An Accidental Military Marriage

Hearing Wu Meixia’s words piqued Lu Tingting’s interest. "How so?"

Song Ke, ever the fast talker, chimed in, "The only reason Jiang Moli can walk all over you is because she married your third uncle. You could marry one of her elders and walk all over her instead!"

It was like a switch flipped in Lu Tingting’s mind. "Of course! Why didn’t I think of that!"

The three of them huddled together, running through the list of Jiang Moli’s male relatives.

In the end, they discovered that the youngest male elder in Jiang Moli’s circle was her own father!

On the Jiang family’s side, Jiang Dahai was the youngest of three brothers, currently 39 years old.

On the Ruan Family’s side, Ruan Rou was also the youngest of her siblings, and Jiang Moli’s youngest maternal uncle was already 44!

"Well then, how about you marry Jiang Moli’s dad and become her stepmom?"

"Every time she sees you from then on, she’ll have to call you Mom."

Lu Tingting glared at her two friends, absolutely livid. "Are you two full of crap? I’m young, beautiful, and talented, and I come from a good family. Is there any man I can’t get? You want me to marry a 40-year-old man?!"

Seeing their classmates casting strange looks their way, Wu Meixia quickly shushed her. "Keep your voice down! We were just talking. It’s not like we’re actually telling you to marry him."

"Oh, right. Jiang Moli already has a stepmother. It’s not like you could marry him even if you wanted to. You can’t just go and be a homewrecker, can you?"

"AHHH!!!!"

Lu Tingting was so furious she shrieked.

...

When An Hui woke from her afternoon nap, she passed by Jiang Moli’s room. Seeing the door open, she glanced inside and found the room empty, the bed neatly made.

When she got to the living room, Ma Hongmei handed her a large bowl of warm tea. "Sister-in-law, I brewed some cooling tea. Have a drink."

An Hui took the tea, somewhat puzzled. "Why would you make cooling tea out of the blue? And where’s Xiao Jiang?"

Ma Hongmei looked at her and said hesitantly, "It’s to cool your temper, to keep you from getting worked up."

An Hui’s eyelid twitched. "In that case, don’t say anything yet. Let me drink this first."

That’s what she said, but the thought of what trouble Jiang Moli might have gotten into while she was napping made it impossible for her to take even a single sip of the tea.

"Forget it. Just tell me. What did she do now?"

Worried because Jiang Moli hadn’t come home for a while, Ma Hongmei had gone to the Chen family’s home to check on things.

Only when she got there did she find out that Jiang Moli hadn’t given the items to the Chen family as compensation at all—she had just picked them up and left with them.

After hearing about Jiang Moli’s "good deed," An Hui immediately called Lu Deyao’s office. "Lu Deyao, just look at this fine brother of yours! It’s like he can’t go one day without making me furious!"

Lu Deyao’s head was buzzing from the verbal assault. "What is it? Who’s made you angry now?"

"Who else but Lu the Third! What did I do in a past life to be cursed with such an infuriating person... I told her to take those things over as an apology, and what does she do? She goes over there and brings everything right back, untouched! Is that something a normal person does?"

"That’s truly outrageous. I’ll call that little brat right now and tell him to get his wife under control. Absolutely preposterous!"

Lu Deyao hung up and started to dial Lu Cheng’s number. He was halfway through when he remembered that Lu Cheng wasn’t on base at the moment—he was in Dian City, doing disaster relief work.

’I wonder how he’s doing.’

’They’re really a handful.’

...

At the landslide site, Lu Cheng and two soldiers strained to lift a massive boulder weighing hundreds of pounds, moving it to an area they had already searched.

It had rained several times, turning the site into a muddy swamp.

Including Lu Cheng, all the rescue soldiers were so caked in mud they were unrecognizable, like figures sculpted from clay.

Zhao Hongbing went from soldier to soldier, taking a long while before he finally found Lu Cheng, who had just set down the boulder.

"Camp Commander Lu! Another soldier has collapsed!"

Lu Cheng wiped his face, his eyes—the only part not caked in mud—glaring. "If he collapsed, then carry him down and have the medical team treat him immediately! What’s the use of telling me?!"

After snapping, Lu Cheng strode over to help a soldier who was hauling mud.

Zhao Hongbing followed behind him. "Camp Commander Lu, that’s three who have collapsed already! Please, give the order to rest for a bit. A lot of the men have been working nonstop for a day and a night. They’re at their breaking point!"

After helping the soldier with the mud regain his balance, Lu Cheng straightened up and surveyed the area.

Although the soldiers’ faces were caked in mud, hiding their exhaustion, their staggering footsteps showed that they had all but reached their physical limits.

’Disaster relief is urgent, but the lives of my soldiers are just as important.’

"Pass down the order! All personnel will rest for two hours!"

"Yes, sir!!"

Zhao Hongbing snapped to attention, turned, and shouted three times, his voice raw:

"Attention everyone, rest for two hours!"

As Zhao Hongbing’s shout echoed, the soldiers collapsed like marionettes with their strings cut, slumping to the ground and instantly falling asleep right where they lay.

The ground was wet and cold, but for these young soldiers pushed to the brink of exhaustion, just being able to lie down for a while was a blessing.

"Why have you all stopped digging? My grandson is still buried under there! You have to dig, quickly!"

Seeing the soldiers lie down, an old woman stumbled toward them from a short distance away.

Worried she might fall, Lu Cheng hurried over and supported her. "Ma’am, please don’t panic. We are absolutely going to rescue him."

"How can I not panic? My grandson is buried under there, waiting for you to save him! If you’re too late, he’ll die..."

"Ma’am, rest assured, we will get your family member out. But please, try to understand. Our soldiers have been working for a day and a night without rest. They need to recover their strength."

"But what about my grandson? Are you just going to abandon him?"

Fortunately, the old woman’s son and daughter-in-law were more reasonable and came forward to lead her away.

After all, everyone had witnessed it: since the troops arrived yesterday, they had been working on the rescue without a single break. Even an iron man would collapse under that strain.

But the old woman’s words made the young soldiers feel ashamed and guilty.

’Their mission was to save people, but before they had even gotten everyone out, they were the ones who had to lie down.’

"Camp Commander Lu, we don’t need to rest."

"That’s right! Let’s just grit our teeth and push through! We can rest after we get the people out!"

Lu Cheng turned to see that all the soldiers who had been lying down were now back on their feet.

Every one of their faces was coated in a thick layer of mud, their features unrecognizable, but their eyes were fixed on him, resolute and fearless.

They were only waiting for his command, ready to charge through hell and high water.

Lu Cheng’s sharp gaze swept over every face, and his hoarse voice was firm and resonant. "As soldiers, it is your sacred duty to protect the country and its people. As your commander, it is my duty to ensure the safety of every single one of you! Now listen to my command! All personnel, assemble in front of the haystack 100 meters to the southeast and rest as a unit!"

"Yes, sir!!"

Once the soldiers had formed ranks and were marching toward the haystack, Lu Cheng turned and ordered Zhao Hongbing to distribute the dry rations to every man. He then strode over to the assembled villagers and asked for their help in boiling two large buckets of water with a little salt added.

Drinking lightly salted water helps alleviate fatigue after intense physical labor.

The dry rations consisted of roasted flour, a powder made by roasting and grinding a mixture of wheat and soybeans.

The advantages of the roasted flour were that it didn’t spoil easily and was portable. Especially now, in the summer, a bag of it could last for ten to fifteen days without going bad.

The downside was that it didn’t taste good and was hard to swallow.

Fortunately, with the hot water from the villagers, the roasted flour could be mixed into a porridge, which greatly improved its texture and taste. At the very least, it no longer felt like it was choking them.

"If I could just have one bite of my wife’s scallion pancakes right now, I could die a happy man!"

A veteran squad leader sighed, prompting several other soldiers to tease him for daydreaming.

Lu Cheng watched the veteran soldiers laughing and joking, and an image of Jiang Moli’s face couldn’t help but surface in his mind.