An Accidental Military Marriage

"Moli, I didn’t call to argue with you."

The man’s voice on the line was low and magnetic, with a strange ability to put one’s heart at ease.

"I just want to know how you’re doing, and if anyone’s been bullying you or giving you a hard time."

"Something this big happened, and you didn’t even tell me."

"I feel like I’m picking up trash, scrounging for scraps of news about you from this person and that person."

Hearing the frustration and self-pity in his voice, Jiang Moli was secretly amused. "Oh, you must be quite busy then."

"I don’t like hearing news about you from other people, Moli. I want to hear it from you."

Jiang Moli asked, "What have you heard? And who told you?"

"Jiang Qing. She wrote a letter to Zhang Jia Ming, and he came to find me."

Besides Zhang Jia Ming, Qiao Wenjing had also come to him and said pretty much the same thing.

This was one of the reasons he was angry.

He, her husband, had been kept in the dark, while one outsider after another seemed to know more than he did.

’They’ve all got too much time on their hands,’ he thought, ’meddling in my family affairs instead of thinking about how to improve themselves.’

Jiang Moli wasn’t the least bit surprised to hear that Jiang Qing was the one who had snitched.

She’d guessed it was her.

Then again, she supposed she should thank Jiang Qing for spreading the word for her.

’Once everyone in the army knows my name and my "evil deeds," won’t I earn another wave of disdain points?’

’Seriously. Before I leave, I’ll have to send Jiang Qing a "Good Samaritan" banner.’

"If it came from Jiang Qing, it’s probably more or less true. So, yeah."

Hearing the light, completely unbothered tone in her voice, Lu Cheng was both surprised and secretly proud.

’As expected of my wife—unflustered and composed no matter what happens.’

’I really have good taste.’

After Jiang Moli promised that she would tell him about family matters herself from now on, and that he wouldn’t have to hear about them from others again, Lu Cheng was finally satisfied. He was now in the mood to chat with her about everyday things.

"Are your dad and Aunt Ying doing okay? What’s Xiao Peng been busy with lately?"

Jiang Moli glanced at Lu Deyao and An Hui sitting across from her and replied, "Dad and Mom are doing great. They’re eating well and sleeping soundly, no backaches or sore legs."

Lu Deyao secretly nudged his wife with his elbow. "See? The little rascal still cares about us."

An Hui shot him a look and didn’t say anything, but her relaxed expression showed she was in an excellent mood.

Lu Cheng was sharp and perceptive; how could he not guess that Jiang Moli was fulfilling his filial duties for him, trying to make the old couple happy?

His eyes grew warm.

Suddenly, he understood his parents’ persistent efforts over the years to get him married.

A man’s ambition is to roam the world, but once he has a family, he has something to care for, something to cherish, he has roots.

When he spoke again, his voice carried a tenderness even he didn’t notice. "When you have time to go back to your parents’ place, have Xiao Peng give me a call. I have something to tell him. Okay, put Mom on the phone. I’ll chat with her for a bit."

"Okay."

An Hui took the phone.

"Mom, how’s your back? I only just found out today that you were injured. That’s my fault."

Her son’s concern made An Hui’s eyes well up, but she feigned a scolding tone. "It was nothing serious. I just tweaked it by accident. It’s been fully healed for a while now."

After finishing the call with her son, An Hui looked toward the windowsill, where Jiang Moli was bent over, watering the plants. Her gaze softened without her realizing it.

Her third son had been rebellious since he was a child, only ever knowing how to make her angry. Now that he had a wife, he was finally showing some concern for his old mother.

...

After dinner, Jiang Moli went back to her parents’ house.

It wasn’t that she was in a hurry to pass on the message to Jiang Peng, but rather to bring some vegetables for Jiang Dahai.

The peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and tomatoes in the Lu family’s yard were growing exceptionally well. Since they couldn’t eat them all anyway, she might as well take some to her parents’ home. It was better to save money on vegetables and buy meat instead.

The two families now lived just a street apart, a ten-minute walk.

When she arrived, the Jiang family was still eating dinner.

The moment he heard Lu Cheng was looking for him, Jiang Peng stopped eating, dropped his bowl, and headed out the door.

He found a public phone and called Lu Cheng.

"Brother-in-law, it’s Xiao Peng! My sister said you were looking for me?"

"I’ve already taken care of things on your end. You should receive your enlistment notice around the middle of the month. Get ready."

"Thanks, Brother-in-law! Oh, right, I’ve prepared some local specialties for you."

"Don’t bother with all that fake politeness. I don’t go in for that sort of thing."

"It was my sister’s idea."

Lu Cheng paused. "Your sister told you to bring me something?"

"My sister told me to stick close to you, follow your lead, and try to earn a commendation as soon as I can."

Lu Cheng normally despised sycophants, but it was a different story when it came from his wife.

His wife telling her younger brother to follow him was a sign of her trust and reliance on him.

He’d scoff at anyone else trying to curry favor, but he couldn’t get enough of it from his wife!

The corners of Lu Cheng’s mouth curled up uncontrollably. "Alright then. Bring them if you want."

"Okay, Brother-in-law! I’ll be there, hehe!"

Jiang Peng returned home, elated. Jiang Dahai and Li Hongying had already finished eating.

Jiang Dahai and Jiang Moli were sitting on the lounge sofa eating watermelon, while Li Hongying was in the kitchen washing dishes.

Jiang Peng’s unfinished bowl and the serving dishes were still on the dining table, clearly left for him to finish when he got back.

But Jiang Peng couldn’t be bothered with cold food. "Sis, Dad, Brother-in-law said he’s arranged everything! I’m going to his unit!"

Hearing this, Jiang Dahai quickly pulled him aside to question him. Once he confirmed that his son would be serving as a soldier under his son-in-law, he was completely at ease.

Although his son-in-law had said before that he would get his son transferred to his side, he hadn’t heard anything for so long that he hadn’t dared to get his hopes up.

He figured it might be a difficult thing to arrange, so he’d decided to let it go and not cause his son-in-law any more trouble.

After his daughter got married, his only remaining worry was his son, Jiang Peng.

With his son-in-law looking out for him in the future, he had nothing left to worry about.

...

The bright, brilliant sunlight spilled across the training ground, casting a golden sheen on the sweat-drenched faces of the soldiers.

The bugle call to end the drills sounded. Morning training was over.

"Everyone, dismissed!"

As they watched Camp Commander Lu’s tall, sturdy back recede into the distance, a group of his subordinates exchanged bewildered glances.

"What’s going on? He looked absolutely thunderous yesterday, but there was no extra drill this morning?"

"Maybe he’s cooled off. Camp Commander Lu seems to be in a pretty good mood."

"What do you mean, good mood? Zhang Jia Ming from our company got punished."

The one who spoke was Sun Jianhua, the commander of Zhang Jia Ming’s company.

Sun Jianhua didn’t know the real reason for Zhang Jia Ming’s punishment either.

Furious though he was, Lu Cheng had still saved Zhang Jia Ming some face and hadn’t announced the specific reason for the punishment.

Thus, everyone unanimously concluded that Zhang Jia Ming had borne the brunt of Camp Commander Lu’s anger on behalf of the entire camp.

Feeling a surge of sympathy, they all rushed over to console Zhang Jia Ming.

...

The flame of the kerosene lamp flickered gently, casting the crooked shadows of the Zhang Family on the mud-brick walls.

"Dad, Mom, the teacher asked for the registration fee again today."

Hearing her second daughter’s words, Jin Yulan’s face soured. "Studying those worthless books costs this and that. You think money is so easy to earn? There’s no money!"

Zhang Ermei’s eyes reddened from the scolding. "If I don’t pay, I can’t take the middle school entrance exam."

"If you can’t take it, then don’t! You’re just going to get married anyway. What fucking good is so much schooling?"

Though Jin Yulan was scolding her second daughter, her eyes were slanted toward Jiang Qing.

The indirect insults were painfully obvious.

Amidst Zhang Ermei’s quiet sobs, Jiang Qing suddenly spoke—