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

On Monday afternoon, Fushan Town held a democratic life meeting, which was attended by the village party secretaries of all 22 administrative villages, as well as members of the secondary leadership team.

Qinghe Village was the first village to complete the land acquisition. At the meeting, Li Yuezhong specifically praised Tian Guangming and established him as a model village party secretary for land acquisition. The town awarded him 50,000 yuan.

After the meeting, Tian Guangming held the banner, feeling very pleased with himself, and put it in his car.

Tian Xiaojun asked, "Dad, are we going back?"

"I'm not going back. I'm going to the police station. I'm going to see Chief Ma and treat him to dinner tonight."

Tian Xiaojun drove to the police station, and Tian Guangming went to Ma Guoliang's office.

"Director Ma"

Ma Guoliang looked at Tian Guangming: "Secretary Tian, ​​please sit down."

Tian Guangming sat down: "Director Ma, are you free tonight? Let me treat you to a couple of drinks."

Ma Guoliang smiled and said, "Since Secretary Tian is treating, we must have a couple of drinks."

Ma Guoliang, the head of the police station, did not have as much power as Wang Jianming. Wang Jianming also served as the deputy mayor, while Ma Guoliang did not. He was still a section-level cadre, just one step away from becoming a deputy section chief.

Ma Guoliang's biggest wish is to become a deputy section chief. He doesn't even dare to dream of becoming a section chief. He's too old for that, and he'll just stay in this small town of Fushan, waiting to retire.

Tian Guangming is a more valuable village party secretary than other village party secretaries. Li Yuezhong values ​​Tian Guangming highly. Most importantly, he is from Chenshi Village and has a good relationship with Chenshi.

His position as deputy section chief could be resolved with a single word from Chen Shi, or with Li Yuezhong recommending him to the county.

Ma Guoliang chatted with Tian Guangming for a while. When it was time to leave work, Tian Guangming said, "Let's go to Chunlai Restaurant and have a couple of drinks."

The two walked out of the office building. Tian Xiaojun drove up, and Tian Guangming opened the car door: "Get in our car."

The distance from the police station to Chunlai Restaurant is a few hundred meters. Ma Guoliang wanted to walk there, but when the car pulled up in front of him, he got in. When they arrived at Chunlai Restaurant, Tian Guangming asked for a private room and let Ma Guoliang sit in the main seat.

Tian Xiaojun went to order food and asked for a bottle of good wine.

Soon the dishes were served. Tian Xiaojun opened the wine bottle and poured wine for Ma Guoliang and Tian Guangming, and also poured himself a glass. He was going to drive back later, so he wanted to drink less.

Tian Xiaojun raised his glass: "Director Ma, I'd like to propose a toast to you."

Ma Guoliang said, "No rush, let's drink slowly and eat some food first."

Tian Guangming chimed in: "Let's eat!"

Tian Xiaojun thought to himself, "He's just a section-level cadre, what's he pretending for? If I offered Chen Shi a toast, he wouldn't refuse."

After eating for a while, Tian Guangming offered Ma Guoliang a toast, which Ma Guoliang then drank.

Tian Xiaojun waited a moment, then toasted Ma Guoliang again. Ma Guoliang picked up his glass, clinked it with Tian Xiaojun's, and only took a sip, while Tian Xiaojun drank his whole glass.

Tian Xiaojun was very dissatisfied with Ma Guoliang. When he offered Ma Guoliang a toast, Ma Guoliang only took a sip, showing him no respect whatsoever. Ma Guoliang was just a director, yet he acted like he was someone important. When Tian Xiaojun offered Ma Guoliang a toast, Ma Guoliang would finish his drink.

Tian Xiaojun, along with his father Tian Guangming, had drunk with many leaders in the town. He was dissatisfied, but he didn't show it on his face and still wore a smile.

After drinking with Ma Guoliang for a while, Tian Guangming put down his glass and said, "Director Ma, the town held a democratic life meeting this afternoon. Secretary Li praised our Qinghe Village. Qinghe Village is the only village that has completed the land acquisition for the expressway."

This highway was overseen by Chen County officials. When Chen County officials returned over the weekend, they noticed the highway was encroaching on their family's ancestral graves. Without hesitation, Chen County officials arranged for the graves to be relocated.

Ma Guoliang said, "Chen County has the courage and decisiveness to get things done, and he is a role model for us to learn from."

Tian Guangming added, "Yes, the highway passes through Qinghe Village and encroaches on several of the village's ancestral graves."

Our Tian family ancestral graves have also been occupied. The Tian family is a large clan in Qinghe Village, with many members and a lot of people, so it's not easy to deal with.

When I returned from County Chen's office, I reported the situation truthfully to him. He became furious upon hearing this, saying that his family's ancestral graves had been occupied and that he had arranged for them to be moved. He demanded that I relocate the graves, or he would take coercive measures against me and ask for my cooperation.

Ma Guoliang said, "Grassroots work is about resolving conflicts. If the villagers have not broken the law, the police station cannot arrest people arbitrarily. It's easy to arrest people, but difficult to release them."

Tian Guangming looked at Ma Guoliang: "Director Ma, don't worry, the villagers haven't broken any laws or regulations, so they definitely can't be arrested. This matter is easy to handle."

Tian Guangming leaned close to Ma Guoliang and whispered a few words. Ma Guoliang nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Tian Guangming's idea.

After finishing their meal and leaving the restaurant, Tian Guangming said, "Director Ma, we'll take you home."

"No need, it's only a short walk back. I'll walk back, it'll be like a stroll."

After Ma Guoliang walked away, Tian Guangming got into the car, and Tian Xiaojun said, "This Ma Guoliang is just the head of a police station, but he acts more like a big shot than the Party Secretary. No wonder he can't also serve as the deputy mayor."

Tian Guangming said, "Go back."

Tian Xiaojun floored the gas pedal, and the car shot off. Tian Guangming quickly said, "Slow down, safety first."

Tian Guangming glanced at Tian Xiaojun: "When you ask someone for a favor, you have to be humble. You offered Ma Guoliang a drink, and he didn't drink it. What's wrong with that? You're the one asking him for a favor, not the other way around. Naturally, he'll put on airs."

When asking someone for a favor, the process isn't important; what matters is whether the favor is actually done.

Tian Xiaojun asked, "Did you get things done with Ma Guoliang?"

"With the police station cooperating, this matter is half done." Tian Guangming gave Tian Xiaojun a few instructions and told him to make the arrangements tomorrow.

The next day, Tian Xiaojun called several members of the Tian family who were doing business outside and asked for the phone number of the geomancer they had hired. He then called the geomancer.

The call was quickly answered, and Tian Xiaojun said, "Hello, sir, this is Tian Xiaojun from Qinghe Village. You visited our Tian family's ancestral graves some time ago, do you remember?"

The fortune teller thought for a moment before remembering and asking, "Is there something you need?"

"Everyone in the village says you have good feng shui, so I would like to ask you to come again and take a look at my family's ancestral graves."

"I do feng shui consultations for people in Fuping County, which is too far away. Let's talk about it later."

"I'm in a hurry here, waiting to have the feng shui of my ancestral graves checked. I'll give you a little extra money."

How much can you add?

Tian Xiaojun thought for a moment and said, "I'll add another ten thousand for you."

"I can leave it here for now, I'll come over tomorrow."

"I'll pick you up by car tomorrow morning. Please give me your address."

After the matter was settled, Tian Xiaojun said to Tian Guangming, "I've contacted the geomancer. I'll pick him up tomorrow morning."

Tian Guangming nodded and called Ma Guoliang.

Early in the morning, Tian Xiaojun took his cousin to Fuping County to meet the geomancer.

It's over 100 kilometers from Qinghe Village to Fuping County. By the time we picked up the geomancer and brought him to Qinghe Village, it was already past 5 p.m.

Tian Xiaojun arranged for the geomancer to stay at his cousin's house. Tian Guangming, being a party member and cadre, could not engage in feudalistic or superstitious practices and had to avoid suspicion.

Tian Xiaojun invited a geomancer to dinner at his cousin's house and showered him with praise. The geomancer became arrogant and made wild pronouncements, as if he were a god who could control other people's lives and deaths.