"Can we talk?"
"About the arrangements for handling military discharges."
The host followed up at exactly the right moment, and Catherine began discussing the matters Lin Qi had instructed her to address.
"We've taken into consideration that serving in the military is, in reality, a job—a dangerous job undertaken to protect National Security."
"So during this period, when I and some members of Congress discussed this issue, we felt that they had already given a great deal for us."
"We can't simply dismiss them like this. That would be an injury."
"We discussed whether there was any way to properly resolve the current situation while allowing the overall policy to be implemented."
"At the same time, we need to take the soldiers' feelings into account."
"After several discussions, we eventually reached a consensus."
"That is, to directly convert years of military service into years of employment—and to convert them at an increased rate."
"For example, if a field officer served twenty years in the military, then after losing his current job, he might be assigned to a company."
"When his salary was calculated, it would consist of his base salary, an employment seniority allowance equivalent to roughly thirty years of service, and other subsidies."
"The income from that seniority allowance alone would be equivalent to an ordinary worker's monthly income."
"Of course, this is only an example of mine. How exactly the conversion will be carried out and how much will be converted still requires further discussion."
"But the general policy has already been decided. It will not change."
The host listened very attentively, or at least appeared to.
"Wouldn't this be somewhat unfair to the young people who have just joined the military?"
"You know, many of them may have only just enlisted or served for two or three