An Accidental Military Marriage

After receiving Lu Tingting’s tattletale call, Lu Deyao immediately called the command post back and got the full story from Zhong Weiguo.

After morning exercises, Lu Cheng returned to his dorm to get his meal box.

On the way, he ran into an orderly sent by Zhong Weiguo. "Camp Commander Lu, Political Commissar Lu wants you to take a call."

"Got it."

When Zhong Weiguo saw the orderly return to the office alone, he was puzzled. "Didn’t I tell you to pass a message to Camp Commander Lu? Where is he?"

"Camp Commander Lu went to the cafeteria to get food."

Zhong Weiguo was speechless.

’This is a battle between father and son,’ he thought. ’Why should an outsider like me get involved?’

So, he gave Lu Deyao a brief explanation and hung up.

On the other end of the line, Lu Deyao was so angry he started swearing.

...

After getting his breakfast, Lu Cheng went to the guest house to eat with Jiang Moli.

Breakfast today was cornmeal mush, boiled sweet potatoes, and salted fermented black beans.

Jiang Moli had eaten two mung bean cakes earlier, so she didn’t have much of an appetite. She listlessly sipped her cornmeal mush.

Lu Cheng, however, ate with gusto, alternating between bites of sweet potato and salted fermented black beans.

He watched her fair face as he ate, feeling like he could never get enough of the sight. "You’ve rested enough. Do you want to go out for a walk?"

Jiang Moli swallowed a spoonful of mush. "Into the mountains?"

"Yes, it’s mushroom-picking season. If you’d like to go, I’ll head back and make arrangements. You can go into the mountains with Sister Wenjuan and the others. The weather is perfect for it today, too."

"Is it dangerous?"

She had definitely heard wolves howling the last couple of nights.

She had no desire to become a free meal delivery for wolves and tigers.

"A medic and some soldiers will accompany you. You’ll also be taking an old, established route, so there’s basically no danger."

’If there were any real danger, he wouldn’t have let her go in the first place, so there was no need for her to worry.’

"Say, isn’t this considered an abuse of power for personal reasons?"

Lu Cheng looked at her. "Afraid I’ll get in trouble? Are you worried about me?"

Before Jiang Moli could answer, he reached out and fondly ruffled her hair, the very picture of an older man doting on his younger partner.

"We live off the land here, and the army is no different. Every year, we regularly go into the mountains to gather mushrooms and medicinal herbs to trade in the city for supplies the soldiers need."

That set Jiang Moli’s mind at ease.

Back at the camp, after arranging the details for the mushroom picking, Lu Cheng finally went to his office to call Lu Deyao back.

Lu Deyao didn’t beat around the bush. He chewed Lu Cheng out and then ordered him to send Jiang Moli home as soon as possible.

When Lu Deyao first got the call from his granddaughter, he had been genuinely frightened.

After learning from Zhong Weiguo that things weren’t as serious as his granddaughter claimed, he was still shaken.

’That wife of my third son is a real troublemaker!’

’I’d better get her sent home right away.’

Lu Cheng, however, refused to send Jiang Moli back early. "Moli and I were only just reunited. We haven’t even had two full days together, and you’re already trying to tear us apart. Are you even my father?"

Lu Deyao’s voice thundered over the line. "You think I want your wife back here to piss off me and your mother? I’m doing this for your own good, you little brat!"

"I told you not to marry her, but you wouldn’t listen! You were dead set on it, and now look what’s happened! You’re suffering the consequences! This is what happens when you don’t listen to your elders. You deserve it!"

Lu Cheng snorted. "Suffering? I’m perfectly happy with the ’consequences.’ You can keep your ’I told you so’s’."

"You son of a bitch! You get your ass back here! Just you wait and see how I deal with you!"

"If you’ve got the guts, try stuffing me back into Mom’s womb!"

And with that, he hung up.

Lu Deyao was so furious he leaped out of his chair and began tearing at his hair in impotent rage.

But when he saw the strands of hair that came out in his hand, he yelped and quickly patted his head.

’Can’t do that,’ he thought. ’If I go bald, my wife will start complaining.’

...

At the entrance to the camp.

Lu Cheng carefully used thin hemp ropes to tie Jiang Moli’s sleeves and trouser cuffs shut, preventing any poisonous insects from getting in once she was in the mountains.

The other military dependents standing around watched Jiang Moli with a mixture of envy, jealousy, and disdain.

"She needs a man to help her tie her own sleeves. So coddled. She shouldn’t even be going into the mountains, she’ll just slow us all down."

"I know, right?"

Of course, the women didn’t dare say this to Lu Cheng’s face, only muttering it amongst themselves.

*[Disdain Value +7. 70,000 Yuan credited to your account.]*

Not far away,

Jiang Qing, Lu Tingting, and Qiao Wenjing were helping each other tie their sleeves.

All the while, they were staring daggers at Jiang Moli.

When Qiao Wenjing saw Lu Cheng actually kneel in front of Jiang Moli to carefully tie her trouser cuffs, her eyes went red with jealousy.

’The man she yearned for but could never have was humbling himself before another woman!’

Lu Tingting was even more incensed. She stormed over to Jiang Moli. "Don’t you have your own hands? Why do you need my Third Uncle to do everything for you? Who are you trying to fool with this frail little act?"

Jiang Moli smiled sweetly. "If you can’t stand the sight of me, you could always just drop dead."

Lu Tingting’s face twisted in fury.

She shot a glare at Lu Cheng, who was still focused on securing Jiang Moli’s trouser cuffs, then stomped back to Jiang Qing and Qiao Wenjing, fuming.

Lu Cheng stood up, his dark eyes landing on Jiang Moli’s lovely, fair face.

"Tingting is inexperienced. Once you’re in the mountains, please look after her a little."

Jiang Moli nodded. "Okay."

Ten minutes later, a mushroom-picking party of ten soldiers and forty military dependents set off for the mountains in a large contingent.

Lu Cheng stood at the camp entrance, his gaze locked on the familiar, petite figure in the crowd. His stern face held the faint, reluctant worry of a father watching his daughter leave.

’I really wish I could go with her,’ he thought.

...

As they ventured deeper into the forest, the trees grew taller and the woods denser.

The ground, starved of sunlight, was damp and smelled of decay. The air was noticeably several degrees colder than it had been outside the forest.

However, dressed in long sleeves and trousers and constantly on the move, no one felt the chill.

Before long, the group arrived at the first mushroom-gathering location.

It was a V-shaped ravine.

The accompanying soldiers split into two teams to scout the area and check for any potential dangers.

The dependents, meanwhile, began dividing into groups and assigning areas to ensure maximum picking efficiency.

They needed to finish gathering at three different spots before 4:00 PM and then head back to the camp along the same route.

The groups were formed quickly, leaving out only Jiang Moli, Jiang Qing, and Lu Tingting.

The other women had all been on these trips several times. They knew each other and had established a rhythm, and they clearly didn’t want to be slowed down by three novices.

Jiang Moli grinned. "Looks like it’s the three of us, then."

Lu Tingting shot up in protest. "Don’t even think about it! I would rather die than be in a group with you!"

"Oh? Then go right ahead."

Lu Tingting looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.

Jiang Qing was equally unwilling to team up with Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting.

She had come to pick mushrooms to earn money and pay off her debts.

It was obvious that Lu Tingting and Jiang Moli would be of no help; they would only slow her down.

Jiang Qing walked over to Feng Meihua. "Sister Feng, can I join your group? I promise I won’t hold you back."

"Alright. Stick with me."

"Okay."

Seeing this, Lu Tingting copied her, running up to Feng Meihua. "Sister Feng..."

"Oh, Tingting, I’m sorry," Feng Meihua said with an apologetic smile, though her rejection was firm. "Our group is already full. Why don’t you ask one of the other groups?"

"Our group is full, too."

"Same here."

Seeing that everyone was rejecting her, Lu Tingting pouted furiously. "You’re all looking down on me, aren’t you?"

Jiang Moli said lazily, "Isn’t it obvious? There, there. Your Third Aunt doesn’t look down on you. You can stick with me."

Just as Lu Tingting was hesitating—after all, no one else wanted her, so should she really team up with Jiang Moli?—a clear, pleasant voice called out.

"Tingting, you can join our group."