In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

"Captain Xie, please leave me here."

As soon as Hou Liangping entered Chuzhou City, he immediately spoke to Xie Huai'an, the captain of the Provincial Public Security Department's Economic Investigation Division, who was in the passenger seat.

"Okay, pull over."

Xie Huai'an said to his colleague who was driving.

"Director Hou, based on my years of experience investigating cases, things in Chuzhou are not stable. You need to be extra careful."

Xie Huai'an said with concern, "If you encounter any trouble, call my private number immediately."

"Also, don't easily trust people from Chuzhou, even if they're from the city's anti-corruption bureau."

"I see!"

Hou Liangping nodded, decisively opened the car door and got out, "Captain Xie, please convey my thanks to Director Qi again."

The car gradually drove away.

It disappeared around the corner.

"Hey, my senior status still works pretty well."

Hou Liangping grinned, which aggravated the wound at the corner of his mouth. He immediately suppressed his lazy smile and muttered to himself, "Looks like this move was the right one."

"I told my senior alumnus about Secretary Sha's arrangement for me to come to Chuzhou, which means I told Executive Director Lin and the provincial government faction."

"Good that it sold."

"I entered the city smoothly with the protection of the provincial department without arousing the slightest suspicion. Moreover, since the provincial department sent me in, they naturally had to ensure my safety."

Thinking of this.

Hou Liangping forced a smile through his pain, saying smugly, "Monkey, oh monkey, with your intelligence, if you don't improve, who will?"

Hands in pockets.

Hou Liangping, dressed in a denim jacket and carrying a briefcase under his arm, swaggered with an air of arrogance that surpassed even that of a scoundrel, heading straight for a nearby card and mahjong room.

Smoke billowed like dark clouds overhead, enveloping the mahjong table. Hou Liangping, cigarette in one hand, pushed the tiles with the other, announcing, "A kong! I won! A kong on a winning hand!"

"Give me the money!"

Hou Liangping slammed his fist on the table in excitement.

"What incredible luck!"

The three people at the table were grumbling and cursing, but when they opened their wallets, they found they were short of money.

I didn't bring enough cash!

The guy on the other side who keeps asking for money only loses small amounts, but wins big every time.

Who plays cards like this?!

"Hey bro, could you put this on our tab? We guys really didn't bring enough cash today."

A burly, dark-skinned man spoke up.

"How can that be! Do you think I know you?"

Hou Liangping immediately objected, but his eyes kept glancing at the thick gold necklace hanging around the neck of the person opposite him.

"Hey bro, stop looking."

"Fake."

Seeing the look in his eyes, the burly man ripped off the necklace and threw it in front of him.

as predicted.

Hou Liangping picked up the gold necklace and immediately realized that it felt wrong in both its texture and weight.

"Brother, this is just a fake thing we use to put on a show. What kind of idiot would hang money around their neck in broad daylight?"

The burly, dark-skinned man chuckled.

"You're quite honest."

Hou Liangping simply pushed the cards forward, leaned back in his chair, and casually put one leg on the armrest. "You guys must be in the construction business, right? At least you're contractors."

The three burly men exchanged glances and nodded. "We just take on odd jobs to make ends meet."

"What a coincidence."

Hou Liangping laughed and said, "Me too."

"To be honest, I came from Baishan Province in the north. I heard that there are many big projects in your Handong area recently. I don't dare to go to places like Jingzhou and Lüzhou, so I came to Chuzhou to try my luck."

"I can waive today's bill."

"You three discuss and allocate some small projects to me. It doesn't matter if they make money or not. I can even contribute your share or the big bosses' share. I just want to establish myself in Chuzhou."

"You can see the injury on my face too."

"When you're being chased and beaten, you just want a safe place to stay."

Hou Liangping got straight to the point and made his demands.

"This…"

The three of them clearly hesitated.

"What the hell are you men dawdling about? I'm not going to kill you."

Hou Liangping's face instantly darkened, and a fierce aura from years of frontline combat erupted from him. "If you won't give me the project, then give me the money now."

The three burly men shuddered.

Damn it!

Judging from their demeanor, they would believe he was a ruthless killer.

"Brother, don't be angry."

The burly man reassured them, "It's really not a question of whether we give it to you or not."

"You said it yourself, it's just a small project."

"Anywhere else, we'd give it to you as a token of friendship, but this is Chuzhou... no way!"

The burly, dark-skinned man glanced at the tightly closed door of the private room and said softly.

Why?

Hou Liangping frowned deeply. "Could it be that all the big bosses in Chuzhou are completely innocent, refusing even money offered to them?"

"No, that's not it."

The three of them leaned closer together. "The rules in Chuzhou are strict."

"Should we do the project? And who should we assign it to?"

"That all depends on Mayor Zhang's decision. Mayor Zhang will allocate the annual project volume to different levels. Each company has a corresponding level: large projects are assigned to level one, medium-sized projects to level two, small projects to level three, and only the leftover scraps are given to level four companies like ours."

"But even for someone like us at level four, it still requires approval from Mayor Zhang and his staff."

"They know exactly who is doing which project and how much money they can make. Outsiders can't get a single project without Mayor Zhang's approval, and they're not allowed to transfer projects to each other."

"This isn't just the case in our engineering sector; it's the same in other highly profitable industries."

Hou Liangping found it utterly unbelievable.

"Do you think those big shots would even bother meeting with nobody like us?"

Hou Liangping asked, his eyes wide.

"Of course not."

The burly, dark-skinned man rolled his eyes, speechless. "Mayor Zhang is incredibly busy; how could he possibly see us!"

"Of course, it's the people below."

"You actually agreed to this?"

Hou Liangping couldn't understand it at all. This system completely solidified the interest groups, leaving absolutely no room for advancement.

It's like if your dad is a CEO, then you're a CEO; if you're a contractor, then your son can only be a contractor.

"What's unacceptable about it?"

The three disagreed, retorting in unison, "Do we have the wealth and resources to climb the ladder?"

"It's fine as it is now."

"At least I have a job to support my family."

Hou Liangping finally understood that the seemingly rigid system, which appeared extremely unfair, actually ensured the interests of everyone in the network, making its foundation as stable as Mount Tai.

Most of them, on the contrary, became loyal fans, like the three people in front of us.

The only ones who suffer are ordinary people.

They are also trapped in an endless cycle of working and going to work, unable to find any opportunity to move up in society.

"If you want to become a Level 4 construction contractor, you have to get past Deputy District Chief An."

"That burly guy explained."

"And who is Deputy District Chief An?"

Hou Liangping looked completely bewildered, like a newbie who had wandered in by mistake.

"Of course, it's our Chuzhou District Deputy District Chief An Lai'an. He's in charge of urban construction and is one of the third or fourth-level assessors arranged by Mayor Zhang."

"In Chuzhou, there are four districts and three counties, and each region has a person in charge."

The burly, dark-skinned man replied.

"Take me to see Deputy District Chief An."

Hou Liangping's eyes lit up.