Chapter 62 Punishment
A few days later, Sister Li knocked on Jiang Ning's door and told her to go to the camp now.
Sister-in-law Li went with Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning asked, "What are you going to the camp for?"
Sister-in-law Li said, "It's about the rumors that circulated that day."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
After several days of no news, she assumed the matter had simply been dropped.
As if she could read her mind, Sister-in-law Li said, "Actually, this matter was resolved a couple of days ago. My husband said that Brigade Commander Liang handled it personally, but there were two military dependents working on the mission, so we only managed to get everyone together today."
When Jiang Ning and Sister-in-law Li arrived at the brigade commander's office, there were already quite a few people standing there.
When Brigade Commander Liang saw Jiang Ning arrive, he quickly pulled up a chair and gestured for her to sit down.
Brigade Commander Liang's somewhat obsequious attitude towards Jiang Ning drew the attention of many people, who scanned them back and forth.
No one in the room sat down; Jiang Ning sat down and then stood up again.
Brigade Commander Liang noticed her embarrassment and gestured for everyone in the office to sit down.
Jiang Ning wasn't the type to chat with people, and among the people sitting in the office, she only knew Brigade Commander Liang, Regiment Commander Li, and Sister-in-law Li.
Everyone else was a stranger, but she remembered those women; they were the same ones who had gossiped about her in the classroom.
The women were sitting next to their husbands, all with their heads down and not saying a word.
They were terrified when Jiang Ning said she wanted to find the military leaders that day, but two days later everything was calm.
They thought Jiang Ning was just joking when she said she wanted to see the military leaders, but they were terrified when they learned today that the military leaders had summoned them.
When her husband returned home, he also flew into a rage without saying a word.
They used to gossip about each other in the village without any problem, but here they're being criticized and punished for saying a few words of gossip.
They didn't regret it, they just felt it was unfair, it was just gossip.
At first, they couldn't understand it either, but after seeing how Brigade Commander Liang treated Jiang Ning, they realized that she had a powerful backer, which was why they were dragged here to be criticized.
Without powerful backers, what is she anyway?
She's such a vixen; she even seduced the leaders in the military region.
Having this suspicion in their hearts, they became even more unwilling to accept it.
As for the other men in the room, some of them had just returned from a mission. They learned about this as soon as they got back to the camp. They were already exhausted after completing the mission, but instead of being praised, they were lectured.
Upon learning that it involved their own wives, their expressions darkened even further.
But after all, she's their own wife, and if she makes a mistake, they have to take responsibility.
They already knew the whole story, and everyone was very conscientious. Moreover, Jiang Ning's husband held a higher military rank than all of them, so without thinking, they stood up and saluted Jiang Ning.
One of them spoke up, "Because of the false rumors circulating in the family compound, we sincerely apologize to you."
If it was just a perfunctory apology, why did she report it to the military region leaders? An apology alone doesn't hit these people where it hurts.
Seeing that Jiang Ning didn't speak, the men immediately gave their wives a look.
At her husband's behest, they had no choice but to apologize, even if they didn't want to, since he had a leader backing him up.
"Girl, this was our fault. We shouldn't have spread rumors about you. We've been criticized and educated, and we've realized our mistakes. Please forgive us and don't be angry."
"Yes, we know we were wrong, and we promise we won't say bad things about you again. Please forgive us."
That tone sounded quite unwilling.
Jiang Ning pursed her lips. She apologized reluctantly today, but after this matter was over, she turned around and blamed others, and she is still surrounded by rumors and gossip.
Regardless of whether the other party was willing or not, they had already shown their attitude. Jiang Ning was grateful to Commander Liang for protecting her. She knew she should back down gracefully, but she was still quite unhappy.
Commander Liang seemed to see through her thoughts, coughed lightly, and immediately said, "Whether you forgive me or not, I said I would give you a satisfactory answer to this matter."
Jiang Ning understood the meaning behind his words and was surprised that he had seen through her thoughts. Indeed, the old fox was shrewd.
Jiang Ning looked at them coldly, "Rumors hurt people. Your casual remarks have greatly harmed me. You think you can just let it go with an apology? Impossible."
Jiang Ning's words caused the expressions of the women in front of her to change repeatedly.
Brigade Commander Liang put down the enamel mug in his hand. "Alright, the apology has been made, but whether others accept it is her business. Next, I will punish you."
"Sun Qiang, Kong Feng," Commander Liang said.
"arrive."
Brigade Commander Liang said, "You just returned from a mission. The punishment for you this time is that all your mission allowance will be deducted, plus a month's salary will be deducted."
"Yes, brigade commander."
"What?" The wives of the two men, whose names were called, turned pale when they heard about the deduction of allowances and wages.
That's a task allowance and salary, enough for their family to eat meat for a long time!
"Hua Bin, Zhang Yue," Brigade Commander Liang called out two more unfamiliar names.
"arrive."
Brigade Commander Liang said, "You were originally on the promotion candidate list this time, but due to the impact of this incident, I will remove your names. From now on, your conduct will be under my observation. If you perform well, you will be on the promotion list next year."
"Yes, brigade commander."
Brigade Commander Liang sized up the men's expressions. "Any objections to my punishment?"
Several men replied in loud voices, "Reporting to the brigade commander, no."
Jiang Ning was a little surprised; she thought that an apology would be the end of it.
I didn't expect there would be a punishment.
This punishment is neither light nor heavy for a man.
For men, a month's salary and task allowances are nothing, but for women with limited knowledge, a man's salary is their source of livelihood.
Moreover, Sister-in-law Li had told her about these women. The wives of the two men who were first named seemed to have not been in the family compound for long and did not have jobs.
As for the promotion of the other two, Brigade Commander Liang did not give a definitive answer. They are on the waiting list this year, so even if they are reported, they may not be promoted. However, if they perform well and make many contributions, they will definitely be promoted next year.
This is both punishment and a promise.
But things weren't so good for their wives. Their husbands were still company commanders, and they were only brought here temporarily because there were many vacancies in the family compound.
This year, their husbands have no hope of promotion, which means they will soon be kicked out of the family compound and sent back to the countryside.
Brigade Commander Liang straightened his expression. "Very good. This matter is meant to tell you that husband and wife are one, sharing both glory and loss. As soldiers and military dependents, your actions and conduct do not only represent yourselves as individuals!"
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