what kind of business to start and couldn't answer immediately.

After thinking for a moment, he realized, "Real estate is very profitable, so I'll go into real estate; it's a sure thing."

"You can do real estate, but you need to prepare at least several hundred million yuan in start-up capital. First, you need to buy land from the government. After you buy the land, you need to take it as collateral for a bank loan. After you get the loan, you can start building houses and pre-selling them."

The question then arises: where did the hundreds of millions for buying the land come from?

Wang Lingze thought for a moment: "A loan from the bank."

"You don't have any collateral, so the bank won't give you a loan of hundreds of millions."

"Just buy the land and use it as collateral."

Chen Shi was speechless for a moment: "No bank would dare to do such a thing."

"My dad can vouch for me."

Li Nan snorted coldly: "You're dreaming. Do you think your family owns the bank? Your dad doesn't have that much influence. This is hundreds of millions, not just a few million."

Wang Lingze said discontentedly, "Borrow it from my aunt."

"Your aunt has hundreds of millions of yuan. She's already in the real estate business. Why would she be in the office supplies business?"

Wang Lingze suddenly realized that doing business wasn't so simple; a single issue like funding could stump someone.

The nanny, Xiao Chen, called out, "Dinner's ready!"

The dining table was laden with dishes.