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

Xiao Chong looked at Chen Shi: "I'm giving you a task. If Chunyang County doesn't have these 3 billion yuan, can you raise 145 billion yuan to get the expressway project approved and started? As for the poverty alleviation and development support project, invest it in Chunyang County to build a thermal power plant."

I want to see the highway construction begin before June next year.

Chen Shi was overjoyed. This was a disguised form of support for building the expressway. He could first find a bank loan to build the expressway, obtain 3 billion yuan in special support funds, repay the bank, and then find another bank loan when he needed to build the thermal power plant.

"Secretary Xiao, I will do my best to complete this task and help Chunyang County get rid of poverty as soon as possible."

Secretary Zhang Dawei walked in and whispered to Xiao Chong, "Secretary Xiao, the chairman of Jiajia Group has been waiting in the reception room for a while."

Xiao Chong checked the time; it was 4:30. He had arranged to meet the chairman of Jiajia Group at 4:10.

"Why didn't you remind me? You made people wait for twenty minutes. The chairman of Jiajia Group is someone I invited from Yizhou. He's coming to Mingzhou to invest 50 billion."

Zhang Dawei didn't dare to respond. Seeing you all chatting so enthusiastically, who would dare to interrupt?

Xiao Chong said, "Chen Shi, I'll remember you. Go and raise funds to build the highway."

Chen Shi loudly agreed, and Xiao Chong, accompanied by his secretary Zhang Dawei, walked out of the office.

Chen Shi and Huang Ao also left their offices and returned to Huang Ao's office. The two chatted for a few words, then Chen Shi left, called Yang Bin, and went straight back to Chunyang.

When he got home, Jiang Yiqiu wasn't there, and it felt very lonely. It just didn't feel right without a woman in the house; he always felt like something was missing.

Chen Shi cooked a bowl of noodles, ate it, and prepared to go to sleep. He hadn't rested well for the past two days.

The next day at work, before Chen Shi could even ask, Xie Shanquan took the initiative to report on his work.

"In Chen County, the road leading to the greenhouse vegetable base in Heyuan Town from the neighboring village has not yet been repaired. It is prone to freezing in winter. Hardening the road surface will affect its service life. We will start hardening the road surface in March."

I had them haul several truckloads of gravel to level the road surface and make it easier for farmers to travel.

Starting in November, the electricity management office began charging residential electricity rates for the greenhouse vegetable base.

The dilapidated housing renovation project is under construction and progressing rapidly; the foundation work should be completed before the Spring Festival. Secretary Zhao said that the 500 million yuan from the Chengnan Subdistrict Office has already been allocated to the designated account, and asked when the county government's 500 million yuan would arrive.

Xie Shanquan paused at this point.

Chen Shi said, "What's the rush? The 500 million will be allocated to him in 2015. If he has any ideas, let him come to me."

Xie Shanquan continued, "The Civil Affairs Bureau randomly selected more than forty elderly people to receive the subsidies for 2014, and the subsidies were distributed to them all."

Chen Shi nodded, and Xie Shanquan brought over a stack of documents: "County Magistrate Chen, these are the documents waiting for your signature."

Xie Shanquan placed the documents on the table, opened them one by one, and placed them in front of Chen Shi.

It took Chen Shi an hour to finish signing the documents.

For the past two or three days, Chen Shi has been away, and many people have come to report on their work after learning that he has returned.

Chen Shi told them to be concise and to the point, giving each person five minutes.

After receiving reports from the leaders of various departments, it was already 12:40.

Xie Shanquan walked in: "County Chief Chen, shall I go down and get lunch, or would you like to eat at the canteen?"

Chen Shi felt a little sleepy: "Go and make a couple of simple dishes and bring them up in a box."

Xie Shanquan quickly made the arrangements.

After having lunch, Chen Shi took a nap on the sofa in his office.

In the afternoon, Chen Shi went to Zhang Xiangdong's office to report on the results of his trip to Mingzhou.

Zhang Xiangdong learned that Xiao Chong had met with Chen Shi and promised that as long as Chen Shi could raise funds to build the highway, the 3 billion yuan special fund for poverty alleviation and development projects would be given to Chunyang.

It's both a good thing and a bad thing. Chen Shi, the executive deputy county head, is so proactive. If I, as the secretary, don't report this to Xiao Chong in time, it will leave a bad impression on Xiao Chong.

I need to go to Mingzhou tomorrow morning to report to Xiao Chong on the details of the highway construction and the thermal power plant building.

Zhang Xiangdong looked at Chen Shi: "Didn't you go to report to Mayor Wang?"

"I reported to Mayor Wang. Mayor Wang neither supports nor opposes building the expressway. As long as Chunyang can raise the funds for the road construction, he doesn't care."

"Chen County, you've done a great job. In a short time, the Municipal Transportation Bureau and the Development and Reform Commission approved it and reported it to the province. Your next task is to focus on implementing the province's plan. Only after the Provincial Department of Transportation and the Provincial Development and Reform Commission approve it can the road be officially confirmed for construction."

Chen Shi took out his notebook and wrote down the key points of Zhang Xiangdong's speech.

Zhang Xiangdong asked, "How do you plan to raise the funds for road construction?"

Chen Shi thought about this problem for a long time: "Secretary, I have two solutions. The first solution is to find a bank loan, use the highway tolls for twenty years as collateral, and get a loan of 95 billion yuan. The county finance will raise 2 billion yuan, and the special fund for poverty alleviation and development projects will be 3 billion yuan. That will be just enough."

The second option is to find Mingzhou Urban Construction Group or another reputable company to advance the funds for the construction of the highway. Once completed, they can collect tolls for twenty years. After twenty years, the highway will be taken over by the Chunyang County government.

Zhang Xiangdong solemnly said, "Everything needs to be mortgaged. We'll first find a bank loan, a direct loan of 145 billion yuan, to build the highway without using the county's fiscal funds or funds from poverty alleviation projects."

Let's save this money and invest it in the development of the Greater Bay Area.

Chen Shi looked troubled and said, "Secretary, we can directly find a bank to provide a mortgage loan or have the company advance the funds to build the highway. Full funding is not an option; a 20-year contract is not enough. It should be at least 30 years."

"Is there a difference between twenty years and thirty years? As long as a bank is willing to lend, these are not issues."

What we need to do now is to concentrate our limited funds to develop Chunyang County.

There are too many places where money is needed, and the city's policies don't favor us; we need to save wherever we can.

Chen Shi understood Zhang Xiangdong's meaning. As the top leader, what was needed was political achievements. Twenty years or thirty years were just numbers. After twenty years, Zhang Xiangdong would have long since retired and wouldn't care about such things.

He would agree to any loan from a bank, any company willing to fully fund the construction of the highway, or any 50-year highway contract as collateral.

Zhang Xiangdong continued, "County Chief Chen, I'm entrusting this matter to you. I will support you and give you full authority to handle it."

Chen Shi nodded: "I will do my best."

"It's not just about trying your best, it's about being certain. Young man, you dare to think and act. I have high hopes for you. Your future career will surpass mine."

Zhang Xiangdong checked the time: "Later, let's invite Secretary Xiaoming and Director Huang over for a couple of drinks. There's something worth celebrating: Secretary Xiao noticed the development of Chunyang County, which will make it easier to acquire resources later. That's thanks to you."

Chen Shi quickly replied, "Secretary, I was just following your instructions and performing my duties step by step. I have no merit whatsoever; I was just doing my job well."

"Don't be modest. I've always had high hopes for you. You're capable and have the courage to get things done. Chunyang needs leaders like you."