"Why did you come so late? We've been waiting for you for ages," Grandma Xiaohong said as she squeezed her butt to the side.
At this moment, the long benches in the meeting room were all the kind with backs.
Suddenly squeezed by Grandma Xiaohong like this, the people in the whole row frowned and looked over.
Old Lady Xiang, however, acted as if nothing had happened and plopped down on the bench.
Grandma Xiaohong still asked the same question as before, "What were you doing just now?"
After saying that, as if thinking of something, she added, "You old thing, weren't you secretly adding things to the list behind my back?"
"Look at what you're saying. What do you mean by 'behind your back'?"
Old Lady Xiang's eyes flickered. "You know I have a bad memory. I just remembered, so I quickly asked someone to write it down for me."
"Anyway, they're all just some worthless things."
Grandma Xiaohong let out a cold snort.
I don't believe you.
This old woman is full of tricks.
"Alright, your family also has a lot of things," Old Lady Xiang intentionally changed the topic. "After we get the compensation money, let's make an appointment to go to the county to buy things."
Speaking of the compensation money, Grandma Xiaohong, who had had a gloomy face for a long time, finally showed a hint of a smile.
"Okay, let's go together then. I wonder if they'll give us some vouchers this time."
"Why wouldn't they?"
Old Lady Xiang said righteously, "You need vouchers to buy these things. If the army doesn't compensate us with vouchers, we'll have to have a good talk with them."
Grandma Xiaohong nodded. "That's right. Why shouldn't they compensate us?"
The two of them talked on their own, moving from the topic of compensation money to what things they were going to buy.
Their voices got louder and louder.
As they talked, there was also a faint sense of pride.
Of course they were proud. The things at home had been used for so many years, and now they could exchange the old for new. How great was that?
The two of them were chatting so enthusiastically about this topic that they didn't notice at all that Division Commander Yao, Division Political Commissar and a group of people had been standing outside the meeting room listening for quite a while.
Division Commander Yao frowned and said, "Go and ask whose military dependents those two are."
"Yes, sir," the guard replied. But his voice was immediately interrupted by Director Cao. "No need to ask. One of them is the family member of Deputy Battalion Commander Xiang from the First Squadron of the Naval Vessel Unit, and the one next to her is the family member of Battalion Commander Kong from the Third Squadron."
Division Commander Yao and Political Commissar Li looked puzzled and were just about to ask how he knew.
Director Cao took out several letters of complaint from the folder.
"I received these a few days ago. After getting the letters of complaint, I sent someone to make some private inquiries."
But during this period, everyone had been busy with the post - disaster reconstruction work, and he hadn't had time to report this matter yet.
Division Commander Yao took the letters of complaint and glanced at them.
Then he handed them to Political Commissar Li.
After reading them, both of their faces looked grim.
"Let's go. Let's talk about the main business first," Division Commander Yao said, and then the group walked in through the side door.
As soon as they stepped onto the stage, the previously chaotic meeting room instantly fell silent.
Time was pressing, and Political Commissar Li didn't have time to beat around the bush with everyone. He got straight to the point.
"Today, I've gathered you all here to talk about three things."
"First, the situation of this typhoon disaster is quite serious, but currently, the funds in the army's account are limited."
"According to the relevant regulations of the army, this money should be used to ensure combat readiness and defense first. This is the bottom line and cannot be touched at all!"
"Secondly, we need to ensure the reconstruction of the farm. The farm is the foundation of our Fourth Division and must not collapse!"
At this point, Political Commissar Li changed the subject. "However, the factory buildings on the farm were severely damaged this time. Just patching them up may not work. If we want to rebuild the factory buildings, the existing funds are far from enough."
"So the first thing today is to raise funds again. Just like last time, it's still on a family - by - family basis. How much to subscribe depends entirely on personal willingness."
As soon as he said this, there was a buzz of discussion among the people below.
"We haven't even got our money back yet. Why do we have to invest money again?" said the sister - in - law sitting in front of Jiang Si. Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the people around to hear.
"The year before last, when we invested in the canned food factory, they said it was a sure - fire way to make money. My family invested 800 yuan."
"During the Spring Festival, we finally got back more than 100 yuan. Before we could even hold onto the money for long, now they're asking us to invest again."
"That's right. We haven't even got our principal back yet," another sister - in - law beside her also looked very reluctant. "My house was flooded and is in a mess. I don't even have money to buy things now. Where can I get the money to invest in this?"
After hearing what she said, the other sisters - in - law also silently started calculating in their minds.
They didn't have a lot of money, but they could still come up with a few hundred yuan.
But still -
One sister - in - law immediately raised a question on the spot. "Last time, when the canned food factory was half - built, it collapsed due to the typhoon. With great difficulty, we all pooled our money to build the factory building. Now it has collapsed again."
"We spent so much money building the house, but it only lasted for less than two years. Then what's the point of us pooling our money to build this factory building?"
As soon as she said this, the sisters - in - law all echoed her.
"That's right. Our money didn't come easily. We can't just pool our money to build the factory building every time it collapses, can we?"
"Anyway, I don't have any money. Whoever wants to invest can do it."
"..."
"Please rest assured on this matter," Political Commissar Li explained specifically. "In a few days, experts in geology and architecture from the provincial military region will come. They will choose a new location."
"Also, on behalf of the Fourth Division, I guarantee to all the military dependents that the anti - typhoon and anti - earthquake capabilities of the newly built factory building will be greatly improved."
After hearing this, the discussion among the people got even louder.
Some thought that since the political commissar had said so, there should be no big problem.
But there were still quite a few sisters - in - law who were against it.
Political Commissar Li only said that it would be greatly improved, but he didn't say by how much.
Xu Mingjuan was also not sure. Seeing Jiang Si looking calm, she couldn't help but ask, "Sister Si, are you going to invest this time?"
Jiang Si thought for a while and said, "Don't be in a hurry. Let's wait and see the design drawings first."
See the design drawings?
Before Xu Mingjuan could react, the voice on the stage rang out again.
This time, it was Division Commander Yao who spoke.
He had heard all the discussions just now.
He also understood what everyone was worried about.
Division Commander Yao said, "Don't be in a hurry with this matter. In a few days, when the experts from the province come, you can voice all your doubts freely."
"I'll say it again. This time, subscribing for shares is entirely voluntary."
After a pause, Division Commander Yao said the second thing with an apologetic tone.
"As you all know, the army can't come up with so much money for the time being. So, you'll have to bear the cost of house repairs first."
"After the funds allocated from above come down, we'll definitely compensate you according to the standards."
After the previous fundraising matter, the sisters - in - law expressed their understanding of the matter of having to pay for house repairs themselves.
After all, everyone knew how serious the disaster situation was this time.
At this moment, the most dissatisfied were the aunts from the No. 3 Family Courtyard.
When they came, they were all very happy.
They thought they could get some money back.
As a result, now she hadn't received a single cent in compensation. Instead, she had to pay out of her own pocket to repair the house.
How could things be handled like this?
Old Lady Xiang wasn't happy about it either, but she wasn't stupid.
Didn't she see that so many people had accepted what the leader said? If she jumped out at this time, wouldn't that be slapping the leader in the face?
Moreover, the leader had said that compensation would be made according to the standards later.
So when the troops had the money, they would still compensate for their losses, right?
Old Lady Xiang was secretly thinking about this when suddenly she heard someone call her name. She instinctively stood up and replied, "Here!"
What was going on?
Granny Hong, standing beside her, was just wondering why Division Commander Yao had specifically called Old Lady Xiang's name when suddenly she heard her own name called.
"Here!" Granny Hong also stood up.
The two of them looked at each other, their eyes full of question marks.
"What's wrong with us?"
"I don't know."
Although they said so, Granny Hong had a hunch that it wasn't going to be anything good.
At this time, Division Commander Yao spoke up.
His voice was significantly more serious than before.
"Thirdly, we've received a report letter. During the typhoon, some people violated discipline and took the lead in causing trouble!"
"They also incited military dependents to demand subsidies, seriously disrupting the order and stability of the troops' disaster - relief efforts."
After saying that, Division Commander Yao swept his sharp eyes over the two women below.
"Xie Fengdi and Lu Guixiang, as the mothers of soldiers, you originally didn't meet the criteria for accompanying your sons in the military.
It was out of consideration for the difficulties in your families that the troops specially approved temporary certificates for you to accompany your sons, so that you could have a place to live and be taken care of in your old age.
But your actions have seriously let down this care and trust!"
"According to Article 4 of the Regulations on Military Dependents, those who make unreasonable troubles and seriously affect the daily order of the troops and remain unrepentant after education should have their qualifications to accompany their military - affiliated family members terminated!"
"Now I officially announce that, as of today, the temporary qualifications of Comrade Xie Fengdi and Comrade Lu Guixiang to accompany their military - affiliated family members are terminated. I hope other military dependents will take this as a warning!"
Boom!
The two women felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in their heads.
One of them felt dizzy and the other's legs went weak.
Finally, they both collapsed to the ground.
Li Mei was standing at the back of the meeting room, holding a child in her arms.
Seeing this scene, she really felt extremely delighted.
This old hag was finally going to leave!
She couldn't even imagine how comfortable and care - free her life would be without this old hag around.
Thinking about this, Li Mei couldn't help smiling all the way back to the military dependents' compound.
Half an hour later, a sentry came to find her. "Are you Comrade Li Mei?"
Li Mei was taken aback. "I'm Li Mei. What do you want from me?"
The sentry said, "There's someone outside looking for you."
Li Mei asked uncertainly again, "Looking for me?"
The sentry nodded. "Yes."
This made Li Mei even more puzzled. She had no relatives or friends here. Who would come to find her at this time?
Just like this, Li Mei carried the child and followed the sentry to the entrance of the military dependents' compound.
When she saw the person standing by the road, Li Mei was shocked and exclaimed, "Why are you here?"
