An Accidental Military Marriage

"The conditions here are too harsh. I don’t like hardship."

"You’re certainly honest. I heard you have city residency, so it’s understandable that you can’t get used to a rural place like this."

That’s what Jiang Wenjuan said, but inwardly she was thinking, ’Jiang Moli still has the mindset of a young girl.’

’Once she has a baby, she’ll naturally want to be reunited with her husband.’

She knew this from deep personal experience.

She used to be a key worker in the cotton mill workshop. When she first got married, she wasn’t willing to give up her career and stable life to follow her husband to the military base.

But after having children, her perspective changed.

Once you become a mother, you want to give your child a complete home instead of only thinking about yourself.

At 5 p.m., Jiang Moli left the remaining crayfish for Jiang Wenjuan to handle, washed her hands, and got ready to head to the school.

Just as she reached the entrance of the family quarters, she ran into Shen Yanzhi, who was on his way back to his dorm.

He was dressed in his usual white shirt and black trousers, his hair impeccably combed. He looked clean-cut and refined.

"What a coincidence, Teacher Shen. Are you free tonight?"

Shen Yanzhi adjusted his glasses and returned her smile. "Teacher Jiang, is something the matter?"

"Come to Commander Zhong’s house for dinner. There’s going to be delicious food."

Shen Yanzhi: "Commander Zhong is inviting you and Camp Commander Lu. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient for me to go?"

Jiang Moli puffed out her chest. "Don’t worry, it’s my treat. I’m just borrowing Commander Zhong’s place."

"In that case, it would be rude of me to refuse."

"Come early. We won’t wait for you if you’re late."

"Alright."

By the time Jiang Moli arrived at the school, classes had been out for a while.

The students who had been kept after class had all gathered dutifully in the first-grade classroom.

Jiang Moli did a random roll call of a few names. Everyone was there.

"Seeing as you’ve all been so well-behaved, I’ll let you off easy today. We’ll sing the song together twice, and then you’re dismissed."

The students were overjoyed.

’Great! We can go home and play early!’

After writing the lyrics on the blackboard, Jiang Moli found a student with a loud voice to stand at the front and lead the singing.

After they sang it through twice, the students swarmed out of the classroom in high spirits.

Jiang Moli locked the classroom door and headed for the Zhong family’s home.

Although she had explained the recipe for spicy crayfish to Jiang Wenjuan, Jiang Wenjuan had never made it before, so Jiang Moli still needed to be there to supervise.

In the second-floor office, Jiang Qing stared at Jiang Moli’s departing figure, her eyes filled with a cold, sinister light.

’Jiang Moli, we have all the time in the world. Just you wait.’

BANG!

Someone slammed their hand on the desk, and Jiang Qing nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Lu Tingting, what are you doing!?"

"What am I doing? I’m here for my money! You stole my honey and promised to pay me ten yuan. Is your word bullshit?"

At that moment, Feng Meihua and Hu Xingbang were still in the office.

If this had happened before, Jiang Qing probably would have been overwhelmed with shame and wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

But now, her life, her dreams, everything wonderful she had hoped for—it was all ruined.

She had nothing left to lose.

"I’m a little short on cash right now. I’ll pay you back in a couple of days."

"You said ’a couple of days’ before, and it’s already been several days! Still ’a couple of days’? Are you trying to get out of paying me?"

Jiang Qing was, in fact, planning to get out of paying the debt.

A jar of honey sold for one yuan at most, but that horrible Lu Tingting was trying to extort ten yuan from her!

She had decided to just drag it out. Once Lu Tingting went back home in a few days, the debt would naturally disappear.

She sneered, "I never said I wouldn’t pay you back, I just can’t come up with the money right now."

"I don’t care about your problems. Borrow it or steal it, I don’t care, but you have to pay me back today. If you don’t, believe me, I’ll smash your bed to pieces."

"Do whatever you want."

Seeing that Jiang Qing was completely unyielding, Lu Tingting turned and ran to Feng Meihua.

"Principal Feng, you heard her! Jiang Qing owes me money and won’t pay it back. When stipends are issued at the end of the month, give her stipend to me."

Feng Meihua glanced at Jiang Qing and said, "I’m afraid that won’t be possible."

"Why not? She owes me money."

"Teacher Jiang no longer has a stipend. She’s a volunteer teacher now, just like you."

As for why Jiang Qing had become a volunteer teacher, Feng Meihua didn’t know the reason herself; she had just received a notice from her superiors.

Lu Tingting returned to the guest house, her mind full of questions. She wanted to ask Jiang Moli about it, but she wasn’t there.

...

"Xiao Jiang, is this enough oil?"

"Not enough. Add more."

Jiang Wenjuan said, feeling the pinch, "This is at least half a pound of oil already. It’s still not enough?"

"Don’t be afraid to add another half-pound. Go ahead."

Jiang Wenjuan gasped in shock. ’Another half-pound? Wouldn’t that make a whole pound of oil?!’

A pound of oil was enough for her family’s stir-fries for half a month.

But since Jiang Moli was telling her to pour, Jiang Wenjuan could only comply and pour the oil into the wok. After all, Jiang Moli had bought the oil herself.

Once the oil in the wok was hot, Jiang Moli had Jiang Wenjuan add a pound of fatty pork.

Jiang Wenjuan clicked her tongue. "Xiao Jiang, this fatty pork is a luxury! There’s already a pound of oil in the wok; that should be enough for the crayfish."

"Sister-in-law, trust me. Crayfish only tastes good when you use a lot of oil."

’If it takes this much oil, I’d rather not eat it at all.’

Jiang Wenjuan didn’t say what she was thinking, however. She listened to Jiang Moli and placed the sliced pork into the hot oil.

As the pork sizzled, rendering its fat, a rich, meaty aroma instantly filled the entire house.

Zhong Xinxin, Zhong Xi’er, and Zhong Wangfu stopped doing their homework and all gathered around the stove, their mouths watering.

’It smells so good.’

When the surface of the pork was fried to a golden brown, Jiang Moli picked up the cleaned crayfish, ready to pour them into the wok.

"Let me!"

Lu Cheng happened to enter the kitchen just then. Seeing she was about to add the ingredients, he quickly took the bowl from her and gestured for Jiang Moli to stand back. "Don’t get burned by the splashing oil."

Standing at the stove, Jiang Wenjuan was a little speechless.

’So I guess my skin is just thick and tough, and I’m not afraid of getting burned?’

After stir-frying the crayfish until they turned bright red, they added ginger, scallions, and garlic, followed by Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers, salt, and thirteen-spice powder. They poured in a generous splash of white wine, and finally added a large basin of water before covering the wok to let it simmer.

As the soup in the wok came to a boil, a rich, fragrant aroma of shrimp began to permeate the air.

Never mind the children, who were practically drooling; even Jiang Wenjuan found herself swallowing hard, captivated by the scent.

’It was worth using all that oil. It smells incredible.’

’She couldn’t wait to lift the lid and have a taste.’

Once the crayfish were nearly cooked, Jiang Moli directed Lu Cheng to add sliced potatoes, cucumber sticks, and green and red peppers in order, stir-frying them briefly before taking the dish off the heat.

Shen Yanzhi arrived just as dinner was being served.

Seeing three large, steaming basins of crayfish on the dining table, he was quite surprised. "What is this dish?"

"Spicy Crayfish."

Jiang Wenjuan smiled and beckoned to everyone. "Don’t just stand there. Everyone’s here, let’s sit down and eat."

Hearing this, the three Zhong siblings eagerly took their seats at the table.

Even the adults seemed more eager and excited to eat than usual.

Everyone was captivated by the three basins of bright red, fragrant, spicy crayfish, their mouths watering.

"With these, you mainly eat the head tomalley, the claw meat, and the tail meat."

Following Jiang Moli’s demonstration, the entire table dug in.

...

Feng Meihua brought a dish of stir-fried cucumber to the table and called to Lu Tingting, "Teacher Lu, time to eat."

Noticing that Shen Yanzhi’s seat was empty, Lu Tingting stood up. "Teacher Shen isn’t here yet. I’ll go get him."

"There’s no need. Teacher Shen is eating at Commander Zhong’s house tonight. I heard your third aunt is treating."

As Feng Meihua spoke, she seemed a bit puzzled. "Didn’t your third aunt invite you to eat?"