As noon approached, Xiaoyun was standing on top of the training field’s stage, with rows upon rows of n in casual clothes in a disorganized formation.
On the side were booths where hundreds of logistics workers behind tables stacked with paper, alongside a soldier ard with guns.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you enjoyed your stay at the barracks last night... As promised, I’m here today to explain the offer."
Looking around, most of the n looked excited. It was almost as if the soldiers had told them beforehand what they were getting.
"On your right are the logistics staff. They are here to take your na and basic information for your ID.
After getting your ID, you will be offered the option to sign a military contract for six months or be honorably discharged.
Regardless of your choice, you’ll still be considered a citizen. You’ll still receive your pension if you choose not to renew and are allowed to leave."
Xiaoyun paused for a second, then continued.
"However, your firearm will be confiscated... If you want to keep your firearm, you’ll be required to leave Guangdong province.
For those who take this option, we already have a bus ready to drive you back to Hunan province, although I sincerely doubt any of you will take this option."
Looking around this ti, Xiaoyun could feel the excitent within the crowd begin to die down a little.
Still, none of them spoke up against it, which was exactly what he wanted as he continued with his speech.
"During the signing of the contract, we will perform a physical examination. If you pass, your military contract will be verified.
If you fail it, the military contract will be nullified. But you still can apply again in the future if the conditions change.
And rest assured, you’ll still receive your military pension based on the past military records we can gather."
The crowd looked mostly ta as none of them vocally voiced their complaints after he gave it a few seconds to process.
"Thank you for listening in. You may now proceed in a single file line. The workers at the booth will answer any question you might have."
As Xiaoyun stepped down, chaos soon appeared as the crowds of people imdiately began walking towards the booths.
The rowdiness within the crowd soon settled as hundreds of reserve soldiers quickly intervened to formalize the lines.
"Houqin, how many people do you think will take the option to renew?"
"Um... Half of them?" Houqin guessed.
"Only half? What makes you think that?" Xiaoyun curiously asked, as he imagined it to be over two-thirds of them at the very least.
"So of them look a little old. I don’t think they will be able to pass the age limit. And so of them look too skinny for the physical tests."
Xiaoyun slowly nodded his head as Houqin’s logic made sense the more he carefully examined the people in line.
"You can take care of the rest, Houqin. I’m going to head over to Yuqi to talk about the budget."
"Okay..."
As Xiaoyun disappeared into the distance, one of the workers in a booth suddenly got into a heated argunt with a person lining up.
"Sir, I told you, forty-five is too old to serve in the army."
"Bullshit! I can fight and have more experience than everyone in my unit. You can’t refuse to renew my contract."
"What’s going on here?"
Houqin quickly walked up to the lousy booth as it was starting to affect other booths’ ability to work.
"This man is past the age limit to join the army." The logistic worker argued as she showed Houqin a pre-outbreak ID.
"T-That id was soone else. I had just been using it since I lost mine. I’m only thirty-five years old."
As Houqin examined the bearded man in the picture against the ID, she could vaguely tell a hint of similarity with the facial structure.
"What’s your real na, your date of birth, and your last four digits of your old ID number? I’ll confirm it with my governnt computer back in the office."
The lousy n froze as he couldn’t answer for so weird reason, holding up the line as people behind him started to get a little impatient.
"I forgot the last four digits. I can’t rember sothing so far back since I lost it a long ti ago." The man argued.
"That’s fine. Just give a na and a birth date. I’ll search it up manually later."
"I... My na is—"
"Co on, brother Bin, everyone knows you’re way older than thirty-five. Stop holding up the line and just accept your retiree benefit."
As one of the n in the back yelled out loud, it soon beca apparent soone was lying as the old man turned around to look back at the line in anger.
"Mister, please give a birth date and na. Or else I’ll be forced to hold you in contempt for disrupting and lying to a governnt official."
The pressure soon made the old man back down in the end as he accepted the printed ID on the table and left the area.
"Thank you, Miss Houqin." The logistic worker quietly murmured, looking extrely thankful as she felt helpless earlier.
"No problem. Ahem! For those who have a fake or have lost their ID, we will double-check with our pre-outbreak governnt records later.
Reminder, it is a criminal offense to give out false information. We reserve the right to revoke your pension benefit and your citizenship."
As Houqin’s loud voice travels down the booths, all of the n lining up instantly get much quieter.
"Miss Houqin, when did we have that kind of—"
"Shush. Keep it to yourself." Houqin quickly interrupted, preventing a curious staff mber from speaking up.
After seeing the process going smoothly, Houqin didn’t intervene with the staff’s work as she sat down in a nearby seat.
---
"Yuqi, you here?"
Xiaoyun asked as he knocked on the door, standing right outside Yuqi’s office as he waited for a response.
"You can co in."
Opening the door, a woman and a man were standing before her desk, seemingly to be reporting sothing to her.
"You two can leave now," Yuqi ordered.
"Yes, sir."
As the two of them left the office, Xiaoyun didn’t question it as he took a seat right across from Yuqi’s desk.
"What are you here for?"
"Does my dear wife not want to see her husband?" Xiaoyun jokingly asked as his arm rested on the desk.
"We already saw each other during breakfast... What do you want?" Yuqi asked, not taking his bait in the slightest.
"Okay, fine... I need so money—"
"How much do you need?"
"You... You don’t want to know what I’m using it for?" Xiaoyun questioned, his face looking a little shocked by her cooperation.
"Whatever it is for, it’s probably very important... I’m not the one to question the governor’s spending."
As Yuqi gave him the answer, Xiaoyun still couldn’t believe how easygoing she seed to have beco after leaving for two days.
"You serious?"
The silent stare soon broke down as he quickly walked around the desk to give her a warm hug.
"Thank you so much!"
"Stop hugging . How much do you need exactly for what you’re trying to do?" Yuqi asked as she pushed him away.
"About ten million or so."
The mont Xiaoyun said his answer out loud, he could see her face flinch. But still, she didn’t get angry about it.
"Ten million is not that big of a deal. You sure that’s the number you need for what you’re trying to do?"
"This is the first ti I’ve heard you asking for increases. Are you the real Yuqi, or did a ghost take your body over?"
As Xiaoyun moved closer to examine her face, she quickly pushed him away before a hint of a frown appeared on her forehead.
"Stop joking around. I haven’t changed a single bit. Is ten million the number you needed for the army?"
"Yeah. Just ten million to re-establish a reserve army corp... Actually, it will also be great if you can allocate another ten million to renew—"
"Sign the paper yourself. Here, you can write whatever number you want to use and send it to the treasury."
Seeing Yuqi handing him an empty check, Xiaoyun couldn’t believe his ears. She didn’t put up any resistance to his demand at all.
"Do we have that much money?" Xiaoyun questioned as he quickly began to suspect sothing was off.
"Of course, we have enough money for it... Here, you can check our projected quarterly inco for December."
With a paper handed over, Xiaoyun started reading it. Soon, his eyes widened in disbelief as the number blew his mind.
"What the hell? What did I miss over the two days while I was gone? Where did all this money co from?"
Xiaoyun asked in complete shock as the paper showed the treasury projecting over 1 billion in budget surplus, after subtracting all governnt expenses.
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