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

Jiang Hai knew that he couldn't control Qin Jiang. Qin Jiang was the director of the power management office, and Jiang Hai was the one who had to ask Qin Jiang for help. Qin Jiang didn't need him at all.

Having served as village chief for so many years, Jiang Hai is a clever man who knows how to manipulate others.

He laughed heartily and patted Qin Jiang on the shoulder.

"Just kidding, why are you taking it so seriously? Use whoever you want, who do you think I am to ask you to report to me?"

Jiang Hai looked at Zhang Gao, his smile fading. "If I can't handle Qin Jiang, can't I at least handle you?"

His gaze sharpened: "Zhang Gao, you hit my brother-in-law?"

Niu Xingde was furious when he lost his lucrative position. He was even more furious when Qin Jiang gave the position to Zhang Gao.

He roared, "Brother-in-law, Zhang Gao slapped me! I'm going to sue him!"

Seeing this, Chen Ai said with a worried look, "He lightly slapped you, and you were the one who called him a thief."

"He stole electricity, so isn't he a thief? Did I call him the wrong person?"

Ma Guoliang shouted, "Has the court ruled? You're calling him a thief; that's defaming someone's image. You should be detained for ten days."

What is a subordinate? It's someone who stands up for their leader when it's inconvenient for the leader to speak.

Enraged, Niu Xingde shouted, "I'll call him a thief! Go ahead and detain me if you dare!"

"Do you think I wouldn't dare?" Ma Guoliang's face was dark and his face was full of fierceness, which made Niu Xingde feel scared.

Jiang Hai stared intently at Chen Shi: "Deputy Director Chen, this is an abuse of power! It's a fact that your brother-in-law beat my brother-in-law. I'm going to take him to the county hospital for a checkup. If the injuries are serious, Zhang Gao's actions constitute intentional assault. I'll report him to the police station, sue him, and put him in jail."

Chen Ai was timid, and her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

"You lightly tapped him, and he's jumping around like a madman. Does he look injured?"

This reminded Jiang Hai, who gave Niu Xingde a look. Niu Xingde understood immediately and exclaimed, "My head hurts. I got a concussion."

He slowly lay down, calling out, "Call an ambulance!"

Chen Shi took out his phone: "I'll call one for you, but not an ambulance, it'll be people from the Discipline Inspection Commission."

He picked up the ticket on the table: "You illegally printed the ticket from the power management office, and the fine was five thousand yuan. You have committed extortion and are also involved in embezzlement."

Over the years, how many people have you fined and pocketed? They've kept all those tickets, haven't they?

Others may not know, but Niu Xingde knows perfectly well how many people he has fined over the years by privately printing penalty notices from the power management office. He has forgotten how many people these people hate him for being a shareholder. If the disciplinary committee gets involved, they will rush up and tear him to pieces.

She rolled over and stood up, forcing a smile: "Chief Chen, don't hit me, I'm alright."

Chen Shi's cold gaze fell on Jiang Hai: "Director Jiang, should we take him to the county hospital for further examination?"

Niu Xingde kept giving him meaningful glances, indicating that this matter could not be pursued any further. If it were, Zhang Gao would be fine, but he himself would have to go to jail.

Jiang Hai gritted his teeth and said, "Forget it."

He turned and left, feeling utterly humiliated today, and held a grudge against Qin Jiang, showing him no respect whatsoever.

Niu Xingde followed, but a police officer called out, "Niu Xingde, you stay here. We've called the police, so we need to go through some procedures."

The police officers stepped forward and led Niu Xingde and Zhang Gao to sign a settlement agreement.

Chen Shi saw Qin Jiang off at the police station: "Chief Qin, I'll treat you tonight, don't argue with me."

"Okay," Qin Jiang said, driving away.

After completing the formalities, Zhang Gao and Chen Ai came out, while Niu Xingde left looking disheveled.

If I had known that Zhang Gao's brother-in-law was Chen Shi, I wouldn't have provoked him. Now I've lost my job and I regret it deeply.

Chen Ai was overjoyed; she had turned misfortune into blessing, as being an administrator was a lucrative job.

She now deeply regrets not providing more financial support to her younger brother when he was in school.

When he was in school, he borrowed 5,000 yuan. After Chen Shi did an internship for two months, he paid them back.

Zhang Gao said no, Chen Shi's admission to the Public Security Bureau would be helpful to them.

Chen Ai thought that her younger brother was in Yizhou, and he couldn't help her much. So she accepted the money back from Chen Shi.

If she had known he would be transferred back to the police station and become the deputy director, she would never have accepted the five thousand yuan.

The couple approached Chen Shi. Zhang Gao instinctively reached into his pocket, only to realize he had forgotten his cigarettes when the police took him away.

Chen Shi had cigarettes in his pocket, so he took them out and gave one to Zhang Gao.

Zhang Gao gave an awkward smile, took the cigarette Chen Shi offered, lit it, and took a puff to ease the embarrassment.

"Xiao Shi, thank you. Without you, we would have been stuck paying that 5,000 yuan fine."

Chen Shi also lit a cigarette: "In the future, when you do things, you should have a longer-term vision and not be misled by petty gains."

Brother-in-law, Jiang Hai is the village head. You are from the same village after all, so don't let him find any fault with you.

"The position of administrator is lucrative, but many people are watching it. Fines must be based on evidence; don't just do it arbitrarily."

Zhang Gao quickly said, "I know, don't worry, I won't give Jiang Hai any leverage over me."

Chen Ai added, "Your brother-in-law is cautious and prudent in his work. He has been in business for so many years without making any mistakes."

"Yes," Chen Shi replied affirmatively.

Chen Ai continued, "Tomorrow, we'll load a truckload of the best smokeless coal and deliver it to our parents. We won't ask them for any money."

The older sister is returning the favor; she got a benefit today and immediately said that otherwise her business would be so good.

Chen Ai has a principle when it comes to doing business: she can not make money, but she cannot lose money.

Even if she's hauling coal for her parents' house, the cost of fuel has to be factored in. She just doesn't make any money; she absolutely cannot lose money.

Chen Shi did not refuse; he acquiesced.

Chen Ai then said, "Xiao Shi, invite Director Qin to dinner tonight, and bring your brother-in-law along. Let him pay the bill."

"No need, let's talk about it later. Doing our work well is more important than anything else."

He wasn't familiar with Qin Jiang, and if he brought another person along, there would be many things he couldn't talk about.

Chen Shi understood Qin Jiang's intention; Qin Jiang didn't value him, but rather the relationship behind him.

He suddenly had an idea: improving his relationship with Qin Jiang could be a great help to him.

My brother-in-law stumbled upon a lucrative job, but what about my second brother, Chen Xing? He's far from home; how much can he earn in a year?

My parents have to stay at home, take care of two children, and farm. How can I bear to see them suffer after I've come out into the world?

If you owe Qin Jiang a favor today, why not owe him another one? The more favors you owe, the stronger your relationship will become.

Chen Ai took out a thousand yuan and handed it to Chen Shi.

Chen Shi looked puzzled: "Big sister, what are you doing?"

"Here you go. You're doing this for your older sister. She's treating us to dinner tonight, so how can I expect you to pay?"

Director Qin is only doing this because of you. If it were us, we wouldn't even be able to say a word to him.

Your brother-in-law became this administrator, and your sister is truly grateful to you. Take this!

This is what it means to be good at handling things. Nothing is owed to you. No matter who it is, you should be grateful if they help you.

Chen Shi wouldn't take the money. He felt comfortable with his older sister's actions, at least she didn't think, "I'm your older sister, it's only natural for you to help us."

Zhang Gao quickly said, "Xiao Shi, take this. This thousand might not be enough. Tell your brother-in-law how much you ate, and I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

I was in a hurry to leave and only had this thousand on me. You're doing us a favor, there's no reason for you to pay for it.

Chen Shi didn't take it, but smiled and said, "Big sister, brother-in-law, you can keep this money. If you want to give it, just buy something for Mom and Dad."

"Our meals are reimbursed when we're out, so I don't need to pay for them. Don't worry."

Seeing that her younger brother said that, Chen Ai put the money away, planning to buy some things for her parents when she went to haul coal the next day.