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

Chen Shi checked repeatedly, afraid he might be mistaken, and said to Xie Shanquan, "Xiao Xie, call Director Liu Feng of the Transportation Bureau and have him come here for a moment."

Xie Shanquan went to the side and called Liu Feng.

"Secretary Xie"

"Director Liu, I'm with County Chief Chen in Yumi Village, Heyuan Town. County Chief Chen would like you to come here."

Liu Feng didn't ask what was going on. He hung up the phone, quickly called his driver, got into his private car, and rushed to Yumi Village.

Liu Feng got out of the car and jogged to Chen Shi's side: "County Magistrate Chen."

Chen Shi handed the blueprints to Liu Feng and pointed to the land where tobacco was to be planted: "Please confirm whether this land is occupied by the highway."

Liu Feng took it and carefully checked it: "Chen County, this is the land that the highway passes through. Why are they still planting tobacco on it?"

Chen Shi glanced at Xie Shanquan, who understood immediately and went over to offer cigarettes to the villagers: "Brother, you've been working so hard, take a break and have a cigarette."

The villagers, their clothes soaked with sweat, took the cigarette and asked, "What do you people do?"

"We are staff members of the county government, here to conduct research."

Xie Shanquan took out a lighter, lit cigarettes for the villagers, and asked, "Brothers, do you know that the county is going to build a highway?"

"The village head announced over the loudspeaker that the highway will cut through the outskirts of our village."

Xie Shanquan then asked, "No one informed you that the highway would pass through your land."

"The village head announced that the compensation is 50,000 yuan per mu, which is too little. It should be at least 100,000 yuan. We are unwilling to sign."

"Aren't any staff members from town coming?"

"No, last year, surveyors came to measure the land. A while ago, staff from the Land and Resources Bureau came to determine the nature of the land. The village organized us to sign to confirm, and then no one came after that."

"If you don't sign, will the village head not take any further action?"

"The land belongs to us. If I don't want it, no one can stop me, no matter who it is."

The villager glanced at Xie Shanquan, becoming wary: "What are you doing here, asking so many questions?"

"Didn't I already tell you? I work for the county government."

The villager sneered: "Whether you're from the county government or the provincial government, it's at least 100,000 yuan per mu. Don't even think about me signing off on it if you ask for less than a penny."

"Do the other villagers all think the same way?" Xie Shanquan asked.

"No one in our village will sign off on land for less than 100,000 yuan per mu."

Xie Shanquan smiled and said, "You're just raising prices on the spot. The completion of the highway will benefit most people, making it more convenient to go to the county town in the future."

A villager threw his cigarette butt on the ground: "Our corn village is close to the county seat, it only takes less than half an hour to get there. Whether or not the highway is built, it won't affect us at all. We have to pay tolls to use the highway anyway, so even if the highway is built, we won't use it."

The villagers picked up their hoes and went to work. Xie Shanquan came to Chen Shi's side and said, "The situation in Chen County is not optimistic. The villagers of Yumi Village know that the highway will take up their land. They have reached a consensus that it will cost 100,000 yuan per mu. If it is even a penny less, no one will sign."

The main problem is that the village officials don't take it seriously. They just announce it over the loudspeaker, but if the villagers refuse to sign, they ignore it.

Chen Shi was furious. Xiao Ning was not taking his words seriously and was just going through the motions.

Land acquisition must be done swiftly and decisively; the longer it is delayed, the more difficult it becomes. Villagers all have a mentality of fearing that they will suffer losses.

He said in a deep voice, "Make a call and tell Xiao Ning to come here."

Xie Shanquan took out his phone and called Xiao Ning.

"Secretary Xie, is there something you need?"

"Secretary Xiao, Chen County is located in Yumi Village, Heyuan Town. I need you to come over here."

"Now?"

"Yes, right now. County Chief Chen is waiting for you."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Ning didn't dare to delay and rushed over. At least on the surface, he had to show respect, since the other party was his superior.

When Xiao Ning arrived at Yumi Village, she saw Chen Shi's car parked by the roadside. She quickly told the driver to stop the car, got out, and ran to Chen Shi's side.

Chen County

Chen Shi pointed to the vacant land where the villagers were planting tobacco: "Secretary Xiao, this land is going to be used for the highway, so why are the villagers still planting tobacco? Explain this to me."

Xiao Ning had already prepared his explanation: "In Chen County, the village head of Yumi Village reported to me that none of the villagers in Yumi Village were willing to sign, saying that the compensation was too low, only 50,000 yuan per mu, and that it should be at least 100,000 yuan per mu."

Upon learning that the highway would take up their land, the villagers busied themselves planting crops, hoping to receive additional compensation for the crops later.

Chen Shi looked at Xiao Ning: "The villagers are unwilling to sign, so you just ignore it and don't report it."

Xiao Ning quickly said, "I was just about to go to the county government this afternoon to report this matter to you."

Chen Shi said coldly, "Secretary Xiao, you stay here and report on the land expropriation situation in Heyuan Town."

When Xiao Ning returned from the last meeting, he gave a brief notice and then never followed up on it. If the leaders don't care, the people below naturally won't take it seriously. Land expropriation is a thankless task, and most of the town's cadres are locals who don't want to offend the villagers.

To date, land expropriation has basically remained on paper; not a single acre has been expropriated.

Xiao Ning thought for a moment and said, "Chen County and Heyuan Town have earnestly implemented the county government's instructions, held meetings to mobilize village cadres, and cooperated with the land expropriation."

Heyuan Town is close to the county seat, and the villagers generally believe that building the expressway will not benefit them, and that the compensation is too low. They are unwilling to sign the agreement, but village officials are still working to persuade them to sign as soon as possible and agree to the compensation of 50,000 yuan per mu.

Chen Shi's face darkened: "Secretary Xiao, do you mean that a week has passed and not a single mu of land has been requisitioned in Heyuan Town?"

Xiao Ning remained silent and said nothing more.

Chen Shi glanced around and saw that the villagers were busy planting crops along the route the highway passed through.

"Secretary Xiao, please summon the village officials from Yumi Village to come here for a meeting."

Xiao Ning instructed the director of the Party and government office who was accompanying him to notify the village cadres of Yumi Village to come here.

It took more than 20 minutes for the village officials to arrive.

Xiao Ning loudly told the village officials, "County Chief Chen is coming down to inspect the land requisition situation and will hold an impromptu meeting."

Chen Shi glanced at the village officials and asked, "Tell me about the preparatory work your village has done for the land expropriation."

The village officials exchanged glances, and the village head stepped forward: "County Chief Chen, our village received a notice from the town and went door-to-door to implement the land expropriation. The villagers unanimously believe that the land compensation is too low, demanding 100,000 yuan per mu, and no villager is willing to sign."

"The villagers are unwilling to sign, so you're just going to ignore them?" Chen Shi's eyes flashed coldly.

The village head quickly said, "The village cadres went to work with the villagers in groups to persuade them, but the villagers absolutely refused, and there was nothing we could do."

Chen Shi said coldly, "You are all Party members and cadres. There are standards for land expropriation, not prices set by the villagers themselves. It's 50,000 yuan per mu, not a penny more. You need to know that the land belongs to the state, not to the villagers."

Chunyang is an impoverished county. In order to develop its economy, the interests of some people must be sacrificed. Many impoverished counties only offer 10,000 yuan per mu (approximately 667 square meters) in compensation for land used for road construction. The Chunyang County government, however, offers 50,000 yuan, demonstrating its commitment to the villagers and fighting for their legal rights. Anyone still dissatisfied is a sinner against Chunyang County's development and a criminal against the people; we will show no mercy to such individuals.

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