An Accidental Military Marriage

The Lu family had an unwritten rule: during festivals and holidays, all the children and grandchildren had to gather at the old couple’s home for a meal.

By the time Jiang Moli returned, Fan Wenfang and Xu Xiuzhen had already arrived with their children.

There were five children in Lu Tingting’s generation.

Fan Wenfang had two daughters and one son; Xu Xiuzhen had one son and one daughter.

Aside from Lu Tingting, the other four were all minors.

When Jiang Moli walked through the door, Lu Haoyu and Lu Chaoyang were under the gazebo, using slingshots to shoot at the chili peppers planted at the base of the wall.

The two had clearly been at it for a while; several smashed chili peppers already lay in the vegetable patch.

’Wasting food meant a beating.’

So, when they saw Jiang Moli walk in, the two brothers guiltily put down their slingshots.

"Third Aunt."

Jiang Moli clasped her hands behind her back, adopting the stern air of an elder as she walked up to the two brothers.

’She didn’t know what kind of genes the Lu family had, but the two kids, one fifteen and the other fourteen, were already taller than her.’

"Haven’t your teachers taught you to be frugal? If these chili peppers knew you’d waste them like this, they’d probably wish they’d only ever flowered and never borne fruit."

"I’m confiscating your slingshots. In return, I won’t tell your grandparents."

Lu Deyao and An Hui were both strict. If they found out the boys were using vegetables for target practice, a sound beating would be unavoidable.

The two brothers obediently handed their slingshots to Jiang Moli. They even handed over the thumb-sized pebbles from their pockets, which they had specially collected from the riverbank to use as ammunition.

*[Disdain Value +1. 10,000 Yuan credited.]*

Lu Haoyu, having long been influenced by Lu Tingting’s words and actions, had contributed Disdain Value before.

Though Jiang Moli’s expression didn’t change when she heard the Disdain Value get credited, her mind was already scheming.

’She had always focused the mission on gossipy, loose-tongued women.’

’Turns out these young guys are a potential goldmine, too.’

’A junior high school has at least three to five hundred students, right?’

"Do you both go to the same school?"

"Do you have a lot of friends at school?"

Jiang Moli fished for information while fiddling with a slingshot.

Both slingshots were exquisitely made. One had a mulberry wood frame, the other willow wood, both polished to a glossy sheen and felt great in her hand.

’She’d never played with a slingshot as a kid. In her time, everyone played video games and used computers; traditional toys like slingshots had long been obsolete.’

"How do you use this?"

Seeing her interest in the slingshots, the two boys grew eager.

"Third Aunt, if we teach you how to use the slingshot, can you give them back to us?"

Although making a slingshot was easy, making one that felt just right wasn’t so simple.

"Sure."

Using a slingshot was pretty simple. Once she got the hang of it, it became more and more addictive.

After a few shots, Jiang Moli was no longer satisfied with shooting at nearby things in the yard and aimed at the jujube tree outside the wall.

The jujube tree’s flowering season had just ended, and it was covered in thumb-sized, green fruits.

The pebble shot through the dense canopy of the jujube tree.

CRASH!!

"Goddammit! Which son of a bitch did that?!"

Amidst the furious roar from across the way, Jiang Moli quickly shoved the slingshots back into the brothers’ hands. "Here, you can have your slingshots back. This has nothing to do with me."

Lu Haoyu and Lu Chaoyang: "..."

"Grandma, Third Aunt broke the neighbor’s window!"

Jiang Moli turned her head. Lu Nana and Lu Qianqian were pressed against the living room window, watching the three of them.

"..."

...

After returning home from making amends, An Hui couldn’t help but scold Jiang Moli. "How old are you, still playing with slingshots? It’s a good thing you only hit glass. What if you had hit a person?"

Jiang Moli turned to Lu Haoyu and Lu Chaoyang. "See? These are the consequences of playing with slingshots. You two are forbidden from playing with them from now on."

Lu Haoyu and Lu Chaoyang: "..."

’What does this have to do with us?’

’We’re not such terrible shots.’

Of course, the two only dared to grumble internally and wouldn’t say a word out loud.

Fan Wenfang and Xu Xiuzhen were equally speechless.

’As an elder, she can’t even clean up her own mess, and she has the nerve to lecture the kids?’

Just then, Lu Deyao entered.

When he heard that a slingshot had broken the neighbor’s window, he confiscated the "instrument of the crime" without another word.

’Oh well. Now there was no way to play with them at all.’

Lu Deyao took a folded piece of paper from his briefcase and handed it to Jiang Moli.

"Xiao Jiang, a telegram for you from our third son."

Jiang Moli took the paper and opened it.

"What did Lu Cheng say?"

Hearing An Hui’s question, Jiang Moli casually handed the telegram over.

"What does Xiao Cheng’s telegram say?"

Seeing An Hui staring at the telegram for a long moment without a word, Fan Wenfang and Xu Xiuzhen also leaned over curiously to look.

When they saw the contents of the telegram clearly, both of them were stunned.

Although it was only a few words, as women themselves, they could clearly sense the affection flowing between the lines.

It was less a telegram and more a letter from a husband to his wife.

An Hui returned the telegram to Jiang Moli. "You keep this. Lu Cheng was probably worried about you, so he had someone send a message."

Jiang Moli took the telegram and went back to her room.

She closed the door, fell back onto the bed, and unfolded the paper in her hand.

Moli, wishing you peace for the Dragon Boat Festival. Do not worry.

Just a few short words, yet it was as if the man was whispering gently in her ear with his deep, slightly hoarse voice.

A warmth spread from her ears to her cheeks.

After reading it over and over again, Jiang Moli tucked the paper into a book, then picked up the photo frame from her desk and poked the man’s face with her finger.

’You scoundrel, don’t think you can mess with my resolve.’

...

Lu Cheng’s telegram not only tugged at Jiang Moli’s heartstrings, but also left the two sisters-in-law, Fan Wenfang and Xu Xiuzhen, with complex feelings.

Xu Xiuzhen said, "Our brother-in-law has steered clear of women for so many years, I really thought he was one of those tough guys who just doesn’t get romance. Who would’ve thought? Even an iron tree can blossom."

Fan Wenfang added, "I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. We find all sorts of faults with our third sister-in-law, but in his eyes, she’s a real treasure."

Ma Hongmei also chimed in with a smile, "Xiao Cheng is a newlywed. It’s normal for him to be thinking about his wife."

Dinner was served shortly after, and Lu Tingting walked in right on time for the meal.

After coming in, she first greeted An Hui and Lu Deyao. But when it came to Jiang Moli, her voice became as quiet and indistinct as a mosquito’s buzzing, "Third..."

Jiang Moli turned her head to Fan Wenfang, who was serving a dish, and said, "Eldest Sister-in-law, when you have a moment, you should take our niece Tingting to see a doctor. Her speech is all mumbled; I’m afraid she might be sick."

"You’re the sick one! Grandma, she’s cursing me! Do something about her!"

Jiang Moli looked completely surprised. "Oh, so you *can* speak properly."

"Tingting, how many times have I told you? You must be polite to your elders."

An Hui had spoken, so Lu Tingting had no choice but to swallow her anger and properly call Jiang Moli "Third Aunt."

Dinner began.

Seven adults and four children crowded around the full table.

"It’s rare for everyone to be together for a holiday, why don’t we have a drink?" Jiang Moli suggested enthusiastically.

The moment they heard she wanted to drink, the whole family went on high alert.

The scene of her getting drunk at the wedding banquet was still vivid in their minds, and they were all terrified of a repeat.

Lu Deyao said, "It’s too hot. Drinking will just heat you up. Have a soda instead."

Ma Hongmei immediately stood up. "Xiao Jiang, I’ll go get one for you."

’Alright then.’ "Thank you, Auntie."

Lu Tingting pouted and glared fiercely at Jiang Moli.

’Her grandparents and grandaunt used to dote on her the most, but now they all fawned over the person she hated most: Jiang Moli.’

’She just couldn’t understand it.’

’Even if her third uncle was a lecher who’d been seduced by Jiang Moli’s vixen-like charms, why on earth were her grandparents treating Jiang Moli so well too?!’