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

Chen Shi stayed overnight at the Water Cube, and the next morning, he went to the municipal party committee compound to visit Li Nan.

I had lunch with Li Nan before returning to Chunyang County.

As April arrives, the weather begins to warm up, spring is in full bloom, and people shed their heavy coats and put on short sleeves.

Women put on skirts, revealing their snow-white thighs, and it's another season for men to feast their eyes.

Chen Shi arrived at his office early in the morning and began his busy work. Bai Haiping, the director of the Land and Resources Bureau, arrived at the county government, at Xie Shanquan's office.

"Secretary Xie, is County Magistrate Chen available? I'd like to report on the progress of determining the land use designation for the expressway."

This is a big deal. Chen Shi has been having Xie Shanquan follow up on it recently and urging the Land and Resources Bureau to expedite its implementation.

"Director Bai, you can just give me a call. There's no one in County Chen's office. I'll go with you."

Upon arriving at Chen Shi's office, Chen Shi saw that it was Bai Haiping and stood up to greet him.

"Director Bai, I've been waiting for you to report on your work. Please have a seat."

Bai Haiping sat down: "County Chief Chen, our Land and Resources Bureau has been working overtime until the early hours of the morning lately. Including myself, we can't leave work until the early hours of the morning."

This is true. Xie Shanquan passed by the Land and Resources Bureau several times, and at 11 p.m., the office building of the Land and Resources Bureau was still brightly lit.

"You've worked hard. There's no other way but to get it done as soon as possible. I've also been working overtime a lot lately."

When I have time, I'll talk to Director Guan of the Finance Bureau. Your Land and Resources Bureau should prepare an overtime list and submit it to the Finance Bureau so they can issue overtime allowances to those who work overtime.

Bai Haiping quickly said, "Thank you, County Chief Chen. The comrades who worked overtime will receive subsidies and will work even better to serve the people."

Chen Shi personally poured tea for Bai Haiping, and Xie Shanquan left the office.

Bai Haiping took a document out of his briefcase and handed it to Chen Shi with both hands.

After Chen Shi received the document, Bai Haiping said, "In Chen County, the nature of the land occupied by the expressway has been determined. The total area occupied is 5800 mu, of which the cultivated land is mainly dry land with a small amount of paddy fields, the forest land is about 4000 mu, the construction land including residential land is about 1300 mu, and the barren mountain land that has not been reclaimed is about 900 mu."

According to the county government's land compensation standards, one mu of cultivated land is worth 5 yuan, one mu of forest land is worth 2.8 yuan, one mu of construction land is worth 5 yuan, and one mu of uncultivated barren mountain land is worth 1.5 yuan.

The land acquisition compensation reached 5 million yuan, not including the costs of demolished houses, crops, and other expenses.

Chen Shi glanced at the documents: "Director Bai, your Land and Resources Bureau, the next step is to compile a list of the areas of houses involved in the demolition. You have a maximum of half a month. Time is tight. All houses involved in illegal construction must be demolished. The methods must be forceful. I will ask the police officers from the local police station to cooperate with you in the demolition. Anyone who obstructs the demolition must be arrested and detained."

Tomorrow afternoon, I will convene a meeting with the top officials of several townships along the highway, as well as representatives from the Transportation Bureau, Land and Resources Bureau, and Public Security Bureau to coordinate and expedite the land acquisition process.

Bai Haiping was somewhat surprised; Chen Shi was decisive and efficient, without any hesitation.

Land acquisition also involves demolition, so the government must be tough. If it is hesitant and timid, it will take two years to complete the demolition of this piece of land and houses.

Young people are different; they don't have so many concerns and aren't afraid of offending people. It would be difficult for any other county leader to have this kind of courage.

Bai Haiping thought to himself, "The leader has given the order, so I'll just do it. If anything goes wrong, you'll take the blame."

Bai Haiping left the office, and Chen Shi called Xie Shanquan to the office.

"Xiao Xie, go down and issue a notice that a mobilization meeting for the land acquisition along the expressway will be held tomorrow at 3 pm. Attendees will include the top officials of several townships along the expressway, as well as relevant officials from the Land and Resources Bureau, Transportation Bureau, and Public Security Bureau."

Xie Shanquan wrote it down in his notebook and hurriedly went to send out the meeting notice.

The next day at 3 p.m., the mobilization meeting for the land acquisition of the expressway was officially held. Chen Shi walked into the meeting room and glanced at everyone.

Xiao Ning, Party Secretary of Heyuan Town; Li Yuezhong, Party Secretary of Fushan Town; Qian Dajiang, Party Secretary of Shangying Town; Wen Kai, Party Secretary of Huangchang Town; Zhao Yuancheng, Party Secretary of Laoyan Town; Bai Haiping, Director of the Land and Resources Bureau; Liu Feng, Director of the Transportation Bureau; and Xu Pingan, Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau.

The heads of the five towns exchanged glances. Was this for real? The highway had been proposed many times, and they could hardly believe it was actually going to be built.

The most important question is, where will the money come from? Without money, everything is a waste of time.

Chen Shi sat down and solemnly said, "Now that all attendees are present, let's begin the meeting. Today's meeting has only one agenda item: the land acquisition for the highway construction project."

The highway blueprints were finalized by the Transportation Bureau a long time ago. The blueprints are classified information. The Transportation Bureau will send down to the heads of each town and give them the blueprints for their respective areas. Anyone who leaks them will be dismissed and handed over to the judicial authorities for severe punishment.

The land use designation has been determined by the Land and Resources Bureau, which is now cooperating with various towns to begin land acquisition in accordance with the county government's land acquisition standards.

During the land acquisition process, the Public Security Bureau will cooperate with the police. Anyone who obstructs the land acquisition work will be arrested. Depending on the severity of the circumstances, those who should be detained will be detained, and those who should be transferred to the procuratorate for prosecution will be prosecuted. There will be no leniency. If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility.

When it comes to land expropriation, the most important point is that it's not a matter of whoever makes a fuss is right. Everyone should be treated equally, and the villagers who make a fuss should pay the corresponding price so that no one will make a fuss in the future.

Building the expressway is not for our benefit, but for the benefit of every household, making travel more convenient and driving economic development. This is a long-term plan for Chunyang County. Anyone who hinders its progress is a sinner against the people of Chunyang County.

For houses involved in demolition, any illegal structures will be strictly demolished; for those without illegal structures, compensation will be provided in accordance with the county government's compensation standards.

The staff at the Land and Resources Bureau will have a tough time going forward. They will all be sent out to measure houses and compensate according to the actual area. If there are any troublemakers or people who are unwilling to cooperate, you will have to find ways to get them to cooperate. It is April now, and you will have two months. The expropriation work must be completed by June. Anyone who fails to complete the work should resign.

I'm not trying to scare you, but Secretary Zhang has given me full authority over the construction of the highway, granting me the corresponding power.

Chen Shi glanced at everyone and said, "If you have any questions, ask them now. Time is of the essence. After the meeting, we'll get to work immediately."

Bai Haiping said, "Chen County, I have a problem. There are five towns involved, and the demolition of houses is a huge workload. The staff of the Land and Resources Bureau cannot complete the survey in a short time. We need to hire a professional surveying company from outside. The Land and Resources Bureau does not have the funds, so we need to apply for funding."

"How much funding do we need to apply for?" Chen Shi asked.

Bai Haiping thought for a moment: "Five million."

Chen Shi looked at Bai Haiping: "Five million is too much. I'll have the Finance Bureau allocate two million to you. If that's not enough, you'll have to find a way to solve it yourselves. There's no room for negotiation. You must complete the measurement of the demolished houses within the stipulated time."

Xie Shanquan quickly took notes on the important points of the meeting, and then prepared a meeting document to send to the county party committee, the county government, and the participants.

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