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

Chen Shi received a call from Chen Xing, who said that his father, Chen Yanshi, wanted him to come back over the weekend to discuss erecting a tombstone for his grandparents.

His father wanted to erect a monument to bring glory to the family, and Chen Shi naturally wouldn't refuse. This was the only request the old man had, and he would fulfill it.

On Saturday afternoon, Chen Shi went home alone.

I brought lots of snacks for my niece, Xiaomile, and toys for my nephew, Chen Minghui.

Chen Shi parked the police car at the entrance. The roads were all dirt tracks, difficult to navigate, and he really didn't want to come back.

When the Chen brothers, Chen Jianhua and Chen Jianyong, saw Chen Shi return, they quickly came to help him carry his things.

Xiao Mi was overjoyed to see Chen Shi return. She ran over and exclaimed, "Uncle's back!"

"Look what delicious treats your uncle brought you!" Chen Shi picked up Xiaomi Le and handed her some snacks.

Her chubby little hands couldn't hold all the snacks, and she looked completely satisfied.

Chen Yanshi was happy and killed a chicken, with Chen Xing helping him prepare it.

Chen Shi put down Xiaomi Le and told her to go play somewhere else. He then offered cigarettes to his father and brother, and also handed cigarettes to Chen Jianhua and Chen Jianyong.

The two men quickly accepted the gift with both hands, their faces beaming. Now that Chen Shi had become a leader, they stood ramrod straight in the village; even as the village head, they had to greet him with smiles whenever they met him.

In particular, he dealt with Xu Erdan and his son Xu Ruqing, regaining face in the village.

This father and son were notorious scoundrels in the village, and most people were afraid of them.

Now he's much more obedient and treats Chen Jianhua with great politeness.

Chen Yanshi liked to smoke dry cigarettes and would put the cigarettes behind his ears.

"Did I disturb your work?"

"No, it's the weekend, I'm resting."

Chen Jianyong quickly chimed in, "It's great to work for the government; you get weekends off and still get paid."

"I told you to study, but you didn't study hard. You wanted to work for the government, but it's too late now." Chen Jianhua looked at him with a disappointed expression.

"Don't talk about me. When your dad sent you to school, you ran back the next day and refused to study no matter what."

Chen Shi did not respond, but said, "Neither of you brothers is cut out for studying."

Chen Yanshi continued, "I called you back to discuss the matter of erecting a tombstone for your grandparents. I asked Jianhua to hire a geomancer, and the date is set for the 11th day of the ninth lunar month, which is November 2nd in the Gregorian calendar. Do you think you can spare the time to come?"

Chen Shi took a drag of his cigarette: "No problem, I'll be back then."

Chen Yanshi nodded in satisfaction: "We did the math, and it will cost about 30,000 yuan to erect two monuments, buy two sheep, and cover other expenses."

Now that our family members all have government jobs, Jianhua and Jianyong have a hard time farming at home and don't earn much money. I think you two brothers should pay for this.

You contribute 20,000, and your brother will cover the rest.

Chen Shi glanced at Chen Yanshi and thought, "Dad, you're quite the strategist. It's like your son has plenty of money."

I have no problem paying 20,000 myself, but my brother is offering more than 10,000. Would my sister-in-law agree to that?

Don't make things too chaotic between the couple, that would be bad.

"I'll offer 20,000, no problem."

You have to pay this money, whether you want to or not. In the countryside, if you work outside and don't contribute the lion's share, people will curse you to death for being too stingy.

Chen Xing was stir-frying chicken, which was sizzling and steaming.

"I'll take care of the rest. Brother Jianhua and Brother Jianyong, just do your best."

Chen Jianhua couldn't stop smiling. He was more than willing to put in the effort; as long as it didn't cost him money, he was happy to do anything.

"Okay, leave the hard work to us."

Chen Jianyong quickly said, "You don't need to carry a single brick; just hand them over to us."

Chen Shi looked at Chen Xing and asked, "Brother, when did you become so generous? You just give it away like that. Did your wife agree to it?"

Yeah, where's Wang Xiufang? That woman loves excitement. It's not her style to stay out of the room and say something to get attention.

"Brother, you're stir-frying chicken, where's my sister-in-law?"

"She took the child back to her parents' home."

No wonder, it's easier to discuss things without her around.

When Wang Guihua returned from washing clothes, Chen Shi quickly went to greet her.

"Our youngest child is back."

"Mom, I'll buy you a washing machine. It'll make washing clothes much easier."

"There's no running water, so we have to carry water to wash, which is a waste of time."

Chen Jianyong quickly said, "Second Aunt, if you need to wash clothes, just call me and I'll fetch water for you."

"Don't bother, let's buy a washing machine after the running water is connected."

Seeing that the water tank was empty, Chen Jianyong picked up a bucket and said, "I'll fetch you some water."

He looked at Chen Jianhua and said, "What are you standing there for? I'll carry you on my back and get you some water."

Chen Jianhua picked up the 25-kilogram jug and went to fetch water.

Chen Shi helped his mother hang up the clothes, and Wang Guihua was happy to see that her son had gained some weight.

Dinner was chicken hot pot. Chen Shi took out two bottles of wine that Zhang Hu had given him from the car and drank with the others.

One chicken wasn't enough, so we added a lot of side dishes.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Jianhua looked at Chen Yanshi and gestured for him to speak.

Chen Jianhua and Chen Jianyong had visited Chen Yanshi several times. The old Party Secretary of Qinghe Village had suddenly passed away, leaving the position vacant.

Village head Tian Guangming and his son Tian Xiaojun frequently travel to the town to try and fill the vacancy for the position of village secretary.

Chen Jianhua wanted to become the Party branch secretary, but he didn't dare to mention it to Chen Shi. So he took a roundabout approach and asked his second uncle, Chen Yanshi, for help, sending him a lot of gifts.

Chen Yanshi felt that if his nephew could become the village party secretary, the Chen family would have a voice in Qinghe Village, and his prestige would increase.

The son is a leader in the town, and he definitely knows more leaders than Tian Guangming does. As long as the son speaks up, the leader still has to give him face.

And he readily agreed.

Chen Jianyong was envious when he saw that Chen Xing and his wife were working at the power management station, and he wanted to become the administrator of the Qinghe Village power management station.

The two brothers would come to Chen Yanshi's house whenever they had free time, praising their second uncle and making the old man feel flattered. They even promised to help Chen Jianyong get the administrator job.

This year's spring planting was mainly done by the two brothers. Chen Yanshi felt that it was great that his son was in charge; there were always people vying to do the work.

Chen Yanshi took a sip of wine, his face turning completely red.

"Xiao Shi, I have something to tell you. The old Party Secretary of Qinghe Village suddenly died, and the position is now vacant. I think Jianhua is a good candidate."

Our Chen family is a minor clan in Qinghe Village, and we've never had much of a voice. But things are different now. Now that you're in charge, you should take care of your family.

Chen Jianhua quickly said, "Xiao Shi, Tian Guangming has been the village head for over ten years and his word is law in the village. Xiao Xing broke his son's hand before and was extorted for 5,000 yuan. It's time for him to pay it back."

Chen Shi looked at Chen Jianhua: "My brother broke Tian Xiaojun's hand. It was because the child was ignorant and accidentally injured him. The compensation of five thousand is not high. Don't mention this matter again."

Overall, Tian Guangming has done a decent job as village head; he hasn't abused his power or bullied others.

Chen Jianhua protested, "How much of the fertilizer subsidies the government provides to ordinary people has he embezzled?"

Do you have any evidence?

Chen Jianhua was speechless. Of course, he had no evidence; that's what everyone was saying.

Chen Jianyong added, "Don't worry about how much they embezzled; that's their ability. No one will report them, and even if they did, there would be no evidence."

Seeing that Chen Shi had not yet given his opinion on whether or not to help him become the village party secretary, Chen Jianhua looked to Chen Xing for help.

I had approached Chen Xing several times before, and Chen Xing also felt that if Chen Jianhua were made the Party Secretary, the Chen family would have a voice in the village.