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

Chen Shi invited Ma Guoliang to dinner not to try and get any information out of him, but because he's a seasoned shrew; you can't get any information out of him even if you try, and he won't tell you easily.

Invite him to dinner to build a good relationship; just don't dig a hole for yourself at work.

The two men clinked glasses, ate and drank to their hearts' content, but didn't discuss anything important; they just chatted idly.

They may appear to be on friendly terms, but it's all insincere. When trouble comes, they'll run far away.

Chen Shi drank a glass of wine, thinking that as long as the other party didn't take the opportunity to kick him while he was in trouble, the relationship between colleagues was very fake.

Chen Shi paid the bill, and Sun Ruyi escorted Ma Guoliang back, bringing back the bowls and chopsticks as well.

The next morning, Chen Shi bought an extra cup of milk tea and delivered it to the administration office.

Xu Linlin has arrived and is organizing the materials.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Good morning, Sister Xu. Here's a cup of milk tea for you. I heard from a traditional Chinese medicine doctor that drinking more milk tea is good for your health."

Xu Linlin said with a grin, "Little Chen, you really know how to talk."

Chen Shi put down the milk tea and left the administrative office.

Xu Linlin is in charge of household registration, taking photos of ID cards, and handling household registration. If someone in the family comes to her, she can ask for her help.

This is just a favor, so if you arrange things in advance, she won't refuse when the time comes.

You can't just burn incense and pray to Buddha when you need to.

When you come back, Fugui will see you. You can't hide it from your family. They'll know you work at the police station, and they'll ask you for help with even the smallest things.

Chen Shi was very reluctant to go back to his hometown. He preferred to work at a police station in another township. He thought that if his relatives and fellow villagers asked him for help, it was his duty to help them, but they wouldn't thank him.

If you don't help, believe me, they'll curse your ancestors for eighteen generations behind your back.

When you arrive at a place, you should first establish yourself before seeking development. The deputy director was hospitalized for medical treatment and waiting to retire. Director Wang Jianming didn't take Chen Shi seriously at all.

Zhang Hu is my mentor, so it's essential to build a good relationship with him and familiarize him with the business. Both of them are young and get along well.

Even if Ma Guoliang doesn't become the deputy director, he still needs to maintain good relationships. People have seniority, and as long as he doesn't want to advance, even the director Wang Jianming has to give him some face.

Chen Shi had been there for half a month and had basically figured out the situation at the police station. None of the officers had any connections. If they did, why would they be in such a godforsaken place? They should at least be from the county public security bureau.

After finishing work on Friday, I prepared to go home on Saturday morning. I hadn't called home for half a month since I returned, mainly because my parents don't have cell phones.

Two days ago, my second brother called me to ask if I was being transferred back to the Fushan Town Police Station.

To be honest, Chen Shi and his second brother had a good relationship since childhood. When they were in school, his second brother dropped out to work so that Chen Shi could graduate from university.

Without my second brother, relying on my parents, I probably wouldn't have been able to graduate from university.

My second brother and sister-in-law are working in Hangzhou now, and they only come back once a year so that I can go back and visit my parents when I have time.

On Saturday morning, Chen Shi bought some snacks for his parents and niece, then carried a large bag back home.

I walked for an hour along the mountain path and returned to Qinghe Village.

The three old tile-roofed houses in my family have remained unchanged for many years.

I remember when I was a child, it would rain heavily outside the three old tile-roofed houses, and it would drizzle inside. It was only in recent years, when my second brother went out to work and earned money, that he replaced all the tiles, and that stopped the problem.

When Chen Shi arrived at his doorstep, he immediately saw his little niece, who was two years old and playing in the mud on the ground. His second brother and sister-in-law had gone out to work and left their little niece at home with their parents.

My second brother told me that my sister-in-law is pregnant again, and her due date is at the end of the year.

Hearing footsteps, my little niece raised her head, blinked her big eyes, and seeing it was Chen Shi, called out in her childish voice, "Uncle's back!"

He dropped the mud in his hand and ran towards Chen Shi.

Chen Shi squatted down, picked up his little niece, and said with a smile, "Xiaole, did you miss your uncle?"

"Thoughts"

Mother Wang Guihua came out of the kitchen; she was cooking pig feed.

"Our youngest child is back."

Chen Shi called out, "Mom, I'm home! Where's Dad?"

"Your dad went to the fields to spray pesticides and came back in no time."

Chen Shi carried his little niece into the house, put her on the sofa, took out some snacks from his bag, and gave them to his niece.

Xiaomi was very happy to see so many snacks: "I want this and this too!"

Her two little hands couldn't hold it all. Wang Guihua saw this and said, "Don't give her too much, or she won't eat her meals later."

Chen Shi handed a loaf of bread to Wang Guihua: "Mom, have some snacks, we'll cook later."

Wang Guihua took the snacks: "Now that you've made money, spend it sparingly and save it for when you get married."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Wang Guihua was eating bread when she gave Xiaomi Le a piece.

Xiaomi Le said with a grin, "The snacks my uncle brought back are so delicious."

"Sweetie, your uncle will bring you snacks every time he comes back from now on."

Xiaomi exclaimed excitedly, "Great! I'll have an endless supply of snacks!"

Chen Shi took Xiaomi Le to the stream to catch small fish. When he was a child, he often ran to the stream to catch small fish.

Xiaomi Le let out a crisp laugh after catching a few small ones, overjoyed.

When he got home, his father, Chen Yanshi, had already returned.

Chen Yanshi was overjoyed to see his son: "You're back!"

"Dad!" Chen Shi called out.

Chen Yanshi wiped all the mud off his feet before going inside.

Chen Shi took out a cigarette, offered one to his father, and lit it for him with a lighter.

Chen Yanshi took a sip of his cigarette and asked, "Fugui said you were transferred back to the police station?"

Chen Shi hummed in agreement, lit a cigarette, and took a puff.

Chen Yanshi was still somewhat unable to accept Chen Shi's personal agreement. He didn't understand the situation in officialdom, and he knew that the provincial department and the police station were not on the same level.

After a long pause, he asked, "Didn't you pass the exam to work in the provincial government? Why were you transferred back?"

Chen Shi didn't know how to tell his father, so he smoked another cigarette.

Chen Yanshi looked at Chen Shi: "There are rumors in the village that you were transferred back to the provincial department because you embezzled and accepted bribes. Is that true?"

Chen Shi laughed in exasperation: "Even if I wanted to embezzle or accept bribes, would anyone give them to me? It's difficult to embezzle or accept bribes unless you're in that position."

After thinking about it, I decided to tell my father the truth.

Chen Yanshi's face darkened after hearing this.

"This isn't your fault, how can it be blamed on you? Are you being unreasonable? You were just following orders."

"Who's going to reason with you? It's all about relationships," Chen Shi said angrily.

Wang Guihua finished cooking and called out, "Dinner's ready!"

Chen Shi stood up and took a bowl to serve rice.

The four of them sat at the dining table. When Wang Guihua saw her son come back, she cooked two more dishes. Usually, when they were at home, they would only eat one dish.

Chen Yanshi drank a bowl of vegetable soup, sighed, and said, "Is there any way to turn this matter around?"

Chen Shi shook his head: "Unless someone in our family holds a high-ranking official position."

Chen Yanshi exclaimed, "How come we don't have any high-ranking officials in our family? It's just that people don't recognize us."

Chen Shi casually asked, "Where did our family get such a high-ranking official?"

"Your eldest uncle, according to your Xincheng uncle, is the Party Secretary of Mingzhou."

Chen Shi put down his bowl and pressed on, "My maternal uncle?"

"Your maternal grandfather remarried in Minnesota, and his second wife bore him a son and a daughter."

The man is your maternal uncle; I heard he's the municipal party secretary, but he doesn't acknowledge your mother.

Wang Guihua was feeding Xiaomi Le when she glanced at Chen Yanshi and said, "Eat your food, why are you talking about these old, trivial things?"

Chen Shi became interested. He only knew that his mother was raised by her grandparents when she was a child. When he asked about his maternal grandfather when he was a child, his mother always said that he was dead.