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

After listening to Chen Shi's report, Zhang Xiangdong said in a deep voice, "The two additional conditions proposed by Mingzhou Jiajia Development Co., Ltd. are both illegal. If we agree to them and someone reports us, you, as the executive deputy county head, will lose your job."

Chen Shi nodded: "Secretary, this is the only way out. The city won't allocate funds for building the highway, and neither will the province. We have no choice but to take this risk."

If businesses don't receive benefits, they won't invest over 10 billion yuan to build highways.

I am fully responsible for the construction of the highway; if anything goes wrong, I will bear all the consequences.

Zhang Xiangdong looked at Chen Shi: "You became the executive deputy county head at the age of thirty, which is not easy. If you steadily accumulate seniority, you will be a deputy director-general by the age of forty without any problem."

Building this highway will come at a great cost; a promising future could be ruined. You should think it over carefully.

After a moment of silence, Chen Shi said firmly, "Secretary, without building this highway, Chunyang's economy cannot develop. I will bear all the consequences. Only by building this highway can Chunyang shake off its label as a poverty-stricken county and the people of Chunyang achieve a moderately prosperous life."

Zhang Xiangdong was the first beneficiary of the completion of this highway. He admired Chen Shi, who was a man of action, but he didn't want Chen Shi to take the blame and instead climbed to the top by stepping on Chen Shi's shoulders.

Seeing Chen Shi's resolute attitude, he solemnly said, "Have you thought it through? I support you. The work of expropriating the land occupied by the highway can proceed. The county finances don't have the money; at most, we can come up with 500 million yuan for land expropriation. You'll have to find a way to solve the remaining funding. This 500 million yuan will be allocated in two years, and we can only allocate 300 million yuan to you this year."

Chen Shi thought for a moment: "Secretary, there is a special fund of 3 billion yuan to support impoverished counties. Secretary Xiao promised that as long as we can start construction in June, the special fund for supporting impoverished counties will be given to Chunyang County."

The land acquisition for the highway is estimated to cost one billion yuan, and the remaining five hundred million yuan will come from the special support funds for impoverished counties.

Zhang Xiangdong nodded: "That's possible, provided that we can get the special support funds for impoverished counties."

"We must obtain the special support funds for impoverished counties," Chen Shi said firmly.

Zhang Xiangdong looked at Chen Shi: "The two additional conditions proposed by Mingzhou Jiajia Development Co., Ltd. must not be known to others. We'll discuss them after the highway is completed."

Chen Shi continued, "Secretary, I didn't report this to anyone. It was a private promise I made to Mingzhou Jiajia Development Co., Ltd., and the relevant leaders in the county were unaware of it."

In order to develop, we have to do some illegal things. These things are worthless if you don't weigh them, but they weigh a ton if you do.

Chen Shi understood that even if he was reported and dismissed, if Zhang Xiangdong could gain the approval of the city leaders and be promoted, he would still have a chance to make a comeback.

Youth is an asset; you can afford to lose.

After leaving Zhang Xiangdong's office, Chen Shi secretly resolved that no matter the cost, he would get the highway in the lower half of the county repaired.

Chen Shi returned to his office, where Xie Shanquan was waiting.

"Chen County, a Party Group meeting will be held at 10:00 AM tomorrow."

Chen Shi nodded and began his busy work.

The Party Group meeting was held on time at 10:00 a.m. the next day, and was chaired by County Mayor Zhang Kaizhi.

Zhang Kaizhi talked at length, but the core issue was to implement the application for the Greater Bay Area Economic Development Zone.

Zhang Kaizhi glanced at everyone and solemnly said, "The county committee has decided to apply for the Dawangdi area to become a provincial-level economic development zone. This is the most important task for the county government in 2015."

Chen County is already in charge of the construction of the expressway, while Gao County is in charge of the application for the Greater Bay Area Economic Development Zone. They need to go to the city as soon as possible, complete the procedures, obtain the support of the city leaders, and then submit the application to the province for approval.

The approval process should be completed as early as June. Planning and investment attraction will begin in the second half of the year, with companies expected to move in by the end of the year.

Kao Jung said in a deep voice, "County Chief Chang, I will expedite the application for the Greater Bay Area Economic Development Zone."

Gao Rong pondered to himself that if he approached Deputy Secretary Zhu Ming in the city, with his support, there shouldn't be much of a problem. The main issue was with the province, where he had no connections and would need to put in some effort.

Zhang Kaizhi looked at Chen Shi: "County Magistrate Chen, tell me about the highway project. Can construction begin this year?"

Chen Shi said solemnly, "The expressway project has been approved by the province and officially named Chunyi Expressway. However, the province will not provide funding, and the county will have to solve the problem of road construction funds itself."

Zhang Kaizhi said in a deep voice, "If the province won't allocate funds, how much can the city allocate? The county has no money to build the highway."

"The city isn't allocating funds either; the county has to find a way to solve the road construction funding problem."

Gao Rong sneered, "Chen County, what a joke! The province won't give us any funding, and neither will the city. How much fiscal revenue does Chunyang have in a year? How can we afford to build the highway?"

Chen Shi solemnly said, "Where there's a will, there's a way; no matter how many difficulties there are, there's always a solution..."

Gao Rong interrupted Chen Shi: "County Chief Chen, let's get back to reality. Without funding from the province and city, this highway can't be built. The county doesn't have the resources to solve this. Can you conjure up over 10 billion yuan?"

Chen Shi looked at Gao Rong: "County Magistrate Gao, I can't conjure up money, but I have a brain and can find a way to solve the funding problem."

Gao Rong stared intently at Chen Shi: "Who are you calling brainless?"

"Gao County, I never said you were brainless."

Li Hong couldn't help but laugh out loud. Everyone looked at him, and Li Hong pretended to cough, quickly saying, "My throat has been bothering me lately."

Gao Rong said coldly, "County Chief Li, if your throat is sore, go to the hospital to get it checked out."

"I made an appointment this afternoon, I'll go take a look."

Chen Shi said in a deep voice, "It's all up to people. If the province and the city don't provide funding, we can find companies to invest in building the expressway. Since the county doesn't have the money, we can transfer the operating rights of the expressway."

Gao Rong sneered inwardly. What company would be so foolish as to take such a huge loss? This wasn't just a few hundred million, it was over ten billion. When would they ever recoup their costs?

He would oppose anything proposed by Chen Shi.

"Chen County, how many years will the operating rights of the expressway be transferred to the company—ten years, twenty years, or permanently? Can the county government still reclaim the operating rights of the expressway?"

Chen Shi looked at Gao Rong: "County Chief Gao, do you have a better idea? I'll put you in charge of the expressway project."

The highway project is a hot potato. If it's completed, the credit goes to the two main leaders. If problems arise, whoever is responsible will be the scapegoat.

Kao Jung remained silent, and Chen Shi continued, "Finding companies to invest is the only way right now. As for the highway operating rights, we need to discuss them in detail with the companies. But before that, we need to complete the land acquisition for the highway so that the companies that come to invest can see our determination to build the road."

Gao Rong snorted coldly: "The land acquisition for the highway will cost at least a billion yuan, and the county doesn't have that kind of money."

Chen Shi said solemnly, "If there's no solution, we should try to find one. We should use our brains more when problems arise. Once the highway is built, it will show the relevant leaders in the city the determination of our Chunyang County government to develop the economy. It will then be easier for us to ask the city for funding and projects."

"They do nothing all day, using lack of money as an excuse. How can the city possibly allocate good projects and invest funds in Chunyang County?"

Zhang Kaizhi sneered inwardly, "Chen Shi, you've got guts, let you go and cause trouble."

"Chen County is fully responsible for the expressway project. As long as you don't violate any regulations, you can do whatever you want."

In short, the county has no money; let's see how you expropriate the land occupied by the highway.

I like the game of power, starting with the police officers at the local police station.