"Isn't this a bad idea? After all, everyone bought so many things for themselves?"

"Precisely because it's not good, we can't afford to let anyone find any fault with it. Before I came here, people in the military compound were already saying that you guys were doing a private deal."

"How...how could this be? In other words..."

"Everyone knows what's going on, but some people will still be envious, won't they?"

"So? How was it ultimately resolved?"

"Mom said that someone from higher up came down to investigate. Political Commissar Ma produced the list of donations made after your parents' sacrifice, and also gave them the thank-you letter you sent back, along with the details. After verifying everything, they let it go."

Who is this person?

Wang Xiue

"Oh, it's her."

"What, aren't you surprised!"

"Nothing's surprising. She's brainless; it's definitely not her fault."

"That's right, it's someone she's on good terms with, someone she knows, it's Ruan Yuanyuan's mother, Cao Xiaoyan."

"Ah, it's her!"

"Yes, it wasn't until Wang Xiue was beaten by her husband and went to argue with Cao Xiaoyan that everyone found out that she had been instigated by Cao Xiaoyan to report him on a whim."

"How did the military leadership handle that?"

"The leaders didn't come up with any specific plan for the women in the family compound, but they did re-evaluate Cao Xiaoyan's husband, Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang. Before I came, Dad told me that next year would be a turning point for him. If he could advance, he could stay in the army; if not, he would have to retire."

"I remember he was one of Uncle Liu's soldiers. Uncle Liu and Dad had a good relationship. How did he do it?"

"Since the incident, Uncle Liu hasn't assigned him any more tasks, saying he should take care of his family matters first."

"Is there anything else going on at his home?"

"Both he and Cao Xiaoyan were remarried and each had children from previous marriages. Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang already had three children: two sons and a daughter. His sons were in the army, and his daughter was still in school. Cao Xiaoyan also had a daughter, who was the same age as her. The two of them couldn't stand each other and argued about this or that every day. In addition, Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang doted on his own children and didn't care about the children his wife brought with her. That's why they were always in such a mess."

"I see, then I know what to do." He opened the sack, took out the cloth bags inside, found several large ones, and began emptying everything out and repackaging. This time, instead of giving each household a bag, they divided the contents into individual bags: one bag contained 30 jin of dates, 30 jin of dried persimmons, 30 jin of wood ear mushrooms, and 30 jin of fresh mushrooms. Seeing that the two sacks weren't full, they added 10 jin of pine nuts and hazelnuts to each. There was a lot of it; a handful would be enough for everyone.

While pretending, she said, "Brother, when we get to the military region, don't tell the commander directly that you ordered it to be done this way. Just say that your sister really didn't have enough oil paper, so she packed some here. Please ask him to help distribute the persimmons, dates, pine nuts, and hazelnuts to the younger brothers and sisters in the military region so they can have some sweets too. As for the wood ear mushrooms and mushrooms, please give them to the soldiers as an extra meal."

"Okay, I got it."

"After the New Year and spring, I'll send a copy to the military hospital too. I refuse to believe that someone who ate my sister's food would dare to curse me. By then, not only will I be able to curse her, but everyone else's spittle will drown her."

"You!"

"Brother, don't scold your sister like that. Just send the package like that. But Aunt Zhou will have to apologize to each of the families later. They wouldn't have had to put up with this if it weren't for me."

“That’s easy to do, Mom doesn’t need to go. I have a month’s leave this time. I won’t be back in the unit for a few days. I’ll go and apologize to each and every household on your behalf then.”

"That's fine then, thank you for your trouble, brother."

"What's the trouble?"

"How about this, brother, I'll prepare some salted fish for you to take with you when you visit."

"So many salted fish you brought!"

Do you remember the fishing nets we used to use?

"I remember, when we were little we often went fishing with nets and secretly grilled the fish outside to eat."

“My sister uses this net. There are many puddles in this area. She sets it down every night and retrieves it the next morning when she goes for a run.”

"Be more careful next time."

Don't worry.

"Brother, how many salted fish do you think we should bring them?"

"How big is a salted fish? How many do you have?"

"They come in all sizes, from half a pound to a pound, from a pound and a half to a pound... the largest is five pounds, but those are rare."

How much is in one pound?

There are probably a hundred or eighty of them.

"Then bring a pound of them, two per family will suffice."

"Isn't it too small?"

"No, a small gift is never a bad thing. Besides, it's not good to give too much; people might start to have second thoughts."

"Alright, then let's go to the cellar and get the salted fish."

"Why don't you go, bro?"

"No need, big brother. I know where I put things. Besides, if I mess it up, I'll have to clean it up, and most importantly, it'll be a hassle to find other things later."

Okay! Be careful.

Don't worry.

Going to the cellar was just an excuse; the salted fish wasn't actually stored in the cellar, but rather in the spatial dimension.

Before long, he returned to the house carrying a bag. Shen Dong, seeing that it was indeed quite a lot, said, "Brother, let's carry it together, hurry up!"

"Big brother just thought about it and felt that it would be better not to carry them. Just take them back like this and give two to each household. As for the rest, no matter how many there are, just take them to the canteen and give them to the soldiers in the mess hall so they can make them as an extra meal for the soldiers. Otherwise, if someone sees this, who knows what kind of trouble it will cause?"

"So, even if I take everything, will you still have enough to eat?"

"That's enough, I still have plenty. I'll bring you two five-pound portions to take back for Aunt Zhou and Uncle Shen. I'll also give you two pieces of frozen cured pork, cured chicken, and cured rabbit, and then I'll pack you a few bottles of mushroom meat sauce."

"You don't need so much, keep it for yourself."

"And another thing, big brother, don't worry! Your little sister has plenty to eat and wear here. As long as she's diligent, she can earn about a hundred yuan a month on the side."

"What kind of extra money? You can't go to the black market, you know?"

"Don't worry, brother. Not to mention that your sister receives a subsidy of 50 yuan every month, the sideline business of the production team is a business with no capital. Although the price of herbs collected by the brigade is not high, it can withstand the large quantity, and I know more than others."

Not only does the production brigade collect them, but the county pharmaceutical factory also has a dedicated purchasing station for medicinal herbs. Didn't I mention that in the letter last time?

"Really? I didn't know that, I'm just curious, do all the members of the production team receive this much?"

"How is that possible?"

Tell me in detail.