I relied on a system to prolong my life in ancient times.

Chapter 202 New Year's Eve

After the meal, everyone went to watch Xiao Siyu and Xiao Sining's martial arts match.

As the competition progressed, the other brothers of the Xiao family also joined in, creating a chaotic mess. In the end, no one knew who won. Xiao Siyue only knew that all of her brothers had some kind of bruise on their bodies.

The brothers were scolded by their patriarch, Grandpa Xiao, which made the usually lively Xiao Siyu quiet for two days.

New Year's Eve

Before dinner, Xiao Siyue went outside with her older brothers to set off firecrackers, and the crackling sound of the firecrackers immediately resounded throughout the entire Xiao family village.

Immediately afterwards, firecrackers also started going off in other houses, creating a lively atmosphere.

Xiao Siyue was standing so close that she felt like her ears were about to be deafened.

At this moment, Xiao Siyu, holding a string of firecrackers, walked up to Xiao Siyue and asked her to set them off.

Xiao Siyue had been itching to try it for a while, but she was still a little timid. Xiao Siyu specially found a long carpenter and lit one end of it.

Xiao Siyue picked up a wooden stick, lit the firecrackers from a distance, and then ran behind Xiao Siyu, watching the firecrackers explode.

The siblings were having a great time, and the whole yard was filled with a pungent smell.

After they had played enough, they went into the main hall, where the elders were already waiting.

The entire Xiao family gathered together, making it the most complete Xiao family gathering in many years.

"Sigh, we're just missing Siyuan. If Siyuan came back too, the family would be complete." Old Mrs. Xiao felt a pang of sadness when she thought of her grandson.

Aunt Xiao felt a pang of sadness when she heard her mother-in-law talk about her son.

Her son is still on the battlefield, and she doesn't know how he is doing. There's been no news from him, and she's very worried.

She was initially reluctant to let her son join the army, but in the end she couldn't persuade him otherwise, and he went anyway.

When she left, she told herself that it was nothing, just military training. But who could have imagined that not long after, the Great Zhou and the Great Jin went to war, and her son went to the battlefield.

Sometimes, she would have vivid images of her son being stabbed by a sword and bleeding profusely.

The room fell silent for a moment, the atmosphere heavy.

“Mother, sister-in-law, don’t worry. I wrote to the teacher before and asked her. The Great Zhou has the upper hand on the battlefield now, and it shouldn’t be over for long. Siyuan will definitely be fine.” Xiao Qinian comforted his wife and the others, who were looking down and had a bad expression.

He was in a remote place and couldn't know what was happening on the battlefield, but he still cared about his nephew. Every time he wrote a letter, he would ask about it, and Shen Junru would tell him what he knew.

However, Xiao Siyuan was just a lowly soldier, and no one paid special attention to his condition, so he only knew the general situation.

"Yes, Siyuan will definitely be fine, sister-in-law, don't worry. Maybe before long, Siyuan will bring you back an official position." Aunt Xiao quickly comforted her.

The others quickly followed suit, offering their kind words as well.

Hearing everyone's words of comfort, Aunt Xiao also smiled slightly. She didn't expect her son to be successful; she just wanted him to be alive. She couldn't bear the thought of an older woman burying her younger son.

After this scene, the atmosphere gradually warmed up.

"Alright, let's eat! We've prepared a lot of delicious food this year." Grandpa Xiao started eating first, and everyone else followed suit.

Xiao Siyue ate the dumplings in her bowl with great satisfaction. Ever since she made dumplings once, her family has made dumplings every year during the Spring Festival for the past few years, and it has become a tradition.

Moreover, the variety of dumplings is increasing, with all sorts of styles and flavors, making them very appetizing.

Xiao Siyue picked up a dumpling shaped like a flower bud, but after just one bite, she choked on it.

"Huh?" Xiao Siyue spat out what was inside and found it was a small gold ingot.

The others were also drawn to Xiao Siyue's voice.

"Oh my, our Yue'er has found a gold ingot!" Aunt Xiao's eyes lit up with a smile when she saw the gold ingot in Xiao Siyue's hand.

"Yue'er is indeed a lucky little treasure. I put this gold ingot in there on purpose, just to see if she could eat it." Old Mrs. Xiao said happily when she saw that it was Xiao Siyue who ate the gold ingot.

Oh, I see. I was overjoyed. She was lucky.

"Grandma, do you have any more bags?" Xiao Siyu quickly asked, he wanted one too.

"Yes, yes, there are still several left. Let's see who gets to eat first." As soon as Old Lady Xiao finished speaking, everyone stopped eating their vegetables and reached for the dumplings.

"Ah, I got to eat one too!" Xiao Sining exclaimed loudly as she spat out a gold ingot from her mouth.

"Me too, me too." This time it was Xiao Yichen's turn to eat.

One by one, several people found the gold ingot in their food. Everyone was very happy, and in no time they were full.

"I can't eat anymore, I'm too full." Xiao Siyu rubbed his stomach without caring about his image, but he hadn't eaten the gold ingot yet, and he was a little unwilling.

"Alright, if you can't eat anymore, then stop. Look at the state you're in, you have no image at all." Xiao Qinian glanced at his son, who was slumped in the chair.

"Haha, brother, have some." Xiao Siyue chuckled and put a dumpling into Xiao Siyu's bowl. She had just noticed a small detail: the dumplings with gold ingots inside must have been made by Old Lady Xiao. Although they all looked different, they all had a special mark.

"Thank you, little sister." Xiao Siyu said, "I'll eat it no matter how full I am."

However, to his surprise, he felt something was wrong as soon as he put the dumpling in his mouth.

He was overjoyed and quickly finished the dumplings, spitting out a gold ingot.

"Thank you, little sister. I got a gold ingot too. I guess I'm lucky after all." Xiao Siyu looked at her brothers who hadn't gotten one with great pride.

When Old Lady Xiao looked over, her gaze met Xiao Siyue's, and the two exchanged a smile.

"Little sister, I want one too." Xiao Sining was not to be outdone and handed over her small bowl. Xiao Siyue did not show favoritism and put one on each of her brothers' plates.

"Sure enough, little sister has the best luck." After eating the gold ingot, Xiao Sining looked at Xiao Siyue with envy.

Several elders already knew what had happened, and they couldn't help but laugh when they saw Xiao Siyue.

Xiao Siyue didn't reveal the reason, and accepted the admiring and envious looks from her brothers without feeling guilty.

On New Year's Eve, we didn't eat much of the dishes on the table, but we ate quite a lot of dumplings, and everyone was very happy.