An Accidental Military Marriage

It was only after listening to her friend that An Hui finally understood what her son meant when he said he’d "taken care of a little something."

She was too angry to eat.

Fan Wenfang watched her mother-in-law and youngest brother-in-law with a peculiar expression.

’The number one slacker of the machinery factory’s family compound—cunning, lazy, gluttonous, and slippery—had actually managed to land a military officer. So this was the "Third Aunt" her daughter was always talking about?’

Lu Cheng hadn’t intended to hide the fact that Jiang Moli was made a negative example of by the sent-down youth program. He just wanted to wait until he was home to tell An Hui.

It wasn’t that he found Jiang Moli’s situation embarrassing and wanted to cover for her, but rather that he felt family matters shouldn’t be aired in front of outsiders.

Now that Qiao Jing had let the cat out of the bag, he decided to just come clean.

"Aunt Qiao, the female comrade you were talking about is the woman I’m about to marry, Jiang Moli."

The table fell silent.

Everyone put down their chopsticks and stared at Lu Cheng and his mother, An Hui, in disbelief.

An Hui managed a strained smile, one that looked more painful than crying. "What an embarrassment."

It was as if everyone thought you were hiding some priceless treasure and they were all waiting with bated breath to see it.

Then the veil was lifted, and—surprise!—it was nothing but a pile of stinky dog shit.

Wu Miaoyun and the other two women exchanged glances.

’Weren’t we told she was beautiful, smart, kind, and considerate—perfect in every way?’

’Does the Lu family have some kind of misunderstanding of what "smart, kind, and considerate" means?’

Of course, given their friendship with An Hui, they would never say what was on their minds.

"Oh, don’t worry about it. Young people are bound to be impulsive and make mistakes."

"There was a lot of fuss from all sorts when the policy to go to the countryside was announced."

"Let’s eat, let’s eat! The food really is excellent. Especially this sweet and sour fish—it’s so tangy and appetizing. I don’t even like fish, but I love this."

One after another, the three of them deftly changed the subject.

For the rest of the meal, not a single word was said about Jiang Moli.

But just because no one spoke of her didn’t mean they weren’t thinking about her.

After leaving the restaurant, Lu Cheng first took Wu Miaoyun and her two friends home, while An Hui rode on the back of Fan Wenfang’s bicycle.

"Mom, don’t be so angry. The wedding is set in stone. Let’s look on the bright side—at least Lu the Third has managed to find a wife. Maybe you and Dad will be holding a new grandchild by this time next year."

Fan Wenfang tried to comfort her as they rode.

An Hui had barely touched her food at lunch, a clear sign of how furious she was.

An Hui said, "If I had known he was marrying a creature like that, I would rather he remain a bachelor forever!"

’In her heart, Fan Wenfang agreed with An Hui.’

’If it were her, she would rather have no daughter-in-law at all than have one like Jiang Moli.’

But she still had to offer words of comfort. What else could she do? It wasn’t like they could call off the wedding, could they?

Halfway there, as they passed the military command headquarters, An Hui asked Fan Wenfang to let her off.

"What’s wrong? Weren’t you happy with the food tasting today? We can always switch to another restaurant. I hear the Red Apricot Restaurant is quite good."

Seeing his wife walk in with a thunderous expression, Lu Deyao immediately showed his concern.

An Hui swung her purse and chucked it at his face. "What terrible taste! Have all the women in the world dropped dead? Did he have to pick a creature like that?!"

Lu Deyao caught the purse, hung it on the coat rack, and then closed the office door before asking for the reason.

Lu Deyao was at a loss for words.

’How could his youngest son’s fiancée be such a troublemaker?’

After a great deal of effort coaxing An Hui to calm down and head home, Lu Deyao immediately summoned Jiang Xiaoguang.

"Get that little bastard to haul his ass in here, now!"

Jiang Xiaoguang blinked. "Sir, which little bastard, if you please?"

Lu Deyao shot him an annoyed glare. "Who do you think I mean? Besides Lu the Third, who else could it be?!"

"Yes, sir!"

Jiang Xiaoguang snapped to attention, turned, and bolted out of the office.

"You idiot grunt!"

After cursing at Jiang Xiaoguang’s retreating figure, Lu Deyao picked up his teacup for a drink, only to find it empty. He opened his mouth to call for Jiang Xiaoguang but remembered he had just sent him away. Grumbling, he had no choice but to get up and pour the water himself.

Lu Cheng arrived quickly.

"Couldn’t this have waited until I got home tonight? You really had to call me all the way over here? I’m busy."

Lu Cheng complained discontentedly the moment he walked in the door.

Lu Deyao started yelling, "Busy my ass! Lu the Third, I swear you’re getting more and more useless! You can’t even handle a simple little thing like this, and you want to get married? You might as well just be a bachelor for life!"

"You’re right to be angry. I was careless and didn’t think about the consequences."

Lu Cheng’s humble acceptance of criticism was a pleasant surprise for Lu Deyao.

Although Lu the Third was wild and rebellious, he was never sloppy when it came to serious business. He admitted his mistakes and reflected on them as needed.

He took a breath. "Keep your fiancée in line. If she makes your mother angry again, I’ll have your hide!"

Lu Cheng replied, "Right back at you. When I’m not around, you should keep an eye on Mom, too. Don’t let her bully my fiancée."

"You little punk, got a fiancée and already forgot your own mother, have you?"

"I just learned by your example since I was a kid. Dote on your wife, spoil your wife, listen to your wife."

Lu Deyao was so furious he could only glare. "Get out!"

...

After lunch, Jiang Moli was lying on her bed, feeling drowsy.

Jiang Qing pushed the door open, closed it behind her, and walked to the bedside.

"Moli."

"Spit it out."

"Do you want to know who reported our family for dodging the countryside assignment?"

Jiang Moli’s eyelids fluttered open. Her expression was unreadable. "Who else would it be? In this family, you’re the one who can’t stand to see me happy."

Jiang Qing scoffed. "Try using your brain for once. Dad spoils you rotten. If one of us had to go to the countryside, he’d definitely send me. Reporting you wouldn’t do me any good."

"Then what’s in it for you, coming all the way here to tell me this?"

Jiang Qing hadn’t expected Jiang Moli to have a moment of clarity and guess that she had an ulterior motive.

She didn’t bother to explain further. With Jiang Moli’s impulsive personality, she would surely not let Zhou Xiaoqing off easily.

Riled up by Jiang Qing, Jiang Moli was no longer sleepy. She got up and went to the outer room, planning to ask Jiang Peng to buy a watermelon to beat the heat, only to find that Jiang Dahai had already sent him out on an errand.

Li Hongying sat before the new sewing machine the Lu family had delivered, making a dress for her.

"Moli, just have a seat. It’s almost finished."

Li Hongying thought she had come out because she was eager to see the dress, and tried to reassure her.

Jiang Moli flipped the switch for the ceiling fan.

As the blades began to spin, a cool breeze washed over her, instantly easing her agitated mood.

Jiang Moli pulled up a chair and sat under the fan, watching Li Hongying work the sewing machine as her mind churned.

’She had no interest in starting a fight with a nobody like Zhou Xiaoqing, but if confronting Zhou Xiaoqing could earn her more Disgust Points, well, that was another matter entirely.’

’But Jiang Qing obviously didn’t have good intentions in telling her this.’

’Since Jiang Qing had made the first move, she couldn’t be blamed for retaliating.’

She had to admit, Li Hongying was incredibly skilled. She had managed to replicate the *mamian* skirt almost perfectly based on nothing but a simple sketch.

Jiang Moli was very pleased after trying it on, so she generously agreed when Li Hongying asked to use her sewing machine to make clothes for Jiang Qing’s trousseau.

...

That evening, Jiang Qing and Zhou Xiaoqing were heading back to the family compound together.

Even though her wedding date with Zhang Jia Ming was set, Jiang Qing still diligently went to the match factory every day to do odd jobs. Such a classic protagonist move.

Seeing Jiang Moli standing at the gate to the family compound like an imposing door god, Jiang Qing glanced at Zhou Xiaoqing beside her. Zhou Xiaoqing was lost in blissful thoughts about her matchmaking appointment the next day. An imperceptible, cold smile touched the corners of Jiang Qing’s lips.