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

Xu Ruqing and Xu Erdan were taken to the police station's interrogation room, where Ma Guoliang personally questioned them. At first, Xu Ruqing tried to deny it, but faced with witnesses and evidence, he had no choice but to confess honestly.

Stealing chickens isn't a big deal; at most, you'll be detained for two days. But assaulting a police officer is a serious matter; if investigated, you could go to jail.

Ma Guoliang delivered the statement to Chen Shi's office.

Looking at the confessions, Chen Shi knew that stealing chickens could result in ten days of detention, which was considered a serious offense. But assaulting a police officer was a different story; the consequences could be minor or major. He was certain he wouldn't let this scoundrel father and son get away with it.

They need to know that the law is paramount and that they should be law-abiding citizens.

When dealing with people, you must subdue them in one go; otherwise, they will suffer endless troubles in the future.

Ma Guoliang asked, "How should this case be handled? Please give instructions, Chief Chen."

"This vicious criminal who dared to attack a police officer must be severely punished. A case has been filed, and he will be sent to the Public Security Bureau tomorrow for legal processing."

Ma Guoliang nodded, knowing what to do. This meant pursuing the responsibility for assaulting a police officer and dealing with it severely.

Li Fugui, carrying a bag of chickens, went to Chen Shi's office.

Chen Shi helped him sit down. He had always been a kind person since childhood, and poured him a cup of tea.

"Fugui, if anyone dares to bully you in the village in the future, call me and I will get justice for you."

Li Fugui grinned sheepishly. He dared to acknowledge his chicken this time because Chen Jianhua told him that the police were sent by Chen Shi and that he had become the deputy director.

Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare admit to owning his own chicken, fearing Xu Ru's revenge.

Xu Ruqing's cousin is the director of the finance office. No one in the village who is more powerful than him dares to mess with him, let alone a coward like him.

Chen Jianhua and Chen Jianyong are perfect examples.

"Thank you, Shi, for standing up for me."

Chen Shi patted his thin shoulder: "We've been friends since childhood. We played together when we were young, and I've always stood up for you. Don't worry, no one in the village will dare to bully you anymore."

The office reeked of chicken droppings. Chen Shi said, "It's getting late. Take your chickens and head back."

"I'll bring you a chicken another day, a rooster I raised myself, the meat is delicious."

Chen Shi waved his hand: "Don't bother seeing me off. I don't want it even if you do. Go back."

Li Fugui, beaming with joy, carried his recovered chicken and left the office.

After Xu Ruqing was arrested, his mother burst into tears. His wife remained relatively calm and, knowing the situation was bad, quickly said to her mother-in-law, "Mom, don't cry. I saw on the news that assaulting a police officer is a serious crime that can land you in jail. Quickly call my cousin and try to find a way to save them."

Xu Ruqing's mother was so frightened that she stopped crying and quickly took out her phone to call her nephew.

When Li Mengjiang, the director of the finance office, received a call from his aunt, he learned the details of the matter and realized that something terrible had happened.

My aunt's family encroached on Chen Jianhua's land to build a house, which caused a huge uproar. They came to me several times, and I gave them some advice: they wouldn't have to pay a single penny in compensation.

Chen Jianhua's land is a small plot of reclaimed land without a land certificate, and is considered collective land.

It's just that your family is farming this land. If it goes to court, you need evidence. Since there's no plaintiff, the court will eventually dismiss the case.

If Chen Jianhua's family dares to use force, call the police immediately and have them arrested.

The situation is different now. Chen Jianhua's cousin has quietly become the deputy director of the police station, and he knows how to handle this matter.

The land on which my aunt built her house is farmland. Since it was built without approval, it is considered an illegal structure, and the land and resources bureau can order its demolition.

This time, the abduction of my uncle and cousin was revenge.

Last time, Chen Jianhua's family suffered a complete defeat, spending over 20,000 yuan on lawyer fees, but it was to no avail. His younger brother, Chen Jianyong, pried off a few bricks from his uncle's yard, was arrested and detained for ten days, and had to pay 3,000 yuan in compensation.

Li Mengjiang knew that his cousin, relying on his connections, had bullied honest people in the village quite a bit, and many people didn't dare to mess with him.

The villagers dared not speak out against it, especially since Chen Jianhua had built a house on his land. Not only did he get away with it, but he also detained Chen Jianyong and made him pay 3,000 yuan in compensation. No one in the village dared to provoke him, and his arrogance reached its peak.

Li Mengjiang had a decent relationship with Wang Jianming, and considering that he was the director, he asked him for help.

He picked up the phone and called Wang Jianming.

Wang Jianming's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Li Mengjiang calling.

The call was connected.

"Li Suo"

"Commander Wang, I have something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"The people from your police station went to Qinghe Village today, to my uncle's house, and arrested my uncle and cousin."

I looked into what happened, and it wasn't a big deal. My cousin just casually took a chicken from a villager's house.

"This is such a trivial matter, detention isn't even warranted. Make him pay the villagers a hundred or two yuan, help mediate, and release him."

Wang Jianming was unaware of this matter, but something was amiss. Who would care about someone who stole a chicken?

If even chicken theft is investigated, the police station staff wouldn't have anything else to do but catch chicken thieves all day long. How could they possibly catch them all?

He had a good relationship with Li Mengjiang and did not reply immediately.

"Director Li, I don't know about this. Let me find out and get back to you."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Jianming called Ma Guoliang and asked him to come to his office.

Ma Guoliang arrived at Wang Jianming's office.

Wang Jianming called out, "Sit down."

Ma Guoliang sat down, and Wang Jianming asked, "Old Ma, did your security team go to Qinghe Village today and catch a chicken thief?"

When Ma Guoliang was asked about the matter, he recounted what had happened.

Wang Jianming saw that it was Chen Shi who sent the arrest. This Xu Ruqing had a deep grudge against Chen Shi's cousin. The two families had a land dispute and had previously reported it to the police. Chen Shi's cousin had even been detained.

Having learned the whole story, Wang Jianming had no intention of getting involved; what did it have to do with him?

He usually had a good relationship with Li Mengjiang, but it wasn't worth offending Chen Shi. This wasn't a trivial matter like stealing chickens; it involved assaulting a police officer, which could be a big or small issue.

I'll just stand aside and watch the show. If it's just a favor, then of course I'll give Li Mengjiang that face.

But his reputation wasn't as great as Chen Shi's.

Li Mengjiang is backed by only a deputy director of the finance bureau, while Chen Shi is backed by a county magistrate. He knows exactly who is more important.

"Old Ma, you go ahead and get busy, I understand."

After Ma Guoliang left, Wang Jianming called Li Mengjiang.

The call was answered quickly.

"Lord Wang, it's nothing serious, is it?"

"Chief Li, this is a bit serious. Stealing chickens is a minor matter, but their assault on police officers is a much bigger problem."

This matter is under Deputy Director Chen's jurisdiction; it's not appropriate for me to get involved.

Li Mengjiang paused for three seconds before saying, "Director Wang, you are the head of the police station, the top leader. You can't even make a decision on such a small matter?"

Let's have a couple of drinks tonight. Last time I went to the county town for a meeting, Director Zhou gave me two bottles of good wine. I was thinking of finding some time to drink with you.

Wang Jianming thought to himself, "The reason why Deputy Director Zhou of the Finance Bureau would give you wine is probably because you delivered it to him and he didn't like it, so he asked you to bring it back."

Our relationship hasn't reached that point yet, and it's not worth it for me to go against Chen Shi.

"Never mind, Deputy Director Chen invited me to dinner tonight, let's make it up another time."

My stance is clear: this time I stand with Chen Shi.

Li Mengjiang was getting anxious. This matter couldn't be delayed. Chen Shi had finally found an opportunity, and he would probably have to be sent to the Public Security Bureau for investigation tomorrow.

Some things, if you don't weigh them, you'll find they're nothing; but if you do, they'll weigh a ton.

Assaulting a police officer is a criminal offense and can lead to imprisonment.

"Director Wang, could you please tell Deputy Director Chen that I'd like to treat you to dinner tonight?"

Wang Jianming still had to give them face. In a small town, they would run into each other all the time, so he didn't want to ruin the relationship. This was just doing them a favor. They wanted him to be the mediator. As for whether they could shake hands and make peace, that was none of his business.

Wang Jianming readily agreed.