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

Chen Xing slowly took a sip of wine and put down the glass.

"Xiao Shi, I think it's right for your older brother to be the village party secretary. Can you think of a way? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If it's based on elections, your older brother won't have any chance at all."

With the old village secretary suddenly passing away, the higher authorities will definitely appoint an acting village secretary. As long as my elder brother establishes prestige during this period, he can rightfully remove the "acting" title and become the official village secretary during the election.

Chen Shi disagreed with appointing Chen Jianhua as the acting village party secretary, saying he was ambitious but incompetent, foolish and unaware of his own shortcomings, and not a suitable candidate for the position.

He looked at Chen Jianyong and thought he was a good candidate, more suitable than Chen Jianhua, and knew how to handle things properly.

"Second Brother, are you a Party member?"

"No, in our whole family, only you and my eldest brother are Party members."

Apart from Chen Jianhua, there really isn't a suitable candidate.

Everyone turned their attention to Chen Shi, waiting for him to make his statement.

After much deliberation, Chen Shi decided to let Chen Jianhua take a look, as this was a rare opportunity.

"This can't be rushed. Let me talk to Li Zhen and see if he can help. Don't get your hopes up too high."

The group breathed a sigh of relief; as long as Chen Shi made his stance clear, there was nothing that couldn't be accomplished.

In their hearts, Chen Shi was like a god, so it became a natural reaction for them to turn to Chen Shi when in doubt.

He is the backbone of the Chen family.

Chen Jianhua toasted Chen Shi with a big smile, raising his glass high and looking quite languid.

Chen Shi's gaze darkened: "Brother, if you want to be the top leader of the village, you must be careful in your actions and not give anyone any leverage against you."

Look at you now, sitting like this, with no manners at all. When you offer me a toast, you hold your glass up way too high. If this were outside, with a leader around, they would immediately blacklist you.

Details determine success or failure. Leaders, no matter where they are, must pay attention to their words and actions. But for ordinary people, no matter who they are, they can do whatever they want; nobody cares.

Chen Jianhua felt embarrassed by Chen Shi's lecture, his face turning red and white in turns. He dared not say anything in response, but still held his wine glass high.

Seeing this, Chen Jianyong slammed down the wine glass in his hand.

"Brother, when toasting a leader, you must hold the glass with both hands respectfully, and the glass should be lower than the leader's. This is the most basic thing. Don't develop this habit of casually reaching out and touching glasses with anyone you're toasting."

Xiao Shi is your own brother; he's just reminding you not to develop this bad habit.

If your boss says it's a good thing, it means he hasn't given up on you. If he didn't even say anything, you're finished; he's completely abandoned and you're just waiting to be dismissed. Do you understand these rules?

Chen Jianhua doesn't dare to talk back to Chen Shi, but wouldn't he dare to talk back to you? I'm the eldest son in the family, when did it become your place to lecture me?

"I know, it's only when brothers are together that things are a bit more casual. You think you know all this? I knew that ages ago."

Chen Shi raised his wine glass and clinked it against Chen Jianhua's.

"Knowing that you need to do it, don't just talk about it. Being a leader is not easy; many eyes are watching."

Chen Jianhua had always dreamed of becoming the village party secretary. After seeing Chen Shi say that being a leader was not easy, he felt that he would soon become a leader.

He smiled apologetically and said, "Yes, I will be careful with my words and actions."

Chen Shi nodded and took a sip of wine.

Chen Jianyong saw that Chen Jianhua's appointment as acting village party secretary had been confirmed, and that it was his turn to be the administrator.

He looked to Chen Yanshi for help, pleading for his second uncle's assistance.

Chen Yanshi coughed lightly: "Xiao Shi, there's one more thing. Your brother-in-law is the administrator of the power station. Could Jianyong be the administrator of our village? He has three children, all of whom are in school. Farming doesn't earn much money, so he's under a lot of pressure."

"One radish, one hole. Our village administrator is Tian Xiaojun. He hasn't done anything wrong, so we can't just fire him."

My brother-in-law's administrator just happened to run into the previous administrator, who printed his own tickets and imposed fines without authorization, and was fired by Director Qin.

Chen Shi looked at Chen Jianyong: "Do you have any dirt on Tian Xiaojun?"

Chen Jianyong shook his head: "No."

"We'll find an opportunity later, when there are vacancies for village administrators in other villages, and you can fill the vacancy."

When Chen Jianyong saw that Chen Shi agreed, he was secretly pleased. Did this mean that as long as he could find evidence of Tian Xiaojun arbitrarily imposing fines, he would have a chance?

He raised his glass.

"Xiao Shi, thank you. It's really not easy for me. I don't earn much money in a year, and there are expenses everywhere. I owe the bank tens of thousands of yuan and I still can't pay it back."

Chen Shi could understand that rural people have few places to earn money but many places to spend it, so no one has it easy.

He raised his glass and clinked it with Chen Jianyong's. Chen Jianyong held the glass with both hands and kept it low, which was the proper way to ask for a favor.

When you ask someone for a favor, no matter who they are, even if it's your father, you still have to show some respect.

Chen Shi took a sip.

As someone from a rural area, I couldn't bear to see my relatives suffer. As long as it doesn't violate my principles, I'll help them if I can.

After chatting for a while and finishing two bottles of wine, the Chen brothers, Chen Jianhua and Chen Jianyong, finally left.

Chen Shi was helping his mother clear the dishes when Wang Guihua quickly said, "Don't bother, I'll finish it in no time."

Chen Xing went to coax Xiaomile to sleep.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Mom, I have nothing to do, I'll wash the dishes."

"You kid, I told you not to do that. You're a leader now, coming home to wash dishes, what kind of behavior is that?"

"No matter what position I am, I am still your son. But when I come home, I am nothing. I still have to wash the dishes."

Despite his mother's objections, Chen Shi insisted on helping her wash the dishes.

Wang Guihua said softly, "Xiao Shi, you're not young anymore. You're twenty-six this year, it's time to get married."

I heard you've got a girlfriend and you're even living together. Hurry up and get married. If you don't marry her, how will she ever get married again?

"Mom, don't worry about me. We both need to focus on work for now. Let's talk about it again in a couple of years."

"In a couple of years, you'll be much older. Don't get too old and have trouble finding a wife."

Chen Yanshi coughed lightly: "Our Xiaoshi is a leader. Even when he's forty, there are still girls eager to marry him. Don't rush him; he'll make his own arrangements."

Chen Yanshi asked Chen Xing about Chen Shi's girlfriend. She was a primary school teacher with a job, but her family was poor. She was an only child from a mountain village. If Chen Shi married her, he would have to support her parents, which would put a lot of pressure on him in the future.

He hoped his son could find a father-in-law who was a leader, so that his son could help him in his career, rather than someone who would not only be of no help but also drag down his son's family.

Chen Shi washed the first batch of vegetables, Wang Guihua washed the second batch, and Chen Yanshi watched from the side. It was a heartwarming scene. His son, despite being a leader, did not act arrogantly at home. He remained as low-key as ever, respected his father, and even helped with the housework.

Chen Xing coaxed Xiaomi Le to sleep, and when he came out, he saw Chen Shi washing dishes, so he quickly went over to help.

"Xiao Shi, how can you wash the dishes? Let me do it. You're the boss now."

"Brother, I'm a leader outside, but when I'm home, I'm a member of the family. Why can't I wash the dishes?"

Chen Xing felt a warm current flow through his body, and he felt happy to have such a kind and loyal younger brother.