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

Xu Ruqing said with a dissatisfied look, "Does the Land and Resources Bureau give Chen Shi face but not you?"

He's the deputy director, but you're the director; you have more influence.

Li Mengjiang sneered, "You don't know anything. Your construction on farmland is illegal and untenable. I can't help you even if I wanted to."

Xu Erdan said with a gloomy face, "Nephew, we were going to give Chen Jianhua five thousand, but he wanted ten thousand. You said we didn't need to give him a penny, because the land wasn't his."

"Why are you asking us for another 50,000? Is his little plot of land even worth that much?"

Li Mengjiang's face turned cold. "Don't give advice to others casually. If something goes wrong, it will be your responsibility. When they are doing well, they won't think of you."

"Legally speaking, that land does not belong to him. Chen Jianhua sued in court, but did he win? He spent 20,000 yuan to hire a lawyer, but the court directly dismissed the case, and the plaintiff's case was not established."

His younger brother, Chen Jianyong, pried up a few bricks from your yard, was detained for ten days, and had to pay you 3,000 yuan in compensation.

Now the situation has reversed; they have connections now and are going to take you down and regain their lost face.

They have leverage over you and can do whatever they want with you.

"If you still trust me, give me 50,000, and this matter will end here. If you don't trust me, I don't care anymore; you can decide for yourselves."

After saying that, Li Mengjiang was about to leave.

Xu Erdan was a shrewd man, much smarter than Xu Ruqing, and quickly stepped forward to pull Li Mengjiang away.

"Nephew, your uncle was wrong. We listened to you, so don't take it to heart. Your uncle knows you were doing it for our own good."

Li Mengjiang, his face dark, looked at Xu Ruqing and said, "You'll be detained for fifteen days for stealing chickens. Be prepared."

Xu Ruqing shouted, "I paid 50,000 yuan, and they still want to detain me for 15 days? What right do they have? This is outrageous!"

"You sent Chen Jianyong to detention for ten days and made him pay 3,000 yuan. He doesn't care about saving face anymore."

Be more careful with your actions in the future, and don't give anyone a handle to use against you.

Xu Erdan knew that Li Mengjiang was no match for Chen Shi, and they had no choice but to admit defeat.

Don't mess with the Chen family in the future.

When Li Mengjiang arrived at Chen Shi's office, Chen Shi greeted him with a smile, as if the unpleasantness of the previous night had never happened.

"Director Li, please have a seat."

Li Mengjiang sat down, and Chen Shi poured him a cup of tea.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Director Chen, do things as you said. This matter is settled, and no one should cause any more trouble."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Chen Jianhua will be here this afternoon. You and I will act as notaries to have them sign a land transfer agreement. Most importantly, we need to prepare the money."

Li Mengjiang stood up: "Don't worry, Chief Chen, the money is ready, not a penny less."

Watching Li Mengjiang's departing figure, the fact that he had returned the principal with interest was considered a lenient gesture.

In the afternoon, the two brothers, Chen Jianhua and Chen Jianyong, came to the office.

Chen Jianhua asked, "Xiao Shi, when will Xu Ruqing's house be demolished?"

"What good will it do you to demolish his house?"

"That feels good! Let's show the people of Qinghe Village that no one who messes with me will have a good end."

Chen Shi's face darkened: "Brother, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you should know your own limitations."

"You've caused so much trouble, but when have you ever won?"

Chen Jianhua felt a little embarrassed. If it were before, he would have said that Chen Shi didn't help him and scolded Chen Shi a few times.

Chen Shi is now the deputy director. Even if he had the guts, he wouldn't dare say it to my face, but he would definitely say it in private.

Chen Jianyong asked, "Xiao Shi, what do you think is the best way to handle this?"

Chen Shi lit a cigarette and took a puff.

"It's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. Demolishing Xu Ruqing's house will only bring me anger and won't do me any good."

Don't do things that harm others and yourself. You are in the right, but if you really demolish Xu Ruqing's house, the villagers will think it's too much and will sympathize with Xu Ruqing's family instead.

Li Mengjiang came to me, willing to compensate me. "Brother, how much compensation do you want?"

Chen Jianhua's face was grim: "One hundred thousand, not a penny less, no discussion."

Chen Shi looked at Chen Jianyong: "Second Brother, how much compensation do you think is appropriate?"

Chen Jianyong took a sip of tea and put down the teacup.

"Brother, 100,000 is impossible. Let's be realistic and give us 30,000 to 50,000 in compensation."

You previously asked for 10,000, but it cost you 20,000 to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit. Anything over 30,000 will do.

Your land isn't much, maybe seventy or eighty square meters at most. Without Xiaoshi's connections, you won't get a single penny, and you'll be laughed at by the people of Qinghe Village.

Chen Jianyong was reasonable enough that Chen Shi gave him an approving look.

"Brother, the land is yours. If you insist on 100,000, I won't interfere. Go ask him for it yourself. How much you can get is your business."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianhua lost his confidence. Without Deputy Director Chen Shi's influence, he wouldn't get a single penny.

Chen Jianyong advised, "Brother, don't ask for too much. Take back what you can. If you demolish his house, you won't be able to farm your little bit of land."

Chen Jianhua thought for a moment and said, "Xiao Shi, I'll listen to you. Whatever you say we should do, we'll do it."

Chen Shi waved his hand: "Don't listen to me. It's your own land. You decide how much you want. Just be realistic and don't ask for an exorbitant price."

Chen Shi didn't want to put in effort for nothing. He offered to compensate 50,000 yuan, but what if he regretted it later and felt it was too little? Not only would he not remember the good he had done, but he would also blame him in his heart.

Fifty thousand is already the limit. Chen Jianhua didn't lose out; in fact, he got a great deal. If he really used fifty thousand to buy a piece of land in the countryside, at one hundred yuan per square meter, he could buy five hundred square meters of land to build a house.

He also regained face, and most importantly, Xu Erdan had something to offer.

If you really ask for 100,000, and push him too far, he might not be able to come up with it. When he comes back from jail and sees that his house has been demolished, Xu Erdan, at his age, might do something outrageous, and the consequences are unpredictable.

Never push someone to the brink of despair; even an ant will bite you.

After careful consideration, Chen Jianhua said, "I have a basis for awarding 40,000 yuan in compensation."

The 10,000 was what I asked them for before, but they wouldn't give it to me, only 5,000. For my little piece of land, I want 10,000, not a penny less.

The lawsuit and the lawyer cost 20,000 yuan; they have to compensate for this loss.

The remaining 10,000 yuan is my lost wages, including the lost wages for going to court, the lost wages for Jianyong's ten days of detention, and the 3,000 yuan compensation I owed to his family.

Chen Jianyong chimed in, "That's reasonable; they're not asking for much."

Chen Shi didn't say he would compensate 50,000 from the beginning. He should let Chen Jianhua say it himself. If he said he would compensate 40,000, and you managed to get him 50,000, he would remember your kindness.

"Too little, too much. Let's take the middle amount. I'll go talk to Li Mengjiang and ask for 50,000 in compensation and 20,000 in lost wages."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianhua beamed with joy. He had earned an extra ten thousand yuan and was deeply grateful to Chen Shi. He thought the matter had been handled admirably.

"Fifty thousand would be even better. Here's the extra ten thousand for you."

Chen Shi waved his hand: "What would I do with your ten thousand? We're family, I can't just watch you get bullied. I want the people of Qinghe Village to know that bullying the Chen family will come at a price."

His tone became more forceful as he warned Chen Jianhua, this troublemaker.

"If someone dares to bully you, I will stand up for you. But if you use my power to bully others, I will no longer interfere in your affairs. You will be dealt with according to the law and regulations."

Chen Jianhua repeatedly said yes.