An Accidental Military Marriage

The residents of the family housing compound were already up in arms about the Ruan Family moving in.

When Ruan Fuqiang invited some hooligans from his village into the compound, it was the last straw.

So, early one morning, Wang Lianhua rallied dozens of households from the compound and stormed the machinery factory, blocking the director’s office to demand an explanation.

By the time Jiang Dahai rushed to the factory director’s office, he was swarmed by Wang Lianhua and a group of women before he could even say a word.

"Mr. Jiang, we’ve never had any problems with your family. How could you do this to us?"

"This compound has been peaceful for years, but ever since your brother-in-law moved in, he’s been engaged in petty theft and all sorts of shady business, turning the place into a complete mess. You have to resolve this today!"

"The housing belongs to the state! It’s not your family’s private property to give away to whomever you please!"

"Plenty of workers at this factory are waiting for housing. If you’re just going to hog the space without using it, then you should give it up!"

Outside the office, a crowd of gawking employees had gathered, forming a thick circle around the door.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Mr. Jiang is in deep trouble this time. Using public housing for personal reasons is against the rules. The factory might even take his two rooms back."

"And it’s all his daughter’s fault. It was one thing for her to stir up trouble all the time, but this time she’s made such a huge mess that she’s about to lose her parents’ house. I wonder what he did in a past life to deserve such a troublemaker for a daughter."

Jiang Dahai was known for being kind and upstanding, so he was quite well-liked at the factory.

Because of this incident, most people sympathized with him. All the blame and resentment were directed at the "main culprit" of the whole affair, Jiang Moli.

[Disdain Value +2. 20,000 yuan credited to account.]

[Disdain Value +3. 30,000 yuan credited to account.]

Jiang Moli had been woken up by Ma Hongmei to answer the phone. Hearing the constant notifications that Disdain Value was being credited to her account, she wondered to herself, ’Who’s so dedicated that they’re sending me money this early in the morning?’

It all became clear when she answered the phone.

The call was from Jiang Peng. He told her about Wang Lianhua leading a group to besiege the machinery factory and demand an explanation.

"Mom, I’m heading out. I won’t be back for lunch."

"What is it? Did something happen?"

Normally, Jiang Moli slept until she woke up naturally.

But today, it was only 8:30 a.m., and she was rushing out the door after a phone call. Something was clearly wrong.

Jiang Moli briefly explained that the people from the housing compound had gone to the machinery factory to cause a scene.

Even for someone like An Hui, who had seen her fair share of turmoil, this didn’t seem like a trivial matter.

But seeing how casually Jiang Moli described it, as if it were nothing, An Hui couldn’t tell if her daughter-in-law was being reckless or if she already had a plan.

"I’ll go with you."

"There’s no need. If you come, people will just say we’re using our authority to bully them. Don’t worry, I can handle it."

After Jiang Moli left, An Hui, still worried, called Lu Deyao.

"Since Xiao Jiang says she can handle it, let’s let her try. It won’t be too late for us to step in if she fails."

Although Lu Deyao said that, he felt an inexplicable flicker of excitement.

After all, his daughter-in-law didn’t think like ordinary people; she was always full of surprises.

He couldn’t wait to see what she would pull this time.

...

After leaving the Military District Courtyard, Jiang Moli met up with Jiang Peng.

"Sis, this has really blown up. The factory isn’t actually going to take our house back, is it?"

Seeing Jiang Peng looking as if his world had ended, Jiang Moli said, "What are you so scared about? Didn’t I already find you a place to live?"

"That’s your house with your husband. I need my own place if I’m going to get married someday."

As Jiang Dahai’s only son, he was certain to inherit the house in the compound.

Jiang Moli laughed. "You’re still just a kid, and you’re already thinking about getting married?"

"I’ll be eighteen at the end of the year! In the countryside, guys my age already have kids."

It was true. In rural areas, it wasn’t uncommon for those who could afford it to get married at seventeen or eighteen.

Jiang Dahai himself had married at eighteen and had Jiang Moli when he was nineteen.

Jiang Moli offered a half-hearted reassurance. "Don’t worry, your big sister won’t let you end up single. How about I find you eight or ten wives? Would that be enough?"

"One is enough. I can’t afford any more than that."

’At least you know your limits.’

Jiang Moli and Jiang Peng first returned to the house in the military family compound.

Li Hongying was pacing anxiously at home. The moment she saw Jiang Moli, she breathed a sigh of relief.

At this point, the Jiang family had yet to realize that, without anyone noticing, Jiang Moli had become the family’s backbone.

"Moli, maybe we should listen to your father. Let’s just give the money back to your uncles and tell them to go home. If this keeps up, we might really lose the house."

Li Hongying wasn’t the only one who thought so; Jiang Dahai felt the same way.

You could always earn back lost money, but if the house was gone, they would be truly finished.

After making a solemn vow to the factory director that he would resolve the issue within one day, he had returned to the housing compound.

"Dad, Mom, Fu Qiang, I apologize on Moli’s behalf, but I really can’t arrange jobs for you. How about this? I’ll give back the money you returned. You don’t have to pay it back. Just take it as a small token from me, and we’ll let this whole thing drop, alright?"

"Dahai, don’t blame me," Ruan Fuqiang said. "Moli was the one who promised to arrange jobs for her cousins. We can earn our own money. Just have Moli come over and make good on her promise, and we’ll leave immediately."

Watching Jiang Dahai’s dejected figure walk away, Ruan Fuqiang spat triumphantly on the ground.

He had heard that the residents of the compound had been raising hell at the factory all morning.

As far as he was concerned, Jiang Dahai now had no choice but to go beg the Lu Family to arrange jobs for them.

Next door, Wang Lianhua locked her front and back doors with a grim expression before heading out.

"You should have seen it," she gossiped. "Mr. Jiang was groveling to his brother-in-law, trying to pay them off to get them to leave, but they refused! They won’t back down until Jiang gets them jobs."

"Heavens, are those Ruans completely shameless? Mr. Jiang has helped them so much over the years, and in return, he gets a pack of ungrateful wolves?"

"When you get down to it, it’s all that troublemaker Jiang Moli’s fault. She must’ve thought talk was cheap. Well, now it’s a mess that even money can’t fix."

As shameless as the Ruan Family was, the residents’ hatred for the "main culprit," Jiang Moli, was even more profound.

If any of them had a daughter like that, they’d have beaten her to death.

As the news spread, even employees from other factories caught wind of the story, and it became a constant topic of conversation during breaks.

[Disdain Value +1, +2, +3...]

...

Jiang Dahai returned to the house in the military family compound and told everyone how he had tried to negotiate with the Ruan Family by offering to return their money.

When he heard that Ruan Fuqiang had refused the money and was instead insisting that Jiang Moli get them jobs, Jiang Peng got so angry he wanted to round up some guys and go kick the Ruan Family out.

Jiang Moli grabbed Jiang Peng by the ear. "Could you try using that pig brain of yours for once?"

"OW, that hurts! My ear’s gonna fall off!"

Jiang Moli let go and kicked him back onto his stool. "Just sit there and behave."

Jiang Dahai glared at her. "What’s the point of taking it out on your brother? You’re the one who started all this."

’Exactly.’

Jiang Peng only dared to agree in his head; he didn’t dare say it out loud.

Otherwise, his ear really might fall off.

Jiang Moli was unconcerned. "I started this mess, so I’ll be the one to fix it."