The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

After paying their respects to Mr. and Mrs. Shen, the children went to their respective rooms and put their New Year's money under their pillows.

When they returned to the main room, Shen's mother had already gone to the kitchen and brought over the dumpling filling and dough.

Mr. Shen helped her by bringing all the tools she needed to make dumplings to the main room.

"Come on, everyone, let's make dumplings."

"Mother, let's put some copper coins in the dumplings. Whoever finds a copper coin in their dumpling will have exceptionally good luck in the new year."

"Grass, that's a good idea."

Seeing that her mother had agreed, Shen Cao went to the counter in front and took out seven or eight copper coins, then went to the kitchen to wash them and boil them.

While she was boiling the copper coins, Shen Qing sneaked in.

Shen Cao watched as he quietly peeled a clove of garlic and cut a piece of ginger.

She smiled and pretended not to see it.

It is said that those who do evil will not live long.

Shen's father and Shen Chen were in charge of rolling out the dumpling wrappers, while the others were in charge of making the dumplings.

Shen Cao first carefully taught her younger siblings how to make dumplings, and then let them make them on their own.

She and Shen's mother then carefully began making dumplings.

Today, she made a three-ingredient filling for the dumplings.

The family worked together and quickly finished making dumplings, and Shen Cao also wrapped the few copper coins she had prepared inside.

She saw Shen Qing put the garlic and ginger he had just taken into the dumplings.

Shen Cao looked at the oddly shaped dumplings he had made; anyone with a brain wouldn't eat them.

After making the dumplings, since the outside temperature was quite low, Shen's mother simply put them in the yard to freeze.

The family gathered around the table and continued playing the game of drawing turtle shells.

"Yawning" Since arriving here, Shen Cao has never stayed up this late before, and she kept yawning because she was so sleepy.

Soon, yawning became a viral infection, spreading from person to person.

The whole family started taking turns yawning.

"What time is it?! Ha!" Shen Chen couldn't help but yawn.

Just then, the sound of the night watchman striking the gong came from outside the door.

"It's already 1:15 PM, no wonder I'm so sleepy."

"Can we cook dumplings now?"

He had barely finished speaking when he heard the sound of firecrackers outside.

Gradually, more and more firecrackers went off.

Upon hearing this, Shen's mother instructed Shen's father to set off firecrackers, while she went to the kitchen to cook dumplings.

Shen Qing, who had been clamoring to set off firecrackers, was now leaning back in his chair, almost asleep, his head nodding off from time to time.

Shen's father didn't call him and went to the courtyard by himself.

"Bang bang bang!" The firecrackers in their yard were unusually loud, startling them awake.

After the firecrackers stopped, they nodded sleepily again.

Only after Shen's mother finished cooking the dumplings did they manage to muster their spirits.

"Come on, wake up! It's time to eat dumplings. After you finish eating, you can go to sleep."

Shen Cao smiled as she watched her younger siblings walk to the dining table in a daze, neither of them showing any appetite.

She smiled and said, "Try the dumplings you made yourself. It's the first time I've made them by myself." She deliberately emphasized the words "made by myself."

As she spoke, she placed a plate of dumplings that didn't look particularly appetizing in front of Shen Qing.

Shen Qing didn't look closely, closed his eyes, and put the dumpling into his mouth.

Perhaps it was because the dumplings smelled so good, but after eating two dumplings, he was noticeably more awake.

Even the way they ate dumplings sped up considerably.

"Oh dear!" Xiaoqiao suddenly exclaimed.

Her voice attracted the attention of the whole family, and under everyone's gaze, she spat out a copper coin from her mouth.

"Wow, Xiaoqiao is the luckiest person," Shen Cao said to her with a smile.

Xiaoqiao never expected that she would be the first person to eat the copper coin. If what Sister Cao'er said was true, then she hoped that she could find her younger brother next year.

The others also gradually got to eat the copper coins.

Shen Qing became a little anxious when he saw that everyone else had eaten while he hadn't.

Although he wasn't particularly hungry, he still tried hard to get the dumplings with the copper coins inside.

"Ouch!" He suddenly covered his mouth and stopped chewing.

Everyone thought he had also eaten a copper coin, but to their surprise, he spat out the dumpling in his mouth.

"Ugh! It's so spicy!" Everyone was confused as to why eating a copper coin would be so spicy.

Meanwhile, Shen Cao, who knew the truth, was already secretly laughing.

She said, "You reap what you sow."

The scene shifts, and when she was serving the dumplings, she deliberately put all the oddly shaped dumplings into a plate and placed them all in front of Shen Qing.

He couldn't help but eat the dumplings he had added the extra ingredients to.

The ginger dumplings completely defeated Shen Qing's drowsiness.

He spent a long time rinsing his mouth in the kitchen before the ginger taste was gone.

After Shen Cao explained the truth, the others laughed at him, saying he had brought it on himself.

New Year's Eve ended amidst laughter and joy.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Shen took their children to visit Grandma Zhang's house to wish her a Happy New Year.

Grandma Zhang's house is no longer the same as it was when Shen Cao first came here.

The courtyard wall had been repaired long ago, and the gate had been replaced with a new one.

The walls in the room also appeared to have been recently renovated.

There are also many more things in the house.

It looks simple yet cozy.

"Grandma Zhang, Happy New Year!"

"happy New Year!"

"Why did you arrive so early? You didn't even tell me beforehand. I could have had Xiaoyu pick you up."

"Hey, we're all family, no need to be so polite." Father Shen carefully looked around Granny Zhang's small courtyard. It was very clean, and you could tell at a glance that the owners were a clean family.

"Shall I cook some dumplings for you?" Grandma Zhang said, heading towards the kitchen.

Shen's mother stopped her, "Don't bother, we ate early this morning before we came."

"We don't know many people in the county, so we came to wish you a Happy New Year as soon as we finished eating."

"Don't cook lunch today, come to my house for lunch."

Mother Shen invited them to have dinner at the Shen family home.

Upon hearing this, Shen Cao simply suggested, "Why don't we sit for a while, and then Grandma Zhang and Xiaoyu will come back with us?"

Shen Wan and Xiao Qiao also took Xiao Yu's hands and invited her to go.

“My older sister taught us a really fun game, we’ll teach you in a bit.”

"Let me tell you, it was so much fun! Yesterday, we played until our faces were covered in turtle scum."

Xiaoyu didn't know what they were talking about, but it sounded quite interesting.

She looked at Granny Zhang, who didn't hesitate and immediately agreed.

"Alright, this old woman doesn't know many people. This is the first time you've come to wish me a Happy New Year in all these years."

"I was thinking that it would be the Lunar New Year, but the house would be so quiet and deserted."

"Since you don't mind, then this old woman will bring my granddaughter to your place to have some fun."

Mrs. Shen smiled and took Granny Zhang's hand, "Oh dear, I should have come to invite you to New Year's Eve dinner yesterday. Look at me, we'll celebrate the New Year together next year."

"The New Year should be lively with lots of people!"