As soon as these words were spoken, the smiles on everyone's faces froze instantly.
This… why is there a "but" now?
But upon reflection, it made sense that Comrade Jiang Si had reservations—after all, 200,000 yuan was no small sum.
Taking a deep breath, Division Commander Yao said, "Little girl, if you have any concerns or anything you need us to do, just say it."
"Within our capabilities, we’ll do our best to resolve it for you."
Jiang Si did indeed have a tricky problem, though not the kind everyone was imagining.
Seeing Division Commander Yao and the others sweating anxiously, she quickly explained the situation.
She had already counted the money—200,000 yuan, not a single cent short.
But the issue now was that the funds previously deposited in Qiongzhou Island had recently been withdrawn and donated to the Fourth Division.
The remaining 200,000 yuan had to be deposited either in Hu City or Capital City.
At the time, banks didn’t offer cross-region withdrawals, so to access the money, she would have to personally travel to Hu City and Capital City.
But given her current circumstances…
"This is simple," Division Commander Yao immediately eased her worries.
Perhaps because Jiang Si’s surprise was too obvious, he went on to explain.
"Your household registration has already been transferred to the military system. I’ll have someone prepare a statement and a power of attorney for you."
"Then we’ll coordinate with the local military committee—they’ll handle the matter, and it shouldn’t be a big problem."
After speaking, he glanced at her again. "Other than this, do you have any other requests?"
Jiang Si shook her head.
"Alright, here’s the subscription contract. Take a look."
Division Commander Yao repeated, "Speak your mind—don’t hold back out of politeness."
Jiang Si had no intention of holding back.
After carefully reviewing the contract and confirming there were no issues, she signed her name without hesitation.
The contract was made in duplicate.
Staring at the freshly signed agreement, Division Commander Yao and the others were stunned for a long moment.
In just this short time, they had actually raised 200,000 yuan.
"Ahem—"
Finally, Political Commissar Li’s cough snapped everyone back to reality.
"Comrades, the revolution isn’t over yet. It’s too early to celebrate."
"We’re still short 300,000 yuan—that’s no small amount."
Before Division Commander Yao could speak, Political Commissar Li continued, "Comrade Jiang Si has only been with the Fourth Division for less than a year. This time, she’s donated money and subscribed to shares—she’s probably emptied her savings."
"Given how much she’s contributed, don’t you think it’d be wrong if we didn’t show some effort too?"
Having worked together for over a decade, they knew each other well.
Hearing this, Division Commander Yao chuckled and teased,
"Alright, Old Li, stop beating around the bush. Just say it—how much is your family subscribing to?"
Political Commissar Li didn’t hesitate, holding up two fingers. "Twenty thousand."
Though his tone was casual, the pride on his face was unmistakable.
To convince his wife, he’d even resorted to using his charm—no small feat for a man his age.
"Not bad, Old Li!" Division Commander Yao exclaimed.
Almost immediately, the division’s chief of staff chimed in.
"Well, my wife and I discussed it—our family will also subscribe to twenty thousand."
Like Political Commissar Li, persuading his wife had been an ordeal, but she’d finally agreed.
Working together for so long, they had developed a natural rapport.
After laughing, Division Commander Yao added, "What a coincidence—same for my family."
As they spoke, they exchanged knowing glances.
Some things didn’t need to be said aloud.
Just then, a rapid knocking sounded at the door.
When it opened, Division Commander Yao was surprised. "Huh? What brings you two here?"
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
It was already noon, but the military families in the residential compound were too preoccupied to cook.
After some discussion, they all gathered at Director Pan’s home.
Director Pan was still at a logistics department meeting, so they were greeted by her mother-in-law, Auntie Xu.
Seeing over a dozen people arrive, Auntie Xu was puzzled. "What’s going on?"
One of the wives, quick to speak, explained the situation as they settled in.
The whole thing had started hours earlier.
The news had come from Granny Qian.
After listening, Auntie Xu’s eyes flickered, but she didn’t rush to share her thoughts.
She only asked, "Can Granny Qian’s words be trusted?"
Though Granny Qian was known as the compound’s gossip queen, she had a habit of exaggerating.
The wives didn’t dare vouch for her, but they knew something had happened—after all, more than just Granny Qian had witnessed it.
One of them replied, "Well, Division Commander Yao did send for Comrade Jiang early this morning. What they discussed, no one knows."
"What else could it be? It must’ve been about the factory and the share subscriptions," another muttered, unable to hide her displeasure.
"During the previous big meeting, everyone attended, but today only Comrade Jiang Si was called in alone."
"Who knows? Maybe Division Commander Yao shared some inside information with her."
"Oh, and the design institute team went to the division headquarters early this morning too."
"The design institute people went as well?"
"That's right."
One of the wives chimed in, "Honestly, we can't just sit around doing nothing. Once Director Pan returns, we should go to the division headquarters and ask for answers."
Her suggestion was immediately met with agreement from the other wives.
The main reason was that lately, the design institute team had been visiting Regiment Commander Huo’s home every other day.
Because of this, everyone was especially anxious, afraid of missing out on the latest updates.
Just when they thought Auntie Xu would share their sense of urgency, she spoke up instead.
"What’s the point of asking? When the time comes, the army will announce everything officially."
After saying this, Auntie Xu shot a glance at the woman who had spoken earlier.
What others did was their own business—she couldn’t control that.
But if someone tried dragging her daughter-in-law into the mess, Auntie Xu wouldn’t stand for it.
"I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said, but let me give you some advice."
"Stop making a fuss over baseless rumors. It’s not a good look."
"How is it baseless?"
The wife muttered defensively, "Plenty of people in the residential compound saw that she was the only one called in. I’m not making things up."
"So what if she was the only one called?"
Auntie Xu retorted, "If they called you, could you help them build houses? Or would you be footing the bill?"
"Auntie, that’s not the point. The share subscription affects our year-end dividends. If we don’t stay on top of it now—"
"On top of it? How much more ‘on top’ do you need to be?"
Auntie Xu cut her off. "The last meeting made it clear—subscriptions are entirely voluntary."
"And just the other day, my daughter-in-law said anyone who wants to subscribe can come register. So, are you here to subscribe?"
Her words shut the woman down completely.
The wife’s face flushed with embarrassment before she finally managed to say,
"I do want to subscribe, but without knowing the details, who’s responsible if we lose money?"
Auntie Xu had lived long enough to see right through her.
She repeated firmly, "When the time comes, the higher-ups will announce everything. But if you’re waiting for someone to guarantee your profits, that’s never happening."
As if on cue, the loudspeaker in the residential compound crackled to life right after Auntie Xu finished speaking.
