Upon learning that the big meeting was scheduled for nine o'clock the next morning, the group of wives looked somewhat embarrassed. Now they had no excuse left to ask Director Pan to gather information for them.
After sitting for a short while, they quickly made up excuses and left.
Director Pan returned half an hour later.
Seeing over a dozen folding stools arranged in the small courtyard and her mother-in-law’s stern expression, she couldn’t help but ask curiously,
"Mom, what’s wrong?"
Auntie Xu recounted what had just happened and concluded,
"Whatever they said, just take it with a grain of salt. The higher-ups must be swamped with stress right now—going over there would just invite a scolding."
Director Pan chuckled and reassured her, "It’s not that serious, Mom. I know what I’m doing."
"Good, as long as you do," Auntie Xu replied before motioning for her to follow into her room.
Noticing her mother-in-law rummaging through drawers, Director Pan peeked in and asked, "Mom, what are you looking for?"
Before long, Auntie Xu pulled out a faded, old-style cotton shoe from the bottom of a chest.
She dug inside for a while before finally retrieving a crumpled stack of money and vouchers.
"Here, take this."
Director Pan was stunned. "Mom, why are you giving me so much money all of a sudden?"
She pushed the money back. "This is your lifelong savings for retirement. Guohao and I earn decent monthly wages—we can’t possibly take your money."
"Don’t get the wrong idea. This isn’t for you."
Though their mother-daughter-in-law relationship was good, Auntie Xu was very clear about financial boundaries.
While she willingly took care of her grandson, aside from living expenses, the couple had to pay her a fixed wage of ten yuan per month.
She woke up every day to cook, clean, and look after the child, keeping the household in perfect order. This money was her rightful earnings—not a single cent less.
Auntie Xu explained, "Over the years, I’ve earned 540 yuan in wages, plus what you’ve given me during holidays—totaling over 780 yuan. I’ll keep 80, and the remaining 700 will go toward buying shares."
All of it?
Director Pan thought she must have misheard.
Was this really her mother-in-law, the woman known for being tight-fisted and unwilling to part with a single penny?
"Mom, are you serious? You’ve always been against us buying shares before."
"That was then. Things are different now."
Hearing the implication in her words, Director Pan looked up sharply. "Mom, what’s changed? Tell me."
Auntie Xu certainly intended to. Her small sum was just a drop in the bucket—the real investment had to come from her son and daughter-in-law.
So, she shared her recent observations.
Director Pan was floored. No wonder her mother-in-law had been acting strangely these past few days—leaving early and returning late with the child. Turns out, she’d been out gathering intel.
Still, Director Pan hesitated. "Mom, are you really that confident this will work out?"
"Of course." Auntie Xu glanced at her hard-earned savings.
She hadn’t scraped this money together easily. Without absolute certainty, she’d never part with it.
Seeing her daughter-in-law still staring at her like a bewildered deer, Auntie Xu continued,
"The design institute team hasn’t come to the residential compound for two days. My guess? They’re holed up in the guesthouse drafting blueprints."
"These past couple of days, I’ve been taking the baby for walks near the division headquarters."
"And guess what? This morning, I actually ran into them!"
She didn’t know what was discussed in the meeting, but when the design team left the building, their expressions were noticeably different from usual.
Plus, she’d overheard them praising Comrade Jiang.
Director Pan still wavered. "Mom, isn’t this too risky?"
"Don’t worry." Auntie Xu gave her a reassuring look.
She wasn’t foolish enough to throw away her life savings just because a few people were smiling.
Her confidence came from running into two others on her way back to the residential compound.
"Who?"
"Regimental Commander Xiao and Deputy Regiment Commander Lei."
Director Pan was confused. "Mom, what does that have to do with buying shares?"
"What do you think?" Auntie Xu prompted. "Think carefully—what’s their relationship with Regiment Commander Huo?"
Before Director Pan could answer, she added, "Today’s Sunday. Neither the radar regiment nor the aviation regiment have urgent missions. Why else would those two go to division headquarters together?"
After a pause, Director Pan caught on. "Mom, are you saying they went to buy shares too?"
Auntie Xu nodded. "Absolutely."
Director Pan pondered. "But how can you be sure Comrade Jiang will invest?"
Auntie Xu countered, "If this venture is guaranteed to make money, wouldn’t you jump at it?"
"Of course!" Only a fool wouldn’t.
"So, do you think Comrade Jiang is a fool?"
Director Pan fell silent. If Comrade Jiang were a fool, everyone else in the residential compound might as well not exist.
Recalling what the housing department staff had mentioned—that Comrade Jiang was exceptionally knowledgeable about construction—Director Pan suddenly had an epiphany.
Could it be that Division Commander Yao called Comrade Jiang over early in the morning just to review factory blueprints?
Auntie Xu nodded, confirming her guess.
"Think about it—if the blueprints are fine, wouldn’t she have to invest?"
"Similarly, if there’s an issue with the blueprints, Comrade Jiang would definitely point it out."
Now, Director Pan fully understood and immediately gave a thumbs-up.
"Mom, you’re amazing!"
By then, Auntie Xu had already counted out the money.
She kept eighty yuan for herself and gave the rest to her daughter-in-law.
"Decide with Guohao how much to invest—I won’t interfere. But you’d better hurry."
Director Pan nodded. Right after lunch, she rushed to the bank with her savings passbook.
To her surprise, several other wives were already waiting in line.
Before she could even sit down, a whole crowd of wives arrived in a flurry.
At first, everyone had just been speculating, but seeing so many wives show up gave them confidence.
The first wife promptly withdrew all the money from her passbook.
The others followed suit.
From then on, everyone adopted the same approach—no matter how much was in their passbooks, their answer was uniform: "Withdraw it all!"
As more and more wives came to withdraw money, the bank staff were baffled.
What was going on today? Everyone was coming in to withdraw large sums!
If the bank staff were confused, Division Commander Yao’s office was even more so two hours later.
Staring at the line of military families outside waiting to hand over money, Division Commander Yao turned to Old Li. "Am I dreaming?"
He pinched his thigh in disbelief.
It hurt, but he still couldn’t trust his eyes.
How had the entire Fourth Division turned upside down during his short nap?
What was happening?
Political Commissar Li was also dazed. Collecting himself, he raised a hand to calm the crowd.
"Alright, everyone, please settle down and listen to me."
"First, we deeply appreciate your support for the farm’s reconstruction, but purchasing shares is a big decision. We urge everyone to take a few days to think carefully…"
But no one was in the mood to think.
As if driven by defiance, the more Political Commissar Li advised caution, the more determined they became.
Meanwhile, the military families who had been hesitating rushed to the division headquarters as soon as they heard the news.
Mother Huo had just arrived at the residential compound when she saw a crowd hurrying toward the military district.
"What’s going on?"
Before she could finish her sentence, a familiar figure caught her eye.
She no longer cared about the others and hurried over—
