An Accidental Military Marriage

Qiao Wenjing also walked over to Lu Tingting’s side, tilting her head to look up.

When she saw what was hidden in the crown of the tree, she quickly gave Lu Tingting a push.

Lu Tingting was smart enough to immediately run to the cluster of trees and wrap her arms around a banana tree trunk thicker than a grown man’s thigh.

"I found the bananas first! They’re mine!"

Qiao Wenjing glanced at Jiang Moli, a malicious smile on her face. "According to the rules, whatever you find in the mountains belongs to whoever touches it first."

Jiang Moli said, "I saw it first. Are you trying to take it by force?"

Lu Tingting hugged the banana tree trunk tightly. "My hand touched the banana tree first, so the bananas belong to me!"

Hearing the commotion, the other family members gathered around to see what was happening.

When they saw the large bunch of plump, golden wild bananas, their eyes filled with envy and longing.

There were plenty of wild fruits in the mountains, but most of them were sour and tart.

Wild bananas were considered the tastiest of the wild fruits.

They were sweet, soft, and tender—just thinking about them was enough to make one’s mouth water.

The bananas were awarded to Lu Tingting.

"But I clearly saw them first!"

Seeing Jiang Moli’s frustrated and sullen expression, Lu Tingting was overjoyed.

Making Jiang Moli suffer was undoubtedly more satisfying to her than getting such a large bunch of bananas for free.

She wished Jiang Moli would just drop dead from anger.

With a soldier’s help, the bananas were picked.

The bananas were in near-perfect condition. There were a full ten hands, each with more than ten fruits.

Every single banana was plump, round, and an alluring golden color.

With everyone’s help, the bananas were broken into single fruits—a total of 106 of them!

Lu Tingting couldn’t possibly carry so many bananas back by herself.

Jiang Moli suggested, "Why don’t you give me half? We can split them."

Lu Tingting rejected her without a second thought. "In your dreams! I’d rather feed them to a dog than give you any!"

After speaking, she turned to Qiao Wenjing and Jiang Qing. "Here, you two have some. Take as many as you want."

Qiao Wenjing and Jiang Qing: "..."

’Do we look like dogs?’

When they didn’t take any, Lu Tingting insisted, stuffing a banana into each of their hands.

The bananas were perfectly ripe. Their peels had a soft, powdery texture and gave off a sweet, tantalizing, caramel-like fragrance.

Qiao Wenjing and Jiang Qing ate them anyway.

Lu Tingting then handed out bananas one by one to the other family members and soldiers.

In the end, only Jiang Moli was left without one.

Lu Tingting picked a thick, large banana, peeled it, and walked over to Jiang Moli. She dangled it in front of her as if teasing a puppy.

"I’m not giving you any. You can just starve for it..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Jiang Moli craned her neck forward, opened her mouth, and bit off half the banana.

While chewing, she grinned at the stunned Lu Tingting, who was still staring at the half-eaten banana. "Such a good girl, knowing to peel it for your Third Aunt before feeding it to me."

Lu Tingting’s eyes blazed with fury. "Jiang Moli, have you no shame? Stealing someone else’s food!"

"The word ’shameless’ sounds so crass, but in philosophy, it’s called ’selflessness’—a very high state of being that most people can’t achieve."

Furious, Lu Tingting crushed the remaining half of the banana into a pulp!

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone shouldered their baskets and continued gathering mushrooms.

Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting each found a tree to lean against for a noon nap.

Lu Tingting’s basket was already stuffed to the brim with bananas, so even if she found mushrooms, she’d have no place to put them. She decided not to bother gathering any more.

Jiang Moli was just being a slacker.

An hour later, the group arrived at the final gathering spot.

It was a bamboo forest on relatively flat terrain.

Refreshed from her nap, Jiang Moli was full of energy. She shouldered her basket and joined the main group to gather mushrooms.

There were mushrooms here, mushrooms there—mushrooms everywhere.

At 4 o’clock, the group started heading back right on schedule.

The pace on the way back was much slower. They had to stop and rest every fifteen minutes, since everyone’s basket was packed full and incredibly heavy.

After the break, the group set off again.

Lu Tingting and Jiang Moli fell to the back of the group.

Compared to Lu Tingting, who was panting like an ox, Jiang Moli’s steps were much lighter.

Her basket was less than a third full, with only a few pounds of mushrooms inside.

Unlike Lu Tingting, whose basket was packed with bananas and weighed at least fifteen to twenty pounds.

Jiang Moli walked behind Lu Tingting, occasionally flicking her basket with a thin bamboo switch. "Walk faster."

"Who told you... HUFF... to walk behind me... HUFF, HUFF..."

Hearing her so tired she could barely string a sentence together, Jiang Moli couldn’t help but laugh to herself.

When she’d first spotted the bananas, her only thought was to grab a couple to eat. She never considered taking the whole bunch back.

It was an hour-and-a-half walk back, and the bananas were heavy and not worth much.

It was better to spend that energy picking more mushrooms.

"Forget it. Seeing how tired you are, your Third Aunt will be nice and help you share the load."

Lu Tingting was already exhausted, and at these words, she plopped right down on the ground.

Jiang Moli picked out four or five of the best-looking bananas and put them in her own basket. The rest, she tossed on the ground.

Lu Tingting was furious at her actions. "What are you doing? What gives you the right to throw away my bananas?"

"We still have an hour to walk. If I don’t throw them out, can you carry them?"

Hearing there was still another hour to go, Lu Tingting’s vision went dark.

She couldn’t walk for another minute, let alone an hour.

But she was still stubborn. "If I can’t carry them, can’t you help me carry some?"

"I’m not your mother. Why should I help you carry them?"

Lu Tingting glared at her. "If you want to help, then help! If not, then forget it!"

"Lu Tingting, did you leave your brain at home today? If these were really so great, do you think Qiao Wenjing would have just given them to you for free?"

Scolded like this by Jiang Moli, Lu Tingting’s head cleared a little.

If Qiao Wenjing hadn’t egged her on, she wouldn’t have fought with Jiang Moli over these stupid bananas.

"You’re angry that I’m throwing your things away, but I’m actually lightening your load. Qiao Wenjing talks a big game about helping you and looking out for you, but did she ever offer to carry even a single banana for you? Isn’t that ironic?"

"Stop pretending to be nice. You’re no saint either. I hate you the most!"

Though she said that, she didn’t stop Jiang Moli from throwing away the bananas.

As children of officials who grew up in the Military District Courtyard, how could they possibly care about a few wild bananas? She had only been carrying these useless things to spite Jiang Moli.

She’d wanted to toss them long ago.

Freed from the weight of the bananas, Lu Tingting finally caught up with the main group.

「Back at the encampment.」

Lu Cheng was waiting outside the woods early on. The moment Jiang Moli appeared, he zeroed in on her.

First, he pulled her close to look her over from head to toe, then he used a towel to wipe the sweat and dirt from her face and neck.

"Are you tired?"

Jiang Moli nodded emphatically. "Mhm, I’m exhausted!"

Hearing this, the other family members around them all shot her disdainful looks.

She’d only gathered a few pounds of mushrooms; what was there to be so tired about?

Jiang Moli jutted her chin toward Lu Tingting. "There. I brought her back to you in one piece."

Lu Cheng glanced at Lu Tingting for a fraction of a second before turning back to caress Jiang Moli’s flushed cheek. His voice was full of doting affection as he said, "You’ve worked hard."

Lu Tingting, having just been slapped in the face with their public display of affection, stomped away in a huff.

Lu Cheng paid his niece no mind and continued to ask about Jiang Moli’s haul from the mountain.

"I didn’t get many mushrooms, just these."

Jiang Moli took off her basket to show him.

Lu Cheng squatted in front of the basket and carefully examined the mushrooms inside. "There are matsutake and morels. To find so many good things on your first time in the mountains... you’re already amazing. You deserve some praise."

Jiang Qing glanced over at Jiang Moli’s basket and saw that it wasn’t even a fifth of what she had gathered. She was thoroughly unimpressed.