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

Zhao Sigui shouted, "I am willing to cooperate in compensating the villagers for their losses, and I hope you will reduce my sentence by a few years."

Chen Shi solemnly said, "If I actively cooperate with the compensation process, my sentence will naturally be reduced by a few years."

Ma Shuang said with a dissatisfied look, "Compensation is fine, but it can't be split evenly. Niu Minghan and I have only earned so much money, and the lion's share has been taken by the two of you. You each pay 100,000, and we two will pay the remaining 75,000."

Feng Yong exclaimed, "No, if we calculate it on a per capita basis, we haven't made much money, and we're also taking risks."

Niu Minghan said with a mournful expression, "In the past few years, I've only earned a little over 20,000 yuan. My family is dirt poor and can't afford a single penny. You'll have to figure out what to do."

He acted like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water.

Zhang Hu shouted, "This is not a place to complain about being poor. You must pay whatever compensation is due, not a penny less."

Chen Shi looked at the four men. Feng Yong and Zhao Sigui looked like they were from wealthy families, while Niu Minghan looked like he was down on his luck and was obviously a poor guy.

As for Ma Shuang, if you squeeze him a little, you can still get 20,000 to 30,000 yuan out of him.

Often, when it comes to demanding compensation for losses, it depends on whether the other party has any assets. If they are poor and struggling to make ends meet, no matter how much compensation they receive, it's just a cold, meaningless number.

Even the courts can't do anything about them. At the very least, their livelihoods must be guaranteed; you can't drive people to their deaths.

Chen Shi looked at Feng Yong and Zhao Sigui with icy eyes.

"The cattle and horses were ultimately sold through your hands, so you bear a greater responsibility and should be the ones to compensate for the bulk of the losses."

According to Ma Shuang, each of you should pay 100,000 yuan, and he and Niu Minghan will pay the rest.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Sigui decided to pay the money to avoid trouble and, once he was out of there, to walk the straight path and never touch these crooked ways again.

"Okay, I have no objection to the compensation as the director suggested."

Feng Yong said with a dissatisfied look, "I'm willing to pay more compensation, but I have one request: we must be given a lenient sentence."

Chen Shi said in a deep voice, "This is something you should compensate for. There is no room for bargaining. Of course, if you actively cooperate with the compensation, the court will consider it and reduce your sentence by a few years."

Ma Shuang shouted, "The remaining 75,000 will be split 50/50 between Niu Minghan and me."

Niu Minghan repeated the same thing: he had no money.

Chen Shi looked at Zhang Hu, wondering if he was genuinely broke or just pretending.

Zhang Hu understood Chen Shi's meaning and whispered, "Director Chen, this Niu Minghan is really broke. He's a bachelor, both his parents are dead, his house is bare, and he probably doesn't even have a hundred dollars on him."

Chen Shi's eyes lit up when he saw Niu Minghan's 30,000 yuan. He figured the seized truck should be worth 30,000 to 50,000 yuan.

Whose truck is it?

Feng Yong quickly said, "The truck is mine."

"The truck was seized stolen goods, and our police station will dispose of it publicly."

Feng Yong panicked and shouted, "You can't do this! I've already paid 100,000 yuan in compensation, and you still want to dispose of my truck, which I bought for over 90,000 yuan."

Chen Shi looked troubled and said, "You want your truck."

"Absolutely, I'll have my family come and take it away."

"Notify your family that if they want to take the truck away, they need to pay a deposit of 37,500 yuan. This deposit will be used to offset Niu Minghan's compensation."

Feng Yong shouted, "Why should I pay his compensation?"

"Since you're in cahoots, and he can't come up with the money, the compensation will be paid in lieu of the truck. Of course, you can negotiate privately and have the two of them compensate you."

Even when it comes to doing things together, like stealing, you shouldn't partner with a poor person; it will lead to endless trouble.

Feng Yong gritted his teeth: "I can't pay for all 37,500 yuan myself; you two have to split it too. I provided the truck free of charge as a contribution to our cause, and now that something's happened, I can't bear the responsibility alone."

Ma Shuang quickly said, "Niu Minghan has no money. Just consider this money as a loan from you. Have him write you an IOU, and he can pay you back when you get out."

I don't have much money. I'll have to borrow all 37,500 yuan; I don't have any extra.

Zhao Sigui looked at Niu Minghan and said, "Are you even a man? If you are, write an IOU to Feng Yong. When you get out, go to the construction site and carry bricks to pay back the money."

Honesty is essential in business.

Chen Shi sneered inwardly. Being a thief is your business too. With just the four of you, you have eight hundred cunning schemes combined. Do you still have any integrity to speak of?

Niu Minghan looked at Feng Yong and said, "Brother Yong, I'll write you an IOU. A man keeps his word. After I get out, I'll go to the construction site and move bricks to pay you back."

Feng Yong could only accept his bad luck: "Director Chen, give him a pen and have him write an IOU."

Chen Shi gestured for Zhang Hu to get a pen, saying that compensating the villagers for their losses was the priority, and as for the four of them, they could settle it privately; the police station wouldn't deal with such trivial matters.

Zhang Hu brought paper and pen, unlocked Niu Minghan's handcuffs, and made him write an IOU.

Write the IOU, sign it, and put your fingerprint on it.

Feng Yong examined it carefully, found nothing wrong, and took it in his hand.

Chen Shi said to the auxiliary police officer next to him, "Give them the phones and notify their families to come and pay the compensation."

The process was quick; the compensation was paid in full the following afternoon, and Feng Yong's family was allowed to drive away his truck.

The case of cattle and horse theft in Longtougou Village has been officially closed. The next day, the four people were transferred to the Public Security Bureau, and the Procuratorate filed a lawsuit.

Chen Shi led a team to Longtougou Village to distribute compensation to the villagers.

The villagers whose cattle and horses were stolen were laughing and joking. They never imagined that they would receive compensation after their cattle and horses were stolen.

The villagers who received the compensation spread the word that it was true and not a lie.

After the compensation of 275,000 yuan was paid out, Chen Shi conducted legal education and publicity, emphasizing that if anyone encounters illegal or disorderly conduct, they should immediately call the police.

The old man whose cattle and horses were stolen last night, along with his family, walked to Chen Shi's side with tears in his eyes.

"Director Chen, you are a great benefactor to our family. Please accept our bow."

The family knelt down, which frightened Chen Shi so much that he rushed forward to help them up. He said, "Grandpa, you're trying to kill me. You're repaying kindness with enmity. The body camera is on. If someone with ulterior motives sees this, they can make a fuss about it and say that the villagers knelt down for him. Not only will he not have done anything good, but he will have done something wrong."

Chen Shi quickly pulled the old man and his family up, and was terrified.

"Sir, please don't kneel down again. We've been liberated for so many years, it's not the old society anymore. This is my duty, protecting the lives and property of the people is the duty of our police station."

The old man grinned sheepishly and said, "We country folk don't know how to say thank you, so we can only express our gratitude to Director Chen by kneeling down."

"I understand how you feel. Please don't kneel down again next time."

Longtougou Village was especially lively today, with people setting off firecrackers to celebrate that the thief who stole cattle and horses had finally been caught.

These two thieves are like a huge boulder weighing on the entire village of Longtougou. They can't sleep peacefully until they are caught.

They lived in constant fear, worried that their cattle and horses would be stolen.

Starting today, they can sleep soundly without worrying that when they wake up, the cattle and horses will be gone.

Zhang Xiangdong made a special call to inquire, and Chen Shi reported the facts truthfully, which was also one of his achievements.

Zhang Xiangdong certainly wouldn't interfere with others; he wanted to help Chen Shi establish the image of a good policeman and pave the way for his future promotion.

Even the bureau chief intervened, so Wang Jianming, not wanting to be left out, convened a general meeting to commend the police officers and auxiliary police who had apprehended the thieves.

Of course, this commendation was merely superficial, a verbal praise, without any real substance.

Chen Shi was different; he gave each person a reward of one thousand yuan, which came from the deployment funds.

Having money in your hands is great; you can spend it however you want.

Wang Jianming could only watch helplessly as Chen Shi's prestige surpassed his own, and there was nothing he could do about it.