Lu Kang helped them prepare the chicken. Qiao Dabian came over and said, "Thank you very much. We can handle the rest ourselves!"

Lu Kang handed the processed chicken to Qiao Da, then took the two children outside and brought back some hay from the haystack to feed the horses.

The two children had never seen such a majestic and handsome tall horse, and they were both very curious.

At the beginning, the two of them only dared to stand aside and watch the eldest brother feed the livestock. They saw that they were very obedient and lowered their heads to eat grass without biting anyone.

Driven by curiosity, I even started to imitate my elder brother to feed the horse with grass!

These horses are used to carry goods. They are gentle in nature and don't mind strangers approaching them.

Seeing that the two children were busy and happy, Lu Kang did not stop them.

After feeding the horses, Lu Kang took his two little followers with him and picked some seasonal vegetables in the yard to give to Qiao Da, and that was the end of the trip.

Lu Kang arranged the guests' belongings and then took the two children back to the main house.

"Brother, who are they?" Lu An asked curiously after returning to the main room.

"These are the people who are staying in our house temporarily. Ah An, remember not to enter the house over there these days, okay?" The two little guys nodded obediently.

"Go to the backyard and pick some vegetables. After they finish using the kitchen, I'll cook for you!"

The two little ones nodded sensibly, and went to the backyard hand in hand.

Lu Kang was about to count the money he had earned today. He felt in his arms, was suddenly stunned, and then took out a letter.

When I was in the city, I was so focused on making money that I even forgot about this letter!

He quickly unfolded the letter. Lin An first asked him about his recent situation, and then invited him to be a teacher at a village school in Rongcheng.

The salary described in the letter was very good: three taels of silver per month, including food and lodging. At the end of the letter, Lin An felt that he would be able to make further progress in the imperial examination, and he hoped that he could accept such an assignment. If he could pass, he would be willing to lend a helping hand in the imperial examination.

The two met at Moxiangzhai. Although they were twice as old as each other, they got along very well and got along very well.

Later, Lin An caught a cold in Yuncheng and fell seriously ill. Fortunately, he was taken care of by Lu Kang, and the two of them formed a deep bond. Even after Lin An returned to Rongcheng, they continued to exchange letters.

After reading the contents of the letter, Lu Kang was somewhat tempted, but it was hard to leave his hometown. If he wanted to go, his brother and sister-in-law would naturally have to follow him. The two children were still young, and the two places were hundreds of kilometers apart. The journey was too long, so Lu Kang was a little hesitant.

He first put the letter away, counted out the silver and money that he would return to the patriarch's house later, wrapped it in a handkerchief and put it in the basket.

Then he counted the eggs stored at home, a total of twenty-five, and he took twenty of them and put them in the basket.

Lu Kang carried a basket and said something to the two children who were picking vegetables in the backyard, telling them not to run around. Then he carried his things and went to the clan leader's house.

He had borrowed money from others for a long time, so he couldn't lend it for free. The gift wasn't much, but it was a small token of his gratitude.

When Ma saw Lu Kang coming over with something, she changed her unhappy expression from yesterday and hurriedly greeted him with a smile: "We are all from the same village, why are you carrying something?"

She was impulsive yesterday. She wanted her niece to marry this man, so she didn't want to ruin the relationship.

Lu Kang just pretended that what happened yesterday never happened. "Is my cousin home?"

"Your uncle went to visit relatives, but is there something wrong? You can tell me the same thing!"

"I'm here to return the remaining two taels of silver. Thank you, uncle, for helping me and my sister when we were in trouble. I don't have anything worth giving away at home, so please don't despise me!"

When Ma heard that he was here to repay the money, her smile deepened, but she tried to decline, saying, "Kid, even if we are short of money, we can't make things difficult for you children."

Lu Kang handed the basket of silver to the other party and said, "Aunt, please check the amount. I can copy books, and we can make ends meet at home!"

When Ma heard him say this, she liked him even more. Apart from the fact that he had two burdens at home, marrying her niece to him was indeed a good idea.

If it were someone else's family, let alone paying back five taels of silver within a year, I'm afraid they might not even be able to pay back two taels!

With two thoughts in her mind, she put on a more amiable look. She took the basket from Lu Kang and said in a generous manner, "Since you sent it, it must be right. Auntie believes you don't need to count!"

Lu Kang insisted, "Aunt, please count them. I can't count them well sometimes, so it's better to count them in front of you!"

Ma's words just now were just false politeness. Seeing her say that, he took the opportunity to back off and started counting the items in front of her.

Half a cup of tea later, Ma smiled and wrapped up the silver and money. She said to Lu Kang, "I told you not to count it. The things you have passed through cannot be wrong!"

Lu Kang nodded and said, "Then tell your uncle, I'll go back first!"

Ma stopped the person and said, "What I did yesterday was for your own good. You are already an adult, and you have two young children to raise at home. Even if I wanted to help you, it would be difficult. Those girls have many concerns in their families, and it would delay your marriage!"

"If Xiao Ping is sent to a wealthy family, she can serve the young lady by her side, doing easy work. Her life will be no worse than living with you, her elder brother. You can also relax a little, right? Just listen to your aunt..."

Seeing that she was still trying to persuade him, Lu Kang felt even more angry.

He interrupted Ma's unfinished words without any hesitation and said, "If the woman who is engaged to me, Lu, dislikes my sister-in-law, then I will not go through with the marriage. Aunt, you don't have to worry about my family's affairs in the future. Whether my sisters starve to death or become wandering beggars is none of your business!" After that, he left with a dark face.

Lu Kang is not a fool. This man has been talking for a long time, isn't it just that he wants to propose marriage to him, but he dislikes that he has two young children at home and thinks they are a burden!

He only had these two closest relatives left in this world. In the eyes of others, his brother and sister-in-law were a burden. But in his eyes, his brother and sister-in-law were all his spiritual sustenance. With them, this family existed!

Clan leader Lu, who had gone to visit a neighbor, ran into Lu Kang, who looked unhappy. Seeing that the man had come out of his own house, he hurriedly called out to him, "What happened? Why do you look so unhappy?"

When Lu Kang saw that it was the clan leader, his tense expression relaxed a little. No matter how angry he was with Ma, he would not take his anger out on her family.

What's more, the patriarch has always treated him well and extended a hand to help him when he was in the most difficult time, for which he has always been grateful.