First of all , the Congress every year has added a half percent to whatever recommendation the president and I have made for increased military pay. And, you know, over time, that adds up to real money.

Could you explain "real money"?

My comments:

Here, "real money" is a colloquialism that means "a lot of money".

From context, we infer that Congress has been increasing or trying to increase military pay over the years. A half percent increase this time, when considered alone, may not sound like much, but several such increases have been made over the years. Several such increases in a row, one on top another and when considered together, add up to a large amount.

In other words, it's serious money. It's for real.

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Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（张欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.