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

Zhang Huxing hurriedly arrived at Chen Shi's office.

"Chen Suo"

Chen Shi looked up at Zhang Hu and said, "Sit."

He put down his work and poured Zhang Hu a glass of water.

Zhang Hu took out a piece of stationery from his person and respectfully handed it to Chen Shi with both hands.

"This is a list of the cattle and horses that I asked Longtougou Village to collect over the years."

Chen Shi gave Zhang Hu an approving look; he had made progress and was learning to apply what he had learned to other situations.

Taking the letter, I learned that in recent years, Longtougou Village has lost 21 adult cattle, 9 calves, 13 adult horses, and 6 foals.

Chen Shi took out Ma Shuang's confession and checked it; it matched perfectly.

Zhang Hu asked, "Can the villagers' lost cattle and horses be recovered?"

Feng Yong and Zhao Sigui had no idea where the cattle and horses had been resold. The cattle and horses could not be recovered. The four men would have to compensate the villagers for the market value of the lost cattle and horses.

"It's impossible to get the cattle and horses back. Go to Longtougou Village again and discuss with the villagers who lost their cattle and horses how much they were worth and ask the four thieves to compensate them."

Remember one thing: be realistic and don't ask for an exorbitant price.

"Okay, I'll go to Longtougou Village again later." Zhang Hu drank a glass of water in one gulp; he hadn't had a drop of water all night.

"Chief Chen, the villagers who lost their cattle and horses last night have arrived at the police station. Should we let the villagers take back the cattle and horses that were on the vehicle outside?"

"Take him through the formalities and get the cattle and horses back."

"Longtougou Village is too far from the town. It takes the villagers a whole day to drive their cattle and horses back. Could I drive a truck to take the villagers' cattle and horses back?"

"Zhang Hu, I'm pleased that you think this way. This is what makes you a good policeman for the people."

"You can drive your truck to Longtougou Village on your way; it'll save you the trouble of using a police car."

Zhang Hu left the office with great joy, feeling excited to be able to do something practical for the villagers.

They regard themselves as heroes. The thieves who had plagued Longtougou Village for four or five years have finally been eliminated, and the villagers no longer have to live in fear of their cattle and horses being stolen.

When Zhang Hu came out, the old man was waiting by the truck. He stared intently at the cattle and horses on the truck, afraid that they would disappear in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Hu approached the old man and said, "Grandpa, I'll take you to complete the formalities. After that, I'll drive my truck and take your cattle and horses back."

The old man wept with joy, at a loss for words. They had helped him find his cattle and horses and were even going to return them to him.

Earlier, I was thinking that it would take a whole day to drive the cattle and horses back to Longtougou Village, and we would have to spend the night there. What if we encountered thieves on the way?

Looking distressed, he was so excited that the policeman was offering to take him back that he knelt down with a thud.

He didn't know how to express it in words, so he kowtowed to you; it was the most sincere expression of his gratitude.

"My great benefactor, you saved my whole family, I'll kowtow to you a few times."

Zhang Hu quickly stepped forward and helped the old man up.

"Grandpa, what are you doing? Get up. We police officers serve the people. This is our profession. You should thank Chief Chen. He's the one who found your cattle and horses and even asked me to take them back for you."

"I want to meet with Director Chen and thank him in person."

"After we finish the formalities, I'll take you to his office."

Zhang Hu was in a good mood and decided to do more practical things for the villagers in the future.

After completing the formalities, Zhang Hu led the old man to Chen Shi's office.

Chen Shi stood up to greet him: "Sir, please have a seat."

The old man waved his hand: "I'm not sitting here. I'm a country bumpkin, my clothes are dirty, don't get the sofa dirty."

"I've come to thank you, Director Chen. You're a great benefactor to my family. These three cows and two horses represent the lifeblood of our family. If we had lost them, I truly couldn't have lived."

As he was about to kneel down, Chen Shi reacted quickly and grabbed the old man, preventing him from doing so.

Help him sit on the sofa.

"Sir, there's no need to thank me. This is our job. It's our police station's fault for not being able to catch the thief in time."

From today onwards, the cattle and horses of Longtougou Village will no longer go missing, so you can sleep soundly through the night.

The old man repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

Chen Shi personally saw the old man onto the truck and watched him leave.

The next morning, Zhang Hu returned from Longtougou Village and reported his work to Chen Shi.

He took out two sheets of stationery, covered with densely written words.

"Director Chen, some villagers are asking for exorbitant prices, saying that their cattle and horses are only worth that much money, and they are all asking for more than they should, not one of them is asking for less."

After discussing it with the village chief, we decided that based on current market values, there would be one price for a large ox, one price for a calf, one price for a large horse, and one price for a foal. Otherwise, we simply couldn't reach an agreement.

Chen Shi looked at the letter and nodded: "Okay, this is the only way we can do it."

The total compensation paid to the villagers amounted to 275,000 yuan.

"Yes, the villagers are asking when they can receive the compensation."

Chen Shi put down the letter: "We need to ask these four thieves how much they have. If they're all penniless, then we'll be in trouble."

"Let's go to the interrogation room and test the waters."

Chen Shi led Zhang Hu to the interrogation room. The four were detained separately, and the auxiliary police officer brought them to the interrogation room.

Zhang Hu shouted, "Everyone, squat down!"

The four men, handcuffed, knelt down with their heads in their hands.

Chen Shi glanced at the four men and said, "You stole the villagers' cattle and horses. The cattle and horses can't be found, but you four have to compensate for the loss."

Ma Shuang shouted, "I have no money, I'd rather go to jail."

Feng Yong asked, "How much compensation?"

"275,000"

Upon hearing about the large sum of money, Feng Yong quickly replied, "I don't have any money either. I'd rather go to jail."

The other two echoed this sentiment, saying that if they had no money, they'd rather go to jail.

Chen Shi said in a low voice: "Very well, no money? Go to court. Not only will you go to jail, but you will also have to pay every penny in compensation."

The court will investigate you thoroughly, find the money, and compensate the villagers.

"At that point, the sentence won't be reduced; it will be increased. This is called resisting the law and refusing to cooperate with compensation."

Zhao Sigui was frightened. His family had some money and had even built a two-story villa. He quickly asked, "If I voluntarily compensate, will I not have to go to jail?"

"Going to jail is inevitable, but by actively and proactively compensating the villagers for their losses, I can shorten my sentence by a few years."

Zhang Hu shouted, "Listen up! If you cooperate and compensate the villagers for their losses, you can get a reduced sentence. If you don't cooperate, you'll still have to compensate and your sentence will be increased. Think about it yourselves."

The four men exchanged glances. Ma Shuang said, "Two hundred and seventy-five thousand is too much. We can't afford it. Can you lower the amount? The cattle and horses we stole can't be sold for that much money at all."

Chen Shi's gaze turned cold: "This is a vegetable market. There's no room for haggling. Make a decision quickly, or I'll send you to the police station. If you don't cooperate with compensation, you'll be severely punished. If you cause significant losses to the villagers, you could be sentenced to life imprisonment."

Money is earned by people. Think about how much you can earn working outside in a year. If you get a year less in prison, you can earn money for another year. Even a fool knows what to do.

Zhang Hu added from the side, "It's only 275,000. If the four of us share it, it's less than 70,000. If we go to the construction site to carry bricks now, we can earn 40,000 to 50,000 a year. We can earn it back in less than two years, and we'll suffer less."

The four fell into deep thought.