An Accidental Military Marriage

The crisp, sweet, and juicy watermelon dissolved in her mouth, and every pore in her body seemed to open up in comfort.

There’s nothing better than eating watermelon on a sweltering day.

Jiang Moli was like a contented kitten, her eyes crinkling with pleasure as she ate. "Mom, you have some too. This watermelon is so sweet."

An Hui snapped, "Just eat. And when you’re done, you can tell me exactly what you were up to today."

As she ate, Jiang Moli wondered why An Hui had gone out to buy a watermelon.

Before leaving that morning, she’d seen half a watermelon on the dining table. She had even specifically asked Ma Hongmei to put it in the fridge to chill so she could eat it when she got home.

After Jiang Moli left, some of the Lu Family’s relatives came to visit, and the watermelon was served to them.

Unaware that the watermelon was gone, Jiang Moli had thrown a fit demanding it, so An Hui had no choice but to go out and buy another one for her.

There was a commissary within the Military District Courtyard, just diagonally across from the Lu Family’s place, so it was conveniently close.

Still, for An Hui to go out in such sweltering heat to buy her a watermelon, she was certainly doing her part as a mother-in-law.

After finishing the watermelon.

Jiang Moli wiped her mouth and recounted the day’s events. "...That Director Zheng is a total snob. It’s one thing to refuse to get my eldest cousin a job at the factory, but he even told me to get lost! He showed me no respect at all."

An Hui had never been so speechless in her entire life.

She seriously wanted to take the knife they’d used for the watermelon, crack open her daughter-in-law’s skull, and see if it was filled with mush.

’And you have the nerve to say *he* didn’t show *you* any respect?’

’You’re a lazy, jobless freeloader with a hide thicker than a castle wall. What ’respect’ are you even talking about?’

Still, she breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as Jiang Moli wasn’t out causing major trouble, she had no other expectations.

Jiang Moli, on the other hand, was quite pleased.

’Going out in this heat was a pain, but it wasn’t for nothing. I earned over twenty Disdain Value points today! Converted to cash, that’s over two hundred thousand!’

You don’t meet someone as bizarre and shameless as her even once in a decade. The moment she left, Zheng Qiangdong turned around and told all the leaders and colleagues at the factory about her.

The story spread like wildfire, and her Disdain Value shot up accordingly.

That evening, when Lu Deyao came home from work, he learned about Jiang Moli’s "job placement" efforts for her relatives and remarked to An Hui:

"I was wrong before. Our daughter-in-law isn’t brainless—she’s got too many brains! They just don’t work like anyone else’s."

「The Jiang family.」

Jiang Dahai finally learned from Jiang Peng what Jiang Moli was really up to.

And it worried him sick.

He had thought his daughter was just stringing her relatives along, but he never imagined she was making complete fools of her own uncles.

He was afraid that this time, she would truly alienate all their relatives for good.

...

「The next day.」

Jiang Moli woke up naturally, just as she always did.

After getting up, the first thing she did was call the employee housing for the machinery factory.

Only after confirming that the Ruan brothers hadn’t shown up at her family’s home did she wash her face and get ready to head out.

’In my mind, once Ruan Fuguo figured out my scheme, he should have brought the other two uncles to Jiang Dahai to demand an explanation.’

「At the grain and oil station.」

"Moli, you’re finally here!"

Seeing Ruan Fuqiang and his family looking so cheerful, Jiang Moli smirked to herself.

’Ruan Fuguo is quite something. Not only did he keep quiet after being duped, but he also wanted to see his own brother fall into the same trap.’

’Still, this is a good thing for me. I can use this opportunity to rack up more Disdain Value.’

"Let’s go, Second Uncle, Second Aunt. We’re going into the grain and oil station to get Second Cousin his job."

"Alright, alright! Let’s go, let’s go!"

Jiang Moli led the way, with Ruan Fuqiang’s family following behind, strutting into the grain and oil station with immense self-importance.

The grain and oil station supplied grain and cooking oil to the public, so its doors were always open and didn’t restrict entry.

Jiang Moli went straight to the station director. "...So, Director, here’s the deal. My second cousin wants to work at your station as a grain supervisor. Please arrange it."

Wang Fugui was stunned.

Jiang Moli spoke with such entitlement, you’d think *she* was the director of the grain and oil station.

But he was a veteran official, after all, and tact was second nature to him.

After learning that Jiang Moli had neither a letter of introduction nor any relatives in government positions in town, his attitude remained courteous:

"I’m terribly sorry, but our grain and oil station currently has no vacancies. Perhaps you could try looking elsewhere."

"Director, is that big head of yours just for decoration? If there are no vacancies, can’t you figure out a way to create one? You have so many employees here. Just fire one of them, and there’ll be a spot for my second cousin, won’t there?"

In all his years as an official, Wang Fugui had never been so brazenly insulted to his face. He was so furious his face became a shifting kaleidoscope of colors.

The station employees standing nearby were also livid.

’Where did this lunatic crawl out from? Going on about firing this person and hiring that one, does she really think she’s some top official?’

The customers in the station also started pointing and whispering about Jiang Moli.

’Coming here to the grain and oil station to cause a scene? She must have a screw loose.’

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

Just as the Disdain Value notifications came in, Jiang Moli and the entire Ruan Fuqiang family were thrown out of the grain and oil station.

"Get out! If you dare to come cause trouble again, we’ll report you to the police and have you thrown in jail!"

Hearing that they were going to be reported to the police, Ruan Fuqiang’s family was terrified. They hurriedly pulled Jiang Moli away from the station, afraid they would actually get arrested.

"Moli, what happened? Didn’t you say everything was already arranged?"

Jiang Moli said indignantly, "This *was* the arrangement. Who knew that station director would be so ungrateful and refuse to listen to me!"

"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Second Cousin, I did my best. That’s that. I’m going home now."

And with that, Jiang Moli turned to leave.

Ruan Fuqiang hurriedly stopped her. "Wait, Moli, you’re just leaving like that?"

Jiang Moli: "You don’t have to buy me dinner."

Ruan Fuqiang was speechless with rage. ’Who said anything about buying you dinner?!’

"We had a deal! You said you’d get him a job at the grain and oil station. You have to arrange it!"

"I did. Second Uncle, you saw it yourself. They just wouldn’t listen to me."

Ruan Fuqiang said, "Call your father-in-law! He’s a high-ranking commander. Getting your cousin a job at the station would be a piece of cake for him, wouldn’t it?"

Jiang Moli said seriously, "My father-in-law doesn’t just casually help people get jobs. You have to meet his standards."

"What standards?" Ruan Fuqiang asked eagerly. "Tell us! We’ll do whatever it takes!"

"Bring glory to the nation, or die for the nation. The former is a bit hard, but the latter is pretty easy to accomplish."

"..."

...

"Sis, you’re really something else. Second Uncle and Second Aunt were so mad their faces were all twisted."

On the way back, Jiang Peng couldn’t stop praising Jiang Moli’s methods for "job placement."

Jiang Peng’s hatred for his second uncle, Ruan Fuqiang, wasn’t just because the man never paid back the money he borrowed. He also resented him for his indirect role in their mother’s death.

He was only six that year, and he’d been sick with a high fever. His mother, Ruan Rou, was about to carry him on her back to the clinic for medicine when his second uncle, Ruan Fuqiang, showed up to borrow money. He knelt before his mother, crying his eyes out, and basically forced her to lend him the money she had set aside for the medicine.

After Ruan Fuqiang left, his mother had to go out to borrow money from someone else. While she was out, she was hit by a motorcycle, suffering a head injury that left her in a coma.

The hospital said she needed an operation, but the family couldn’t afford it.

His father went to the three uncles for help pooling the money, but all three of them advised his father to give up, saying the surgery had less than a 10% chance of success.

And so, his mother died.

He had always believed that if Ruan Fuqiang hadn’t taken the money for his medicine, his mother would never have been hit by that motorcycle, and she would never have died.

"Still, Sis," Jiang Peng added, "you shouldn’t be so aggressive all the time. What if you really provoke someone and they decide to beat you up?"

Jiang Moli shot him a sharp glare. "You worry about yourself. My business is my business."

’Of course I know I’m infuriating and people want to punch me.’

’But if I don’t act like this, I won’t earn enough Disdain Value, and I’ll never become filthy rich.’

’Getting cussed out for a few hundred thousand, or working a 996 grind for three thousand a month in slave wages. If it were you, what would you choose?’

"Oh right, Sis, that thing you told me about a couple of days ago, I told Shi Yu and Zhang Lei about it."